Turning into Rabbits

So if you've missed the memo, "cleanse/detox" diets are the new fad. I generally try to steer clear of fads, but this one has the promise of being healthier. That being said, I jumped on the band wagon.

Tim agreed to join me in this mini quest and we did a little research as to how exactly you do a cleanse diet. We decided it basically boiled down to cutting out processed foods, dairy, sugar, and meat (with a few exceptions such as lamb, organic chicken, etc.) Detoxing is like exercising though: everyone has their own way to get the "perfect arm muscles" that they swear by. This link seemed to be a pretty good source of information so we are basing our diet off of it: Detox Diet Plan.

Sunday we had to eat all the "bad" food we had in the house that would spoil before next week, so our diet included half a box of cookies 'n cream ice cream, Kraft Mac 'n Cheese, a bag of candy and other frozen TV dinners.

Monday we had fruit for breakfast (I had made a smoothie to take with me to work but I did the 'ol mug on the car trick and drove off with it on the roof of my car...oops), a huge salad with homemade salsa for dressing for lunch and stir fry for dinner.

I'm not going to lie. It was rough for both of us. I would consider us to be pretty healthy eaters, but we do LOVE food. Turning into rabbits is hard when you're hardcore meat and dairy eaters. Poor Tim was gung ho about the cleanse on Sunday, but less than twenty-four hours later said, "You know what I miss most...?" No, Tim. What do you miss most after twelve hours of being on our diet? His answer, "Cheese." He subsequently listed all the things you could do with cheese--kind of like the scene in Forest Gump where Bubba informs Forest of all the ways to cook shrimp.

The stir fry turned out to be pretty good even without the salty soy sauce we love so much. We used brown rice (not the speed cooking kind) as the base and then added carrots, cabbage, celery, red bell peppers, sugar snap peas, green onions and broccoli. As seasoning we used some sea salt and fried it in sunflower oil.


We do have some things on our menu coming up that we are excited about, so stay tuned for those! Cross your fingers that we make it that long.


Only six more days until a McDonald's double cheeseburger and greasy French fries...

Caddo Star Cabin

I was commissioned to do a map of a ranch a few months ago out in Caddo Mills, TX. I had never done anything like that before, so I was excited to take on a new challenge that could turn out really neat!

Since the ranch is about 100 acres, there was no way I could have seen everything. I used Google earth to get a general idea of the layout of the land and my husband and I were invited to stay overnight at the vacation cabin. It was a really awesome place! The cabin is absolutely idyllic as a rustic ranch cabin, but it also had the modern conveniences of two flat screen televisions and a basket full of DVD's. We watched the Hugh Jackman version of Les Miserables. I'm not sure if I laughed or cried more. Don't get mad if you love that movie, but seriously, who can be sobbing and still be able to belt out this opera-style song....? I have never been able to do that when I'm beside myself. But that's really not the point...

The Caddo Star Cabin is very cool! As we went on the property tour with the owner, he told us a lot of the upcoming additions they have for ranch itself.

Here are some of the reference photos I took for the map:

Caddo Star Cabin

                                          

The fire pit next to the catfish pond.

My cute husband who carried my drawing pad around so I could make notes.

The loft-soon to be another vacation rental on the property.

Cute little cows next to the catfish pond.

And without further adieu, here are some pictures of the map! It's acrylic paint and ink on watercolor paper. My husband and I put together the frame from an empty wooden frame we bought at a garage sale and two panes of glass we got a Hobby Lobby. The back pane is removable so that as things get added at the ranch, I can add them on the map!

Be sure to check out the Caddo Star Cabin on the Caddo Star Ranch! www.caddostar.com

-Ellen


P.S. I wish I was more dedicated when it comes to blogging, but since I'm not...be sure to "Like" Ellen Van Treuren Artworks on Facebook to stay up-to-date on my projects!