new blog, The Secret, good friends

1. My hours are changing to 9-5 as of November 1st (yay!) and that means I'll actually be able to cook real meals and eat them too by 7pm instead of getting home at 9 and then playing "guess what's for dinner" by choosing from a multitude of take out menus...lol.

I used to cook ALL THE TIME and LOVED it, but somehow it just stopped (Hubby only eating what you can find on a kids menu also put a damper on my experimentation). So after combining our finances over the weekend (only took us 5 years) and seeing the debt that we have together, I realize that we are broke as a joke and need to stop the take out 100%. And with my hours changing and the lack of excess funds, cooking is the answer for ALL our meals now, for a long time to come. I'm actually excited at the thought of cooking again because if I may be so self absorbed, lol, I am a DAMN good cook. I proved that to myself yet again by whipping up some tagliatelle alfredo from scratch (not the pasta, just the sauce). It was soooo good that Hubby remarked about it no less than 5 times. I have to admit, it was rather tasty (and it was Giada DeLaurentis' recipe, too).

So I'm excited - so excited that I'm going to start a cooking blog. I even bought the domain name for it... needsmoreketchup.com. How hysterical is that? lol! I can't take credit for it though, I thought if "needs more salt" and then he came up with the ketchup thing, and said it's from an old Odd Couple skit...lol. I liked it so much, I checked to see if it was available and it was - so I bought it! There's nothing there right now if you go to it, but I hope to get a blog going for it soon, and when I do, I'll post about it :) I am thankful to have found a renewed interest in cooking and to have been able to buy "needs more ketchup dot com"...lol.

2. Before "The Secret" came out, I was already a fan. It had been out a few months before it hit the media, and I'd already given copies of the cd's to my family in hopes that it might inspire some of them to help themselves. The people I knew would appreciate it the most are the ones who didn't really need it...lol. But rather than single anyone out specifically, I gave it to everyone.

I used to listen to the cd's on my commute to and from work, and I could listen to almost the whole thing just going one way. For some reason I stopped listening as often, and then, not at all. Now, I'm no cult member where it comes to following The Secret, but I just knew that it was at least helping me to stay positive and be goal oriented. I wasn't all crazy-psycho about it at all. But just recently I started listening to them again, and I realize why I liked them so much - because no matter how many times I listen, something in them speaks to me, to the place I'm at in my head at that particular moment. And subsequently, it does put me in a better frame of mind and helps to clear away the dark cobwebs that form over my ideas, goals, and visions of my future. I am thankful for the cd's and the effect that listening to them has on me.

3. I've been really down in the dumps about the wait for my daughter from China. I'm not trying to be a whiny baby about it at all, but there's only so much smiling nodding you can do before you find a rooftop and an AK-47. I feel like my other blog, the one that's supposed to be about all things China and what I'm doing while I wait, is totally stale and swimming in circles. I can't keep posting about nothing anymore. I mean, I have great hair now and everything and that was totally post-worthy, lol, (and apparently now so does Patricia! lol!), but I mean, don't want to keep bitching on the blog, and I don't want to keep acting as if everything is sunshine and rainbows, either. So I'm going to focus on my cooking and other stuff in the meantime, and post on Digging A Hole when I feel the urge.

After writing my post today. Maryellen called me to see how I was. I was floored that this woman - who just returned home with her beautiful Sophie only 2 weeks ago - had the time and presence of mind to pick up the phone to see how I was doing. It was fabulous of her to call, soooo thoughtful, and I appreciated it soooo much. I am thankful for the people I've met along this journey thus far (your gals included!) and I am thankful for Maryellen taking a moment in her busy day to think about me.

What are YOU thankful for?

(Tell me in the comments!)