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It’s Another Installment of When Travel Man’s Away

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Well friends I feel the need to share another saga in the “when travel man’s away” category. So Monday I’m all set to go and do some errands, a little browsing at Michael’s (one of my fave craft supply hangouts), and maybe stop for an ice cream treat. My car had other plans for my afternoon. I start the car, put the windows down, and clunky, clunk, clunk. I pushed the button to put see of it would go up, and nothing. So, off to the car dealer I went, with the window down. Luckily I could get there without going on the freeway. Oi! A quick call to Travel Man to let him know what had happened. “Just go to the dealer”, he says, ” Nothing else you can do for that one.”. Funny thing was Travel Man had taken the other car to LAX on Sunday so I didn’t have the extra car here like I normally would. I just love it when good ‘ol Murph pays a visit!

I get to the dealer safe and sound, get myself checked in with my favorite service guy, Jose, and leave the car overnight. I had talked to my Mom after this and she said, “Oh that can be a pricey fix.”. And it was. Just under $500 out the door. I did talk Jose down 50 $$ on the cost of the part, but ouch. And I didn’t even get to go on my little shopping expedition. I’ll save that for another day.

Just a friendly reminder that stuff can happen when you least expect it. It’s just a matter of taking care of business and moving on. And of course I want Travel Man to know that I am extremely capable of taking care of these things at home, so he doesn’t worry about it. That’s part of my Domestic Goddess job description you see. Happy Wednesday everyone, now let’s get through the rest of this week.

One comment Posted in Travel Man

Illuminating Blogger Award

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This is going to be a great week. This girl is starting the week with a blog award nomination. I have been nominated for the Illuminating Blogger Award by C.J at FoodStories. Thanks so much for recognizing my blog. It’s fun to share recipes and get food ideas from so many sources on the internet. It’s seems like your weekly menu planning can never get dull and boring with so many resources available.

It has been so much fun writing and sharing my stories of life, food, motherhood and grandmahood. There are so many things to learn about blogging and writing. Sometimes I feel like a big sponge soaking up all of the information available at my fingertips. Finding out that people like to read what you are writing about is just the icing on the cake.

In the spirit of the award here is some randomness about me. My adult life until last August was all about work and family. Sometimes I would get the priority of those two things mixed up, have to stop, breathe and re-focus myself. This can happen to you when all of your kids are in their twenties, like mine are. Now I am love, love, loving my new-found title of “domestic goddess”, coined by my husband, Travel Man. There’s not a whole lot that can compare to setting your own schedule, and doing what you want, when you want.

To my fellow bloggers – there are so many blogs I enjoy reading. If I list my top five they would be (in no particular order):

1) the thing about joan – Wonderful Mom stories. Reminds me of my days with 4 kids in tow, going everywhere.

2) Rantings of an Amateur Chef – Love the presentation of recipes here, and the stories that go along with them.

3) Shutterbug Sage– Such a great collection of pictures. I love photography, and love looking at the world through another photographer’s eye.

4) Maggiesonebuttkitchen – What a plethora of recipes to choose from. I am looking forward to making some of Maggie’s recipes over the summer. Yum, yum.

5) Meg Travels– Meg has great pictures of her travel adventures, and I love reading her tips and tricks for great travel experiences.

To accept your nomination please go this link at Food Stories.

Thanks again CJ for this nomination. It’s really fun writing and exploring other bloggers sites, and learning about what’s interests people. Happy writing and exploring to all.

One comment Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Travel Man

One Lovely Blog Award

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Renee Spindle

I am pleased as punch to share with everyone that I have received a nomination for the “One Lovely Blog Award”. My fellow blogger, Joan, at thethingaboutjoan has graciously nominated me for this award. Joan’s writing is from the heart, and I love how she writes about her experiences day in and day out with her kids. Thanks Joan!

My domestic Goddess status has given me the freedom in the last year to learn about blogging and writing my little life’s stories. So far it has been a wonderful journey working on writing and sharing little bits and pieces of my family’s life.

In the spirit of this award here are 7 things you may find interesting about me:

1) I just discovered how much I love writing in this past year. So far it has been a pretty eye-opening experience for me.

2) My sister is my best friend. We don’t live close to one another, but we are learning how much we can lean on each other. Hugs to you Laura!

3) Becoming a Grandma is one of life’s experiences that you can’t really explain in words to someone else. You just having to experience it!

4) Being married to a road warrior is a challenge, but it is a challenge that I accept and embrace.

5)There is no single word to describe how incredible it is to be able to help your parents with anything they need, when they have ALWAYS been there for you. Love you Mom & Dad!!

6) Painting any room in my house is a hobby I love, love, love.

7) My brother and I played a guitar duet in the mall for our guitar recital, many, many moons ago. Remember this Jim?

And now for the good stuff, these are a few blogs that I enjoy following:

Maggiesonebuttkitchen – What a plethora of recipes to choose from. I am looking forward to making some of Maggie’s recipes over the summer. Yum, yum.
Meg Travels– Meg has great pictures of her travel adventures, and I love reading her tips and tricks for great travel experiences.
Shutterbug Sage– Such a great collection of pictures. I love photography, and love looking at the world through another photographer’s eye.
Grandma’s Briefs– Lisa’s intriguing stories of the Grandma life are very relatable, as I have one grandson, and another grandchild on the way.
The Suburban Cook– Kim has an amazing way of writing about her cooking, and intertwining her life happenings with her food experiences.
Joan on the Road – This is my Mom’s blog page. My parents live in their RV fulltime, and my Mom has a wonderful way of drawing you into her stories.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef – Love the presentation of the recipes here. Makes me want to get into the kitchen right away.

The guidelines for accepting this award are as follows:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Nominate about 15 other blogs that you enjoy.
4. Let the nominees know that you chose them. There’s no pressure to accept, just do what feels good.

Thanks again Joan for the nomination. I’m looking forward to checking out your fave blogs, and finding some new peeps to follow. Happy writing to all!

5 comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Family, Recipes

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Hello friends, I just realized that I posted my 100th blog post today!! Yay for me. what a nice way to end the month of May. I never knew how much I would enjoy writing and sharing my stories and tales with all of you. It is truly fun, and has opened up a whole new world to me.

So cheers to my blog today-

Now onward and upward to the next 100 posts!! Stay tuned for more stories and recipes to come. Grab your cup of coffee and come and join me.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging

White Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Renee Spindle

As promised I wanted to share the recipe for the white sauce enchiladas. This is a long-standing family favorite recipe. Totally yummy chicken enchiladas drenched in a white sauce. My niece, Mary, made this dish recently for our Red Sauce Chicken Enchilada Family Fiesta! This recipe came to the family from Mary’s mom many moons ago, and we still love to make it year after year.

And now here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1c. chopped onion ½ c. chopped green pepper

2 TBSP butter or margarine 2 c. chopped, cooked chicken or turkey

1 (4oz) can of green chilis ¼ c. flour

3 TBSP butter or margarine ¾ tsp. salt

1 Tsp ground coriander 1 C. sour cream

2-1/2 c. chicken broth 12 -6” tortillas or small corn tortillas

1-1/2 c. Monterey jack cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan cook onion and green pepper in 2 TBSP of butter until tender.
Combine in a bowl with chopped chicken and green chilis, and set aside.
In the same saucepan melt the 3 TBSP of butter, and blend in flour, coriander, and salt to make a rue.
Stir in the chicken broth all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream, and ½ c. of the cheese.
Stir ½ cup of the sauce into the chicken.
Dip each tortilla into remaining sauce to soften; fill each with about ¼ c. of the chicken mixture.
Roll up and arrange rolls in a 13 x 9″ pan.
Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered in a 350° oven for 25 minutes, or until bubbly.
Note: when baking for a crowd you can double layer the enchiladas in a 13 x 9” pan.

Of course if you are making this dish for a crowd as I sometimes am you can double, triple or quadruple as needed. And you can also cut the recipe in half to make a nice 8×8″ baking dish, just for one or two. The flavors in this recipe are amazing. The coriander really brings all of the flavors together. I like using this corn tortilla for this recipe. The are smaller, and really blend much better with the flavor of the sauce. Just put on your chef’s hat, gather your ingredients and get to work. Enjoy.