what does the inside of a charge-port look like?

Just in case you've ever asked yourself that question, well this is the post for you.

I have the answer. Since I have indeed seen the inside of one. As of last night.

You see, the last several weeks, the battery on my beloved chocolate phone. I have had horrible luck with the chocolate family. I first lost the most beautiful white chocolate phone on a plane coming back from Brazil, which was replaced by the original chocolate. I am currently writing about my 6th replacement chocolate phone. They are junk, don't ever get one! (however, it's my favorite phone to date, still. I love the phone, if it only worked well!)



Day after day, the battery drains... and each day, the amount of time that takes gets shorter and shorter. I have been recharging a couple times a day up until the last 2 weeks. Where I have been recharging multiple times a day as I am no longer able to make a phone call lasting not even 10 minutes on a full charge before it dies.

Honestly, this was really ok. We are up for an upgrade on february 10th, so I figured just stick it out til then and I'll get a good deal on a new phone. However, there is another problem.

Last night I noticed that when I put the charger in the phone, it wasn't making contact and charging. Upon further inspection, I realized that the entire contact that is supposed to be inside the phone was actually attached to the charger and no longer in the phone. So I took it off and attempted to replace it inside the little port hole.

No dice. It still wasn't working. I kept messing with it and moving it around, until finally, I got it back in. But it was in too far. So now, not only does the battery not hold a charge, but I can't even charge it to get the short amount of life it does hold!

I called the store up today to see if they would let me upgrade sooner, but they said I would be forfeiting my $100 credit... so i decided to just wait til the 10th. Thankfully, my good friend Jim just got the new enV2 and had a spare phone which he is so kindly allowing me to use.



So now, I have a phone that works yay! and I am very excited about getting a new phone in a couple weeks. hmmmm... what should i get?

WWWAT: Chocolate, mmmmm...

I was almost ready to skip this time around because i've had so little time to do the things that I actually HAVE to do... buuuut, I had a few extra minutes this afternoon before I had to leave and I asked my mom to help me conduct a super quick photoshoot.

Then when I got home, I was like, "OK I am going to bed NOW." but i couldn't do it. My resolve/self-control is not good enough. I thought, "oh i'll just sort through them and put them up." nooooo, I had to get crazy ideas which eventually led to the final you see here.

This cake by the way is THE best chocolate cake i have ever eaten. EVER. I am not exaggerating. I am currently in the process of making my friend's wedding cake (which I will post about later once it's all done) and this is one of the flavors. This was an extra cake I had while baking all the layers for it, so I topped it with some chocolate frosting... and oh myyy goodness. That's all i'll say about that. So much for "wordless wednesday" HA!

this posted a little bit small for my liking, but if you click on it, it should open up in a new window at a bigger size :)


Now go check out American Mum and see some more crazy chocolate pictures!

German Black Forest Cake - the one I actually made!

It's finally done... it seems a little long in coming, since i changed so many things along the way. But I have completed this baking project and it's time to share. I have to say something about this... even though noone probably cares, i notice, and i care! This pictures aren't as exciting as I would have liked them to be. I had a time limit factor, transportation issues and the extreme fact that the sun didn't shine at all yesterday! So they are what they are, and while they are nice, they just aren't as nice as i would like. But here ya go...


Ingredients:

German Chocolate Cake
2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening or butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling

Whipped Cream Frosting
24 oz heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Garnish
about 1/3 cup shaved chocolate
maraschino or fresh stemmed cherries


Preparation:

Cake
- Grease two 9 inch cake pans lined on bottom with waxed or parchment paper
- Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl; stir until well mixed
- Add shortening, eggs, milk and vanilla; beat mixture 3 minutes at low speed of electric mixer scraping bowl occasionally
- Pour batter into pans. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean
- Cool cake in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely
- Split cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers
- (optional) Make fine crumbs using 1 cake layer; set crumbs aside
- Cake can be made one day ahead of time if you want


Frosting and assembly
- Using a vegetable peeler, or whatever works best for you, shave the chocolate. I did this ahead of time while i was watching tv as it was probably the most time consuming part... I wonder if you can buy shaved chocolate somewhere??
- Beat whipping cream until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. - Place 1 cake layer on cake platter; spread with 1 cup whipped cream and top with 3/4 cup cherry pie filling
- *TIP* to keep filling from leaking out the sides, you can take a ziploc bag and fill it with some of the whipped cream. Then cut a hole in the corner and pipe an edge around the cake. This creates a barrier for the filling and makes assembly a little simpler
- Repeat with second layer and then top with third cake layer
- Frost sides and top with whipped cream, reserving some for garnish
- (optional) Pat cake crumbs generously around sides of cake
- Using a gallon sized zip loc bag, attach a star shaped piping tip by cutting one of the corners off and screwing the tip on just like any other bag (I did this because I didn't have any more bags, and actually found that it worked just as well and costs quite a bit less!)
- You can decorate the top however you like, but I squeezed about 14 blobs onto the top and then placed a maraschino cherry in the center of each. This way the portions are already determined
- Chill before serving

solutions

I found a solution to my boredom. I decided that I needed a project... so i went and found one!

Of course there is the ever-constant, never-ending scrapbooking project... and how i had forgotten about this is beyond me. But my mom bought me a TON of vellum and quotes last night, which i am a huge fan of... so tomorrow will be scrapbooking day. YAY!

Buuuuuuut... that's not actually the real project I came up with. Ramon's bday party is next friday and melissa have been trying to come up with a cake for the occasion. he described what he wanted and it came pretty close to a black forest cherry cake. I have never made one of these, so I am very excited about it.

I found this fabulous recipe for a "deconstructed" black forest cake. it is the coolest idea ever. You make all the components of the recipe separately, and then serve it all together but still separate... like this:



It took me a minute to figure this out, but once i did, i couldn't get over how cool it is. So next week, this is what I will be doing :)

Recipe and photos to come!

Chocolate Chocolate Cake

This is it, i swear... i won't post anymore about cake... at least til next time :)



This will probably be the longest blog i've ever posted, but i think it's worth it. I decided to try my hand at cake baking as you can see in my previous posts. It turned out really well and I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this blog. I found the original recipe from another blog and since copying is the sincerest form of flattery I am not ashamed to admit that my ideas were truly inspired and not thought up on my own :) Plus, I had some amazing help from melissa. Together we make up 66% of a brain... we haven't quite figured out where the other 33% went...


I made a few of my own changes, only out of necessity... aka messing up and not being able to find certain things *smile* But I was really happy with the way it turned out. The cake was delicious. It had a very dark chocolatey taste and as I was enjoying some with alicia yesterday, we were discussing how we don't necessarily ever CRAVE chocolate... but once we start in on it, it's just sooo good. This cake did it for me!


Chocolate Lovers' Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee


Filling: Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache (enough to fill one layer)
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces 72% dark chocolate (about 7 squares)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar


For the ganache: (used as topping)
2/3 cup (3 oz) heavy cream
4 ounces best-quality bittersweet/dark chocolate


Decoration:
Chocolate Raspberry Milano Cookies
Raspberries
Easy white frosting
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 4 3/4 c powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 Tbsp milk, divided
- Beat shortening and vanilla at medium speed for 30 seconds.
- Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well.
- Add 2 Tbsp of milk.
- Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to make the frosting of spreading consistency.



Make the cake:

- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper.
- Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. I didn't get an exact time for this because I tend to go by instinct rather than the timer. But as a guideline, I would say leave them in the oven for about 15 minutes and then check them every 4 to 5 minutes after that. It shouldn't take longer than 25 minutes I would suppose.
- When the center no longer looks liquid, insert a toothpick in the center of each cake and if it comes out clean, they are done.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely.
- Peel off the parchment paper.
- After the cakes are completely cooled, use a cake leveler to make all 3 cakes the same thickness.


Make the whipped gananche (filling):

- Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a small *metal* bowl.
- Prepare some HOT water in another larger bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan until it bubbles on the edges and immediately pour it over the chocolate.
- After you pour the cream onto the chocolate, place the smaller bowl into the larger bowl.
- This allows the heat from the cream to melt the chocolate and the hot water will keep the heat in so that the chocolate can melt completely.
- Stir slowly after a minute or two to make sure all the chocolate is getting melted.
- Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
- Slowly stir to make sure that the chocolate has completely melted.
- Cover bowl with foil and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to use the ganache, use an electric mixer to whip it until it is a fluffy but thick consistency. It only take a minute or so with the mixer before it is ready.


Make the gananche (icing):
(do this after you have already assembled the three layers with the whipped ganache)

- Bring 2/3 cup of heavy cream to a near boil in a small saucepan.
- When it is steaming well, remove it from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate.
- Stir or whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
- The mixture should be smooth and should spread over the cake easily.



Assemble the cake:

- Spread some icing on the cake plate to keep the cake from moving around
- Set a cake layer on the plate with its flat side facing up.
- Evenly spread the whipped ganache over the cake. Top with the second cake layer, and repeat with the third.
- Once the cake is assembled, use the dark chocolate ganache icing to spread evenly on the top and the sides of the cake.
- Immediately place the Milano Cookies around the outside.
- Then you can use your imagination with the top. I used the easy white frosting and squeezed it out of an icing bag into a blob in the center and topped with some raspberries.


- Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

winter favorites

i've read a few blogs lately that are a list of "favorites." at first, i really didn't want to do it, since it'd been done, and redone... but i have been thinking lately about the things I love about the different seasons. So i decided to list out the things that i actually DO like about winter.

There are just so many days when the sun doesn't shine here that it is hard for me to think of the things that i love. But when i think about the things that make me feel warm, i start to remember what they are...



my kitty cat sleeping next to my face because it's warmer there :)

going to sleep in a nest of blankets and pillows (honestly, I would do this year round, however, it is just too warm in the summer to make that comfortable)

putting on my slippers in the morning (it helps make getting out of bed a little more bearable)

hot chocolate with coffee flavor (notice this is not coffee with chocolate flavor... i'm talking mocha EXTREME)

getting into a hott shower in the morning and finally shaking off all the cold from getting up

sitting in front of the fireplace doing varying activities... such as reading, watching tv or scrapbooking

Notice, most of these have to do with sleep, bed, resting or waking up. Winter is truly a time to hibernate for me. I am extremely reflective year round, but i hold a certain fondness for the season of winter... it seems like I have to try harder to be happy so it helps me to see the beauty all around me. I love when it snows new and all the dirty snow gets covered up and all you can see is white... yah I like that too :)

more chocolate problems

As per the post before last, I was hoping to be done with topics having to do with any kind of chocolate specifically chocolate phones. However, I am not psychic and cannot see into the future. What happened between yesterday and today is so far fetched that if i had not literally seen it with my own two eyes i would not have believed it.

(as a disclaimer, I am starting to feel alicia's pain... and am actually starting to believe the WILD stories she tells me about her phone troubles)

It all started last night. I was online doing my banking and noticed that one of my savings account had a significant amount missing from it. I opened the account and found that verizon wireless had made a $296.02 e-check withdrawl from my account. here are the preliminary things that ran through my mind.


1) how can an e-check be withdrawn from a savings account

2) how did verizon get this account # when I am not an authorized user on our verizon acct

3) the total of $296.02 was over $150 off from what our bill that was already paid for last month was!!!


so i went through all the necessary channels to begin the process of straightening this whole thing out but the very soonest it will be resolved at this point is monday. it's a good thing i wasn't counting on that particular money for anything in the near future.

OK, so onto my other problem. At about 2:35 this afternoon my phone ceased to make outgoing calls. I have no idea whether or not it was receiving calls because, as you might have guessed at this point IT WASN'T WORKING.

So I decided to power it down and then back on again. when it powered on, it flashed a screen about "full system reset do not power off". When it finally powered up it read on the main screen read "service required" and a little picture of a phone with a slash through it.

Lovely.

the entire phone was stripped clean... no more contacts, no more pictures, no more settings... literally everything was reset to factory settings and to top it all off, it had NO SERVICE.

So, again, I am back on the good ole standby... i switched back to the old phone until i can get into verizon and get this whole thing straightened out. There actually is more to this drama, but i don't want to write/relive the whole thing, and even more than that, i know that you don't want to read about it.

melissa told me today that i always have the greatest stories to tell... is that because the craziest stuff actually happens to me or because i am a dramatist. neither. i like to think that my life is just naturally exciting, and not let things that feel truly out of control ever actually GET out of control.

THAT'S the key.

chocolate is just so good!

Well, I finally have chocolate back. It's not the same as white chocolate, but i am learning to adapt. Our cutsie family of chocolate phones will never be quite the same without white, but we are learning to manage. This is a picture of what our family used to look like.

i know you're probably sick of reading about chocolate phones right about now, but it is quite therapeutic for me to continue my ranting!

I will stop posting on this particular topic after this one... at least until something else happens... and hopefully nothing will... but if white chocolate came back, then that would warrant more posting!!! But here is one final picture, this is my new chocolate... we are becoming friends, but we're not best buds yet :)