Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Balls

One of my grad school peers used to make cake balls out of red velvet cake every time we had a class meeting that also involved food.

They were delicious. They were amazing. And, not that she needed it (at all) but I’m pretty sure she got a point or two added to her exam scores. That's how good they were.

So, I decided that I would attempt the same feat. What grade do I give myself? A solid “B.”

I am deducting points for not explicitly following directions and for working hastily.

But, the end result was delicious. Like, really REALLY delicious.

So, without further adieu, the recipe.

 Red Velvet Cake Balls
(recipe courtesy of Bakerella)

Ingredients and Materials:
1 red velvet cake, prepared according to the box’s directions
1 16-oz. can cream cheese frosting
1 package regular chocolate or white chocolate bark coating (I used both!)
Wax paper and cookie sheet(s)

Directions:

1. Cook the cake according to the directions provided on the box. 

I love having to expend zero energy to whip up a cake. 

2. Wait for the cake to cool completely.
3. Crumble the cake into a large bowl, or back into your stand mixer.

4. Add dollops of the frosting into your crumbled cake and mix. You can mix with your hands, or you could watch your mixer do the work for you.

5. Roll the mixture into quarter-sized balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Here’s the FIRST place where I didn’t follow the directions. Mine were like the size of the half-dollar.) 

6. Chill the balls for several hours. (Here’s the SECOND place where I didn’t follow directions. I was incredibly impatient. I waited one hour. Tops. When they aren’t chilled, they lose their shape and become all bumpy and weird looking. The cake also starts to separate and ends up in your chocolate.) 

7. Melt chocolate in microwave according to the directions. If needed and if you have it, you can thin the chocolate with some shortening. Good old-fashioned Crisco.


8. Use a spoon to roll the balls in the chocolate. The spoon also come in handy for getting rid of the extra chocolate.

 9. Plop them onto the wax paper.

10. Let them set until they are firm.

 11. Enjoy!

"There Is a Possum by the Front Door."

What is it about Christmas that makes it so exhausting?

Is it the excessive shopping and out-of-this-world crowds, lines and traffic?

Is it the stress of being around family?

Is it the overindulgent eating and underwhelming holiday workout regimen?

Or, is it the fact that Christmas is the one week reminder that you’re about to start a whole new year and therefore you ought to resolve to do things better in the new year?

I think it’s the combination of all these things.

When all of the gifts have been opened, when all of the radio stations have stopped playing Mariah Carey, when I no longer have an excuse to watch “Love Actually” and well up with happy tears, I get to thinking, “how am I going to make this year better than the last?”

What does “better” even mean?

Does “better” mean “healthier?”

Does “better” mean “fiscally responsible?”

Does “better” mean “nicer,” “more giving,” or “more obliging?”

I never know.

I’ve got a couple 2013 plans in mind. But they change everyday. I’ll keep you posted.

For now, I’ll leave you with the few pictures I took this holiday.

Happy Holidays, y’all.

You haven't lived until you've tried to force a cat to wear a Santa hat. After giving said cat a bath. 

Elf collars are met with the same disdain, in case you're wondering. 

Christmas gift from Ray. The color is called "Majestic Yellow." Love/

If you saw my old black clutch, riddled with kitty scratch marks, you'd know this new clutch wasn't a "want" gift from Ray, but a "need."

Our Christmas Eve-Eve dinner. 

And this little nugget was near my entryway Christmas morning as we tried to leave to meet my family. A possum. Who played possum and pretended to be dead. Until he really died. Gross.

"Slow and Steady ... Finishes!"

I will never truly understand the human body.

When I was practicing Bikram Yoga (and completing my 60 day challenge), I learned that it could bend and twist and contort itself in ways that seem impractical and unnecessary.

Through CrossFit, I've learned that regardless of how small or feeble the human body seems, it can lift uncomfortable amounts of weights and be pushed beyond natural limits. CrossFit pushes you to your limit and makes you a better all-around athlete and human being.

Then there's long distance running. True long distance runners feel like they are "one with the road." They find "running" freeing. Things just don't feel right unless they've gotten a 5-mile run in. I'm the first people who will say I am NOT a long distance runner. Give me a WOD with 8 200M sprints and burpees and squats any day over a 13 mile run.

So, why I signed up for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon, I'll never know. But I did.

Here's a chronology of the journey that Laurie and I embarked upon. this past Sunday. In pictures. Because that's more fun.

Look at us. So happy. So ready. So NOT perspiring yet.

We were slowing down up until we spotted Ray who had finished the bike tour hours ago.  

What the #$%& was I thinking? Who thought this sounded like fun?! I am drinking the shit out of some mimosas after this over. Don't we get a free beer?? Wheres my free BEER?!?!

We finished! 13.1 Miles!! Done-zo! Yay! 

Beer me!

Since then, I've been nursing sad, sore hip flexors and a  right ankle that weirdly prefers heels to flat shoes but I'm more than okay. I'm swelling with self-pride. I love what I was able to prove to myself and to others (but mostly myself). Running will definitely have a place in my workout regiment. Not sure how large, but it'll be there.

I've got the Austin 3M 1/2 Marathon on the brain for January and I'm so excited. Our time wasn't anything to write home about but that doesn't stop me from being so proud her and I am all that we did out there. I can't speak for her but I couldn't have done it without her. 

Thanks, Laurie.

Blogger's Note: Don't judge the obvious, belligerent use of copyrighted pics. I'll buy them, promise. 

"It's Enough For Me."

After I saw that President Barack Obama had won Ohio and thus was projected to win the presidency, I stayed up as late as I could waiting for a victory speech and a concession phone call. I was worried that even though it was projected that President Barack Obama would win, things might change while I slept.   

What if Romney was holding off on conceding because he wanted a recount?

What if the precincts that had yet to report could actually change things?

What if we had to hold off on announcing a winner for days or weeks while those affected by Sandy got their votes in?

What if hanging chads came back to haunt us?  

Lucky for me, nothing changed overnight.

I have refrained from posting anything on social media about the election. Facebook and Twitter have been dirty, ugly, hateful places for the past 6 months. Instead, I went to work doing what I could to make sure that if / when I voiced my opinions, they would be well-reasoned and well-founded.

I watched the debates with as unbiased an eye as I could.

I perused both liberal and conservative media sources.

I discussed the issues with my politically astute friends and family members.

I’ll admit it, back in 2008, I thought it would revolutionary, ground-breaking and just plain awesome if Barack won. He’d make history as the first African-American president and I’d be alive to see that historical moment.

But, in 2012, I was nervous. I was anxious. I didn’t know what should happen.

Does Barack Obama really deserve another stab at being president?

If he gets four more years, will anything really change?

What if he gets four more years and things get really, really shitty around here?

Even through these unanswerable questions, I stood firm in my vote. I knew who I was casting a vote for and I knew why I was casting that vote.

I was voting for our president because I believe that he is on the right side of history. I believe that even though he is imperfect, has made mistakes, and hasn’t delivered on all of the change he promised years ago, I believe that he is leading this country in the direction that we need to be led in.

I believe that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a step in the right direction for America.

I believe that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a step in the right direction for America.

I believe that the ending military involvement in Iraq is a step in the right direction for America.

And, as First Lady Michelle Obama said, I am voting for him for his character. I believe him to be a good person with good intentions.

I believe that our president is a man who ran for this office to make the world a better place for his wife, his daughters, and all other Americans.

I love that he is gracious, hardworking, tenacious, and well-spoken – qualities that are important to me.

And, like President Obama stated on his first campaign trail, “In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.” 

Maybe what I’m saying here still isn’t enough for you. But it’s enough for me.

I look FORWARD to the next four years.

"Am I Completely Unrealistic?"

I think we all have that thing (or things) that we do that if other people knew we did that thing, they’d think we were insane.

My thing is talking to myself.

I do it in my apartment (when I am alone).

I do it in my car (when I am alone).

I do it when I’m walking around (when I think I am alone).

Inevitably, when I’m walking around and talking to myself, someone comes around the corner and catches me.

And I am mortified.

For the next 15 minutes.

Lately, I’ve been thinking out loud about work.

See, I don’t love my job.

I really wish I did.

I wish I shared the same passion for the company and the work that I do as my peers.

I wish I "got" the work culture and climate.

But I don’t. 

Instead, I feel like a cog in a very large machine. A machine that I don’t know knows they need me.

I am an essential, important, vital, awesome cog. (I am also a really modest cog.)

The machine just doesn’t know it yet.

And through all these intrapersonal conversations, I still haven’t been able to reason if it’s time for me to move on to something else. 

On one hand, oooobviously, it's time for me to move on to something else. If you're not happy doing what you do every day, you ought to go do something else. Right? 

But, just like I don’t think that I can keep switching apartments every year, I don’t think I should keep switching jobs every year. Right?

I just find myself oscillating between feeling like it's okay to not love your job, if you love your life and feeling like if I have to be somewhere 40 hours a week, I may as well love it. Right? 

I don't know. 

I feel like I’m looking for this (unrealistic) holy grail of a job.

A job that is fast-paced but not overwhelming.

A job that is fulfilling but not consuming.

A job with bosses that are supportive, innovative, and trusting of my knowledge and my abilities.

So what do you think? Am I asking too much? 

"I Love Our Love the Most."

Our four year anniversary is tomorrow, October 3rd. And, after four years, and more ups and downs than I'll ever be able to totally recall, I can truly say, with my whole heart that I love our love.

I love the way we laugh hysterically when we are trying to remember our inside jokes.

I love how you let me order for you when we go out to dinner.

I love how you’ll have one courtesy glass of wine and wait patiently while I gleefully down the remainder of the bottle.

I love how we will never see world the same.

I love that you cook for me while I sit on the couch and watch terrible television.

I love watching you get mad at yourself when you realize you’re semi-interested in one of my terrible television shows.  

I love how you make me feel every time you say you’re mine.

I love how my messiness will never not drive you up the wall.

I love how you nag me incessantly about the things I procrastinate on (getting my car registration, filing a claim with my movers, folding my laundry).

I love watching you with the kitties.

I love that you have the kind of strength that every man wishes he had.

I love how you would rather take pictures of me being ridiculous with my friends than a picture of us together.

I love how you roll your eyes and say, “oh, my God” when you see tears streaming down my face during an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. (How you didn’t cry at this year’s season premiere, I’ll never know).

I love how my life is better because you’re in it. 

I love that you unabashedly think out loud about our future family and wedding.

I love your obsessive personality.

I love how you send my parents cards for birthdays and holidays.

I love that you’ve “affectionately” dubbed my long, winding stories Jonna stories and will listen to me and fake enthusiasm and interest.

I love that you never let me pity or victimize myself, even when I want to.

I love that you will support me in all I do, even if you wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.

I love your mean-spirited (but funny) comebacks. (EXAMPLE: Me: I hate you. R: No. You hate yourself.)

I love your brutal honesty.

I love your generous heart.

I love that there’s no hurdle we can’t overcome, especially distance.

I love that you’re still the one.

"What Would You Do If You Knew You Couldn't Fail?"

People ask that question all the time -- what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? The answer is simple -- anything, everything. You'd do it all. You'd live with reckless abandon. You'd never second-guess any decision. Ever.

That's the approach I'd like to take with my blog. To write about anything and everything. To stop writing post fragments on Post-Its, sticking them in my purse, never seeing them through. To stop envisioning a post and never writing it because "no one will care about that." I vow to write. Not to get page views, but to maintain a written record of my life. 

Sigh. Now that that's out of the way ... VEGAS!! 

So much fun. Full of drinking, laughing, inside jokes, gambling, dancing, heels, and memories. 

It was the kind of weekend that I know I will remember forever. 

But, I won't just remember it for the debauchery. 

For four fun-filled days, I was surrounded by some of the most intelligent, most thoughtful, and most hilarious young women in the world. 

Any group of ladies that can fluidly talk about politics, love, careers, and fun bags in one hungover brunch conversation are without a doubt women that should be friends for life. 

"Bring on the Tears, Olympics."

I have the most vivid memories of watching the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. I watched every moment of the Magnificent Seven journey to gold, and my 11-year-old self loved it.

I'll admit that I've been pretty absent when it comes to the Olympics since, but thanks to Ray's (slightly) addictive personality, we were obsessed. We spent two weeks, going to work, coming home, making dinner, and settling in for primetime Olympics. Ray and I had entire weekend days, and nights, devoted to being fat kids and couch potatoes.

Also, I've been known to cry at the drop of a hat.

I've been that way since the beginning of college. (I opened the floodgates about halfway through my freshman year and haven't looked back since.) I choose to believe this is an endearing quality of mine.

At any rate, during this Olympics, there was many a time where tears welled up in my eyes flowed with reckless abandon.

For starters, it was the time Kim Rhode won the gold medal in women's skeet shooting. She is the first American (man or woman) to medal in FIVE consecutive Olympics games.

 I was beside myself because she was still so overwhelmed with pride and emotion, even though she's done this before. This isn't her first time at the rodeo, and she still feels the same.

Along those same lines, there was Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor. I love them. I feel like they are really truly the best of friends. BFFL. B-Fries. I can't get enough of how Kerri just loses her shit up there on the podium as they receive the gold for the third time. And, how Misty holds her hand the whole time. 

And gymnastics. Oh, gymnastics. I wasn't a big Barbie girl, but I did have one of the Olympic gymnastic Barbies that came out during the games in 1996. And yes, mine was black. What a great year for women's gymnastics (not so much for the boys this time around). Here are some tear-inducing moments. 

Gabby Douglas on the balance beam. You know, the night she one the all-around gold. 

McKayla Maroney's almost perfect vault. (The video isn't great, but you need to see this if you haven't already.)

The end of Aly Raisman's floor routine, where she knew she rocked it and knew she had pretty much locked in the gold medal. 

And, this image, posted by Jordan Burroughs on his Twitter, an American wrestler made me well up at my desk at work.  

This is what the Olympics are supposed to be about. Uniting the world through sport. Sure, it was just for two weeks, and yes, none of the world's problems got solved by the Olympics, but still. It's nice to know that differences can be put aside, for a little while.

Currently, Ray and I mourning the end of the Olympics. And, planning a trip to Rio in 2016. 

(Blogger's Note: This is in no way an exhaustive list of tear-inducing moments of the Olympics, but the ones I know will stay with me long after the Olympians drift into obscurity.) 

"27 Things I Love ..."

I'm not a birthday person. It probably stems from my lack of birthday parties as a child (summer birthdays always get the shaft) or the fact that inviting people to your birthday typically results in some degree of disappointment.

But turning 27 wasn't bad. I feel I'm in a pretty good spot in life, surrounded by love and laughs. 

So, in the spirit of birthdays, I present to you a list of 27 things I love, in no particular order. 

1. Laughing in songs. I don't know what it is, but when people chuckle in the middle of songs, it makes me smile. Take, for example, Li'l Wayne's raspy laugh in Jay Sean's "Down." (fast forward to 3:30)

2. Laughing, period. 

3. Pizza and wine. You know, I don't know if I talk about my love of wine, and pizza, enough. (Note the sarcasm).

4. Song covers. Here's a personal favorite of mine.

5. Ray. Oh, anonymous Ray. Our relationship is full of laughter, honesty, and comfort. And, not a day goes by that I am not grateful for it. 

6. Reading memoirs. After spending years in college reading things because I had to, I lost my love of reading. But, luckily, I found a love of reading non-fiction and I can't get enough. I'm currently in the throes of Andy Cohen's memoir, and it's so good I don't want it to end. 

7. Pumpkin and sweet potato. I love these two things so much. And, if I had my way, I would eat them, in dessert form, every day. Okay, every other day (a girl still needs her chocolate). 

8. Tracking packages. My dear friend Meg totally gets this. An unreal amount of my time is spent ordering things online and then tracking them from origin to my front door. 

9. Days like this. 

10. Nights like this. 

11. CrossFit. It may only be the flavor of the week. But somehow, I keep coming back for more. And more. And more. 

12. My iPhone. Enough said. 

13. Military homecoming videos. Oh, man. How can you watch things like this and not lose your shit?

14. Rom-coms. "When Harry Met Sally" pretty much tops the list. 

15. Kitties. 

16. YouTube gems that never get old like this. 

17. Buzzfeed. A newer obsession but I love this site for its endless supply of hilarious articles, lists, and gifs. And, I can view it at work. Do yourself a favorites and take a look-see. 

18. Whataburgers. I'm grateful for people that buy them. You allow me to pay my bills and overspend at dinner. 

19. Living alone. I love living alone. I love the ability to come home, strip down to my skivvies and remain that way all day. 

20. Traveling. I should say, I like gearing up for traveling. I like the planning, the reading of reviews, and coming up with must see / do / eat lists. Travelling in and of itself, is a little stressful side. 

21. My parents. My parents are fun-loving, and usually in high spirits. I'm grateful that they have taught me the importance of working, but not working too hard. 

This is a picture my mother sent me while they were on their yearly vacay together. 

22. Google / Wikipedia / Pinterest. Thanks to these three websites, I have all the knowledge I need about anything from recipes, to Olympians, to when Hunger Games comes out on DVD (August 18th, in case you were wondering). 

23. Inspirational sports stories. Anyone who really knows me know I love inspirational sports movies, but at the heart of those, there are great stories of athletes overcoming it all. 

24. Arts and crafts, with drinking. 

25. Our new DSLR camera. Can I already love something brand-new. Our very first purchase together was a Nikon D5100, a very nice, but very expensive fancy-pants camera. It is simultaneously fun and terrifying to learn to use. But, I'm grateful that we splurged and now have it to capture memories. 

26. This blog. I am grateful for this blog, for my courage to start it, and for its ability to give me an outlet for my neuroses. 

27. You. The people that read my blog today and everyday. Thanks. 

"Is This a Humble Brag?"

When I started doing CrossFit, I did it because I wanted good abs. But, somehow I ended up with good legs. Good, muscular, hard-to-fit-into-jeans legs.

(Seriously, you should see me trying to get into my skinnys ... it's not pretty.) 

Lucky for me, I live in Texas, and will be able to wear shorts until at least October.

I know this borders on humble-bragging, but this post is to show you what I did Thursday night.

Using a post I found on the blog Hello Giggles (which Zooey Deschanel founded), I decided to take a pair of jeans I'll never wear again, cut them, bleach them a lighter shade, and make them my new favorite weekend shorts.

Here's what the looked like before:

They were good jeans, they just never made it into my normal jean rotation.
Not even for Casual Fridays at work. 

And here's what they looked like after:

I used to be all about the super-short shorts.
But these days, I love when shorts are in that in-between hoochie and Bermuda level). 

Yep. Still haven't gotten those abs. Despite the marathon training and the CrossFitting.

But, so cute right?! Just what the "runner's legs" ordered.




In case you'd like to make a pair for yourself, the crazy-easy tutorial is here.

"It's Just Not About Chicken."

When it comes to Chic-fil-a, if someone is bold enough to state their stance on Facebook, they take one of two positions.

There are individuals that vehemently denounce the company. These are the people that simply cannot be a patron to a company with views that differ so sharply from their beliefs, values, and / or lifestyle.

Then, there are those individuals that maintain that those chicken sandwiches and sauces are just too darn delicious and it is silly to think that a boycott would curb the company's sales in any way. And besides, why are you surprised, the company is from the South. They were founded on Christian values. And by golly, they aren't even open on Sundays which, by the way, is the day when you crave waffle fries something fierce. (For the record, this is them talking, not me ...) 

These two schools of thought will never agree. Thank goodness they aren't having this disagreement face-to-face because that's just a fight waiting to happen.

However, what I will carry with me once this bickering subsides is this:

(Source)

 (Source)

Now, once you move past the adorable factor of these advertisements, pay attention to the message, the spirit of these ads. These ads say, we don't support close-mindedness of any kind. We embrace differences. We want to make sure that the children's lives that we touch know that they are loved and accepted no matter what. They are rooting for those young, fearful kids that are figuring out who they are right now. 

But it's not just the Sesame Street gang that's rooting for a brighter future for our world's future.

Look at these other print ads from companies you might know, love, and patron. 

Allstate Insurance Company (Source)

Gap (Source)

 General Electric (Source)

JCPenney (Source and Source) 

Nabisco, a Division of Kraft Foods (Source)

Kaiser Permanente (Source)

Target (Source)

Chevrolet (Source)

Wells Fargo (Source)

Our world is changing and evolving. We are starting to live in a world that doesn't just tolerate differences, but accepts them. This isn't everything. This doesn't mean that our world is a hate-free place to be. It doesn't mean that awful things don't happen. But, it's a start. And, I'll happily take it. 

I'll end on a personal note, I am an individual that loved what Chic-fil-a had to offer, food-wise. But, the fact remains that their beliefs are such a sharp departure from mine, I will no longer visit their establishments.

It's 2012, and I believe that we have to start changing and evolving with the world around us. Get your chicken sandwiches and your waffle fries elsewhere.