A funny thing happened...

So, first of all PSYCH!!!


If you click the link below in the last post, I was all super serious about moving to another site and creating an awesome food blog, blah blah blah. Which I did and worked pretty well for a while. Then, I got burnt out and changed jobs and didn't have time to pour into new recipes and pictures and editing pictures and lengthy posts.


So, I'm not doing that anymore. And if you go to the 'new' website you get one link back to this older blog.


I think old is good. This is my VINTAGE blog. I'm happy with it the way it is.


I intend to only write things I want, so you can't really expect anything consistent like food, art or renovating posts like before. I think I'll just ramble a bit and enjoy spritz out some awesome words into a post. If that's not what you want to read, I get it. I only spritz for the enjoyment of spritzing.


So, now that we have that out of the way and I've began 3 lines with 'so', we can move on to important stuff, like my weekend.


*****
Let's start again....a funny thing happened.


So, there I was (ha, I worked in another 'so!') out shopping with my daughter. I call her 'the girl'. Or I did when I used to post all the time, which I don't. So, I thought I'd remind everyone i.e. myself. We bought her some new shoes to go with an old outfit (see, told you I like vintage) for a party with a friend this week.


Afterwards, we had some extra time, so I took her by the nail place to get pedicures. I thought it would be fun, and also important because she bought open toed sandals, and hello you gotta have cute toes.


Well, our normal place was too busy for a walk in, so we drove to a new place. The new place is closer to my house and actually ended up cheaper. SCORE! I thought it couldn't get better than this!


Then, The Fireman's (a.k.a. my dear husband) ex walked in. YIPES!


Actually, it wasn't that bad. She was fine. It was just weird. She tried to say hi and was polite. She eventually tried to tell me all sorts of stuff about my/our boys...Yes, it was weird. Especially when she acted like I had no idea how they were as kids....um....didn't they live with me exclusively for several years? But I kept my mouth shut. I know. Shocking.


She did slide in a jab about, "Well, I hope you like your nail color....*loaded pause*." Cause, ya'll, I picked a mossy green shade. I happened to LOVE it. I think it's really pretty on ma toes.


So, I just shot her a brilliant smile and said, "Yea, I know. I just love fun shades on my toes! Gotta do something fun for myself!" To which she replied, "Oh, yeah. Me too....just not today." and waved her boring burgundy fingers at me.


Disclaimer: Just so you know. I totally like burgundy. Maybe not for summer, but I don't judge...typically. I'm just having a catty moment.


Ok, I'm done with my catty moment. The pedicures were fun. I enjoyed being with the girl. I enjoyed the male nail dudes. Wait, did I forget to mention that? That was weird, too. But cool! They did a super good job!


I will actually likely go again. Even though there's always a chance I'll run into the Fireman's ex. It happens. I won't let it stop me. I roll with it.


The moral of the story: Be polite even in tough situations. Be the bigger person. Be catty afterwards. No, not really. Well, maybe a little really.

Moving...

Not my physical home, but JenMarie's Cafe has moved.

Please visit me at www.jenmariescafe.com

I'm really excited about this move. Right now, this site will remain as is for reference on my older posts, I'm not sure if I'll figure out how to move the info over. Hopefully, I will get them moved and this site will automatically redirect.

For now, please give me some linky love and click on the link and add it to your favorites bar.

You know you want to...

Flower Beds Finished!

I never thought that our front porch project, that we started last year, would take so long to totally finish....

The fireman had built these flower beds with timber a week or more ago and we've been picking out plants, digging up dirt, adding soil, laying landscape fabric, planting plants and mulching....

Here's where we have the plants lined up where they should go. I like the boulder at the beginning of the bed. Look at that mess!
Well, the fireman did most of this. I did some planting....

Garlic Kale Chips

I was pretty hesitant about how good Kale Chips could be. I had heard about them from Shutterbean and they sounded interesting, but I was a little hesitant.
Okay, a lot hesitant. It sounded healthy and all, but um, ew.

Then, my friend Jana said she was going to try them, and I was excited cause I could see if they were any good or not. Cause she's a good judge of yummy foods.

She liked them and then it still took me a couple of months or so to get around to buying some and another week yet to actually cook them.

Planting Flower Gardens

The kids only have through half of next week before they're out of school. I still can't get over how close summer is.

The fireman and I have been busy working on our flower gardens. I know, the plan was to do the fence next, but we got ahold of a garden tiller and didn't want to lose the chance to use it for free. Also, part of my Mother's Day gifts were all these pretty flowers.

So, the above planter is one of our pretty porch plants. I just plant annuals in these. That way I can change it up and add some pretty splashes of color each year. Gives me something to mess with.

Buffalo Chicken Breasts

I really wanted to call this recipe Hot Breasts, but I thought that might be bad for the search engine...

You know, like Hot Wings...but with chicken breasts?

I was trying to make a healthier version of Hot Wings, but I still wanted a little crunch, so I did do a quick flour and fried in a little oil. Not deep fried, not seriously encrusted. You could if you wanted to, but this is just a little bit healthier. Alternately, you could grill or panfry without any crust at all.

Next, wing sauce. What makes up wing sauce? It's hot sauce, plus butter. That's pretty much it. Hooter's uses more butter for their mild sauce, so their Hot is actually less fat. Follow?

Rhubarb Crisp

You know how at Halloween, it's like incredibly important that you buy candy corn? Cause you just can't get it any day of the year.

It's a once a year opportunity.

Rhubarb is like that.

You can't got the the freezer section and buy frozen rhubarb. That'd be weird. But also awesome. 

What is it about rhubarb that makes it so wonderful? I think it's cause it's tart, like cherries, but since you only get it during the Spring/Summer it kinda makes it more special.

I do try to bag up some chopped rhubarb in my freezer so I don't have to wait another 9 months until I get some of this yumminess again.

And now, my friends, rhubarb season is back. Let's welcome it in with my favorite rhubarb recipe!

I love this recipe for two reasons. Firstly, it doesn't have strawberries or anything else in it. It's all about the rhubarb and man does it shine. Secondly, the crunchy topping is sweet and has some serious crunch. The filling is ooey gooey and warm, sweet and tart. What could be better?

Velvet Chocolate Pudding

I really wish I could spoon some of this into your mouth.

I don't think you'd believe me otherwise.

This pudding is rich and decadent and super duper chocolatey and actually, shockingly very low carb...

I want to eat this pudding every night. And luckily, since it's quick to throw together, I could...

Enchilada Pie

When I was a kid, I didn't like Mexican food, which doesn't make sense now. Now, it's one of my favorite things to eat. Between that and Italian, I could live on weeks filled with spaghetti and chimichanga's.

For Cinco de Mayo, I made a large portion of Chimichanga's and this enchilada pie. Normally, I make enchilada's the real way, where you fry the enchilada's dipped in the red sauce. It's messy. VERY messy. So, I thought I'd try something different.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas)

I love trying new recipes with the fireman. It's fun and something we can do together. And he's crazy when he cooks, just so you know...

Sometimes things get thrown...

This one involves beans, baked until they're crispy and crunchy and then seasoned with whatever you want.

Fried Cabbage & Zucchini

 This is another one of the fireman's dishes. He made this for us last night with my Pork Roast and Mashed Turnips.

My poor fireman has been at my beck and call lately. Ever since my foot surgery, I've been not cooking as often. He always cooks about 50% of the time anyway, but for a good two weeks there, he was the only one cooking/cleaning/getting kids ready for school/homework. I don't even remember some of the normal life things that I'm sure happened but he took care of.

But the biggest?

He did my laundry....

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake

I know this sounds soooo weird, but I'll tell you what.

The fireman said this is one of the best chocolate cake's he's ever had. It did not last long in the house.

It's so moist and delicious.

It's total craziness. It's so good you can't stay out of it. I literally ate half the batch the first night. Then, my parents came over and between them and the fireman and I, we polished it off.

Skinny Ms. Fitness

Today, I'm just sharing something that I love.

I found this on Pinterest a while ago, a link for an 7 Day Challenge for Summer Arms.

I really liked the idea of doing 7 days of hard workout to achieve some serious muscle change. I can do 7 days.

Completion of the Brick Wall!

Finally another one of our projects has a nice big red X next to it.
Not really, we don't really have a master list with X's, but that would be really cool! Although my fireman would probably kill me....

I got to take lots of fun photos cause I was laid up on the couch at home recovering *read drugged up* while another fireman friend of my fireman who owns a side business doing something with brick walls, I'm not really sure. A lot of fireman have side businesses/jobs because of their schedule and days off. Also on account of their overall brawniness. So, we win all over the place cause whatever job we're doing someone has a specialty tool or has a business or has experience to come help with it.

The News in Crutches

Ok, so a few things I've learned in the last week:

Crutches are made by Dr. Evil.
Ice doesn't always reduce swelling.
Pain pills don't necessary dull your pain, sometimes they just remove you from your body.
Sleeping with one heavily wrapped club-foot is a pain, literally.
Propping your leg on every hard surface you encounter will result in may bruises up and down your shin and calf.

It's been a week and I'm tired of being off my foot. I'm tired of being waited on. I know I shouldn't complain since I have lovely people that graciously help me, but oh, man would I love to get my own water.

Yesterday, however, the fireman had to go back to work and the 8 year old girl made me coffee all by herself. It was good, too. She even poured me cup after cup and brought it to me. Awesome stuff. She even helped me make my Sweet Fluffy Omelet with raspberries.

But then for supper, we had planned on trying spaghetti together, but opted for Pizza Hut's $10 Dinner Box. I call that a win-win.

Tomorrow I go in for a dressing change, oh joy.

Tonight the hubby's making sliders!

I don't plan on a whole lot of cooking, so I can't promise many insightful, thought provoking posts this week. I do, however have a couple of fun things I've set aside for a rainy day. If I'm up to it, I'll try to post those.

See you all soon.

Brown Sugar Acorn Squash

Sorry I've been MIA. I am currently recovering from foot surgery; corrective foot surgery for my flat feet. I will soon have pain-,free feet/shins, which after nearly a lifetime of leg pain sounds like heaven to me. Especially since I'm all up with the working out and have been walking/running nearly every day.

And because I'm drugged up right now, I can't say that this post will make any sense.

Where were we? Oh, yeah. Acorn squash.

Do you know what acorn squash is? Maybe everyone out there knows how to make this and is all, why is she blogging about stinking acorn squash?
But maybe you don't, and gosh, you should, cause this is like vegetable dessert. Oh, yes, my friends.

Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders

I have been wanting to make this recipe for like weeks! 

I'm so glad I finally did. It's not difficult or complicated or anything. I don't know why I waited so long. Just a throw-together type marinade and a quick skillet cooking and it's on the table.

Perfect for a weeknight meal when you don't feel like cooking because everyone at work is asking you to do things fast because they can't do their own work in a timely manner.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "You failure to plan does not consititute an emergency on my part."

Yeah, that. I'm thinking of having it tattooed on my forehead.

A Backrest For Ohio

I know a lot of you aren't motorcycle riders, but hopefully my occasional motorcycle post doesn't bore you too much.

I just enjoy it so much, and it's a part of my life, so it's hard not to share.

By the way, I named the bike Ohio. Because we drove there to get her, so that's her name. It's not as pretty as the other names I was kicking around, but the girl suggested it and it just fits.

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

We tried this for Easter Dinner. I found this recipe online at Pinterest and was so intrigued I had to try it. I also had to adapt it a bit, of course.
By the way, how addictive is Pinterest?!

It's kinda like hashbrown casserole, but with squash! So, it's low carb, but still savory, rich and cheesy. We really loved it!

It's sweeter, because it's squash. There is natural sugar in squash, and the texture is awesome.

The Road Taken

Since it's now Spring and the weather is wonderful, the girl and I have resumed our hiking expeditions. I love them.
They complete me.

I run on the treadmill, and still continue to do so. And when I say run, I mean, walk at a very fast pace at a slight incline and then right in the middle, I run for 2-3 minutes, just to get my heartrate up. I don't mean that I actually, like run, for a large amount of time. I'm just not built that way.

The hubby, on the other hand, can run 3-5 miles on any given day, just for the heck of it. *ugh*