House Shopping

Northern Bluebird

A sure sign that Spring has sprung is the arrival of the Northern Bluebirds and the Goldfinches.  The bluebirds arrived about two weeks ago and I just spied my first goldfinch in the yard yesterday...yay Spring!  This is a photo of one of the Northern Bluebirds taking claim over one of our fence post birdhouses.  We have three, currently, and they almost always take them all.  They aren't really the nicest of birds - trying to lay claim to all the houses and the feeders.  The others will usually give up the houses, but they will stand their ground at the feeders.

Ford Tough

We have two bird feeders near the driveway that stay busy all day long.  The birds love to perch on the tires of "Big Nasty", our Ford F350 Diesel truck.  My guess is the black rubber absorbs the heat from the sun, plus the wheel well provides shelter from aerial predators.  Pretty smart!

Bottle Crafts

I've always liked the shape of Kirklands Vodka bottles - and the red coloring in the base.  I really want o do something crafty with this, just not sure what yet.  First off I need to fine a way to remove the labels on the bottle.  ( Well, first I have to get the bottle emptied - LOL! )  I'm thinking it could make a pretty cool looking decorative vase for a corner...or something.  Maybe I'll work something out.  I'm open to any suggestions!

Wake Up Call

I love these kinds of wakeup calls on a weekend morning.  :)

Low-Carb Pizza

Original Recipe by Linda

Crust: 

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder { I used 3/4 teaspoon - we like garlic }
• 8 ounces Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese, shredded

Toppings:

• 1/4 cup pizza sauce { I used 1/2 cup to cover the entire crust - this ups the carb count a bit }
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• Assorted toppings: pepperoni, ham, sausage, onions, olives, green peppers, bacon, etc. 
• Dash of garlic pepper or garlic powder and some Italian seasoning for top of pizza

Directions:

1. Put the softened cream cheese, eggs, parmesan cheese, seasonings and 8 ounces of mozzarella in a medium bowl. Mix with a spoon until well-blended. 
2. Spread the cheese mixture evenly in a well-greased 9x13" glass baking dish or a 9x13" rimmed baking sheet that is lightly greased and lined with parchment paper (see note below). 
3. Bake at 375º 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned, but not too dark. 
4. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Spread the crust with the pizza sauce, then the cheese and toppings of your choice. 
6. Lightly sprinkle with the seasonings of your choice. 
7. Bake at 375º about 15-20 minutes or until toppings are bubbly. 
8. Let stand a few minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 servings
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 304 Calories; 25g Fat; 17g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

2 Rivers Campground Review

This past weekend we joined our friends Charlie & Christina for a last minute camping trip. They were testing out their new RV and wanted to go somewhere close by to test everything out before heading out for upcoming planned trips. They chose to try out 2 Rivers Campground in Carrollton, Kentucky as it was nearby ( only 28 minutes from both of our houses ) and had good reviews. We decided to go with them - after all, camping is more fun with friends!  And we wanted to test out the new XPens for the dogs ( which worked out perfectly ). It was an interesting trip, to say the least.

Our Setup with the XPens

Christina and Charlie arrived Friday a couple of hours before we did, so they were able to call us ahead of time and warn us that the campsites we had reserved ( we reserve side by side sites ) were taped off due to a busted water line and we had to move to a different site.  Once we got to the campground we found that there was no one in the check-in booth in order to give us our tags or confirm our reservations. So we just pulled on it to our spot, got backed in and leveled and setup for the weekend.

Christina & Charlie's Setup

The first thing we found was that the WIFI was not working. We always try to get campsites with WIFI due to our line of work and the website stated "free WIFI" for all campsites.  Luckily we had a good cell signal so it was that big of an issue, though it did put a dampener on our plans to watch the NCAA games that were on all weekend and it makes it difficult if a work issue comes up.  Jason ended up calling the campground phone number to find out if they could reset the WIFI for us.  That was when he found out that the person that usually ran the check-in booth had been told not to bother to work the booth until at least April because they weren't paying her to do so. So that explained the empty check in booth.  She also informed us that the WIFI was not working and that they "hoped to have it fixed sometime this year".  So, umm, maybe they should take the part off of the website that states free WIFI?!

River View from Campsite

After this conversation we realized we were pretty much on our own as far as no host or employees. There were only a handful of other campers there and they appeared to be either full-timers or just stopping in to sleep while passing through because we barely saw anyone while we were there.  Also, due to there being no host, we didn't get pin numbers for the locks on the bath house ( which we didn't realize were required until after we had talked to the campground lady ).  Christina and I went up to check out the condition of the bath house and take care of some business when we realized we couldn't get in because we weren't given a pin. All I can say is thank goodness both of our campers had usable holding tanks.  We did walk around the park a little bit at that point as they had nice paved paths and a large overlook directly over the Kentucky River.  But aside from that site, there wasn't much else to look at besides the traffic bridge on one side of the campground and the junk yard on the other side.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early, as you tend to do when camping. That was when the junk yard next to us started operating heavy machinery and dumping large loads of metals.  Our campsite was only about 20 feet away from said junk yard, thus very loud and very unpleasant.  There was a small hill separating our sites from the junk yard but you could still see most of it and it blocked none of the noise. This lasted most of the morning before they finally decided to take a lunch break.  It was about this time that we decided this was a pretty crappy campground, not worth sitting out in the cold that was coming in and just decided to pack up and go home. Upon packing up to go home I walked the trash over to the dumpster to find that the gate to the dumpster was locked, thus I could not dispose of our trash and we had to take it back home with us.

Junkyard View from Campsite

While we were there we also had issues with one set of campers letting their two dogs run loose all over the campground, which made our dogs go nuts ( they were in their XPens and contained as per the rules ) and we had to keep putting our dogs in the camper until the loose dogs went back to their area. These dogs also used the bathroom all over the other campsites and their owners never once picked up after them.

To top off the eventful weekend, Saturday morning we managed to lock ourselves out of our camper when the bedroom door malfunctioned and stayed locked when we closed it. We hadn't been out the main door that morning yet so it was still locked up as well. Luckily we were very close to home as Jason had to drive home to get the spare RV keys.  Next time a spare set will remain in the truck!

I will say that there was a situation going on that apparently isn't the norm so this review may not apply to this park for future trips, but we still will not return.  We should have been informed about the situation before arriving and have contacted the campground to ask for our money back for at least the night we did not stay.  We still have not heard back from them...and I have to say at this point I don't really expect we will.

( Update: We still never heard back from the campground, however there was a $40 credit issued to our card used to make the reservations, so at least that's something.  Still would have appreciated an apology of some sort - but I supposed that's too much to expect these days. )

But as always, we still had a good time with friends, even though our trip was cut short.  We had a wonderful steak dinner, a good fire and some great conversation and laughs. The dogs did great with their XPen ( you can see the black wire of it in the first photo ).  We just hope our next trip will be more "camp like" and have the amenities as promised!

Campground Overview


Campsite Pros:

• Large, level and paved camping pads


• Staggered sites allowed more "breathing room" so you aren't on top of neighboring campers


• Picnic tables, playground, trash cans, etc look brand new


• Scenic river access overlook


• Full hookups


• Close to town if any supplies are needed

Campsite Cons:

• Located right next door to a junkyard that operates on the weekends (very loudly)


• Also located by a busy traffic bridge that goes over the river


• Very few trees - what trees there were are very small


• No cable TV


• No campground host


• Very poor radio signal


• Non-working WIFI 


• Bath house was locked with required pin to access bathrooms and showers and we were not given an access code


• Garbage dumpster access was locked and inaccessible and we had to take our trash home with us


• Campground was not nearly worth $40 per night 

Lois Lane Toes!

Can you spy with your little eye a Lois Lane?  Look for the little two white dots hovering over the chair.  That is Lois Lane's back feet just chillin' in the air while she snoozed away on her back in the leather armchair.  Talk about spoiled and comfortable!  She knows how to chillax!

Motion Sickness Bands

These are motion sickness bands that work by putting pressure on the Nei-Kuan pressure points in the wrists.  I bought them to try to help me play first person PC games.  They seem to help a little bit and allow me a little more game play than usual.  I like the non-medication option...and they were cheap at only $8.00 for the pair.

Ky River View

This was the view from the picture window in the back of our camper.  Our site (sort of) overlooked the Kentucky River.  Unfortunately, this was the only pretty view to be had from the camp site.  It was pretty much a parking lot campground and looking to the left of the nice river view was a great view of the junkyard.  Read my full review on this campground.

Giant Dawg is Content Camping

We took a last minute camping trip over the weekend and got to try out the XPens for the dogs for the first time ( instead of having them all tangling on everything with leads ).  They worked out awesome!  As you can see, Giant Dawg was quite content with the situation...as were the other two.  The camping trip itself was interesting, to say the least, and you can read the campground review here.

Pouty Snuggle Pants

I love how L.B. has a little pouty lip sticking out as he sleeps.  Spoiled rotten dog...

Last sunset of winter - and it's a beauty!

Ahhh the last sunset of winter! I wish Instagram didn't decompress my photos so badly - the full size photo looks so much better.  Might have to start posting the originals here...

Chillin'

My boys!  L.B. was playing with Jason and kept gently biting Jason's nose.  I was trying to capture it, but didn't quite manage.  Cute little stinker.

Today's Visitor

Today as I was getting out of the truck from my trip to Costco, the dogs were more than usually excited for me to come home.  I stepped around the truck to greet them and spied this opossum sitting about 6 feet away from the dog yard under our maple tree.  I'm not sure what s/he was doing out during the day - blind as a bat - but s/he allowed me to get photos { I didn't get that close - I was working with my 200mm lens }.  Once we got the dogs and groceries inside the opossum when along its merry way.

This also gave me the opportunity to really try out my new Samsung NX300 with the new 200mm lens.  I'm highly impressed with the sharpness of the photos due to the distance I was from the bird and the opossum. I don't think my Nikon was quite that sharp with my 200mm lens on it.  Makes me happy!

Here is another view of the opossum and one of the tit mouse.

Cream Cheese Clouds

Original Recipe by Linda


Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
• 3/4 cup granular Splenda OR 1 Tsp Stevia in the Raw
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Directions

1. Beat everything with an electric mixer until fluffy. 
2. Drop by bite-size spoonfuls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. 
3. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. 
4. Store in the freezer and eat frozen.

Makes 24 clouds

NOTE: You can store these in the refrigerator and they will hold their shape quite well as long as they are good and cold.

With granular Splenda:
Per Cloud: 70 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb
Per 2 Clouds: 140 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per 2 Clouds: 134 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; .5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs
Per 4 Clouds: 268 Calories; 29g Fat; 3g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb

White Castle Hamburger Casserole

Original Recipe by Linda
Induction Friendly

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef 
• 1 onion (red or white)
• 2 eggs 
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream 
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded 
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Brown the hamburger with the chopped onion
2. Drain the fat and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
3. Put the meat in a greased 9-10 inch pie plate. 
4. Stir in half of the cheese, then top with the remaining cheese. 
5. Whisk the eggs, mayonnaise, cream and a dash of pepper well; pour evenly over the meat. 
6. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings
Can be frozen

Serving Suggestion: For a true White Castle experience, top each serving with dill pickles and mustard. Or, make a sauce of dill pickle relish and mustard.

Enchilada Bake

Image by Linda (see link)

Original Recipe by Linda
Induction Friendly

Crust:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon El Paso Taco seasoning
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Beat or whisk the cream cheese and eggs until smooth. 
2. Add the seasoning; mix well. 
3. Stir in the cheese; mix well. 
4. Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish; spread the cheese mixture evenly over the bottom. 
5. Bake at 350º, 35 minutes or until browned, but not too dark. 
6. Let stand 5-10 minutes before adding the topping.

Topping: 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon El Paso Taco seasoning
• 8 1/2 ounce jar enchilada sauce
• 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Brown the hamburger; drain fat. 
2. Stir in the seasoning, enchilada sauce and chiles. 
3. Spread over the crust. 
4. Top with the cheese. 
5. Bake another 20 minutes or so until hot and bubbly. 
6. Serve with the toppings of your choice (add additional carbs).

Makes 8 servings
Can be frozen

Optional Toppings:

• Shredded lettuce


• Sour cream


• Salsa


• Ripe olives


• Pickled jalapeno slices


• Guacamole

Per Serving: 411 Calories; 31g Fat; 27g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Will it ever stop?!

March 16. More Snow. Four days until Spring.  At this rate it will be snowing in July.  Of course this happens when I'm really itching for an early spring for camping sake.  Due to some work conflicts we aren't able to join our friends this coming weekend on their maiden voyage.  { The weather is supposed to perk back up into the 50's and 60's after this mess. }  Hopefully we'll be able to make our planned trip mid-April.  For now, snow, snow go away!

Zucchini Fries

Photo by Our Best Bites

 Original Recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

• About 1 lb. zucchini


• 1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs


• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)


• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.


2. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.


3. Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.


4. Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).


5. Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.


6. Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.


7. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Approximately 20 Net Carbs for entire batch

Cucumber-Zucchini Salad

Photo by under21parsec

Original Recipe by Food.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced (optional) { I use a red onion }
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup splenda (or other sugar substitute)
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, fresh cracked
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Arrange in alternate layers cucumber, zucchini & onions.


2. Mix VINEGAR and SUGAR dissolved in 1/2 cup HOT WATER add SALT, PEPPER, & CRUSHED RED PEPPER.Add a couple ice cubes to chill.


3. Drain any water formed from cucumbers before adding the dressing.


4. Allow vegetables to marinate in the dressing at least 1 hour before serving.

15 Net Carbs for entire dish

Spinach Lasagna - Crockpot

Photo by Linda

Original Recipe by Linda
Induction Friendly

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons onion, chopped { I use a whole onion }
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder { I use ~ 1/2 tsp of garlic } 
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce { I sub with Great Value pizza sauce as it is lower carb }
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (I used the kind in a can)

Directions:

1. Brown the hamburger with the onion; drain off the fat. 
2. Mix in the garlic powder and spaghetti sauce; season to taste and heat until bubbly. 
3. Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese in a medium-size microwaveable bowl for about 40-60 seconds. 
4. Stir until creamy; beat in the egg and pepper with a spoon until well mixed. 
5. Blend in the spinach. 
6. Spread half of the meat mixture evenly in the bottom of a greased, 8 x 8" glass baking pan. 
7. Spread the spinach mixture over the meat; top with the mozzarella, then the rest of the meat. It may not completely cover the top, but that's ok. 
8. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. 
9. Bake at 350º about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Or, cover with plastic wrap and vent one corner then microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes; then reduce to MEDIUM and cook for another 7-10 minutes until hot and bubbly. 
10. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.

Makes 6-9 servings
Can be frozen

Per 1/6 Recipe: 368 Calories; 28g Fat; 23g Protein; 5.5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3.5g Net Carbs

Per 1/8 Recipe: 276 Calories; 21g Fat; 17g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

Per 1/9 Recipe: 245 Calories; 19g Fat; 15g Protein; 3.5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2.5g Net Carbs

Goodnight, Moon

It's almost a full moon! I caught a glimpse through the back door of the brightness emitting from the almost full moon and figured I'd try out the new NX300's 200mm lens.  Not bad.

New Hair Do

I'm generally not big on "selfie" photos, but I had to update my social media accounts to reflect the new do.  I'm loving it - it's so easy to deal with and no more endless knots of hair and endless drain clogs. And it goes to a good cause. Bring on summer and camping weather!

Stamps Galore

Yup, the great stamp sale is still going strong!  I've sold quite a few on eBay, but still have 2 totes full - and that's not even counting the unmounted stamps.  Interested?

This happened today...

Today I took a giant step and donated a foot of my hair. Yup, 12 inches of years of growing time...gone in one snip!  BUT, I love it.  I got a cute angled bob that will be perfect for the upcoming summer and camping season.  Easy to deal with, no ponytails required and looks cute too!  You can see the after photo here.

Chickadee Chow

The birds are starting to eat us out of house and home!  Thank goodness we had a few nice days to melt off the snow so they could go find some of their own food again instead of raiding the feeders constantly. Robins have been spotted already and the wrens are starting to nest { one pair in our porch roof that has a warping board }.  Spring is on the way!

Awaiting Warmer Winds

I received my new 50 - 200mm lens for my Samsung NX300 today and, though it wasn't required for a sunset shot, I happened to be out back testing it out as the sun was setting.  I couldn't pass up this beautiful, brilliant sky with the silhouette of my laundry line with two lonely clothespins hanging on the lines.  It really was a fantastic sunset. Soon I'll be able to line dry our clothes again.

Absorbing Some Vitamin D

There's L.B. in his sun spot again. He's gotten us trained to opening up the curtains in the afternoon since this is the only window/door that let's in the sun light directly for him to lay in.  Charlie happened to be at the house when this photo was taken so L.B. was keeping a weary eye on him and keeping his monkey head close...

Go Cards!!!

Saturday we went to hang out with friends to watch the Louisville vs. UConn game, eat some good food, have some adult beverages and just hang out.  The weather was beautiful, the game was great ( Louisville won ), the food was yummy and it was an all around fun time, as usual. Love hanging with my buds!

Friend Time!

A typical Friday night during the cold weather months - hanging out with our good friends Christina & Charlie, who live just up the street from us. We usually get together at least once, often more, during the weekend for dinner or just to hang out.  In the summer I spend most weekends at their pool and starting this spring and fall, and some of summer, we will be doing several weekend camping trips.  Good times to come!

Border Patrol

Giant Dawg makes his rounds several times a day around the perimeter of the yard to ensure all is in good order.  He's an inside dog, but loves his yard and makes sure all is protected. He'll chase anything out that doesn't belong ( birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc - or kill them if he catches them ), but anything that is inside that belongs he protects very well.  Even when we had the chickens he knew they were to be protected, not eaten, which is rare for a Pyrenees ( they are well known to kill chickens, even on their own turf ).  He's a good boy - stubborn, but good.

Idle

This was taken today while I was sitting at a complete standstill on I-71.  I had a 3:00 appointment about 45 minutes away so I left the house at 1:30 to give myself time to stop by the post office and to make sure I got to my appointment a bit early ( I hate being late ).  However, the three semi wrecks on 71 made me realize I was going to have to reschedule my appointment once it was about 2:45 and I had only gone 3.5 miles.  Another 45 minutes later and I had made it the full 6 miles to the next exit.  I figured I was already out so I hit up Kroger to do grocery shopping for the next week - and forgot it was the first Wednesday of the month, which is senior citizen day at Kroger.  So, it took me double the time to do my shopping due to the influx of elderly folk clogging up the isles and moving at a snails pace on their little mobile carts. ( I have no issues with elderly folk - I'll be one before I know it - I just try to avoid Kroger on senior day. )  I finally made it back home...and had a beer!  :)

On my mind... And on my feet!

063/365 - { On My Mind }

Today's FMSPhotoADay was "On my mind".  Well, when Lois Lane is laying on my feet she is certainly also on my mind.  She's, eh, gained a few pounds.  But I'll take snuggle time with her any way I can get it.  :)

Oh Deer!

This is one of the three deer ( I call them the Three Stooges ) that come through the yard almost every day - morning and evening.  Tonight I noticed them all up  close to the house digging through the partially melted snow.  The sun was getting ready to go behind the trees and the lighting was wonderful!  What wasn't so wonderful was my very dirty basement windows and a screen over said dirt.  But I did what I could, knowing they would run off if I opened the back door.  Still didn't turn out half bad.  (Plus Instagram doesn't help by diminishing photo quality).

Playing Catch up

Over the weekend I started catching up with the last season of Dexter, which I quit watching when our DVR suddenly quit recording it.  Luckily I've been able to locate the rest of the season and have started working my way through the last few episodes.

Say Cheese!

060/365 - {Yellow}

Back when I had pet rats I used to collect Charming Tails figurines. I don't really collect them anymore, but won't get rid of the ones I have either.  I have about 10 of them that sit on a knickknack shelf in my bedroom.  Most of them came from Jason, Portia and my mom over the years.  For days when I get stuck on photo ideas I turn to the #fmsphotoaday list on Instagram for some inspiration.  Today's theme was "yellow".