Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 coming to an end....

2012 is coming to an end. This has been a fast year and a great one well at least for us! I hope 2013 has lots of exciting things in our future. :)

It's been a long time since I have posted about my goals from 2012. Now that the year is ending let's see where my goals stand that I set last year at this time. :)


  • Organize the House  - When we lived in the town-home I did lots of reorganizing stuff and it helped out so much and I continued to keep stuff organized since we have moved into our new home. There is some things I would like to get organized but that will continue into 2013 to get those few things done. 
  • Eat Better & Work-out  - This started out right and I continued to do my best to keep on this as the year went on. I have been doing the Special K diet with meal bars for breakfast and shakes for lunch. Dinner we have been doing better about planning out better meals. This will continue into 2013.  
  • Organize all photos into Photo Books -I did finish all my books and got them ordered. They turned out great! I still have a few photos to add to the 2012 book and then it will be ready to be ordered and I can start on my 2013 book! 
  • Build up our savings account  - Our savings account is doing great! We had it built up for months now and haven't had to take any out till just recently. Which was okay because it was for Christmas food that we needed so it was all good. We will work on putting that money back at the beginning of 2013. 
  • Buy a House - This was a huge success and we moved into our new home in August. 
  • Continue pursuing Photography  - This was slow this year but I did get some shoots in and enjoyed everyone I did. I will continue to work on this more in 2013. :)
  • Reading - I read so much this past year it's crazy! I really enjoyed all the books I have read and I look forward to reading more in 2013. 
I haven't set any goals for 2013 yet and I'm not sure if I'm going to or not. Some of my goals from 2012 are going to roll over to 2013, so I guess I have some set. 
If I would set any goals for 2013 it would be to get some stuff done around the house. I have some little things that I would like to get done in at the beginning of the year.  One thing for sure I would like to do is put pictures all over our hallway! 

I hope everyone had a great 2012 year and are looking forward to 2013. 
Enjoy yourself tonight and be safe! 

We will be staying in tonight and hanging out at home! :)


Sunday, December 30, 2012

Brownie Peppermint Cookies

This year for Christmas Shane and I did some baking for our family as gifts. We each got to pick something out we thought would be fun and yummy! Shane picked Apple Bread, I picked these Brownie Peppermint Cookies and we both decided to add some fudge to each bag. Everything turned out great and very yummy!

This is another recipe I got off Pinterest

Cookies:
  • 1 package brownie mix (I made my own mix)
  • 1 1\4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1\4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1\4 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1\2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 recipe vanilla cream frosting
  • 1\2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
Vanilla Frosting:
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1\2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1\4 tsp salt
Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Butter cookie sheet and see aside
  3. In large mixing bowl mix flour, brown sugar and salt. Add I'm eggs and milk and stir with a large spoon. Add in melted butter, vanilla and peppermint extract, stir um till well blended.
  4. Spoon dough by heaping tablespoonfuls OK into greased cookie sheet (you can fit 12 per sheet).
  5. Bake for 10-12 mins.
  6. Cool completely before frosting and adding candy canes.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

My Nieces!

Back at the beginning of December Shane and I thought it would be fun to take our nieces out and do their pictures for Christmas gifts. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful day in December to go out and take pictures. It was almost 60 degrees out! A girl at work told me about this pretty place that had a lake and some pretty waterfalls called Cedar Creek. It's a really pretty subdivision of HUGE house (nothing we can afford that's for sure). This place was the perfect for the girls to take pictures. I was so happy with this place and I can't wait to go back. :)

Here are some of my fav's from their pictures:









To see more from this shoot, please visit my Facebook Page.



Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas Time!!

Christmas Day has come and gone and it was a wonderful year!!! Now it's time to post about our wonderful time together and get back into a normal routine. LOL

We had 3 different Christmas celebrations. All of them were such a great time spending all day with our families. 

Our first celebration was on Sunday Dec 23rd with some of my family. Everyone came over to our house for gifts and chili. We had a fun time hanging out and enjoying the family all afternoon.

My nephew Lexan cheesing. LOL
 My sweet frame from my sister and her boyfriend. I can't wait to hang it up! it says "Wickliffe"
 All of us! Heather, Me, Kasey & Brandon

Shane and I did our Christmas, Christmas Eve night since we had a full day on Christmas Day. I think one of my gifts was too big for my stocking (it was slow cooker). LOL
 Kira loved all her gifts and she couldn't wait to get her treats out of her stocking. 

Christmas Day we got up early and headed over to Shane's Dad's house. We made dinner over there and hung out all day. 

The girls all snuggled up b/c it was chilly!
 Sydney checking out her awesome ornament we got her. 
Which was hand painted by Eileen's Hand Painted Gifts. She did an awesome job on all the ones I ordered!
 This was Shannon and Stef opening pictures of their girls. Shane and I took their girls out and did pictures at the beginning of Dec for gifts. They turned out so good!! (I will be posting on them soon).

After we left his dads house we headed out to my grandma's for more Christmas fun! 
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got lots of goodies!! 







Thursday, December 27, 2012

December Birthdays!

December is such a busy month for us between Christmas and all the Birthdays that we have to celebrate! But it also means lots of family time and we always have such a wonderful time.

The first birthday celebration was on Sunday Dec 16th at my Grandma's for my Uncle's birthday. 

The next round of Birthday celebrations were on Saturday Dec 22nd at our home! We celebrated Shane, Stefanie, Paige & Shannon's. I told you lots of birthdays in December! We had a taco dinner and Stefanie made cake for dessert. It was a fun time with the family.

 The Birthday Gang! 

I would also like to wish my brother-in-law a very Happy Birthday as well. His birthday is Dec 31st. 



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with family and friends today!
Safe travels if anyone has to go out town to be with family this Holiday! 

Merry Christmas from The Wickliffe's!! 

Photos done by Sonya Karel.



I will post about all our fun holiday things after the holiday! Enjoy yourself!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Kids Name Frame

I was trying to come up with a cute idea for Christmas for my mom. I found this cute name frame on Pinterest and I thought this would be cute to make for my mom with all her kids name in it. 

All you need is a frame and some letter tiles. I got my tiles on amazon for like $6.00.  
 Arrange the names how you think looks the best and glue them down. I added some flowers in the frame b/c I thought it looked boring with just the names. ;)

I thought it turned out super cute and my mom seems to really like it. They only thing that turned out bad was my brothers name isn't that straight ,but oh well it's still cute! 



Monday, December 17, 2012

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!!

Today is Shane's birthday!!! I want to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY honey!! 

We went out Saturday night to celebrate his birthday with some friends. We headed to Fronteras for dinner and drinks. Then after that some of us headed back to our house to hang out! Shane had a great birthday this year. 

Tonight for his actual birthday I made him Mexican for dinner, Tacos, Rice and Beans. It was a yummy meal! He also got to pick out a movie to watch so we watched Bourne Legacy. It was a good movie but after half way through I got super sleepy and dozed off. :(. I woke up and came to bed but first I had to write a post to wish my wonderful husband a very Happy Birthday today!!

Happy Birthday Shane!! I love you so much!! 

Everyone celebrating Shane's Birthday!



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Crock Pot Roast

This is another recipe I got off Pinterest. This turned out really good. My husband doesn't care too much for roast but he liked it. :)
The Chicken Broth in this picture should be Beef Broth I grabbed the wrong out of cabinet but I did realize it and got the beef broth. LOL
 
The night before Shane and I seasoned the roast and left in a bag overnight. It turned out really good with seasoning the meat and letting it soak in. :)
Ingredients:
  • 3 to 4 pound boneless chuck roast
  • 32 ounces low-sodium beef broth or stock
  • 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 teaspoons smoked (or regular) paprika
  • 3 teaspoons allspice
  • 2-3 large sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 3 medium sized carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 1 large onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 to 2 pounds potatoes, diced (about 3 medium potatoes)
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Roast Seasoning:
On each side of the roast I used the following:
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Jalapeno Pepper
1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
Cayenne Pepper sprinkled all over to your taste
Black Pepper sprinkled all over to your taste
Celery Seed sprinkled all over to your taste
Oregano sprinkled all over to your taste 
Directions:
  1. Spray your crock pot generously with Pam or line it with a crock pot liner.
  2. Pour the beef stock, balsamic vinegar, honey and tomato paste into the crock pot. Stir it together and add in the paprika, allspice, salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Toss in half of the vegetables and place your chuck roast on top of everything. Toss in the rest of the vegetables and stir everything all together as best you can, making sure that the beef is mostly submerged in the broth. Top with your rosemary.
  4. Set the crock pot on low and cover. Let it cook for 8-10 hours on low. If you can, check on it every so often and give it a little stir (this isn’t necessary if you are away from the house).
  5. When ready, move the roast to a cutting board and slice to serve. Serve with the vegetables and juices from the meat and broth. A salad might go well here too, but we were all about meat and potatoes that night. Serves 4.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Baked Fajitas

I have been posting a lot about food lately! That's because Shane and I have been trying lots of new meals and bread, so I wanted to share with everyone! :)
This week I got this off Pinterest, Baked Fajitas. We weren't sure how these would turn out since they were baked and not grilled like we normally do. But they turned out really good! This will be going in our recipe book for sure. :)



Ingredients: 
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into squares
  • 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 Bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 Red pepper, sliced
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp jalapeno pepper
  • Flour Tortillas 


Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Grease 13x9 baking dish. Mix together chicken, tomatoes, chilies, peppers and onion in dish.
  3. In small bowl combine oil and spices.
  4. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and mix together.
  5. Bake uncovered for 20-25 mins or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
  6. Serve with warmed tortillas






Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmas Lights!!

One thing I was so excited for this Christmas was putting up lights on the house! I haven't been able to put up lights forever and I couldn't wait to this year. When Shane decided to put up the lights (Thanksgiving weekend) it was such a nice day outside and we both were thankful that it was super cold and snowing. I'm sure someday we will experience that though...well maybe...LOL 

Shane hard at work. 
 I love it! My hubby did a great job. Next year he wants to do the top peak too. 

I love coming home at night and see our light all lite up and our Christmas tree in the window! 



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Red Chili

I love red chili and I have been trying for awhile to find a really good recipe to make, we just didn't make it we made White Chili instead. Finally one day I came across a recipe that sounded good but we made some changes to it by adding some stuff we wanted. The first time I made it I was super nervous how it was going to turn out. But I can say this finally hit the spot and we now have our Red Chili Recipe!! It's super good and I can't wait to make it again. :)
 
Ingredients:
  • 1 Ib hamburger
  • 1 can Kidney beans
  • 1 can Chili beans
  • 1 can Black beans
  • 1 can Diced Tomatoes
  • Green Pepper, Diced
  • Jalapeno , Diced
  • (2) 29 oz can Tomato Sauce
  • Tomato Juice (To liking)
  • ½ tsp Cayenne
  • ½ tsp Black Pepper
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 ½ tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder
  • ½ tsp Garlic Powder
  • ½ tsp Ground Oregano
  • ½ tsp Jalapeno  Pepper
 
Directions:
  1. Brown Hamburger
  2. Add all beans, tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeno, tomato sauce, tomato juice. (I added the tomato juice to my liking of thinness) Mix together.
  3. Add all the seasoning and mix together
  4. Bring to boil
  5. Reduce heat and simmer 1 ½ hours (If using slow cooker set on low and cook 8-10 hours).
 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Snowman Hats

I LOVE snowman stuff!! When I came across the picture of these. I thought it was the cutest ever and couldn't wait to make them! 
Shane and I got invited to an Ugly Sweater/Cookie Exchange last weekend, so I made these fun little hats! 
I will say when I started making them I got so mad at them I was so close to giving up and taking something else....but I held out after spending all the money for the ingredients and I finally got the hang of it and they turned out cute. My husband was a lot of help as well. We make a good team in the kitchen!

I couldn't find an actual recipe for these so I just made it up as I went along. 




Ingredients:
  • Oreo's
  • Marshmallows
  • Almond Bark
  • Shimmer White Sugar 

Directions:
  1. Place all the oreo's on wax paper, then place the marshmallow on top.
  2. Melt the almond bark on the stove over low heat.
  3. We would use spoon fulls of chocolate and pour over the marshmallow then take a little spatula and cover the areas. 
  4. Sprinkle with shimmer white sugar.
  5. Let cool and enjoy!