Cupcake Liner Pom Poms

Cheap, simple, requires minimal time and adds some flair to a party! I made these recently for a birthday party and loved them so much that I had to share!

First you'll need:

2 4" Styrofoam balls
Hot glue gun
Sewing pins
Approximately 75 cupcake liners for each ball

Next, I took one cup cake liner, pushed a pin through the middle, folded it in half, and then in fourths, applied hot glue where the liner and the pin connected, then pushed it all the way into the foam!

To vary the look I would fold the liner different each time. Each ball took about an hour to do, but for the price and unique look, it was SO worth it! You can put these on candle stick holders, or attach ribbon and hang from the ceiling! Here is my finished product. Enjoy! 

My husband always promised he'd take me places...

…And he told the truth! In the last year and five months (can you believe how time flies??), Ryan and I have traveled all over North America! All have either been trips with the youth group, bible quizzing trips, evangelizing, or vacation! Many of these states we’ve been to several different cities and more than once. I only counted states we’ve actually been too, and not just been in the airport at. Here they are:

Washington (of course), Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas (duh), Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri (YAY), New Mexico, and Mexico.

Twenty-two states in seventeen months! Next month we’ll be back in WA, and then to Nevada! Whew! We’ve seriously had a blast though! We were talking just the other day about what a wonderful and blessed life we have. Now that we have joined the Global Missions team we will get the opportunity to travel abroad – which I‘m really looking forward to. Ryan will most likely be traveling to Africa this year, and then next year we will both be traveling to Dubai! I can’t wait! I’ll make sure to blog about our experience over there! I want to go to as many different countries as I can and experience all the different cultures. My dream trip is Europe! Maybe one day… =)

The Greatest Proposal on Earth!

Okay, so I must confess that I’m a little biased, but I absolutely LOVED (and still love) my proposal! My husband did such a wonderful job of thoughtfully and creatively preparing it with me in mind (actually I have no clue who he is talking about in this video, but it sounds good! ;P). Every girl deserves to have a special moment like that.

 Every. Girl.

That brings me to a side note – Girls, you deserve to be wooed, swept off your feet, and treated like the princess you are! Do not settle for some guy who just wants to “hang out”. He needs to be a man and do it properly! That involves asking your dad (or Mom) to date you, actually PLANNING a date where all you have to do is show up, and he is a complete gentleman opening doors for you and keeping his hands to himself! If he can’t man up and do that – then he needs to be booted out the door.  I’m serious. GOODBYE and GOOD RIDDANCE! Someone will come along who WILL do all that stuff, so hold out and don’t settle for less. You owe that to yourselves!

*whew* Okay enough of that side rant! Now where was I? ;)

Every proposal is different, what counts is that it comes from the heart and was made especially for you! Every time I watch my proposal video, I tear up; sometimes inside and sometimes out. I can’t wait to one day show it to our children!

It has been 1 year and 5 months since I’ve married the man of my dreams, and every day I fall more in love with him! He is truly a wonderful man of God, and I’m so blessed to have him and share a life with him!

For those of you who haven’t seen the video here it is! *sigh* I’m one happy woman!

A Nerd at Heart

According to Webster the definition of a nerd is:

An unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person;especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits

Okay, so I don't feel like I fit in with the LITERAL definition, but I must say that over this last year I have been slavishly devoted to making all kinds of goodies in the kitchen! I find an unreal amount of happiness in preparing a delicious homemade meal that I got a good deal on! Last night I made a pot roast, recipe found here.

Then tonight I cut the leftover roast up, added some veggies, potatoes, and pie crust for a delicious pot pie! I'm on the constant look out for good recipes, so if you have one, feel free to share away! 

Now I'm going to share with you one of the best recipes I've found, and a MUST have in your treasure chest of goodies. It's the perfect recipe for a party, or guests. Not only are they delicious, but you can store them for later, and they taste just as good warmed up!

Here it is...

The wonderful...

Fantabulous...

Out of this world...

Marinated Gourmet Sandwiches

3 dozen Hawaiian dinner rolls

1 lb turkey

1 lb ham

1 lb Swiss cheese

1 and1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp poppy seeds

2 and 1/2 tsp onion flakes

4 tsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp dry mustard

Sesame seeds

Cut off tops of rolls (don't pull apart, cut all 12 at once). Melt butter. Add poppy seeds, onion flakes, worcestershire sauce and mustard. Stir well. Put layer of meats and cheeses on bottom half of rolls. Place tops back on and pour mixture liberally over the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover with foil and marinate in refrigerator several hours or overnight. Bake at 350 uncovered until cheese melts.

That is all for tonight! Now you know one of my secrets that's not so secret - I love cooking and sharing! Enjoy! ;)

Baby it's Cold Outside...

So it's the perfect weather for slow cooked Chicken Tortilla Soup! I made this a couple weeks ago, and lets just say I'll never eat it in a restaurant again. It's too amazing homemade! Not to mention my husband loved it! He's a manly man, and he loved soup! So you know it's good. Here is the recipe ladies. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cans Ro-Tel (I like the lime & cilantro, but the regular is fine)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth (Or 20 oz. of a Chicken bullion mixture)
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder*
1 Tbsp chile powder*
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
1 Tbsp dried cilantro*

tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

*Instead of these spices, you could include a packet of  Chicken Taco seasoning if you prefer.*

Put chopped onion, cans of beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and spices in CrockPot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). Return chicken to CrockPot, stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Then crumble a few chips over the the top for show and yumminess and - viola! The perfect chicken tortilla soup!

Let the Blogging Commence

After much inner debate I've decided to become a blogger! I want to lay the figurative pen to the paper and write down any ideas, random thoughts, recipes, homemaking tips, God moments, health facts, and more on here. So beware :)! My family and loved ones are FAR away ( to be fair, I do have new family members of Ryan's and new loved ones nearby) so I wish for them to have a little reading material of my life if they so should desire! And so it begins!