Artist Madrid, Naturally

WOW! And today is Mr. Madrid’s & My 8 Month Anniversary! I feel like I’ve been married much longer than eight months but not in a bad way lol Mr. Madrid and I make a good team and keep each other laughing. Speaking of teamwork, it’s time for a 5K training update: I found this website that makes it easy to map out walking/jogging routes. It allows you to calculate the distance in miles or kilometers. Below is a sample walking route I made that follows the path I take when I take a walk on my lunch break. This route is 0.62 miles which is practically 1 km. Last week, I was able to walk this in 16.89 minutes. I wasn’t pushing myself and took my time. If it had been a 5K and I was able to keep that pace the whole way, it would have taken me 85 minutes to finish. According to verywellfit.com you can walk a 5K within about 45 to 90 minutes depending on your pace. So my focus is to build-up endurance (to walk longer) and speed. The weather is warming up so my intention is ...

While visiting my gastroenterologist at the end of January, he recommended increasing my fiber to combat my IBS symptoms. In order to avoid the side effects of upping my fiber intake too quickly, he suggested eating one bowl of a high fiber cereal each day. I decided to go with Kashi GO LEAN Honey Almond Flax Crunch cereal which packs a whopping 8 grams of fiber per serving. I’d enjoy it with unsweetened almond milk and a tbsp of local honey*. However, going back gluten-free definitely threw a wrench into my routine.   At first I thought it was impossible. I mean the term gluten-free high-fiber cereal is sort of an oxymoron. But my plucky determination carried me all the way to my local grocery store’s cereal aisle. In a coffee mug for on-the-go ease Every high fiber cereal listed wheat within the first 3 ingredients. I was about to settle on plain Original Cheerios (3 grams of fiber per serving) when I stumbled upon the Organic/Healthy food aisle. T...

Happy Monday! I have been gluten-free for a week and I am making it work. Improvements: I only had one IBS episode last week (compared to my recent norm of three per week)! So needless to say, I am looking forward to the continued benefits. Now, I’ve been back for a week and a half now and I’ve yet to mention anything about… MY HAIR! LeLola is doing well, thick and rebellious as ever =) Last friday was Wash Day. My conditioner of choice right now is Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner with Peppermint and Eucalyptus. It combats dry hair and scalp while leaving my hair smell deliciously fresh. I use it has a regular conditioner but also as a leave-in and it is a key ingredient in my home-made Refresher Creme recipe. I also had the treat of ShakaLynn coming over and actually doing my hair for me. She went with the cute corn-row up-do pictured below. I’m keeping this style looking like new by using foam flexi-rods and wrapping it up with a silk scarf at night. H...

The meal was served Family-Style I wanted to share a special meal I made a few weeks ago for a friend. She has a lot of food allergies and sensitivities but has found that following the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)  has drastically decreased her symptoms. AIP is not only gluten-free but also grain-free (wheat, corn, rice, and oats), free of nightshades, dairy-free, nut-free, processed sugar-free and there are some other no-no’s. I definitely know what it feels like to go out to eat with friends and not be able to eat some of everything. So I wanted to cook an entire meal where nothing was off limits for her. Sounds challenging? Well, Yes! But it actually ended up opening my mind to new flavor combinations and it was a lot of fun. I felt like I was on a cooking show. I started off searching for Paleo base recipes. Base recipes are life-savers when cooking for someone with food allergies because you are not reinventing the wheel. In this case Paleo recipes were a good choic...

"The Art of Losing" Loss. It comes in so many ways. A loved one, your mind, the game. Most people focus on the negative aspects of loss. But not all loss is horrible... Loss of weight, loss of a fear, loss of bad habits. Those are all good losses. What about the bad, you ask? Well when you lose the game, you still have learned an important lesson on strategy. When you've lost your mind, you are so low you can't fall any farther, so why not be brave? When you've lost someone you love because of whatever reason, are they really lost? You'll see them again. And in the meantime, when things become overwhelming and you feel if only that person were near everything would be better: Close your eyes, take a deep breathe and remember the person is never really gone. They've told, taught you so much and you may not think you were listening or that you've forgotten but you haven't. It's still there, they helped make you you. They love you and don't wa...

Hello Everyone, I updated my About Me  page today by adding my answers to random questions provided by Conversationstartersworld.com . So check out my answers and then post some of your answers below ↓ Can't wait to read your comments :) -AM

You may have noticed that Artist Madrid, Naturally got a face-lift yesterday. I guess I figured I am more mature and wiser now than when I first started this blog over 5 years ago. So my blog got a little update to go with the new AM. In other news... This past Saturday morning I was riding around town with Mr. Madrid and we happened upon the clean-up stage of a 5k. Hubby was intrigued so I shared my knowledge and past experience with participating in one. It was an amazing experience and training for that really kick-started my fitness routine . I mused out loud that I should probably plan on signing up for another one so I would have motivation to get active again. He asked if you had to run the whole way. I laughed and said of course not, I walked parts and jogged at times. So he proceeds to say: "Sounds fun. We can do one together." Once I picked my bottom lip off the floor, I googled the upcoming date of the same race I did in 2013. And Voilà... Mr. & Mrs. Madrid ...

Happy Gluten- Free Monday! Day One of No Gluten: I was curious so did some research about how long it would take for my body to be completely gluten-free. Apparently this question doesn’t have a definitive answer because even after the gluten has left my body, I will continue to experience the negative effects of exposure for some time. I should mention I have Non-celiac gluten sensitivity but the effects are still serious. *↓TMI WARNING↓* I have had continuous symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome since back on the gluten train. In December, I also started having blood in my stool along with serve abdominal cramping. Two visits to my primary care physician resulted in  a X-ray and a CAT scan. The they only thing they could see wrong was I was severely constipated. I was directed to eat more fiber, increase my water intake, prescribed stool softeners (the gentle kind) and was referred to my gynecologist (I did end up having a concurrent uterine infection). Once I fin...

Hey! I’m not sure if you could tell from the picture I posted on Wednesday but marriage definitely agrees with me. Unfortunately, you know what can happen when you are content. The days between trips to the gym began to increase and waistlines start to expand and you start to eat gluten again… Well okay maybe that last one is just me. Yes! I have been back on the gluten train for the past 8 months and I have paid for it dearly (but that is a story for another post). Today, my friends, I need to get my accountability back because Mr. Madrid is either too in love or too afraid to make my gaining an unhealthy amount of weight an issue. And frankly, if it was possible for me to be *obese and still be healthy then I wouldn’t make an issue of it either. I would just roll around from place to place like the giant panda bears tend to do.   Anyways as I was saying: Today I get my accountability back by posting my intentions on this blog. So here we go with the inspirational music...

It has always been my goal to encourage others, whether by my story or sharing someone else’s. But in order to inspire, I feel you have to be totally honest about the lows to truly appreciate the highs. In the past, I’ve talked about some of my health issues but I never really delved into my anxiety and depression. Figuring out which came first has been a “Chicken & Egg” discussion among my mental health team for years. My psychologist told me the anxiety triggered the depression. My psychiatrist (at the time) felt my depression medications were the cause of my rampant anxiety. But one thing was agreed on: my frequent shifts between anxiety and depression mimic the symptoms of someone with bipolar disorder. So I spend most of my time strapped to a continuous emotional roller coaster. Wintertime proves to be the worst for my depression for several reasons (cold weather, increased fibromyalgia pain, lack of vitamin D   etc.) but I always hold out for the next season. Spring...

Hey Y'all! Did you miss me? I've missed you guys! So much has happened over the last 2 YEARS... I mean aside from me trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for longest "Ghost" period ever :) No but really... Right after my last post here, I met a guy and one thing lead to another AND we got married on August 26, 2017!!! (Mr. Madrid is pictured below) I have also moved twice, changed careers, traveled a bunch of places, and so much more I can't wait to discuss in future posts. But for now, I will leave you with a photo of us on our wedding day :)