37 things i know to be true...

let’s start with an apology (i am, after all, terribly good at them).  there is no recipe here, my sweet four readers.  no hastily-shot pictures of food, both in prep and completion. no anecdotal asides, no references to sous chefs real or imagined…  life has been a whirlwind of plans and visitors and emergency rooms and insert-countless-other-excuses-here. but i’ve been thinking about you.  actually, i’ve been thinking about a lot of things recently…  things i’ve learned, things i’ve discovered, things i believe in.  37 things in my 37 years. maybe you’ll agree with some of them, maybe you won’t. every person has their own list, this one is mine:

1) there are never enough hours in the day.  there will always be more laundry to do, more homework to help with, more hungry people to feed…  you can’t do it all, and that’s okay. let it go.

2) stop singing that song.  stop it.  i thank you.  the universe thanks you.

3) blood is not thicker than water.  sometimes the most important people in your life might be the ones you’re related to, but sometimes they are the amazing ones that fate finds for you along the way.  "family" means more than just a common chromosome.  don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

4) always hold the door open for others, always follow a sneeze with a bless you, and always be a courteous driver. silently curse under breath in passive-aggressive manner when others refuse to do the same.

5) everything happens for a reason. 

6) at least once in your life, bake your own bread, make your own pasta, grow your own vegetables.  it’s fun to get your hands dirty.

7) wash your hands.  

8) surround yourself with good people who build you up, support you, and like you just as you are.  life’s too short to waste time with those who break you down.

9) life’s also too short for holding onto bad memories.  remember the good ones, let go of the bad. 

10) life’s too short…

11) invest in a rice cooker.  it will save your sanity, and is way cheaper than therapy.

12) spend time with your best friends.  it heals your soul, and is also cheaper than therapy.

13) be thoughtful.  be considerate.  try to be the person, the mother, the wife, the friend you want to be.  and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t succeed at this every day.

14) also don’t beat yourself up if you go 2 months between bloggy posts…  see #1.  let it go.

15) seriously, stop singing that song.  

16) when things feel insurmountable, if all else fails, breathe.  deeply and slowly.  relax.

17) if THAT fails, pour yourself a glass of wine.  (but keep on with the breathing.)

18) love your children even if they’re being jerks.  they won’t always be jerks.  and you will always love them.  (this also applies to pets.  and sometimes husbands.)

19) (just joshing, dear…)

20) only enter into a relationship with someone who gets your sense of humour.  laughter is the best, and most necessary medicine.  and is also cheaper than couples therapy.

21) laugh.  often.  sometimes until your cheeks hurt from it. (see #12 if you need help with this.)  

22) everyone makes mistakes along the way.  the important people in your life will forgive you for them.  anyone who doesn’t clearly does not deserve that designation.

23) auto correct will both drive you crazy and provide endless hours of amusement.  and will apparently never learn that “ducking” is not what i’m trying to type.

24) swear.  often.  it’s cathartic.  and, more importantly, fun.

25) a man-cold is a true, scary, and real threat to our civilization.  (also, see #20)

26) be kind. 

27) don’t be afraid of cooking with butter.  be very, very afraid of margarine.  (but possibly stay away from the deep-fried butter stall at the fair.)

28) stay away from the fair.  period.  especially anything to do with clowns. 

29) do not, upon pain of death, read stephen king’s “it” at age 12.  it WILL scar you forever.

30) cook something naked, just for the hell of it.  (preferably nothing that splatters.)

31) challenge yourself.  mind…  body…  both need exercise.

32) read the recipe all the way through before you start cooking.  every.  time.

33) listen to your own advice (see #32 & 34).

34) believe in yourself.

35) keep your old pictures, and keep taking new ones.  happy memories are a powerful elixir.   

36) eat your greens.  make them delicious, and eat them often.

37) try to be happy.  (making lists can sometimes help with this…)