Sometimes I Can Bake: Creamsicle Cake

I made a Creamsicle Cake. Seriously. It is cake that tastes like a creamsicle. It was so delicious. And pretty easy too, so here's how ya do it:

What you need:
1 box yellow cake mix + oil and eggs (amount on the box)
2 boxes orange gelatin (Jello)
1 box vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tub whipped topping

1. Bake the yellow cake as directed on the box. Let it cool completely.

2. Mix 1 box of orange gelatin as if you were going to make jello: pour gelatin powder in 1 cup boiling water until dissolved, then add 1 cup cold water.

3. Poke holes in the cooled cake (I used a toothpick) and pour jello liquid on top. It will pool on the sides, don't fret, it'll work out just fine. 

4. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 4 hours (more won't hurt it). This lets the jello soak into the cake. 

5. Mix the pudding mix (mix only!), milk, vanilla, and the last box of orange gelatin (gelatin powder only!) in a bowl. Whisk it all up.

6. Gently add all the whipped topping to the liquid from step 6. Don't stir, just fold the liquid over the whipped topping until you have it nicely mixed, but still a whipped topping consistency. I used a spoon.

7. Frost the cake with the whipped topping mixture.

Store leftovers in the fridge.

I love this cake! I did steps 1-4 in the later morning and finished the cake up right before dinner. It wasn't hard, and it really does taste like a creamsicle. Tastes good leftover, too.

I guess I can bake!

Marriage on the Brain Part 2: Pinterest is Where It's At

I'm pretty sure that at least one of my friend's relationship status gets changed to "Engaged to..." at least once a week.

Not even lying.

Just over Christmas break, I went to 2 - TWO! - wedding receptions. And those were just the ones in my good old home town. I was invited to...around 3 more I think. Taking place in Georgia and Utah. That's 5 friends who have now tied the knot. Except the Georgia couple. I adore both of them, so that's 2 friends in one go. 

And in the last 2 weeks, there have been 3 more engagements. 

I'm running out of room for all my wedding announcements.

And my Pinterest account? Well, let's just say "goodbye memes, hello dresses!"

My friends are all planning. My Pinterest is flooded full of flowers, invitations, cakes, dresses, rings, bridesmaids, suits, shoes, venues, ribbons, veils, skirts, tulle...

Wedding Chaos.

And then there's me. And I see these ideas and some I'm like, "oh cute" and some get a "meh" but then there's a few where I'm like "I gotta do this!!!" So now I've got a wedding board on Pinterest too.

But one day I'll be glad I have this online idea catalog. Because it's starting to collect some AWESOME ideas...

Marriage on the Brain Part 1: 21 is Old

Me, just doing my thing, being the coolest babysitter ever for three boys.

Ages: 3, 5, 10

We were playing basketball (see? I'm so cool!) but paused for a brief meltdown and snack. 

Meltdown: 3 year old over his lack of points.

Snack: 10 year old (now referred to as T) to kill the time during the meltdown.

Well, T goes to open one of those snack-bags of Goldfish (good choice, T, good choice), but the bag pretty much EXPLODES and orange fish go flying. 

I, of course, bust up laughing.

The younger boys stop to look at the strewn Goldfish (stop genocide now!) and also look at their turned-crazy babysitter. And I just keep laughing. T looks slightly upset, slightly amused, then bends down to start gathering those poor crackers.

I walk over to join him. As we're scooping up fish with the little guys "supervising", T asks me one of my most-hated questions:

"How old are you?"

I respond the way I usually do when kids ask me this (horrible) question, "How old do you think I am?"

"19."

Well, that was better than 16 or 17, which I can still easily pass for. "Nope."

T glances at me, goes back to the fish clean-up. "20," said with confidence.

At least he's headed in the right direction. "Nope."

"18????" Guessed in utter confusion and disbelief.

"NO!" Seriously? Yuck.

"Higher?"

Whew. "Yes."

"21?!?!?!" Big eyes, shocked expression.

"Yuuup." I figured he was surprised since most people think I look so young. Remember how I can pass for a high schooler? But no, T then says the worst thing he possibly could:

"AND YOU'RE NOT MARRIED?!?!?!"

Thanks, T, thanks. I'm so glad to know that the 10 year olds of my world think I am an Old Maid at the ripe age of 21. 

I'll just go back to my cat and knitting now. Maybe I'll watch some Glee later, gotta live on the edge, ya know.

The Tale of the Sugar Cookies

Once upon a time, I realized that there was a huge gaping hole of Christmas in my home.

There were ZERO sugar cookies.

Sugar cookies are a MUST at Christmas. So I set out to bake some.

On Sunday, I mixed up the dough, wrapped it up, and set it in the fridge to cool. So far, so good.

An hour later the giant thing of flour was pulled out to make bread. And someone mentioned that it was 

BREAD FLOUR.

Well, this semester at school, we'd been having baking problems. Our desserts kept tasting salty or looking strange. Finally at the end of the semester we realized it was because the flour we were using was bread flour, which, according to my chefy roommate, makes the pastry taste saltier. 

And I had just made the same mistake with my Christmas sugar cookies.

So on Monday, I set out to finish the cookies. The dough was darker than I thought it should be and I thought it tasted off. Also it was SO crumbly - it took forever to cut out the cookies. 2 days, actually. I cut some out on Monday and then cut the rest and frosted them all on Tuesday cuz I was too frustrated to do it all on Monday. 

They looked just fine once they were all baked and frosted. And most people thought they tasted normal. But I know that it was bread flour. Not normal, white flour.

And that means my Christmas sugar cookies did not meet Christmas standards.

Oh well. Never again will I just grab the closest flour, assuming it is normal. 

Today I commit to labeling and checking flour before usage.

Goodbye from Smallhands

 I met some of my closest friends through BYU Catering. I have had so many good times with these guys. My last shift was on Thursday and, not going to lie, I'm kind of sad to go.

I mean, I've worked there since my Freshman year at BYU - Fall of 2009.

 These people are so funny. They've definitely added spice to my life.
I won't forget the zoo trip in the snow, the time the ranger guys crashed our bonfire, or the Creeps trips.

        I've gone to their birthday parties, freaked out with them over engagements, and wished so many of them good luck as they left on missions or graduated.
                         

It's crazy to think I won't spend a late evening in the dishroom again, not to say I'll miss that part. But I will miss the people. They are great.

From the support with the Skyroom dishwasher attack to sneaking lemon heads to pizza lunches, it's been a good almost 3 years.

Peace out, Katering Krew! Name a hotkeeper after me or something.

~Smallhands

Families are Forever

Today my Facebook was full of 3 kinds of posts: the end of finals, The Hobbit, and the horrible shooting. I am thankful that finals are over and I am excited to see The Hobbit, but that last one...I don't even know what to say. I can't put words into sentences coherently enough to describe how I felt when I found out. So I'll just list some words.

Horrified.

Sickened.

Distraught.

Shocked.

Pray.

Children.

Why.

Sympathy.

Love.

My friend said, "Christmas is only 11 days away. Those parents already bought presents for their children."

Just think about that for a second.

The only thing that helped me with this is knowing that God has a plan. I have faith that those children are safe with their loving Heavenly Father now. And I know that those parents can be reunited with their children again.

But those parents don't have the same beliefs as I do.

My heart breaks for them.

I will pray for the children's families. I will pray that they can be comforted and that they will feel the thousands of prayers going out for them right now. I hope they can feel the country's love.

"I have a family here on earth

They are so good to me

I want to share my life with them

For all eternity.

Families can be together forever

Through Heavenly Father's plan."

I am so grateful for this knowledge and for my own family.

#thinkingofthemtoday

 

Finals, the campus version of The Walking Dead

Finals. That dreaded week of not-enough-sleep, junky meals, cranky roommates, crowded libraries, stressed-out students, and frustration for everyone. 

Especially when your internet is a joke.

But, don't fret, my finals are basically done. Yup, only one left and we're only halfway through the week! 

Yay, me!

All I have is my scheduled oral final tomorrow for my American Novel class. He likes us to be a bit more insightful than I am capable of, so positive vibes would be very much appreciated.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll be coherent (it's at 8:00am) and hopefully I'll be able to remember all that I've read and all that we've discussed.

But anyways, this is how I feel/felt about finals week this semester. 

Okay, let's be real. Every semester.

Know what I mean? Finals should be classified as cruel and unusual punishment. We've already been tested on it, why should we be tested again???

And all these doctors are saying "more sleep" and "less stress" make you healthy.

Thank you, professors. When I die young, I'll know who to blame.

Apparently, if you find your roommate dead you get A's for the semester. I shouldn't of learned that. Now every semester I wonder who should be the one to go.

Do you get A's for the semester if you're the one to die?