January - check!

I was busy all weekend with some of my favorite ladies,

so while I didn't make any blog posts,

I did manage to bake and decorate a baby shower cake -

Get a much needed pedicure -

AND place an order to print all of my January 2010 photos.

Nothing like coming down to the wire, huh?

(I can't believe it's February tomorrow!)

But if I hadn't made this goal, 

I guarantee I wouldn't have done it at all.

So, I'm pretty proud of myself right now.

To celebrate, 

Adam and I rented this -

I've been wanting to see it forever

because I love Don Draper

but we never made it to the theater.

We plan to hit it up this weekend though

because there are lots of movies I want to see right now.

Does anyone have a "must-see-in-the-theater" 

recommendation for me?

Photo Sorting in Progress

Hello!
I'd like to think you people miss me,
but maybe your week has been crazy too
and you haven't noticed my absence.
Regardless, let me tell you what I've been up to.
My January deadline for 2011 Goal #1 is fast approaching
and I've got a few guests coming for the weekend,
so I've gotta finish it up on weeknights.
I mean, I can't fail on this plan in the first month, right?!
Anyone working on their photo nightmare with me?
Kari?
Holly?
(crickets)
Okay I'll hurry up and get it done,
so I can show you what else is going on around here!

Earthquake Cake

 This cake couldn't be easier to make

and it always gets rave reviews.

I got the recipe from
my good pal Erica from the Team Europe days.

 Oh but I need a vacation!

Since one of those is no where in my future -
let me tell you how to make this infamous cake.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
and spray a cake pan with cooking spray.

Line the bottom of the pan with coconut and chopped nuts.

Grab a white cake mix and simply follow the directions on the box.

Then pour the cake mix into the cake pan 

on top of the chopped nuts and coconut.

Smooth the cake mix out,

 until it covers evenly in the pan.

Grab some butter and throw it in the microwave.

Take the melted butter and some softened cream cheese,

And mix them together.

Slowly begin to stir in powdered sugar.

Then, stir in some more!

After warming the mixture up a little bit,

 Pour it into the cake pan on top of the cake mix.

Smooth the cream cheese mixture out evenly over the cake mix,

And then pop that baby in the oven.

It looks like this when it's finished baking,

And it tastes like a small piece of heaven.

I wish I had a picture of a slice cut out, 

but this cake went so fast I never had time to

snap a photo of a piece on a plate.

You're going to have to make it yourself 

and see just how rich and fabulous this cake is.

Earthquake Cake
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts (I use pecans & walnuts)
1 1/2 c. coconut
1/4 c. butter
3 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 white cake mix

Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle the coconut and nuts on the bottom of the pan. Prepare the white cake mix as directed on the box. Pour cake mix over the coconut and chopped nuts. Melt butter in a large bowl and mix with softened cream cheese. Add in powdered sugar and mix well.Once fully mixed, head the mixture in microwave for a few seconds so that it softens and can be easily poured on top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
 

Condo Fun (or not so much)

Well, condo weekend came and went.

While we were there we celebrated another birthday.

 Walt loved Grandma's chocolate cake,

but he wasn't too sure about
the other things he tried over the weekend.

Take swimming for instance.
Walt had been to the lake last summer
and it took him awhile to warm up to it.
So Adam took him to the pool to see if he'd like that any better.

Nope.

He didn't care for it much.

He loves playing with toys in the bathtub,

but not even these little toys

could convince him to stay in the pool.

He just wanted out and after one brief second attempt,

It was clear that this was where he'd rather be -

dry, warm, and snuggling with his mama.

For his second new experience,

we thought we'd take him sledding!

He got all dressed up in his snow clothes,

and headed outside with Dad.

I thought he'd get a kick out of

being pulled around the lake in a sled.

Afterall, he LOVES being pulled around the house

in a diaper box we've now tied a rope to.

But I was wrong.

Even after climbing in with him,

he wasn't too sure about the whole thing.

He made the same little cry he did the day before at the pool.

Never an all out wail, but just a whiny

"I don't think I like this" kind of cry

throughout the whole experience.

By the time Dad pulled us around to the condo parking lot,

Walt was doing a little bit better.

He almost smiled here -

but that could be because he could see the condo

and knew we were getting out!

Carmel Crispix

 Like I said before, we're heading to the condo -

so of course we have to bring snacks!

Here's one of my favorites.

All you need is a box of Crispix,

some butter, brown sugar, and white corn syrup to start.

 Throw the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup into a large bowl,

 and melt it in the microwave.

 Then dump in the box of Crispix,

 and delicately turn the cereal over in the melted carmel mixture.

 It won't seem like enough carmel to cover all the cereal at first, 

but stick with it.
After stirring, pop it back in the microwave for a minute

and then stir it again. 

 Repeat once more and before you know it,

all the cereal will be covered.

 Next, line a cookie sheet with some wax paper,

 and spread out your carmel-covered cereal.

 I usually pop it in the fridge to cool off
while I take on this next part.

 Grab some chocolate chips and butterscotch chips,

 and melt them in the microwave.

 I've used peanut butter before instead of butterscotch chips,

when I didn't have them on hand.

Either way is great.

 I like to scoop the chocolate topping into a ziploc bag 

to make it easier to drizzle over the Crispix.

 Just snip off one of the corners,

and squeeze the chocolate topping onto the cereal.

 After it was all squished out of the bag,

I grabbed a spoon and spread it around some more.

 Once it's good and covered, 

pop it back in the fridge until the chocolate sets.

 After the chocolate is chilled,

bust up your carmel Crispix into chunks,

and fill a large bowl with snack-sized pieces.

Just take a look at this deliciousness -

  Try and tell me you don't want some.

 WARNING: Do not lick your computer screen.

 This is one recipe you're going to want to try for sure.
I'm telling you though, it's addictive
and very hard to stop eating once you start!

Carmel Crispix

1 box Crispix cereal

7 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp white corn syrup

1 c. brown sugar

2 c. of any mixture of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or peanut butter. Do whatever you want for the drizzle - you can't really screw it up. 

Melt butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add cereal and stir as best you can. Put bowl with carmel and cereal mixture back into the microwave for one minute and then stir. Repeat one more time. Spread Crispix on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips and drizzle on top of carmel-covered Crispix. Refrigerate until chocolate is set and then break into snack-sized pieces.