Christmas at the Steckly's

Happy Birthday Alexa!

The Cake

Just another addition to my Cake Decorating portfolio...the cake I made for Alexa's first birthday!

Diet Sabaotager!!

Okay, so today I was asked for a sugar cookie recipe.....and I didn't have one. So I went on an internet hunt.
Lots of problems:
-strange ingredients
-didn't have some ingredients
-some didn't get great reviews

Then I found it. Simple, to the point, promised to be soft, low maintenance sugar cookies.
SOFT SUGAR COOKIES

1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt

Drop by spoon onto greased baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned. Cookies should be soft. Cool slightly, then remove from baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees.


Let me just say, OH MY GODDNESS. This is the best sugar cookie recipe...especially if you're a busy mom who is quickly trying to bake during nap time!

Couple tips I learned as I went:
-It only makes 2 dozen or so...double it if you need to feed a few people, cause the first two dozen is YOURS
-It makes a great drop cookie...flatten just a bit, but keep them fairly thick
-If you want to roll and use cookie cutters, put in the fridge for a bit to firm them up.

good luck and enjoy your cookies!

The Gingerbread house

Rotten...

so, yesterday I had the single grossest experience of my life.
It all started when I wanted to make yorkshire pudding. I opened the fridge to get an egg, and realized there were none. But wait...there were 3 in the butter compartment of the fridge! They're probably okay because I usually put the last egg or two in a carton up there to save room. Just in case though, I veeeery carefully crack the first egg over a bowl. What happened next might be too much for sensitive readers, so stop reading if you get sick easily...:)
The egg must have been hard boiled,like a year ago. I barely got it cracked when grey goop dropped out and I noticed the inside was grey mush. OH CRAP! GET IT OUT OF HERE QUICK!! Instinctively, I had been holding my breath the whole time, and I had a feeling I knew what was coming when I breathed again. Quickly, I threw the egg in the garbage and ran the garbage outside and locked it into the can. Then I breathed, and that was good. So I came back it and took a tentative whiff....and I can't even describe it. I guess the best way would be to say that I would probably rather change poopy diapers for hours straight than have ONE whiff of a rotten egg.
I spent the next ten minutes trying not too get sick and spraying like, half the can of Febreeze into my kitchen and living room.
It only took about a half hour until we could breathe again....
I was pretty traumatized for most of the day. I'm getting better now, but I think from now on, I'll do the FLOAT TEST on eggs if I am at all not sure!!

A Week at Grandma's House!

Yes, it's true...Addison and Tegan just spent a WHOLE WEEK at gramma's house!
Daniel and I had to take a course in Edmonton and so the girls got to play with Grandma Karen, Grandpa Ron, and Aunty Kristina all week:)
They had so much fun playing wiht lego, playdough, and making cookies.
When we got back Tegan didn't even seem to notice that we had left!LOL Addison, on the other hand was missing mommy and daddy and was reayd for us to come home.
Here's some highlights of the week: