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."