Life Plan

Today I drew with watercolor pens and added some metallic watercolor to the background. We can say that this is a “mixed media” drawing. I had fun just playing with the materials and the beautiful colors of the Magdalene.

I have a binder where I wrote my dream life. It’s very simple. I am in my studio-house in Puerto Rico: La Casita de la Pintora de la Magdalena (The Little House of the Magdalene Painter).

Pink among green! I look forward to going back soon.

I wake up to the beautiful light of the dawn. I am outside early, enjoying the green and the sky. I paint all morning and cook a nice meal. I continue working. I have a siesta. I spend time with family and friends in the evenings. I invite interesting and interested people to join a tertulia where we share arts, thoughts and laughter… The plan is extremely detailed, but that’s a little summary of the vision.

In between that vision and this reality, I have also been dreaming of the possibility of living in Malaga, Spain for a year or 6 months, mostly because my mother wants to go live in her favorite city, but also because it would be wonderful!

In the meantime, on weekends and especially on Sundays, or whenever I have the chance, I practice how to live my dream life. Today I was able to do most of the actions I want to integrate into that life. I spent as much time as possible in my studio and worked on different art projects including today’s drawing (Art Every Day) and cooked a delicious pumpkin soup (Food and Nutrition). I meditated with Mary Magdalene (Meditation and Prayer). I called friends and family (Gather the Tribe). I will do a little stretching before going to sleep (Exercise and Flexibility). So far I may only have missed Business Dream Into Reality, but I might still work on the book I am creating. I also did my laundry, because life is normal life too!

At the beginning of the year, I did a lot of thinking about what’s important to me, and those categories emerged as guiding principles on the road to a vision and life plan. I imagine everyone has different categories they want to cultivate. What I did was look at all the little goals and thoughts I had written in my notebooks for the last year, and found out the larger themes that could give me a template to follow from within my own mind. Then I wrote a list in the best handwriting I would that day. Now I look at the list every day, and think of what actions fit into each category and what actions are missing to complete a perfect day. It’s a very handy list!

Life can be transformed, and all we need is a plan. My plan is to continue painting Mary Magdalene, drawing my prayers, creating beautiful gifts, and writing every day as an action of commitment to the process, building a new structure that will support my future life.

I invite you to think of what are the major categories for you. If you are inspired, share them in the comments. Thank you for your company along this path.

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Orange is yellow plus red, the colors I use to paint Mary Magdalene. For this purely aesthetic reason, I consider the soup I made today a Magdalenic food so I’m sharing the recipe here. Sorry, no picture because… I ate it (the soup, not the picture!)😁❤️

Magdalenic Pumpkin Soup

2 onions

1 head of garlic

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Paprika, 1 teaspoon

Shrimp (5 per person, optional)

Pumpkin (one large piece)

Virgin olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons or so

Cilantro

Cream (Optional)

1. Chop garlic and onion.

2. Sauté in olive oil and season.

3. Sauté the shrimp for a couple of minutes.

4. Set the shrimp aside.

5. Add the chopped pumpkin to the sautéed onion and garlic.

6. Add 2 cups of water and let it boil.

7. Remove the skin from the pumpkin as it cooks.

8. Cook until everything softens well.

9. Stir occasionally.

10. Add a few sprigs of cilantro.

11. Cook longer and add more water if necessary.

12. Blend.

13. Add a little heavy cream. (Optional)

14. Finish seasoning.

Serve and place the shrimp on top of the soup.

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Sopa Magdalénica de Calabaza

2 cebollas

1 cabeza de ajo

Sal a gusto

Pimienta a gusto

Pimentón, 1 cucharadita

Camarones (5 por persona, opcional)

Calabaza (un pedazo grande)

Aceite de oliva virgen, 2-3 cucharadas más o menos

Cilantro

Crema (Opcional)

1. Picar ajo y cebolla.

2. Sofreír en el aceite de oliva y sazonar.

3. Sofreír los camarones por un par de minutos.

4. Sacar aparte los camarones.

5. Echar la calabaza picada a la cebolla y ajo sofritos.

6. Echar 2 tazas de agua y dejar hervir.

7. Remover la cáscara de la calabaza a la vez que se vaya cocinando.

8. Cocinar hasta que todo se ablande bien.

9. Mezclar de vez en cuando.

10. Echar unas ramitas de cilantro.

11. Cocinar más y poner más agua si es necesario.

12. Licuar.

13. Echar crema. (Opcional)

14. Terminar de sazonar.

15. Servir y colocar los camarones sobre la sopa.