Taking A Breather, Eating Pancakes

Two years ago today, I left my job for a run at self-employment. Two years, and ran it has, I still feel like it’s a life change that I just made. I always try and set aside some time to reflect on this decision, aware daily that it’s infinitely better than my previous 9-5 but still wanting to be sure it’s taking me down the path that I intended, and making sure that I’m making the most of it, on the blog, everywhere. I mostly know that I’m making the most of it when I can sleep in until 8:30 after a late night of working, or watching TV, or doing housework, that’ll always feel great, and leaving the house at 2:30 without a care to pick up Julia from school on a whim pretty much makes the whole decision worthwhile. But what they say is true, when you’re self-employed, you’re working all of the time. It’s something that Pete and I struggle with a lot, a not so little thing that we’re always trying to overcome and balance.

Last year I celebrated with a pretty cake, and this year, by making pancakes for the first time ever without boxed powder batter. It was this recipe, if you’re curious, and they were good. I subbed the buttermilk for vanilla almond milk with no shame, and no regret.

This year, the casual celebration hits the week we’ve identified as the calm before the storm, because hopefully by next week at this time we’ll have a closing date and be well on our way to renting our current pad and establishing roots in a cool new neighborhood. Holy hell, it’s exciting, and I can’t help but wonder where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing by this time next year.

At some point in the last year, Pete was filling me in on Alton Brown’s backstory, and it really struck a chord. If nothing else, it should remind you that it’s not too late to take up a new career or try a new path in life. In short, Alton owns the story of a producer and cinematographer who was let down by American cooking shows in the 90’s and decided to produce his own; in preparation, he sent himself through culinary school (he was in his mid-thirties at this point, people), and went about about an entire career shift in the process, becoming one of the most well-known TV personalities that there be (and one of the only that I can stand to watch), basically changing the way that ordinary people look at food and preparation. Cheers to Alton, now go make a change for yourself if that’s what you’re needing.