Solitary Games and Community Benefits: Word Counters

 

 Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with. 

This month's number is 37. It was chosen by Me!

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I'm talking about Solitary Games and Community Benefits. 

~ I play word and number games. You know this if you're a frequent visitor to this blog. And my Baking In A Tornado Facebook page. I even share one I've made up myself. They serve multiple purposes.

~ They exercise the brain, especially {{ahem}} as you age. There is the satisfaction of completing a challenge, and the temporary mental respite from politics, daily mass shootings. They can also provide insight into how we approach life.

~ Strategy matters, developed over time, based on experience, specific to the game. And discipline to stick to it, when lulled into looking for an easier way when, in fact the whole picture is not yet in view.

~ But rigidity can be your enemy. If the whole picture just isn't coming into focus it's not that sticking to a strategy is always right, but acquiring the understanding of when to abandon it can be key.

~ You knew I was going to work recipes in here somewhere, right? Rigidity is required when baking. Don't follow the rules, your cake won't rise. But cooking? Go ahead and change ingredients, cooking methods, as you go.

Turkey Tenderloin Bake

~ It's exciting, especially in a math game, to uncover all the pieces. Don't be deceived, having all of the information can be limiting. These are the pieces, you can add nothing else, to make it work. 

~ Conversely (hello, parenting), getting none, or very few of the pieces can initially be discouraging. But if you look closely, not just at what you have, but what you've eliminated, there's actually a wealth of information there.

~ I share game results twice a day on my Facebook page, morning games and evening games. Other players add the results of whatever games they play to the thread, and suddenly solitary games are a shared experience.

~ The last thing I want to mention is the most important. Build (or join) communities, share strategies, applaud successes, commiserate with failures. Build others up, look to them for support. No, I'm not talking games any more. 

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Turkey Tenderloin Bake       

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

about 1 1/2# turkey breast tenderloin

salt and pepper

1 bag (20 oz) frozen mixed stir fry vegetables, partially thawed

1/3 cup ranch salad dressing

1/3 cup sweet chili sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ginger paste

Directions:

*Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Slice the turkey into 1 inch slices. Season both sides with salt and pepper, and arrange in the center of the pan, leaving a border all around for the vegetables.

*Arrange the vegetables all around the turkey. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper.

*Whisk together the ranch dressing, sweet chili sauce, garlic, and ginger. Set aside 1/3 cup of this sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the turkey.

*Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Turkey must be completely cooked.

*Heat the reserved 1/3 cup of the sauce in a sauce pan or the microwave until hot (do not boil), pour over or serve beside the turkey.

 

Relationships in Motion: Use Your Words

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s  participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them. 

I'm using:  hammer ~ relationship ~ soldier ~ cantankerous ~ simplistic ~ hope 

They were submitted by Jenniy of Climaxed.

                          
A lot of people are bringing the hammer down on relationships. And, actually, I get it. There often comes a time when you just have to accept that it isn't working, when you feel that the energy you've invested is not reciprocated.

Not that relationships are ever perfectly balanced. They can't be. But when they work, both parties have to feel that they are valued, that when they are the one in need, that connection will come through. Provide that little jolt of sugar needed to feed your soul.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Cookies

I understand that maintenance is required. And it's incumbent on me to be proactive in providing it when I see the signs. In general, I try to give, not just when I'm asked, I acknowledge that reaching out in need can be hard to do, but to be open to perceiving a need, and just jump in. Because there are times when anyone can be impatient, cantankerous, just won't budge. And when it's me, reciprocation allows us both to move forward, soldier on. When one party takes their foot off the gas, someone's got to provide the propulsion.

I also just have to say here, that I'm not a person who walks around with my hand out. I try, as much as I can, to be independent, not a needy person. So when I do reach out, I mean it. I know this seems simplistic, but for me, a healthy balance follows along the lines of "The Golden Rule." I expect offered to me the same level of support I myself try to offer.

And I hope that I've got enough money in that relationship bank to have earned whatever it is that I need.

Sometimes, though, it turns out that I don't. And in those times, a lot of introspection is required. Is this worth the amount of effort I expend? If the result is that I have nothing to depend on, it's just not healthy for me.

That's pretty much where I am now. If I need you to step on the gas, hit the road running, firing on all cylinders? It's not the time for your tires to be flat, your battery running low, for all you have to offer is just idling at the curb.

As hard as it may be to let go of a relationship in which time and energy have been invested, memories abound, dependence, and yes, even love are components, I now understand that I need to move on.

Because there are things I need from this relationship, and going places is one of them.

So I'm just going to have to look for a new car. 

 

Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:

 

Climaxed

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver 

On the Border 

 

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Cookies

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

6 TBSP butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 TBSP crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

1 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup mini Reese's cups, quartered

1/4 cup Reese's pieces, halved

1/8 cup cream cheese baking chips

Directions:
*Beat the butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter, then beat in the egg. Slowly beat in the flour and powdered sugar. Mix in the Reese's cups, Reese's pieces, and cream cheese baking chips. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

*Roll dough into 24 balls. Place on the baking sheets and flatten slightly.

*Bake for 15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely.

 

Take Flight: Poetry Monday

 

 

 

Poetry Monday's once a week.

I bet you know which day.

I don't participate every time,

But today I've come out to play.

My friends assign each week a theme,

Butterflies is what they chose.

Now it's up to all of us,

to put our thoughts into prose.

 

 

Take Flight

Time with her little toddler,

is something Beth held dear,

looking for fun things to do,

with an educational flare.

When there was opening,

of a live butterfly display,

right in their home town even,

planned to go on the very first day.

"Mommy has something special,

a new place for us to try,

together we're going to learn,

all about the butterfly." 

"When we get up in the morning, 

I'll make a yummy pie,

refrigerate it while we're gone, 

then come home and try." 

 

French Vanilla Cheesecake (no bake)

But headstrong little children, 

like to learn in their own way.

Not always with the best results,

Beth found out the next day.

Stopped cold as in her kitchen,

there was such a shocking mess.

Yellow splotches everywhere.

What happened? Couldn't guess.

 

Covered in grease, her daughter,

tears running from each eye:

"I think that ours is broken, Mom,

this butter will not fly." 

 

 

 

Wait!

Read more poetry, 

you're not through.

Some talented writers

are in this crew:

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings 

Mother Owl 

 

French Vanilla Cheesecake (no bake)       

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (about 36 cookies)

5 TBSP melted butter

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 box (3.4 oz) French vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt

2 TBSP powdered sugar

2 TBSP French vanilla coffee creamer

1/4 cup multicolored nonpareils, divided

OPT: additional cookies, nonpareils, and/or 1 TBSP caramel sauce for topping

Directions:
*Lightly grease a 9 inch pie dish. Mix the cookie crumbs and the melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

*Beat the cream cheese, pudding mix, yogurt, powdered sugar, and coffee creamer together. Gently mix in 2 TBSP of the nonpareils. Spread evenly into the prepared crust.

*OPT: decorate with vanilla wafers, nonpareils, and or drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.

*Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.