I Passed!

I don't know how.... I was sure that I did not know enough a few weeks ago when I took the national pharmacy technician exam. I had told everyone I was NOT confident, and that I knew I hadn't passed. I was wrong! I got my authorization saying that I passed it this morning! I'm half way there; now I just have to finish the Utah State exam, and after that I will be an official, certified technician!

Is Everyone Ready For Christmas?

This year I planned better, I went out early got the gifts I needed early it made everything go a lot smoother! Last year I was out shopping Christmas eve still needing gifts for just about everyone on my list. Our family this year decided to do couples gifts each couple giving to the younger. I like this it gives you the opportunity to really get them something useful!

Merry C-Mas and I hope everyone has a great one!

Elite Tungsten Rings

Hello blog readers! I (Nate) have started a business, and would like to fill you on on the details!

If you are looking for brilliant rings at an affordable price Elite Tungsten Rings is your place to get them! Modern Tungsten Carbide wedding rings are the latest fashion. Tungsten rings are the second hardest metal in the world, which makes them virtually scratch proof & unbreakable. They make great wedding bands for the men in your life that need something tougher, and stronger than the softer metals found in most jewelery stores, like yellow gold, white gold, platinum, and titanium.

Elite Tungsten Rings strives to serve the customer, going above and beyond your expectation of an online store; making your ring buying experience an easy one. Elite Tungsten Rings offer several different styles of rings. Celtic style tungsten rings, black tungsten rings, gold inlaid tungsten rings, beveled tungsten rings, polished tungsten rings. Available in 8mm wide bands, 7mm wide bands, and 10mm wide bands. All rings are manufactured with a comfort fit design. Tungsten Carbide is engineered to be maintenance free, scratch resistant and will not fade or tarnish. So if you are in need of a new wedding band, or know of a friend or family member in the market, please tell them about Elite Tungsten Rings. A referral, or recommendation from a family member, or a friend is the biggest compliment we can receive!

Frosted Banana Bars=YUM!

Frosted Banana Bars

Much like Nate's new music selection on the blog, I have decided to post a recipe that we have tried, and really like! I love to cook; I like turning a few random ingredients into something that is incredibly tasty! Which is definitely the situation with these Frosted Banana Bars. I found this recipe at the My Kitchen Cafe Blog (which is where the picture came from too); she has a great blog with some awesome tried and true recipes. Nate loved these bars, and I thought they were so good, banana bread couldn't even be placed in the same family! Get out those yucky black bananas and get to cookin' something good!

Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup ripe, mashed bananas

frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10x15 jellyroll pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed bananas. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat whipped cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost your banana bars to your heart's delight!

The Festival of Trees

We went down to Salt Lake yesterday with Camille, Brand, Bree, Andrew, and Kenzie to meet Nate's Grandma and Dad for lunch, and a trip to The Festival of Trees.

Olive Garden was for lunch, and was good as always! I don't think it is ever not good :) After lunch it was off to to see the trees! Although apparently we were not the only ones with that idea... It was packed! Which is a good thing I suppose, since all the money they earn from admissions and the selling of the trees and such goes to Primary Children's Hospital.

The whole big group of us walked around to see the sites. Bree and Andrew did such a good job; I am sure after awhile the forest of trees seemed to be never ending! Near the middle of the forest, Andrew was riding in his stroller, and kept saying something to me.... Camille translated and hold me he was asking to hold my hand. So for throughout the rest of the trees we walked with Drew in the stroller, with me to the side holding his hand :) It was cute!

There were some beautiful quilts on display with a lot of the trees. I have begged Marlene to let me come down to Filmore for a day and teach me the ropes of quilt making! I loved seeing pictures that came along with some of the trees. You could read the stories of some; and a few just broke my heart. I am sure decorating a tree for someone who has passed away is apart of the healing process for their loved ones. But man, I got goosebumps more times than I can say. I felt for these families who had lost very young children, children who never got a chance to grow up- ugh, enough of that, the goosebumps are coming back. But all in all, it is a beautiful display of love- and I was honored to have been able to take part in such a great event! Here are a few pictures (These are borrowed from KSL.com, Nate has purchased and wrapped a camera for Christmas, so soon, I will be able to take some pictures of my own!)

Here is an example of one of the many long lines... Everyone waited patiently in line, and weaved through the forest, it was fun, but very crowded!
Behind this massive snowman is one of the many cute quilts at the festival...
This was a cluster of three little trees if I remember right... They were so cute! This tree was one of the busiest... It was made of glass (obviously!), and had a light show inside it that was timed to music. There was a lady there in front of it answering people's questions... Guess how much this bad boy was purchased for... $27, 000! Holy cow! But it was beautiful!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

So, I begged Nate to let me put the tree up a few weeks before Thanksgiving... I was in a festive mood! He was reluctant, but is the sweetest man alive, so he caved in and put the tree up for me. That was where his job ended, and mine began :) It just sat there in our living room, staring at me for over a week.... Naked. I begged for a tree, and then slacked on the decor! So, this last weekend I raided Hobby Lobby with Camille, and Kenzie, and decided to go with a gold and brown theme. I love it!

Hobby Lobby had these really neat, and cheap, sticks of gold berries. I bought quite a few of them, not really knowing how I would use them, but I knew I needed them, and would figure it out later. I also found some really pretty, and again, cheap, ribbon at Hobby Lobby. I love going to Tai Pan, and their tree's always have ribbon, but I have never quite been able to figure out how they make it look so elegant. After much experimenting, I never figured out how they do it! But- I made my own way! I clustered the berry sticks together, and then tied them to the tree with little bows of the ribbon. I ended up really liking how it looked!

Our tree is a little tall. I don't know if you can really tell from the first picture. It is a beautiful tree; Nate's Dad had this one laying around his house that he never used, so he donated it to our cause last year. When we set it up last Christmas, Nate realized our ceiling is too low for the very tall tree. So, Mr. Fix it trimmed part of the top right off. Did I mention it is a pre-lit tree? So, :) the top no longer lights up, but hey, at least it fits! Needless to say, a tree-topper is out of the question! So I made a cute little bow with some gold berries shooting right out of the top!

I worked late the night Nate saw the tree. I had finished decorating it during the day while he was gone. When I got off work I had a text message, and man did it make me smile! It said "Holy cow sweetie! The tree looks awesome!". Apparently Nate approves! Merry Christmas!

UPDATE!

This blog will be staying publicly open for everyone to see. I am sad the acts of select bad people have ruined the fun of so many of us in the blogging world. I have loved looking at so many blogs; life is interesting, and everyone has a story to tell! I am disappointed that I can no longer innocently "blogstock" so many different blogs I so enjoyed reading. So, continue stocking us if you wish :) The Whicker's aren't going anywhere

To do, or not to do...

Should the blog go private, or should I leave it open? It seems to be the growing trend to do the privacy thing... Decisions, decisions.

Austin Family Annual Pumpkin Party!

We held the Austin Family Annual Pumpkin Carving Party the Sunday before Halloween. (I think it was the 4th annual according to my mom) It also happened to be my parents 24th wedding anniversary as well! The party was a good time... Lots of family came, and even a few friends showed up as well. Everyone brought a crock-pot full of something tasty... I brought Nate's grandma's recipe for Cheeseburger Soup. Needless to say it got RAVE reviews! Here are a few pictures from the party.

This is a pumpkin I carved... Custom Frankie. I thought he looked pretty neat!

This was another one that I carved... ANIMAL! from the Muppets!

Nate carved a really great Joker- a different one than before. I couldn't find a picture of his... So I will try to find one and post it! (Although if you look at the pictures below, Nate's is the Joker on the very top row in the middle! You have to see a close shot of it to see how great it really was!)

And these are the pictures of most of the pumpkins carved that night. A few people left before we could snap some pictures of them... But all in all I think it is a good looking display! I will try to dig up some more pictures... These all were from a cell phone camera.

And the official day is...

December 18th! This will be the day that i will be taking the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam! I am studying alot of material... But I know that I will be able to pass! After I pass, I can officialy answer the phone, "Technician speaking!"- AND my name badge could say something really neat like "Kerianne CPhT"! Keep me in your thoughts... It will encourage me to study that much harder!

Busy Weekend and Thriving Ivory

Along with the pumpkin carving party on Sunday evening, Nate and I also drove to Fillmore with his family, and went to a concert! (All on Saturday! It added up to be a very busy day!)

Going to Fillmore is always pretty fun, and this time was especially fun! It was Great Grandma Whicker's first time seeing Capri! She was so good in the car, she was quiet and happy the whole time. Not sqirmy and antsy like her Aunt Kerianne! Nate's grandma is always so sweet, and always cooks the best lunches for us! She made us cheeseburger soup which was so yummy that I think I'll put the recipe up so anyone can make it! I am hoping to get my hands on one of those Whicker Family Cookbooks soon so I can take full advantage of the talents of the Whicker women, and their families and friends!

And, on to the concert details! Nate really likes listening to 101.9 on the radio, so he called in one day, and won tickets to a small concert to see the band Thriving Ivory. Nate had been talking about them for quite awhile, and I would listen to them with him from time to time, but never really thought much of it; anyone who knows Nate should know how much he LOVES music! So I was excited to go with him, but didn't really know the band, so was just expecting to watch him enjoy it. Let me just say... The concert was AWESOME! Thriving Ivory is such a great band. They sounded as good live as they do on their album. To be completely honest, I may like them as much, if not more than my partner in crime! (He smiles everytime he hears me humming or singing one of their songs. He takes great satisfaction in knowing he has great taste in music!) I think everyone should really give them a chance (just like Nate asked me to do!), because I think you will be happily suprised!

Listen to their video below... (You can turn off my profile music down at the bottom of this page so you can hear the video alone) Let me know what you think! I will pass it on to Nate! You can bet we'll get some more smiles out of him if we can find some more followers and fellow enjoyers! He is such a cute guy, and I am one lucky girl!

First for 2008

And the winner for the first pumpkin carved for 2008 is... (drum roll, please....)

"E.T.! Phone, home..."
This little beauty was hand picked at the Smith's up on Harrison! And believe me, it was the perfect E.T. model! My dad had a work party this past Sunday that was full of pumpkin carving!
The selection of patterns was vast; although I am very biased, I just cannot carve anything but ZombiePumpkins patterns! They're just the best! What can I say?!

"I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you..... stranger." Nate carved Heath Ledger as the Joker. And it was perfect! Nate is so good!
Thanks for inviting us Dad! It was a fantastic way to get excited for Halloween! 11 days left and counting... Who's excited besides me?!

Update...

Who loves being a "Pharmacy Technician In Training"? Me! Yay! Thank you Target!

They have risen...

The following is a shameless post... It is about my true addiction, which I can openly admit. My name is Kerianne Whicker, and I am addicted to pumpkin carving.

For the last few weeks, I have been eagerly anticipating the re-launch of my absolute favorite pumpkin carving site. To my surprise, as I logged on this morning, I found my patient waiting had payed off, the new site had risen overnight!


(You can click the banner, and it will take you straight to the site)

To anyone who carves pumpkins, whether the silly faces, or the elaborate patterns, do yourself a favor and visit this site! The ZombiePumpkins website will blow your socks off! I have, yes already, slowly but surely started carving some pumpkins. Artificial of course! More updates to come for sure... But if you feel the need, visit the site. I promise, you will not find better... Well, anywhere!

The Other Whickers...

We went over the the other Whickers' home last week to visit the adorable Capri, and her very happy parents! Capri is absolutely perfect... I could hold her all day, although I doubt her mom would let me keep her that long! (And who could blame her! I'm not sure I'd share that cute baby at all!) The bottom line is, this family is probably the sweetest you've ever seen.


I stole this picture from Ranell's myspace- I must give credit where it is due!

As of today...

I am no longer a Bank Teller! This week marks a HUGE turning point in mine, and Nate's life! I have done my time at Wells Fargo Bank; I will miss everyone at the branch. Such a great group of people is hard to leave behind, but I have new, and exciting things waiting for me...

Tomorrow will be my first day as a Pharmacy Technician in training!

Target has kindly, and graciously brought me on to teach me the trade! I must thank Ranell here, and now. She has helped me more than I can ever say, and I am more appreciative than I can ever express. I think this will be a great fit for me; I am so excited! Everyone cross your fingers for me; I will be studying to my hearts content!

She's here!

The entire family was excited to meet Brandon and Ranell's new little lady...
Capri (Renae) Whicker!

She finally, to her mother's relief, joined her very proud parents August 31st, 2008. She is absolutley beautiful, just like her new mom. Her parents are beaming, this is such a fun time! We are so excited to spend more time with their growing family. Congratulations Brandon and Ranell, and welcome to the family Capri!

O what a day O what a day!

Everything went fine on this beautiful Monday, until about 8 o'clock. Nate (or should I say me) started to complain about a pain in my back. Lo and behold it’s another lovely kidney stone.(I think this takes the count to 22 ish) So about 10 p.m finally decided that the pain was getting to un-bearable so we drove to the E.R. Got some tests done and then was finally home by 1:30 the next day. Now if you are thinking to yourself saying ( humm I want a kidney stone...) well DONT they suck they hurt more than anything you could imagine. So finally we got home and got to sleep only to wake up at 7 to go to work in the morning. On my way to work the tie rod (controls steering) broke and yanked my car sideways into some full garbage cans! OUCH. So $150 dollars later the tie rod is fixed, and the car is once again running well.

Wednesday I woke up with more surprises (pain like no other!) so had to take a few pills and they knock me out so I ended up not going to work today (figured it wasn’t best to drive)

Last Saturday
When my little sister got home I went shopping with her and got myself a new Bristle board (dart board) Darts is a new fascination of mine.

My LOVELY day off!

So today was just great! I had a staff meeting early this morning, and after that the day was all mine! I had a Friday all to myself... Which I don't think I have had in... Well... I don't remember the last time! I spent the morning running errands, and the afternoon with Ranell. It was so much fun! She is ready to have Capri any day, and she looks absoultely stunning! I cannot wait to meet their little girl! We spent our afternoon talking, and scrapbooking. (She is teaching me the ropes... her pages are so pretty! She's a good teacher!) It was a great day. I hope to get to spend lots more time over with Ranell, and Capri too! I will become a scrapbooking fanatic!

We're off....

To test my car's midlife crisis. The Focus was giving me MORE trouble last week, Nate tinkered with it, but to be sure we're going to take a short little trip to Idaho today. Keep yoour fingers crossed for us! I hope the troubles are over!

July is wrapping up...

Whew. What a month. July is almost over; I'm not sure where it went!

Nate and I got home from the family vacation to Island Park yesterday. It was such a fun time! We went fishing quite a few times with Ralph, and Bree. Bree loves to go fishing! She was so brave... She brought one of the fishes Ralph caught inside the cabin with her bare hands. She kept telling us, "Aww... He's so cute!". It was hilarious- the girl has no fear! Bree and Andrew also love to ride on the 4-wheelers. Bree kept asking when we were going to take out the "folla-wheelas", and Andrew simply would say, "vroom, vroom!". They are so active and up to do anything. They definitely kept everyone busy!

Camille, Brand, and Kenzie arrived early Saturday morning- after a short detour to the other side of Idaho. It was so much fun once they all got there. We toured Yellowstone on our last day... I am sorry to say I was in a no-good-very-crabby mood; Nate was very tollerant, like always. But on the bright side, Yellowstone was an experience. Old Faithful was very cool, and the scenery is beautiful. We didn't see any animals to Bree's dissapointment- BUT- We got some fabulous ice cream in West Yellowstone. After that, my mood improved. Ice cream heals the world!

After we left the cabin, on our way home, my reliable ol' Ford Focus decided to give us some hassle. It hit the 70,000 mark on our way there. I think it may have been having a mid-life-crisis. It would randomly start chugging to the point that we would have to pull over. Nate was getting so frustrated! He is so knowledgable in... well, anything, that is was hard for him to not know exactly what was wrong with it. But in the middle of nowhere, there wasn't much he could do about it. Poor kid. We got home none the less, just a little bit later than planned.

Well, everyday is an eventful one with the Whickers. We just can't get around it!

Oh, by the way...

July is going to bring the Whicker's a few more exciting weeks! For starters, I have tomorrow off work! Whew. Now that I am over that excitement... I have an interview for a pharmacy technician in training position at K-Mart on Tuesday. I am SO excited! This would be an amazing opportunity for me, it would help jump-start my career. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Also, my grandparents from Missouri will be coming to visit next week! We are so excited for them to get here. It has been a little over a year since we last got to see them.

And, last but not least, we will be going to Island Park, Idaho with Nate's family over the 24th of July. They have a cabin up there; it's actually where Nate and I spent our Honeymoon last year. It is absolutely beautiful there. We will document our travels, and put up some pictures when we get home! It is going to be an exciting month!

Wendover... Show me the MONEY!

Or, not. I guess I shouldn't have set my standards so high! For our main anniversary gift, Nate and I gave each other the gift of a short little trip to desolate Wendover, Nevada. My parents, and my cousin Jared all packed into our Kia Sorento and joined us on our little excursion to nowhere.

Our hotel was so interesting... The "pool" was the size of a large bathtub, and the sheets came equipped with small little burnholes! It was great fun! The good news is, our room stayed mighty chilly, so we were definitely comfortable. The really good news is the lobby had a waffle maker! It was one of those flipper machines that allows you to make golden beauties like this one:

Enough about the hotel! To make a long story short- The penny slots stole my money. It may have been the neon enviornment that made me so unlucky...

I don't know what it was but every time I touched a machine the generosity in it dissappeared. I won not even a dime! Nate did much better than I did, he had a really good time, and found a slot he made friends with. He called it the "kitty machine". It screwed Jared and me, but for some reason, it really liked Nate. This is it.

Where did we spend our first anniversary dinner at you ask? Well, it was very fancy, and extremely exclusive... Pizza Hut! Okay so it may not be fancy, and we may have been the only people there, BUT it was very tasty, and great fun.

In the couple hours we spent in the casinos, I have one major complaint... I was never given a beverage! Everyone around me was fully hydrated, I on the other hand was quite parched. I simply wanted a diet coke, but no, not for me! The waitresses must have sensed my unlucky streak and decided I wasn't worth the buck. I lived, and got a beverage as soon as we left from the nearest gas station!

We had a great time! It was the best trip a 1st year veteran couple could ask for! My parents, and Jared helped make it even more fun. Thanks for coming with us!

We're Official!

Nate and I have officially been married for one year! It has been an amazing ride so far... And has gone by so incredibly fast. I am blown away that just one year ago Nate and I had the pleasure of being married in front of all our family and friends.



This year has truly shown us both how blessed we are, and how many obstacles we have the power to overcome when we work together. Having a partner in crime is a priceless gift.

Speaking of gifts... they are so hard to get for Nate, because he doesn't ever need anything! If he wants something, he saves up for it, and buys it himself. We had talked about getting each other something small; it's the day that matters, not the gifts, right? Nate surprised me with a beautiful arrangement of flowers that he had delivered to my work. They made me so happy!


What did his thoughtful wife purchase for him you ask? I, the great listener I am, had asked Nate what he wanted, and he told me.... Socks. He wanted some comfy socks. So that is what I bought him. Socks!

While we are talking about gifts, I have to thank my mom for the album she made for Nate and me. It is fabulous! I have no album with pictures at all. It has inspired me to get together more pictures from our wedding. It is beautiful, and so special. Thanks for being so thoughful mom.


I know there will be many more years of creative planning to compensate for my lame gift of the first year! But at least it makes for an interesting story!

Happy Anniversary Sweetie! I love you!

It's HOT, HOT, HOT!

The weather this past year has been so unpredictable. Last week it was almost cold, and with today came the 100 degree heat! We are melting already! Nate decided that he wanted to go fishing today... So I got home from work, and he had the poles in the car, a few comfy chairs to sit in, and lunch packed! We drove quite awhile away... But found a quiet little shady spot on the the Weber River. What did we catch you ask?! Uh.... Nothing! It was a pretty sad adventure as far as what we actually caught, but it was a nice little outing for us. Maybe next time the fish will be more willing to come home with us!

Hello World...

...it’s us, the Whickers!

We have been married since July 2007. The one year mark will be here shortly; man time has flown by!






We enjoy movies… All kinds of movies! Nate loves to go treasure searching at Bukoos. If you’ve never been, give him a call, he would LOVE to give you a tour. I absolutely enjoy cooking, it is my passion, and Food Network is my inspiration. I loathe laundry, it is my biggest enemy, it likes to intimidate me with it’s large piles, and wrinkles.


Basically… Family is our world- without love, life seems incomplete, it’s when we are together that the world makes sense. We are the Whickers, nothing more and nothing less.