Today I begin a new fitness challenge to balance fitness and my creative professions.  I have set 12 month goals.

My Novel Dreaming Billabong is back from the proof readers and is ready for submission to a literary agent or publisher and it is time to make the new twelve month goals which will see either the sequel written or a stand alone novel.

Now I am about to launch an ART SALE

Kathy Shell Artist/Author 12 Months and beyond, action plan.

FEB:, I list art for sale free shipping in Australia and internationally at cost.
Also Pitching my novel to publishers and agents - ongoing until success.

MARCH: I continue to sell any remaining unsold items but no new listings.

APRIL:Easter: Wind up - Sales CLOSED - Planning new Novel & Travels

MAY till January 2013 Write new Novel

FEB 2013 - Possible Second chance offer art sale -IF, I do another.

I had a great morning in the painting studio with the rep from Pack and Send who will be getting costings to me fairly soon of the shipping of my large Moorcroft Vase, Art Easel Kits, Metal detector, Framed ad unframed original Oils and watercolour paintings, Wholesale quantities of scrapbooking papers and prints.

I will be focusing the next fortnight equally dividing my time between pitching my novel and getting these 'out there' where people can see them on line.

_Back from the gym, 200 meter swim yesterday and hydro exercises.

I upped it to 300 meters today and hydro plus pushups.

Aiming to get back up to being able to swim 2kilometers - what I got up to when I had to stop swimming back late July 2010.

Enjoying it so far, feeling the workout but not doing too much. :-)

I have set myself  200 meters to 2 kilometers swimming goal and will strive for an additional 100 meters each time I feel i can push a bit further. Aim is the 2 kilometers in under 6 months.

_Next time - Before_ you're too depressed to act, can I suggest kicking some ass?
Do you know I have never know serious depression in all my 65 years of life? 
Oh for sure I've had some hellish times and events to live though and run away from - but I have always recognized 'the blues' or mild depression' as a sign to 'kick ass' some one's ass - maybe even once and I have acted. Not all my actions were perfect though i always tried to act wisely in the difficult situations. But I NEVER once put up with the cause of the depression and didn't adapt to it. 

Now I hate to be a sickening Pollyanna but in August 20 2010 I discovered I had pain on movement and had to rest until a tumour was removed in November - then there was skin cancer and months of infection, then there was months of pulmonary fibrosis complications and pneumonia then a broken vertical and skin cancer and now more skin cancer. Breathlessness and pain on walking. So do I get depressed? Hell NO! (excuse the expression.)

I am going swimming today and I have written and had published a novella and am now striving to get the 100,000 word novel I wrote while forced to rest,  I regained an awful lot of the weight I had lost when I managed to fight back from health problems in 2007 and I'll do it again but I'll not allow any black dog monsters into my life - ever.   Kick ass - fight off depression while it is small and manageable.

Thumbs up the comeback has begun.
I have become tired of my back injury (fall last winter slipped a disc and spinal fracture) preventing my attempts to get fit again and can see myself sliding further back so I joined the Gym today - Wet area only - and did a few laps then hydrotherapy exercises, came home and while my body was still warmed up I washed the car a job I have wanted to do since last September.

The Aquamoves Gym I joined is fantastic. There are six different types of pools, something to suit everyone and there is always a pool safety net around the children's pool when there isn't a lifeguard present and parents must supervise the children.

Although the intervertebral disc is a remarkably versatile and strong structure, essentially acting as a shock absorber during everyday activities, sometimes the disc fails when there is a sudden, unexpected force (such as a fall, lifting or other trauma), or due to ordinary wear and tear over time. And when the disc does get injured it cannot repair itself very well, which is one of the major reasons recurrent back pain is so common.  It was though a fall that I put my intervertbrayal disk out and it is osteoporosis that is giving me compression fractures f the spine.

I know that not exercising is the worst think I can do.


‎"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything" Win Borden

_

I have always wondered at how people look at an erosion scared mountain or an ancient wounded warrior tree and exclaim at the beauty and look at the baby sapling and express the longing to see it when it is magnificent with age. Yet they allow a multi-billion dollar cosmetic and fashion industry to sell them the crazy idea that their eyes should be huge and their mouth pouting like an infants and hips should be waif like. Beauty is there to be seen now as you are.

Beauty In Imperfection's _

I got indigestion the other night and I wished I had some ginger handy.   I am a great believer in letting food be my medicine and I believe that most health problems are due to poor choices made in the food we eat and poor choice of exercise as in under or and over exercising.
Ginger is one amazing product. 

10 Health Benfits of Ginger Ayurveda gives ginger the status of a virtual medicine chest. That's because this wonder spice has time-tested digestion-friendly properties, in addition to its numerous other health benefits.

_I loved this and the ending was so surprising. Isn't that what is supposed to happen in a great story?
Watch this to the end. It made me cry but was I'm glad I watched it. So helpful.

flickspire - Jane Handly Childhood Story www.flickspire.com

The video grabbed my heart and didn't let go. The way the story is told and the message hit me like a ton of bricks. It was just the shot of inspiration I needed today, so I wanted to pass it along to you.

Have you looked at the 1 Million Kilo Challenge.
Eating my words this morning about it this morning.
When I looked at it a couple of days ago I backed off in horror at the protein powder adds as I do not 'do' highly processed foods regardless of if they are called junk food or health food they are all in my opinion no where near as healthy as in season fresh food.
However what I read last night about it not being about counting calories but eating healthy while being aware of calories is far more in keeping with my ideals. Also the calorie intake suggestion was far more realistic - and healthy than some.

It is a great age to live in. There is so many self help and learning opportunities you can reach out for on line and do from home these days. You can start guitar lessons online or learn to write. Last night before bed I watched an hour of video advice for writers. I am loving my internet as a tool for research and advanced learning. 

So while I still don't like excessive emphasis on weight as a life focus, I'm giving this program a 'worth taking a closers look at,' tick for now.

I so agree with this attitude.  This is based on the guidelines in the 1 Million Kilo Challenge adjusted to how I would apply it for myself. It is close to the eating plan I originally used to release my excess weight in 2007. Not so much a diet as a lifestyle.

The type of food and the amount that you are eating is far more important than the amount of calories or kilojoules.

If you base your eating solely on calorie or kilojoule intake, you don't take into account the quality of food you are eating. This means you could rationalise adding a Mars Bar or piece of cake and then eat less for dinner to stay within your recommended range. We don't believe this is a healthy, responsible way of living and eating, nor does it facilitate weight loss, in the short or long term.

Eating for permanent weight loss is about changing bad food choices into healthy ones, which becomes a natural part of your every day life. This saves you from being bogged down, consumed by and a slave to laborious maths every time you need to eat. That's 5 times a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year worth of calculations. No thanks!

I believe:
• All your food should be as close to its original state as possible, so minimal processing, preservatives and additives
• Half your plate should be vegetables
• One quarter should be lean protein: approximately 100g red meat, 125g skinless chicken, 150g fish or 180g tofu
• One quarter should be unrefined, unprocessed carbohydrates ie. brown rice, lentils, chickpeas, beans, barley etc
• Minimal added sugar, and only unprocessed, without compromising flavour
• Minimal added fat, preferably unsaturated and added as an ingredient rather than cooking in it.

For those of you who like to know figures, this is a good aim for most females who desire to release weight,
1200-1600 calories a day
This will be made up of:
250-350 calories for breakfast
350-450 for lunch and dinner
and around 150-200 per snack for mid morning and mid afternoon.

I like to choose healthy and portion controlled and be aware of calories without counting them fanatically.