My ride!

My hubby and FIL are just the best! They built me this cart for running around town. Isn't it cute!?!

Ice Cream Freeze Off - Not first place but......

I did it! I took 2nd place in the Ice Cream freeze off. I won $200 and a bit of bragging rights. I would love to share the recipe BUT it is a secret. I can tell you that we hand churned the ice cream this year. It was a labor of love but it paid off in the long run. I need to tweak my recipe and go for first next year!

County Fair Results

Every year I like to enter a few things in the county fair. This year I was very surprised to find a Grand Champion Ribbon for a plain white layer cake. If anything I thought I would the wedding cake would do better than the plain layer cake. At any rate I am very happy with the results.

I won second for flourless peanut butter cookies, second for my home grown veggie display, and second for microwave fudge.

We also entered the Ice Cream Freeze Off but the results will not be in until Saturday. We hope to place in that.

Follow me on Twitter

So I broke down and got a twitter account-

Follow me -
http://twitter.com/SuzieQHomemaker

Nonna cuts hair!

Friday was the last day of school and my nephew was wanting me (Nonna) to cut his hair. I was glad to help him out! Check out his super cute before and after photos! He loves is new MOWHAWK!

Winner is ......

I had a contest and I have picked the winner. Sorry that I am running late. :)

The winner is Heidi- http://tried-and-truecookingwithheidi.blogspot.com/

My Mother's Day Gifts

My husband took my kids and let them pick out Mother's Day gifts for me. They were very happy with their picks and so am I. I have the sweetest girls ever!

The 6 yr old got me a bird feeder and bird seed.

My 5 yr old picked a cute set of wind chimes and a can of room air freshener.

The two yr old got me this little ceramic pig which she quickly claimed as her own. If you ask her who it belongs to she says... ME!

My Favorite Christmas Present!!!

My dear husband got me the best gift for Christmas. It was made my Lisa Dasenbrock of Pieces of My Heart.

My recycled window coffee table. I LOVE IT! The top opens for you to fill it with the items of your choice. It is great with the baby. I do not have to worry about her taking all my stuff off the top of the table. The best thing is that I can change it when ever I want.

One busy Suzie

My holiday season was spent running my businesses. I managed to have the highest month in sales in both of them this month and it is not even over. My cookie business was kicked off with a request to make 45 dozen cookies. That quickly turned into 71 dozen. My husband and I spent several hours every night baking and decorating. I am not sure what I would have done without him.

Things should slow down a little until February when I have to make 500-1,000 cookies for Valentine's Day. I should have a little more time to blog. I sure have missed it lately.


Here is a couple of pictures of the Decorated Sugar Cookies that I made for a open house. We made between several dozen a day for two weeks straight.

Susie Christmas Picks - Support Work At Home Moms

I love making homemade Christmas gifts. This year I have something really neat in mind for my four sister-in-laws. I would tell you but a few of them stop by now and then. It will have to wait until after Christmas. I do not make all of my gifts though. I buy some at department store but I love to buy from wahms - work at home moms.

I am a work at home mom and I try to support others who run a business from home so that they can stay home with their little ones. These are some of my favorite items that can be purchased from work at home moms.

Wax Dipped Critters from Apple Blossom Candles

The entire natural bath and body line from Pure Simple Pleasures. I recently got the Green Tea Cleanser, Vitamin C Toner, and the Anti Aging cream. I love them all!

Mineral Makeup From Beauty From The Earth. A full line of all natural mineral makeup at really affordable prices. This one belongs to me. ;)

More coming soon and some homemade gift ideas for the family on a budget this holiday season.

Chicken and Stuffing in the Slow Cooker - Suzie Slips up!

I found a recipe for a chicken and stuffing casserole make in the crock pot. I thought it would be great to make a few days ago when I would be gone all day. You know set it and forget it. Then come home to a delicious home cooked meal. Well, not this time.

I came home to a burned mess! It made the whole house stink for two days! I set the crock pot to high and left it on for 6 hours. I either left it going to long or should have put it on low. Either way we ordered pizza that night.

This is what I was TRYING to make......

6 chicken breasts

2 packages Stovetop stuffing mixed according to pkg. directions.

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Directions:
Place chicken breasts on the bottom of a 5 qt crockpot. Add stuffing over the chicken. Pour soup over stuffing. Cook on high about 5-6 hours.

52 Halloween Cupcakes

I just got finished making cupcakes for my daughter to take to school for Halloween. It came to a total of 52 cupcakes. I made ghost cupcakes, jack o latern cupcakes, witch cupcakes, and a few more. I must say that I am tired of looking at cupcakes for now and ready for bed!

For more pictures of these cupcakes check out my cake blog http://makecupcakesnotwar.blogspot.com/

My latest cake for a fall wedding

I made this cake last weekend for a wedding. I also made her a 3 teir wedding cake which i do not have pictures of yet. I will be sure to post them when she sends me some.

Suzie News

This month has been very busy. My home business is taking off like crazy, the kids have tons of activities, and I am one worn out babe. I will try to post some new stuff soon.

The Suzie Challenge

Are you ready to take the Suzie Homemaker Challenge?

I will post several task for you to undertake. The task will be anything from seasonal cleaning to organizing your home. They will take less than 15 minutes for each and help you be more organized and help you keep your house spiffy.

So are you ready?

Challenge #1

Clean your fridge and yes this includes the top.

Here are some quick refrigerator cleaning tips.

• 
  
  Take everything out of the refrigerator. Yes, I said everything.


• 
  
  Throw away anything that is outdated.


• 
  
  Take out the vegetable bins and wash and dry using dish soap


• 
  
  Use a sponge or wet cloth to clean the shelving and the inside of the door.


• 
  
  Put back the items you are keeping.


• 
  
  Put new box of open baking soda in your refrigerator.


• 
  
  Clean the outside and top of the refrigerator.


• 
  
  You are done. Doesn't it feel great!!!

Here are some tips to help it stay clean

• Use good ziplock bags to store your leftovers. You will not feel guilty about tossing the bag and it will save you time doing dishes.

• Change the box of baking soda every three months. Write the date on it with a marker before you stick it in.

• Before you go shopping do a quick clean. You will have more room for the new stuff when you get home and you will know what you have in there before you go shopping.

• Keep the temperature at the manufacturer’s recommendation.

• Try not to accumulate more than two of each item.

• Keep your vegetables in zip lock bags to maintain their freshness.

• Defrost your freezer once a month and keep a box of baking soda in there too.

Cake Decorating Class

I taught a cake decorating class to a small group of ladies on Monday. It went very well and we had lots of fun. I taught them the basics of icing a cake, making a border, and how to make fondant roses. Everyone said that working with fondant was their favorite part. The ladies did an excellent job considering it was their first time to decorate a cake.

Suzie News for September

I have been one busy homemaker here lately. My older daughters both started preschool and and dance classes. I had no clue that life would get this busy. I am learning to make suppers that are quick and stay even more organized to save time during my day.

I was honored to be asked to caterer a meal for about 20 people on Monday. It was my first time to ever do it for anyone other than family. It went extremely well. I made grilled steaks, baked potatoes, green beans, rolls, tossed salad, apple, and cherry cobbler. I used the opportunity to dig out all my fall decor. I used it for the serving table and then brought it home and set it out in the house. Overall it went very well and problem free. I am still having trouble believing that I did not have one single problem. They were so please that they asked me to do it again next year.

I have lots of things that I am excited to blog about. Fall is my favorite time of year. You can look forward to Halloween crafts, lots of comfort food recipes, holiday baking, and craft fair ideas. I have also started a new blog called All Cookies, All the Time. It will show case cookie recipes, tutorials, and much more. Stop by and check it out.

Well, it is that time again. Gotta run and get kids from school. Have a great week.

Crystal ( Suzie Homemaker)

Suzie has new blogs.

I decided to take a plunge and make a few more blogs. I invite all my readers to stop by them.


http://suziesfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com/ - Recipes, recipes, and more recipes. I will be posting all my favorites.

http://morefromsuzie.blogspot.com/ - Recipes to homemade bath and body products, tips for applying makeup, and much more.

I also have http://makecupcakesnotwar.blogspot.com/ . It is not new but worth a mention.

Marshmallow Fondant cake takes grand champion at local fair.

This year I took the plunge and entered a decorated cake in the county fair. I was very surprised to find that I had taken GRAND CHAMPION over all adult open class foods. That included 56 categories and I was surprised when I won overall. The cake was a three layer cake covered in marshmallow fondant and adorned with marshmallow fondant hand made roses. I was smiling all day yesterday after I won.

I will be working on a picture tutorial on marshmallow fondant in the future.

Check out my cake blog at http://makecupcakesnotwar.blogspot.com/

Back to work....

I took a nice month long vacation and visited my parents in Louisiana. It was a very nice trip but I am glad to be home. I was able to spend time with family and do some site seeing as well. Best of all was all that home cooked southren soul food. I did not realize how much I miss it. Look to hear some recipes for it in the future.

Our county fair is starting in two days and I will be entering several items. I will be entering a decorated cake and a bunt cake among other things. I will try to post some pictures and let my readers know how I placed.

Look for a picture tutorial on Peach and Blackberry Cobbler coming in the next few days. :)

Missed you all.......

Suzie. :)