Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 66

Complete

Bath time.Remember that bathroom I started ripping up a few years ago? I should probably mention that I finished it. Awhile ago, actually. Once the floor was in, it was just a matter of painting the ceiling and walls and vanity, then tiling the tub. Sure, there are still a few outlets (electricity is not my realm!) and a piece of trim that needs to be put up, but once a room is 99% done, I round up and say it's complete.

Yay! I love crossing off home improvement goals!

Christmas Songs

Angels We Have Heard on High
I always have loved Christmas music. Here are a few of my new favorite Christmas song renditions.
The First Noel

I'm Feeling 32!

Happy birthday to me!I am now the big three-two (and consequently have a modified version of Taylor Swift's song 22 running through my head: I don't know about you, but I'm feeling thirty-two!). It seems like ages ago that I kissed my twenties goodbye and said hello to thirty (as a child, I was fairly sure my mom was going to die any day when she turned 30 because, to a child, it seemed so old). Happily, I'm still alive and well and have discovered that entering my thirties has not been the d...

White Texas Sheet Cake

Moist and flavorful cake!We had a fantastic Christmas party at church and we brought this cake to share. It  makes lots of sweet, moist, flavorful cake to share and I had all the ingredients on hand (I'm not a big boxed cake or weird ingredient fan). It was a hit!
Ingredients:
Cake 1 cup butter1 cup sugar2 cups flour2 cups sugar2 eggs1/2 cup sour cream1 teaspoon almond extract1/2 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 10x15x1 inch jelly roll pan (or similar-si...

Sweet Cinnamon Tea

When the weather turns chilly and Christmas rolls around, Jack makes his delicious though quick and easy sweet cinnamon tea. The kids love it, it's perfect to dunk gingerbread cookies in and it leaves the house smelling wonderfully. Love it!

Ingredients:

6 cups water
2 to 3 cinnamon sticks
Sweetener, to taste

Pour the water in a large pot and break up the cinnamon sticks, putting them in the water. Bring water and cinnamon sticks to a boil and let seep until fragrant and the water becomes dark red...

Making Soap

A basket of homemade soap!I asked a friend of mine (who is practically my lifestyle twin) to show me how to make soap. She's one of those urban homesteaders that does everything from quilting to canning to gardening and making her own soap. It took less than an hour to cook up a whole basket full of good ol' plain soap--the kind we can wash hands or hair, turn into laundry detergent or use as dish detergent. I was really quite surprised how easy it was and after I have a few more test runs, I...

Be Thankful

The fam.I love autumn and therefore, I love Thanksgiving. Not only is the food delicious and the extra time with family appreciated, but it's a wonderful time to truly reflect on what we're grateful for and to practice being grateful. We're grateful for the new temple that's been built close by. Not only was I able to help in the cultural celebration prior to the dedication, we were able to visit a few weeks ago and enjoy the quiet, reverent spirit within the beautiful edifice.
Stargazing...

The Echo Room

Getting prepped.Working on the great room has been a long time coming. Problem is, the giant space has always been needed for something else--a workroom for cutting tile, painting trim, running and screaming like madwomen when they've got cabin fever (the girls refer to it as the echo room) or inflating a bounce house to for a rainy birthday party...but, it's time has finally come. Now that many of the other home improvement projects are getting checked off the list, I decided to ta...

A Hard Knock Life

Growing up fast!Like Henry, the chicks that our hen hatch shortly after our son's birth are growing up fast. They're now much too big to snuggled under their mother's wings for warmth (thankfully they've feathered out themselves nicely and stay warm just fine) and though the mother hen keeps an eye out for them, she's also the first to push them out of the way when it comes to eating time. Mother watching over her chick.Speaking of an eye out, one of the three surviving chicks was named Cyclop...

Snow Day

The girls have been happily chattering for weeks what they'd do once it finally snowed. Well, surprise, surprise, they got their wish today!
First snow angels of the season!The rain that started early in the morning slowly turned to sleet, then became big, feathery flakes that accumulated over a few hours. Everyone suited up and ran outside to have their own version of fun. Evelyn started off making snow angels, Claire threw snowballs packed with leaves and Kate ran off to climb the round...