Mock Chocolate Mousse

This dessert only wishes it was Chocolate Mousse, but when you're craving something lighter and delicious (and are a chocoholic like my husband and I are) then this is the treat for you.

It is ridiculously simple to make.

You will need a box of pudding mix (they cost 50 cents at every grocery store, there is really no excuse not to have a box in your pantry), and a container of Cool Whip.

Make pudding mix like the instructions tell you to on the side of the box. Once set, mix with Cool Whip. It doesn't really matter how much or how little you use, do it until you like the taste. (YES! That means you get to taste it as you go!)

Serve in a cute dish or container. (We got these martini glasses when we got married and haven't used them yet, they worked out perfect!)

I covered it in sprinkles for the sake of making it look cute. Yes, those are Christmas sprinkles, because that's how I roll, yo.

Bubba devoured it and really enjoyed it. The proof is in the photo.

Grandma's Have the Neatest Things

Today my mom and I took the baby to my grandmothers house as a surprise. She has been on dialysis for quite awhile and every Saturday my mom picks her up from the dialysis center and takes her home. They'll pick up lunch on the way and enjoy time at her house together. We decided that since she hadn't seen the baby since he was born it'd be a nice change of pace for her. Also, her house is super sterile due to her dialysis, so I knew it was one of the safe places I could take the baby at his age. 

While there, I got to peeking around her house and really admiring those items in her home. She'd always had fun furnature and interesting pieces around her home, but I hadn't really gotten a chance to admire those pieces. Since I had a camera handy (I was planning on taking some photos but grandma didn't want her photo taken today), I took photos of the neat items in her home. 

Like this couch. Isn't it fabulous? I LOVE it and always have. She bought it in 1976, and it is in a room with matching yellow walls and green carpet. She refuses to change the room, despite it being out of date (her words, not mine) and calls this room her "70's room". Believe it or not, she has yellow arm chairs to match! I LOVE it. (and yes, because I am selfish and because grandma often asks what I want in the will, I did ask for this couch. My husband is going to KILL me.)

This next piece is actually a glass case inside of a table top. Inside of it are pieces from our ancestors that my grandma has actually tracked down while doing family history. Those glasses belonged to a great great grandfather of mine, as well as the spur. The earrings belonged to her grandmother, and that crappy shadow in the glass? Well, that's goofy me thinking I could snap a photo of it without my reflection appearing in it 

I wish I could go through and photograph her whole house, because seriously, my grandma has the coolest things in her home! A chair that depicts a fairy tale (and it is super comfy!), a life sized pencil drawing of the human muscular system, a collection of gemstones displayed beautifully and so much more. Grandma's have the neatest things!

Weekend Links

I wanted to introduce the Weekend Links blog post to this blog. The basic gist of it is that I take my reading list and blogs that I follow and post the best blog posts of the week. Basically, if you're going to read anything, read these.

• DIY's: Julie Ann Art posted a great post on how to make a DIY Reflector.
  I really need to make one myself! Delightfully Tacky posted a tutorial on how to DIY wedges. They're so cute! 
  Look! Celina posted a how to on the blogger bun!
• Life: Lovely Little Things posted a guest post on Hollie Takes Notes about My Real Life vs. My Pinterest Life.
  5 Elephants posted a lovely list of Lady-Like things to do!
  Over at a Beautiful Mess blog she posted about Unlearning and Starting Fresh.
  Little Chief Honeybee posted a reminder all girls need to hear.
  Absolute Mommy posted 10 Things to do on Leap Day.
• Fashion Blogging: My Classy Confessions posted an outfit that I adore (and the skirt is to die for!)
  I believe in unicorns also posted a Garden Party Gorgeous outfit.
  At la vie petite she posted an outfit with a skirt I'd love to own (she said she made it! Where can I find that pattern?)
  Over at Modern Modest Beauty she shows how to update a basic tee. 
• Other Awesomeness: Love Notes By Lauryn posted a really cute Calendar for March! Go check it out and follow her before downloading it!

Go check out these awesome blogs! If you didn't see yours listed, shoot me and e-mail and chew me out and send me a link to your blog so that I can follow you and get it on the books for next week! 

Have an awesome weekend! 

Pizza Roll Ups

I am a fan of Pizza, but can be awfully picky on the kind of Pizza I eat (it happens when you worked at a Pizza place for over two years). This recipe is perfect - it is light, homemade (made my apartment smell delicious), and actually REALLY good!   My husband and I enjoyed them as a dinner, but they are much more fitting as a snack. I cannot wait to make them for our next family party or get-together!

What You'll Need:

Crescent Rolls
Pepperoni (or any toppings you'll like on yours)
Shredded Cheese

How to do it:

Unroll your crescent rolls onto a baking sheet. Prep your oven according to the instructions on the roll (ours said 375 for 8-10 minutes).

Place your ingredients on the roll. The colder the ingredient, the harder it will be to roll. Once your ingredients are on there, roll the crescent roll up tightly. I sprinkled the cheese on the top of my rolls, but you don't need to.

Bake. Because your rolls have things inside of it, it doesn't need to be cooked as long as the rolls say to. I cooked mine for about 6 minutes and they turned out perfect.

Enjoy them! Make sure you wait for the sheet to cool down first! I didn't with the first two and it left bits of roll on the baking sheet. Once it was cooled down they popped off very easy and clean!

What would you put in your pizza roll ups? I'd like to consider ham and pineapple next time! Or pepperoni and bacon!

11 Things

There are five rules:

1. Post these rules.

2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.

3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.

4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.

5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.

My Random Things: 

1. I can lick my elbow. No joke. How do I do it you ask? My shoulder dislocates, making it possible to dislocate my shoulder, pull my arm forward across my chest and TA-DA! Elbow successfully licked.

2. My favorite food is German food. I make some awesome Saurkraut and Potato Dumplings, and am working on perfecting my Oma's Potato Salad Recipe.

3. My eyes change color with my mood. When I'm happy, they're blue, when I'm sad they're green, and when I'm angry, they turn a scary light-blue that looks almost white. My dads eyes do it too. It's kinda cool.

4. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. Not sure what life would be like if I didn't write. 

5. When I was a kid I was a mushmouth. Coke Cola was "Coka-la-la", Magazines were "Maza-gines" and I couldn't say "Liver Lips" (my dads nickname for me) to save my life, it was "Wibber Wips." Since then I've learned to speak...or so I think. 

6. I am the oldest child in my family. I am also one of two children, and one of three grandchildren (yes, both sides). My family is TINY. 

7. My husband is my best friend. Even when we fight he makes me laugh. Fights don't last. 

8. My pain tolerance is kind of scary to doctors. I have a history of breaking bones and not realizing it. So far I've broken my foot in three places, my collarbone, and my hand (three bones in two places) without knowing it. We found out when it was starting to heal. Also, I've torn my left shoulder to the point of permanent dislocation that needed surgical repair. 

9. My favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy. I watch it every week- even if it is a rerun. I also own all the seasons on DVD and on Itunes. I'm addicted.

10. Craft stores make me feel awfully zen. I don't know if its the smell of the fake flowers, or the possibilities of creating whatever I'd like, or the fact that I can thrift REALLY well at craft stores, but I LOVE em. When I am stressed my husband hands me a $20 and sends me there for an hour. Even if I don't buy anything- it's awesome. 

11. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I've considered everything from Journalism to Nursing, to Floral design to Doctor. I hope that one day I can finally make up my mind and go back to school. People with degrees are proven to live a more successful life...and successful people are awesome. 

Here are the questions that Susannah asked me:

1. Who's your celebrity crush? I have a thing for the super-dorky, unattractive male actors. Seth Rogan is my favorite, but between you and me, I think it is because he reminds me of my husband. 

2. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a writer. I spent hours on the computer writing novels and short stories and spent my days carrying a notebook around. It was up until I got into high school that I got "realistic" and started looking at other options.

3. What's your favorite flower? Daisies. They're such a happy flower!

4. If you could only drink one thing for the rest of your life besides water, what would it be? Coke Cola. I suffer from chronic migraines and aside from taking meds (Which I hate to do), I use coke as my medication to help me get by.

5. Do you believe in ghosts? Yep. The stories I could tell you from working in a hospital and nursing home at night shift would make you believe too. 

6. What's your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant? I love Chili's Half Turkey Club and Cup of Broccoli Cheese Soup. They don't have it anymore, but it is SO GOOD.

7. What was your favorite cartoon as a kid? Pokemon ruled my life.

8. What's your favorite thing to wear from your closet? My Grey's Anatomy steel grey scrub set. I cannot wait to loose the baby weight and get back into my Grey's Anatomy scrubs.

9. If you could wake up tomorrow with the knowledge and ability to do something that you can't do now, what would it be? I'd like to be able to understand the total workings of my car and how to fix anything that needed to be with it.

10. What's your favorite song of all time? The Fray's How to Save a Life. Its "my" song, so to speak.

11. What's an annoying habit or quirk of yours that people probably don't know about? When I don't think someone is listening to me, or they don't respond to me, I repeat myself. I know it's annoying, I'm trying to quit. 

Here are my questions for YOU:

1. If you could have one blog post published in any publication- what publication would it be?

2. If you could keep one piece of clothing forever, what would it be?

3. What inspires you?

4. If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

5. What is one thing you cannot live without?

6. Favorite food as a child?

7. Worst habit?

8. What is the best thing about you?

9. What do you waste your time on?

10. If you could hang out with any fictional character- who would it be?

11. Why do you blog?

I am tagging...

EVERYONE!
(Yes Susannah, I stole your idea! Sorry!) 

If you take the challenge post your link in the comments below so that I can see your answers and questions!

How to Make Homemade Wontons

I don't know about you, but my family LOVES Chinese food! My mother-in-law is the best white Chinese food cook I know, and that makes for a spoiled husband who is quite picky about how I make Chinese food.

That is why this recipe is AWESOME. Not only is it easy (TWO STEPS!), but it only takes three ingredients and tastes great! Want to know how to do it? Here's how:

What You'll Need:

Cream Cheese (Plain flavored)
Wonton Wrappers - You can buy them at almost any supermarket - but they are found by the produce.
Water
Vegetable Oil

Step One: Prep your Wontons

Take a wonton wrapper and scoop with a spoon a dollop of cream cheese into the center of it. Using your fingers, dip them into water and seal the wonton in half by pressing it together. Set aside on plate. You can fold in half (pictured), or fourths by folding it in half again.

Set aside and let dry. If there is any excess cream cheese peeking out, wipe it off. If you do not, when they are cooking they will pop the oil everywhere (which can be chaotic in a small kitchen such as mine where you cannot escape).

Step Two: Cook!

Take a frying pan or skillet (or wok for that matter, any will work) and fill the bottom with the vegetable oil. Turn the stove onto half heat - I promise it will be warm enough to cook your wontons (any hotter and you risk oil splatters - OUCH!).

They only take a moment to cook, so stay close! Flip after a moment and let the other side cook. Place on a plate with paper towels (to absorb the oil) and let cool.

They look browner when removed from the oil, so make sure you aren't overcooking them. It is quite easy to do. When they are cooling off, they will darken up.

Step Three: Once cool- ENJOY YOUR WONTONS! Whether it be with a meal or just a snack. I usually serve with a stir fry or Cashew Chicken.

Of course you can add to this recipe. Some people have added crab with the cream cheese, others keep it plain like I do. What would you add?

Enjoy!

An Update and More

Hey there!

Sorry for lack of posting lately. Basically I'm an irresponsible blogger and have forgotten that I can schedule blog posts, instead of posting four in one day. I've been blogging on the days that I have extra help with the baby or when he's sleeping really well. On the rougher days I refuse to blog and dedicate my time to the little man.

I have lots of plans for the blog and am working on figuring out how I want to go about doing them. Since I am my own webmaster, writer, graphic designer and all the other odds and ends, it sometimes takes me awhile, but trust me, good things are coming your way! 

Things are going well and he's getting so big so fast! Since I have nothing else to offer, here is some babyspam from Saturday. I cannot believe he is going to be a month old in just a few days! Where on EARTH did the time go?!

Hope you are all doing fantastic!