Bald Chicks

Today I made a comment to all of my friends about sponsoring me for my St. Baldricks endeavor. I assumed that everyone knew what I was talking about so I left my comment at that. Very vague and minimal. I have had a lot of questions asked. So, I decided to go into more detail about this topic.

I first have to say that I have a friend who once peddled her “charity” to me and all of her friends, enticing them to donate to her cause and to help her out. I was aggravated at the request to donate money to her cause but I did it anyway. I thought, “Why are you asking your friends for money for YOUR cause?” Donate the money yourself. Now I understand.

Two years ago, I was at work and when I went on break, I saw a pamphlet for “St. Baldricks”. I wondered what it was and asked my coworkers. They told me that someone else from my job was raising money to help fund childhood cancer research and in the process, they were going to shave their head. I thought that was ridicules, but cool. So I did my research. I thought to myself, “I would totally shave my head if it helped someone or something.”

So here it is, that is exactly what St. Baldricks is all about. Volunteers decide to raise as much money as they possibly can. This money goes to childhood cancer research. Now, my children are healthy, crazy, monsters…I mean, little boys. J However, my friend Terence has a little girl (who is 6 years old) named Violet who suffers from Neuroblastoma, which is a rare and deadly childhood cancer. Terence and I are not very close but I have followed the health of his daughter and have constantly sent my prayers and best wishes their way. I always said to him, “If there is anything I can do, please just tell me”. When I heard about St. Baldricks, I knew that it was a sign. That was what I had to do. So in dedication to Violet  (who is still alive today but fighting for her life and health) I decided to register to be a participant in this St. Baldricks “thing”. I raised money, which was not as much as I wanted to but every little bit helps. Raising money and getting donations from my friends and relatives was a bit strange and foreign to me. I didn’t know how to ask them and then I felt bad for doing it. This topic is to be continued later…..

Someone asked me why we shave our heads. This was a simple answer to me and it made more sense than anything did. Violet swayed my decision. Remember she’s 6 and while going through Chemotherapy and radiation, she lost her hair. She was upset and sad because she had hair all the way down to her lower back. It was long, brown, and wavy. So beautiful. When she lost it, she said that she felt like a boy and she always said that she was okay with losing her hair to get better but she felt ugly. I was so upset to hear this. It broke my heart into little pieces and I wasn’t sure that I would ever be able to put them back together because I KNEW that Violet wasn’t the only little girl or child to feel this way.

Hair is hair. It’s not gold. It doesn’t make you better. You cannot run faster with long hair. You cannot spell better with a beautiful mane. Hair is what you make it. If you have it, you try to make it beautiful. If you don’t have it, you show your true beauty. I was eager to shave my head in dedication to Violet because I wanted to show her that hair is just….hair. You can still be pretty without it. You can still be happy and loved without hair. As I said, hair is hair. For most of us, it will just grow back. Hair doesn’t make you beautiful; your soul makes you beautiful. What is inside is what shows true beauty. If cancer takes your hair, show cancer that you’re still strong and you’re still beautiful. You don’t need that stinkin’ hair. And after all, you won’t have to use conditioner, brush it, curl it or scrunch it. This is what Violet liked because she hated to hair her hair messed with before.

After I shaved my head the first time, I went to visit her. She thought I was sick to. Until I told her that I did it for her. She was surprised that I WANTED to be bald and she was surprised that I was still pretty, even without hair. I reminded her that hair doesn’t make you beautiful. Her attitude made her beautiful, her face made her beautiful, and her caring and loving spirit made her absolutely gorgeous. Her chemotherapy ended shortly after I shaved my heard. Our hair grew back at almost the same speed. It was fun to watch her hair change and to watch her get better. It was amazing. It made me realize that what I did, even thought it was just raising a little bit of money and shaving my head, made a difference. If anything, it made a difference to her.

Violet is doing much better now. She’s still sick but she has been feeling much stronger and much more….solid minded. She turns 8 this year.

A couple months ago, I was fretting out about my hair. I was always saying, it looks to dry, I hate it; I wish I could just start anew. I started to think of Violet and started feeling like a total douche…

Now that I have children and they are growing and thriving. I know that childhood cancer affects children’s lives tremendously. It takes away their childhood and makes them deal with grown up things way to fast, and it’s not fair. They deal with more pain and agony that most adults would ever experience in their lifetime. Then I thought about their parents. If one of my children had cancer, I don’t know what I would do. I would be in a mental hospital, I’m sure. I’m not sure if I could deal with it. Watching my child go through all that is involved with a disease would sicken me. It would wear me down and if something happened to them, my life would be over for sure.

A couple months ago when I was freaking out about how much I hated my hair, I thought about that. Yes, Violet is feeling much better, but there are millions of other children that are going through the same thing. At least I have hair. Why am I being so superficial? That’s it, I had it. That’s when I decided that I would do St. Baldricks again this year. But only this time I would make it bigger and badder than before. I’m going to raise MORE money and shave off MORE hair and bring MORE people in with me to do it. I’m going to get the word out there so one day; cancer will be a thing of the past. I envision the day when children don’t get sick and if they do, it can be cured. This day will not come if research isn’t done, and research will not be done in full unless people like you and me donate to the cause.

Now I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty or force anyone into doing anything they do not want to do. I just wanted to get the word out and remind people that there are some who have it worse than we do. I wanted to tell everyone in more detail what St. Baldricks is and explain why it is so near and dear to me. And let’s not lie...I want you to contribute to the cause by sponsoring me. Even if it is just two dollars, Heck, even fifty cents. Any amount of money I can raise this year is a blessing.

I’m going bald, BALD EAGLE BALD, bald as can be bald, on St. Patricks day this year. My fund raising goal is $2000. I’m sure I can do it, or at least get close, I just need followers and I need people to be with me on this. I plan to post before and after pictures as well as video from the event of the actual shaving of my mane. Please take this as a piece of learning material…or encouragement. Whichever you prefer. Please reach deep into your soul and think about what is important. Donate to the cause or register to be shaven, yourself!

Here is the link...
http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/502599

Don't waste the wine!

There I was, browsing the wine aisle for something different from the usual Moscato, Oliver, or Reggae Red. I walked back and forth again and again looking for something to strike my fancy when, there it was, a black bottle with one red blood drop looking thing on it and the words sweet red.

The bottle cost about $10, which is a little more than I like to pay. My favorite only cost $7 or $8. However, of course I bought it. I mean come on, it looked cool and seemed like it would taste delish. I put it in the fridge right when I got home. I didn’t even take my coat off because I was so excited to get it chilled and try it. A few hours later, Kerry (one of my besties) and I settled down with a cold glass of Red Drop wine. Now first let me tell you, I am by no means a wine connoisseur. I would like to be and I’m trying to learn more about wine and what I like by just trying new things. I picked up my glass, swirled it around, and gave it a good whiff. It had a barrel/wood smell. That is not a good sign for me. The smell reminded me of a merlot, and I would rather die of dehydration than to drink a merlot. I took a sip and….wow, it was disgusting. This beautiful “sweet” wine was as dry as can be. We ended up putting it back in the fridge and opening some Lotto Moscato. I told Kerry to take the Red Drop home with her. Although she didn’t like it, she was at least able to finish her glass. She advised me to keep it in the fridge and use it to cook with.

This was a good idea so; I kept it in the fridge for a couple weeks awaiting a good recipe to come along. I have never cooked with wine, besides the occasional marsala. They say to cook with wine that you would drink. Although I didn’t like it, it was still a good wine.

Today I decided to experiment a little with this “cooking with wine” thing. Not sure exactly what I was doing or how it would turn out I threw a few ingredients into the good ol’ crock-pot and let it cook for 8 hours. The house smelled great and at first taste, it was delish.

I looked online and I guess I made a sort of…trailer park beef burgundy. I will include the recipe. I used a whole cup of red wine. I’m sure the wine cooked off in the 8 hours because I planned to feed it to my boys. Is that bad? Anyway, they loved it and both of them had seconds. I couldn’t believe it. I made a creation that everyone ate. And just let me tell you. My boys are the fussiest eaters ever. If it isn’t mac and cheese, pizza, or chicken nuggets, they usually won’t touch it. So the fact that they even tasted this concoction was a big surprise. So, here’s what I did…

In a crock-pot, mix the following ingredients. 1 normal size can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 pk. Of onion soup mix, 1 cup of red wine, 1 chopped onion, ½ c. of mushrooms, 1 ½ pounds of round steak, and a little bit of pepper. Just throw everything in there, put the lid on it, and let it cook away. When it is done, shred the beef and serve it atop some egg noodles. YUM.

I was surprised that it wasn’t salty or…winey. A perfect end to the day. Now I want some popcorn. Or ice cream......or popcorn on ice cream. Lol, i'm craving something sweet and salty.

Now for a clip of something that happened today:

As we sat down to eat, my chair moved in a weird way and made a fart sound. My boys laughed so I continued to make the sound so that they would know that it was the chair and not Mom who “did it”. Of course, with a bunch of little boys, it wasn’t a smart move to keep making the sound. I couldn’t convince them that it was the chair. It WAS the chair people. I was being taunted, “Ohh, hahaha, Mommy farted. Mommy farted a lot. Hahaha!” Since they didn’t believe me, what else was I to do but claim it? I said, “HEY! Girls don’t fart. That sound you heard was actually baby unicorns being released into the world to sprinkle sugar on cookies!” I thought my comment would confuse them and ultimately, make them stop giggling. I ended up creating my own monsters because all I heard after that was how bad they wanted some sugar cookies. Ugh, a girl can’t win. Moral of the story…Just say excuse me and move on.

Public Etiquette

Let me start out by saying that I think of myself as a compassionate, nice, church going woman who loves her children, friends, and family. So do not take what I am about to say the wrong way…

Working in retail, I see a lot of crazy things. However, most recently, I was quite taken by surprise. So there I was, (admitting) leaning on the jewelry counter and looking out at the rest of the store. I do this fairly often, usually just to look out and see how many people are in the store. Well, Tuesday I leaned over and beheld a young mother and her newborn, infant baby. My first thought was, “Aww, what a cute baby. And she’s such a young girl to be a mom.” Of course, that last part was none of my business but I was surprised. I went over to see the baby and talk to the young lady. The baby was three weeks old and the mother had just turned seventeen. I guess that is not much of a surprise in this day and age. The baby was dressed in one of those white onsies and the neck part was wet with spit-up. He was not wearing a hat or socks and the only blanket around was folded up on top of the diaper bag. I was wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt and I was still freezing. The store is always somewhat chilly and there was that baby, lying in the car seat with just a onsie on. I was immediately angry but thought that maybe she had just unbundled him. So..Yes, I watched her like a hawk the whole time she was in the store. As she was checking out, I walked over near where she was and watched as she put her bags in the cart and just wheeled the baby right out into the elements outside. The blanket was still folded on top of the diaper bag. What the heck was she thinking? I mean, the winter has been unusually warm but a three-week-old baby should rarely even leave home, nonetheless come out into public practically wearing just a diaper. The saddest part of this story is, that kind of thing has happened before.

On a not so serious note, people are messy! Not all people of course, but a big majority of them are. People will put things anywhere, or take thirty items into a fitting room, try them all on, and then leave them all on the floor (pants inside out and shirts just thrown here and there). I wonder what their homes look like. Secondly, I don’t know how this happens but…I think women pee on the toilet seats more than men do.  Okay, that was gross but it had to be said. Every day I see it…and still cannot believe it.

Cart etiquette is also an important life lesson that everyone should learn. Do they teach that in school? They should! It seems so minuet but wait and listen. Have you ever been to Wal-Mart during a busy shopping holiday? If so, you know what I mean. People cut in front of you, drive all over the place, stop their carts in the middle of the aisle and walk away, and let their kids get all crazy either with it or in it. This was actual the fuel behind this whole post today. I was in Town & Country and this man was following behind me with his cart really close. I could tell he was in a hurry but there were people in front of me going slower as well as people beside me, so I couldn’t just hurry up and go for this guy. When I got a window, I sped up a little so this guy could get around me and he noticed. Before I could think, BANG!!! He crashed the front of his cart right into the back of my heels. I couldn’t help but to scream right there in the store and buckle at the knees. I turned around and yelled, “HOLY MOTHER OF….(a child looked at me)…ABRAHAM LINCOLN!” This guy turned around and high tailed it out of there without so much as an “oops”.

Lastly, to all the parents out there, it is okay to discipline your children in public. I’m not saying to abuse them or spank them. But a discrete and abrupt stop to abort bad behavior is perfectly acceptable. Don’t scream at them or spank them because that would just humiliate them and what does that really do anyway? You would end up giving your child a complex when they are older. I hate seeing children act up and I hate it even more when the parent’s reaction is to ignore the behavior. I think parents are scared to do anything to correct their children in public. I have actually corrected children’s behavior when their parents would not. I of course would only do this if the child was in danger and the parent did not recognize or do anything to fix it.

All I am basically saying is that there is proper etiquette when in public. Anything from driving our carts to raising our children, some people just need to be aware of their surroundings and in the case of the mother with the naked baby, GET HELP, TAKE CLASSES, AND DRESS THAT BABY!

Christmas

It didn’t snow at all on Christmas. The grass was green, the air crisp, and the breeze wisping through the house was, oddly enough, warm for an Indiana winter. I woke up to a bright beam of light shining right into my closed eye. I rolled over and cursed Mother Nature for making Christmas day sunny. I wanted a cold, blustery snowfall. A gray kind of day. That kind of thing always made Christmas really feel like…Christmas. I think this was my first winter holiday without snow. It reminded me of Florida and made me wince at the pain of missing that magical (home of the evil rat-Mickey Mouse) place.

Anyway, no sooner than the sun woke me, the boys were jumping with glee asking if Santa had come. I was conscious of the fact that my boys are sneaky snakes and I put the door lock on the inside of the door and made them sleep with me so they couldn’t escape to gaze at the wondrous bounty that awaited them. Oh, what torture that must have been for them.

When we finally snuck out to open presents, they were beyond ready. They ran right to the tree and started grabbing gifts. “This one’s mine, and so is this one”, said Ryder to every present he saw. Stefan stated that all of the big presents were his. Bigger is better when you don’t know what’s inside. Stefan ended up loving all of his small presents, which were Cars2 cars. Half way through opening presents, I made everyone stop while I cooked breakfast. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, corned beef hash, and grits were gobbled up almost before I was done cooking. Oh what a way to get kids to eat on Christmas morning! It was also a way for me to stretch out the present opening time for as long as I could. Usually we are done opening presents within a half hour. Not this year. I drug it out like it was the last Christmas ever (and it just may be, according to the Mayans).

After presents we started opening the boxes to all the tracks, action figures, and animated toys, we realized that we were not prepared at all for how many batteries we would need. Who takes into account how many toys need what batteries? I’ll bet there are people out there who have a running list of batteries needed. I’m not that organized, and I don’t wanna be. If I can be perfectly honest, putting toys together and “powering them up” was pretty hellish. One Hot Wheels track along took me an hour. Who are they making these things for? Rocket scientists? One of the things I put together seemed so simple that I thought, “This cannot be right”, and I took it apart just to reassemble it the exact same way again. I’m glad that part is over. Ryder spent a lot of time rummaging through the torn up paper that I had piled up, looking for more presents hiding in the wrapping paper graveyard.

The boys spent the whole day playing with their presents and being amazingly good.

I started dinner. The menu was glazed ham, cabbage, corned bread. I know, what a feast right? I wish I would have thought of something better. It was good though. I made these amazing meatballs for an appetizer. OH MY GOSH, they were delicious. I put one bag of frozen traditional style meatballs in a slow cooker with a can of cranberry sauce and a whole jar of chili sauce. It cooked for about five hours and they were so Smokey sweet. I wish I had some now. Dessert was the leftover stale cookies that Santa didn’t have the appetite to eat. Chocolate is chocolate, despite a little staleness. Ha ha ha. (or is it Ho ho ho, enjoy that Santa).

Regardless of the boys being good and the day being great, I couldn’t help but feeling overwhelmed at how selfish my children seemed. I want them to understand that Christmas isn’t just about presents, but how do you teach them that. How does Santa tie in with Jesus’s birthday? What a miracle that Santa just so happens to come on that day. Was he really born on December 25^th? Why, I thought the date was really sometime in the early fall. I mean, I guess it really doesn’t matter exactly. Why is it important that we know when Jesus was born? We certainly do not use this knowledge to celebrate His birthday—He tells us to commemorate His death, not His birth (I Corinthians 11:23-26). The true date, however, destroys the entire foundation of the Christmas holiday. Who could ever know for certain. I enjoy believing that Dec. 25^th is Jesus’s birthday, thus Christmas. I just do not know how to tell my children how Jesus and Santa go together. A simple, “Santa was Jesus’s homeboy.” Won’t work. I guess I will have to work on that one a bit and maybe get over my conspiracy theory. (I’m not putting down believing or religion, I’m religious and a follower of the lord, I’m just confused and sometimes feel that I’m being played).

To get back on track…It is now four days after Christmas and I am disappointed. The day was over as fast as it came, which seemed unusually fast this year. I wish Christmas day could span into a two or three-day event but the day was over in just a few hours. Now everything seems drab and tiring. All I can think about is having to take all these decorations down that I spent so long on. And my “real Christmas tree” idea wasn’t so brilliant. Walking through the house and suddenly getting shanked with a dried spruce needle is…well, its not fun.

Now that the big day is over with, I’m starting to prepare for the New Year. Now is the time for resolutions and promises that we “promise” to keep. I’m excited for what is to come in 2012. The outlook is sunny and I embrace a fresh start. Bring it on 2012. I’m ready!

Chicks Dig Scars

Yesterday was likely the scariest moment of my life. Let me paint the picture.

I had just gotten home from watching Breaking Dawn with my friend and her husband. (GREAT MOVIE, the book is better but WOW) Anyway, my friend and I were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a glass of moscato and chit chatting. The guys were watching the football game and my boys and her son were playing in the playroom. The boys kept arguing. One second they would be best friends and one second they would be fighting. Oh the complications of a childhood friendship. J Stefan came running out of the bedroom saying, “Robert isn’t my friend anymore, he doesn’t like me.” Shortly after, Robert walked up and said, “ I do too like you Stefan.” I was getting sick of the back and forth so I said, “You boys need to stop, you are friends.” Robert put his arms out to hug Stefan and when they hugged, they both starting laughing and getting a little rough when suddenly Stefan started to fall back and since he was hugging Lil’ Robert, he fell over on top of him. When they fell, the back of Stefan’s head hit the wall, right in the edge (corner). Yes, instinctively I said, “OH SH*T!” I knew that this was not going to be good. I ran over to him and dropped down to pick him up and he was screaming. Instant tears rolled down his cheeks. I put my hand over where he hit his head, he put his hand there too, and when we both drew our hands away, blood was everywhere. I jumped up and looked at it. Immediately I said, we need to go to the hospital now. It was deep and I was borderline panicking. Stefan stopped crying because I think he was amused watching me. Dad went to the bathroom and came back with a maxi pad saying, “Do you think this is alright?” I said, “Its perfect, hold in on his head.”

I got to the hospital in about 5 minutes and they took him in right away. Since it first happened, Stefan still hadn’t cried. When we got into our hospital room, they said that he would likely get some staples and that they were going to take a cat scan. While we waited, I took this picture.

Yes, its a maxi pad. You know, one of those super huge ones you get after having a baby. Eat your heart out ladies, i'll show you this one when he is 18 and dating. :)

Moving on, he was such a champ at the hospital. Before we went down to CAT scan, a nurse came in to clean up the wound, which really made a big difference to the appearance of his boo boo. He didn’t mind it being cleaned too much. I’m surprised that he still didn’t cry. He just didn’t like that the water was cold and that it was dripping down his back and getting on his shirt. After the woman cleaned his wound, we went down to CAT scan. Myself and the ladies that were there made a bid deal out of the fact that he couldn't move while it was "taking pictures". I got to stand right next to him and I was making jokes. "Ohh look, it looks like your going into the middle of a big super huge donut!" He wasn't amused and didn't make any facial gestures. His eyes started to get really big and watery. I asked him if he was going to cry. He said no. I asked him if he was okay and he said, "Mom, can I move my eyes?" loll. I said OF COURSE you can. :) He still tried not to but at least he finally blinked. He did really good with the test. Didn't move an inch.

 When we got back to the room, they decided to hurry up and staple that thing closed. The nurse explained to him what they were going to do and said it might hurt a little and he looked into my eyes and said, "Mom, I'm okay, lets just go home." I wish!They decided that they were not going to numb him up at all because the shot to numb the area would hurt more than the actual staples. I can understand that but I felt soo bad. He layed on his tummy with his chin on my leg and I held his arms down while another nurse held his head still. The doctor, really quickly, put three staples right in there. BANG BANG BANG! Well, not quite a bang but when your a mom, it feels like it. He cried really hard for a good minute but stopped shortly after.  Here are a few pics. One from right when we got to the hospital, one from after they cleaned it and one with the staples. I know, I know. I'm making a big deal out of this but I think I was a little traumatized.

This looks bad...but...

As you can see, its not THAT bad.

I guess I just freaked out.

Shortly after, we got our test results back and everything inside his head was okay. Shew! I was worried. Of course I thought the worst.
Back at home I gave him some Motrin and he layed in my bed with me while I got started on the two assignments for school I had due last night (which were done just in the nick of time). He fell asleep.

He got the sticker from the hospital and did not want to take it off at home so, I let him keep it on. Its not hurting anyone.

All night was rough. As soon as I would drift off to sleep, my eyes would snap open and I would swing around really quick to check on him, thinking I had been asleep for hours when in reality it was only 10 or 15 minutes. This happened all night. I was afraid that I had slept too long and that something had happened to him. I was scared that I would turn over to look at him and see something I didn't want to see. So, I really didn't sleep at all. I kept waking him up every hour to make sure he was okay. Maybe I took this head injury a little far but I hear such horror stories. I didn't want to take any chances.

He stayed home from school today. When I went to pick up Ryder, I stopped by Stefan's class to tell his teachers that he was okay and that he wouldn't stop talking about coming to school to show off his new "hardware". (which is so true)  I may let him go to school tomorrow if he feels up to it. When I went to his cubby, the whole class had wrote (drawn) him get well soon cards. The teacher said that they used free time to do it. I was so touched and surprised. When I brought the letters home to show Stefan he was surprised too. He said, "Oh my gosh, my friends really like me. I bet they miss me. I need to say thank you to them." He was happy that they were thinking about him.

He is doing great today and only cringes a little when he has an itch on his head or when I attempt to brush his hair. All in all, we are just fine!  :)

My balls are better than Babycakes! :)

Have you ever seen those Baby cakes baking machines? They are like easy bake ovens for adults and you can cook cupcakes, whoopee pies, doughnuts, and cake balls in them. Well, you would have to buy a different baby cake machine for each use but…you get the picture. Anyway, I am very bitter toward the cake ball machine. I have been making cake balls or as I call them “Cake Ball Bon-Bons” for years. The way I do it involves a lot of steps, its time consuming, and it is a lot of work. However, the ending product results in beautiful little cake treats that taste amazing. The Babycake machine took my cake ball and warped it into something different. All you do is pour cake batter into each of the rounded slots, close the lid and bake it. When it’s done, you are left with little balls of cake, they look like doughnut holes. Many people dip them in chocolate or put a design on them. I have seen them put on sticks as little cake lollipops also. Why am I so bitter toward this machine? Well, first of all, they don’t make balls that taste as good as mine and secondly, they make the process look to easy. (Plus, I feel like this was my idea and they stole it)

I have decided that the  thing that would make me most happy would be to give away my secret recipe for my version of Cake Balls. Maybe by doing this, people will forgo wasting money on the adult easy bake ovens and do it the old-fashioned way. Although they are more work, you and everyone else will be much more satisfied. Read on to be enlightened….or at least for my recipe. J

To make cake balls, you will need a box cake mix, one container of frosting and either almond bark, candy coating, or chocolate chips. You can use any flavor combination you would like. Here are a few I have used…

·         Chocolate cake, German chocolate frosting

·         Carrot cake, cream cheese frosting

·         Cherry cake, chocolate frosting

·         Caramel cake, chocolate frosting

·         Strawberry cake, chocolate frosting

There is a wide-open playing field of flavor combinations and colors. It all depends on what you want and what you want it to look like. So, have fun with your choice. Today I chose white cake mix with white frosting and white almond bark. I have a baby shower to go to and I’m bringing cake balls for dessert. The shower is for a baby girl so, I’m going to use food coloring to dye my cake pink.

What you do is mix up the cake as directed on the box and bake it just as it says. That’s pretty simple right? Now, right when the cake is done baking, rather than letting the cake cool and frosting it, take a fork, and scrape the cake into a big bowl. That’s right, it will be crumbly and it will ruin the cake but that is the point. In the bowl, you will have broken, crumbly, cake. It’s perfectly okay. Next, take the whole container of frosting and plop it right on top of the crumbled up bake. Take a fork and mix it all together. Break up the cake as much as you can and make sure it the cake and frosting are mixed up together really well. (Yes, it will look like someone chewed up a cake and spit it back into the bowl…but it is do delish and will look amazing when we are done) Put the mixture in the fridge to chill. I usually will chill it for between 3 to 24 hours. When you take it out of the fridge, it will look like this.

I told you it wouldn’t be pretty. Now, either melt your chocolate chips or melt your almond bark. I like to put my almond bark in a small saucepan with sort of tall sides, turn the heat to low, and let it go.

Although almond bark is usually easy to work with, it can get messed up really easily so, keep these tips in mind.

1.       Do not put a lid on it when melting it. Even a drop of water from condensation can ruin the entire batch.

2.       Use a double boiler if not microwaving (if you’re not skilled at working with it).

3.       Keep it at a uniform temperature. If it gets cool and warm and cool again, little lumps will form and you will have to remelt them before using it again and this can mess up the bark.

4.       If it’s too hot, it will scorch and be too think to use or it will lose moisture and…be too thick to use.

5.       Do not put water, cream, milk, oil, or butter in it to “remelt” it. It won’t work and the mixture will seize up. The package say’s you can use shortening but, I have tried that and it didn’t work either.

While it melts, start rolling your cake into balls. I use a melon baller to make each ball uniform. I think it holds about 2tsp. and I can usually get about 75 to 100 cake balls out of one batch. Once all of your balls are rolled, make sure your chocolate is melted, and lay down a piece of wax paper or parchment paper on the counter. I like to use a fork and a knife when coating the balls with the melted bark. Put one ball into the melted bark. Make sure it is fully covered. Pick it up out of the bark with the fork and gently tap the fork on the side of the pan to get any excess off and to smooth the bark on the ball. Then, move the fork over to the wax paper and gently slide the ball off of the fork with the knife. Keep doing this until all of your balls are covered. If you plan to put sprinkles on your balls, do it while the bark is still wet because it will harden. Decorate them however you want. Play with it and have fun!

Once they harden, you can pick them up and break off any excess hardened bark to make it look nice. I like to place each ball in a mini muffin paper cup. It makes them look pretty and it hides any imperfections. Also, it’s easier to package them and transport them this way. I forgot to get the paper cups so, I’ll just break off the hard bits and put them on a platter. J

…..and if you think those are good, you’ll love the cookie bon-bons!

Extreme Couponing...Made easy?

A dear friend of mine has recently embarked on the mission of becoming an extreme couponer. I have to say, I wouldn’t take this challenge very lightly. This has to be the hardest way to save money ever. She informed me of some of her tips and tricks and I started to get interested. Yes, I researched the topic for hours online in hopes of gaining knowledge from these coupon queens. It seemed easy enough at first. I mean, we’ve all watched the shows. Clip a bunch of coupons, head on out to the store, and WooHoo, rack up those savings. Before you know it…$700 worth of groceries for $30.

But wait, back up! Its not that easy. We can eventually get to that point, but there are a few things we need to keep in mind, let me share the knowledge I have learned with you and then I’ll let you in on my little plan.

·         First, A friend turned me onto a website called, couponingdodisney.com. This websites give you coupon, tips on how to use them, and much more. In addition, the plan is to put all the money that you save from couponing into an account to use toward a trip to Disney World. Who doesn’t want that? For an extreme couponer, this can happen quite quickly.

·         Second, when you go to those coupon websites, a really good friend gave me an amazing tip to…rather than typing in your zip code (they always ask for it so you can get coupons tailored to your area), type in the zip code for an area with a high cost of living, such as L.A. The coupons you get are normally for a higher face value. What would be a .35 cent coupon here may be $1 there.

·         It is also important to remember that extreme couponing like you see on TLC takes a lot of time. It is almost a part time or sometimes a full time job, and not just for one person. Family’s usually get everyone involved in the process.

·         I like to set a goal for myself when using coupons. It is usually a low goal such as 10% or 15%. When I reach my goal, I feel great. As I learn more about couponing, I can incorporate it in as I go.

·         Also, stores have different coupon policies – the way coupons were allowed at the store on the show may not be the same at your local store, even if it is the same “brand” of store. The same store could have different “policies” at different locations. Some will double or triple coupons, some don’t. Some limit the number of “like coupons,” some don’t. Some will even limit the number of coupons per transaction. Find out your local store’s coupon policy before shopping with coupons. Don’t assume just because you saw it on TV that you can do it too.

·         Instead of hording an excessive amount of groceries that you and your family may never use, donate them. The show Extreme Couponing has yet to highlight this. Everyone has some huge stockpile of groceries. Tell me, who uses 20 bottles of mustard? In their life? Nobody does. If you can get a whole mess of stuff for super cheap or free, keep what you will need/use and by all means, donate the rest to a homeless shelter or food bank. Remember that there are some people who cannot afford to even buy ANY groceries. Why not let your mad skills help someone feed THEIR family?

Lastly, I have a couple of my own tips. Go to the websites of your local grocery stores and see if they have any online coupons you can print and use in conjunction with the other coupons you have. Also, look for twofer” deals. For example: Pomegranate juice was on sale 2/$4 today at my local Town & Country. I had two coupons for $1 off of one pom. Juice. So, I ended up paying $2 for 2 juices. No, that isn’t very extreme but I cut the cost in half. Some stores have those store cards, such as Jewl/Osco, that enable you to save more or to rack up points for a discount or something later. Take advantage of these. They can’t hurt.

Alright well, that’s all I have. Hey, I’m a beginner, what do you expect from me? J These are some good tips to start out with though. Now with my plan…

I have challenged myself to an extreme couponing excursion. For the next three weeks, I’m going to cut every coupon I can find. I’ll look in my local newspaper(s) as well as online for the best coupons I can find. On the fourth week, I’m going to shop with my coupons. I’ll do my best to really track what is going to be on sale at what stores to see where i can get the most BANG for my couponing buck. I have no idea exactly what I am going to do or how it will go but my goal is to cut my bill in half. Yes, that is 50% off what I would pay without coupons. Four weeks from today, I will post a picture of my receipt so everyone can see how I did. If you have any other tips or tricks, please let me know!

Wish me luck! And good luck to you if you decide to take on the challenge too!

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P.S. I have been informed by a few people that they are having trouble adding comments. Someone told me that you have to have a Google e-mail account and you have to preview your comment before you post it. Just thought I would let you know!

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