Going Balls Out!

Recently I made the decision to start a small business.  No, it's not because I need another job or the small income it could contribute. While I have a good job that I enjoy doing most days of the week, my real enjoyment comes from baking.  Actually it's not so much that I enjoy the doing of it as much as I enjoy baking things that make others happy.  After all, standing for hours on end in one place making multiple messes that have to later be cleaned isn't a lot of fun.  But seeing someone really enjoy whatever it is that I made, makes it all worth it!

Since high school I've loved to bake. I've been fortunate to have some great cooks in my life along with people who loved to eat what I cooked. My husband loves my baking, but we can't eat the amounts of sweets that I want to bake.  Well, we could - but we shouldn't.  

This past weekend I made 3 dozen Toy Story themed cupcakes for my nephew's 5th birthday.  Actually I started working on them earlier in the week and probably spent about 12 hours creating what I thought turned out to be pretty cute characters.  Two dozen Buzz Lightyears and one dozen three-eyed alien cupcakes later,  seeing the smiles on the mouths of about 25 kiddos made it all worth while. My nephew though doesn't eat cake.  How does a kid not like cake???  Especially one related to me.   

By no means am I what you'd call "business-minded," nor do I have a business plan or anything of that sort prepared.  But that's not going to stop me from going "balls out" with this idea.  Before you start thinking that I'm being crude, please allow me to define "balls out" - originally it referred to the governor on old steam engines that had two balls that rotated across one another.  The speed of the engine was determined by how fast they spun.  "Balls out" meant going full speed or power.  More recently it's been used to mean that you're giving your all in a certain situation.  And that's what I'm going to do! 

So just what is it that I'm going to go balls out doing?  I'm going to make and sell cakeballs.  Yes, I said cakeballs. If you're not familiar with what cake balls are, they are a one or two bite dessert that is basically cake mixed with frosting and then dipped in either white or milk chocolate and decorated.   

Cakeballs are quite delicious and addictive.  And I've become pretty good at making them.   The ones above are some I made at Christmas for my co-workers. The white ones are coconut cakeballs (my favorite) and the reindeer are german chocolate.  I've done a variety of flavors in addition to coconut and german chocolate - vanilla, strawberry, apple pie, champagne, Oreo cookie, banana pudding, and margarita. Below are a few pictures of ones I've done this year.  Some look better than others, but they are were all delicious. 

Yes - my idea may be a bit ballsey (meaning "a confident individual who is not afraid to stand out in a crowd).  But I'm going to go balls out trying.  So if you know anyone who wants to buy cakeballs - let me know.   Cakeball Creations by Kelly will soon be in business. I do plan to be able to ship these tasty treats too. If anyone has an artistic bone and would like to sketch out a design for my logo, then let's talk!  Leave a comment with how I can reach you to talk about it.

March will bring IVF #5.  I'll certainly be going balls out for that too.  Here's to hoping that I have good luck with both of these ballsey efforts!