Freshness! And a giveaway!

A long, long time ago, the folks at Vegie Fresh contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in trying their product. It's supposed to keep your veggies nice and crispy-like, which I was into because nothing chaps my hide like soggy spinach.

Now, I'm not a scientist. I'm a cheapskate. So, my original plan to have a Vegie Fresh crisper drawer filled with goodies and a control drawer filled with goodies so I could compare them just didn't pan out. I wasn't about to just waste perfectly good vegetables in the name of blog science!

So, both crisper drawers got the Vegie Fresh treatment. My bags of spinach (which take me about a week and a half to eat) stayed mostly fresh until the bitter end. That last little bit got a little soggy, but after 10 days, that's not so bad! Plus, I just use it for smoothies, so I'm not above eating some slightly slimy greens. (Ew. Sorry for that confession.)

Some leftover cauliflower also stood the test of time pretty well - hanging on a good 11 days before succumbing to spots because I was TIRED OF CAULIFLOWER. The longer shelf-life stuff like peppers and onions stayed good at least a week until we got around to eating them. (Anyone else buying red peppers like a crazed woman lately? They are so cheap right now!)

On the whole, I was really pleased with the packet. Just toss it in the crisper drawer and let it save me some moo-lah!

Want to keep your greens dry, too? Vegie Fresh sent me a boat load of packets, all of which last about three months. Comment below and next week, I'll announce a winner!

Vegie Fresh did send me free samples for me to review, but these views are my own.

In the weeds

This weekend, we're re-tackling the .75 acre that is our little urban jungle. Remember our patio garden? And the grand ole Pit?

Well, with warm breezes and leaves on trees (girly squealllllll! I love leaves on trees!), it's time to whip those spaces into shape. The plants are all way ahead of us, as we never even bothered to rake leaves back there last fall and here come the hops and hostas and peonies popping through the mess!

Also on the agenda for my last weekend as a 28 year old lass? Making a dent in the Yuengling stash my parents loaded me up with in STL last weekend (seriously - the entirety of my fridge's bottom shelf is solid beer right now. Add to that Hubs' two kegs of homebrew and the 30 bottles of homemade wine that are officially ready for consumption and well, let's just say the Bigger, Better, Best clan's eyes are most definitely larger than their aging livers), bike riding and zipping around on two legs, because - did you hear? Homeslice named me just ran a 5 mile race (on St. Pat's no less, when she could have been celebrating early), regularly runs at least 15 miles a week and is training for Dam to Dam (a 20-flippin-k!) in June.

Related agenda item: Buying up all the skinny lady clothes I can find because somebody dropped 20 pounds and has legit arm muscles.

Anyway, I'm hoping we can at least get the gardens cleaned up, pruned back and trellised this weekend. I've also got to shift some hostas around quick like a ninja before the rhizomes get too thick for me to dig through.

What are you up to this weekend? Would you be willing to rake leaves and weed for beer?

On the bandwagon!

I've decided to hop on the chalkboard bandwagon. Over the holidays, I painted one for my office and fell in love with admiring my own fancy handwriting every day.  

So, I took off our pantry doors and wiped them down so they were delightfully shiny.

Then, took them to the basement where I taped 'em up and slathered on the chalkboard paint.

Two days later (due to my own laziness, not paint-drying), I had my meal-planning HQ complete. Dinners up top, lunches below.

 And, of course, Hubs added some art near the cat food. This is what they mean by art imitating life.

And that was that. A simple and free project that is practical - what more could a gal ask for?

Have you hopped on the chalkboard wagon? What'd you paint?

House-A-Versary-Stravaganza!

Happy Third House-aversary, house!

(This is our house in 2005, when the owners kept the hedges trimmed, before there was an oak in the front yard and back when the windows were drafty)

Hard to believe that last year at this time, poor Hubs and I were eating our weight in Jimmy John's and cursing the invention of drywall mudding while we fixed up the once finished, then wet, then gutted basement. And here we stand today, with a finished basement, nicely painted walls in all but two rooms, a snuggly insulated attic and of course - the deck and patio of our dreams.

It's been a busy three years.

In our third year together, house, we have some baby-step style projects:

• Fix the slanted front walk (ok, rip it up completely and replace it with a curved paver walk to match the patio out back)
• Anticipated project date: May-June 2012 (as in, we don't know when we will start - not as in, we expect this to take two months)
• Anticipated cost: $750 or less
• Finally! De-linoleum-ize your poor kitchen floor. That one has been a long time coming. Get ready for some fancy pants new ceramic tile (ok, fancy-pants is a relative term. We're looking to do the whole floor gig for under $500, so it will be the cheapest Menard's has to offer, but still better than 30 year old lino).
• Anticipated project date: November 2012 - got to get ready to host our very first Christmas in this humble home!
• Anticipated cost: $500, plus Jimmy Johns
• Smack some style into the bathroom. Oh, how this room has been neglected. Ugly tile everywhere, bad paint, a sorry excuse for a vanity, and an original toilet. Again, this project is one we're shooting to keep cheap cheap cheap (and fast fast fast since it's our only bathroom!).
• Anticipated project date: December 2012. Yep, as soon as the family is out the door after the holidays, the remainder of our week off will be spent fixin' up the head and showering at the gym. Yee haw.
• Anticipated cost: $1,000-$2,000 I think, maybe? Barring any unforeseen plumbing issues (which, let's be honest, there are probably totally unforeseen plumbing issues), of course.

Admittedly, this list is pretty weak. But, we just finished paying off the last of the basement bills (Amen!) and we're kinda digging not sweating, hauling and cussing in all of our spare time. In fact, it's really really lovely. Actually enjoying our house - who knew?

Here's to another great year - sans major unexpected disasters!

Love you, House.

Love, Alexson

Looking forward

Oh, February. You're an especially busy month for this worker bee and as we round the final lap, I'm already dreaming of days that are not part of you. Specifically: days that are part of summer.

A list of my demands for those days:

• Lemonade in a sweating glass, with a fancy straw, on the deck, umbrella up, bare feet up too
• Loose and wild air-dried pool hair thrown into a bun, big sunglasses
• Brunches on patios, mimosas, big sunglasses
• Usage of the nearly record number of PTO days I have not taken from work yet
• Many, many rum drinks on floaties in my redneck oasis
• Swaying to harmonica-heavy music while chopping Farmer's Market veggies, windows open
• Running in the morning, every morning, in shorts, fear of jiggly thighs banished by my hard work all winter (true story)
• Late-night, jammie-covered trips to DQ, with car windows down
• A quick and painless removal of our current front walk with a flat (!) one made of paver bricks, hilarity to ensue
• Long, long bike rides, tan lines from athletic activity acquired
• Cutting the grass, which always sounds fun during times like this, but in reality is one of my all-time least favorite activities because I'm afraid of the riding mower, so while Hubs does that, I'm left grunting and cussing at our old push mower. But the smells, I do like the smells associated here.

So, there it is: my third annual "I wish it wasn't February in Iowa" post.

Of course, there's lots of good in winter, too. I just hate blow-drying my hair.

Happy Heart Month, world!

Even though I've worked for the American Heart Association for a year and a half, I'm still shocked by this statistic:

Only 1 in 6 women recognize that heart disease is her biggest health threat. 

This is even scarier because a lot of our heart problems can be prevented - 80% of heart attacks in women could have been prevented. But, if you don't know you may be at risk, you might not be as apt to do the things that may save your life - moving more, eating better, and knowing your numbers (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol). The sooner you can start with healthy habits, the better off you'll be.

Fun fact: Every hour you spend exercising adds two hours to your life expectancy. 

Extra fun fact: I plan on using at least half of all those extra hours I'm racking up getting pedicures, shopping for size 6 dresses (holla!) and watching Midnight in Paris until my DVD cracks - I earned it, right? 

So! Help a sister out by spreading the word. Here's how:

In Central Iowa?

Dude, we have SO. MUCH. going on this month, it's ridic. Do you want to meet the Governor? Hob nob at the fanciest event this side of I235? Zumba with dozens of your closest pals? Get a free ticket to an Iowa Energy game? We've got you covered. Check out everything that's going on at www.heart.org/DesMoines.

Anywhere in Iowa?

Be sure to upload a photo of how you Go Red to one of our fantabulous Facebook pages. The winner will get their mug posted on a billboard! Don't be shy, now.

Central Iowa

Sioux City

Eastern Iowa

Quad Cities

And, ok. If you don't LIVE in Iowa but have always had the crazy dream of being famous in Iowa (and who hasn't?), upload your picture, too! The more the merrier.

On Twitter?

Donate your tweet this Friday (also Wear Red Day!) Just use the hashtag #TweetGoneRedFor and let the world know whose heart you Go Red for. Plus, follow us at @AHAIowa.

Just bored?

Watch this video and pass it along. It's good stuff.

Are you doing anything for Heart Month? What cause/charity gets your heart a-flutter? What would you do with your extra hours?

Lucky 29!

It was a busy weekend around these parts: Hubs and I cashed in a gift certificate we won a while back to a hotel out in the wilds of West Des Moines so we spent Friday yukking it up at chain restaurants and breathing in ridiculous amounts of chlorine in the indoor pool.

Saturday, we bottled the zinfandel Hubs whipped up last month.

29 bottles of yummy, yummy zinfandel.

Sunday, we had to add toppers and labels, which fell to me and Hubs was hitting the books. First, I had to put these little gold foil toppers on each bottle and steam them shut.

Then, it was labeling time. We found these awesome Post-It labels on pretty paper that are easy to remove. That way, when we reuse these bottles for the next batch, we won't have to scrub old label gunk off. Hooray!

We tried the wine on Saturday, and it was a little twangy, but considering that it isn't going to be really ready until the end of March, we were pleased. By then, these bottles ought to be a-ma-zing!