SmartKnitKIDS Review!

Oh boy, did I ever find something fantastic! Have you ever heard of SmartKnitKIDS? They make the coolest things - seamless socks! They are pretty freaking awesome.

SmartKnitKIDS

Plus, they have a cute little bug (because there are no seams to BUG YA... you know?)! Fabulous. There was a mom, who had a son that hated the seams in socks. Frustrated in not being able to find a seamless sock that was truly seamless, she contacted a company called Knit-Rite and with their help, created these very wonderful, very seamless socks. They are created in the same way a caterpillar creates its cocoon - they start at the bottom and go up so there really are no seams!

We got a few pairs of SmartKnitKIDS socks to review, in pink and black. The socks don't have heels in them, so I got the XXL so that Punk can wear them for a really long time! And, to be honest, I totally took a pair for myself. I like that they can be worn through growing and different shoe sizes. They make 'big kids' seamless socks, but seriously, the XXL fit me pretty well! They go like six inches above my ankle, and hit Punk about mid-calf. They are really comfy and don't slip down like a lot of socks (that's one of my biggest pet peeves in socks - I can't stand it when they slide down off your foot). Plus, they seem heavy-duty; I am not worried about ripping holes through them if I wear them without shoes too much like I tend to do.

All in all, as much as I can like a sock, I like these. They really are great socks! I would recommend them to anyone. Oh, and I did get a few pair from SmartKnitKIDS but all of my opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way by that fact.

POM Wonderful Review

I really love pomegranates. Most of the time, if something is a hassle to eat, I just don't eat it. Because, well, most foods aren't worth it! Pomegranates are an exception to that rule for me. I LOVE pomegranates. Even when I have to peel them and then pop all the little things out and then pick seeds from my teeth for three and a half weeks plus a day, I love pomegranates.

To be able to get that wonderful flavor, without all the work, is AWESOME! That's why I love POM Wonderful. They are the only company out there that grows, harvets, processes and ships their own pomegranates, and you can tell it in the juice! The POM Wonderful pomegranate juice is just plain pomegranates. Don't believe me? Go get a bottle and check the ingredients list! Pomegranate juice from concentrate, and natural flavors. That's all! It's SOOOO good and tasty and flavorful and really pomegranate. I dig it.

Another thing I love about POM Wonderful is that they have a whole section on their site devoted to recipes that use their juice/pomegranates. Go check it out here. There are some really yummy recipes that I can't wait to try out, like the glazed pork with pomegranate salsa, or the pomegranate ricotta pancakes with pomegranate syrup. YUM!

I decided to try to make something using the juice on my own... I bet you can't guess what I made?

Cupcakes, duh. What else?

The actual cupcakes didn't turn out really pomegranate-y, so I'll skip that part and go straight to the pomegranate cream cheese frosting. YUM! Please keep in mind that my amounts are pretty much an approximation because I tend not to use measuring utensils when making frosting. You can tell so much more by the texture of it, so just add more powdered sugar or more pomegranate juice until you've got the texture where you want it.

8 oz. softened cream chese
1/2 cup softened butter
4 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

Blend the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. With blender off, add powdered sugar, vanilla and pomegranate juice. Turn the blender on low (watch out for the powdered sugar POOF!) and beat until texture is smooth and light. Enjoy!

I have no idea how much it made because I just started frosting as soon as it was done. But it made enough to frost 24 cupcakes, plus leftovers for probably 12 more.

Anyway, I love POM Wonderful pomegranate juice. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think!

Oh, and I was provided some pomegranate juice by POM Wonderful. But my opinions are all my own and were not influenced at all by that.

Love.

Happy Valentine's Day! I made you some super cute cupcakes, and also some cinnamon rolls, and cheesecake, so come on over and get it. :) I may or may not have been in a serious baking mood this weekend, so what? I tried to take a picture of the goodies, but my camera is so dead it won't even turn on to tell me it's dead. That's, like, deader than dead. In honor of the mushy crap that goes on today, here's a list of things I love!! In no particular order. And very possibly missing a few key items.

1. My husband who loves me even though I put pink frosting on his cinnamon rolls this morning
2. Punk, who deserves so much more than what life has given her
3. Having a little sister, who is my bestest best friend forever and ever, and laughs at me even when I'm not funny, and calls me PAN-DUUUUH, and gets the cupcake thing, and gets the pink thing, and is still my best friend even when we don't talk for weeks at a time sometimes
4. Turbo (Satan in cat form, yes, but still my little guy [even though sometimes he tries to take my life for real])
5. CUPCAKES.
6. My orange Kitchenaid
7. Having socks with cupcakes on them
8. Thai peanut pasta from Guru's, which is so good that even when I try to convince myself I am going to get something different, without fail when they ask what I want, it comes out of my mouth
9. Sweet potato fries from Guru's
10. My other BFF Ari, who eats Guru's and six cupcakes in the same day with me, and then sympathizes with me over how long we're going to have to do the EA Sports thing to work them off. :)
11. My mama and my daddy and my little brother and my big sister and my nephew and my niece and all the other amazing people in my life, who are some of the best family a girl could ever ask for
12. My blog readers!!! You guys are the best
13. (this one is a Love/Hate relationship) LOVE: Necco conversation hearts, for putting "Tweet Me" on a coversation heart. HATE: Necco conversation hearts, for changing their flavors. You've been doing it right for years and years and years and decades, and you change NOW? And your new flavors are gross. Thanks for listening.
14. Having a craft room, that is just mine, and just for crafting.

I could go on for years and hours, but I'll stop there. Have a great day!

Oh, and if you didn't get what you were looking for from that one special someone, just let it go. As much as I love this Holiday, I don't fall for the media BS that I should be getting flowers and chocolates and everything I ever asked for today. To me, it's so much better if it happens on a day where things like that aren't expected. Plus, flowers are over-rated. :) Kthanxbye!

Cinnamon Bears and Other Randomocities

This post is dedicated to Von (the cutest darn pregnant lady I know) because of her love of random posts. :)

There were no cinnamon bears harmed in the making of this blog post.

In fact, it has nothing to do with cinnamon bears at all. I'm just kind of craving them right now.

I don't have the brain power left in me to put a real post together, so this is what you get!

I just realized that Valentine's Day is this Sunday, which means Friday is the day to celebrate it at school, and I didn't help Punk make a box. DANGIT! I love making Valentine's Day boxes and so I have helped her make one for the last three years. Now I have to go home and make my own box to make me feel better. Who wants to send me a Valentine? I need something to put in it!

We are totally and completely moved into the new house. YAY! And boy, do my calves hurt. At the new house, when you walk in it goes directly to stairs up or stairs down, there is no flat space to put boxes down or anything. So every box that got moved from the old house, had to be carried either up or down a flight of stairs to go in the new house. Yikes. But I'm so glad to be moved! I was basically moving alone Saturday because Husband had to work on a truck, and so me and the Rhino moved the entire craft room and kitchen by ourselves. We rocked it.

P.S. this is a Rhino, in case you didn't know...


Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe. Go there. If you don't, we can't be friends. They are A.MAZ.ING. Seriously. I can't believe Rexburg has had this little gem all to itself for so long. Can't wait to try the "Party In Your Mouth" cupcake. How could you go wrong with a flavor name like that? Plus, all of the procedes from the six cupcakes we bought went to help Haiti. Sweet, on multiple levels.

I love that I have a friend who will go to a cupcake place grand opening and then eat six cupcakes with me, plus pay for them (you brat). Ari, I ♥ you! :) oXxO

I decided I need to take more pictures this year. And you know how many I've taken so far? None. I'm doing really awesome at this.

Have a great Valentine's week!

There Is An Active Volcano In My Thighs

Random Thought Tuesday [ya know, on Friday, 'cuz that's how the cool kids do it]...

Seriously, if I ever imagined what it would feel like to have my thighs immersed in a lava flow, this is how I would imagine it. I got beat up. By this guy:

Freaking jerk. I'm sore all over and my thighs are having a difficult time holding my body up. But I LOVE IT! I feel really good. In case you forgot, you can check out my workout blog by going here.

Another thing - I plan to make pomegranate cupcakes this weekend, using Pom Wonderful juice. Watch for my fantastical review of this amazing stuff coming soon. And if I feel generous, I may give you the recipe. We'll have to wait and see.

[serious note alert] Punk got caught stealing from her school yesterday. Is it horrible of me to think that maybe if she lived with us full-time, things like this wouldn't be happening?

I was so excited to do glitter toes for both of us this weekend and now I can't because she is in trouble, and that makes me sad. Plus, she doesn't even know we have the Wii and now she can't play it this weekend with me. How do I handle this? I don't know what to do - I'm so frustrated with her decision. And that makes me even more sad!

I'm glad it's Friday because I am definitely ready for the weekend.

Oh, and one more thing... WE ARE MOVING THIS WEEKEND! For real this time! Hallelujah.

That's all for now. Have a good weekend!

Wordless Wednesday, 02/03/10

It's official. I now have myself a little scrapbooker on staff. You need anything done, let me know! She's only 8, so she runs pretty cheap. :)

The first one is a card [I get these pretty frequently - how lucky am I?] and the second one is stationery for me to write on. I love that she gets about as excited as I do to get new scrapbooking stuff!

For more Wordless Wednesday [yah, like I could ever be wordless], head over here.