100!

Silly life, getting in the way of blogging. :) Things have been busy over here. The past ten days have included: Jake's birthday, going to a musical, dinner at friends, celebrating Jake getting a new job, ski tailgating, caterer tasting, and poker night. So, while there is lots to talk about, I want to talk about something else - my 100th post!

That's right, I someone made it to 100 posts, even though I post so sporadically. My goal for April is to post ten times. :)

Oh,wedding update: the caterer tasting went really well. I like the company we are working with and feel excited about our food choices. Our plan is to do passed appetizers, then a buffet dinner. The buffet will include salad, bread, sides, and a fish dish. There will also be a carving station for the meat eaters. I need to pick linens now. There are so many small items to think about!

Did I mention the invitations arrived? My mom and aunt have beautiful calligraphy and offered to address the invitations. Mostly, I think they were afraid of my handwriting. Who knew addressing invitations was so detailed? Do I want formal or informal? Are friends Mr. and Mrs. John Smith or John and Sarah Smith? I decided friends our age should be John and Sarah Smith, while family adults are Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. Invites won't go out for a while, but it's so nice to have them done!!

Cake Balls Disaster

Today I had an epic baking fail. I decided to make Jessica's Cake Truffles, also called Cake Balls. I've seen different versions all across the blog world and wanted to make them. I decided the combination of St. Patrick's Day and Jake's birthday would be a good time.

First up, bake a cake. I used a red velvet cake mix. No problems. I baked it last night to get a start on the whole process (and it is a long process). Then you mix in the frosting and put it in the fridge for at least two hours. No problem, except the kitchen looked like a murder scene with all the red smears. Then you have to roll the balls. TWSS.

Then came dipping in chocolate. This was the major fail. The recipe said it would make about 40 cake ball - I got over 60. It said I needed 6 oz of chocolate, I started with almost ten. Once it melts, you gently roll the balls in the chocolate and place them on a parchment. The chocolate seems really thick. I was using around .5 oz per ball. After struggling through 4 balls, I thought to myself, "why not make a ganache instead of just melted chocolate?" I have made ganaches before with no problem. Today, I got this.


That doesn't look delicious at all! Lame. I threw that out and grabbed the last bag of chocolate. I started again. An entire bag of chocolate covered 10 more balls. Obviously I need more practice with the chocolate enrobing.*


I have 45 balls of cake/frosting left. Any suggestions what I can do with them? I sure as hell am not enrobing any more. To make matters worse, they aren't even that good. Jake tried one and was like "eh. I'd rather have the real cake." I will not be making these labor-intensive balls again. Sad face.

*It's the actual technical term.

Ski challenge and results

Skiing Sunday started off fun enough. I decided to challenge myself and do some harder blacks than I normally would (steep with bumps and trees). It was slow going and I accidentally went backwards for a bit, but I made it down in one piece.

That got me feeling pretty confident, so later in the day, I decided to go fast down Starfire (very steep bits). I made it down fine the first time, but had a bit of trouble the second time. By trouble, I mean I completely wiped out. My skis flew off and I tumbled head over heels. At one point, I remember thinking "grab the ski." This happened as the ski was flying towards me. I did catch it, with my face. Luckily, besides that bop, I was uninjured. Jake was right behind me and grabbed my other ski. My hero!

Last night though, most of me ached. My face feels twingey when I make a long face, yawn or smile too hard. (I took a picture, but you can't really see the mark.) My shins ached and the top of my back was very sore. I think the shin ache was from not stretching enough after skiing and then doing my long driving commute yesterday. I sat on the couch with a heating pad for an hour or so and that helped. This morning, I feel fine. :)

Moral of the the story: skiing fast is fine, as long as there is a heating pad waiting for you at home.

Biggest Loser Rant - possible spoilers

I've been watching the Biggest Loser for three seasons now. When Mike ran a 5K at over 350 pounds, I decided then and there that I could run one, too. I've enjoyed watching the contestants lose weight and change lives. This season, Arthur has annoyed me to no end.

I get that he is the biggest contestant ever, and that everyone wants to help him. I was just so glad he got voted off. His crying and everybody fawning over him just grated me. Do I hope he loses a ton of weight and lives a happy and healthy life? Definitely. Do I want to watch him for several more weeks? No. Am I excited for next week's episode after watching the all-girl black team completely dominate? Heck yes.

And, rant over.