I've been tagged by my Fine Art Friend, Rose.
FIVE RANDOM OR WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME
The other day I was craving chocolate really bad. Since I'm on a diet and can't have any, I decided to make this wonderful cake for the kids. The chocolate smell was heavenly and I did take a couple of finger licks. That's all, honest!
You can watch the video to make this cake here. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake video
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
From America’s Test Kitchen
Coffee Mixture
1 cup coffee
½ cup water
Mix together. Set aside.
Chocolate Sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup cocoa
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
Slowly melt together in a bowl over 1 cup of boiling water. Set aside to cool.
Sugar Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
Mix sugary topping together. Set aside.
Flour Mixture
¾ cup flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
Mix together. Set aside.
Batter
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
Mix together. Add cooled chocolate sauce. Add flour and baking powder. Pour into greased 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle sugary topping over batter. Gently pour coffee mixture over top of sprinkles.
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool for 20-25 minutes before serving.
I am excited. The Flylady and Friends is coming to my area the second weekend of February! I have two other committments on one of the days, so I'm hoping I can take off work on Friday to check them out. If you aren't familiar with Flylady, she's awesome! She takes boring household chores and makes them fun. Or as much fun as they can be. LOL
In the midst of my cold, I am trying a 10-day cleanse from Jordin Rubin's book, Perfect Weight America. I desperately need to lose some poundage, so I thought this would be a good start to a healthier body. What's great is that the food is a wonderful tasting homeade chicken soup. Best thing for a cold, in my opinion. This is day 2 of the cleanse. I lost two pounds yesterday. YAY!
I posted twice today, so make sure you read "Discovering a Sense of Boundaries." This is part one of a two or three part series.
Have a wonderful day!
My brain is fuzzy....I have a cold. So if something doesn't make sense here, ask away.
Week 6 - Discovering a Sense of Boundaries
Containment
As artists we must learn to keep our projects to ourselves. Sharing them with others can be hurtful. Julia Cameron says, “Talk uses creative power. Talk dilutes our feelings and passions. Not always, but usually. It is only talk with the right person and at the right time that is useful.”
An example: The commerce world of art asks us to “’write a quick proposal.’ The energy that belonged in the making of the project is wasted and diffused by the ‘selling’ of an idea that wasn’t yet in solid form.” They don’t realize that a project takes time to develop creatively. Have you ever had those moments where you don’t want to draw or paint because the “mood” isn’t there?
If someone offers to “help” you with a project, make sure that is at the right time and that it will be helpful to you. “One way to put it is: ‘Do they really know more about what I am doing than I do?’”
If you have a project that needs rescued, answer these helpful questions that Julia Cameron has people ask to themselves.
1. Have you ever spoiled a creative project by indiscriminate input too early?
2. What was the project?
3. What was the input?
4. What about that input especially confused or threw you?
5. How long did it take you to realize what had happened to you and your project?
6. Have you looked at the project again?
7. Can you commit to looking at the project again?
8. Choose a friend to whom you can commit that you will reexamine your project.
9. Reexamine your project. (Do this process as gently as you can.)
10.Call your friend and debrief your findings.
I'm here, really I am. My parents came for a few day visit, so I've been busy with them. I also started painting a mural for the children's area at our church. When I am done, I will post pictures. Most of the drawing plans came from a kit and others were freehand. I'm having fun with it. So, if you don't hear from me in a while, not to worry.
Energy Debts
Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. ~ Lord Chesterfield
My mother used to always tell me, “If you are going to do something, do it right the first time.” I guess that is where my perfectionism came from. I hate doing a painting twice. I think I better get it right the first time, so it takes me forever to get it done.
As artists, we tend to be generous people; we don’t know when to say no. We need to learn what our true selves need and say no more often. We must feed our inner self so we will have a sense of well-being.
Julia Cameron says, “As people and as artists, we crave to be seen for who and what we really are. If we are in relationships where the dividends we need are never extended back to us, that is a bad investment….We must ask not only ‘Do I love this person?’ but ‘Is this relationship self-loving?’ Any relationship that risks your artist’s identity is not.”
Stay away from those who are needy, who think you are at their beck and call. They drain you physically and mentally. When it is time for us to create, there is nothing there…every creative thing has been drained from our being. I've been a victim to this and find it very true.
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. ~ William James
This doesn’t mean to stop being nice altogether. It means to know what things you can physically do for someone without draining your creative bucket. The other person needs to acknowledge you for who you are and what you are doing for them. Sometimes we are the one who needs nurtured instead of us always being the one who is nurturing.
Sometimes when I’ve been so busy helping others and not making room for art, I get grouchy. Not just a little grouchy, a lot grouchy. I begin to resent the people I love and the people I’m helping. I think that is true for a lot of us.
Julia states, “When we learn to set boundaries, we begin to experience a sense of faith. Why? Because we feel safe.” I love to feel safe, don't you?
Every exit is an entry somewhere else. ~ Tom Stoppard
I am experiencing an exit in my life right now....an exit from a job I've had for 15 yrs. It is definately scary and a choice I made on my own to quit. I'm excited to see what the entry to somewhere else will be!
You all are wonderful!
Items in quotations come directly from Walking in This World author, Julia Cameron
Week 5 - Discovering a Sense of Personal Territory (Part 1 of 2)
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery
“Festivity breeds creativity. Rigidity breeds despair. Creativity responds to nourishment and warmth. If we are forbidden to be childlike – to perhaps that it is “childish” or “selfish” – if we are urged to be too sensible, we react as gifted students to an authoritarian teacher – we refuse to learn and grow. Our considerable energy is channeled into resistance and over time solidifies into a hard-to-penetrate shell of feigned indifference.” Have you ever had this happen in your life? I have, many, many, times. I just give up and quit the fight. My poor children – I’m teaching them the same values, to be sensible, act grown-up instead of being spontaneous, joyful, full of life. I truly hope that I can teach them to be festive in this life.
Stop Being “Nice,” Be Honest
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you. ~ Lao-Tzu
“Value systems are as individual as fingerprints. Each of us has a set of priorities that may be baffling to others but absolutely necessary to ourselves. Violating our true selves, we soon feel worthless and undeserving. This in turn prevents our acting on our own behalf, and so we suffer further.” I have been dealing with this very thing over the past week. My actions have baffled people but they are my true self. I’m tired of living up to others’ expectations of me.
“When we are too nice for too long, we stop being nice at all.” Exactly. When we hide our true feelings by being “Mister Nice Guy”, it all comes back to haunt us in the form of negativity. Our negativity and stewing hinders our creativity. We aren’t free to truly express ourselves.
We must train ourselves, yes train, to know what keeps us from our creativity. Once we know what is keeping us from creating, we must let go of it. People might not view this as being nice, as being selfish, but at least we are learning to be honest.
“When we stop playing God, God can play through us.” I love this quote. So true.
Knowing what you can not do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that’s good taste. ~ Lucille Ball
“People do not mean us harm, but they do harm us when they ask for more than we can give. When we go ahead and give it to them, we are harming ourselves as well.”
“It is never too late to start over. It is never past the point of no return for our artist to recover. We can heap years, decades, a lifetime of insult upon our artist and it is so resilient, so powerful, and so stubborn that it will come back to life when we give it the smallest opportunity.” I think this applies to everyone, not just artists. It is never too late to start a new lease on life.
