Cake Pops!

This is probably going to be the first of many other food related blog posts of mine, mostly those little things you discover when your trying out a new recipe. This one comes from another blog, An American Cupcake in London. If you love sweets and especially cupcakes this is a wonderful blog to follow.

Now I tried the Oreo Cake Pops that can be found on that blog. Let me tell you, they are so yummy. Displayed above are the end results of what I achieved for the ones I made for Easter dinner at my mothers pot luck. Forgive the display, as it turns out, had to improvised Cake pop holders. This worked pretty well. I have mentally noted that I do need some sort of holder if I'm going to keep making these wonderful treats.

Crumbled Yellow Cake Mix

Cake pops, have really easy instructions. Make a cake, let it cool, crumble it, slowly add in icing of choice (Oreo Icing for these ones), Freeze for a bit, stuff in stick, freeze over night, then dip in melted chocolate and decorate right after dipping. Then you can greatly enjoy your yummy treat on a stick.

Now for the things you should probably know that aren't really covered in the instructions. When you add the icing, really add it small bit by small bit at a time. If you rush it, you risk adding too much icing which causes issues with it sticking to your stick. the very first time I just added half the tub of icing and as a result, as my cake pops where getting dipped I needed to spoon the melted chocolate on time because I found my sticks turning inside the pop. Made life more complicated. My second attempt went over better plus the Cake pop's where not as sugary.

Home made sticks

Sticks. Now, as the blog says you should buy actual lollypop sticks. I don't know if it was the fact that I'm in Canada, or what it was but I could not find lollypop sticks in my area. So for my first attempt I made some. Now, it may not have been the best idea but it worked. These where made out of kabob sticks. I cut off the pointy stabby end and cut them in half. Now I found that it wasn't the easiest task and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have no other choice. Mainly because I found that the ends that where cut off seemed to want to split apart, thus risking little bits of stick in you cake pops. Also these are a lot thinner then your typical lolly pop stick and if you make the mistake of making the cake bit too big of a ball the stick will punch right on through. So my second go, I used Popsicle sticks. Worked AMAZING. Made dipping worlds easier and where pretty darn easy to hold on to. Could be a great thing if you have little kids trying to munch on them.

Now another little discovery I made my second go at making these. Deep freeze 'em. I mean it. The first time I used my fridge freezer, which apparently isn't kept quite cold enough. When I stuck them in the deep freeze over night I had a much easier time finishing them then when I froze them in the fridge freezer overnight. Also, while dipping them and if you have a rather warm place (my apartment is rather warm..), keep them some where cool (Like in the fridge freezer or maybe even the fridge it's self, or if your deep freeze is close just leave some there) so that the chocolate sets faster. The main reason for this is if you don't have a holder for them, you can set them on their side or if you do have a holder you don't end up with dripping pops. Trust me, it's not a lot of fun having one dipped and then realizing you can't set it down yet with out thoroughly ruining your cake pop you just decorated.

Size is a key thing too. When making the little balls, I use a heaping teaspoon and a bit. This is because the first time I made it I used a ice cream scoop, over filled. This made really big cake pops. Still awesome and tasty but they where kinda heavy on the sticks. (Another addition to the sticks busting through the cake pop.) Bigger is not always better. If you want to try and make really big cake pops, I suggest a very fat stick.

Food colouring in white chocolate
makes for fun pops.

When you first make them, I suggest using milk chocolate for dipping. Mainly because it seems to melt the best in the microwave. ( Chipits in the bowl, 30 seconds mix and repeat until it's no longer solid. Good to go for dipping.) White Chocolate, while fun to add colour to the cake pop, doesn't seem to melt as well in the microwave. There may be some secret to melting white chocolate that I have yet to figure out or found. If you know this trick, please let me know. My white chocolate cake pops always come out thicker and fatter then my milk chocolate ones. Even if they are prettier to look at.

Also make sure you decorate right after dipping, other wise whatever your sprinkling on them won't stick, at all.

Hope this was insightful. Feel free to comment about your own Cake pop making adventures below!

15 day Challenge, Day Fifteenth

Day 15 - pictures of your dream house.

My dream man, he likes to Dream

asdhnjhfua!

Dream house? Honestly that has always been one of those things I never really cared for. I'm more about the people in said dream house then the actual house it's self. Much like planning a wedding, which I didn't start at the sweet age of 12 like a lot of girls do. I only really wanted two things. 1. My dress. 2. Dad walks me down that magical path. Both of which I got and I'm very happy with how that turned out. So I have my dream man to help me make my dream house more dreamy in what ever we live in. In fact he has this very large and elaborate dream home. In his head he'd like to have and live in. Usually as he tells me this the back of my mind is saying, you better make a lot of money to afford that, A LOT. Dreams are a loud to be big, so why not let him?

Solar panels! Not so ugly eh?

However, I think the favorite thing I like about about the Dream house of Mike is that it's going to be the most environmentally friendly house ever. Complete with solar panel roofing. Not those big ugly panels, but something that looks like roofing. I enjoy the idea of being able to save as much energy as possible. (Lower bills!) That and if something horrible happens to the power, well the house can run it's self. No more black outs! (Maybe, not sure but hey one can be hopeful.

I feel like I'm turning a slight bit into a hippy about saving energy and being more energy wise, but it's a good thing. For instance, Mike and I really want one of the plug in hybrids due to come out in the next few years. 20 miles on electricity when gas is $1.40? Heck yes. That will really take us off our dependency for oil and gas. Unlike those don't buy gas on so and so date to try and lower gas prices. (*cough cough what a joke! cough*).

Back to the dream house. I want it to be clean. Yes, now I know some of you know me really well and are well aware that I use to be the anti clean. I always seem to have this one or two piles of stuff that's kinda messy. I'm almost willing to bet that I'll have this appartment the way I want it to look just in time to move again. Not taking into consideration that my cleaning nesting phase really hasn't tried to smack me in the face. Maybe I'll just go insane during the remaining 10ish or so weeks and Mike will walk in and wonder if he came into the right place.

I know the one thing I really want is hardwood flooring. Not just plain boring hard wood flooring, I like art, so something to give it a little more character. I like how it looks, sharp, clean, lovely and so much more. However I do want a dog. ( just spelt it backwards perfectly twice in a row.. "I do want a god.") Dogs like to slip and slide on wood, nails like to leave markings in it. So there will have to be consideration about what it's made of and what not. Take care of that bump when we actually get there.

See the layered seating for awesome viewage?

Now I'll talk about one of the things Mike really wants in the house. Basement Theater. Not the big screen, with the awesome leather couch and snack bar, but the full on theater seating, wicked sound system with a projector. Which could be a lot of fun. I know a few people who have done this and they love it. I think it'll be a great entertaining idea. Something tells me the kids are gonna have movie night at our house a lot. Which I don't mind the idea of. This is Mike's dream to have and he has it all planed out in his head.

But yes, dream house? I don't have anything set in stone, but Mike does. I'll happily let him dream away and support him in it. Besides isn't that what marriage is all about anyways? Sharing dreams with each other and helping the other achieve those dreams.

Pregnancy. The Woman's Frontier. Part 2.

29 weeks booyeah.

I've noticed I really haven't talked about much else then whats in that 15 day challenge thing I fail at in doing in 15 days.. So time to talk about something else, since the last one of the 15 day challenge topics I don't know what on earth I'm going to do for that.


So here's an update, with a picture! Look at that belly. Despite all my feeling like I'm a walking cherry on a toothpick, when I walked into the Foothills for my first meeting with the OB, I felt petite! It was amazing that I could still feel tiny with this rather big bump, but it happened and it was cool.


It turns out, that I'm starting to grow quite rapidly now, which means I may need to take pictures of the belly more then the once a month I have been. On to the reflecting part of this post, looking back at my second trimester.

What can I say, I loved the second trimester. All the really cool things happened there. I started feeling bubbles move a little, got that first kick in, got over morning sickness, got Mike to feel kicks, was kept up at 2 am with kicks, was kept up at 4 am with kicks, felt punches, discovered Bubbles does the happy dance, got some widdle stretch marks, watching my tummy dance from all the movement and feel Bubbles try for the ribs (SCARY). My ribs will lose their safety in the 3rd trimester.. I just know it.

I most certainly didn't sleep my second trimester away, I actually managed to get out of the house when the weather was nice and walk about. Which by the way led to the discovery that yes while I can still out walk some of my friends, it's a bit of a work out now. By work out I mean my body is getting use to the fact it had 20ish more pounds to walk around with (yup I reached 140's in the second trimester, scary stuff I know *listens to those people telling me to shut up about my weight and giggles*), which meant when I had to try to keep up with someone the back's of my thighs would burn. Followed up running out of breath and all those wonderful things that make you feel out of shape. This has me pondering about how I'm going to do some of that hiking I want to in May and June before Bubbles comes out. I'm sure I'll do just fine, as long as I don't try to climb a mountain.

I've also discovered that movement or more the lack of mobility is a leading cause for much entertainment. I got stuck, not stuck in the sense I sat in some chair and couldn't get back out. More of a I decided to wrap my legs around the legs of a chair and couldn't get them out so I could get out of said chair. I've also gotten my legs trapped in many other ways, like sitting with one leg down and one up on the seat with me. I will have to push that one leg out so I can move again. I've also learned sitting up from laying down is pretty fun too. While I can still achieve sitting upright in the normal ish fashion (Tummy looks REALLY interesting when I do that.) It's much easier to roll. So if Mike's not in bed, I'll roll on out. Otherwise it's the entertaining sit up and bum hop to the end of the bed so I don't steamroll my Husband. Now with those shared, we can't forget the lack of mobility provided by the belly or in some cases, Bubbles. Yes Bubbles has a full hand in the ploy to keep me from doing certain things. For instance, if Bubbles is chilling out right in the middle of my stomach and for some reason it feels like he'll grab tight to my spine and I can't move side to side. This becomes a problem when part of whatever I'm snacking on falls off to the side of my chair and I go to grab it off the floor. I just can't. I have to lean forward and then try going sideways to get the fallen item. Also twisting is difficult at random times. You know how you can crack your back if you twist or you need to twist to reach places that you just need to reach? Ya. Much harder and sometimes I just can't.

Random note. My belly button is still a innie! No pokey outtie as of yet. However I've found great interest in what my belly button has done. It's still very random. Some day's it'll be just a shallow of it's former self, then on others it'll be flat and just look like this design on my tummy. It changes depth. I'll also note the stretched skin of my belly button is kinda creepily soft.. and smooth.. but mostly soft feeling. No I'm not going to let you feel. Don't ask.

Stretch marks! Yes! I got some. Yes they very little (not even .5 of a inch) but very high in number (not counting but if I had to guess.... maybe 20ish?) on my hips and thighs. That's right. Hips and thighs. My belly is still stretch mark free. Which I have to say I'm surprised and not all at the same time. Mainly, the most growth I've had so far has been my tummy, going from 26 inches to 40 some during that time. However, when I was a teen, my growing marks where on my hips. So I guess the skin on that area just doesn't like to grow. I'm not ashamed of my stretch marks at all. I have Mike to blame mostly for that. It turns out husbands really like stretch marks (From the people I've had this talk with). It's like carrying the marks of true woman hood on you and it's sexy. You've passed on from your teenage looking skin to woman/mother skin. It's a good thing.

I just about forgot. Hot flashes. You don't just have them for menopause. Pregnancy gives you a taste of what they are. Now I didn't know this. You hear more about morning sickness, stretch marks, practice contractions, and added hair growth (on your head and sometimes a little everywhere else). Hot flashes during pregnancy, naw. They do come and they came for me. I'd be sitting here at the computer looking at facebook while reading up on the wonderful world of Labor and educating myself and suddenly I'd break out into a sweat. So not thinking much of it, because the apartment I live in can be rather warm at times, I'd just go open the balcony door and turn on the fan. Mike would come home, complain that's it's cold and I'd let him shut the door. So here I was blaming the apartment until that fateful day while reading one of those what is baby growing at this week sites said something about hot flashes. Only then did I clue in that was what was happening to me. Either way, I've prepared for the summer by getting long sundresses. Hot flashes in the summer time? I'm ready for it, bring it on.

Baby brain. Oh yes, do I ever have it. Thankfully it's not the rolling craziness of emotions. I know Mike is thankful for that as well. However, forgetfulness? Heck yes. It's also very random and far more apparent when I've first woken up. As my one sister discovered in a early morning visit. This of course leads to much laughter and more entertainment. The best is when I'm in conversation and I will completely, utterly forget what I was saying. This isn't like your typical brain fart, this is more of the worlds biggest brain fart ever. I'm finding myself writing more and more things down so I don't forget things. My daily planner gets more use then it did when they tried getting us to use one in middle school. Who knew they taught you how to use one back then for this very reason.

A little bit for Mike. Pregnancy Sympathy. It's very real. When your stuck sleeping beside a hormone machine, your hormones talk. I like to picture this as my hormones complaining and whining about all the changes that they are making my body do. Thus Mike, being the understanding and wonderful husband that he is, hormones say back I understand and to show you, we'll do some changing too. So, thus my wonderful husband is slightly more forgetful and gained a tiny bit of weight (I would have caught up to him if he hadn't I think I still will though).

Stay tuned for part 3! To come closer to the estimated due date of Bubbles. I finally figured out how to add non blogger gadgets. I have a count down now. 77 days and counting, and I'm down to single digit week counting too. Bubbles is gonna be here soon and it feels like this has gone by way to fast, but that's kinda of a good thing too.

15 day Challenge, Day Fourteen

Day 14 - Some pictures you love

Woo! Pictures! Pictures I can do. Mind  you a lot of the ones I love aren't in digital format... BUT that's okay, I'll post the ones I love in digital format, if you want more your gonna have to track me down for the real photos.

I went to each of my missionary's farewells, cried at both and I miss them both dearly. If I the one of me and Elder Dumke was about I'd put that up too. Love them!

I love this photo because it's a great action shot. The mini photographer inside coming out.

 Goofing off at the temple grounds this trip was so much fun, we had fun pretended to be little girls hopping from rock to rock.

And this is how I ended up with a cat. He liked computers and games. I could I not keep him? Miss you LE!

 I'm sorry, I love this picture because kittens are most entertaining when your trying to make a Halloween costume and seeing these pictures just makes me laugh from remembering how insane they got, even mommy got a little nutty in the leaves.

I'm SLEEPY!

OKay this one... This one is for the sheer look of expression on the Columbus's face.. For months I could not do anything by laugh when I saw this picture.

This is my mom. Doing what she does best. Puzzles.

 Grandma! She's wonderfull, even if I or my sister couldn't stop laughing because she was being silly.

Santa baby 2, So much fun on set and in waiting. Who doesn't love a bunch of short people with pointy ears? I know I do.

Especially after those two shots. There was a lot of fun had.

 YMCA, This is at one of my best friends wedding, there is video of this. Which I will not be posting. It always reminds me why me and trains on dresses do not mix.. ever. The floor becomes my best buddy.

 This, is Mike, He makes me smile and I love him. This is when I discovered that he really just likes to Sleep. Sleep after a big meal, sleep on a road trip, sleep.. sleep.....

This is one of the people Mike meet while on his mission. We where down for the sealing of this wonderful little girl to him and his wife. She's an adopted little girl and is just so loved by her parents. This is them playing motorbike. It was beyond cute.

SISTERS! Nuff said.

 Nothing beats little kids at a reception with a dance. I always smile and adore these photos.

This is Halloween! I love dressing up and making costumes. I was a Necromancer and Mike was my skeleton.

This is bubbles. I can't wait to meet him, and I'm sure he is still sucking his thumb in there. This is just proof.

This, is a picture of the very foot that likes to spend hours kicking me. It's just cute. Besides it's bubbles!


Can you tell I like pictures? Ya... I'll stop now or this will be the worlds longest post ever.