Happy Belated Father's Day

ladies and gentlemen.... JOHN GILBERT!

This picture pretty much sums up my Dad.

He is awesome!

Here are some random ratings of him though...

Enjoying life: Way the heck up there!

Being a big kid: Two thumbs way up!

Calfs: Out of control!

Godly man: I am so thankful for this!

I love you Dad and I miss you!

Shelf Indulgence

Three weddings later and I am finally able to muster up the energy to blog and read, both of which I have missed dearly. 

My current SHELF INDULGENCE is Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. You can tell that Marr has an eclectic persona which makes her books different and intriguing.  Wicked Lovely is so good and just an all around enjoyable read! This is the first book in a series about humans and faeries (these are not your cute Disney fairies). It is very well written, including the usual conflict between good and evil which always provides for interesting plot twists. And, of course, there is a romantic angle - as Aislinn is sought after by both a faery and a human boy. If you liked Twilight, you will enjoy this book as it has some of the same plot elements including the romantic tension that we all love so much in Stephanie Meyer's series. (Team Seth and Team Edward respectively) ;)

ENJOY!

What's your current SHELF INDULGENCE?

Grrrr Ahhhh MNnnngh KAhhhhhh!

Allow me these few lines to sit on the royal PITY POTTY!

This week I have...

-Had an interview that didn't go as well as I had hoped.

-Had someone steal my side-view car mirror which I had to go on a hunt to find. On Tuesday, mid-day, you would've found me going up and down the apartment "aisles" in my car searching for the grounds crew who I thought had just picked up my side-view mirror because it fell off. Well noooooo, I should be so naive! I found out that a car that was apparently in need of one decided to go side-view mirror shopping at 5 o'clock in the morning on my row of cars... at least I found mine because someone had turned it in to the office. Apparently mine didn't fit their needs.

-Opened my hall closet door tonight to get the laundry detergent and wooo-poooo that closet smelled DANK! I discovered a massive air conditioner leak  that was pouring water on all my closet stuff. PS: There is no saving wet wrapping paper. I now have a guy here with a wet dry vac sucking out all that smelly water. Praise God for him! He is so nice and is working so hard while I sit here on my computer (not that I would be much help). I think I might make the poor guy some delish cookies! 

Dang it! i just remembered that my laundry is still waiting for me downstairs. 

Grr.

TEXAS Firecrackers

For anyone who has ever attended the Antique Show, the Firecrackers are a well know favorite. We clip them up on their stands every year only to be snatched back down and eaten with some Funky Chunky and a beer of your choosing  (no, we don't have any Miller products). 

This week, Kim, Kelly and I made some of our own! While the process of actually making them and seeing how oily these crackers are grossed us out a bit, we were sneakin' them out of the container the next day. 

Texas Firecrackers

1 1/2 c. canola oil

1 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix

1 T. Tony Chachere creole seasoning *

2 T. red pepper flakes **

1 lb. saltine crackers

 

Whisk together the oil and spices and let stand 30 minutes. Lay crackers on a cookie sheet with sides. Drizzle oil over crackers. Stir every so often while pouring over crackers. Turn crackers every 15 min. two or three times to coat. Sprinkle finished crackers with Tony’s and pepper flakes while they are still wet. Place crackers on paper towels (with newspaper under them) to dry for 2-3 hours. Store crackers in an airtight container. The crackers are even better-tasting the next day!

Try them! These crackers are tasty and really cheap too!

Pretzel Time!

My great friend KELLY is getting married a week from today!

I can't believe it's already here but before next Saturday, there are, of course, many things that need to get done in preparation for the fun event! We have coated about 120 pretzels, will coat at least 320 before the wedding. We have made 5 batches of firecrackers (will post recipe later) and have ? number of batches left. We have cut out 160 labels for favors and stamped them all in matching colors. We have done hair run-throughs (and went though truly countless numbers of bobby pins). We have stuffed 61 bags with Texas shaped pretzels and still have about 20 more to do. We have done so much and I know everyone is excited about seeing everything come together next weekend! Please pray God's hand over this wedding. I am so excited to see the blessings that come out of this move to California and this marriage!

Love you soon to be Wilfongs! 

Another shout out to JIM!

So Jim got me some cake business yesterday which was fun because I haven't made one in so long! 

Three-Layer, vanilla with chocolate chip icing and Superman decor!... What else could an almost 9 year old ask for? Unfortunately, it left my kitchen a disaster and although it was fun it's hard to stand in the kitchen for 3 hours and then have to clean it up... I need my own personal cake cleaner-upper! Anywho, enjoy the clip of my messy kitchen and a quick look at the finished cake! 

Watch out Duff, I'm coming for you... oh, and I'm super jealous of your kitchen :)

Oooo, you know what would make this better?!

Jim, this post is not making fun of you but, in fact, is dedicated to you in honor of the chef inside you that is always thinking of ways to make things more delish!

BBQ Pizza with Pizzaz

pizza dough crust

1 red onion (chopped)

2 cooked chicken breasts

woody's cook-in sauce

couple of handfuls of shredded cheese

cilantro

lime

salt & pepper to taste

1. Gather all ingredients & preheat oven according to directions on package

2. Chop up cooked chicken breasts and stir with 2 Tbsp. of Woody's

3. Roll out pizza dough and cover with 2-3 Tbsp. of Woody's 

4. Scatter coated chicken and red onion on top of sauce

5. Cover with cheese

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until edges are brown

7. Cover with chopped cilantro and salt and pepper

8. Squeeze lime juice on top and ENJOY!

PS- Chris and I went on a walk the other day and were so excited to find a lime tree with cute little limes dangling from the branches and just asking to be picked. Well, I answered their call and unfortunately, the cute little lime was not ready to be picked... I guess in retrospect we were stealing and this was  our little punishment... no lime for our BBQ pizza. 

This is what I got as a sad surprise when I cut it open:

When life give you unripe limes... trust me, 

you cannot get any juice out of them... I tried.

 OH WELL, ENJOY!