Random Thoughts...Food, Firearms, and Fun

I’ve been a Dream Dinners customer in Lancaster, PA for a few years, and have even blogged about my experiences. After last night, I may not be a customer much longer. I received a call yesterday afternoon, indicating that I was the only person in the 6:45 session, and asking if I could come in early. Calls like that are bad business practice. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked to reschedule or arrive early, because I’m the only person in a session. The last time, I rearranged by schedule to arrive early, but it meant adding a lot of driving to my day. This time, I simply could not arrive early. Calls asking customers or guests to arrive early or reschedule are bad. Many of us opt for Dream Dinners because we’re very busy. Asking us to rearrange our schedule just adds additional stress, and part of what Dream Dinners offers is a reduction in stress. When I returned the call, I indicated that I would be there when I could be there. I also said that if it was easi...

Wow, it's been ages since I took time to write! I started a new job a few months ago. It's at another engineering firm, but it's only a few minutes from Mac's job, so that will be nice when we find a new house. It has changed where we are house-hunting a bit. I'm still selling Pampered Chef on the side, and if anyone wants to place an order for anything, I have a fundraiser for Mended Hearts Rescue right now. The link for that is: http://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/wendylunko/guest-landing/8908395822235;jsessionid=C5723B2FD4543152EE0CE5B6A7DEA0BB Mauser is getting along quite nicely with the rest of the pack. Geno gets very possessive of me, but it's usually more that he'll insist on pushing his way in and climbing onto me if Mauser is nearby. Mauser has a good amount of energy for a 10-year-old dog, although in the past few days, it's been obvious that his arthritis is acting up, as he's not wanted to do much but hold down the furniture. He's comf...

I'm always looking for ways to pick up a little extra spending or saving money, so as of this week, I've become a Pampered Chef consultant. If you want to order anything from Pampered Chef, please drop me an email through the contact form, and I'll let you know how to place your order. Before I decided to do this, I participated in a Pampered Chef Freezer Cooking Workshop at a friend's house. I figured it would give me some meal options that I wouldn't have through Dream Dinners, as Mac and I usually order duplicates of some of the Dream Dinners meals. The concept of the Pampered Chef Freezer Cooking Workshop is similar to Dream Dinners, but it is designed to give the consultant some sales, and give everyone who attends a chance to try out some of the Pampered Chef products. The consultant gives you a total for the Pampered Chef Pantry items you'll need to order, and then she handles placing the order. She then also sends you an email listing all of the ingr...

I quit! I’m done being a responsible adult! No, not really, but some days, I wish I could! Some days, I think I should just stay home, curled up in bed with the dogs. Mac and I did a bunch of landscaping over the long weekend. Well, really, we ripped up everything in the flower beds, turned over the soil, and then mulched like crazy. All’s wonderful, except that somehow, I ended up with poison ivy on my right arm. I’m not happy! My arm itches like crazy! I had a follow-up with the rheumatologist yesterday, and we’re trying meds to help me deal with the pain, hoping that perhaps I can get more sleep, etc. While there, I mentioned the poison ivy, and he sent a prescription for some steroidal anti-itch cream, in addition to the pain meds. He sent those in around 4. When I stopped at the pharmacy at 8 PM, they still weren’t ready. Mac was with me, and well, let’s just leave it as we fought the entire way home… I was uncomfortable and unhappy, and he didn’t help matters by not ...

I've realized that while everyone tells you not to sweat the small stuff, at least in my case, it should be, "Don't sweat the bad, small stuff. Embrace the good, small stuff." When Mac and I got married, I knew he'd never send me a dozen roses for every year we were married, or sweep me away for a spur of the moment romantic getaway. That's just not his thing, and being realistic, it's not really my thing either. Roses die, and at least now, with the dogs, spur of the moment is taking them to the dog park on a Saturday after breakfast, rather than heading back home! I'm fine with that. As Mac's said, we're probably two of the most boring people. We don't like drama, we try to avoid drama, and we're content to have quiet nights at home quite often. It's also the little things that make me appreciate him more and more every day. We were having leftovers for dinner last night, and I told Mac that I'd get dinner started once I g...

Friday was my Friday to leave work at 12, and I took full advantage of that. We had friends coming in from Kentucky for the weekend, and I wanted to be sure the house was very clean. Mac met me for lunch, and then we headed home and started cleaning. I tackled the bathroom, kitchen, and living room while he tackled the spare room. Everything was in great shape by 3:30. They got to our house around 7, and we had dinner. John and Laura cooked dinner--bacon-wrapped meatballs, homemade pasta sauce, and spaghetti. It was very yummy, and it was nice to not cook for once! John and Laura arrived in York so early on Friday that they checked in to the hotel Friday, so they could nap, rather than waiting until we were ready for them. While I was disappointed, at least we have a very clean house now! On Saturday, we went to breakfast and a gun show. After the gun show, we all headed back to the house, and Mac gathered up several guns so we could head to the range. We shot handguns first, then ri...

On Sunday, Mac and I transported four puppies, a pug, and a border collie mix that was supposed to be about a year old, but looked more like 6 months, if that! We did our usual Harrisburg to Hamburg run, as Mac was eyeing up a gun at Cabela’s, and it worked well to go scope it out and decide if we were buying it. He sold one of his old rifles that he’s never shot, and fronted his overtime money from working last week, and left with the rifle. It’s his new antelope/mule deer hunting rifle. We save aluminum cans, and rather than throw them in our recycling bin, he saves those and takes them to a scrap dealer occasionally. That’s his baby, and typically, he spends that money however he wants. He took those on Friday, and received $90, so he put that, plus a little extra cash towards it as well. Net out-of-pocket cost=$275. Of that, $200 is his overtime money that we’ll see next payday (yes, I fronted him the money, as we could do it, and I really didn’t want to deal with a trip up th...

It's been so long since I've found the time to write a blog entry! I apologize, but lately, I've been so exhausted that the thought of adding one more thing to my to do list causes me to shudder! My mother is coming to visit this weekend, for the Best Kept Secrets of Berks County Tour. I feel like the house is a disaster (it isn't, but it isn't as clean as I'd like it for company), I'm sure I forgot something when packing my bags for tonight, and I know I'm running on less sleep than I'd like for having to drive and be awake until 10 or 11 tonight! I guess this is where coffee will be welcome! I'm looking forward to having my mother visit, even if I'm stressing about the house! It'll be nice for her to have a weekend away from home, and we'll have a blast! We're staying in Reading tonight, so we can get an early start tomorrow without having to wake up at some horribly early hour! We'll head back home tomorrow, after shopp...

I was mentioned in an article in Lancaster Farming !!! http://www.lancasterfarming.com/Bloggers-Learn-About-Beef--Pasture-to-Plate-#.U3gMhyhpWYs

I’m venturing out on my first Central PA Bloggers event in mid-May, and I’m quite excited. In honor of National Beef Month, which happens to be May, we’ll be visiting a local farm, feedlot, and retail market. We’ll also have lunch with the Agriculture Secretary and a panel discussion with those in the business of raising cattle for food. We eat a fair amount of beef, so I’m interested in really learning how beef goes from standing in a farm field to our table! We hunt, so I know how a deer ends up on our table from the woods, but that’s a little different. We can’t control what a deer eats, nor can we control how old it is when harvested, etc. We can’t control the temperature at which the meat is kept during processing, nor before it reaches our house, whereas I would guess much of that is controlled with beef. Obviously, they can’t control how the beef is handled once it leaves the store, but controlling most aspects of its handling prior to that would make sense. I’m assumin...

I know I don’t spend enough time praising Mac, or thanking him, as in the day-to-day efforts of being DINKS, maintaining the house, taking care of the dogs, and doing rescue transports, things like saying thank you often fall to the wayside. I try to always thank him, but I know I can do better. Likewise, I know far too often, I don’t sing his praises!  He starts his workday before I start mine, as he works four, ten-hour days, yet since we’ve been married, I’ll wake up with him, and I’ll take care of getting coffee ready and packing his lunch. I’m a light sleeper, so it’s not a huge issue that I take care of the coffee and his lunch. I feel like I’m sending him off with a solid meal and his daily coffee, and I know he appreciates it. He routinely thanks me, but lately, he’s taken to cleaning out the coffeemaker before bed, rinsing it out, throwing out the old coffee, and placing a new filter into the basket. He never tells me that he took care of it, so it’s always a ...

It's been raining since early yesterday morning, and it's going to continue raining until at least this evening. Our yard looks like a mud pit, and the dogs are refusing to venture outside! We were supposed to meet a friend in Breezewood to walk the Abandoned Turnpike today, but opted not to do that in this weather. After a Dream Dinners Bacon Breakfast Frittata and coffee, Mac helped me fold the clean laundry, and I started the first load of dirty laundry. That's now in the dryer, and the next load of laundry is in the washing machine. I hate laundry, and as such, it always piles up because I keep delaying doing it. We're having beef barley soup for dinner, along with beer bread. I'm also going to whip up a batch of brownies, although I think those will be taken in to work tomorrow, as a gift to my coworkers. Today is a good day to hunker down and bake. The beef barley soup is from the freezer. I prepared a few batches a few months ago, and this is the last bag...

Since I've been frequenting Dream Dinners for almost two years, I can now easily explain exactly why I love Dream Dinners. I first visited Dream Dinners at the suggestion of a friend, when I inquired about once a month cooking. I was concerned about the logistics of once-a-month cooking, including the logistics of the prep work, doing a large grocery shopping, and storing the food before prepping it. I love cooking, and I love taking care of Mac, knowing that I'm preparing healthy meals, but I hate the prep work, and with our kitchen being so small, I hate the clean-up. If I did the prep work at home, I'd fill both sinks before I'd finished the prep work, and would then need to wash dishes at least once before finishing the prep work. Our rule has always been that if I cook, Mac takes care of the dishes, and if I he cooks, I take care of the dishes. When he and I discussed once-a-month cooking, he was not happy about the thought of all of the cleaning! A friend me...

We currently have about 14 inches of snow since last night, and we are expecting another 3-5 according to the latest weather report. Mac knew by 4 PM yesterday that he'd be home today. My employer first sent an email at 6:15 reporting that we'd have a 2 hour delay, and then at 7:45 sent an email telling everyone to stay home. I've been up since about 7:30, and Mac and I enjoyed a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee, after the dogs enjoyed a frolic outside. Well, Cobaka enjoyed a frolic outside, while Geno ran out, took care of business, and immediately high-tailed it back to the porch. Not a surprise, as Geno loves snuggling in blankets while Cobaka loves colder spots in the house! Around noon, I started working on the Hatch Valley Green Chili with Chicken that's our dinner tonight. I chopped up the chicken and tossed it in the crock pot with the chili starter. We're just having grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch. It's perfect winter weather com...

It's been ages since I've posted, and I apologize, but things have been rather interesting, in a good way! In October, shortly before I left for my first real vacation in 3 years, I decided it was time to look for a new job. I posted my resume on October 14, and had an interview before I left for vacation on October 17. I returned from vacation on October 25, and on October 28, agreed to an interview with another company. I interviewed on November 1, and received a job offer on November 4. I accepted, and started my new position on November 18! I'm loving it!!! I am working longer hours, but I'm loving it, so I don't mind. However, it's why I've not posted an update in ages. I'm still attending Dream Dinners and enjoying it. My January session was yesterday, and I'm anxious to try some of the new meals. My February and March orders are scheduled, and in March, my Eastern Star chapter is hosting a Dream Taste event. I'm so excited to share it wi...

Yesterday was a hellish day, between a lot of things at work, plus 4 different phone calls with the vet. We think Geno has another UTI, and I'd made an appointment with the vet tech for Friday to get a specimen, only to realize that I needed to reschedule. I moved the appointment to last night, which resulted in a phone call from one of the employees to let me know that our regular vet was out of town, and to reassure me about the fill-in vet. I inquired a bit and balked, because well, Geno doesn't do well with new people, and she called me back to reassure me about the vet's qualifications. In the end, we didn't even see the vet, and we won't know until Friday or Saturday if he has a UTI. We go back to the vet on the 9th, so if nothing else, we'll see our normal vet then." As I'd thought I'd be home to make dinner, I'd planned on cooking the Dream Dinners Pub Style Chicken with Mashed Potatoes. I was in the mood for comfort food after a rough ...

For dinner on Wednesday, we tried the Dream Dinners Fully Loaded Chicken & Potato Soup with Breadsticks. This week has been crazy at work, and looking at the cooking instructions, I knew the soup wouldn’t take long to prepare. I simply preheated the oven to bake the breadsticks, heated the bacon until it was crisp, tossed the soup base (mashed potatoes and other yummy things) into a stock pot, allowed that to boil, then added the chicken and potatoes and allowed those to heat. Once it was ready, I topped it with cheese and bacon, and dinner was served! I did add some black pepper to the soup as it was cooking, and Mac added a bit more once he’d tasted it. This was great comfort food, and it was so easy to prepare! I’m hoping this makes it back to the menu in December or January, so I can pick up a few orders of it. It would be great for a snowy day, especially if I had time to allow it to simmer for a while. Dinner last night was the Old Fashioned Meatloaf with Twice Baked Potato...

My test recipe was the Sicilian Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers, served on pretzel rolls. I prepared this for dinner last night, and took the requested survey after we cleaned up from dinner, so that everything was fresh in my mind. Mac and I were underwhelmed, and without changes, wouldn't order this as it currently is prepared. Preparation: The ground turkey was actually individual patties, but when it thawed, they congealed together. This worked just fine, I guess, except that it was rather messy, because I needed to place the meat and spice mixture into a bowl, mix it, then form patties, add the cheese, reform patties, and then cook the burgers. While I realize it would take a bit of time at the store, I'd rather bag each patty individually, add the spices and cheese, and then be able to mix that patty in the bag, so I'd not need a mixing bowl. I'd also not get cheese all over, trying to stuff it into patties. When mixing and forming the patties, my hands became cov...

Mac came with me to my Dream Dinners session on Friday. We had other errands to run out that way, so he agreed to join me. We arrived at 9 AM, which was the start time for the flex session. Mac jumped into preparing the Cattleman's Pie, while I prepared the Crispy French Onion Chicken. As we discussed later, we should have swapped meals! While we were preparing the cooking instructions cards and getting our drawer and freezer space, I was asked if I wanted to try a test recipe. Mac agreed that we should try it, so that was placed on our shelf. I won't spill on that quite yet, as I'll wait until we try it! I love the test recipes, as they are so unexpected, and it really made my day! We'll have that next week, once Mac is back in town. Preparing the meals was easy, as usual, and the session wasn't very busy, so it was nice. Mac and I could work together to prepare the meals. I love that he'll be working on assembling part of a recipe while I'll be working o...

I've been volunteering with an organization for years, and have enjoyed it quite a bit, although at times, my volunteer and work activities seem to clash. I've been swamped at work. I've been working overtime and on weekends, and quite frankly, am looking forward to only having two rescue transports, a wine tasting and pig roast, rehearsal for Eastern Star, and lunch with a friend this weekend. I should add that I'm taking Friday off, as I needed to try to squeeze in Dream Dinners at some point and I simply could not find the time in the next week or so to do that without taking Friday off from work! I'd expressed my schedule to those in charge at the volunteer organization, and had been assured that they understood that work was my first priority. Unfortunately, no one there seems to recognize this, as they keep asking me to do things, and then only after I've completed it and pointed out that I've been swamped, have I received the response of, "Oh, ...