Duck Cupcakes

  I love to bake.  I'll bake just about anything and cakes and cupcakes are two things that are extremely fun to bake.  There are so many choice when baking cakes and cupcakes.  You get to choose the type of cake and the type of frosting and how you are going to decorate them.  I recently made the duck cupcakes from the What's new Cupcake book by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.  They were really fun to make and not too difficult either!
First you pick out the kind of cupcake you want to make, I chose a homemade brown sugar (one of my favorite's! I definitely recommend it!) and a homemade chocolate sour cream cupcake and you bake them. While the cupcakes were cooling I made the frosting.  You can do any type of frosting that can be dyed.  I made a homemade cream cheese frosting.  Next, we lightly frosted each cupcake. We then took a marshmallow (roasting size) and cut it in half diagonally.  On one end of the cupcake you put a little blob of frosting and stick on the marshmallow and this will be the tail.  For the other half of the cupcake we cut donut holes in half and stuck them on with a little frosting and this will be the head.  We took the cupcakes and put them in the freezer to chill for a while so that the donut and marshmallows would not fall off.  The next step is to color a portion of the frosting yellow and to melt it in the microwave.  Then take the cupcakes and while holding them from the bottom, dip them in the melted frosting and allow the excess to drip off.  You now have a yellow duck, he just needs a face!  After you allow the cupcakes to chill awhile in the freezer you can pipe two white dots for eyes and stick on mini brown M&M's.  For the bills you can take orange fruit flavored tootsie rolls, cut them in half, and mold them into a duck bill shape.  Use a little frosting and push the bill slightly into the donut hole on the cupcake so that it doesn't fall off.  If they need it, stick them in the freezer one more time to let all of the frosting and decorations harden.  You know have a duck cupcake!

Supplies:

-Either homemade or box-mix baked cupcakes of any flavor
-Any frosting that can be colored (need about one large batch)
-spatula or spreading knife
-mini M&M's
-Fruit flavored tootsie rolls
-donut holes (any flavor should work I did vanilla glazed for my brown sugar ones and chocolate glazed for my chocolate cupcakes.)
-piping bag (optional for eyes---can use a Ziploc bag too.)
-yellow food coloring
-microwavable bowl

Picture from:
http://www.weddingbee.com/2011/04/12/hello-cupcake-books/

St. Patrick's Day!

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and every where I went I saw people in green (including myself). Many people also celebrated the day by going to the parade and watching the floats while snacking on the candy that was being thrown out to them.  But why do we celebrate St. Patrick's day, when did it start?

    Saint Patrick was born in the 15th century and actually isn't Irish.  He was born in Roman Britain and was kidnapped and became a slave in Ireland when he was 16 years old.  He did later escape, but he also returned to Ireland later in his life.  Saint Patrick has been honored in Ireland with a feast on March 17th, but the Irish were not the first people to hold a parade in honor of St. Patrick.  Americans were.  On March 17, 1762 Irish soldier marched through New York City with music and helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish heritage.

    in 1848 a bunch of new York Irish Aid Societies decided to join together to form one large parade on St. Patrick's day. That parade is the worlds largest civilian parade today and is also the largest in the United States.  The parade takes more than 5 hours!
    St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in all different ways.  In Chicago they turn the river green with green vegetable-dye and it stays green for several hours.  In Ireland, St. Patrick's day was originally a religious holiday and until 1995 pubs would be closed on that day. Beginning in 19995 though, they started using St. Patrick's Day to increase tourism and to show Irish culture to the rest of the world.

Information from:
http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

Picture from:
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/saint-patricks-day/images/13177257/title/happy-st-patricks-day-photo

Nutritional drink review

    I have a stomach condition known as Gastroparesis.  This is where your stomach has delayed emptying and this causes feelings of premature fullness, bloating, pressure and discomfort.  It can come and go and is often triggered by a virus.  This is my third flare up of the disease and my first time of figuring out what i actually have.  When it flares up eating solid foods is difficult and i got very sick for a while and was in the hospital.  My doctor put me on a liquid diet to help me keep my weight and nutrition up until my stomach starts to function normally again.  Being on a liquid diet isn't all bad.  I've been drinking a lot of nutritional drinks and I thought I would review the ones I've tried.
     I'll start off by talking about Boost nutritional drink, which is made by Nestle.  I drink the Boost high protein vanilla.  I particularly enjoy this nutrition shake.  The consistancy is very nice it's similar to milk and is not too thin and not too thick.  I think this would be a great thing to drink after a hot summer run because it will replenish your body with nutrients but isn't too hard to swallow.  The taste is also very nice.  It's sweet and very vanillay, but doesn't taste fake.  Boost has 15g of protein which is great for building tissue, but it does contain 23 grams of sugar which may cause some people not to want it.  It also contains 26 essential vitamins and minerals.  Boost tastes best when it is very cold and also comes in the flavors of chocolate and strawberry.  I have not tried these flavors, but my aunt loves the chocolate.
   I just recently tried the Boost Calorie Smart.  Right now I need to gain weight, but once that is stable I still want to continue drinking nutritional shakes because I am a very active person and these are a great way to keep up your nutrition and to have something light and healthy before running.  I really like the Boost Calorie Smart.  I had the vanilla flavor and it only contained 4 grams of sugar! Usually low sugar drinks taste very bad and have an icky after taste, but this one tasted pretty good.  It also contained 16 grams of protein and 24 essential vitamins and minerals!
   Another brand of drinks I have tried are the Ensure nutritional drinks.  I have tried the Ensure nutrition, Ensure muscle health, and the Ensure plus clinical strength.  These also taste well and I had the vanilla, butter pecan and homemade vanilla flavors.  The regular Ensures are a little thinner and the ensure plus is a little on the thicker side but both are not hard to stomach.  The Ensure plus is higher in calories and is for gaining weight, but all of them help to build up nutrition.  Ensure muscle health and Ensure plus clinical strength contain revigor which helps to build up tissues in the body.  Again, these drinks taste best when served very cold and you can even freeze them to make them more like a slushy or shake.
   I have also tried the Special K chocolate shake as well.  I liked this one and this is another option for a protein shake if you do not need to gain weight.  These ones are thick, so its best to drink them very cold, which I feel cuts down a little on the thickness of any nutritional drink.  These shakes have a slight after taste but the more you drink them the better they start to taste and eventually they may hook you. :) These shakes contain 10 grams of protein as well as other vitamins and minerals.
   Usually when people here stuff like ensure or protein shake they think, "eww gross" or "I don't want to drink that"  but personally I think that there are a lot of good tasting nutritional drinks out there.  I sometimes have to drink 6 to 8 a day and I'm glad i have found one's that I like, in fact I just ordered some cookies and cream flavored ones of the internet for something new to try!

Info from:
http://www.boost.com/nutritional-drinks/boost-calorie-smart
http://www.specialk.com/protein-shakes/chocolate

Picture from:
 http://www.shopping.com/Ensure-Technologies-Ensure-Clinical-Strength-Revigor-Homemade-Vanilla-Shake-8-Ounce-Pack-of-16-Ensure-Technologies/info

Pets are good for your health :)

  Everyone who has a pet would probably agree that the pet not only has become there best friend but is a member of the family. Pets are wonderful and make you happy, but they can also make you healthy too!
Within 15 to 30 minutes a cat or a dog can lower your stress levels. Your body will begin to produce more serotonin and produce less cortisol (a hormone associated with stress), putting you in a much better mood.
Many tests have found that pet owners also have a lower blood pressure, and one test even showed that children with hypertension had a lower blood pressure while petting their dog.  Pets may also be linked with lower cholesterol levels.  Studies have also shown that people who own cats or dogs are also less likely to die from a cardiac disease.
  Pets are also great therapy for people who struggle with depression.  Pets don't judge and care about their owners. Pets also give the person something to care for and think about, rather than focusing on how they feel.
  People who own pets are also likely to be more active, being that dogs need to be walked.  Walks will benefit both the animal and the owner and will help you meet your exercise goals leading to a healthier life style. 
  It has also been found that people who own cats are less likely to have a stroke.  This could be because the calming effect that cats have or because they help their owners not to focus on stressful thoughts.
   It has been shown that it is good to have pets around while children are growing up because these children tend to have a stronger immune system from the exposure to animals.  Animals could also help infants that are likely to develop asthma to not get it. 
   One cool way that a dog can help a person with diabetes is that they can alert them about there blood sugar dropping early enough before it gets dangerous.  The person with the dropping blood sugar gives of a scent that the dog can smell.
   Animals are often used in therapy and can help kids, who for instance could have autism, with sensory integration.
   Dogs can also help people who have epilepsy, they can sometimes alert the person of a seizure before it happens or alert parents of a child having a seizure in another room or they may lie up against the person having a seizure to prevent injury.
  Dogs can also be trained to give a person a better quality of life and help those with diseases such as Parkinsons or people who are blind.

Pets are amazing and help people in so many different ways.

Info from:
 http://pets.webmd.com/ss/slideshow-pets-improve-your-health
Picture from:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100112823/stray-dogs-and-cats-should-the-taxpayer-pay-the-bills/

Pets!

    I am definitely an animal person, and if I had to give myself a label I would say I'm a dog person; although I do like cats too.  I have two pugs that I absolutely adore. tthey are my babies and I love spending time with them.  We play together, walk together, eat together, and cuddle together.  There are a lot of people that don't want pets and I understand that we are all different in this world, but I think a lot of people feel that a pet is just work, when really a pet gives back to you as much as if not more then what you give to them.  Sure, I will admit that dogs do take a lot of time and energy.  You have to walk them, bathe them, feed them, pick up after them, take them outside, and take them to the vet.  But, they are so worth it.  They give you so much and they care about you; they become your best friend and part of the family.  Sure you have to walk them but personally, walking my dogs has become one of the best parts of my day; it's fun and it's a healthy activity to do.  Pets are so worth it.  They make you laugh a lot.  My little pug makes me laugh all the time because he is so small and everything he does is so cute. Pets also just want to make you happy.  My older pug hates to see me upset and will always run over to me right away and give me kisses and lets me pet her tummy (she thinks that since tummy rubs feel so good to her and make her happy that giving tummy rubs must make me really happy, she's so sweet :) ).

    When you have had a  long or hard day there is nothing like coming home to animals that love you and just want your attention.  Playing with your pet can really reduce your stress and turn a rough day into the best day.   Another favorite thing to do with my pet is curl up with them on the couch and snuggle with them after a busy day.  It's so relaxing and they are so cute and sweet.
   I personally feel that a pet can benefit your health, whether your sick with the flu or struggling with a serious illness.  Pets care about their owners and can sense when they are not well.  My pug will lay with me for hours when I'm sick and even will check on me throughout the night to make sure I'm ok.  Seeing a friendly animal can also greatly reduce your stress which in turn leads to a healthier you.  Lastly, you have to walk your dog and this is good for both the owner and the dog.
   A pet is a wonderful addition to almost any family.  They don't judge and are super forgiving.  They thouroughly care about their owner, make them laugh, and become their best friends.

Picture from:
http://thebestvacuumforpethair.org/

Daylight Savings Time

    The sun is starting to shine more, the weather is warming up, the flowers are starting to bloom, the trees are growing new leaves, people are coming out of hibernation in their homes, Spring is on its way.  This also means that daylight savings time is here.  It started at 2:00 a.m. on March 11 and we sprung ahead an hour. This brings happiness for some people because the days will be lighter longer which means that you can spend more time outdoors, but others aren't so happy about losing an hour of sleep.  Why do we have daylight savings time? And, who thought of it?

    The idea of Daylights saving time was thought of by a very famous man, Benjamin Franklin.  Benjamin Franklin realized that people could make better use of daylight and save a lot of resources such as the oil burned in lamps.  The idea of Daylight Saving time really took off during World war I, when Germany became the first state to adopt it.  By doing this they saved a lot of coal for the war effort.  The United States set up a federal law for the start and end times of Daylight Saving Time in 1918, but it was not mandatory for states to participate.  Today, Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands don't recognize Day Light Savings.  However, during World War II, Daylight Saving Time was mandatory for the whole country in order to save resources for the war. During world War II Daylight Saving Time was recognized year round. After the war, Daylight Savings went back to being optional.

    Does Daylight Saving Time really save energy?  Studies have been done that support both sides of this argument. Some studies have shown that since and hour is added to the evening when it's warmer the use of air-conditiong cancels out the amount of electricity saved.  Other studies have shown that Daylight Saving Time does save electricity.  other factor such as location and climate are thought to have effects on whether or not energy is actually saved.
    Some studies have also shown that Daylight Savings leads to an increase in people doing active activities such as jogging and a decreased amount of time watching TV.  Other Studies have shown that Daylight savings can be harmful to health because it messes with a persons circadian rhythm.  one study even found that the risk for heart attacks increases in the beginning of spring after the time change. 
    Daylight Savings Time has both positives and negatives.  Some people love it and other don't.  Whether you like it or don't just don't forget to set your clock ahead so that you don't show up late to your next event! :)

Info:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/12/120309-daylight-savings-time-2012-what-time-is-it-spring-forward-nation/
Picture:
http://newperspectivesradioshow.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/clock-goes-forward-one-hour-tonight/