Confession #26 - Hot Chocolate

Ah..... chocolate beverages.

What could be better?

Nothing.

And you know it.

Sweet, delicious chocolate milk.

My favorite.

But next to chocolate milk...

Confession: Hot Chocolate is the best beverage ever.

All it takes is a tiny steaming cup of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, and maybe some chocolate sauce, and you have dessert in a cup.

You don't need a lot of it,

it always tastes amazing,

there are plenty of varieties out there,

and it's good for you.

Who could hate this cup of pure happiness?

It's like drinking a rainbow.

Okay, maybe I was making up the part about it being good for you.

Naw, it's good for you.

:o)

What a nice treat!

It's officially winter.

So it's probably time to start having some hot chocolate.

You know, looking at these pictures, I know that you want to have some hot chocolate now.

If you're interested in making some from scratch, here's a recipe:

HOT CHOCOLATE from SCRATCH

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup white sugar

A pinch of salt

1/3 cup boiling water

3 1/2 cups of milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1: Combine cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.

2: Blend in boiling water. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes.

3: Stir in milk and heat until hot, but keeping it below a boil.

4: Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.

5: Serve with a smile.

ENJOY!

Confession #16 - Bella Ella

Confession: I love having a girly girl.

My sweet little princess Eleanor.

I love her SO much.

Her pretty blonde curls, big blue eyes, she is the baby doll I played with as a little girl.

She cracks me up.

She's shy.

She's bossy.

She's smart.

She has attitude.

She loves her brother, Logan and wants to be just exactly like him,

only - Eleanor is competitive.

She also loves chocolate,

pink,

all things ruffles and lace,

shiny things,

jewelry,

diamonds,

makeup,

hair bows,

accessories,

dresses,

high heels,

pretty flowers,

puppies,

kitties,

babies,

and pretending to be a Mama.

She is my girly girl, and I love having a girly girl!!!

Because I love all those things too.

And, of course, her majesty is always getting her way.

Spoiled.

Love love love that girly girl.

Best Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting EVER!

Today, I made a cake. (Since it is Mother's Day weekend, and I love a good chocolate cake)

Suddenly, as the cake was baking, I realized I did not have the ingredients I needed to make a good chocolate frosting.

Sigh.

WELL what I did have was a few ingredients, which when combined, made the best tasting chocolate cream cheese frosting ever. No recipe! Well, MY recipe!!!

Not only do I feel like I am, indeed, a genius, but, I feel like I have to share. To see if it's really any good.

Trisha's Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 8oz brick of cream cheese, softened

4 cups powdered icing sugar

2 1oz squares of unsweetened baker's chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth.

2. Slowly add icing sugar, one cup at a time, beating thoroughly.

3. Add melted chocolate while mixing.

4. Ta-da!

Delicious. Also healthier than making it with a bunch of butter and crisco. Which is nice.

THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY

Okay, so this is really just about a few things that drive me crazy, not all of them.

I don't know if I have the breath in my soul to convince you of all the things that drive me crazy...

When my husband thinks he is helping, but is actually hindering, and I can't tell him he is hindering any process because then he will never help again and that means I will forever be enduring his hindering.

People who ride the bumper of my car and flip me off, while my "Baby on Board" sign hangs in the back, and you can clearly see the toys hanging from the car seat of my infant, next to my toddler in the back.

When said bumper rider then speeds around and cuts me off, slams on brakes, ends up at the same light as me, etc etc. What I wouldn't do for a flat tire on their car!!! Kharma, anyone??

People who walk in stores like they drive - right behind you, huffing about how slow you're going, making comments like you can't hear them. People who hit you with their cart because you're going too slow for them.
People who cut you off in a merge lane or an exit lane - I'm sorry, I wasn't exiting fast enough for you?! The ramp says 30 and I'm going 40, but you HAVE to be ahead of me going 50 or 60?

People who talk about you like you can't hear - I took my son to the quarterly trip to McDonald's, and a group of teenagers sits in the area next to us, and starts talking about toddlers and babies (I'm sitting right there) and was saying how gross they are, and how they're so messy, and look at those babies over there, and blah blah.

Shut your pre-pubescent mouths, you little identity-challenged brats! (Ok, maybe I'm overreacting)

Ok, so I'm not much older than them, but still. GROW UP, or shut your mouth. Pick one.

People who let their children do anything, anywhere, even if it's in someone else's home, or going to damage someone else's belongings. This entails a trip to Walmart, where someone has let their child push the cart, and they aren't watching, and their child rams into me, or my cart. Also, when they let their child run crazy through the store and they run into me or my cart, or right in front of me and just stand there. Also, this is when someone lets their child - at church, in the store, etc - come up and take my child's snack and start eating it.
What is up with that?
Most parents are watching, and most are appalled when I remove the snack from their child's hand and tell them NO, that is his snack. I don't let my children eat out of whereever! Why would you? I also did not come to feed the neighborhood! Your kid is hungry = bring snacks.

People who let their kids play with toys in the store, all through the store - teething babies who chew on the toy, little kids who are banging it on the cart - and then they put down the toy back in the store before they leave. You are going to drool up a toy, or dirty it, or break it, buy it!!! I know it's a novel concept, but maybe you should purchase something first! I don't go into someone's home and break things because I don't have to take them out with me afterwards! I don't shoplift!

People who don't put their carts back in the cart corrals. I make my babies come with me to return the cart - rain, sleet, snow - it's going back there, and it's going to teach my children to respect and to be responsible. And to not be lazy. I won't leave them in the car, so they come with me - instead of leaving the cart close to the car, in the guy's parking spot next to me or up by the nose end of the car. It takes five seconds, and my three year old thinks it's fun. Where's the negative side here?

Bugs. All bugs everywhere, ever. They are just disgusting. I don't care if spiders get rid of other bugs, they are the worst. I don't care if they help the planet thrive. They are gross.

Mean kids. Mean, rude, inconsiderate kids. Although I more pity them, and loathe the parents.

Parents who act like their children are so much better than yours, but they have super bratty kids who are spoiled.... I hate that! I know you are proud of your child. Bless your heart. I understand. But for peter's sake, you don't need to be boasting about how awesome your child is while in the background he is pulling books off the shelf and hitting my child with them. Seriously.

Dogs who stick their nose in your private areas.

Dogs who jump on you - with dirty feet, and if they're tiny scratchy dogs. One big jump from a big, cuddly friendly dog is fine with me. And I don't really like dogs, so that's saying something.

Cats who scratch you out of nowhere. What the heck, guy, I was just petting you and now you have your claws in my arm and you're trying to sink your fangy little teeth into my knuckle. See if I touch you again. Ever.

Poop. I hate poop. You hate to admit it, but seriously your life is about poop. Everyone's is. What you're going to make into poop, how it's going to end up...

and especially as a mom, I feel like everything in my life is worry about how everyone is pooping. And what it looks like. I SO hate poop.

Dora the Explorer. I wasn't going to go there, but I have to. Children's television is going downhill, and I know there are a lot of horrible tv shows out there, and really I have to say that Dora is a lot better than a lot of shows out there, but I .... I can't bring myself to listen to her voice without wanting to hit someone. Seriously. The - most - annoying - voice - ever.

Movies about zombies. Let it die, people, let it die.

This media obsession with vampires lately - movies, books, tv shows. Caaaaalm down, people.

You on a Diet - I'm reading it, and right now I can't decide if I'm mad at it, or grateful for it. It tells me something that makes me feel guilty, then something that makes me feel educated, then something that makes me feel inspired, and then the chapter always ends with "and in this book we will teach you..." but I'm already halfway through the book. I'm pretty sure the first 90% of the book is their way of trying to encourage you, by slurring together a hodge podge of motivational bad puns and examples, a lot of cartoony art, some severely scientific evidence on how things work, and then the last chapter has to be where the "Ok seriously, just do this" is at. Because honestly people.... get to the point.
(I'll let you know how this book turns out)
In the meantime, I have managed to stave off the insanity while reading this book while eating a few handfuls of chocolate chips at the same time. That usually does the trick.

The guts in a tomato. Way to ruin the tomato, guts! Bleh bleh bleh get it off my tongue.

Burnt orange colors in sweater form. NO, that's a BAD SWEATER. BAD.

Rants about things that drive me crazy. Oh wait.

Ok that means I'm done. I really really am done. Honestly.

(The wo-mullet... seriously. Why does every woman on Cops have a mullet? The woman mullet? You know what I'm talking about. What hairstylist out there honestly gives that haircut to someone and feels good about themselves? Do you feel like you've done your job? Letting them go into public like that? Way to go. Pathetic.)

Oi

Sheeew.

Well I'm grateful my husband and I (who knows for how long) are still employed. I'm hearing so many horrible stories - and all the men in my husband's family have lost their jobs. Terrible! My hubby's been working from home, since their company went into bankruptcy and they booted them out of their office space, which is a blessing.......

....aaaand kindof annoying.

LOL

Seriously. I had a routine. I had my things I did, my children had routine, and now.... it's totally tossed to the wind! It doesn't help that when my husband is home I'm used to relaxing a little - I ususally do all my "duties" during the day, and when he comes home from work we do nothing together instead of him doing nothing because he's been at work all day, and me putting around and then we never see each other. But now that he's home... I found myself, for a couple of days, just ... PLLTHHTHTHBBT - sitting on the couch. Ugh. So finally, I know it's like a child, but I made myself a chore chart.

Ha ha ha - yes, yes, a chore chart.

Every day I walk over, see what I have to get done, check it off as I go, and I don't feel like "aah I'll never get all the things done I need to!!!" anymore. Instead, I get done what I have to that day, and things like sweeping get done once in a while, instead of never, because I'm never thinking about it. It's awesome - and oddly, I'm doing more than I ever have, but I don't actually work all day long at it. I'm usually done my list by noon (or later, if it's a laundry day) and then I can spend the rest of the day to my liking - crafting with Logan, scrapbooking online, taking up an old project I should have finished... OR if I'm really ambitious I'll do something off of tomorrow's "to-do" chore list. I have no regrets for having made a chore chart.

Even though it's kindof childish.
It's working.

Logan also has a chore chart.

That is not working. LOL

So part of my spare-time projects is to scan my scrapbook box into the computer, to save space. By "scrapbook box", I mean - when we first moved into this apartment, I went through allllll my craft boxes and put all the things I held onto (every picture, sticker, doo-dad, memento) into one medium-sized Home Depot moving box.

That is one big box.

But - I want to scan it (not only to remove it from next to my desk here) because I know I'll never have the time to sit down and scrapbook everything I want to. I haven't even done our wedding photos yet. Seriously. PLUS, scrapbooking the old-fashioned way is expensive!!! You have to buy the paper, the stickers, the brads and embellishments, ribbon, die cuts, maybe even the machines to cut things for you, fancy scissors, stamps, etc etc... it's exhausting!!! At the end of it, one page cost you like $30 to produce!

My solution? I started using Heritage Makers ( http://www.heritagemakers.com/347499 ) to scrapbook everything. They have a gigantor database of stickers, brads, and embellishments to add to your digital page, and you use this through their website... it's amazing. It's like scrapbooking for real, because of how free it is and what freedom you have to do what you want on the page in terms of where things go and what color you want and how you want them to lay, except you are saving a TONNNN of money on supplies, plus you have a searchable database for your embellishments instead of - oh, say - a shoebox filled with doo-dads all jumbled up together, or ribbon all tangled together. I love love love it.

Especially since you order your book, and it comes sewn and bound like a professional book, and it is such high amazing quality, and the images are superb (looks like real flowers and ribbon on your page, or like you actually have sewn a label on) and - get this... - IT LAYS FLAT!!!!! Yes! No more 15" binder for a 1" story. Ha ha ha!

I also joke to my husband that I won't have to fight myself on saving my family or saving my scrapbooks with this - because they are in the database of Heritage Makers, so if something happens to your computer or your home, the scrapbook is safe. And you can just order another one. Which is awesome.

WELL now that I'm done talking about scrapbooking! I'm going to go eat some chocolate, and concern myself with how I'm going to lose my baby weight... from my first baby... by summer.

Adios!

MY Cakes

Since I still have yet to discover if I can create a photo album on this site, I will just post this - the pictures themselves!



"Logan's 1st Birthday" - January 9th, 2007

We did a sports theme - so I made his cake to look like a baseball, and a bigger cake for the rest of us. These cakes was chocolate, with buttercream frosting.







"My First Wedding Cake" - February 2007

I did this cake for the receptionist that worked in my husband's office! This cake was chocolate with buttercream frosting.





"7-7-7 Cake" - July 7th, 2007

I did this cake for the boss that worked in my husband's office - she wanted a poker table groomscake, and a 7 tier wedding cake. We nicknamed her wedding cake "The Dr. Seuss Cake" because of how extremely whimsical it was. The Groom's Cake is chocolate with buttercream frosting and fondant, with fondant cards and chips. The wedding cake is white with buttercream and fondant.







"Keeley & Nate Anniversary Cake" - August 2007

My best friend Keeley and her husband Nate's cake. This was a red velvet cake with buttercream and fondant, with fondant and hand painted detail.





"Bucket O' Duckies Baby Shower Cake" - October 19th, 2007

My friend Carin asked me to make a baby shower cake for her sister-in-law. This was a black forest cake, stuffed with cherry pie filling and topped with whip cream.





"The 'Big Deal' Cake" - November 3rd, 2007

I was so worried when the bride came to me and asked me to include detail, several different colored flowers, vines, ivy, a figurine, a mirrored floor, pillars and more in her cake - would it be too busy? Did I have any idea what I was doing?!? But it came together in the end. This was a red velvet cake with buttercream frosting and artificial flower and leaf detail.





"Logan's 2nd Birthday" - January 9th, 2008

Logan LOVES Spongebob. I wanted to include that in the theme for his birthday, so I made Spongebob and Patrick (with a little cake) in front of Patrick's house (a rock). He LOVED it! This was a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and gum paste Spongebob, Patrick, and the cake.





"Madalyn's 1st Birthday" - January 10th, 2008

My best friend's daughter turned 1 a day after my son turned 2 - of course I had to make her cake too! This was a vanilla, chocolate, german chocolate, and red velvet cake with buttercream frosting.





"Rick's 30th Birthday" - January 22nd, 2008

My husband kindof got the lazy cake - this was so easy to make! Which is good because I didn't have a lot of time to put into a cake when I was busy trying to do the rest of the food for the party! This was white cake, chocolate cake, and buttercream frosting.





"Relief Society Birthday Cake" - March 20th, 2008

I made the cake for our Relief Soceity Birthday party, celebrating the creation of the Relief Society! This cake was vanilla, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, german chocolate, and red velvet with buttercream frosting and royal frosting decorations.





"Easter Cake" - March 23rd, 2008

I was in my first trimester and quite frankly some days I had no energy to brush my teeth, let alone make a cake!!! This was a big hit, but definitely not my prouder cake moment. This was chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, and various easter candies.





"The Phlebotomist Cake" - April 14th, 2008

My friend Carin finished her schooling to become a phlebotomist and wanted to thank the people in the office with a humorous cake. How could I turn this project down?!?! LOL. Red velvet and chocolate cake (of course!) with buttercream and fondant, and gum paste decorations.





"Terry's Birthday Cake" - April 18th, 2008

My husband's buddy is a wrestler - so we gave him a cake of himself in a wrestling ring! Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, and fondant, with a gum paste figurine.





"The X-Box Cake" - April 19th, 2008

I worked with a girl who - small world - married a guy my husband went to high school with. She called me one day and asked me to make a birthday cake for her husband, who apparantly was in love with his X-Box 360. This cake was vanilla and buttercream frosting.





"The Second Phlebotomist Cake" - April 24th, 2008

Someone at church saw the first 'arm cake' I did for my friend, and just loved it. She said her son was a phlebotomist and his birthday was coming up, so it would be really funny if she sent a cake like that to her son while he was at work. It was a big hit!!! Red velvet cake, buttercream frosting, and gum paste decorations.





"The Graduation Wrigley Cake" - May 24th, 2008

I made the cake for my cousin-in-law's high school graduation party. We're a family of big Cub fans!!! The cake was a huge hit. Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting, with royal icing decorations.





"Vodka and Chicken Wings" - June 11th, 2008

My husband's boss is Russian - and loves vodka and chicken wings. The guys in the bunker wanted a hilarious cake for him for his birthday. Happy Birthday Oleg - vodka and chicken wings it is! This was a white cake, and buttercream frosting. This was probably my favorite so far, because it's hilarious.





"Second Wrigley Cake" - July 19th, 2008

Someone at the graduation party for my husband's cousin saw the cake and had to have it for their mom's birthday. I made the cake much smaller than the graduation version, but it was a huge hit all the same. Chocolate cake and buttercream frosting, with royal icing decorations.





"Christmas Cake" - December 20th, 2008

This isn't much to look at, but it's the best cake ever, because it's like three desserts in one. This is a chocolate cake, with chocolate truffle loaf filling, frosted with chocolate frosting, drenched in rich ganace. Optional: Wrap the cake in tiny stick cookies (pirouette? I think that's what they're called). Extremely rich. We call it the Christmas cake, because that's pretty much the only time we make it. If you want the recipe, I can give it to you!!!





"Logan's 3rd Birthday" - January 9th, 2009

Logan loves Spongebob, but he also loves Blues Clues. This year? A blue cake - a total Blues Clues pawprint theme, and the thinking chair. This was a chocolate cake, with a peanut butter buttercream frosting. (YES! Peanut butter!) I made the "Thinking Chair" with a hot glue gun and some fabric from a red hankie, and then fabric painted the seams black, like the one on the show. Royal icing decorations. (In hind sight, not my best choice - too fragile to stick in a cake)





"Madalyn's 2nd Birthday" - January 10th, 2009

Did the first birthday, had to do the second. This year's theme was "Tinkerbell" - so I made a garden for her fairies. The cake was vanilla, (colored green) and the frosting was buttercream (in the middle it was purple), and royal icing decorations.





"Rick's 31st Birthday" - January 22nd, 2009

Like I said, we're big cub fans. Vanilla cake, buttercream frosting.







"Rick's 31st Birthday Party Cake" - January 25th, 2009

I had to make a cake for when we had the party too! This was chocolate cake, with peanut butter frosting. BIG hit!!!





"Motorcycle Cake" - February 7th, 2009

This cake was made for the sister-in-law of a girl I worked with, for her son's 3rd birthday. Vanilla cake, fresh cut strawberries in the middle, with buttercream frosting, a little fondant on top, and hand painted image on top.





"Valentine's Day Treats" - February 10th, 2009

Ok so these aren't really cakes, they're rice krispies treats. I frosted them with buttercream frosting, and put each on a little cake board. I thought it was more fun for my visiting teachees than just a plain plate of treats. :o)





SHEW! That's everything up-to-date!!!