Amazing Recipes - Cake Cookies

Happy Easter (a day early)! To me this is the real start of Spring. When I think of Easter, I think of pastel colors. With this in mind, one of my favorite recipes to make for Easter is Cake Cookies. These cookies are simple to make and taste incredible!

Cake Cookies

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix (I use white or yellow cake mix for Easter cookies, but you can also make them with chocolate cake mix.)
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
powdered sugar
* Optional: This recipe makes a great base. You can add ingredients like chocolate chips, butterscotch, sprinkles, etc. for taste.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil until completely blended together.
3. If you want to add optional ingredients, mix them in.
4. Your batter will be extremely sticky. I like to spray my hands with a cooking spray. Then make small balls of the dough which are rolled in the powdered sugar.
5. Spread these balls an inch or two apart on a cookie sheet. (They do not spread out much.)
6. Bake the cookies for 10-13 minutes. The bottom of the cookies should begin to brown. 
7. Let cookies cool and then enjoy!

Time Management - Creating a Morning Routine

I have a busy schedule. Some days feel like they never end. Once I shifted my morning routine, however, I felt such a shift in my mood that my days have been much smoother ever since. With this in mind, I highly recommend creating a morning routine.

Here's Mine...
5:20 - Wake up, drink water (in my water bottle next to my bed), and stretch.

5:20-5:30 - Listen to a relaxing podcast while cleaning some clutter. This may mean throwing away papers, putting items back where they belong, etc. (I get overwhelmed with large cleaning projects but can handle a few minutes a day. I add to a donate pile during this time and each time I finish filling a bag, I bring it to a donation center.)

5:30-6:00 - Workout on the elliptical. As long as I don't EVER miss a day, I am good. I find that missing even one day then gives me permission to miss working out all the time. During my workout I like to watch a movie on Netflix or read a book with my Kindle. (FYI - I didn't always workout for 30 minutes straight. I started with 5 minutes and gradually increased my time by 1 minute each week until I got to 30 minutes.)

6:00-6:30 - Breakfast while working on my teacher business. I create reading units that I sell online. I honestly hate making them but they are popular products. I find that I can create 5-10 pages each morning without the dread of working on them after work. This has greatly increased my productivity and gives me a HUGE sense of accomplishment. (This is much better than using my time for Facebook or Instagram like I used to do.)

6:30-7:05 - Shower and get ready for the day. I will also platy music or listen to other podcasts during this time. (I really love podcasts! Click HERE to see my blog post on my favorite podcasts!)

Yes, I do have to wake up early, but I gradually added new things to my routine. I find that I am happier and healthier with this area of my life. To me, creating a morning routine has been vital to my well-being!

What kind of Morning Routine do you have?

Irish Soda Cake Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today everyone is Irish! With this in mind, I thought I would share my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe. Please note that this is definitely not a traditional Irish Soda Bread. It is more of cake like bread. It is a favorite of my family.

Irish Soda Cake Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk (No buttermilk? Substitute with 2 cups of milk with 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Stir together and let sit for five minutes before using in recipe.)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
* Optional: Add 1/2 cup of raisins to make it a bit more like a traditional Irish Soda Bread.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9 inch x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and baking soda. 
3. Blend egg and buttermilk together and add at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for 65-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours or overnight for best flavor.

Definitely a different kind of Irish Soda Bread, but super yummy?

Organization Hacks - Google Keep

I am always looking for new ways to get myself organized. One of my favorite tools to help with this is Google Keep.

Let me start off by saying I am definitely a Google girl! I am always discovering new products by them (or at least new to me) that I end up using all the time. In fact, I stumbled upon Google Keep one day when I was bored and was looking at new apps I could download onto my phone. Thank goodness for that day of boredom oh so long ago!

What is Google Keep?
Google Keep is like a bulletin board for your phone where you can post pictures, to-do lists, and more. You can color code these lists, scribble messages to yourself, and even set a timer reminder.

How it has changed my life:
I used to have multiple apps with all sorts of lists. With so many apps, I would honestly forget things. I was also using a lot of memory on my phone. Now, I use one app for everything and it syncs with my Google account so I can access this from any computer or device. Since using Google Keep, I no longer worry about my phone going missing because everything I need to save is available in other places.

Here's how I use it:
I started off small. First I created a list for groceries. This was a simple list with boxes I could check off after shopping. I then added lists for birthday gift ideas for people and Christmas gifts I bought throughout the year, so I wouldn't duplicate a gift or overbuy for a person. 

Now I have lists for EVERYTHING I can think of! I have to-do list for larger projects for summer, websites to visit, my class list for teaching, etc. I also will write myself little reminders of things I would like to do and set up an alarm to actually remind myself to do it! One of my favorite features is the color coding so I can have the different areas of my life coded to find my lists easier. Google Keep has definitely made my life easier!

What organization hack do you have?

5 Original Series to Watch on Netflix

I am hooked on Netflix, so much so that I don't even watch regular television anymore. At least it's a lot cheaper than cable! While Netflix has a lot of movies and television shows they share, they are also making a lot of original shows as well. Here are five original series I think you should see (in no particular order).

1 - Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life 

I loved the Gilmore Girls and was super excited when Netflix brought it back! While this is only four episodes, it does a pretty good job (with a few weird exceptions) of sticking to the story line/original characters. I really hope they bring back more episodes, because the ending has a bit of a cliffhanger.

2 - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt 

The premise of the show is that some women are released from a bunker after years inside due to a cult leader. It's pretty funny. The first season made me laugh so hard I had tears. After that, it hasn't been as good, but I still find it entertaining. 

3 - 13 Reasons Why

I honestly didn't even know this was based on a book. This series is definitely dark, depressing, and emotional, but very well done! I was hooked on it from the beginning. I am counting down the days until the new season. I must admit, while I was a fan from the beginning, I am extra excited about the second season since it will have a former student of mine that I taught preschool to years ago!

4 - Santa Clarita Diet

It took me a while to get into this show even with the big name stars. I am definitely not into zombie shows and that is the premise of this show. It is, however, very entertaining the more the season goes on. I am looking forward to the next season.

5 - The Crown

I am super curious about the Queen and the entire royal family. Watching this series, makes me want to know even more. This series really takes an in depth look at the royals. Sometimes it moves slow, but it keeps me fascinated.

You've probably noticed that I missed some large series like Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things. I figured that those series already had everyone watching. I was hoping to share a couple that may not be as popular.

What's your favorite Netflix series?