Go ahead and sin a little...

Cold and rainy mornings really get me in the mood to bake, well so do hot and sunny ones and windy snowy ones. I could bake anytime. This morning I wanted something chocolatey (I always want chocolate) and creamy. Sweet and warm. Something that would taste good with whipped cream. Well, in my mind whip cream goes with almost any baked concoction.

I didn’t want to go to the store, so looking through the things I had on hand... coconut, a cake mix, cream cheese, sugar, etc, I decided to create my craving and I must say it turned out beautifully. Delicious in every detail. If anyone would like to dive into these photos tongue first, feel free to follow my lead and bake yourself a little something sweet. You deserve it. The photos were taken pre-whipped cream, so it was really “that” much better when I ate it....

Here’s what I did....

P.S. This is NOT for the calorie counting, the waist conscious, or the person that feels guilty after indulgence. If you can forgo any bad feelings in the name of sweetness, then please continue...

Lets just call it:

“Mel’s Gooey Pan of Sin”

Preheat the oven to 350.

Ingredients needed:
2 sticks of butter (no skimping)
Nuts (I used about 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, but I bet pecans would be good too)
1 cup sweetened coconut
Box of cake (I used german chocolate)Will need: Vegetable oil and 3 eggs for the cake
Some powdered sugar (a lot?)
8 oz. softened cream cheese
Vanilla
1 cup Heavy cream
cinnamon

Step One: Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan and spread (or pour actually) into a 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle some nuts and 1 cup coconut on top of the butter.

Step Two: Make the cake mix like the box says and pour it over the coconut layer.

Step Three: Simmer the other stick of butter on low heat and add in the softened cream cheese until melted and smooth. Add some powdered sugar until thick in consistency, about 2 1/2 -3 cups. Drop by large dollops over the cake batter. Swirl if you prefer, but don’t disrupt the lower layer.

Step Four: Bake 40 minutes. Cool.

Step Five: While the cake cools I whip the cream. I add about 3 tablespoons powdered sugar to the cream, and a few drops of vanilla and some sprinkles of cinnamon. Beat for 2-3 minutes until little peaks form.

The cake was still hot, so I made a hot chocolate and put some whipped cream on that while I sipped and waited.... This whipped cream is phenomenal with cocoa.

Breathe in the smell, smile, and slice yourself a piece of heaven. Heaven can taste sinful, but instead of confessing, you’ll be running back for more :)

Excuse me while I go get myself another slice.....

What other people think: Does it matter or not?

I’ve always been somewhat of a free spirit, flying through life and not paying too much attention to ill-natured opinions of me. After all, I was not put on this earth to revolve my life around other people’s expectations, nor am I going to change the direction of my flight due to someone else’s thought process. I’m on my own personal journey and will not allow people to put bumps on my road or block my path to getting to the end in one confident piece. I do the best I can for ME, my approval of myself is the most important thing on my list, and other people’s expectations come after that, if they come at all.

I’m not going to sugar coat things and say it hasn’t hurt my feelings a bit when I hear a rude or harsh word were spoken about me, but I won’t let it affect who I am in the long run. Usually that “thing” a person thinks is incorrect or based on an inaccurate piece of information they may have been told, which forced the thought to sit in their mind and form an inappropriate opinion.

I am always taken aback when I encounter someone who completely obsesses about what other people think of them or lets something they heard spoken of them stew in their head like venom and try endlessly to figure out who said it and why they think it. It’s just so silly to me! Honestly? People don’t really care that much. We’d be much less worried about what other people think of us if we realized how seldom they do. Anyone who is more pre-occupied with someone else’s life, obviously needs to get one of their own, wouldn’t you agree?

Other people’s opinions are important to me, that’s a definite statement. I may erase some from my memory upon hearing them or I may give an honest listen to some...depending on the nature of their thought, who they are, and most importantly, how well they truly know ME. If they are not well educated and haven’t a lick common sense on their side, I will likely brush their opinion off my shoulder as quickly as I would if a spider were to descend upon me.

Another thing I have learned about people, which is why it doesn’t necessarily bother me if people talk behind my back, is that often times the things people say are not how they truly feel when it comes to idle gossip or catty remarks. Sometimes, people have this nagging insecurity within themselves, that can only be soothed by focusing on the flaws of others. Pointing out what is wrong or distasteful about another person, somehow makes them feel as is they can gain an appreciation from the person with whom they are gossiping with. This is more prominent in women. It doesn’t matter what age, some women will always be mentally stuck in the 5th grade, and can be your best friend one second, and be talking shit about you the next. This makes me giggle because it’s so predictable, and while one could choose to let these things upset them and call someone out on their misconceptions and seemingly cruel disposition, it’s much easier for me to ignore this sort of ridiculousness altogether.

Ultimately, any person who begins a conversation with a negative comment about someone else, has a lot to learn. Smart people know that by fixing the flaws in “ourselves” first deters us from putting a microscope up to everyone else’s shortcomings. In the end, it doesn’t matter what people say about me behind my back because “I” like myself. I read this quote in a book back when I was a teenager, and I’ll never forget how the words clicked like a light bulb, “Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you, simply live your life so that nobody will believe them.” How simple yet powerful those words are.

In the grand scheme of things the truth about people will reign in the end. I will continue to be who I am, speak my opinion, and not pass judgements on others. We were not made to be perfect, and most definitely we will die imperfect. All we can do is make the best with what we got and know that everyone else is probably trying to do the same, it is not our job to judge how fast they do it or in what fashion they try to improve. We need to worry about ourselves, and not the faults of others. With that said, ultimately other people’s opinions don’t really bother me because I’ll be skipping along a yellow brick road with my shiny red slippers filled with hope regardless of the negativity I encounter.

Morning wisdom from Mr. Lincoln

Although Abe Lincoln passed away well before our time, I believe his wisdom will shadow this earth for decades to come. While he only had 18 months of formal education, he taught himself the things he deemed important and let his inner brilliance emerge because of it. I particularly admire his strong knack for common sense.
He was the first president to grow a beard, the first president to believe that women had a right to vote, and he never let failure put a halt to what he knew to be right and just. I also think it’s interesting how he dreamt of his own death twice in the week leading up to it. His 56 years on this earth weren’t long enough and I really hope he is reincarnated someday as we really need some modern-day Abe Lincoln’s around this world.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from
honest Abe:

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.
My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Things may come to those who wait...but only the things left by those who hustle.

Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing.

You may fool all the people some of the time: you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.

The woman I call MOM

MOM. This is a word that makes me warm and fuzzy when I hear it and I feel forever grateful when I say it. I have a lot of childhood memories of feeling deep appreciation for the woman I get to call Mom. Not only did she try to heal my skinned knees, but she would mend broken hearts, soothe bruised egos, and she always lifted me up when I was down. She never stopped trying to do the best she knew how and she never gave up when I turned into a black sheep rebel from age 14 to 17. For those 4 years alone she deserves a gold medal trimmed with diamonds.
If anyone knows how to show unconditional love, it is her.

I remember back in 2nd grade when we were constructing mother’s day cards with colored paper, glitter, and a really dull pair of scissors. I peered over my shoulder at this kid Mikey’s card and he was writing something like “To the greatest mom ever”, and all I could think was “how could this kid have the greatest mom ever when MY mom is the greatest mom ever? I have the best mom, not this kid” I sort of sneered inside thinking, if he ever meets my mom than he’ll know that she wins the best mom contest. It made me mad though and I still remember it because I got this little defensive feeling like I needed to somehow let the world know that SHE was indeed the best mom ever. After peeking at a few more cards that looked a little shabby and only said “I LOve you MOM” or “Have a nice Muther’s day”, I felt better. As long as they weren’t stating anything about the BEST mom ever, I was alright, because nobody was going to steal that title which was reserved for MY MOM ONLY.

It didn’t take long to realize I had the best mom ever because there were just so many things she did for me as a kid, it would have been impossible to think otherwise. I remember my first day of kindergarten and bawling my eyes out because she was leaving me and I didn’t think I could survive the day without her. She was always there to comfort me and convince me she’d be back. In the first grade when I was given assigned seating in between two boys and came home crying because I couldn’t possibly sit in between two STINKY BOYS (this is pre-puberty of course), she called the teacher and laughingly asked if I could please sit by a girl instead as I was simply distressed over this. The next day my desk was at the end, with one girl next to me. My mom was my savior!

My Mom was the kind that always tried to make sure your heart was content and your eyes were dry. She would cook me anything I wanted whenever I wanted it. Damn I miss that. She would stir a bowl of hard ice cream into a soft serve chocolate shake if I wanted it at that consistency and she would blow on my soup for me even though I was totally capable. It was these little things that I remember. I was spoiled with gestures, not material items. She was good at being a MOM.

The house was always clean, the dishes were washed, the beds were made, and the wash machine was rumbling. My mom created all of our birthday cakes herself and sewed our Christmas pageant costumes by hand. The smell of chocolate chip cookies in the oven will always bring me back to my childhood. She made the best french toast, the best potato pancakes, and the best peanut butter bars.

My Mom still washes dishes in the sink, lifts the garage door with her hands, and probably has no idea what text messaging is. She has no email address and has never logged on to that “facebook thing” as she would say. She is a small town girl with the biggest heart ever and the simple life is simply wonderful to her. She will probably never read this, but I’m sure if she did she’d probably just smile softly, say “well that was really nice” and continue doing what she does best, and that is being a MOM :)

~A shelf in my mind of what matters~

Life. Such a broad word to ultimately define what really is a very short trip. We are supposed to get out of life what we put into it. We are supposed to live every day as if it were our last and to enjoy it to the fullest. Easy to say, not always easy to do.Troubles arise, unfairness creeps in, and sometimes I feel like I’m looking at a world of two-faced people and wondering who I truly know and who I don’t.

What really “matters” in life has been weighing on my mind lately. Life doesn’t always feel so soft and fluffy some days and in my mind I needed to lay out in front of me the little things that matter so I can collect these tiny thoughts of positive inspiration, wrap them up in a bow, and put them on the neat little shelf in the back of my mind that is labeled “lessons in what truly matters.”

Here are a few personal thoughts that I have layered up in my mind....

~ It matters not what is done to you by others, but what you do in return.

~ Fighting for what you’re worth is pointless, instead you shall take your worth to where someone can appreciate it without you having to whisper a word of persuasion.

~Fixing people never works. The people who most need to be fixed and corrected are too stubborn to see it. In due time, they may be forced to change. It is not my job to speed the process.

~Lessons were given to us to be learned from, not to be questioned. Lessons make the mind broader and the heart stronger. When the fire arises inside, let it light the way to something better rather than trying to blow it out or calm your emotions.

~It doesn’t matter whether someone else makes horrible decisions that affect my life. That is their lesson to learn. I have my own problems to fix. It’s okay to watch people burn their bridges, peek over my shoulder, and continue to walk away. I have mountains to move thank-you.

~As long as I am being the best ME that I can BE, I am doing just fine.

~When people stab me in the back, I need to simply remove the knife and wipe the blade clean. Confident girls walk away with a smile instead of throwing knives back.

~It doesn’t matter what is spoken of me by anyone who doesn’t truly know me. Smart girls know who is worth their time and who is simply worthless.

~If you don’t like something and you cannot change it, then you must move on or tolerate the discouragement.

~The joy of true friends will always outweigh the betrayal of false ones.

~The love of a few good people is all you really need. Focus on the love you are given, and erase the feelings of negative energy brought on by the weak minded.

~If you want something done, something said, or something changed, it is all up to you and it is all within you. You are the only one who will ever really have your back. Use yourself instead of looking for other people to fight your battles.

~Know that good brings good and bad brings bad. Karma will come around, and in the end everyone will have results for the choices they’ve made. I will not get frustrated with other people’s bad decision making. I have faith that their time will come. And so will mine.

~If I can hold my head high every day, knowing that I am bigger and better than anything that can happen to me, I have done enough for the day.


*That’s what I’ve learned so far just this week. It has been a long week obviously :-)