So far, so good.

I haven't had a cigarette in 9 days. I even passed the "smoking friend test" where my friend smoked around me as normal, only this time I didn't join her. I also managed to get through work, which as I suspected, was the biggest challenge. Smoking at work is the thing to do. It gets you up and away from your desk and helps soothe any frazzled nerves co-workers or attorney's have left you with. I am super proud that my first week is down and I didn't go crazy. I don't think I was any bitchier and I didn't have urges to sneak outside and cower discretely in a corner puffing like a lunatic.


On the diet front I have filled the cabinets and refrigerator with veggies and lo-cal snacks. I've found several easy and healthy meal options and I have done by best to get my husband on board with me since I think that would help my resolve more if he'd actively participate. However I was sitting there on my couch with a bowl of lettuce on my lap with the suggested serving size of salad dressing sprinkled over it and watching my husband eat fried chicken. Not the most fun I had this weekend by a long shot. I found myself day-dreaming about our 3 cats forming a gang and coming over and clawing the chicken out of his hands and pouncing on the container making it their own. 


I did do some baking. I had "family dinner" Friday which is what we call it when my bff's all get together for dinner and chitchat. Whenever we have our family dinner's it is always my job to make dessert and bring it over. This worked out because the hubby also told me we had dinner with his parents on Sunday that he'd like me to make a dessert for. Two birds one stone. I made white chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling and white chocolate frosting. There was enough for both dinners and my hubby. They were quite possibly the best cupcakes I've ever made. They were a little more work, but nothing too crazy and it was totally worth it. These are not low calorie in the least, but I really don't eat much of the things I make myself. So I still am totally proud  my ability to resist them. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY FILLING AND WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Yeilds 6 cups of batter, about 36 cupcakes (I only got 24 as I prefer fuller cupcakes when removing the center and using filling)

Cake:
6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped***
1 box plain white cake mix 
2/3 cup water
4 ounces room temp softened butter
3 extra large whole eggs
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
small jar of raspberry preserves
Tiny drop almond extract (optional and let me stress again the importance of TINY DROP)

FROSTING: (enough to frost 24 cupcakes)
10 oz white chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
approximately 4 cups powdered sugar
approximately 1/4 cup cream

Preheat oven to 325 Degrees. Place rack in center of the oven. Line cupcake pan with paper liners. 

Melt the white chocolate in microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted or according to package directions. I added a touch of  shortening to the chocolate to help it melt smoothly. 

Place the cake mix, water, butter, whole eggs, egg white and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the slightly cooled white chocolate. Blend with a mixer on low for 2 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down again if needed. The batter should look well blended. 

Line the cupcake pan with liners and fill approx  2/3 full.  Be sure not to fill too much. Once baked if there's some over spill it's not too big a deal unless you want really neat and proper cupcakes, in which case fill 1/2 full. 

Bake the cupcakes until they are golden brown and spring back slightly when lightly pressed with your finger, about 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes or more before decorating.

Meanwhile stir the raspberry jam in a bowl add a tiny drop of almond extract if you desire, to taste. Fill each cupcake with a little jam.  Basically, you cut a circle out of the center of the cupcake, spoon in jam, cut off the tip of the cone and put the cone top back on. Once you frost you won't see the circle that you just cut.  **Don't forget that you will be using the tops you pull out so don't do like *ahem* some people and eat the first few before you remember this**

FROSTING:
Melt white chocolate in microwave, stirring often. Once melted removed from heat and let cool almost completely. Meanwhile cream butter for about a minute. Add chocolate to butter. Continue to mix at low to medium speed while adding vanilla. Gradually add in cream and sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost the cupcakes once they are cooled. Decorate each cupcake with a fresh raspberry. 

***White chocolate morsels are my go to- I don't have the time nor inclination to chop chocolate before I melt it***