Channelling My Domestic Goddess

When I was a teenager, I remember telling my mom the only thing I ever wanted to make for dinner was reservations. At that point in my life, I did not see the point in learning to cook, but it is amazing how things can change over the years. Cooking is now something that I really enjoy, and it is a lot easier on the family budget than eating out all the time.

After spending a good portion of the last two years up to my eyeballs in school work and cooking for just myself most of the time, I am really enjoying having both the time to cook and someone to share meals. There is nothing better that enjoying a homecooked meal with your husband. 

Fall is one of my favorite times to cook and today I took advantage of some of the wonderful flavors available this time of year. I may have actually gone a bit overboard, but it will be nice to have some things to heat up during the week. Cooking after working a long day and going running is still not my favorite activity. 

We started the day with pumpkin pancakes with apple cinnamon bacon from Whole Foods. I also made applesauce and butternut squash soup. Additionally, I steamed and pureed some pumpkins that will be turned into pie in a few weeks.

I know that is sounds silly, but there is something rewarding about creating a delicious meal. It also keeps me busy while my husband wraps up his class work.

Finding Some Balance

I tend to have an all or nothing personality. If I do something, it is with every ounce of my being, or I don’t do it at all. I often will jump in with both feet and then try and figure out how to keep my head above water.

I think this personality trait has helped me to be successful in most of my endeavors. It makes me very productive in the workplace, it is part of why I always did well in school, and it is why I have achieved most of my personal goals. The down side is that I sometimes miss out on things because I am eyeballs deep in my latest challenge or I get stressed out because there is too much to do.

This fall I have been particularly bad about this. As I mentioned in my post about fear of race commitment, I am currently training for a marathon. That means that a good portion of any weekend is spent running, especially since I am not the fastest runner in the world. My myopic focus has caused me to say no to a variety of events and activities, because I was worried about how they would impact my training and all I want to do is finish.

Right now I am looking for a balance between training, working and having a life. Not to mention those everyday tasks that still need to get done. I really want to finish this race because this is the third time I have trained for it and probably the last time I will be able to train this hard for a while, but time goes by so fast and I worry about the things I am missing out on. I want to explore my new town with the hope it will someday feel more like home.

There are times when I wish I could just do something part-way. It would take up less time and make me a little less crazy. How do you all balance all aspects of your life?