5th Anniversary

First, thanks everyone for the emails, texts, comments, and love from my first anniversary post. While I won't go into everything, I also didn't want to not be true. This is my place to share my life, the good and the bad. After talking with John, I wanted to be honest here so that when I look back I can see where I've been.

After a rough week we finally had a moment where we were just happy and laughing at one another. A little after I got this text:



and we did go and enjoy a meat fest. (Also realized tonight autocorrect made the restaurant China Gaucha instead of Chama Gaucha.)



Just the sides, none of the meat.



We went to the same place 2 years ago on our anniversary and received a similar cake.



We asked for this version. :)

Offer, Counter, Counter, Accepted

So we made an offer on a house!



The front has a nice courtyard entry, and check out that landscaping in the back. That is a fantastic sunroom looking at you with the best flagstone patio. It even has a koi pond! Oh and there is a 5 acre park across the street.

There are of course some awesome *insert sarcasam here* things like a glitter popcorn ceiling, a platform for the bed in the master, linoleum floors in the kitchen, and a sunken living room that has carpeted baseboards. Yes, carpet up the walls. I can't wait to change them all!

Now we just need to sell our house. Any takers?

Fall Yarn Wreath

I am SO READY FOR FALL. Can I get a hand raise if you are too?

I am so ready for fall I made this wreath a few weeks ago despite it still being 100 degrees at the time.



This wreath was really easy to make. Here's what you'll need:



To start, tie on, and then just wrap.



I will say the more precise you are with your wrapping the less yarn you'll need. I had to buy another skein for the inch that I didn't have enough of, but I was able to go back and touch up a few spots that needed some more coverage. If you want a "messier" look buy two skeins or a smaller wreath.

For the felt flowers I just bought felt squares in the craft section. I guess they're tecnically felt rectangles but who likes the way that sounds? Felt squares just sounds better.

To make them I followed this tutorial:

Source: littlethingsbringsmiles.com via Faith on Pinterest

They're actually really easy and a large rose doesn't require a very big circle.



Play around with your flower arrangement before you glue them on and then you're done!



What fall crafts have you done lately?

Five Years

Almost 6 years ago a boy asked a girl a question.



5 years ago, tomorrow, they made it official.



Like a typical blogger I had planned on doing some kind of big celebration on here to celebrate the 5 year milestone, but then things got busy, and posts never got done.

Then, things got messy.

Marriage is work.



No one really tells you that while you're building ideas of that perfect day and dreaming of that perfect life you'll spend together.

I'm lucky, my parents celebrated 35 years of marriage just a few weeks ago.

It's been work for them.

I can remember my mom telling my dad many times, "I may love you, but I don't always have to like you."

I know not every anniversary will be perfect, not even the big ones.

I just want to get back to here.



Happy Anniversary babe. I love you even if I don't always like you.

Bountiful Baskets Breakdown

I should say that I started this post two weeks ago, but then had the whole hard drive crash thing going on and it never got posted. We've had another Bountiful Baskets pick up since I started this post so you're lucking out and getting two breakdowns.

I've been doing Bountiful Baskets for almost a year now and running a site for about 3 months. Oh yeah, did I not mention that I started my own site back in June? That's how much I enjoy participating. For the amount of fruit and veggies you get and for the price you really can't beat it. I love that I get something different each times. Almost every week I get something that I've never used or don't use that often. I've found new favorite recipes and created new dishes. We're expanding the foods we eat because of it.

This is what we got two weeks ago:



and a breakdown on the cost from my local grocery store:



Regarding the costs:

We only have one grocery store chain here (HEB)unless I go to a Target or Walmart. I really have no idea how prices compare to other national chains.

A typical basket is $15 plus a $1.50 processing fee.

I forgot about the grapefruit I received so their cost is not factored in.

I added on a fajita veggie pack for $5, usually $8.50 but they contain more veggies in those packs. Mine included the 6 bell peppers, garlic and some dried chilis. I didn't price out the chilis at the store. So there is no cost breakdown for those.

I also bought a 25 pound case of tomatoes for $12 that I split with a friend so my cost as $6.

The only other thing I did not include were the 7 dozen organic tortillas. I forgot to check them out in the store and honestly don't know how much an organic tortilla costs. I usually just buy regular ones, but tortillas are so common here they may be priced lower than elsewhere. An organic one though? No idea. I paid $12.50 for 7 dozen which I know is less than what I would usually pay for regular ones.

As a Volunteer Site Coordinator I receive a basket for free. That is my only form of "compensation" for running a site. It's a savings of $15-16.50 a week. If I purchase additional items aside from the traditional basket then I pay for those and the $1.50 processing fee. So last time I had over $42 in savings.

Here are our baskets from this past Saturday:



The veggie basket was overflowing.



Here is the cost break down:



So not as much of a savings which sometimes happens, but pretty much every item was also on sale in my grocery store. I didn't purchase any add ons either. Sometimes the veggie packs contain high priced items.

This is the only produce shopping I do anymore. For John and I, one basket will last us the full two weeks, and I sometimes end up composting things we don't use. I occasionally have 1 or 2 bad items in a basket or things spoil a bit more quickly than I'd like, but that could happen when buying 2 weeks of produce from the store.

You can purchase an all organic basket for an additional $10. I have yet to do that. You do usually get 1-2 organic items in the traditional basket though.

My only other regular purchase is Organic 9 Grain Bread. I LOVE it. I usually get it once a month or so depending on our use. For $12.50 you get 5 loaves.

Bountiful Baskets is nationwide so it's very likely there is a site near you. Check them out at BountifulBaskets.org and let me know if you have any questions. There are no catches to participating. You can do it once, you can do it forever, you can do it whenever works for you. There is a $3 fee for the first time though.

If there isn't a site near you and you'd want to open one contact me and I can get you in touch with someone in your area. You will train with an existing site coordinator at least three times and there is not a huge time commitment to it. I pull my paperwork on Fridays and load the baskets in my car. Set up, distribution, and clean up takes about 2 hours on Saturday morning. I have to send in my paperwork and complete a survey by noon on Mondays, but that takes maybe 10 minutes. So in all about 2 1/2 hours every two weeks. If you have someone to trade off with it takes even less.

Let me know if you check it out. I'd love to hear your experiences with Bountiful Baskets!

True Story Y'all

Each First Friday of every month I'm going to share those totally bloggable moments where you really wish you had a camera/video to document it but couldn't.

And then the Walgreens clerk came out from behind the counter, took her shoes and socks off, and showed me her bunions.

And then we were suprised we weren't kicked out of the restaurant for telling my friend's 3 year old daughter that a tampon was a rocket and she should "shoot it" and then put it in the water glass to "watch it grow."

And then the house we were looking at turned out to be owned by the mother of my boss's neighbor. (Who is also very well known in TX)

And then I saw a deer run into a car. Not a car run into a deer. Deer to car. It was sad.

And then while grabbing a drink with our realtor we had an "and then" moment in the McDonald's drive thru. (You know you watched Dude Where's My Car)

Link up and join in the fun!

Coming Up Next - True Story Y'all

I've decided First Fridays will be my True Story Y'all day.


Link up tomorrow if you'd like. I'd love to hear your crazy stories.

What the what!?

Just before I went to BlogHer12 I decided to make my blog searchable. The most fun part has been the weird search terms that people find me through. It's mostly boring garden stuff, the occasional chicken stuff, cooking or recipes, and several regarding a pink panther ice cream I once ate. One that really freaked me out a few months ago: 13 year old cute emo girls. What the what!? Luckily that creeper didn't stay too long.

Here are a few more:

What can buy for don't put the laptop in your legs. Huh? I don't think you ever found what you were googling for. Try coherent sentences. Better yet, don't google a sentence.

Thyroid scar necklace. WHY would you want that?

Pet carrier for chickens. Hope you weren't disappointed by my use of a giant Rubbermaid storage container. It was also one funny post so hopefully that made up for the disappointment.

How to fill cream in mini penis cupcakes. Yes. I'd like to know too. Also, mentioning it is a great way to make friends at BlogHer. See Jen and Kaliee? I told you so. Totally bloggable.

Massive butt crack flickr. Ummmm....yeah.

Faith workout clothes. No one wants to see me in workout clothes. No. Really. You don't. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed that post about my boobs.

Have you had any weird search terms that led people to your blog? Join in the fun!

What I've Been Up To

I started writing a post a week ago, but then my computer died and I haven't been able to finish it. Not that that is much of an excuse. There are only 3 other perfectly good computers in my house as well as two smart phones and an iPad (that I'm writing this on). Plus I've had some warning that my computer was going downhill fast seeing as how it took me around two hours to get it up and going every time. The last time I got it working I was smart enough to back up and luckily enough it's still under warranty. I'm just hoping that it's just the hard drive and not anything else.

We've looked at a total of 14 possible houses so far. There's a few that we like but nothing that we love. It's all, I wish we could have that house but on this lot, or this is the area that we love, but this house is just horrible or overpriced. We've seen a few that are move in ready or some that would require a ton of work. It's the whole, do we buy at the top of our price point in the area we love but in the not perfect house; or do we buy the house we mostly like in the ok area, but with the fantastic yard? The joys of home buying right? I just hope someone decides to buy our house before we find the one we love and it goes off the market.

Also selling a house? Worst thing ever. You clean and clean and rush around between work and home to gather the dogs only to have someone not show or judge you and your house. Or they leave wonderful comments but still don't want to buy your house. It's like receiving the verbal tip when you're a server. I've been getting nothing but verbal tips for two months now. Hell I tell you.

I've been cooking up a storm lately and need to do a few posts on things I've tried. Basalmic vinegar and whiskey as a steak marinade though? Not as good as it sounds. Major grilling disappointment in our house that night.

Speaking of grilling, I've been doing a lot lately and just trying to enjoy the patio more. Even though we're selling I've been feeling a little nostalgic about our house, or rather the deck. We haven't spent enough time out there, and we haven't hung out on it quite enough or had our friends that will no 
longer be our neighbors over quite enough. The other night I did an impromptu margaritas on the patio with the girls. Real clothes and bras were not required. It was fabulous and we need to do that more.

We're about to kick off the crazy time of year. I think I counted 8 events between now and the end of October. That's just nuts. It's my favorite time of year though. I'm ready for cooler weather and things made with pumpkin. 

In a few weeks John and I are celebrating our five year anniversary. I've put him in charge of planning it. Please help him. 

What's been keeping you busy lately?