Warm Vanilla Cream

I'm not a big fan of chocolate, but vanilla? Ahhhhhh, I confess it is my weakness. I've always been envious of the pleasure I see on the faces of chocolate lovers as they sip cups of hot cocoa each winter. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the Starbucks menu included a tasty concoction called Warm Vanilla Cream. Sadly, the item was dropped from the menu. Undeterred, I have experimented and developed my own version, which I dare to say is even better than the Starbucks version. Top it off with a few mini-marshmallows for a tasty winter treat. I think a jar of the mix would make a great gift to the vanilla lover in your life.

Beth’s Warm Vanilla Cream Mix 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder 1 1/2 cups Splenda 1 cup non-fat dairy coffee creamer 1 1/2 cup non-fat French Vanilla coffee creamer 1 (lg pkg that makes 6.5 cups) package instant vanilla pudding (sugar-free and fat-free) Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. If a finer consistency is desired, you can run the mix through a blender or food processor. Store mix in an airtight container. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on your consistency preference) of the mix to an 8 ounce mug of boiling water.

Time for the Soul

Sunday mornings are a special, sacred time to me. Over the past few weeks I've developed the habit of watching Super Soul Sunday on the new OWN network. This morning as I watched, I experimented with the new tangelation "Bridgen" that was recently developed by Carole Ohl's better half Daved. It wasn't just the process of Bridgen that intrigued me, but also the quote and thoughts that Carole shares in the blog entry: [Carole] called to mind something Rick Roberts had said during the recent CZT seminar: "To pay attention to what is NOT there: the open space." Very often it is the stillness and not doing, that brings us to see the next step to take. Being present in the midst of that stillness, now that is where and how we connect with our soul and discover the next step to take on our life journey.

Letter Lab

This week I've been working in the lab...The Letter Lab that is. This workshop created by Lori Vliegen of Elvie Studio is a great way to polish your cursive writing skills and learn a few techniques to enhance lettering in art journals and other creative projects. This is a recent bit of practice that combines Zenspiration with cursive lettering.

Pinterest

I've been collecting gobs of doodles on one of my Pinterest Boards. Stop by and check out the collection. Some of them are Zentangle related, many others are not. I hope you find some inspiration in this ever-growing collection.