Well one thing this artist does not do it sleep well.  Lack of sleep has all kinds of negative effects on the body and over all health. Which is one of the reasons you will see me make that up with a sense of humor. You can't cry if you are laughing. Good attitude maybe but it doesn't make up for the lack of sleep and exhaustion. Most important of all I need sleep to create. Its so hard to focus when your brain just wants to sleep on its own. What are your reasons for not sleeping?

My issues are complicated.  I have a lot going on. I have Asthma, Apnea, Allergies, Fibromyalgia, Insomnia, ADD, Hot Flashes, IIH, Complicated Migraines, Vertigo. Though this is only a partial list of what all I have going on, it is the particular list that keeps me from getting a good nights sleep.

You see because of all the issues listed earlier above I have a rather large tendency to do aerobics while I DO sleep. I spin clock wise constantly and bunch about 6 pillows into every shape I can to find a cool spot and a comfortable position. Based on this thought I knew a Chillow didn't stand a chance on top of a pillow. It would get buried or flipped upside down under the pillow. I decided the best bet would be to give it its own pillow case and use it separately. To do this a Chillow fits in half of a pillow case if you turn it vertical. I then just folded the rest of the sheet over it. 

I could now form it to any shape I needed it to squash under my hot neck to support it. This worked great. Sort of. There is a valve for the water and you can see that in the photo above. Its' a little red valve.  When I would roll the Chillow up to support my neck I had to make sure the valve didn't poke me in the head or face. I also had read some people had issues with theirs leaking.  Mine didn't leak but then I didn't own it long enough to find out.

What happened? Well it did do what it said as far as keeping cool because even though the water would eventually reach your body temperature, it would be hours before that happened. Then all you would have to do is just move your head to a new area of the pillow and walla cool again. Great right? Well not really because you fight with how heavy it is, the pool toy smell and the valve. The next problem I noticed was the vinyl started to get crinkly and sort of crispy and not so soft anymore which I akin to me rolling it up to sleep on all the time. The mat inside the Chillow was getting bunched up and its uber hard to un-bunch it once it does that.  This was about a week in to having it. Now the most non-predictable or should I actually say most predictable thing happened next. You guessed it and I am sure it had nothing to do with the adorable fluffy kitten photo on the right. Right? Well the kittens liked how cool it was too and decided to walk on it and poked holes in it with their claws. I briefly thought about patching it with duct tape but then envisioned it getting stuck to the pillow case or worse, my hair. I temporarily set it aside...for a month and it grew mold inside. and it was bunched up and it had holes. Thankfully it was only $12 or I would feel even worse about it.

All in all what I did find out about this experience was that it helped a lot! I got some heat relief from some of my symptoms and got a little more sleep. So what to do now? If I were to build a Chillow how would I go about it. I would definitely make it out of gel so that I didn't have to fill it with water. The Chillow was like a mini water bed with the core inside that bunches up.  Same concept. I would want it to be lighter. I would want to be able to roll it up so I can tuck it under my chin or my neck but also be large enough to keep areas of it cool.  And what do you know after a little research I found it. Exactly what I was looking for.  The Polar Gel Pillow.

Gel filled. Can fold or roll. Can refrigerate. Sweet! It had a 4 1/2 star review on Amazon no one stars and nothing less then a 3 plus it comes with a free e-book for tips on better sleep. See that up above on the right (get yours while they last).  I got Polar pillow yesterday. Leaking out the side seam. Great. Did someone clue them in that I am the lemon tester?  Sending it back for a replacement today. The quest for better sleep continues. Imagine what I could do if I had great sleep!

My question to you is not literal. Although the pizza does look extra gooey. When I ask "Have you eaten?" I am asking you what have you done to feed not only your belly but your whole being. Your life. Your soul.  You see life lived in HD "High Definition" means you have broken the molds and no longer see life in black and white. If you can achieve this. You have fed your being.

If you find in life that you follow the majority then I ask you. Isn't it time to break the mold? Do a reassessment? As Mark Twain said; and take it from a man who knew how to dress, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, tis' time to pause and reflect."

When is it that you find you are having the most fun. Is it when you are playing a game? Think about that. I don't mean the kind of game where you have parked your rump in front of the TV and immerse yourself in your XBOX or Sony.  Although we won't entirely push this example aside if you are engaged in a game where you are playing strategy against another on line player.                                                                                                                                                              Mark Twain

What I am talking about is the kind of game you probably played at a party or with a group of people. You were engaged with others and there was a strategy involved, you were laughing and of all things using your brain.  Its' these times you are at you best because you are on your toes excited adrenaline pumping trying to win. At the end of the night when you walked away you remember wanting to do it again sometime.  You fed your life and soul with laughter, camaraderie, ingenuity, and the desire to win.

So why is it we walk away and the next day return to our lives  and live them exactly the way were living them yesterday. Leaving ourselves starving for more "the next time" and settling down for another day pushing that fun from last night to the back burner. Couldn't we just incorporate those feelings we felt when playing the game into today and what we are doing now? Why not? Who said you have to live your life inside four walls in two colors.  As an artist I work with color everyday and it wouldn't be much fun if I were restricted to just the black and white tubes of paint.  I am also sorry to break your bubble but life is not all black and white. Choose to step outside of yourself; feed the soul and be the RED tube of paint. And not just any red be blood red, magenta, cherry red, Brick red. There are so many variations pick one and wear your color on your soul.

Now that you see life differently paint a new picture and figure out a way to make each day and everything you do a game. Bring the excitement of the color you have chosen and the game that draws on your adrenaline  to the surface of your pizza. Wait what? You remember the pizza above that has so many toppings on it? Yeah THAT pizza. Be the pizza envision you are the pizza. HOT, Bubbly, many faceted, lots of color, changes with heat, delicious and spicy. You want to be spicy don't you? Who wants to be a cracker. One flavor that tastes the same every-time.

Make your day competitive. Challenge yourself. Make a list if you have never made a list of things you want to accomplish. Challenge someone to do it with you by giving them the same list and see who can complete more on the list by the end of the day. Bet on it. (Not that I am promoting gambling here). But the point is to feed your life with new exciting experiences so that you can be your best everyday and capture the fun. 

Remember to embrace your inner pizza with your own color of red sauce but most of all ask yourself today "Have you eaten?"

Have a great weekend. What will you be doing? TONKS where are you? 

Rosemary supposedly prefers a sandy loam type soil and from what I understand it has a harder time growing up North which is probably why I killed my first one. I had one when I lived in the Chicago area and the poor little thing didn't make it past three months. Now that I live in Northern Georgia I figured I would try my luck again and lo an behold a Rosemary bush was born!

So back to pruning. After watering it yesterday and checking it today and it looking much better, I went ahead and pruned it back. The shape I am looking for is about waist high and the branches that are getting heavy and starting to look like they may split or crack off on the sides, I just whack those off.  Immediately my little bush looks happy. Check!

Now the most important part; harvesting them. Wait I technically just did that. Yep that is pretty much it, you cut it off and walla harvested. Okay now that you cut it off what do you do with it? Well lots of things actually. You can put it out to dry, make sure to spread it out so that all the leaves can get air. Or you can keep it fresh by putting it an air tight container and putting it in the fridge.  Be sure to rinse and dry it thoroughly because of the bugs it could have from coming from outside but don't use an anti-bacterial soap it could ruin the properties you want to keep.


Now why Rosemary? Well it is really one of my favorite fragrances and possibly one of my favorite foods. Have you heard of Rosemary Olive oil bread? YUM E!  Regardless of the delicious tastes the most important thing is have you heard about how great it is for you? It has amazing health benefits and in recent studies scientists are finding it increases your memory; especially those with brain surgeries and problems with short term memory, (guess what that is me) by 75% just by inhaling the natural oils for 15 minutes. You then put it aside and 30 minutes later you repeat. So twice a day. I have started sticking my nose in my Rosemary bush because of this and I will have to tell you how I come along. I will let you know that I was very cloudy and non functioning this morning and it seemed to wake me up at least and I am now able to semi write without my usual loss of focus.

Oh did I mention that it is supposed to help you focus too? Wow right? Who knew a tiny little evergreen well actually not technically an evergreen it is from the mint family along with other popular and fragrant herbs such as thyme, oregano, lavender and basil. Here are some other great health benefits our little friend has; Rosemary leaves contain certain phyto-chemical (plant derived) compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.  Because of its natural substances which I wont go into here Rosemary has compounds that are known to have rubefacient (counterirritant), anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-fungal and anti-septic properties.

It is rich in many Vitamin B complexes.  Which I find very interesting because did you know you need vitamin B for your nerve system and memory? People like me who have brain disorders and migraines are usually low in vitamin B12. I have to give myself an injection monthly for the rest of my life. The fact that the plant is rich in vitamin B may have something to do with the memory increase? Would seem plausible.  Our little plant is also rich in vitamin A, low calorie, no cholesterol, and 37% of RDA fiber if you eat 100 grams.  Also 37% of RDA for vitamin C.  And it contains natural iron.

Now thanks to this little bush of mine this morning, my mind seems to be more awake which means I can now hopefully create a Freebie for you for August as well as the daily Freebies. YEA! Right? So I guess I have to say Rosemary not only does the body good, but the mind as well and really I don't mind eating it. And with that in mind ha ha here is one of my own recipes for Rosemary potatoes. Makes a great side dish and is a huge hit with my family.

This afternoon I went to go see the movie Lucy with Scarlet Johansson. Ok first let me say its' really no better then a C rating. Now from a graphics stand point there was some cool effects. They also had a way of referencing parts of the movie to the wild or old black and white films. Now that was excellent and I wish they had kept that up through the whole movie. Anyway this movie has too many loose ends and this doesn't make sense because... You know the type of movie. I was also sitting next to a couple where the woman kept gasping or saying "Oh No" through the whole film. Made me wonder if she ever leaves her couch.

The movie is rated R for a good reason though. Lots of killing, blood and guts. You know the good stuff that makes it an R. Which I have to say was refreshing since movies in my opinion have gotten a little too soft because Hollywood wants every dollar they can squeeze and you cant squeeze dollars out of the under 18 crowd unless they sneak in.

Well anyway none of this was really my point. What I did like about the movie is that it kind of coincided with my feelings of the natural order of the world. I have always felt that we are all one. Part of "The One". One energy flowing splitting off into more energy. When we die we don't really die but become essence, energy, free flowing to go anywhere no longer tied to one outlet but becoming one with "The One" Source.  Imagine being able to see feel and experience everything like a ray of sunshine traveling millions of miles to touch on a surface. It makes our lives seam so much smaller and minute in retrospect. Which is why we really need to treat each other better and with more respect. Our time here is so short compared to the world that goes on around us and in the time it takes to blink we are gone. Making this side of your life easier and more simple sometimes it just as easy sharing a smile or a coffee.

I for one am excited to share my minute time with you before I become something larger then what I can comprehend today. Take time today to reflect on the good you do, the positive you generate and squash the bugs of negativity beneath your boot.

~lady T