A Fried Chicken Leg?? Can’t Be !!

One morning last fall, in a mad rush to get my daughter to school on time, I left my coveted sidekick – la cell phone` at home.   I don’t know about ya’ll but I NEED my cell.  So like a bat-out-of-hell, I rushed back home before heading into the office.

As I walked towards my house I noticed a really peculiar object lodged between the drain gutter and the house. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I figured it was probably vegetation over growth; seeing as though my husband never seems to clean out the gutters the way I’d like them done.

Anyway, I stopped to take a closer look.

What the Hell Is This?

This Can NOT Be A Fried Chicken Leg!

Yep that’s it……a fried chicken leg (Don’t believe me? Take another look.  Go ahead see for yourself).

But how did it get there?  It can’t be garbage scraps.  I don’t fry foods very often, don’t care for chicken legs and lastly, it has a breading that is sure to be loaded with gluten.  My family had better not be trying to pull a prank on me!!

After getting my cell phone, I looked at the chicken leg again.  Shaking my head in disbelief, I called my hubby. Of course, he didn’t believe me until I sent him the pictures.  It must be our new ‘not’ so friendly neighbors.  What if they were gypsies placing some sort of weird curse on our home because they don’t like our dogs? I gotta be realistic, there are anti-dog people in this world.

I shared my theory with hubby. He laughed and tried to reassure me it was probably a squirrel digging in the garbage to harvest before the winter.  A squirrel?  No way. Besides do squirrels even harvest?

Infamous ‘Chicken Leg Hoarder’ Squirrel

I pondered this notion for a moment.  Hubby might be right, this could be a possibility. We always seem to have an abundance of squirrels living in our tree in the backyard.

Although, I tend to like the gypsy story better.

Jimmy John’s Fiasco

It’s been a year since my gluten free journey began and I’ll be honest – this has been one hellava ride.

It’s not as easy as it seems, going gluten free is more than just eliminating certain foods.  It’s a complete life altering transition.  I’ve read other blogs discuss the excitement in trying new foods.  That might work on some small level but for me; food is social, comfort, and entertaining.

Eating (or the inability to eat) food in social settings has turned my lifestyle upside down.  Exactly what I am I suppose to eat at a professional event? Or when I’m invited to a dinner party with friends?  As much as I would like special treatment, let’s be real the gluten filled foods on the menu are my option – take it or leave it. Not being able to eat in a social setting leaves me feeling like a complete dork.

A few weeks ago, I had a glimmer of hope after ordering the Turkey Unwich (short for a sandwich with no bread) from Jimmy John’s.  I was a little apprehensive during the phone call, as the order taker from Jimmy John’s didn’t seem to understand exactly what I was ordering.  I reassured her that even though it was an odd request, it was a listed item on the menu.

In what seemed like a nanosecond, the Jimmy John’s delivery guy was at my door.  Proudly smiling, the delivery guy handed me a rather heavy package.  Immediately, I knew it was wrong and returned the package to the driver; the smell of the fresh bread was too much for me.  Hey don’t judge me. The smell of warm bread is my weakness. Besides, I never said I didn’t like wheat bread. I called to explain the mix-up and of course I get the order taker who at this point became extremely rude and seemed put off that I even ordered a sandwich without bread; the nerve of me.

It took three delivery attempts to actually get my order right; it was too late I had lost my desire to have the Unwich.  I resorted to a banana and cup of applesauce for lunch. Damnit! Jimmy John’s I knew it was too good to be true.

Wordless Wednesday

What Happen to Spring in Wisconsin?

When it Rains IT Pours

This title is cliché.  But I have bad luck.  Not just some of the time, but seriously – damn near all the time.  So in my world it’s raining – issue after issue.

Do you wanna hear why my luck is so bad today? 

It’s because BOTH my stove and refrigerator are on the fritz and need to be replaced immediately.  This is ridiculous.  I expected a little more life expectancy from them.  Six years is too young to be tossed out to some landfill site.

Last night, I figured something was wrong. I went to grab the bottle of apple juice from the fridge and the temperature was a little lukewarm.  I don’t mind lukewarm beverages especially when I’m thirsty.  But I didn’t figure it to be a temperature/mechanical problem because with the kids it’s hard to determine if the temperature is really the problem or if the kids just stand and stare, at the sometimes bare contents, in the fridge with the door open.

As for the stove, I went to preheat the oven this morning to make some cinnamon rolls for my daughter’s breakfast and it didn’t heat up properly; so much for a quick breakfast this morning. No, I don’t make cinnamon rolls from scratch – in fact I buy then pre-made from Pillsbury.  Don’t judge me.  Hell, I work an intense full-time job.  I ain’t got time for all of that. I’m just happy to be able to give her something to eat in the morning.

I’m pissed about it all. I, with hubby in tow, will be heading out this weekend to make an unplanned, yet timely purchase of appliances.  I’m not so sure if we should get brand new or used.  I was thinking of going to an appliance outlet to see what we might be able to get that is slightly used, scratch and dent.

What are your suggestions?  What brand of appliance works best with a lifecycle more than 3 years? Do you recommend used appliances?