So. I'll bet you didn't realize I'd been conducting an experiment upon my brain. No? Well, since I didn't even realize that till yesterday, I'm not surprised you didn't know.
See, for lots of years I've had either two cups of homemade hot chocolate each day or one cup and then one cup of decaf coffee. Well, two weeks ago I ran out of both baking cocoa and decaf simultaneously(!) so, while waiting for baking cocoa to go on sale, I'd been using some (kinda nasty-tasting) carob powder which Naomi gave us.
Then uh-oh. My most faithful readers will remember that these past two weeks (or four, actually) have been rather awful circumstance-wise for Tom and me. And hey--I've probably just told you half of what's gone on. But I've not written how often I've felt like 'fainting in my head,' you know, like in a biblical sense--
"And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." ... Galations 6:9
You know, thinking, "So what bad thing is gonna happen next around here? Why me? I am sick and tired of things going wrong. When is something good gonna happen--or will it? Blah, blah, blah.
I've asked myself, "Why aren't I handling all this well the way I used to? Why all this floundering around inside my head? Where did I go wrong?"
Well, this will sound stupid, but the answer to that last question? I stopped drinking my daily cups of hot chocolate.
That's where I went wrong. Just the absence of that tad of caffeine was messing my brain up royally. (I can't drink too much coffee lest it give me headaches, but the tad in chocolate helps me. Much.)
And I know, I know! Sounds dumb, but yesterday both Tom and I went to the supermarket (since we couldn't find anything else fun to do--see my last post) and I finally bought some baking cocoa (and cat food, too, but hey, that has nothing to do with this story.). Then at home, a few hours apart, I made two cups of hot chocolate and oh. My. Goodness. The Happy Levels in my head all came up to even, straight-across normal--or above. Just picture your sound control panel on your computer with all the levels raised across the top.
It's like that inside my head now.
And Life is good again. My yard stopped looking huge. My To Do List doesn't feel impossible. No, I feel like I can leap over walls, do whatever God asks and face the hard stuff ahead, too.
Sometimes you've just gotta find what works for you and stick with it, even if it appears to work only for you. Even if other people think it's silly.
As long as it has God's blessing, just do it.
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Rita asked for my hot chocolate recipe, so here you go (all measurements are approximate. Just fiddle around till you find what tastes best for you).
Debra's Hot Chocolate
Into one old-fashioned (smallish by Today's standards) coffee mug add:
1 mounded teaspoon baking cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 drops stevia (optional)
1 - 2 tablespoons flavored creamer
2 - 3 tablespoons milk
Then add enough boiling water to fill the rest of the cup.
Stir, then enjoy (twice a day to keep you happy...heh...).
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Update from 2019:
This is my new recipe for one cup of hot chocolate:
1 mounded tsp. of baking cocoa powder
1/4th tsp. sugar
A few drops of vanilla flavoring
1 tbs. of powdered creamer
1 envelope of Stevia powder
2 tbl.'s (or so) of milk, then add enough boiling water to fill the cup
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I loved your suggestions for fun after my last post! Keep them coming, ok?
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Is this wagon wheel garden cool or what? (Saw it at Facebook this morning.)
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9 comments:
Would you please share your homemade hot chocolate recipe. I'll check around on your blog maybe it's already there. Sounds yummy.
Rita--okay! Great idea. I'll add it to my post. :) ... Debra
I am also a daily hot chocolate drinker! It just isn't a normal day without it. My recipe is similar, but I used powdered milk and boiling water. I haven't had any today, and I NEED it!
nancyr
Mine is chai tea with milk, Debra. Not much caffeine, but I call it an adult security blanket. lol.
I know just what you mean, when I get to feeling in a funk; my first step is always to restore whatever might have gotten slightly out of balance around the homefront.
I drink hot chocolate every day, too. In the morning. Even in the summer. In Houston.
Chocolate Drinkers of the World, Unite with Happy Brains!
We were working toward being prepared for a long time and right now I have 2 containers of baking cocoa powder that I'm sure need to be used. I love hot chocolate.
Thank you for the recipe. :)
I keep the no caffeine coffee-like stuff. Like Postum used to be. It is Roma band. Not real coffee but just enough taste lie it for me. Hubby does not drink ANY coffee...so I never really got into that habit. My bad thing is Dr. Pepper , or any cheap Dr. Pepper taste a like.[cafefine!] My waist line and my pocket book though are objecting so good by pop. Even a can a couple times a week. I am sure I will live without it! :) Our favorite bargain grocery store is closing the end of this month. :( :( Now I am scrambling thinking of what we get we like the price of the the taste of there the best and getting a few things before they close...like their store brand of cocoa! :) I do notice when I have no pop and I get that feeling you talk about so perhaps I need some caffeine too...maybe I should eat some chocolate? I think the cocoa is the best there as have you seen the price of chocolate bars!!!! :) We said good buy to them wayyyy back!! I got chic chips marked down right after Christmas and when I get the craving for a Reeses peanut butter cup I take a few chips and a small spoonful of peanut butter and enjoy. Where there is a will there is a way!! :) :) Thanks for the recipe. I used to make this and need to do it again...soon. Sarah
Oh, I LOVE that wagon wheel garden! It's even better than the pallet garden.
And actually, the pallet garden I saw was flat, not upright like this one:
http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/
Aren't people clever?! I would never think of doing something like that with a pallet. Or a wagon wheel.
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