You Take the Mallow...

Camping.

I used to go camping with my family several times a year.  But I would say the last time I went was, oh, over 10 years ago.  And Matt couldn't even remember if he had ever been camping.  We're more hotel kind of people, you know?  T.V.  Warm bed.  Showers. 

Clearly you can see where this is going.

We got to the campground Saturday morning and hustled to get up the tent.  We saw rain on the horizon and the winds were picking up.  Lucky for you, I volunteered to document the process instead of really "helping." 

 

Look at my honey hammering away!  He's a natural!

 

All done!  Isn't it huge?  Apparently it can fit 9 people.  I beg to differ...but 4...yes.

 

 I helped build those doors by the way.  No really.  I did.

 

Okay, I did a lot more of this.  But I was on vacation!

After we set up the tent, we headed out to find some lunch.  Geneva on the Lake is a really cute little town that I'm sure is all hustle and bustle during the summer time.  On a cold, May, early afternoon.  Not so much. We stopped in the only open food joint, Eddie's.  It was awesome.

 

 

And then we saw this sign.  Classy.  And yes, we're planning a trip back.

After lunch, we headed out to the wineries.  There were billions to choose from (yes billions) so we went with some recommendations I got from a friend.  So glad we did!  

 

Do you see all the cheese?  $8.  I know! Insanely good deal.

 

If you didn't know, my husband does not drink.  At all.  So at this point in our adventure he was starting to get a little annoyed.  What a good sport, huh?

Back to the campground we went...hoping our tent was still standing from the monsoons we just witnessed.  It was.  

We played a few games and then decided it was time to start the fire and make dinner.

   

I did this instead of help with the fire.  Hey, I did set up all four chairs there in the background....which involved taking them out of their bags and unfolding them.  Don't give me that face.  There were FOUR!

 

Did I mention yet it was freezing?  Okay, just checking.

 

Check out the hot dog I made all by myself!

 

S'mores!!  The whole reason I came!  Oh, and to spend time with my family...blah, blah, blah.

Now, the nighttime was when this whole camping thing got a little sketchy.  Sister and BIL were kind enough to loan Matt and me two twin air mattresses that we pushed together.  Which was great in theory.  But in order for me to stay warm in my three layers + winter coat...I had to be touching Matt at all times.  Seriously.  And do you think the two of us can fit on a twin mattress?  Answer, no.  So I slept in the "crack" almost all night.  And then it was Matt's turn.  I remember waking up in the middle of the night and having this conversation:

Jenny:  "I hate camping."

Matt:  "Me too."

Jenny:  "Next time we come here we're staying at The Lodge."

Matt:  "Yeah, we're more room service kind of people."

So after maybe 2 hours of sleep, we woke up, made some breakfast by the fire, and packed up.  How we got that huge tent back into that little bag, I will never know.

So will we be going camping again anytime soon?

Perhaps.

Maybe in July.

Charlie Bit Me

Has anyone else seen this??

At first I thought it was stupid. 

But then I was forced to listen to the second video and have been cracking up ever since.

Ha!  My favorite part is when Charlies just laughs and laughs...

And who doesn't love a British accent?

Casino Royale

Last weekend, my sister and her hubs came to visit!  They arrived right when I got off work so we had some time Friday afternoon to hang.  Although the cupcake shop we went to only had three left...all Lemon Blueberry by the way (yuck!), we still had a nice time.  I showed off our model home and we picked up some last minute camping supplies.  Read: candy.

Friday evening we headed over to one of the mansions on the east side for a Junior League fundraiser.  It was a casino night...which ended up being kind of lame...but we still had a good time.  Even if I did have to watch two magicians.  Am I the only one who is creeped out by magicians?  And even if I can't figure out how, I know they're fake...so I think they're just liars.  Matt insists they're magic.  I insist he is also a liar.

This was the view from the back door of the house.  Gorgeous, huh?

Dave and I paid $10 to do a wine pull...and pulled a wine worth $14.79!  We kept telling everyone how we made money, but Matt was insistent that we actually lost $10.  He's lame.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to go camping!  To say the car was full would be an understatement. 

And because somehow all of the rest of my pictures did not upload...I will leave you in suspense until tomorrow about how the camping adventure went.

But I will give you a hint. 

Rain.

60 mph winds.

Low 30's at night.

To my Mama

Happy Mother's Day Mama!

I so wish you and Dad could've come up this weekend so we could see you on your very special day.  But don't worry.  We'll all be home for Memorial Day to celebrate with you!!

But here are some flowers to tide you over...

source

Aren't they lovely??  So springy and beautiful!!

Don't worry.  Your real gift is much better :)

I love, love, love you!!

Your favorite daughter,

Jenny


Just kidding, just kidding.

The Great Outdoors

Today is a very exciting day.

Yes, it's Friday.  Which is always exciting.  But this is better than just that.

My sister is coming today!  Yeah!

A 3 p.m. I get to see her face.  We're meeting to get cupcakes!  Then I'm going to show her the model for our new home!  Whoopie!!

Her and her husband are coming for a Junior League event tonight called Jokers and Jackpots.  It has something to do with casino games and wine.  I'm only interested in the latter, but to each his own, right?  Apparently there is some raffle where I could win a ton of wine.  Like 50 bottles or something.  I don't know.  It's a lot.

Sold.  I'm in.  Where do I sign up?

After our night out on the town, the four of us are going camping tomorrow!!  The weather has been so beautiful so we were really looking forward to it.  But check out the forecast for tomorrow:

Do you see all of that rain?  And the high of 52?  Why the face Saturday?  Why the face?

So cross your fingers I get to sit by the fire and eat s'mores for at least some of our trip...or I will not be a happy camper. Ha!  Get it?  We're going camping?  *crickets*

Anyways...

I hope everyone has a fantastic Mother's Day weekend!!

XOXO

PW's Sloppy Joes...A La Jenny

As I said the other day, I recently moseyed my way over to Pioneer Woman's website (or "that Pilgrim blog friend of yours" as my husband so lovingly referred to her...like she's really my friend...yeah right) to check out what all the fuss was about.  What I found was incredibly detailed recipes with yummy ingredients so I thought I would take this week to give some of them a try.  And lucky for you, I'm sharing!

Tonight was Sloppy Joes!  And the day after I just talked to Shaina about cutting back on red meat.  Ah well.  Maybe tomorrow?  I've linked directly to Pioneer Woman's recipe so head on over there if you want the real thing.  But I'll give you my own step by step instructions and a few things I changed up...so stick around.  Trust me.  I used butter.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Butter

1 1/4 lbs. Ground Beef

1/2 Large Onion, Diced

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, Diced

5 cloves Garlic, Minced

3/4 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup Water

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard

1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Worcestershire Sauce

Tabasco Sauce

Salt and Pepper

Hamburger Buns

Garlic and Herb Butter

 

Prep:

 Add butter to a large skillet over medium high heat. PW suggests a dutch oven, however I halved her recipe so I went with the large skillet instead.  Plus, that darn dutch oven weighs approximately 35 lbs. without food in it...so the more I can avoiding lugging out that thing the better.  Even though it is quite pretty...

 

I must admit, I was a little skeptical using the butter.  I have never used butter to cook my meat, but PW is really smart.  So I listened.  And you should too.

Add ground beef and cook until brown. 

Drain the fat and discard.

 

 I drained all of the fat, going against PW's advice.  That was perhaps a mistake.  I should've known.  When cooking the veggies, I was left with no fat which made the process take a little longer...and I am certain I lost some yumminess down the drain...but my booty will probably thank me.  Someday.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes or until vegetables begin to get soft.  I cooked them for approximately 6 minutes, but remember, I had no fat to work with.  Just keep testing the tenderness of the veggies to be sure when to move on.  I should also mention I used way more garlic than was originally called for, but that's just how we roll.  Go with it.

 

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, and water.

 

Stir to combine.  Here I also added several shakes of Worcestershire and Tabasco.  Don't be scared.  Just do it.  Oh.  And salt and pepper.  

Also, I just noticed I was supposed to simmer this for 15 minutes here.  Oops.  I missed that part.  Clearly it was not necessary...but do what you wish!

Now, to toast the buns or not to toast the buns?  Hm.  Is dirtying another pan worth it?  Answer = yes.  I used a griddle and buttered up the buns with this little beauty I found as Costco.  DELICIOUS!

Oh yeah.

Spoon meat mixture over the buns.

This recipe serves 4 and is a perfect meal for the two of us with a day of leftovers tomorrow.  And it was just delicious.  Totally better than Manwich, which is what I usually use when "making" Sloppy Joes.  I didn't find it spicy at all, even with the red pepper flakes, chili power, and Tabasco.  In fact, I tasted mostly Worcestershire.  Maybe next time I would increase the heat just a touch, but we are a family of spicy eaters...so taste before you increase!

Hope everyone enjoys!

The Calm Before the Storm

• I survived 10 miles on Saturday.  It was tough.  How I'm ever going to make 20...I will never know.

• You see a lot of interesting things on the road when you walk that far.  Dead animals = gross.  I even saw a cat!!  It was awful...

• The birthday party we attended on Saturday was just wonderful!  Tons of friends, yummy, yummy food, and cute babies = success.

• Sunday was spent relaxing and making yummy Oatmeal Scotchies...my husband's request.  He seriously loves those things.  They were delicious!  And they are now safely at work with Matt where I can't get my grubby little hands on them.

• I wanted a cupcake so bad yesterday.  Like I thought I would die if I didn't have one.  I drove all the way to the cupcake shop and then remembered they are closed on Mondays.  It was the worst part of the my day....by far.

• I'm almost halfway done with I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb and I still can't figure out if I like it or not.  Has anyone read it?  What did you think??  

• Dude, that book is long.  900 pages is no joke.

• My sister's coming this weekend...and I could not be more excited!!  

• In three weeks I will be in Florida with my BFF!  Then it's Memorial Day and we're going back home.  Then it's our trip to Texas!  Can't wait!!

• But until then, my life is boring.  So you're going to have to deal with the bullets :)  Love!