(a very yummy!) AEDM Day 22

I got DELICIOUSLY creative today! (well, I catually started it yesterday but it became a finished masterpiece this morning!)

But first, I must thank my dear creative friend Koryn  H. for sharing with me what you are about to learn. (and to the original creator  as well!)

And after you try this for yourself, you will be thanking her as well as me for sharing it with you! Unless, that is, you don't like heaven on a spoon.
And if that is so, don't bother reading any further.
(but really, is it possible to NOT like this? AND IF SO, who ARE you anyway, and WHY are we friends?! Nah, no worries, more for ME then! Lol!)

So here we go...
HOMEMADE Dulce de leche!
(in just 17 you-will-laugh-at-how-easy steps!)

You will need:
1 can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
(I use fat free because, well, it's fat free! Which has to be somewhat of a plus considering there is more than enough sugar in it to totally do in my attempt at eating healthy for the day!)

(note: DEF. NOT EVAPORATED MILK...not that you don't know the diff but it could be an honest mistake and personally, I do NOT want to be involved in any way whatsoever with what the end result of using THAT could possibly be!)

& A CROCK POT

that's it.
seriously!
easiest recipe ingredients list ever!

Ok, now for some "cooking" action:

1. REMOVE LABEL FROM CAN
2. SIT CAN IN CROCK POT
3. FILL CROCK POT W/ENOUGH WATER TO COVER CAN

4. PUT LID ON
5. PLUG IN CROCK POT
6. TURN TO LOW SETTING
7. FIGURE OUT WHEN 20 HOURS FROM NOW IS
8. GO DO STUFF FOR 20 HOURS
9. TURN OFF & UNPLUG CROCK POT, REMOVE LID
10. TAKE (hot) CAN OUT (of hot water) W/TONGS
11. TRY TO LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL IT COOLS OFF A LITTLE BIT
12. OPEN CAN & SPOON A BIG BITEFUL INTO YOUR WATERING MOUTH
13.THINK YOU HAVE DIED & GONE TO HEAVEN
14. THANK ME, KORYN & TIKI TIKI BLOG!
15. AFTER YOU RECOVER SUFFICENTLY, GO BACK TO STEP #1 & START OVER TO MAKE ANOTHER CAN BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE THAT YOU (like me) ARE JUST TOO DARN SELFISH TO SHARE THIS ONE!
16. FANCY UP AN EMPTY JAR TO PUT  IT IN
(I used an 8 oz. Classico Pesto jar, which afforded me a big leftover "better test it" bite too!),
17. GIVE AS GIFTS, AND BE FOREVER INFAMOUS FOR YOUR HOMEMADE HEAVEN ON A SPOON!

And did I mention how even more amazing this stuff is

when you dip THESE in it?!

(And, why yes, I actually DO have can #2 cooking right now! Step #15 is MUY importante!)

So, all in all, todays "creation" made for one VERY:

HAPPY (and all sugared up!) ME-LAURIE Z!

P.S. You're welcome! :)

AEDM Day 3!

Today I am going to sort of s*t*r*e*t*c*h  the definition of art a bit...
(no pun intended, as you will soon "get"...!)

For almost 90 minutes this morning, I participated in my very first *"real" yoga class.
With a *"real" teacher, that is...
(ie: *not the cute rubber band man that is Rodney Yee "teaching" me through often garbled 20 yr. old VHS tapes).

I was so excited, having longed to begin a regular yoga practice for years now...
but still had a few niggling fears about trying this class...

First, it was being held at a local rec center...brand new and beautiful inside, but still...not a "real" yoga studio...(yeah, i have some issues with things i consider to be "real" and things i fear to be,well, not as good as the "real" thing, huh?!)
So would it be possible to have the "real yoga studio" ambiance that I had imagined where you "go do" yoga to have?
(which was certainly NOT my living room floor with the liklihood of a dog toy or two being under me or even a dog or three climbing over me at any given moment! Strike 2 for Rodney...!)
(and yes, I DO realize that yoga is something you can "do" pretty much anywhere and is in fact more of a state of mind or way of "being" than "doing", but hey, this was my first "real" time and I wanted it to be like I imagined, truth be told!)

And I had taken a dance class at this rec center a few months ago...which would have been fine because I actually really liked the particular dance and the challenge it presented and the way my body felt doing it and I was really interested in expanding my learning of it...
except that the teacher was better at showing off than she was at teaching...
So I really did NOT want to go through that frustrating experience again-of really enjoying and wanting to learn something but having the teacher be not a very good teacher...which makes me a not very good (or happy or able to learn) student.

I mean, lets face it, my interest in physical activity is rather small & limited, and I did not want to have to put another somewhat rare "longed for" learning on the shelf from disappointment after getting up the nerve to give it a try!
(and yes, i know that there are thousands of bellydancing & yoga classes available. But this particular place happens to be VERY convienient for me-a non-driver-to get to at the particular time the classes are held)

ANYWAY...

YAY!

My teacher, "M" was EXACTLY who/how I hoped she would be!

(When I saw on the course info that she had been teaching ypga "for over 30 years", I must admit I did have a shameful moment of relief that my first "real" teacher would not be some little pretzel young enough to be my daughter. Nothing personal, I just know my trying-new-things-and-hoping-to-not-look & feel-too-much-like-a- too-old-to-be-trying-this-you-big-idiot  limitations.)

Not that I am in terrible shape (for my age), and I do have experience/a history (albiet kinda ancient now) of dance, gymnastics, cheerleading, etc. and have been told that I am "bendy"-ala/to quote Phoebe, my alter-ego/soul sister from "Friends"...but the most bending I do these days is probably during my daily...ok,weekly...ok, monthly doggie doo doo duty.

Anyway..."M" was dressed head to toe in purple, (literally-from a purple scrunchie in her silvery hair to her purple painted toenails), and all of the yoga "extras" she brought for our comfort (and success!), such as blankets, pillows, straps, blocks, etc., were in someshade or design of purple.

I was instantly smitten and in adoration of this woman and her declaration of all of  THIS
 for us!

She greeted & welcomed us, and her voice was a flowing river, washing over the rocks of my soul...and soothing any trepidations I might have had.
(and it helped that the 3 other "students" were a tad older than me!)
(ummm...pretty sure I was in the right place, and not at the Senior Center next door...lol!)

She turned the lights out.

And the soothing music on.

And about 90 minutes later, I left feeling awash with calm and light-on-my-feet and energized and zombie-like, all at once!

I was so calm that I even sort of chuckled at my Phoebe-like move of getting on the wrong second connecting bus to return home and heading back to where I had just come from, so I had to get off at the next stop and wait for the correct bus, which normally would have sent me into panic/you're such a dipshit mode...! (I really do need to start paying better attention to the location shown on the bus marquee, not just the bus number!)

So as it turns out...I can't wait until NEXT Thursday at 10:30 am!

(I might just have to sneak in a little rendezvous with Rodney in the meantime!...now if he only wore purple spandex shorts while sun salutating on that dreamy tropical beach...!)

So that is my "art" for today...

a very:
HAPPY ME-LAURIE Z...
doing
("real")
YOGA!

(oh yeah and here is a photo I took just beyond the bus stop I get off at to head home...
now that is some "real" art...courtesy of Mother Nature! :)

AEDM Day 2!

I got super inspired by something I read this morning in the 30 Days of Goddess e-course I am currently participating in, and decided that this lovely little creative project would be my art for today!

The idea is from Pamela Belding.

And I so adore what she says about making... A MAGIC WAND!

"Letting your light shine is your gift to the world.
Your magic wand is simply a physical representation of it,
a reminder of your power to make a difference.
I make magic wands because I believe
faith in yourself is the strongest magic there is."
(ooooh...shivers of delight and Goddess goosebumps!)

I had no problem finding several sticks which were parts of branches of about 5 trees that were knocked down in our side woods by a recent windstorm, which Jeff & I just worked on cutting & clearing from our yard last weekend...

The stick I chose to become my first magic wand has a slight curve in the end,
and is such a perfect fit in my hand, like it was just made to be a magic wand in its reincarnation!
There is even a small, naturally comfy place for my thumb to press against as I hold it-amazing!

I picked three of my very favorite fun, whimsical, feminine colors to paint on it:
pink because it is just such a happy, fairy-like, girly color!
aqua because it reminds me of my beloved ocean and tropical things!
purple because it is the color of power, royalty and, to me, magic...
(plus matching glitter paint, of course, because glitter makes all things magical!)

I dug through my many boxes, bins & bowls of assorted "stuff" to decorate it with
(and in the process, discovered a hand full of trinkets I already know that I want to use in creating my next wand...and the next, and next...!)
And the perfect adornments appeared to assist my wand in its conjuring...

Then I found just the right fibers to hang from it too, in luxurious materials and matching colors...

I listened to Enya as I worked (played!) in transforming the stick (already a magical artwork of nature, if you ask me!) into my magic wand...


And so, without further adieu, here is my very own, hand, heart, imagination (and Mother Nature)
created magic wand...

(You may notice in the photo that I left the end of the wand where my hand holds it unpainted...i liked the idea of being better connected, skin to bark, to the magic of nature without a layer of paint between the energy)



and a closer look at the adornments...

Now...what kind of wonderfulness should I conjure up first...?!
(did i mention that i can see myself creating a whole forest full of these?!)

Making this today magically created a very:
Happy Me-Laurie Z!

AEDM!

So...as if I don't already have tons 'o fun stuff going on to keep me busy
(and happy!), I came across an invitation to join the Art Every Day Month challenge, at:
http://creativeeveryday.com/

So, thinking that I could use a little creative inspiration push shove, I signed up, and today is the first day of the challenge to create art in some way every day through the month of November.

To me, art can be as "simple" as making a delicious meal, snapping a pretty picture, writing a thoughtful letter, making a unique fashion statement, or gathering a fresh boquet of flowers from your yard...OR as "elaborate" as painting a mural, knitting a scarf, sketching in nature, puting on a play or writing a blog! (well, not THIS blog, but you get what I mean!) ;)
I believe that the possibilities which define art are vast and limited only by imagination!

For this first day of the challenge, I completed a mixed media piece which I had gathered the materials for some months ago, and then left it to collect dust on my art desk since then...!
The photo I used in this piece is one of my favorite images of the relatively few of people that I have ever taken...
if you've ever seen much of my work, you know that I rarely take photographs of people...unless it is from far away/unobstrusive/rather "sneakily"....other than of my 2 yr. old grandson, of course, whom I cannot get close enough to or enough pictures of! (or my dogs, who are also are just so naturally cute and goofy!)
But generally speaking, I just don't do people. Just one of my artistic weirdnesses I suppose...living things just have too much going on for me to feel like I can even attempt to capture who they are.
So due to the fact that this image really speaks to me, with it's feelings of exhuberance, energy, light, motion and joy, likely because those are almost always the feelings I have when I am near the ocean, as this little girl was,
I felt a need to honor it by using it in a special way...

I'm not yet completely convinced that I "love" it, or that it turned out exactly as I had envisioned...but I AM pretty pleased that I actually/finally completed it AND that I managed to be successful with day one of the AEDM challenge! (only 29 more to go!)

And all of that makes for one
HAPPY ME-LAURIE Z!