Food, Booze, & Baggage

Food, Life, Travel

I’m the kind of person who…

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Brain Explosion

I always have a hard time when things are in transition. I’m the kind of person that just wants to be off to a running start. I often feel like my brain feels the same way as when you put a car in park and rev the engine. Currently, I feel that I’m in waiting but at the same time with lots to do, which makes no sense. I’m waiting for my job to be over but at the same time trying to wrap things up, I’m waiting for us to move and making lists and plans for a non-existent place as we don’t know the details until we secure a rental…will we need to sale the washer and dryer, the second fridge or do we need to plan to move these items?? Basically, I’m having trouble focusing on anything else. Today I’m stealing my post idea from Life According to Steph and sharing with you–I’m the kind of person who….

When I make a commitment, I try really hard to follow through

Thinks ice cream on a cone, just tastes better

Likes naps, especially on rainy days

Needs a plan and schedule, but hates to be over-scheduled

Will never be considered trendy in her style but hopes she is considered classic

Writing does not always comes easy to

Is sarcastic, and funny (at least I think so) but find it hard to translate to writing

Loves to get to experience new food and places (but you probably already knew that one)

Knows she has a wonderful husband, and grateful for the life we lead

Thinks fairness is really important

Has a hard time taking compliments, but is working on it

My life lessons for you kids today is: It is important to know what kind of person you are as you move through life. It’s good to sit back and examine your motivations and feelings at times, but it is also good not to be too wrapped up in your own head.

What lessons do you have to share this week? Remember it does not have to be a Sunday post, feel free to share any post that would fit as a lesson. I would like to say a special thank you to Bailie from The Hemborg Wife and Kristin from Challenge Accepted for the mentions last week of the link-up, I really appreciate it!

The School of Life

Life Lessons from Blogging

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This past week has been a bit of a blur, my thoughts have been going in a million different directions since Tuesday. I’m sure there were plenty of life lessons I could have plucked from this week but it was the lessons I learned from this space that really stuck out.

Lessons learned from Blogging

Blogging gives you support and community.

I am overwhelmed by all the kind comments to Wednesday’s post and all the offers of contacts and help. When I started blogging, the socializing side of the experience caused me the most anxiety. I’ve never been that active in socializing online, it was just not something I really did, even on Facebook my interactions were/are somewhat limited. I felt so awkward reaching out to people I didn’t know, writing comments and interacting on social media did not come naturally to me. I agonized over what to say or if I should like this or retweet that…do I come off weird, do I seem like a stalker, are people like who the hell is this…these were just some of my thoughts in the beginning. The more I interacted the easier it got. Wednesday’s post made me really reflect on how far I’ve come with this aspect of blogging. The other thing that smacked me in the face is that the blogging community is that, a community and that the people here are kind, thoughtful, and are there supporting you and cheering you on. When I started this blog a little over 6 months ago, I would have never thought I would feel this level of friendship, or be making plans to meet other bloggers in person. Blogging has expanded how I think about friendship/socializing.

Blogging gives you connections you didn’t even know you needed.

It’s funny how life works and what people are put in your path. Shannon from Brass Honey, was the first blogger I connected with, she became my first blogging friend, and she has supported and encouraged me with blogging. I hoped one day P and I would make it out to San Diego and I would get to meet her for a drink. I never thought I would be chatting with her on the phone, and planning on moving to her city. I think it is incredibly serendipitous that my first connection made through blogging, happens to be living in the city we are now starting our new adventure. P and I were hoping for a move somewhere this year, we wanted a new adventure, in a new city. When we started talking about it, we didn’t really think San Diego would be a strong possibility for his position with the company. A month ago we were thinking it might be Philadelphia. A meeting with his CFO, changed that direction, and after a month of anxious waiting, we are planning a move!! It makes the move that much less daunting to be able to talk to Shannon and get advice from someone who has made the move from the East coast to the West coast. I can’t wait to get to hang-out in person and now she will be the first blogger I meet in real life!!

Blogging changes your perspective.

Blogging helps to get things out of your head and gives you an added purpose to everyday activities. I mentioned Wednesday, that I’m worried about the cross-country drive (and I am) but I’m also excited, even more so because I realized, hey, it will provide me some great blogging material! Even the logistics of making and planning the move will provide me with at least a post or two 🙂 While the next few months will bring challenges and stress, as we work it all out, I love that the blog gives me a place to document this journey.  I promise, not every post will be moving related…don’t unfollow! 🙂 Blogging helps provide added purpose to tasks that I find daunting, and gives me a place to vent and to ask for advice.

I’m really grateful I started my journey in blogging, I’m grateful for all of you who take time to read/comment, for the friendships/support/connections made here, and to have this space to provide me focus and help me in times of transition.

The School of Life

What has blogging taught you recently? If you have a post on that or any other life lessons, link it up below!!

The School Of Life~Week 8

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Can't-see-the-Forest-via-Food,-Booze,-&-Baggage

  • It’s important to look at the big picture. I think it is so easy to focus on the small details of a thing and get discouraged or weighted down. I have tons of ideas/plans/goals, but I give up sometimes because the details and the steps to get there seem too big or hard or tedious. In that pile of details I totally lose the big picture, the end game. What is the saying,  “you can’t see the forest for the trees” is more true than I realize at times. Making a list helps me, if I can look at all the steps in black and white and not just a messy pile that buries the goal. Capturing them and forcing them into an order allows me to see the end/progress.
  • It feels so good to get things done. I’ve been putting off looking into have a dental procedure done, because I thought it would be expensive and I was just nervous about going and seeing what the options were. I don’t really know why I’ve been putting it off. Sometimes I build things up in my mind and make them a bigger deal than they actually are. It feels so good to take action and get the problem/action/whatever out of you head and taken care of. I’m trying to be a person that just does instead of worrying about things and delaying action.

Get-Shit-Done-via-Food,-Booze,-&-Baggage

  • It’s ok to give yourself a lazy, do nothing day. P and I admittedly, live a very comfortable life, with little responsibility outside of work. Our days are our own, to spend them how we like.  We still have to clean, cook, take care of the animals, etc, etc, those little activities that keep things around the house/life running. Sometimes I just want a day where it is ok to do nothing…to not get up early to take advantage of the day, to not be ready for lunch or dinner by x time, to not feel like the house needs to be cleaned before lunch or other activities, not compelled to get up early to go to the farmers market or make a shopping list, to not start dinner by a certain time. This past week seemed to just drag, hours seemed like days and it has just left me feeling worn and frayed, so I declared Saturday a do nothing day. I can stay in bed as long as I like, shower/not shower, have take-out, take a nap, read, work on the blog/design/classes or not. Sometimes you just need to be able to declare a day where there are no expectations. Do you ever declare a day to do nothing?

Kitty-Approved-via-Food,-Booze,-&-Baggage

I realize that my last two lessons seem contradicting, but hey that’s life… it’s weird, it’s this and that, it’s yin and yang, it’s black and white or a million shades of grey, and it can be action and inaction all in the same space. So, what did you learn this week?

 

The School of Life

The School of Life~Food Edition I

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I mentioned a few weeks ago, in my Kitchen Confessions Vol. 2 post that I’m taking a break from my weekly food posts and will be posting any new recipes we are trying on Pinterest. Honestly, during the summer we tend to be more ad hoc in our meal planning, making salads for dinner or grabbing a meat or fish and veggies to go on the grill, as opposed to doing more involved dishes. We try to go to the farmers market more regularly, and I will often try to make up meals around what we are able to find. Today, I’m putting a little twist on life lessons and sharing some tips/tricks/did you know items about food:

  • Eggs stay fresh after their expiration date or if you buy eggs from the farmers market and you don’t have an expiration date, here is an easy test to see if they are still good (this came from Work the Thing blog):

egg-detail

 

  • Did you know that bell peppers are female or male based on the number of bumps on the bottom? Four bumps is female and is better for eating raw, where three bumps is male and better for cooking.
  • Most imported olive oil is not pure olive oil but a mix of lesser grade olive oil or other oils. This article gives a  fun infographic on how that happens. It is best to look for single origin olive oil or olive oil from the United States (here are some suggestions). We started buying single source olive oil from Costco, and you can really taste a difference. Here is a report from the USC Davis Olive Oil Center, probably giving you more information than you want to know about olive oil…but pretty interesting.

Costco Olive Oil via Food, Booze, & Baggage.jpg

  • Did you know you can make your own powdered sugar and brown sugar? I’ve tried the powdered sugar, and it turned out pretty well, except you need a clean towel or something to put over your food processor as it creates quite the sugar cloud. I have not tried making my own brown sugar yet but it looks pretty cool.
  • Making iced coffee concentrate is really easy, and you should not be wasting money on buying it. P has been making our own for the last couple of weeks now, and has even gotten me drinking it (and I don’t really drink coffee). Alicia from JayBird shared her way to make iced coffee a few weeks back, you should it check out. P’s method involves ratios and the scale, remember the pour-over post.

Do you have any food tips or tricks to share? What life lessons did you learn this week?

 

The School of Life