Maybe tomorrow I'll have that pajama day

I don't envy people who work second or third shifts; did it for 7 1/2 years, and hated it; Roy did it for 4 years and wasn't too happy about it either.  However, for all the disdain I felt for the job, the money and benefits were just too good to give up, so I plodded on.  It was also a cushy job; no management to watch over us, only one other coworker, and most of the time we just sat around listening to music, surfing the net, or taking naps.  When the company was bought out and we got the announcement about being laid off, all I could feel was relief.  I was getting a nice severance package, eligible for unemployment, and a nice bonus for staying on until the company was finally done with the department.

Roy was soon laid off from his job too, so we needed to make plans and quickly.  We'd made a 5 year plan, but the layoffs forced us into a 2 yr plan.  Living in Pennsylvania was something we had both started to dislike...intensely.  I had fallen in love with Utah when we visited his mom in 2006, and even then I had said to him, "Honey, one day we're going to live here."  Ok, so October 2008, we took a 2 week trip to Utah, scoped out potential areas to live in, and made a decision....we put the PA house up for sale.  Coordinating with realtors in PA and Utah, we sold our home and purchased a new one; well not a new-new one, it was more like a handyman special, and we had to put a lot of work, and money, into the house to get it livable for us.  Not our dream home, but it'll do for now.
 
Ok, I've gone on another tangent here, so back to working nights.  No matter how many years you do it, you just can't get used to not being up during the day, feeling sunlight on you, and experiencing everything going on around you.  You're always tired, mainly because people insist on waking you up during the day.  You never really have a full weekend off; Saturdays are usually spent sleeping part of the day, and then trying to get everything done you didn't do during the week.  Sundays you were still playing catch up on chores; then suddenly, it was back to work.

Now we both work days and have full weekends off; yet, for some reason, we barely ever have a day when we can just do nothing at all.  Oh to have a pajama day; staying in night clothes, watching movies in bed and basically doing squat all day, and not caring at all.  Just doesn't happen as often as we'd like it to.  The main problem, we don't want life to pass us by; don't want to miss anything.

Maybe once every six months, we finally get that pajama day, and boy, does it feel good.  In essence, no, don't let life pass you by just cause you can; seize the days and enjoy them.  But once, every once in awhile, give yourself a pajama day cause you earned it.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

 

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken breasts, deboned, skinned, cooked and diced.
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 - 10 1/2 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 - 10 1/2 oz can refried beans
15 1/2 oz jar medium, chunky salsa
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups grated Mexican style cheese (1 1/2 cups + 1/2 cup set aside)
cooking spray
1 package (10 in package) corn tortillas
 

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large mixing bowl, mix well the first 7 ingredients (not the 1/2 cup of cheese set aside).

Spray a 2-quart baking dish, place 4 tortillas on bottom. Covering bottom and up the sides. Spread out 1/2 the mixture from the bowl. Cover with 3 tortillas, spread out other 1/2 of mixture. Cover with 3 tortillas, spread 1/2 cup of cheese over top of tortillas.

Bake for 45-60 minutes; until top is slightly brown, and mixture is bubbling. Set aside 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Mary Cokenour

January 22, 2011