Yep, here I am. It only took me 29 days to post another entry. And there I was being SO consistent while keeping up with the #bloglikecrazy challenge put forth by Writeous Babe and the See Jane Write crew, but then I went and disappeared for a month. Truth be told, I kind of lost my way this month for many reasons:

**The work train took off and I was just holding on for dear life there for a second (all good stuff, but really busy stuff)
** The holidays were approaching (need I say more?)
** My one-year-old refused to eat anything I made him, so I boycotted the kitchen there for a minute (you would have been looking at one frustrated mama)
** My one-year-old started walking (y’all warned me and I’m hearing you/experiencing it loud and clear)
** The flu invaded our home and there was a lot of THIS going on

IMG_1362

Let’s be honest, there are plenty of reasons I simply lost track of December. In fact, I’d like to spend a little time on this post walking through the reality of my life (hey, it’s cheaper than therapy).

When I first started posting regularly on Food Revival back in the day (2009), I didn’t have a one-year-old. In fact, I didn’t even have a full time job. I mean, just look at me all footloose and fancy free just waiting to get in the kitchen to cook all day:

AmandaLettuce

I was freakishly transformed by my own food discovery. I was learning to cook. I was sharing (almost daily if you remember) different dishes. I was celebrating rutabagas for goodness sake. So, Food Revival became my own personal food journal. It was a way for me to write (wouldn’t want that magazine journalism degree to go to waste now would we?) and it was a way to get to know my community and discover a passion I hadn’t quite uncovered or realized. My husband (then boyfriend) and I spent countless hours cooking together and he turned out to be Food Revival’s biggest fan and contributor. See? This blog was putting good energy out in the universe because… later in 2009, I got a job at the United Way and got to work on food stuff all of the time.  Food Revival became more than just an outlet for recipes and food discovery. It quickly became a space for me to talk about food insecurity, food justice, and highlighting folks doing work around food every single day.

Fast forward through pregnancy and my child’s first year and here I am today. Here’s the truth: I call it a complete success if I manage to get the recipe COOKED these days. Forget about taking “process shots” or even trying to get the “finished shot” to post on Food Revival. I guess that’s what I didn’t anticipate when I first started Food Revival. With a food blog, you have to document the entire cooking process, get the recipe right, test the recipe for accuracy, style it, grab your husband to see if he wouldn’t mind taking “a few” photos, throwing chunks of apple to the baby before he screams, remembering where you were in the process without totally ruining the dish (this has happened MANY times this month), taking other process shots for the text, and getting that last photograph so that you have the perfect opener.

I could have documented some of my experiences this month, but it would have been photos of the floor where all of the homemade food I made my one-year-old ended up. Or, perhaps I could have taken a photo of the burnt-to-a-crisp bangers and mash I made two weeks ago. I fully intended to post that one, but didn’t think burned sweet potatoes would inspire you to come back next time.  You get my drift: When a recipe is posted, you KNOW it was a miracle. Hey, I found this photo on my phone, which I think was supposed to be a pimiento cheese entry on Food Revival, so let’s just pretend there’s some text somewhere that goes with it!

IMG_1231

So all of this to say…I appreciate your THOUGHTFUL comments and UNDERSTANDING ways. I really do love connecting with y’all and hope to do so more regularly in the New Year. Another thing I’ve realized? I’m not going to set myself up to meet any blogging requirements or to feel guilty for my inconsistency. Instead, I’m just going to do the best I can and appreciate the spare seconds I find to connect with all of y’all. There’s so much pressure on us to do so much every single day as it is.

Many of you know that I’m always on the search for balance. It’s just my thing.  I over commit. I say “yes” instead of “no”every single time. I fully intend to do every single thing I say “yes” to, but don’t always get there. And at the end of the day, the things I need to do for myself (cook, exercise, blog), I end up pushing off to the next day.  Though I won’t be making any New Year’s resolutions (I mean, are you kidding me?),  I do hope to find some better balance in 2013. I hear that I have a better chance to do that once you are past the first year with a kid. For those of you who disagree, just spare me the disappointment. I’m going glass half-full here.

Wishing all of you peace and love and light and grace next year. From our family to yours!

DSC_5792-XL