7 Quick Takes [4.12.13]

1. My new bloggy design is finally complete and I L-O-V-E it!  I can't wait for you to see it.  But before it goes live I need to update my About and Family pages.  According to those, I still have but a mere three children.  Once I get to that in the next week to a year the new design will go live.

I also want to mention that I made some changes to my comment section.  For a long time I used IntenseDebate as my third party comment provider.  Although I loved the ease of being able to respond to comments, I know that it was difficult, if not impossible, for some of my readers to post comments.  So with much sadness I uninstalled IntenseDebate which means I've lost all my previous comments.  Insert huge crocodile tears.  But I'm hoping that reverting to Blogger comments will help all of you who struggled in the past.  So please give it a try.  I love responding to comments so the best way to get a response from me is to log in with your Google Account.  If you don't have a Google Account you can use the Name/URL option and enter you email address into the URL field or at the end of your comment.

2. I just need to say how much better I feel after writing yesterday's post.  That just goes to show what I've known all along which is that writing, and this blog, is saving me loads of cash in professional therapy.  Just getting it all out and knowing it happened and that I've been heard is all it really takes.  This morning was already twice as better as any other day this week.  And also, no one has thrown up in 20 hours so there's that.

3. After I published my post last night I happened to glance at an article on MSN about a British woman who wrote and published an article about how her biggest regret in life was having children.  Now I'm all for being honest but the problem I have with being this honest is that the woman used her real name and, worst of all, her children's real names.  Because, while seeming to be a hero for saying aloud what a lot of women already think, what she really did was state right there in writing that she wishes her son and daughter had never been born.  What a way to have to live; knowing that you weren't wanted.

This woman isn't selfish for regretting having children.  She's selfish for having published it for all to read!  The vengeful side of me hopes that, well, I'm just going to stop right here because the Christian side of me says that's the thing to do.

And I would like to say, for the record and especially after yesterday's post, that there hasn't been a single day, how hard it might have been, where I have, even for a nanosecond, regretted birthing any of my four little nuggets.  The end.

4. On the other side of things, have you heard of Gabrielle Reece's new book?  What a breath of fresh air!  She's on Rock Center tonight and I, for one, will be DVRing that to watch with Brian.  Like the British writer, she also says some pretty shocking things, namely, that for a better, happier marriage women should try being submissive to their husbands.  But it's not what you think.  I think it's something that women already do but we don't recognize it as such.  It's about making your husband feel his masculine role so that he, in turn, can make you feel feminine.  A role where you are cherished, honored and respected as a wife and mother.  Isn't that what we all want?

Maybe there are women out there who find this a little offensive and too 1950s but it was spot on for me.  I don't mind serving my family in the ways of laundry and making dinner and being the primary caretaker of the children.  And in turn, I love it when Brian demands respect for me from the kids, when he opens doors for me, when he brings home the perfect bottle of wine for me or when he locks the bathroom door so that I can have 15-minute hot bath.  It's all about serving each other in the way we want to be served.  Great stuff there!

5. Speaking of making dinner, wow have I been a slacker in this department.  Remember back in the day when I wrote a whole series of posts on meal-planning?  What happened to that lady?  I still really love to cook but the planning and shopping have proved difficult as of late.  But last night I prepared a total winner of a quick & easy meal and I made it up all on my own.  Take that, Pinterest!  So here it is if you're interested.  I bought all ingredients at Trader Joe's.

6 Half-baked Ciabatta rolls
1 pkg of smoked turkey deli slices
1 pkg of brie cheese, sliced. (I opted for the log so it was easier to slice but you could also use the triangle version.)
1 Granny Smith apple, sliced thinly.
Butter

Slice the rolls sandwich style.  On each roll place one layer of brie cheese, one layer of apple and one layer of turkey.  Spread butter on the top half of the roll.  Press each roll firmly together.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and the cheese has melted.  Serve with a veggie side or small salad for a complete meal.

Brian and I both agreed roast red bell peppers would be a good addition.  Or maybe some baby spinach?  I'm going to try that next time.  And just a note that our family easily plowed through all six sandwiches so you may want to consider making more if you've got a hungry bunch.

6.  I have an urge to write about the weather and just how awful it is but I don't want to repeat the broken record that is currently every single Facebook status.  So I'm just going to say to you, Mother Nature, that you are the cause of more than half of my bad moods.  So get your act together.  The calendar says April 12 but the view out of my window says January 12.

And you dang well know it's going to go from 48 degrees to 88 degrees in one 24-hour span.  And then we'll all be complaining about the humidity and whir of the air conditioner.  That's just how it goes.

7. I have a girls night tonight and it could not come at a better time.  This particular one is with my high school gals and wow am I so thankful for them.  I can't imagine living in a world without that group.  Where we go out every month or so and laugh till we cry and cry till we laugh.  Where we know each other's parents by their first names.  And all our brothers and sisters too.  Where we don't have to explain 15-year-old inside jokes and that we all know what it means when we say Pete's or Elden's or the corner of Nokomis or Rotary Beach.  Because we all grew up in the same small town.  We all lived the elementary, middle and high school years together.  And when you've known someone when they were at the awkward age of 14, well, you really know them. J- hurry up and come back to us!