Dec 29, 2009

The List.

As I have whined,bitched,cried,about , mentioned, the Man-of-My-Dreams is going to leave and work out of the country.
In Kazakhstan, as a matter of fact.
He leaves tomorrow. As in, less than 36 hours!

I am not impressed, neither is he...
But this job will be a good thing for our family.
He will be home every-other month, so he'll actually only be gone for 6 months working over the course of the year.

But.... BUT.... he's gonna be really REALLY far away!
In an attempt to freak out a little less, I have compiled a list of pro's and con's for this out of the country venture.

Lets see what I came up with...
And please! feel free to add your own.


Pro's about the Man-of-My-Dreams working out of the country.

1.) Career advancement.

2.) More income = can get some much-needed home improvements done.

3.) I hear frequent-flier miles are a good thing.

4.) I'll get the chance to surprise him with my weight-loss each time he comes home and see's the change. (I'm down 60lbs as of yesterday by the way! in less than three months! whoo hoooo!)

5.) We will save water! I will spend MUCH less time in the shower, if I don't shave my legs.
And... Why do I need to shave my legs if he isn't home? huh?

6.) I will be the one driving the truck!

7.) I will cook more Asian and fru fru meals. (NOT something he enjoys)

8.) I will control the remote!

Con's

1.) I will have no way to warm my cold feet. His warm feet work wonderful for this!

2.) I will have frizzy, limp & lifeless hair! Because there is no way I can rinse the conditioner out of my hair in the shower as well as he does!

3.) I'll have to schmoosh the spiders by myself!

4.) I'll be parenting solo... Without my Tag-Team partner.

5.) Paris, the love-struck cow, won't listen to me like she does him.. (her boyfriend)

6.) Who will remember it's trash day on trash day?!?

7.) I will actually have to get off my butt and fold the laundry by myself.

8.) I will miss him terribly.

*sigh*
THIS is gonna be interesting....
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Dec 14, 2009

And They Lived to Tell the Tale...

So, we all know I was away this week-end.
We all know I, usually, avoid leaving the farm at all costs.
We know I don't leave my family if I can help it.
We know I am quickly becoming a Hermit.

But... This week-end was a week-end so full of wonderfulness that I couldn't pass it up!
So, I left my family and flew to New Orleans.

The Man-of-My-Dreams was home to hold down the fort.
I'm not gonna say I wasn't a little bit worried,
I'm not gonna say I wasn't a little bit homesick,
I'm not gonna say I didn't call home every chance I got.

Especially when The Little-Foreman-in-Pink came down with a fever the night I left.
Especially when I heard (and saw the pictures) of the 4inch very dirty and rusty nail that the Man-of-My-Dreams impaled his forearm on.
Especially when I remembered that I forgot to order a propane delivery and my family was out of gas to keep them warm.

Each of these things could have ruined my week-end of crazy-goodness.
But....
It did not.

The Man-of-My-Dreams had it all under control.
He medicated the little sick one,
He kept her all snuggled down in "Daddy's Bed" with cartoons,
He cooked nutritious meals for the family,

He cleaned his deep puncture wound,
He soaked his arm in Epsom Salts,

He got the propane truck out to the farm at sunrise,
He kept the children on task,
Chores were finished,
The house was clean,

No one died!
No one was mangled (well... except for him!)

They did just fine without me...

...that's a good thing, right?

and it means I am a very lucky lady!
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Dec 13, 2009

WINNER for Harrah's BEST Weekend EVER!

And the winner is!! (by random drawing...)

William Meznarich said...

PS: I am actually cooking gumbo, for the saints game of course, as I am writing my comment. Retweeted! - TexasWineGuy

Congrats William!
e-mail me at Dana@homesteadinghousewife to claim your prize!
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Dec 12, 2009

The GREATEST Week-End EVER!

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

This girl lived on a farm surrounded by stinky, muddy animals, and loud energetic children.

She spent her days battling dust bunnies and trying to reach the summit of Mt. Laundry.

She also dabbled with writing online.
She started a blog about her life on the farm,
Then she started a blog about cooking and her comfort food recipes,
Then she started a blog about stuff her Grandma made,
Then she started a blog about her battle with weight and new shiny new Lap Band.

She typed and wrote silly stories, yummy recipes, old fashioned tricks and tips...
And she was happy...

One day she got an e-mail inviting her to come visit New Orleans.
Harrah's Casino & Hotel in New Orleans, as a matter of fact.

They were inviting her and some other bloggers to come and enjoy the
Greatest Weekend Ever.

This weekend was geared towards people who love food from the Houston area.

She was surprised,
She was intrigued,
She was excited!

Obviously, there had been some sort of mistake...
They MUST have meant to invite another blogger from her area.
One who was interesting...
One who was popular...
One who occasionally left their homes...

She decided she couldn't pass up such a great sounding adventure.
Now she finds herself in the incredibly welcoming and charming town of New Orleans.

She finds herself staying in an amazingly beautiful hotel room.
She finds herself taking a bath in a tub thats bigger than her whole bathroom back on the farm.

Everywhere she goes she finds new and exciting things to see hear smell and taste,
She has found herself surrounded with an amazing group of people.

Together, they ate at famous restaurants in New Orleans,
They had amazing conversations,
And the food? On My Goodness the FOOD!

One thing that she noticed, that convinced her for sure that there had been a mistake made when she was invited is...
These other bloggers?
They are SERIOUS foodies!

She felt like a fraud.
She felt like she didn't belong with such knowledgeable people.
But she fell in love with each of them anyway.
She is learning from them.
She is thrilled to be in their company.

They are used to the fancy schmancy foods...
They have never made "Prison Wine"
They are used to the "good stuff".

She finds herself giggling as she eats dinner... Trying to imagine how her family back on the farm would react if she served them a platter of prosciutto wrapped figs for dinner.

She knows that they will figure out that they have made a mistake....
She knows it's just a matter of time before they toss her out on her big 'ol redneck butt.
But before they do...
She is gonna give YOU the opportunity to come and experience New Orleans like she is.

Win a FREE 2-night stay at Harrah's Casino & Hotel!

How to enter...

  1. Leave me a comment telling me why YOU want to come have Your Own "Greatest Weekend EVER" At Harrah's NOLA.
  2. Tweet this about giveaway using the Hashtag #HarrahsNOLA
  3. Blog about this giveaway on YOUR Blog/Facebook page/ Myspace page etc...

Please use a separate comment here for each Tweet/post/etc... Make sure I know your Twitter name and/or leave a link to your post. Enter as many times as you'd like.

The winner will be chosen on Sunday 12/13/2009 by a random drawing.

Disclaimer.... yadda yadda yadda...

  • The winner will receive a 2-night stay at Harrah's Casino & Hotel in New Orleans.
  • Prize does NOT include travel, entertainment, meals etc...
  • The winner much be a US resident.
  • The free 2 night stay must be used before 12/30/2010

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Dec 8, 2009

The Day The Blog Died.

You know what?
The Man-of-My-Dreams has killed my blog!
Yep... Altho I love the man more than words can say.
I blame him for the demise of The Homesteading Housewife.

While he was working out of town,
I sat home with all 6 of the kids,
All of the critters,
All of the laundry,
All of the mud & muck that is our life here on our homestead.

One of the things that kept me writing was knowing that he was out there... somewhere... reading it.
Somehow it would make him feel closer to us,
Somehow he wouldn't feel like he was missing all the silly little things I write about when he was so far away.

While he was away,
I wrote every day.
I wrote about the "nothings" that happen every day.
I wrote about quirky kids.
I wrote about yummy food.
I wrote about muddy critters.
I wrote about my many MANY shortcomings in the Mothering, Wifeing, and Domestic Goddessing categories.

Now that he has been home,
I haven't been writing....
I haven't been able to think of anything "clever" or even remotely "interesting" to say.

I have, however, spent my days following The Man-of-My-Dreams around as he split & stacked fire-wood,
Cleaned the dust bunnies out from under the heavy furniture,
Refereed spats between the children,
Basically, he worked like a dog, while I sat on my big 'ol butt, admiring the view.

The view of the his muscles flexing while he does strenuous work outside.
The view of him sitting at his desk with his incredibly sexy furrowed brow, while he is working.
The view of him in the bed that I have slept in for so many months alone.
The view of the NO-dust bunnies under my couch.

I haven't written,
I have just been enjoying my time with The Man-of-My-Dreams while I have him in my hot little hands. (both figuratively and literally).

Anyway...
I have some good news...
And some Bad news.....

The Good News?
I'm gonna be writing a lot more again!
You will be able to read more of my pointless rambling soon.
I will once again be spewing my own inadequacies all over the huge world-wide web.
Oh joy!

Why? You Ask?

The Bad News.
The Man-of-My-Dreams is leaving again soon.
He will be further away than before.
He will be gone longer than before.
He will have less contact with us than ever before.
He will be in Kazakhstan...
... For at least a year!

Stay Tuned....
and thanks for Hanging in with me this far!










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Dec 5, 2009

Someday I'll learn not to brag.

Just the other day I was talking to one of my online friends.
She lives in the frozen north.
She was complaining about her short growing season and her other cold weather gardening issues.

Being the great friend that I am, I, of course, had to send her some pictures of the beautiful blooming roses that I had in my garden.

Well... I guess I managed to anger her, and I guess she has a stronger bond with Mother Nature than I gave her credit for....

Because today, I took these pictures of the same roses.

Covered in....
SNOW!

We don't get snow here.
We don't get hard freezes here.
We don't like goosebumps.
We don't like frostbite.
We don't own windshield ice scrapers.
We don't own snow shovels.

And yet.. this is what my homestead had all day yesterday!

The up-side of the sudden and shockingly cold snap?

Homemade Hot Cocoa,
Homemade chili,
Camp fires,
snow men,
and...
Maybe...
just maybe....

this ice and snow will kill off some of the skeeters.

I will have to learn how to keep my big mouth (and camera) shut from now on!



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Dec 4, 2009

National Cookie Day! (Forgotten Kiss Cookies)

It's National Cookie Day!
So, to celebrate, I'm gonna re-post the top three requested cookie recipes.
Recipe number 1 will bring a smile to anyones face!!

These cookies are bite-size bits of Heaven!
They call for mini chocolate chips in the dough,
But I live in the boonies and was out of mini chocolate chips.
I had a choice... use mini M&M's or driving to the city to buy the chocolate chips..
M&M's won!
And the Little-Foreman-in-Pink loves the "rainbow" look.
Dana's Forgotten Kiss Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup softened margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 9oz. bag Hershey Kisses

Chocolate drizzle (optional, directions below)

Directions
  1. Preheat over to 375 degrees f.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until well blended.
  3. Add the flour and blend until smooth.
  4. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
  5. Mold a scant Tablespoon of cookie dough around each unwrapped kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls.
  6. Place into un-greased cookie sheet.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.
  8. Cool slightly, move from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
  9. Prepare chocolate drizzle, if desired, drizzle over each cooled cookie.
  10. Enjoy!
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Drizzle = In a small microwavable bowl, place 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon shortening. Microwave for 30 seconds to melt. stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.
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Dec 1, 2009

He's Leaving Me!!

The Man-of-My-Dreams is leaving me.
He has been home for over two months.

We have had fun together.
We have laughed together.
We have loved together.
We have worked together.
... Well actually.... I sat on my big 'ol butt and watched him do the work.

And now,
He is leaving me.

He is, in fact, leaving the country!
He is going all the way to Kazakhstan to work!
Ugh!

Don't know anything about Kazakhstan?
Neither did I.
So, as I do with all things I know nothing about,
I Googled it.

This is what I learned...

It's just south of Russia, North of Iran.
And on this map.. it's a pretty green color.

I wanted to know a little more about the culture of Kazakhstan, and this is what I found.

Apparently there is a famous guy from there.
Borat....
I know nothing of Borat.
But...

If the Man-of-My-Dreams comes home wearing one of these I may have to put him down!


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