Oatmeal Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estelle’s Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe by Terry Stanford

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup Crisco

2 eggs

1 ½ cup flour

1 t soda

1 t salt

1 t vanilla

1 t lemon extract

2 ½ cups quick cooking oatmeal

Directions:

Blend the brown sugar, white sugar and Crisco. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon. Mix the flour, soda, and salt in a separate bowl then add to the mixture. Stir in oatmeal.

Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until golden brown (approximately 10 minutes).

Dough can be made into rolls and frozen. Slice and bake as needed.

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

 

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

1 (16 oz) bag pretzel twists

⅔ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pour pretzels into a roasting pan. In a medium sized bowl mix together vegetable oil, cinnamon and sugar. Pour over pretzels and stir to coat. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, removing twice to stir.

Deco Mesh Wreath Info

Hi.  It's Autum.  I came across this blog that has great videos on how to make deco mesh wreaths.  Here you go.

 

The blog

http://prettifyyourlife.blogspot.com/

Link on her blog to what you will need to make a wreath

http://prettifyyourlife.blogspot.com/2011/10/episode-51-deco-mesh-supplies-101.html

Link to the first of several of her videos on how to make the wreath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vF8t85QuEM&feature=plcp

If you want to look for other cool stuff to craft, check out her Youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/PrettifyYourLife?feature=watch

 

Take pictures of your creations so we can see {pretty please}

March Scrapbooking Weekend

This year birdhouses were the gifts to the girls.

Looking 10 lbs slimmer

The March 2011 Scrapbooking Weekend

This year Catherine, Melissa, Andrea andy I arrived on Thursday. We unpacked and went to the Olive Garden for Dinner. We then went to Target and strolled the aisles....do we sound like a bunch of old ladies or what.

We headed back to the Covered Bridge Inn and set up out goodies for the weekend. We stayed up till 1:30 scrapping. My were surprised to find out it was 9:00 am when we awoke.

The girls started to arrive by 10:00 am and trickeled in throughout the day.

Connie arrived late in the afternoon after a wild and crazy day in Canton and getting pulled over by a policeman. She stepped out of her car and dropped a case with all her embellishments.

Spillage was all over the driveway. Cari came to the rescue and organized her whole box.

We laughed all weekend, ate to our hearts content, had massagges, shopped, and laughed some more.

We skyped Julie and Autum since they could not be there and enjoyed talking with them.

We were excited to see Julie with her baby belly. We tried to get her to tell us her name, but to she would not give in.

We were glad to have Alicia and Laurie join us. Angie had to leave on Saturday as her whole family got the stomach bug. Sandy never made it out as she was just exhausted from the week before.
Hope to see everyone in October.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

The Totten's are excited to announce it's a GIRL!

October Srapbook Retreat

At the movies was our theme for October and it was alot of fun. The Flintstones were a hit and the Pink Ladies were just too hip! The Matrix, Cleopatra, and Inspecter Klusoe all made an appearance. Everyone had a pretty good time. We did not get a chance to get a group picture as everyone was coming and going at different times. Connie had a class reunion to attend, Andrea had Senior football night, and Lauren had a school carnival. It rained all day Saturday and we were all busy working on projects and having massages. We were glad to have Brenda join us, but at the same time we missed Sharon and Terry. Hope to see them in the spring. Our next scrapbooking weekend will be March 4,5,6 and we will be celebrating St. Patrick's day...so wear your green!!!!

October Srabooking Retreat

Save the Date

October 22,23,24

Scrabooking

At the Movies

April Scrabooking Retreat

We had another fun weekend at the Covered Bridge Inn. Connie, Catherine, Melissa and I went out on Thursday night to get settled in. We stopped at Olive Garden for take out and it was soooooooooooo good. We got everything set up for the next day. Our gift this time was the black golf umbrella with the Gabby logo for our April Showers theme. Everyone seem to love them. Cari made us her famous peach bellinis and we drank them all weekend. Friday night we had our door prizes and trip to Nana's for more scrapbooking supplies. Saturday morning everyone is trying to get their showers and dressed when Shannon spotted a pair of teal panties on the floor in the dining room(bathroom off the dining room). Anna picks them up, holds them up, and checks them out. She decides they are hers, when Pat's husband comes out of the walkin pantry. Shannon is so embarrased and makes a mad dash out of there. When they are telling us the story Anna and Shannon are laughing so hard they could barely talk. There is always at least one incident each trip where we just crack up. Saturday we had massages, lots of scrapbooking, laughs and we did a group shot in the bluebonnets. That was an experience in itself. Andrea took her tripod and we all got set for the picture. She ran across the road to get in the picture and tripped on the enbankment and when the timer went off all you could see of Andrea was her hand and foot. Half of the group was laughing hystericly and the other half is still posing for the picture. Thankfully she wasn't hurt. Then we all took individual pictures in the bluebonnets. Saturday night I think we got bombed on the bellinis, as the liquor settled to the bottom of the container. Cari was teaching a class on digital scrapbooking and halfway thru the class I am nodding off and sliding out of my chair. Shannon poked me in the shoulder and asked if if the bellinis were getting to me. Connie also started to feel them and turned in early which is unusual for her. Dede kept cracking us up by yelling out...Can I Have Your Attention?!? and then she would bust out laughing. The weekend went by so fast. The next event will be at Catherine's lakehouse sometime in August....details to come soon. We missed Julie B., Amy, Sue, and Katy. Hope to see you all next time. Terry, Sharon, Rae-ann and Brenda had a great time and were glad you guys missed....sorry!!!! All in all another fun weekend.

Cari

Cari is the one responsible for getting us started srapbooking and now she has ventured into the digital world. You could say she is our pioneer woman. Cari is married to Bart whom she met in college. They have two of the cutest kids, Lauren and Grant. They also have added to their family....lady their new dog that they rescued from the shelter. Cari has recently quit work to become a full time stay at home mom. We look forward to her new adventures as she keeps us updated on her blog. She has gotten most us set up on our own blog sites.

Julie

Julie and her husband Brent have been married for 13 years. They live in Abilene as Brent is in the Air Force and flies the C130 hercules.(the one with all the propellers) They have four kids: Toby 8, Trevor 6, and the twins Rex and Sydney 3 1/2.
Julie has her work cut out for her! She is the family driver taking the kids to karate, soccer, baseball, gymnastics and school. Sunday is truley her day of rest! Julie also serves on the Sunshine committe for their squadron, co-ordinating meals for new moms and other families in need. She is also helping a friend organize a 5K in May for the Wounded Warrior Project. Her hobbies....she says running after the kids, but we know she is a great scrapbooker and loves to take pictures of her family. Julie also brings us our favorite Julios Chips. YMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Robyn

Robin and her husband Grant are the loving parents of Isabella, whom they call Bella. Bella is a true miracle as she came into their lives prematurely. She is so adorable, happy and healthy. Robyn is a stay at home mom now and Grant works for Cook Children's hospital as a gift officer. Robyn and Grant used to work at Glenrose Camp and they lived on the grounds there as well. They now have a brand new beautiful home in Fort Worth. Robyn has two brothers, one in MN and one in UT and a sister in Lubbock. Her dad lives in Haltom City and as you can see they spread out across the US. Robyn likes to read, watch movies, and scrapbook in her spare time. Cari is the on responsible for getting Robyn into scrapbooking. Why does this not surprise me? Also Robyn's husband Grant and Cari's husband Bart have been best friends since elementary school in Brownwood. How cool is that?

Shannon

Shannon is a stay at home mom some of the time. She is one busy lady. She is married to Steve a pilot and they have two adorable and active kids...Sarah and Shane. Shannon is a substitute teacher with the NWISD and loves the 4th grade. She loves to read, chat and scrapbook. Shannon also a Creative Memories Consultant and is a girl scout leader as well. Plus she is the family chaffeur. I don't know where you find the time.

Julie

Julie is the one that travels the farthest to our weekend getaways. She has moved to Iowa and still joins us twice a year. Julie and Matt have a son "E" who is 18 months, a dog Chip and a cat Jack. Julie tells us that "E" is into everything and goes nonstop all day. Julie and her family love anything Disney, Nascar, giggles from "E" and spending their evenings together watching their favorite shows. They love to travel to Disneyland, the beach and to visit her fabulous scrapbook friends in Texas. Julie works for Professional Sow Farm Management Business as CFO.

Autum

Autum is one of the friendliest girls I know. She comes in greets everyone and gets to know you with the greatest of ease. Autum loves to bake and would love to own a restaurant/bakery someday. She is obsessed with beautiful cakes.(the next up and coming Cake Boss) She also loves paper, especially adorable cards, stationary, and invitations. Here are a few of her favorite sites for paper:
http://www.polkadotdesighn.com
http://www.bhglifephotos.com
http://tinyprints.com
Autum met her husband at Texas A& M and they have two of the most adorable little girls (4& 6). Autum was the first of our group to start a blog ( www.autumawalt.blogspot.com) and digital scrapbooking. I am truely in awe of her talents.

Betty

Betty is the twin sister of Wendy. She is also very talented. Her cards are awesome and she can whip them out in no time. They look so professional. Betty loves teaching and has taught in the HEB ISD. This keeps her pretty busy. She has taught 3rd grade for 9 years and 4th grade for 3 years. Betty has a dog Freeway (this is her baby) whom she rescued from the freeway. She is also the aunt to 3 nephews and 2 nieces with another on the way in Mid February. Betty is also a huge Dallas Stars fan and she also likes to cook.

Sandy

Sandy is our fashionably late girl. She is always wearing the cutest and the latest. Sandy is loads of fun and is always laughing as she is the most social of the group. She is always on the go and never slows down. Sandy and her husband Rusty have two grown daughters and two adorable grandsons. Sandy loves to travel and is always a blast to hang out with her.

Andrea

Andrea is one of the most gracious women that I have ever met. She is funny, clever, and witty. Andrea is also a great photographer and scrapbooker as well. She is a paralegal at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP and has been there 14 years. She is also very involved with her church, the youth group and also attends all her kids activities as well. She met her husband Bill on a blind date 24 years ago. They have two wonderful kids who are very involved in their church and school. Zach is a junior at L.D. Bell and is active in football and track. Ashlyn is in sixth grade and is on the safety patrol and plays basketball.

Wendy

Wendy makes the most beautiful quilts. She also enjoys scrapbooking and embroidery as well as other crafts. She also likes to blog even though she is new to it. If you haven't noticed she has an identical twin sister named Betty. They both have an infectious giggle that will get you going. She also has two other sisters that live in Austin and San Antonio. Wendy is currently a stay at home mom to her 8 month old son Alex who is adorable. Wendy and her family are huge Dallas Stars fans and attend as many games as they can. Even Alex has a stars jersey and helmut! Wendy loves chocolate kisses with almonds, sweet tea, and is a huge fan of Sonic's strawberry cream slush.

Connie

Connie is a fabulous scrapbooker and her albums are a work of art. I love going thru her albums and checking out the different techniques and styles that she demonstrates. Connie is also a amazing photographer. Her pictures will inspire you to get out there and look for those amazing shots. She is also a Master Gardner in case you didn't know. Connie is the mother of two grown children Kyle and Lauren and the grandmother of three georgous grandchildren. She likes to travel and spend time with her family and friends. She continues to take classes to broaden her horizens. She does all this and works incrediably long hours. She will really inspire you.