Cake Balls!

So, as is usually the case, I was talking about food/desserts/baking with coworkers, and one of them suggested "cake balls." I probably could have made them just based on her instructions, but I looked up a "recipe" anyway and came across some helpful hints in the comments on allrecipe.com's version.

Step One is baking an easy cake from a store-bought package of mix, letting it cool for about 40 minutes, and crumbling it up in a bowl.

Step Two is dumping most of a can of (again, store-bought) frosting into the cake crumbles and mixing it all together. I first did this with a spatula, then with a fork. If you're thinking this is gross, it definitely looks it at this stage.

This is what the beginning of your (many) dirty dishes involved in this endeavor looks like:



Step Three is refrigerating it for about 10 minutes (or longer -- in my case, I got impatient and did not want to be up all night doing this, so that's why the refrigeration was quick ... some people suggest hours, but I think that's bollocks) and then rolling the gooey mess into balls (thus the name "cake balls"):



Step Four is a pretty necessary one -- you need to freeze these little guys for at least an hour. It makes it easier for when you dip them into melted chocolate.

Step Five you can do just before you're ready to take the balls out of the freezer (haha): melt some chocolate! I just melted a bag of milk chocolate chips over the stove (well, you should do the "double boiler" method so as not to burn them -- I just took a little sauce pan and heated some water over low-medium heat, and had this little pan of chocolate chips resting inside of it and melting away):



Now comes the fun/messy/frustrating (but creative!) part ...

Step Six is taking yourself to a calm, peaceful place before you pain-stakingly try to dip these little balls into your melted chocolate using toothpicks to help get them all doused, out, and resting on a cookie sheet of wax paper (if you have a better method, please do share!!). Obviously, I used chocolate everything for these cake balls, but you can use melted white chocolate, different cake mix, coconut on top (as you can see, I used sprinkles), whatever you want!!


Here they are as I'm dipping and sprinkling them. Note that if you want them to have decorations, like sprinkles or something, you have to adorn them immediately after dipping them -- the chocolate hardens really quickly 'cause the balls are so cold (hehe).

Step Seven is, after you got all your balls ready, putting them in the fridge to set. I left them there over night, and they were perfect.


(Don't judge my fridge, haha.)

And, lastly, you can put them in paper truffle cups or cupcake cups -- mine were all a little too big for BOTH sizes, but I managed to squeeze them in there anyway.

They are quite delicious! I somehow restrained myself from eating any in-progress cake balls while I was making them, but now that they're all finished, I indulged, and they do not disappoint! Next I'd like to try experimenting with HEALTHIER options, 'cause I know Betty Crocker and Pilsbury cake ingredients are not the healthiest ... haha.

Just a few things ...

A. I say this all the time, but I really feel that I would have been ... I dunno, better, in the '80s. I truly wish I could live in a time where neon-colored tights, destroyed denim, and BIG hair were awesome, not to mention there were no cell phones (serious on this one), no Internet, even ...

B. Have you ever felt that you were capable of really, really great things, but you just don't know where to begin or what, exactly, you should be channeling all your energy toward ... ?

C. Thinking of re-activating my Facebook. I know, get with the program, but I was thinking about it earlier, and it's been EIGHT months since I've had a Facebook, and I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything per say, but last night, being with all my family, it made me realize that it's a really easy way to keep in touch and share your life with people of your choosing (duh, I know).

D. Speaking of last night (family + Facebook and '80s thoughts), I rearranged my entire room, cleaned out my whole closet (which is HUGE, so that's not a small feat), and gathered a bunch of unwanted clothes that I donated this morning. I was the only person in my entire complex who was home last night, so I took full advantage and hogged all the washing and drying machines. I was super productive.

I guess that's it. The only other mention-worthy things in my head are:

I bought a normally $150 CHI flatiron for $86 at JC Penny's this morning;

I realized that Superbowl Sunday (i.e., my next half-marathon) is right around the corner, so I ran about 6 miles this morning;

I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more ... I think I may be OCD about this.

Wet jeans, free shots, 'Pretty Lights' and more

First, the wet jeans thing:


One of the dryers in my complex is not working (which I found out two hours and $2 later), so I had to resort to drying my jeans this way. Let me tell you, the weather has not been warm, and even after letting them dry in my open-window bathroom for two days and then putting them under my bed covers for a full day, they were still icey cold when I put them on. Yeah, I guess I went through some desperate measures, and it would have been a lot easier and made a lot more sense to just go to a laundromat, but A) I was being stubborn, and B) I did not want to spend any more money trying to get my pants dry (though I did frequent Starbucks more than was necessary).

So, that random tangent aside, it was Thanksgiving weekend. I made Tawnee's sweet potato cornbread (which I believe she got from the "Gluten-free Girl" blog, and it was definitely yummy. I also made about the third batch of pumpkin-chocolate-chip cookies in a month:



Still have leftovers. Come and take them, please!

Next, the free shots thing. Some of my girlfriends and I went to Fred's Mexican Cafe in the Gaslamp on Saturday. I've been there before, and there's really not much interesting to say about it except that we were some of the few people in the restaurant (guess 7ish on Thanksgiving weekend equates to low-turnout, but who knows), and we got a round of shots from the manager because he liked our singing. This is funny because A) I was the only one of the four of us singing, and B) I have a horrible voice. Thinking about my duet in my middle school's musical performance of "Grease" still makes me cringe. So that (followed by Henry's Pub, Whiskey Girl and Syrah) was Saturday. And here I am being a total cheesy tourist:



The following night, I went to see Pretty Lights at the House of Blues. It was an awesome show that definitely held my interest despite my grogginess and overall low energy. The drummer was awesome, the DJ was awesome, the lights were awesome ... but I think the most awesome was the people-watching. Oh. Em. Gee. I've never been to a rave, but I imagine one to be similar to this concert -- only way "worse" (for lack of a better word). There were so many people who were clearly on drugs (my guess is ecstasy?), and I even got offered a little baggie full of pills by some girl who looked like she was 15 years old, complete with a mismatched outfit and those '80s-looking sunglasses that are suddenly in style. Needless to say, I politely declined because drugs are just not my thing. I did accept a glow-stick bracelet from another girl, though. The best way to explain how this show was is to show you:



So that's my long weekend in a nutshell. Forgot to mention that I've gotten hooked on "Dexter" (just finished Season One), but holy moly am I having some F-ed up dreams as a result of watching it right before bed.

Snooze

I need to not set my alarm (and coffee pot) for 5:15 a.m. if I'm incapable of getting out of bed before 7:10. I really wanted to go to a spin class at 6 a.m. (ha!) but did that happen? 'Course not. Maybe I should keep my phone in the kitchen, next to the already-brewing coffee pot, so that I'm forced to get out of bed to silence my beyond-annoying alarms (Belinda Carlile, frogs and banjos, Antoine Dodson, whatever the day's alarm may be...).

I did do some yoga last night (sub was not that great, but I felt bad for him 'cause a ton of people just walked out of this class halfway through), and I did Bootcamp the night before. I love that Bootcamp class -- the next five weeks will have themed classes ('80s, camo, crazy socks, etc.) ... fun stuff!

And I'm happy that I, once again, am enjoying pumpkin oatmeal. Thanks to Tawnee for tipping me off that Trader Joe's stocked up on canned pumpkin (epic fail to Henry's).

That is all.

Marvy

I can't get over what a freakin' cuuute kitty I have!! This is Marvin, a.k.a. "Snacks" -- he's a pound kitty, about nine or 10 years old, and he lives at my parents' house:



Lovvve him!!

Despite it only being Tuesday, having a busy week ahead of me yet, and feeling a little groggy, I am in an excellent mood. Hoping to get in a good workout today after work. May go for a run at the bay or something if it stays nice out later!

Time for another post!

What I failed to mention about the half-mar was that I think I sprained my big toe on my right foot. It never swelled up or turned black and blue, but it felt ... funny. It feels considerably better, though, and I even ran down to and all through Balboa Park yesterday morning. I did tape it, though, so I am pretty sure that helped me feel OK enough to make the whole run. HOWEVER, some lovely cramps (of the female kind) set in about 2/3 of the way through my run, and it was tough making it back home. All's well that ends well, though, right?

It's been tough getting back into gym/active mode. I have gone on a couple hikes, though:



I love working so close to that mountain 'cause if I just can't bring myself to go to the gym after work (especially on really nice days, like that one) it is a great alternative. And one of my best friends lives right there, too, and is usually up for hiking with me.

I started paying a visit to these little guys at the lake/trails by my work during my lunch hour (when I'm able to leave the office, anyway):



Cuuute. I got some funky little tan lines on my feet from the heels I was wearing that day -- guess it was as sunny and hot as it felt!

Finally, a mini update on my beloved avocado seeds (I must have like seven of them at various stages right now). I just planted this one (right after taking the picture, in fact) in a pot with soil in it, and it's (hopefully still) thriving at my parents' house:



Cross your fingers for me!

Next on the agenda is hopefully paying a visit to the Stone Brewing Co., the San Diego Fair (where I'd like to get a permanent toe ring like Vanessa's), and maybe finding some more festivals to go to. The latest one I went to was a Greek festival down the street from my house, where I entered to win (and apparently didn't) tickets to Athens, among other prizes. Boooo. Did eat a lot of good food, though.

In a nutshell ...

So, it's been several months since I last wrote here. I think I get to the point where it's been so long, that what good is an update now? Not like I need to recap every minute detail in my life since February, but in a nutshell, here's what I've been up to:

met some cool new people,

solidified friendships I already had (couldn't ask for better friends than Devon and Vanessa!),

moved out again,

went to Mexico,

kayaked for the first time (in Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja, with fin whales!!),

ran my first half marathon with my amazingly inspirational and perservering little sister,

took my first Vegas trip,

did some random stuff like went paintballing, saw some concerts, partook in some cool festivals, and got a little more involved with work and volunteering.

On the half-marathon front: I tried to take running and this sport a lot more seriously when I initially signed up for the full Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (and later switched after talking to Giselle and my sister), and for having not really trained/built up to as much as I should have for this (I seriously hadn't run at ALL for a couple of weeks prior), I think my time of 2:04 for 13.1 miles was not too shabby! I owe it all to my sister, too. I know I was having a "good" running day 'cause I felt amazing 'til about mile 10.5, but from that point 'til the end, my sister was still speeding through people and encouraging me to keep up with her. I really did contemplate hanging back and letting her go off, but I just couldn't do it :)



And, she already took the liberty of signing us up for another half, in Huntington Beach. Not 'til February, and I'm sure we'll squeeze another one in there before then, but I have heard this one is really beautiful ... plus, all the calories at a potential Super Bowl party later that day would be well-earned!


My crazy friends. This is at a beer festival; go figure.


Vegas.

Well, that's all for now. It's still crazy busy at work, and I'm still, believe it or not, catching up on sleep from weeks ago. Just never enough time in the day, and if there is, it's filled with some work-type aspect that just has to be done!