Celebrating Andre with Some Chocolate Cake

For my dear husband's birthday on Friday, I made his favorite cake in his honor. It's one of my fav's, too, but I've been good....just the one slice to celebrate. I will let him eat the rest. This little sweet treat isn't exactly dietetic, but it is celebratory. Take a look and try it out for yourself. It's divine.

What You Need!

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream, divided

3 Tbsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee, divided

1 Tbsp. hot water

1 container (7 oz.) BAKER'S Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1 cup each halved strawberries and raspberries

Make It!

GREASE and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Prepare cake mix as directed on package, substituting 1 cup of the sour cream for all of the water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. of the instant coffee. Spread batter into prepared pans. Bake as directed on package. Cool 10 min.; remove from pans. Immediately remove wax paper. Cool completely on wire racks.

DISSOLVE remaining 1 Tbsp. instant coffee in water. Melt dipping chocolate as directed on container. Stir in butter, dissolved instant coffee and remaining 2 Tbsp. sour cream; mix until well blended. Place 1/3 cup of the chocolate mixture in medium bowl; gently stir in whipped topping.

PLACE 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with whipped topping mixture. Top with second cake layer. Pour remaining warm chocolate glaze mixture over top of filled cake, allowing it to drip over sides. Pile berries on top of cake. Refrigerate 30 min. or until chocolate glaze is set. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.

340 calories per slice. YIKES! Supposedly, there are 16 slices to a cake.

Yummy 200 Calorie Snacks

I haven't been able to run all week, apparently I have horrible knees, so I am trying all the more to watch my intake. Regardless of my rigid self discipline....I continue to have somewhat of a sweet tooth. After digging around, I found these great ideas for yummy snacks 200 calories or less that will truly hit the spot.

1.Almond banana berry smoothie- I made these a couple of times this summer, and they were fantastic. If creamy sweets are what you crave, make a smoothie with fruit, Greek yogurt, and almonds. An 8-ounce serving contains 154 calories.

2.Chocolate covered fruit or nuts-Sunspire makes a variety of chocolate covered dried fruit and nuts. A bag of dark chocolate covered cranberries, blueberries, or raisins contains 160 calories. If almonds are your thing, a bag of those is 190 calories.




3.Fruit with Peanut Butter dip-If you're bored with just plain fruit, dress your slices with this creamy peanut butter dip. A two tablespoon serving contains 80.5 calories.






4.Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt- This is my FAVORITE option.f you're an ice cream lover, making the switch to frozen yogurt can save you fat and calories. A half cup serving of this After Dark Chocolate is only 100 calories. Chocolate not your thing? Check out the calorie content of the flavors below.

Gotta Have Vanilla: 100
Gotta Have Java: 100
Cookies 'n Cream: 130
Creme Caramel: 130
Minty Chocolate Chip: 140
Raspberry White Chocolate Chunk: 120

5.Smudgies-If your sweet tooth craves something more cookie-like, make these frozen Smudgies They're made with peanut butter, bananas, and graham crackers, and one sandwich contains 109 calories.





6.Frozen Grapes-Grapes are sweet on their own, but when you freeze them, they taste like mini popsicles. If you popped 30 frozen grapes, it's only 102 calories.

OMG! This is hiiiiiilllllllaaaaaaarrrrrious!

Back in 2003 I took a trip to Japan to visit my friend, Erin, who was teaching there for a year. It was during that trip that I fell in love with two things...Japanese shopping (it became a disease) and Japanese English. The rest of Japan was pretty freak'n awesome, too, actually. Anyhoo, I found so many fantastic products with English written on them in a way that only the Japanese can write. Crazily. Beyond funny.

Today, I found a site (thanks to my father in law) that glorifies such profound use of the English language. Check it out, but beware...it's pretty addictive.

Engrish.com

Fotopedia

I found this great site called Fotopedia. It's basically like Wikipedia, but for photos. You can add your own or vote on others. It's full of gorgeous, interesting photography. Obviously. Check it out.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Love to all- Tracy

Jason And Juanita's Wedding

Paper Wings Photography just completed it's official first wedding. :) I don't really think I will be doing a lot of weddings, but I know I have one more in April (Casey and Eric's WHOO HOO!!) In any case, I really did enjoy it, and I hope I will be able to make Jason and Juanita pleased with what I have captured for them. I thought I would post some of my own personal fav's...these are more creative shots. Just enough to get the newlyweds excited to see them all. Jason promises some fancy work with photoshop, so I will post some after he gets his hands on them. Hope you like them!
















Those who know me, know I couldn't let this little girl pass without me taking a shot of those cute shoes!

This is a Must See

I saw this on my friend Sarah's, Facebook and I immediately thought this was something to share. I totally think Clifton Hills' next choreographed routine should look similar if not completely like this. Our dance troupe at school (Slaughter, Burney, Godbout, Cann,Delk,Both Reynolds....you know who you are.) would totally rock it out. :) Maybe you guys to get it together for my birthday...it's coming up in November...better get started!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4dCwRVWjKc

12 Ways to Use Your Camera as a Tool

Ok, so I realize that not everyone carries around their camera with them on a daily basis like I do. However, if you don't ....I'm gonna give you (thanks..via photojojo and Wann) 12 reasons why you should. It makes sense, really.

1. Mark Your Parking Spot

Before you head out on a long trip, don’t bother rooting around for a pen to write down your parking space number. Take a photo of your parking spot so you can find it again when you come back.

2. Use It Instead of a Printer

If you need to take directions with you, but don’t have a printer, take a picture of the computer screen instead. You can zoom in quite a lot, and will be able to read the directions on the camera’s monitor.

Also works for confirmation numbers, email addresses and incriminating online photos of friends and acquaintances.

3. Remember Fiddly Details

You know the drill: you run out of something, you go to the store to replace it, and you realize you can’t remember which size or model number you need. Snap a photo before you throw the old one away and you’ll have it on you when you need it.

4. Mark Your Property

Take a photo of your name and address, and lock it on your memory card. That way, if you ever lose your camera, the person who finds it will know who it belongs to.

5. Shopping Lists

Before heading out to buy ingredients for a project or recipe, take a picture of the ingredient list. Zoom in on the camera’s screen to be able to see each item on the list.

6. Retrace Your Steps

Take pictures of each step when you take something apart, so you’ll know how to put it back together later on. That way you won’t end up with those four screws and one unidentified twiddly bit that always seem to be left over after “fixing” something.

7. Collect Evidence

Heaven forfend you get in a fender bender, but if you do, you’ll be glad you had a camera. Taking photos of the accident scene will help you remember details of what really happened, and it’ll make the insurance claim rigmarole a lot easier.

8. Use It As a Mirror

Check your teeth for spinach when you don’t have a mirror. Or see how you look in really really dark sunglasses.

9. Make a Wishlist

When you see a book at a friend’s place that you want to read, an album you want to get, or a gift you want to pick up for somebody, take a photo of it. That way you’ll have all the information you need when you finally get around to going shopping.

10. Use It As a Flashlight

If you get caught without a flashlight, use the flash or focusing light on your camera to help you see better.

Or, if you drop your keys behind the sofa, use the monitor on your camera to help you see into places you can’t quite reach.

11. Remember Places You Want to Go

If you’re like us, you have a list of places you want to go, or restaurants you want to try, but when you find yourself with a free evening you draw a blank on where to go.

Taking pictures of places when you see them will remind you that there are loads of new places to try, so you won’t end up at the same restaurant every Friday night.

12. Record Phone Numbers

Chances are it’s easier to find your camera in a bag full of stuff than it is to find a blank piece of paper and a pen that actually works.

Save yourself some time and snap a picture of that crucial phone number when you’re out apartment hunting, or when you see a flyer you don’t want to forget.