The Christmas Session

J's contemporary worship service is cancelled at our church during the month of December so that our entire church can all attend church together. There are pros and cons to this. One such con is that we never sing Christmas type songs because we don't meet during that time period. This year, J and I and our friend wrote a Christmas type worship service and it was held the first Sunday in December. You can go to the link below an watch.

http://vimeo.com/33312612

Here's a picture of our friend and me in our festive Christmas sweaters.

Recipe Disaster....Sort of

So I attempted to make this -

http://www.southernliving.com/food/holidays-occasions/white-christmas-desserts-00417000070182/page14.html

for Jeremy's work party yesterday. I knew my time was short so I bought all the ingredients before going away for the weekend. I actually only needed a white cake mix, 3 blocks of cream cheese, and whipping cream. I had everything else. So I made the cheesecake layers on Sunday night and froze them, just as it said. Not too hard to make but time consuming. Went to bed after midnight.

Then on Monday night, I made the white cake layers, which deemed difficult because I only have 2 layer cake pans, not 3. However, I used a cheesecake pan that was roughly the same size as my round cake pans and it worked. In addition, did I mention that we had a Christmas party to go to and I didn't start on any of this until 8:30. 

The process of making this cake was more complicated that I thought (aka I will never make it again). It took so much time just waiting around for everything to freeze, cool, etc.

Now on to the frosting. I made the white chocolate sugar syrup concoction. Then it was on to whipping the whipping cream, which you would not think would be that difficult. However, I have never been successful on whipping anything or making meringue without my aunt in my presence. There is a fine line between whipping and making butter....unless my aunt is present, I usually cross that line. When she is there, it works; when she is not here, it fails. I whipped too long and ended up making white chocolate butter. Oops! After tears and no sleep, at 11:30 PM I went to bed with a cake that looked great but no icing.

Woke up yesterday morning, went and bought icing  and was at Kroger before 7 AM (probably the wrong flavor, but I couldn't find "white chocolate icing" so I used buttercream). Then what was supposed to be this great white cake, looked a little yellow which made me think of yellow snow and yellow snow is never a good thing.

Remember when they used to make those little silver balls as adornments for your cake? Well apparently they don't make those anymore - probably a choking hazard. Well we went to this fancy kitchen store in Savannah this weekend and I saw silver sprinkles so I paid the $4 for the bottle of silver sprinkles. Even silver sprinkles couldn't really save this cake. And with a cake like this, you can't really taste test beforehand.

All in all, Jeremy brought home about 3 slices of the cake. People seemed to enjoy it and told me how great it was. I'm glad they enjoyed it because I will never make it again. I did taste a piece and it was good, but I would have rather slept or used my energies elsewhere. I can't really blame the recipe as it said it would take 8 hours and 30 minutes for everything to complete. Oh well!

Craft Projects for November

I was very crafty this month, but can't post some of the stuff because they are Christmas presents.

I did make another growth chart as a baby present.

Please excuse the fact that it's hung up on the closet door and not along the wall like it should. Here's some close-ups:

I also made my aunt a set of 4 placemats and napkins but forgot to take a picture of them. Maybe she will read this and send me a picture of them on her table. *Hint, Hint, Hint*

I also got the "great" idea to make our Christmas Cards. Usually I buy some at the end of the season, but apparently last season I forgot so I didn't have any. Because we've served in ministries/churches in different places, our Christmas Card list is rather long. My creative brain forgot that part, so I only handmade 85 cards. Sorry if you're at the end of the alphabet - you got a store bought one. I just ran out of time, ideas, and willpower.

And I also forgot to take pictures of the cards. Each of them were different, so it would have been a bit difficult to post all those pictures. Maybe some of you reading will see this and send me a picture of yours.

That is all for now. Notice that this blog is late, because the month of December will have more craft projects, aka Christmas presents!

A Christmas Tour

J and I got married a week before Christmas. With that being said, we got a lot of wedding presents that were involved Christmas...ornaments, table settings, decorations, candlesticks and the like. We didn't register for any of this but we love it because it's really easy to decorate our apartment at Christmas. Here's a look:

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

My last name is Wilkerson so we have to have some type of musical decor.

 And the top of the other book shelf...

Both the snowmen on the left side of the previous pictures are from Hallmark. My mom's best friend buys her the singing snowman every year at Christmas. Several years my mom has ended up with two because she's received the same gift from someone else. She happy bestows the extras on to me. At my mom's house, she must have 6-7 of these by now. my mom's favorite thing is to press all of them at the same time. Each of them sings a different song and dances and lights up in a different way. I love Christmas music but 6-7 of those singing at the same time is a bit much. Last year, however, J turned all of them off so when my mom went to turn all of them on, they were all "broke". It was funny at the time...at least we thought it was. Here's the chaos in action...decide for yourself.

Our corner shelf

The shelf behind the couch

 Part of the china cabinet

 The tablescape

 A close up of the table setting

My favorite wall hanging
(It used to hang in my grandma's house and when she passed away and my mom asked me what I wanted, I'm pretty sure this is one of the first things I laid claim to)

The bathroom
(because I believe every room needs a little something)

Here's another decorative piece that's pretty easy and looks great.

Yes those are split peas. The non-profit I work for does an annual fundraiser and last year that decorated with peas and had candles in the middle, similar to this one here. What do you do with bags and bags of peas?!?!? You split them up between those that decorated and take them to your own house to decorate. So easy and inexpensive but pretty too!

Pretty Kitchen Towel

And the Christmas sheets with stockings

(that I got on sale last year for next to nothing, they're festive but really soft and comfy)

So Mom, you're not coming to my house for Christmas this year - hope this tour makes you feel like you're here in spirit.

Craft Projects for October

I've been busy this month preparing for a Women's Ministry event at my church called Crafts and Conversations. Women are able to sign-up and pick what they want to make and pay for the supplies. They show up and I provide all their supplies as well as a teacher to show them how to make the item.

Even with all that preparation and logistics, I've still be able to make a few things this month. First, I made a baby present for a childhood friend. Her baby came a month early and she kept the name a secret, so I did pretty good to work within those guidelines. I'd seen these all over craft blogs, so I tried my hand at it. As with most projects, I would do a ton of things different, but not bad for the first time making a new item.

Please excuse the poor photography, I was all set to mail it and then remembered I had forgotten to take a picture of it, so I snapped one right before I ran out the door. It's a growth chart that is hung on a wall (or in my case, hung on the corner of my bookcase for display purposes). I love it because it can go wherever you go, no matter how many times you move, or how many times you want to pain your house. You track the child's growth by adding safety pins and tags to the height when they've reached certain milestones, yearly doctors check-ups, etc.Here's a close-up look of the name:

I also managed to make a fall wreath for my boss's birthday and wound up making three more for others that liked them and were willing to pay me to make them.

It was also a dear friend's birthday, so I dabbled a little more in the sewing department and created a set of four of these for her breakfast table.

This is actually the same placemat, I just made two different sides so she can pick which one she wants to use. What made this special is that the birthday girl's friend passed away several months ago and I was blessed to receive all of her unused fabric. The placemats and cloth napkins are made from that fabric, so it's extra special. And to make it even extra, extra special is that at the birthday dinner, the friend's husband was present, so he was able to see the fabric put to good use as well as see who was receiving such a special gift. It definitely took a lot more time than I thought it would, but it was well worth it. I even went to the birthday girl's house last night and saw them displayed on the breakfast table.

I saw this fun idea on a blog also and kept it filed away in my brain. After the school year started and crayons were dirt cheap, I bought a few packs. Then, this week, I went and bought the loops needed to help shape it. I'm not finished with it yet, but this is probably as complete as it will be for awhile. I think I might have spent $3 to make this.

More than likely, I wont post my craft projects for the rest of the year, as Christmas is approaching and most of them will be gifts.

A Steal of a Deal #4

I love to get a deal, but trying to get a steal of a deal today in the pouring down rain was a bit of a challenge. Not to mention, I got a late start because I was in line for most of the morning at the County Commissioner's Office renewing my car tags. Yes, I waited until the last minute and I also misplaced the renewal form, but they were more than willing to take my money.

My best deals today came from Publix, as they do most of the time. I paid $19.93 for all of this!

Here's the breakdown:

• Toaster Strudels, BOGO this week with $0.50/2 coupon that doubled - $1.39 for both
• Nestle Toll House Cookies, were on sale last week but they were out, so I got a rain check  for this week and had a $0.75 coupon for each package - $1.30 for both
• Hefty One Zip bags, BOGO this week with 2 $0.50/2 coupons that doubled - $2.78 for all 4
• Ajax dish soap, on sale 2/$3 this week and had a $0.50 coupon that doubled - paid $0.50
• Cheez Its, BOGO this week and there were no coupons to be found, but since they're my husband's favorite, I let him buy them.
• Tropicana Lemonade, BOGO this week but no coupons, paid $1, but again since it's my husband's favorite, I let him buy them.
• Caribou Coffee, BOGO this week with $1 coupon, and I'm my father-in-law's favorite because it's for him!
• Pillsbury Egg Scrambles, BOGO this week with 4 $1 coupons, paid $0.20 for each bag, so $0.80 for all 4. 
• Pillsbury Biscuit Sandwiches, BOGO this week with 4 $1 coupons, paid $0.20 for each box, so $0.80 for all 4 (and each box has 2 sandwiches, so I paid $0.10 for each one - take that McDonalds!)
• EatSmart veggies, can be eaten as is or steamed in the microwave - $1 each, bought 2.

 $19.93 for 23 items, isn't that bad in my opinion.
I saved $43.21 in coupons and sales, which is a total savings of 68%!

A Steal of a Deal #3

Today's success came at Target when Target paid me to take 8 items out of the store.

Here's the breakdown:

• Mentos gum $1.29 - 2 $1 off coupons, bought 2, paid $0.48 for both.
• Minute Maid juice boxes for mornings when I'm on the run $2.99 - $2 off coupon, paid $0.98.
• Planters Peanut Butter $1.99 - $0.75 off Target coupon, paid $1.24.
• Cover Girl blush $3.74 - 4 $8/2 coupons, earned $0.52 for each 2 I bought for $2.08 credit.

Subtotal: $0.68
Tax: $2.93
Total Out Of Pocket: $3.61
Total Savings this trip: $36.80 or 91%

Now I know your next question is what are you going to do with all that blush...I will probably keep 2 of them and give the rest away in goody bags or to a local shelter.

Two Years

"Have you ever played the game “Never Have I Ever”? I think I first played it a youth camp and I’ve played it countless times since then. It’s played in a circle with a chair for each person. There’s a person standing in the middle of the circle. The person in the middle says “Never have I ever (fill in the blank)”. An example would be, “never have I ever been to Disney World”. Then everyone in the circle that has been to Disney World must hop up and find another seat, including the person in the middle. Hopefully, the person in the middle finds a seat and a new person gets stuck in the middle.

Two years ago, I would have played the game like this – never have I ever received a phone call on an early Saturday morning with such devastating news, never have I ever watched my brother struggle to breathe, never have I ever learned how to move a person in a wheelchair up and down stairs, never have I ever celebrated Thanksgiving in one of the top rehabilitation hospitals in the country, and never have I ever signed papers making me Power of Attorney over my brother while my dad made a trip back home from Atlanta because he could make decisions for himself.

Two years later my responses are very different. I have received a phone call on an early Saturday morning with devastating news, I have watched my brother struggle to breathe, I have learned how to move a person in a wheelchair up and down stairs, I have celebrated Thanksgiving in one of the top rehabilitation hospitals in the country, and I have been given temporary Power of Attorney over my brother because he was unable to make decisions for himself at that time.

In some regards, two years has seemed like a really long time. There have been countless decisions made, countless changes have occurred, and countless phone calls made with family members, friends, insurance companies, and the like. Our lives have been changed and regardless of whether our Heavenly Father sees fit to heal Ryan’s body on this side of heaven or not, the last two years of our lives have been drastically different than we could have ever imagined.

Never have I ever thought any of these events would occur in my life, but they have. At times, we wished we could have reversed time and changed everything. Other times, we have dwelled in the moment and soaked up every minute of it. And still other moments have found us wallowing in circumstances, feeling like we were drowning at times with no way out.

Regardless of all the details, life is different for all of us. Just the other day I noticed a woman park in a handicapped spot and step out of her car in her stilettos and walk into a building. I felt my blood boil but two years ago, I probably wouldn’t have given it second thought. We live differently, we think differently, and we act differently, all because of an event that happened two years ago. 

So many things have changed, yet there is one thing that hasn’t changed at all. We still find our hope in a Creator that despite our overwhelming circumstances is still with us every step of the way. He has extended grace to each of us with each new obstacle that has occurred. He has loved us despite our questions of why, when, and how. People have been placed in our path to help us along the way, not because of coincidence, but because the Lord sent them our way. We press on because we know that Ryan will be healed one day, perhaps this side of heaven and perhaps not. Regardless, we know that God works all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). So despite all the differences and changes that we never could have imagined taking place in our lives over the past two years, we will seek to love Him and follow Him and allow Him to carry us through."

5 Things I Like This Week

Feature article by Lynchburg College on my brother and his new role as an athlete. http://www.lynchburg.edu/x29813.xml

It's almost Fall!!! It used to be my first sip of a Caramel Apple Spice drink from Starbucks that signified the start of Fall for me, but then they started offering that drink all the time. Now it's the smell of cinnamon brooms that captivate my thoughts letting me know cooler weather is coming and the leaves are about to change! One of the grocery stores I shop at has them at the front of the store - Sniff! Sniff! 

I found a great deal on cereal this week at Publix, as well as many other healthy grocery options. See below for the entire post.

I just made this wreath this afternoon. It's made with deco mesh ribbon. It's pretty easy to make, but you could fluff the ribbon all day long and still feel like you could fluff some more.

Billboard on University, based on the great song "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp. It's great advertising and marketing. And most everytime we pass by, J and I bust into the song.

A Steal of a Deal #2

I had a great week at Publix this week! I'd like to say I have a great week every week, but usually I just have a good week. Great is much better than good in my book!

I would like to point out how relatively healthy everything is! A lot of people say that couponing leads to buying junk but that doesn't have to be the case if you don't let it.

• English Muffins, on sale BOGO and I had a $1 off each package. Paid $1 for each.
• Salad Mix,on sale BOGO and I had a $1 off each package. Paid $1 for each.
• Yellow Onions, on sale for 2/$5. No coupon, but already made french onion soup last night in the crock pot. I'll slide a few more up and freeze for the future. 
• SnackWell's snack packages, on sale BOGO and I had a $1 off each package. Paid $0.60 for each.
• Eight O'Clock coffee, on sale BOGO and I had a $0.75 off coupon. Paid $1.90 for each. I don't even drink coffee at home, but I'm always looking for deals for my in-laws. My father-in-law can't remember if he likes Eight O'Clock coffee, but he likes $1.75 for an entire package, so I have a feeling he will like this.
• Chef Boyardee, on sale BOGO and I had 2 $0.50/2 coupons that doubled. Bought 4 for $1. 
• Pace salsa, on sale BOGO and I had $0.50/2 coupon that doubled. Bought 2 for $1.80. We don't love jarred salsa, but for this price, we do! 
• Fiber One cereal, on sale 2/$5 and I had 6 $2 store coupons plus 3 $1/2 manufacturer's coupon. Used all 9 coupons and got all 9 boxes FREE! It's all being mailed to my mother, I even called her at the store to see what flavors she wanted. 

So for all that, I paid $18.04. Between store sales and coupons, I saved $52.29 OR 75%. Like I said, I think I did pretty good and most of the food is relatively healthy.

All My Children...or rather All My Grandchildren

Today, a significant event is taking place in daytime television...All My Children airs for the last time on network television. All My Children has been on the air for over 40 years - first airing on January 5, 1970. For today's television, that's an extremely long time! Perhaps you're a fan, perhaps you're not. I promise this post really has nothing to do with the soap opera itself, I promise. Please keep reading...

When I was younger, my mom worked out of the home, so when my brother and I got sick, rather than my mom staying home or taking a vacation day, my mom would take us to my grandmother's house. My grandmother was a nurse, so clearly she knew exactly how to take care of us, whatever our various ailments. Even when we were out for various school breaks or whatnot, we still went to my grandmother's house.

My grandmother and I meeting my baby brother for the first time.

My grandparents have both passed, but I would love to know what they would think of today's television. Yes, the shows that are on, but I'd be more interested in the actual piece of electronic equipment. My grandparents always had one of those televisions that was an actual piece of furniture. Even when the one I remember as a child broke, they got a "new" one when I was a teenager, it looked almost the exact same. It looked something like this:

 

When I would stay home from school and go to my grandmother's house, I had full reign. I was able to talk whenever I wanted, eat whatever I wanted, watch whatever I wanted on television. HOWEVER, when the one o'clock hour approached (eastern time), everything stopped and we had to watch All My Children. This was my grandmother's guilty pleasure. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure she saw the first episode and didn't quit watching until the day she died.

I remember in college, I would call my grandmother to check in and we would always talk about what was going on with various characters. If I was home sick today, there's no way I would have a clue about what was going on with the various story lines and characters. On this day, however, I might just play "sick" and watch just for the sake of old times. Old times that I cherish with my grandmother...she taught me well and I miss her!

My aunt, grandmother, mom, and me at my bridal shower. This was a few weeks before she passed away.

The Great and the Least,

The Rich and the Poor,
The Weak and the Strong,
In Sickness and in Health,
In Joy and Sorrow,
In Tragedy and Triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN.

Not a Healthy Recipe, but Delicious nonetheless!

Our schedules are hectic and we're usually only home together on Monday nights. On the other nights, we either try to eat leftovers together at sporadic times or I find something when I can eat and Jeremy finds something for dinner when he has time to eat.

The other night Jeremy had a meeting and I needed something quick and easy for dinner because cooking for two is hard enough so cooking for one is next to impossible for me. And if I cook then I also have to clean and I'm just not willing to do all that after working a long day. We have a deal in our marriage, whoever cooks, the other one cleans. When I'm the only one home, well I'm stuck having to cook and clean and there's lots of days I don't feel like doing that.

I decided to make dinner and just like the title of the post says, it was not at all healthy but delicious nonetheless! I call them BBQ Beef Cups. I don't make these often, but often enough to know they're dangerous to my waistline and they are quick and easy.

First, you take a can of biscuit dough and pull pieces apart, filling a muffin tin like this. The can I had was actually for 8 biscuits, but as you can see I was able to take the pieces and spread them out so I was able to make 10 of these.

Then, you brown some ground beef or turkey and once it's finished browning, add some BBQ sauce. One of the nights that I prepared these, I called J and told him what I was making and he requested some with Frank's, so that's what he had the next day for lunch. It was so simple to half the meat and add BBQ sauce to some of them for me and hot sauce to the others for him.

Then you fill the cups with the meat mixture. It looks something like this...

I also add a dollop of either the BBQ sauce of hot sauce on the very top just for a little added moisture. We would be eating these over the next few days and I didn't want them drying out. To make them even better, you can add some shredded cheese on top for a little something extra. However, then I realized that I wouldn't know which ones were made with what sauce, so I added a jalapeno slice to each of that I made for J.

Then, pop your muffin tin into the oven to melt the cheese and after a few minutes, you end up with something like this.

DELICIOUSNESS!!!

A Steal of a Deal

I've been couponing for about 16 months now. I dabbled in the art of couponing our last few months in New Orleans and when we moved to Huntsville, I really picked it up. When we moved to Huntsville, we hadn't worked in approximately six weeks and money was tight, so I didn't really have a choice as to whether to save money. While we both have good jobs in Huntsville, I continue to coupon because I enjoy it and if I didn't, I'm afraid Dave Ramsey would yell at me and tell me that this is one more way that I can help us get out of debt. When I tallied our receipts from last year, I saved $4000 last year in coupons, so I would say it's worth it for the Wilkerson household. 

I'm not extreme like those on the TLC show Extreme Couponing, but I do have a stockpile of goods but it consists of our hallway closet. And if you were to see me out shopping, I may or may not have my couponing notebook with me and if you were to look in my cart you would worry about our diet because none of the ingredients usually go together. The point of couponing is to buy items at the lowest price and buy enough of it to last until the next time it goes on sale (between 6 weeks and 2 months).

I usually shop on Fridays. I don't work on Fridays and the crowds are significantly less with everyone at work. However, in the summer, the crowds are a bit bigger and my summer schedule does not always allow me to do such on any given Friday. Tomorrow, we're headed to Atlanta, so I went shopping tonight...in the middle of a summer thunderstorm. Needless to say, I was drenched several times, but I saved lots of money and that makes everything worth it. 

I went to Publix and here's what I got:

I spent $6.80 and saved $16.36 or 71%.

Remember, I said you buy things at their lowest price and buy enough to last until the next time it goes on sale. Hershey's syrup goes on sale a little less often than other goods, so I bought four bottles just in case. Here's the breakdown:

• 4 Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, BOGO for $1.10 each and then had $1/2 manufacturer's coupon = $2.40 for 4
• 3 Chex Mix, BOGO for $1.30 each and had $0.50 manufacturer's coupon that doubled to $1 = $0.30 per bag, $0.90 for all 3 bags
• Eckrich Sausage for jambalaya (after all, we did live in New Orleans for many years), on sale for $2, had $0.55 manufacturer's coupon = $1.45
• Colgate toothbrush, on sale for $4/2 (not a great price, but it was time for new toothbrushes in the Wilkerson household - no we don't share, I already had another one in the stockpile) with a $0.40 manufacturer's coupon that doubled to $0.80 = $1.20

$5.92 + $0.88 tax = $6.80 TOTAL

I went to SuperTarget and used a lot of Target coupons printed from their website. Here's what I got:

I spent $8.77 and saved $25.85 or 75%.

Here's the breakdown:

• Sugar (not on sale but we needed it, we live in the South and sweet tea is a requirement) $3.09
• Up & Up Face Wash $2.10 - $0.75 Target coupon = $1.35
• Up and Up Nail Polish Remover $0.97 - $0.50 Target coupon = $0.47
• Pillows (standard, no frills) $2.50 - $2 Target coupons = $0.50, bought 2, $1.00
• Up and Up Liners $0.87 - $0.75 Target coupon = $0.12
• Benadryl Itch Sticks $2.29 - $2 manufacturer's coupon = $0.29, bought 2, $0.58
• Sharpie markers, 2 pack for $1 - $1 Target coupon = FREE, used 4 coupons, 8 total markers for FREE
• Papermate pens 10 pack for $1.02 - $1 Target coupon = $0.02, used 4 coupons, $0.08 for 40 pens
• Aussie hairspray $4.54 - $1 off 2 Target coupon - $3 manufacturer's coupon = $0.54 for 2 bottles

$7.60 + $1.17 tax = $8.77


Each time I go shopping, my goal is to save 70% so I met my goal on both accounts. I used to clip coupons with my Papa when I was much younger. I think he wanted me to practice my scissor skills, but it also is a chore doing all that cutting...in the end it's definitely worth it and he would be so proud of my efforts!

Tie Dye with Sharpies

Apparently, the act of tie dying something with Sharpies is nothing new...however, it is new to me! I had read the idea on several blogs and was being crafty tonight so decided to try it out. I took a plain white shirt that was a bit worn out, just in case I messed up horribly. It started out like this:

I took a disposable cup and placed it under the shirt and wrapped a rubber band around it. I also took some old cardboard and placed between the layers of the shirt.

Then, I grabbed my Sharpies and started making dots to form a circle. I drew six small dots like this:

Then I took another colored Sharpie and drew six more dots in the spaces I had left of the circle. The various directions I read said to use an eye/medicine dropper to place approximately 15 drops of rubbing alcohol on the Sharpie. I did not have an eye/medicine dropper so I improvised with a drinking straw.

As I dropped the alcohol on the marker, the ink bled in various directions and the various colored markers bled together.

Here is the mostly finished product. It's drying on the table right now.

It's not the best thing I've ever created, but it was fun and allowed me to be crafty because I already had all the supplies within my reach.