Cake Balls

So, I decided to make some cake balls for dessert while we had some company last week.  They are pretty easy, very adorable, and yummy.  I got the original recipe from here.  It's a Paula Deen recipe.  


Ingredients: 

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package cake mix (and whatever you need to bake the cake)
• 1 (16 ounce) container prepared cake frosting
• 6 ounces of chocolate flavored confectioners coating disks or bar
• Food Coloring (optional)

1. Start by baking the cake according to the directions on the box.  When it's finished baking, allow it to cool for about 30 minutes or longer.
2. Crumble the cake into a large bowl using a stand or hand mixer.

3.  Add the frosting and mix until well combined.  (I added an entire can of vanilla frosting.  They turned out way too sweet for our taste, so next time I will either use a less sweet frosting like cream cheese or something.  Or I will just use less frosting all together). 

4.  Next, I divided the dough up into four bowls and mixed in food coloring.  Place the dough in the refrigerator for three hours or more.  (I left it in overnight).


5.  Line a baking tray with wax paper.  Use a melon baller as a scooper to form balls with the cake mixture. Place on wax paper. Once you have used all of the cake mixture, place the baking tray in the freezer for 1 hour. 

6.  Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl of the microwave, stirring every 5-10 seconds until smooth.


7. Remove the balls from the freezer. Using one toothpick, pick up the balls one at a time and dip in the chocolate. Use a second toothpick to slide the ball off the first toothpick onto the wax paper lined baking tray.  (I found that it was easier to just dip them like buckeyes, leaving the top open so you could see the color of the cake ball).


8.  Place the balls in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set (only a few minutes).  Taa-daa!

onehundredpushups

My friend, Carla, and I have started another blog together.  It's called "One Hundred PushUups".  There is a training program online called onehundredpushups.  If you follow the program, you will apparently be able to do 100 consecutive push ups after only six weeks.  There is also a section for squats, dips, and sit ups.

We are logging out progress, as well as other workout progress, on the blog.  Check it out:

http://onehundredpushupchallenge.blogspot.com/

One Whole Year :-)

Yesterday, Josh and I celebrated our one-year-anniversary!  We celebrated with a budget-friendly day!  That's what happens when you buy a house, guys.  Budget-friendly anniversary celebrations!

We woke up, had our usual breakfast, and went to the gym.  I took a Zumba and a yoga class (which were awesome, by the way).  We came home, took a nap, got all prettied-up, and drove to West Ocean City.  My favorite OC restaurant, The Shark on the Harbor, offers $5.99 lunch specials every day!  They are a local and organic restaurant with an incredible chef and their menu is always changing and original. The best part is that there are lunches for $5.99 or lunches for $26 and everywhere in between.  The same goes with their dinners and desserts.  Lots of choices for everyone, but everything is delicious. They also serve local craft beers.

On our way home, we stopped at the furniture store and picked out a couch and love seat that we want to buy, but haven't done yet.  Then we stopped at Panera and got some coffee (with a gift card).  Then we stopped at Starbucks and got some coffee beans (with a gift card).  We went home and Josh made us dinner.  He made omelets with green pepper, onion, and tomato.  That's right.  We had omelets on our first anniversary.

We had free movie tickets so we went and saw Hangover Pt. 2 late last night.  It was pretty funny at times, but not a fall-out-of-your-chair-with-laughter movie.

All in all, it was a great day.  In one year, we got married, moved to another state, both started new jobs, started grad school (well, one of us), finished our new jobs, bought a house and moved again!  But we are happy and excited to get to work on our new house.

Happy anniversary, Josh!

What is Heck is Wrong With Me?!

I am on summer vacation and I am not blogging like crazy!  Oh yeah... I just moved.

That's right!!! We bought our house, settled, and moved in!  It's the cutest little house I have ever seen in my frikin' life.  I am absolutely in love.  My friend, Annie, jokingly congratulated us, "Congrats on the new house!  Now everything is going to break!".  Well, thanks, Annie.  Our toilet broke on day 7.

It's just a small fix, though.  We have a huge back yard, a bangin' master bathroom, and the cutest kitchen you have ever seen.  All of the following pictures were taken immediately after we signed the papers and before we moved anything in.

Our cute blue house from the front

The old homeowners left us this :-)

Part of the very-yellow living room

Our also-very-yellow dining room with a very pretty chandelier

My favorite room :-)

Some sweeeet appliances!

Pretty master bedroom... with nothing in it

Our awesome master bathroom!

My enormous walk-in closet.  Josh has one, too, but not quite as large :-)

Guest bathroom upstairs.

We also have a laundry room attached to the kitchen, a half bath downstairs and two guest bedrooms upstairs.  I will try to post more photos as we get settled in.  We have very little furniture and it is probably going to stay that way for quite some time, as we have very little money now that we own our home!  I really want to do some little cheap projects around the house.  I will try to update!

It's Been a Long Time

Tuesday was the one year anniversary of my Pap's death.  He was my mom's dad.  I did a few things.  First, I called mom and grandma.  Second, I sent grandma some pretty Spring-y flowers.  And I wore the dress that I wore to his funeral to school.  It's a really pretty dress and I never wear it because it reminds me of his funeral!  I have only worn it once!  So I figured that the anniversary was a good time to break it out of its shell :-)

Remember this post?  It was what I read at my pap's funeral last year.  I got that out and re-read that as well.  I had almost forgotten how comfortable I was with the whole situation until I read that. 

I had never, until last year, attended a church by choice on my own.  I had always gone to church with my mom and dad or just dad.  When I stopped going with them, I didn't really want to go.  Well, two Springs ago I attended a concert of Christian music that my dad was playing in.  I basically went to support my dad.  When I got there, I was in awe of the affect it had on me.  I knew I needed to start going to church for me.  That summer, I attended Chestnut Ridge Church with a friend.  I immediately fell in love and knew that it was my home.  I also joined a small group of girls in a bible study weekly.  That church practically saved my life.  When I moved, I was devastated.  I was absolutely certain that I would never find a church to replace it.  I still haven't, by the way.  I kept wondering why this awesome thing showed up in my life only to be taken away!

I honestly believe that Chestnut Ridge Church was put in my life to prepare me for the death of my Pap.  If I hadn't been so spiritually strong and mature at that point, I would have never been able to handle his illness and death immediately before my wedding.

It was still hard, though.  It, along with the death of my best friend's father when I was a sophomore in college, was the single-most life changing event of my existence.  (Sorry, Josh, I know our wedding was great and all, but my life is practically the same since!). 

Along with my pap's illness and my wedding and my first year of teaching, my brother was going through some things that made a big emotional impact on my whole family.  It was definitely the most stressful time of my entire life and if it hadn't been for my church, Josh, my bible group, and my relationship with God, I would have never made it through it.

This song really helped me a lot.  This song is what reminded me that it was okay to have a burden, but it was important to give my burden away and let Him handle it.  I ultimately did that, and He took care of it!

All of Creation, by Mercy Me.  The words that struck me and allowed me to trust someone else were:

and all of creation sing with me now

lift up your voice and lay your burden down

and all of creation sing with me now

fill up the heavens let his glory resound