Mommie Cooks is Back!

Yay!  Here I am!  I’m pretty sure you’re wondering what the heck happened and why I fell off the blogging map for so long.  If I’m being completely honest, the past couple years sucked.  Yea, I said it.  Shhh… I know you’re not supposed to admit that kind of stuff out loud.  You’re supposed to have it together, at least on the outside, 24/7 so that no one will ever suspect you’re dealing with anything other than joy and jellybeans.  That’s what society demands.  If not, we risk the credulous whispers and stares of the people standing among us.  I can see the negative judgment now.  Speak the truth and forever be damned.  Sound familiar?  Well I’m here to say that’s bologna.  It’s time to be authentic.  No one’s perfect. Not you and certainly not me.  It’s ok to admit that we’re weak once in awhile; that we need a hug.  Or a break.So here’s me doing just that.  I needed a break. Life hit from multiple directions all at once.  I tried to put my societal happy face on and march forward, but the problem is that blogging isn’t a superficial task.  If you do it right, you share not just your recipes, but bits and pieces of yourself.  It takes effort and passion.  When the passion is there, the effort follows naturally, but throw a few toxic lawn darts into the mix and suddenly you’re feeling completely different.

An unexpected pregnancy as I was about to begin signing the papers to pursue a culinary degree was the first blow.  Babies are supposed to be blessings but sometimes when you’re set on following one path and God suddenly drops a bomb and blows it to smithereens, you don’t always see the forest for the trees.  Add on a new diagnosis of ADD for our oldest son, complete with a recommendation for massive dietary changes.  Finally, finish it off with the addition of a double mortgage for a move made within the neighborhood to a foreclosure home needing boo koo bucks to be livable and I’ll tell you that I was completely cooked.  No pun intended. Ha.

It’s been quite the journey.  What I’ve learned is that through adversity comes strength and knowledge.  I believe that God threw me these challenges because he not only knew that I could get through them, but that I would use them to become a smarter, stronger and better person on the other end.  I feel as though I’ve done just that.  Benji will be three in December and is a bright, happy little boy.  Nicholas is getting the assistance he needs and has had a strong start for his first year of middle school.  And the house?  Well the house is still a crazy fixer upper project.  BUT…. We’ve about finished remodeling the entire downstairs and darned if I don’t think we’re off to a great beginning!

So that puts me back into the present.  I’ve missed the blog every single second that I’ve been away and am THRILLED to finally be able to say I’m here to stay!  You’ll notice that the design has been updated and “prettied” up a bit.  Even bigger is the change in scope.  Where we used to focus solely on food, I’ll now be expanding into what I affectionately call “non-edibles”.  Food will still occupy a big portion of the blog, but now we’ll also cover the topics of family, fitness/health and home.  All of these pieces became MUCH more important to me the past couple years and I can’t imagine not sharing my passions with you all.  Most importantly, expect a healthy dose of authenticity and honesty.  Life’s not perfect.  There are just as many bad times as good.  But remember, it’s those tough moments in life where we have the most opportunity to learn and grow.   If you tell it like it is instead of hiding it behind a wall, you might just find that not only are you not alone, but by accepting and working through your challenges, there’ll be an even greater sense of grace and strength waiting for you on the other side.