Remember approximately 127, 210 days ago when it started to get mixed up and became a cooking/life blog?
Remember 422 days ago when I ditched it altogether because life became insane and I seemed to stop cooking?
Remember 4 months ago when I had it redesigned to make a fresh start, but then neglected to, well, actually start again?
Remember 5 minutes ago, when I said, "Let's just get this thing in gear already"?
Remember when I used the word remember 1200 times and made up absurd numbers to measure out time because I'm often ridiculous and dramatic?
Alright, kids, here's what's up: I'm picking this blog back up. (And keeping Amy Lives Life for the non-cooking stuff.) Here's what I know: this blog was a motivation for me to cook and try new recipes in the past. And there truly did come a point in the summer of 2011 where it was impossible to juggle everything. I had started a new job and was still learning about life in the NICU, was completing my BSN which meant papers/clinical hours/discussion boards/projects, moved, took part in all the fun activities leading up to Sesha's wedding, walked down the aisle in Sesha and Nick's wedding, and tried to soak up every moment out of our time together before the wedding happened. It took me approximately 9 months to recover. Just kidding. But it did take a while and then I jumped into the new adventure of travel nursing. And while I've cooked, it's not been very inspirational. I've felt uninspired and a bit lost.
Where did the joy go? Did I forget to pack it when I moved? Does not having a "home" kitchen impact me? Has night shift sucked out my soul and every bit of energy?
Y'all I don't know, but I know something has to change. First, I've been watching some documentaries that have really made me think.
I will fully admit that I'm the first one to approach these with some skepticism. But that's how I was taught to approach information that is supposedly research based... to listen to the information, follow the sources, and inform myself. That means that there are things in Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead that I don't fully support, but I don't disagree with them either. I think there is a little wiggle room with some of the details given. For the most part, though, I think these movies are meant to be wake up calls. And I think Food, Inc. shows us that we shouldn't be blindly accepting what is happening to our nation.
And so I'm jumping back into this blog. Do I have any idea what's going to happen? Nope. But I want to start a new journey and I'd like to invite you along for it. I want food to have a different place in my life and I'd like to open up the idea of it to you all. I think at the heart of it food is supposed to be life sustaining (physically, mentally, and even socially). It's what we use for energy, it helps to give us strength and sustenance, and it is often used to bond over.
These are the books I'm currently reading:
You can find each of these on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble.
Am I going vegan like Alicia Silverstone would prefer? Not likely. Will I cook all my meals from scratch and never let a processed food pass my lips again? Not a chance. However, I like the idea of being more aware. I want to be kind to my body and I want food to be an enjoyable experience that leaves me feeling better than before I started the meal. So I'm going back to my blogging roots and picking back up the cooking blog. As Julia Child would say, bon appetit! (I mean I'm assuming she'd say that since Meryl Streep said it while in character in the movie Julie and Julia. That's practically real life, right?)
