First, I came up with the idea to write a hybrid inspirational-cookbook, sharing the stories of some insanely talented and motivational women I encountered in my early twenties. Then, a wonderful graduate school instructor encouraged me to follow through on my plan, and I created a 30-page book marketing plan for the idea and even sent it off to some publishing companies. But then life got in the way, as they say, and I was out of graduate school and into the working world, and my desire to write quickly landed on the back burner.
From slinging groceries to the fast-paced agency life, to overcoming a layoff, and finally landing a temporary-turned-permanent job at a big corporation, taking time to sit down and write became something I never made a priority. Some of those jobs filled up my cup in amazing ways, while others drained me and made me feel empty.
Along with ups and downs professionally, I rode the roller coaster of life, got married, and bought a house. And last year, my husband and I welcomed our first baby. When we first bought this house, I framed a notecard in my kitchen that says, "Life is short. Live your dream and share your passion." It spoke to me when I bought it, but I never stopped to really think about this card until recently.
I am living my dream right now: I get to stay home with my daughter and focus on her right now. But what is my passion? And am I sharing it?
I'm passionate about food, fitness, and my faith. I share those daily. But what about my passion as it relates to my skills. I've always been passionate about storytelling. About sharing other people's stories. About helping other people tell their stories. From editing my high school newspaper (do they still produce this?!) to writing for my college newspaper (do they still produce that!?) and blogging about my experiences on the basketball team (way before it was called a "blog!"), to working as an editor at a TV news station, and then going to grad school for writing and book publishing...the tie that binds has always been storytelling.
I'm letting go of wanting this project to be perfect before hitting publish, running with the motto of "progress over perfection." With that, I offer a few disclaimers and notes:
- I am a terrible photographer. Please excuse the lack of professionalism in the food photography department. I hope to get better at this over time!
- I have no formal training in cooking, but I've been practicing in the kitchen for years now, always trying new things, incorporating healthy ingredients, and racing against the clock to get dinner on the table. I took a food writing class at the University of Texas and also interned at a cookbook publishing company in graduate school, so those are my "credentials."
- My husband and I used to workout after work, and we'd eat super late. Now that we have a little one, I try to have dinner prepared before my husband gets home from work. Because of this, I am mixing and sautéing and doing everything I can with one eye on the baby. I never feel like "prep time" is that accurate on recipes because, in my opinion, true prepping actually includes gathering the ingredients. So, I hope the "prep time" listed on these recipes is more accurate for those of you who are wrangling babes or multitasking in other ways.
- My high-and-mighty "I studied writing and editing" self loves to pick up errors and typos in any type of publication, online or print. I am going pretty fast with this project right now and know it's riddled with errors. Apologies!
So here I am, sharing my passions of writing and food and hoping to inspire you to follow your interests and desires...and encouraging you to eat good food along the way.
Sincerely,
Kate
