Call Me Susie Homemaker...

...or whatever you want, but I am ecstatic over what I have done these last two weekends. Or more specifically, what I have done today. But, I'll start with last weekend.

   Jason is gone for about 14+ hours every single day of the weekend, so I have lots of alone time for me, myself, and I. Typically I do the laundry, clean, and make food each weekend, as well as work on projects and try new things. And most of the time, I have whatever project/new thing finished, cleaned up and put away before Jason gets home. This past weekend, besides the normal stuff, and picking up my Bountiful Basket, I decided to try and make pasta. Aunt Verna gave us this nifty pasta roller and cutter for our wedding and we have both been wanting to try it out.

I had put off making pasta in the past because I knew it would be an all-day project. But last weekend, even though it was later in the day, I

Our First House Guests

   About a week after we got back from traveling for our Christmas and reception functions in both Virginia and Missouri, my mom and youngest brother arrived for a week. I don't have a lot of pictures from that week, as I was working Monday - Friday and Jason had been gone for about 5-6 days and was then working over the weekend. On Saturday, when I had off of work, in between making cupcakes for our reception here, Glen and I went outside and worked in our backyard. The backyard has been  severely neglected and was full of leaves, no grass, and random junk. Glen started by cleaning out the dog-run beside the house which leads to the backyard.

He worked very hard to keep his face from being photographed.

A Missouri Christmas and Reception

   After the big party on New Year's Eve at my parent's house, Jason and I began the drive to Missouri to celebrate Christmas and have a small wedding reception with his family. We started out about noon on New Years Day and drove thru...

and

Ringing in the New Year

This years New Years Day Out-law Bash (as it has been fondly called in the past) began a day or two early. I think we can all agree that it officially started on Sunday, with the Paintball Party for the guys and food preparations for the girls.

 You can read more about the Paintball Party here.

Gleanings from My Bountiful Basket

    There is an organization called "Bountiful Baskets" in which you can get quality fruits and vegetables (and other things) for a very low cost. (You can read all the details on how it works here on their website.) You can participate in this program every other week. I started participating early last fall and found it to be quite good. When it got really cold, however, they stopped doing it because they didn't have an indoor facility. And I also got kind of busy and distracted with wedding and reception stuff. Once all of that calmed down after the first of the year, I looked into again and found that they had moved to an indoor place for the winter. So I started back up again.
    The other day, I was talking to my sister, Miriam, and she was asking what all I get in my basket and was it really cheaper then buying stuff at the store. As I was trying to explain it to her, I told her I would take a photo of my next basket and send it to her. Then this morning, I got the bright idea to just put it on my blog! That way you can all be jealous of me, especially if you don't have access to a Bountiful Basket distribution site. I have to admit, this is only my third basket this year. I have missed one in January, either due to forgetting and missing the deadline, or for the baskets being sold out by the time I got online. (They go really quick here!) I am going to try and stay on top of it, though.

     This is the Conventional Basket that I just picked up this morning.

Cost: $15.00

It contained 1 head of lettuce, 1 bunch of spinach, 2 heads of broccoli, 10 oz. cherry tomatoes, 1 avacado, 3 green peppers, 5 lbs. potatoes, 2 leeks