What's for dinner: Baked Reuben

Reuben Crescent Bake

2 tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 pound sliced Swiss cheese
1-1/4 pounds sliced deli corned beef
1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
2/3 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
1 egg white, lightly beaten
3 teaspoons caraway seeds

Unroll one tube of crescent dough into one long rectangle; seal seams and
perforations. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake
at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Layer with half of the
cheese and all of the corned beef. Combine sauerkraut and salad dressing; spread
over beef. Top with remaining cheese. On a lightly floured surface, press or
roll second tube of crescent dough into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle, sealing seams
and perforations. Place over cheese. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with caraway
seeds. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until heated through and crust is golden
brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 8 servings.
Source ~ Taste of Home

Some days the Dragon wins.

For the most part I am positive person mostly just because I refuse to be any other way. For ages the kids told me "It is what it is" should be my tag line. I figure there is no point in worrying yourself to death over things you have no control over so why bother. Why not just make the best of what comes your way.

Most days even now with my job just gone. I have a pretty good outlook. I figure I will find something else. Who knows maybe it is time for me to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. So I plan and I job search and I enjoy this short time I have at home because it really isn't something I have done before. Maybe I should start a business, write a book, move to a new place, go back to school shoot my options seem almost unlimited. Most Days.

But some days getting dressed seems like a waste (it isn't like I have anywhere to go and it is cold outside). Some days I am sick of career builder and indeed and monster looking at a ton of jobs I don't want (even though I realize the job I want doesn't exist anymore because with no notice they closed the door). Some days doing anything but sitting on the couch reading or watching TV requires more than I have to give.

So as I have been having one of those days today I was thinking you know what that is okay. More days than not I am the victor. I get up get dressed and find something productive to do. Most of the time I feel pretty good all things considered. So maybe I will take today and have a little pity party. And that is okay cause tomorrow I will get up and start again. Today maybe the Dragon wins but tomorrow I will be victorious.

17 years

So today Dan and I have been married 17 years. I meant to post wedding pictures on here but I haven't unpacked all the boxes and the album with our wedding pictures is one of the boxes I haven't unpacked. Yes I know we moved last May but I just haven't made it that far yet.

So anyway 17 years.

I don't even know what to say to be honest with you. Some days it seems like there is no way it has been that long and then again I can't imagine a time when it wasn't the two of us. So I think what I will do is just make a list of 7 things I like about being married to Dan. Why 7? Cause 10 is just too main stream LOL

1. He is funny. Seriously funny. People underestimate the value of being with someone who makes them laugh but they shouldn't cause it is awesome.

2. He knows what I mean even when I don't know what I mean.

3. He is great dad.

4. He is so good when I get a little crazy and kind of lose my mind. He is the calm to my storm.

5. He has a way of keeping my feet on the ground without making me feel tied down.

6. He will let me go on and on about stuff I know he doesn't care about. Like chickens and scrapbooking and Montana and pinterest.

7. Because being married to my best friend is the very best possible way I can think of to spend the next 17+ years!

Spoken Word Poetry

I have always loved poetry. Now I feel like I should clarify the whole love poem type thing people usually think of isn't really my cup of tea. I don't have collections of "How do I love thee let me count the ways" kinda poetry. I like things a little darker. A little more macabre. I think it probably started with Poe. Because I loved his stories I read his poems and from there I was hooked. Then I read In the Desert by Stephen Crane. Most people know he wrote Red Badge of Courage but have no idea he wrote poetry. But In the Desert is my all time favorite because it was the first poem I loved enough to memorize. 
Here it is for anyone who hasn't read it:

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter – bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

Over the years I haven't had the time to read much poetry. It isn't mainstream. It isn't published much anymore and it takes time to search out new stuff. But being off work right now and having nothing to do but peruse You Tube for part of the day I have fallen in love with Spoken Word Poetry. I wish I lived near enough to a large area so I could go to some of the Poetry Slams. So here are a few of my favorites so far just to give a taste of what I have found. 

For Just Such a Time as This

Do you ever wish you were born in a different time? 

It seems to me that things used to simpler. I mean I am talking like Little House on the Prairie or Mayberry simple. Back when values counted for something. When innocent wasn't a bad thing. I know it wasn't really easy then. I do. But I also think it is harder now. Harder to be a kid. Harder to be a parent.

I just saw a post on Facebook about girls posting nude pictures of themselves on Instagram and someone mentioned guys taking pictures of other guys in the locker room without them not knowing and posting them online.  Seems like I read a similar story once a week now.

Technology. Man the geek in me loves technology. I love the internet. I love Facebook as a way to keep up with family and friends who are far away. I love it to pay bills and to get info immediately. For me, I love that everything is right at my fingertips. I love my smart phone. I have Pinterest while in the store to look at recipes and GPS so I never get lost. My music and books all in one place!

As a mom I hate technology. The internet is like inviting strangers right into my house.  It provides a scary way for others to hurt my kids and a way for my kids to unintentionally hurt themselves. Cell phones can be great. I love being able to get a hold of them any time I want. But the fact that pictures and texts can be sent instantaneously with no time to think it through . No time to wonder if posting that was a good idea or not. No time to wonder if the person you are communicating with is who they say they are. No do overs. Once it is out there it is out there FOREVER!

I wish this wasn't the world I was raising my kids in. It is crazy out there. As I was reading those post I was thinking that I wish it was a different time. A time when it doesn't seem like everyday things are spirally further and further away from what is good and closer and closer to what is ugly. But then I remember:

For just such a time as this.

I think of Esther 4:14 when another woman thought she was the wrong person at the wrong time. But Esther was placed in exactly the place God wanted her in exactly the time He wanted her there. Did God "need" Esther to do what she did? No of course not. God could have used what ever method He wanted to accomplish his plan. But when the call came Esther answered.

I wasn't born in the wrong time. My kids were meant to be kids right now in the middle of this craziness we live in. I was meant to be a parent right now. We are right where we are supposed to be. Don't get me wrong things are going to happen the way they are supposed to with or without me.  But I pray as things get crazier and as things get harder that I will be open to being a part of God's plan because I know I was born for just such a time as this.

Bill

Today I want to say Happy Birthday to a very special man. I love you Bill and I am so grateful that you are a part of our family and a part of our life. 

Resolutions

I know a lot of people make New Years Resolutions. I never really have been much of one to make them. However this year is a little different. I am planning to make some changes. Big changes. Not because of the New Year Year but because of the change in our life style now that I no longer employed. Now don't get me wrong I am not making these changes because I am unemployed because I hope that situation will not last long :) I am making them because the last weeks of being at home have given me time to look at our life and see how being so busy has allowed us to get off course.

So that said here are my New Life Resolutions:


1. Dinner at 6 pm. At the table. Everyone!

2.  I am going to use my membership at the YMCA. The class times for what I wanted never worked with my work schedule but for now (at least until I find a job) I can go what ever time I choose.

3. I need to plan our meals and go to the store for 2 weeks at a time like I used to. Not only was it cheaper but it was way less frustrating.

4. I am going to get involved at church. We have been going but not really plugged in. We chose a church 30 minutes away from the house. I really do believe this is the church we are supposed to be at but that said I have to stop using the drive as an excuse not to go for extra things.

There are other things I need to change and other things I want to do but I figure this should be enough for now. We will see how these go.

A Word of the Year

So some of my friends are choosing a word of the year. I thought about doing that. I like the idea of having a single word I could use as a touchstone. The closing of the company I worked for has left me at lose ends. There are options to weight and decisions to make. Decisions. I hate making decisions so having a word weigh these choices against might be good.

Then I remembered... I chose a word of the year last year. I am pretty sure I did. I am almost positive I did. What was the word you ask? I have no idea. I only remember choosing one I don't remember what it was. So I guess I forgot it as quickly as I chose it. That is so like me. I chose a word last year to be the thing I would weigh my actions against and I can't even remember what it was.

Then I decided just because I didn't use the word last year doesn't mean I can't chose one this year. Also so like me. So I decided to try it again. I AM choosing a word this year. But it is more of a goal than a touchstone. I might even say a mission of sorts.

We have lived here for 2 years now. The kids love it here. The worst thing they can think of would be for us to move back to Virginia.
It. Is. All. I. Can. Think. About.
I have held myself apart from this place wishing for home, wishing for my friends, wishing for my church, wishing for my family.

I HAD an excuse. I worked from 5 am to 8 pm pretty much 5 days a week and had to be available on Saturday to take calls. Then on Sunday afternoon I spent a few hours each week setting the schedule for the next week. I didn't have time to meet people. To join clubs or groups. To establish relationships. And even if I had the time I was hesitant. It is hard to be part of a group when you have to excuse yourself every 10 minutes to take a phone call.

Dan and I had discussed how all encompassing the job was. We had talked about the fact that it might be time to move on to something new.I just hadn't decided for sure when the company made my decision for me and closed its doors.

I didn't lose myself because of the job. I knew who I was I just didn't have time to BE myself. I have missed that person who loves people, volunteer work, scrap booking, crafts, and book clubs. Two years I have lived in this place and I don't even know if those things exist here.

This was all brought home to me yesterday. This town I live in is small. Very small. I decided to run by the library to get something to read and I couldn't find it. I know generally where it is but I just wasn't sure which road I needed to turn down. Two years. I have been in this town two years and I have never been in the post office. I have been to the library once.

I have time now. Time to do things. Time to meet people. No excuses.

So my word of the year this year will be COMMUNITY. Its time for me to find one.