Murder By Cheesecake and Maybe Happy Ending

 I finally finished a book LOL  It only took me about 2 months this time, so I'm getting faster.  Maybe.  Oh, well.  Still, I got it done.  That makes it sound more like a chore than something for fun but I did actually enjoy it.  It was a mystery called Murder By Cheesecake.  It's a novel by Rachel Ekstrom Courage and based on the characters from The Golden Girls.  It appears that this will be a series of mysteries involving the four ladies.  I enjoyed it but I didn't love it.  The author tries very hard to put in references from the show and those parts really fell flat.  Timing was a key element of the tv show and sometimes that does not translate to the written form.  The author did best when she took those basic characteristics that we already knew and built upon them.  There were times that I laughed out loud from something creative she added.  I will probably read more in the series to see how thing evolve.

Last night, Marcia and I went to see Maybe Happy Ending at the Tanger Center.  I got tickets through their lottery system.  We were literally in the last row of the theater.  I really didn't mind that but do wish we had been a little closer.  No big deal.  But the show was utterly charming.  I knew nothing about it, which is always fun for me going to see a show.  It is the story of 2 retired robots who journey together to an island. One to find his former owner and the other to fulfill a dream.  Along the way, their friendship grows and becomes something deeper. I was very entertained and I recommend anyone seeing it when it comes by your area.

That's been about it for my fun list lately.  I have cooked some new recipes that I have enjoyed and will share them on my blog later on. I am hoping to go hear a concert Monday evening and then spend next weekend with Dad for his birthday.  The weekend after that I have a few days off so I am figuring out something fun to do.  I'll keep you posted!

Recipe of the Week - Jalapeño Chicken

 Sometimes I will look for a recipe based on what I've got on hand so that I can use it up and not waste it.  This recipe was one of those.  I had an open jar of sliced jalapenos in my fridge and some chicken in the freezer I wanted to use.  The internet search resulted in this recipe from Allrecipes.com.  I really enjoyed it and it was not too spicy for me so it will go into my recipe canon.  

Jalapeno chicken with garlic lime cabbage

Jalapeno Chicken

6-8 boneless chicken thighs

1 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp Honey

Juice from 1 lime

1/4 cup minced jalapenos*

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

Mix broth, honey, lime juice and jalapenos over medium heat.  Cook down until thickened and syrupy.

Mix spices together.  Coat chicken in rub and arrange on a baking sheet.  Cook 15 minutes at 400.  Baste with broth mixture.  Cook 15 more minutes.  Baste again.  Cook 10-15 more minutes. 

*the original recipe called for 1/2 jalapeno minced.  I just guessed the translation into pre sliced jalapenos and this seemed to work well. 

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Bring a sense of friendliness to your mistakes.  Be gentle and kind to yourself. 

Romans 12:18

 Easier said than done but if we all at least tried, things would be so much better for mankind.

Keeping an ideas notebook

 I am thinking that I want to start keeping a notebook of ideas for writing.  An actual notebook that I keep on hand with me at all times so that I can jot down story ideas.  I get ideas in my head all of the time and having a notebook with me to jot those ideas down will be helpful.  When I don't actually write it down, it gets stored in my brain and will pop back up in my memories from time to time but I believe that writing it down will motivated me to actually flesh out the story ideas. 

I have three different ideas that I am constantly thinking about for writings.  One is a cookbook.  People have been encouraging me to do that so that is a definite idea I want to explore.  I'm working on pieces based on where I work and the experiences that I have had in senior living.  And I'm working on creating a place of goodness. I think about the kind of place that I would ideally like to live in and have been figuring out the details of that.  Having a notebook to write down notes about each of those ideas would be helpful.

I don't want to keep notes on my phone.  While in some ways that would be helpful...the ease of technology and all that blah blah, I would rather go through the physical act of writing it down.  For one, my phone is old and doesn't really have the kind of room on it I would need for extensive note taking.  But also, if I write it down, I am more likely to build upon it.  I only say this because I know how I work and taking the time to write it out will be more beneficial.

So, I will find myself a notebook to keep near me all the time.  It may not turn out anything, but it can't hurt!

You're a nice guy but...taking control of how I spend my time

 

One of the nice things about being single is that I am in control of my time.  I am in control of my schedule and how I spend my time.  Honestly, that was never the case when I was with someone.  Part of that was due to social obligations and part of it was due to my expectations of myself withing the boundaries of that relationship.  And those are not bad things to have be a part of one's life.  Being in a relationship comes with certain expectations that need to be met in order to thrive as a couple. But I am no longer a part of a couple and so I need to remind myself that my time is my own.

That may sound like such an obvious statement.  In some ways, it is.  But you need to remember that I spent almost 15 years with a time schedule that relied on another person.  And when you are definitely the caregiver in the relationship, how you spend your time becomes less and less about you and more about the other person and the two of you as a couple.  Again, there's nothing inherently wrong with that and honestly, I enjoyed that aspect of my relationships over the years. Now that I am not in a relationship, I am discovering that being in control of how I spend my time is a wonderful form of self-care.

It has taken me several years to get to the point that I can do what I want when I want.  As you have heard me talk about before, I have been a list person for most of my adult life.  It works for me.  But within the confines of a relationship, those lists became the guiding factor of every day of my life.  If I drifted away from the list, I felt lost because I feared it would negatively affect my relationship. So, I never did that.  I stuck to the routine. I stuck to the lists that defined my contributions to my relationship.  And I have since realized that this was not the healthiest thing to do.  

Now I am in a relationship with myself and learning to take back control of my own time has been pretty eye opening.  Relearning that I can spend my time exactly as I want to have made me much more relaxed in many ways.  Yes, there are times that I do make a list these days because there are things that I need to get done and putting them in list form is now a reminder of those things and not a rigid schedule.  I can appreciate that much more now. This past week, I have come home from work and asked myself each day what I wanted to do.  Some nights I cooked, some nights I just sat and watched tv.  I did not feel like I needed to constantly be doing something productive to show my worth to myself.  My worth is coming from doing what I want to, when I want to.

It's a good feeling. 

It's Never That Easy/I've Been Here Before - Closer Than Ever

 I have not thought about this duet for a long time but it popped into my brain earlier today.  Closer Than Ever is a great revue with a lot of fantastic music in it.  I used this song as the finale in the first revue I directed in college. Oh, those were the days!