Seeing Red

Well, I'll admit that it's been far too long since I've blogged. So, today I decide it's time to post the cupcakes I made a whole month ago! I logged on, and was so delighted to see more followers! And Comments! (From people I don't know!!!!) You guys have made my day. I'm so excited that there are folks out there that I can relate to, and hopefully make smile. (Even if you're laughing at me, not with me!) In fact, I think I'll go home and make cupcakes tonight just so I can blog again!

In my last post, I shared with you my Red Velvet defeat.
I am now happy to report that I am victorious.
That's right, I successfully made RED red velvet cuppies!

They were one-half of the cupcake creation I made for a celebration for my Uncle. The end of June marked a very special second anniversary for him, so we had a small party to celebrate! The party had a casual beach theme, so I took that and ran. Red velvet is his favorite flavor, so I knew I couldn't let him down. Presenting: red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, with hand-poured-and-painted chocolate seashells and brown sugar/graham cracker sand on top! I wish I had better pictures of the shells, they turned out pretty remarkable. You'll get the gist.

The cupcakes pictured here (not red!) are pistachio flavored: a box-mix-turned-heavenly creation! (The secret? Club soda.) They added a nice variety for those who aren't red velvet fans. (Yes, they're out there). They're topped with a whipped cream cream cheese frosting, which taught me a valuable lesson: Don't turn your back on whipping cream. Ever. One second it's flat, the next, it's butter. It took me three takes to get it right. But, it was totally worth it!

I had fun putting together a presentation and decorating the board, also! I wish I had more excuses to do things like this. The nautical theme brought me back to my pre-dysautonomia days.. Boy I miss fishing/diving/boating/living.

For those following my health, I've got good news and bad news:

The Good: The pacemaker install went well and the incision is healing like a champ (and no more sling!). I went FIVE WEEKS. Yes, you read that right... five whole weeks without fainting. That's amazing. No, phenomenal. I haven't gone just one week without fainting in almost a year.

The Bad: On the anniversary of five weeks faint-free, I fainted. Murphy's Law at its finest. Three days later, I fainted again.

The Good, Part 2: I haven't fainted since then. In fact, I'm feeling good... better than I have all year. I'm exerting myself and starting to test my boundaries. Admittedly, I'm exhausting myself and using a lot of "spoons" (spoon theory-google it.), but I'm so happy to have some liveliness that I don't even care. Hopefully, when it catches up to me, I'm not taking one step forward and two steps back.

Either way, I'll keep you posted. And, I'll make cupcakes. :)

Fourth of July Cupcakes!

So, my "about me" section (to the right) says I'll share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm still trying to determine where this next cupcake creation fits. I tried making red velvet, which I've tasted only once and never cooked before. It tasted great, looked... eh... not red. (see below). These were baked for a family get together on the Fourth of July.

I guess I should preface all of this with some big news. I had a pacemaker put in on June 30th (the "bedrest" in "Cupcakes on Bedrest"), and baked cupcakes on July 3rd. Am I crazy? Probably. My left arm was strapped to my side so my boyfriend's mother helped with much of the grunt work. I used a random recipe with good ratings off the internet, and will look for another one or use my friend's recommendation the next time I attempt red velvet. As you'll see in the not-so-professional, last minute photographs, the cupcakes are brown. Did I use too much cocoa powder? too little food coloring? I simply don't know. The bottom line: the cupcakes tasted good, looked patriotic, and would've passed as german chocolate if I didn't tell anyone otherwise!

I topped them with the traditional cream cheese frosting, some sprinkles, and homemade (from the package) sugar cookies (which were decorated with one hand, an interesting experience).