Feelin' Crafty?

Yes? Then you have to meet my very crafty, and talented sister-in-law Ranell! She comes up with the best projects! This week I went over and visited Ranell and Capri, and we made blocks covered in scrapbook paper, with wooden letters we puchased at Roberts...

Oh, my gosh were these fun, and not too hard! It is always so much fun to go over to Brandon and Ranell's house to see what fun craft ideas she has come up with. Last week when I visited, (we will start oficially calling these days I visits "craft day" I think) we made picture frames. We bought a few unfished picture frames at Roberts (Yes, I am an official endorser of "Roberts" craft store, they have so much fun stuff for "craft day" that I could spend enough money to seriously get into trouble with Nate!) and covered them with scrapbook paper and some Modge Podge, and alakazam! Out come some beautiful frames!

Now, these little beauties have not been hung in my house yet. Not because I don't absolutely love them... But because the walls inside my house are fighting over them and calling dibs. It has been a ridiculously heated argument, but I think the frames will find their final resting place on the walls of our bedroom this weekend. These pictures seriously don't do these amazing crafts justice! You will all just have to come over and see them for yourself... Or maybe your in need of a "craft day" at Ranell's! Believe me, you're house will never be the same; her talents would knock your socks off! I feel like The Quilted Bear has nothing on these crafts! I was awfully lucky to marry into this family of Whicker's!

UPDATE!

First off I just wanted to give an update on Nate, and his tonsil surgery. We had thought this surgery was going to be a difficult one... But I am happy to report he is almost back to his normal self! Here he is in "his" rocking chair cuddled up in the blanket my Grandma Siercks made him for Christmas. He's adorable, I let him get away with murder!

Speaking of this blanket, it has a little story behind it. I bought this fabric to make a blanket for Nate the first Christmas he and I were together.... Well, I am not the best quilter, and it ended up sitting in my mom's hall closet in pieces for about two years. My Grandma and Grandpa Siercks came from Missouri to visit twice last year. When they came for the first time in June, my grandma took all the pieces home with her, and in October when they came back, she brought the finished quilt. What is funny, is I had no idea. In Novemeber, I had started to bug my mom, saying I wanted the quilt pieces so I could start working on it for a Valentines gift for Nate; she kept telling me she wasn't sure where the pieces were, and I kind of forgot all about it. Christmas morning, Nate had a gift that was from "A Very Special Christmas Elf"- he opened it, and I was shocked! It was absolutely beautiful, and I'll be honest, it made me cry! Grandma told my mom if I was going to quilt I needed to invest in some supplies, I guess the squares I cut were not so good! She had to pick out everything I had sewed together, and start from scratch. My grandma is so talented.... It is a great quilt, and Nate loves it! (When I let him use it!)

This picture was only taken about 10 minutes after the one of him in the rocking chair... He's adorable!

Are you ready to RUMBLE?!

This year's Super Bowl celebration will be held at Camille's house. (Which is usually is because her projector makes it seem like you're on the field!) But everyone was in charge of bringing a treat of somekind. So, Nate and I decided to make his favorite dinner dish, along with an oldie but goodie dessert recipe that is as easy as gets. It may be true that I don't really watch football, okay I don't watch it at all, but I am always up for a reason to cook some tasty food!

Crock Pot French Dips

From Family Friendly Recipes

2-3 Lbs. oven roast

2 cans beef broth (about 4 cups)

2 pkgs Lipton Onion Soup mix

White Italian Sub Rolls (We get our bread from Subway, they sell a 12" roll for .50!)

Provolone cheese slices

Put oven roast in a crock pot. Add beef broth and soup mix. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Shred roast with a fork, then return the shredded beef to the crock pot for a few more minutes (to absorb more of that juicy goodness). Slice open the bread and place a good amount of beef on one side (scoop out some of the bread first if you don't like it really bread-y). Place a slice or two of Swiss cheese over the shredded beef and broil for a minute or so until cheese starts to bubble and brown a little. Remove from broiler and serve. Use a ladle to scoop out some of the juice from the crock pot and serve as au jus.

Cookie Crumble Cheescakes

12 Vanilla Wafers/12 Oreo Cookies, plus a few exras for crumbling

(Use whichever you'd prefer, or double all other ingredients to do both)

12 foil cupcake liners

2 packages cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one cookie in the bottom of each foil liner, place liners on cookie sheet; crush a few cookies to top cakes later. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together in a mixer on medium speed untill well blended. Add eggs to batter one at a time, on low speed, just untill incorporated. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Sprinkle top of batter with cookie crumbles. Bake cakes 20-25 minutes, or untill centers are just starting to set up. Let cool in fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Bakerella's Cupcake Bites

So, Nate's cousin Candace is having a baby girl in March... I have been waiting for someone to have a baby shower, to celebrate their good news of course! (But also so I could have an excuse to make these adorably cute little morsels of goodness!) Candace's baby shower is on Saturday, so I thought I would get a head start, and try a few Cupcake Bites out early. I was taken aback by how much work they truely are, but I think they will be worth it! These are my first batch, I am hoping as I practice they will look better :) But for a first attempt, I think they turned out okay! For anyone who likes to bake, you must head over to Bakerella's Blog and browse her site! You can find her recipe for cupcake bites on this page. She is amazing.... I am totally inspired by her!

Tonsillectomy

Well today I had my tonsils removed! I was pretty nervous about getting them out (the internet is full of bad / good news) They had me show up at 10:00 a.m. Camille took me ( THANKS A BUNCH ) at around 11 they put me out and about 8 minutes later they woke me up! (VERY FAST) The nurses told me before hand to plan on about 20-30 minutes and then about 3 hours of waiting monitoring vitals. The pain hasn't been too unbearable yet. They say the worst is 3 to 4 days later once the scabs are forming. Although maybe the pain meds are just working :) I’ve been drinking a lot of fluids have been lucky as far as having an appetite! I had some chicken noodle on the way home from Chick-Fil-A, and just finished up with some Ramen Noodles! I'm hoping thinks continue to go smooth!

Skor Cake

This cake is so good... and so simple! I got the recipe from a ward cookbook that my Aunt Wendy gave me for Christmas. It is jam packed full of tasty recipes, and when Nate's mom said I could make dessert for family dinner today, I knew this was my pick! I did substitute a Heath bar for a Skor bar today; I couldn't find a Skor bar at Target! But that's okay, it was still toffee-ish and good none the less!

This picture needs no introductions because for once I did not borrow it from someone elses blog, I took it myself...which is why it is not nearly as good a picture as the others I have posted in the past. Try this cake out, you'll love how easy it is! Enjoy!

Skor Cake

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix

1 Carton Cool Whip

I Jar Mrs. Richardson's Caramel Butterscotch Sauce

1 Skor Bar, chopped

Bake cake according to package directions. While cake is still warm, poke holes all over cake with a straw, and cover cake with the caramel sauce. Let cake cool completely. "Frost" with Cool Whip, and top with Skor bar. Yum!

In Loving Memory

In Loving Memory

John Neldon Whicker

1952-2009

Nate's Uncle John passed away last week. I only had the chance to meet him once, during our wedding. Man did I miss out on a great man! Oh, the stories I have heard of Uncle John! Nate's Grandma Marlene told me at John's viewing that my husband has some Uncle John in him... So I must believe that John was a fiesty, funny, giving, and charming man, from the stories I have heard of him, and because that is just like Nate. What a great family the Whickers are; I don't think there is a more embracing, loving family in the world. I had the chance to meet cousins, and relatives I had yet to meet, and that Nate had not seen in years. It's so sad that it sometimes takes such circumstances to bring families together. That will have to change.

The viewing blew me away. Unlce John was known for giving out popcorn, and Tootsie Pops at the tire shop he owned, and also known for his addicition to Vanilla Coke. All through the funeral home, I saw little kids sucking on Tootsie Pops someone had brought, and given out in his memory. There were also a few cans of Vanilla Coke scattered about. For the entire length of the viewing, there was a line out the door of the funeral home of people waiting in line, for quite some time, to say goodbye to John and pay respects to his amazing family. John left a family of strong, compassionate, and loving people. I'm sure he had quite a bit to do with that. Tootsie Pops will always mean Uncle John in this household. We love you guys...