Yummy banana bread!

I made some banana bread today. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Grocery shopping and saving money

Yesterday, I had the best grocery shopping trip ever. I made a list before I went, planning some meals for the week. Then, I checked the ads online for a couple different stores in town (we have Kroger and Marsh. I won't buy meat at this Kroger though... Vince has been in their back room and told me not to ever buy meat there). Anyhow... I got most of my non-perishable foods at Kroger since a lot of them were on sale, and then I stopped at a store owned by German Baptists that sells spices in bulk for a really good price, and I got some chili powder for the chili I was making last night. Then I went to Marsh and got most of the stuff on sale.

I got a lot of food for less than $50. It was so awesome!

Surprise birthday party!

So... a few days ago, Vince started asking me what I want for my birthday. I hate telling people what to get me, because it just ruins the surprise, and I'm just going to tell them not to give me anything because I don't like making people spend money on me... so I just said "I don't know." He's been asking me what I want for my birthday like every day, and all along I've just been thinking "I just want someone to surprise me!!!".

Last night we went to a surprise birthday party for another girl (she's exactly one day older than me... her birthday is Tuesday and mine is Wednesday... we're the same age). I was secretly a little jealous because no one had ever surprised me with a party before. Whenever my mom tried to plan a surprise party, I always caught her talking to someone on the phone about it so I never got surprised. So... that was my one birthday wish - to have a surprise party. (I don't care if I don't get gifts or a cake or any of that... that's more fun when you're a kid anyway... hehe)

Anyhow... we'd been planning all this week to go to Vince's parents house tonight, just to hang out. We do that almost every week, so it's not a bit unusual. When we got there, Jillian and Audrey (Vince's sisters) ran outside to say hi to us. That happens every time, too, so I didn't suspect anything. I had no clue that it was a birthday party until everyone jumped out of hiding (when we walked in the door) and started singing "Happy Birthday". It was the most awesome surprise birthday party ever! Vince's mom made a homemade ice cream cake (it was SO good!!!) and I got a few gifts... but most of the time we were just playing a card game and then practicing a song that us young people (17-20 yr olds) are gonna sing in church someday.

So... Vince did it. He got me exactly what I wanted for my birthday, and I never even told him. (Seriously, how do you tell someone you want a surprise? That would pretty much ruin it... hehe)

He's such an awesome husband. =)