Red Velvet Cupcakes

Now I generally make it a point not to bake anything from a box or a bag. Not because I believe it's evil, or think it's lazy - but because I like to challenge myself to make it from scratch.

I had this little guy hanging out in my pantry for a few months, good thing it's expiration date was not until later this year :)

***Bad picture lighting warning! I don't know why, but my pictures always come out with a yellow-ish tint in them :(

My Aunt had given it to me for Christmas

I think it was maybe last week that Danny mentioned to me that I should clean out our pantry since I'm weird and I like to do things like that. He saw this package and asked me if I was ever going to bake these. He was ready to go right on and throw it away.

I love cream cheese frosting on almost anything so that was the decision maker for me right there, I was going to bake them!

I finally remembered to buy some cream cheese, it was the only thing I didn't have! Shocker! I know. lol.

So away we went!

Here they are fresh out of the oven :) They smelled amazing!

The package said the yield was 12 cupcakes, but being since I'm me - I only have jumbo cupcake pans, haha. So I only ended up with 9

Here they are in their cream cheese frosting awesomeness:

The verdict?

Delicious!! Now I just have to figure out how to replicate the homemade version!

Change ... and a small update.

I'm still here. I've been reading all the blogs on my blog reader list. I've just been that though, a reader.

My blog took a turn. A morbid one at that. But that's what I've been dealing with lately.

And so in an effort to turn it back around, I started by changing my layout. I'm not tech savy so I picked a predesigned template and altered it. I really like all the colors in the background picture.

Right now I've just been sending out some applications for jobs, as many as I can, for when we move.

So I'm going to try and blog as much as I can before we leave because we don't have a computer for the apartment. Although I want to get one as soon as we can afford one, we just have some other priorities at the moment.

Tomorrow is my 2nd to last Friday at work. LOL. Yes that means I still have a whole 'nother week of work left. But it'll be my last week. After tomorrow.

Blogging to recommence ... tomorrow :-)

Miscellany Monday!

I can't believe another Monday has come and gone! Thank Goodness! lol.

But Monday's mean:

:-)

[1] I have a 4 day work week this week! I've got Wednesday off to go with the hubby and sister to go house/apartment hunting again. I really hope we find something reasonable ...

[2] So I failed at my WJR! Horrible I know. I'm on a mission to get back into it though. All hope is not lost!

[3] I'm really happy about Danny's work schedule this week - he opens all week so we get to carpool to work and spend out evenings together! I really don't like it when he closes.

[4] I'm super jealous that my little sister is going to Chicago this next Sunday for a whole month! We really wanted to go for the 4th of July weekend, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to. I mean we probably could, but that would interfere with our moving plans. I mean first she takes my iPhone, then she leaves me to babysit her pooches & cat for a month! lol. I'm just kidding Audrey! I hope you have a great time visiting Casey, Tina and Jack!!! :-) We'll miss you!

[5] I've been feeling really tired lately. I should be used to my sleeping routine by now, but for some reason I just haven't figured it out. I've been averaging 6-7 1/2 hours a night for about a month and a half now .. you would've thought I'd be used to it by now ... but no. lol.

[6] I made Chicken Flautas for Father's Day lunch with Danny's family yesterday ... and they were so good we decided to make them again for dinner tonight! [My SIL mentioned it on FB earlier, plus they're super cheap to make] They came out yummy today too!

Fresh limeade - Chicken Flautas with a side of Mexican Rice and lettuce with lime and salt. Jalapeno/Guac sauce for dipping. :-)

Miscellany Monday!

Another Monday has come and gone! And the day is not over yet, which means I have time to participate in another Miscellany Monday with Carissa!

1. Erin - my sister's cat, had 3 kittens. Some days I want to keep them all because they're so gosh darn cute!

Unfortunately I can't, Danny and I already have Bella and Smokey. So right now we've been trying to look for permanent homes for them, until then we'll just continue to foster them for as long as we can.

2. I don't know what's been up with me lately, but I've been screwing up my rice! And by rice, I mean Mexican rice - the orangy, delicious one ;-) But anyway, the past couple of time's I've made it, it's come out ok. Here at my house we like our rice nice and fluffy, and dry. Somewhere in the browning process, I'm doing something wrong - or different. Last week it came out too dry, it was undercooked because I didn't have enough water in there for the rice, so I added more water and it came out fluffed but moist. A little too moist for our liking. And today I made another batch for my dad because he wanted mole leftovers for dinner. And this time I had too much water in there! Something's off ...

3. I've come to notice that I'm addicted to Tetris. I have the app on my phone. Not my iPhone, because I don't have that one anymore! :( Another post on that later. I can play that for hours! I started playing the one available on Facebook recently. Back in high school Danny and I had a portable handheld one. Similar to this:

 

4. Today I complete Day 2 of my new WJR [walking.jogging.running] routine that I've just started. lol. I wanna try and keep up with it. Recently I'd been feeling really down because I've gained weight, and I can see it. I can feel it. And I was just moping around about it and not doing a darn thing about it. But now, I feel good. And I almost gave in and didn't go to the park today after work because I was still really sore from yesterday. But it'll get easier. At least I hope it does :) I took Bella with me. That girl has got to learn to pace herself. The first mile she was walking me and the second mile I was dragging her! It was fun though, I'm glad she got to get out of the house for a bit.

Micellaniosity!

That's right! It's time for another:



[1] So we finally caught up on 24 and are so ready for the finale! I know, I watch a lot of tv. Maybe too much tv ... That's still up for debate though. :-) but yeh, the 2 hour season finale is tonight! I'm really looking forward to it and I hope it's not a big let down.

[2] I've been contemplating on starting up on the P90X thing again. It works, you just have to be consistent with it. I've tried different schedules but really what it comes down to is waking up early and doing it in the morning - which I really don't like.

[3] I finally went out and bought some scrapbooking supplies, just to start. And last Wednesday I went to Wal-Mart and ordered some prints of pictures from my bridal shower and some my sisters took at the wedding. They're supposed to be ready to pick up tomorrow so I'll probably start working on some pages within this week.

[4] Tomorrow night is my old high school's Mariachi concert. I'm only sort of looking forward to it. I've gone the past 3 years since I've graduated because Mariachi was the part I enjoyed the most about high school. And I always hope that each year is better than the next only to be kinda let down. I hope that isn't the case this year. I hope they have a great concert!

[5] Last week Danny suggested we don't have any kids. At all. And I'm ok with that right now because it's not something I want right at this point. Don't get me wrong though, if something were to happen and we have kids we'd love them to pieces and make ourselves prepared, but I know (planning wise) I'm not ready. He said: "Yeh, we'll just have dogs. We'll get 2 cocker spaniels and we'll still have Bella and we'll keep Smokey!" He did bring up a lot of good points. Lol. We're probably gonna get the 2 additional dogs anyway, kids or no kids.

[6] I'm pretty bummed that we're gonna miss Glee tomorrow because of the Mariachi concert, but thank goodness our cable is back up and the dvr will catch it on the schedule :-)

[7] The Bachelorette premiere's tonight. I haven't decided if I want to watch just yet. I'll probably decide after tonights episode.

[8] Danny and I are planning on going to South Padre some time within the next 2 weeks with his sister and her family. And our dogs. And no, they're not small dogs. The last time Bella went to the beach she was a baby! And she hated walking on the leash, but she's gotten better about it, plus I bought her one a couple of months ago that matches her pretty collar - although it isn't too pretty anymore because she wears it all the time! That should be interesting. But they do want to go during the week, which means I may have to ask for the day off ... :-)

[9] Only 4 more work days till the weekend! And my cousin Victoria's graduation party! Looking forward to some family time

More Miscellaneosity!

[1] Thank you Mr. Pharmacy client for kindly reminding me that today marks the one month anniversary since the wedding to My Danny!

[2] I've been watching a lot of "Glee" lately. The DVR is a big contributor! I like how they do a lot of covers of the good oldies and even some of the top songs from today. It's so bad, I had the hubby buy the 1st Volume on DVD. My first love, Josh Groban, made a little cameo in one of the first episodes ... that's another blog though ;)

[3] I just noticed that Bella, our furbaby - nibbles when she's getting attention but then that attention is intruded by one of the other furball's. It gets to be a bit difficult trying to manage giving attention to 4 monsters pooches at once. Yes I said 4. I know. It's insane. But look at this face:

[4] I sometimes wish DVR controlled the work week. So I could fast foward straight to the weekend!

[5] I'm so looking forward to this weekend! Danny actually has Saturday off! The whole day! :)

[6] A couple of hours ago, while I was catching up on "Desperate Housewives" on the DVR, I caught the extended preview for the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" - 2 hour season finale! Awesome preview. I just hope that the episode fulfills my expecations, or surpasses them!

[7] The other night I took over the tv after my sister decided to call it a night, and she was watching something on the Disney channel ... I caught a scene or two from "The Suite Life on Deck" [I guess what was previously "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"

[8] We finally gave our nephew, Jadon, his birthday present - about 2 weeks late! We bought him some teeny tiny converse that were green and looked like they were dinosaur faces complete with the gnarly teeth and nostrils! I only regret not taking a picture! But he opened them, and said "Wow!" - then pulled one out of the box, sat down on the floor and threw his sandals off and tried to put on his new shoe! He loved them!

[9] I wish tomorrow were Friday already - it's Payday for me! :-)

Miscellaniosity!

[1] I tend to make up my own words from time to time. Not often. Just from time to time See title above :)

[2] I haven't had vacation time in idk how long, that this morning when it was time to wake up I kept asking if I felt hot and had a fever. I really didn't want to go back to work.

[3] I had started my weekend early, last Wednesday - and I returned to work this morning hoping to see a pile of work stacked on my desk. I was actually a little disappointed when I arrived to work and did not see said stack :-\

[4] Sandwiches for dinner tonight. I had the urge to cook. I just didn't know what I wanted to cook, my mind was blank. Either that, or maybe it was lack of options in the refrigerator . . . lol.

[5] I miss all the wedding planning craziness. Or maybe I really just miss having something to work towards ... I need a new goal ... My weekends have been/are seemingly mellow now. I think that's normal though.

[6] I seriously debated about going to Hobby Lobby this weekend to buy scrapbook materials ... contemplating about it now. ... Will probably go by the end of the week. I'm scared to try because I'm not very crafty like that. My sister bought me this awesome pink scrapbook for my bridal shower. It's still empty.

[8] Missing OTH right now. I usually watch it with my little sis but she's studying for finals! I don't miss that. Not one bit! :)