Inspiration

Last night I watched Julie & Julia with Kevin's parents. What a great movie!

First, I love that Julia Child had such a boisterous personality. She stood out like a sore thumb in France, but that didn't stifle her. She lived her life how she wanted it to go, and along the way, people learned to love her as they got to know her.

I love that her husband worked in the diplomatic corps. They lived in China and then abroad in Europe. That's something I can relate to, and I hope to relate to it even more in the future. I found a particular truth in the scene where they discuss going "home" after their Norway assignment. "And where is home?" "It's wherever we are." Since I've married Kevin, we have lived in Utah, Beijing, Utah again, Boise, and now Washington. Compare that to before I was married: Born in Texas, lived in New Mexico. That's it. New Mexico was home because I grew up there. The food, the air, the people, the mountains-- they're all part of my home. But now with Kevin and Penny, home is wherever we are. It's like being a snail or a hermit crab, and once you get used to the upheaval, there is freedom.

Now let's get to the modern-day story line: A girl writes a blog because she wants to feel like she accomplishes something. She loves food and writing, so she writes about both. She feels a bit narcissistic and self-centered as she writes about "me, me, me" all day.

That's exactly it.

So I decided I need to have a little bit more purpose to my blog. I need something that will keep me writing and excited about it. Maybe I could buy Julia Child's cookbook and make all the recipes in a year's time.

Um, no.

But I do love all those blogs with "how-to" sort of step-by-step tutorials.

So starting today, I'll start an occasional series of tutorials on how to do the things I know how to do. I don't claim to be a crafty expert. I don't cook beautiful food. In fact, I couldn't claim to be an expert of a single area. So this might be interesting.