Pops or balls?

Go figure, I adore pretty pictures. Of nothing specific, just things that are pretty. Pretty colors, pretty people, pretty landscapes (specifically of a beach...our high today is like, 18. Degrees. Fahrenheit.)

Soooo pretty!

It should come as so surprise that while browsing the book section at Target just before Christmas I came across Cake Pops by Bakerella, and instantly fell in love. I mean, look at the colors!!! Well, like most Christmas gifts, you play with them for a few days and then they become ancient history. (Oh, please, don't act like your the ONE person in the whole world who remembers every gift they opened...and subsequently played with it throughout the rest of December and into January.) I don't feel bad about opening my gift, googling (and drooling, a little) at the pages and all the prettiness of the pages and then, like most things, it got put away (because I do NOT believe in clutter...talk about pet peeves...) on a shelf, that I actually look at every day...but you know, its all the way over theeeeeere and I'm alllllll the way over heeeeeeeere. (Sometimes I can be the most lazy person, ever. Just ask The hubs. I swear, if I could train JTWD (Jack The Wonder Dog) how to fetch mama a glass of wine...)

And just to prove a point, although it came out of a boxed kit, I did manage to make these fierce lookin' Snowmen cupcakes for New Years day...with the help of my bestie!

See his little orange triangle nose? Yeah...he was totally cute, and tasty!

Ok, so my mom's birthday is on Monday and I was thinking "oh how fun, I should bake her a cake! What kind of cake should I make her..." I'm totally 1000% partial to Pillsbury Funfetti cake. Why? Because its perfect. Just the right amount of yum to my gums and I'm a sucker for sprinkles. Why? Because they are PRETTY!!! So having a cake with sprinkles INSIDE and OUTSIDE? Hello...have we met? GET IN MY BELLY!

And then it hit me. Like a thunder bolt- go look at the book you haven't opened since December 26th! So I did. And it was even prettier than I remembered!! All the cakes and the cake pops and the SPRINKLES! and the clever ideas!! Ahhh, I'm a sucker for imaginative people (and add sprinkles to that imagination? Your right up there next to like, Mickey Mouse. And that's HUGE!)

Ohhh look at you beautiful sprinkles!!

Now I'm all excited to go buy my supplies and get 'er baking. Pretty sure I'm gonna start off nice and slow and just make regular, simple cake pops (or, I like to call 'em cake balls. Because that just makes me giggle...hehe)

Doesn't it just make you smile??

Oh, and no lie. I almost spat out my coffee while reading all the directions, specifically the part where it says, "yields 48 cake pops"...FORTY EIGHT?! I mean...I'm a girl who likes to eat, but uhm, I don't want my teef to rot from all that sugar because that's just not sexy and totally gross. Ewww.

So here's my plan of attack: I will make all the cake, but only decorate like half of 'em. I'm only hosting like, 10 people max. at the birthday festivities...which means if each person eats two (wait...lemme grab my calculator. Ohhh- that's simple math...that's only like 20 cake balls!) yeah, so I can make like 20-ish and then toss the rest? I found some ideas in the book to try...

Mummy balls for my mommy? ha!

Or should I stick with lil' cupcake-lookin' guys?

Ahhhh, ok, here's another thing that bothers me about this. Waste. Ever since reading The Hunger Games, and she's all "we're only able to eat stale bread and weasel..." (or squirrel...or some kind of other random meat) I hate the idea of wasting food. I mean, my parents were all "there are kids starving in Africa"...but that didn't really hit home quite like The Hunger Games did. So now if I bake the cake, and WASTE the cake, what kind of gift am I really giving to my mom besides causing MORE children in Africa to go hungry all because I didn't invite more people to her party???!?!?!?!?!

I might be over thinking this.

I mean, do those little kiddos even have milk to properly enjoy a cupcake with? Should I make a donation to some charity and request that they use my money to buy milk so that they can enjoy my cake balls? Ok, wait...now that I put it in that context, I understand why Bakerella chose cake POPS instead of balls. Ha. See, your giggling, right? Of course you are. Who can say 'balls' without laughing. Except maybe an ESPN reporter or something, but that's their job.