Life Re-Boot, Or Making Time To Do The Things You Love To Do

I should just call this post “taking time to smell the roses,” but truthfully I feel like I’ve pushed the “reboot” button. I had been on that never-ending treadmill ride, the particular one of the entrepreneur/freelancer/writer/chef/mom. My normal. Where coffee is your drug of choice. That thing you do in the morning and afternoon to hopefully propel you half way through your never-ending to do list. That normal where carving out an hour for yourself to exercise or just chill with your adorable hubby without stressfully snapping “I can’t do X, Y or Z! I have 53 more recipes to develop by the end of the month.” Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my life and everything I do. But I was beginning to burn out. Big time. It was time to re-design my life in a new, less-stressful way, where I can still do everything I love, but find more time to have fun too.

It might have been doing two book projects at the same time (books 8 and 9), while trying to help run a food cart with my husband, but there was this nagging feeling inside me that I desperately needed to start making some changes. I was doing everything that I loved doing, but all I was doing was working. So I started thinking about how I could re-design my life. Still do what I love to do, but in a new way where I could begin to take some time to smell the roses. I know all to well how short life is, and I want to enjoy every single minute of it.

So I really started to take note of what was important in my life, and what I needed to change. I knew in my heart of hearts that our mixes are what we are supposed to be doing. We couldn’t run the cart and run our mix business. We had to make a choice. So we sold our food cart so we could focus entirely on one business. This was huge for us, because as entrepreneurs, we always had many things cooking at any given time (so to speak). I finally turned in the manuscript for the casserole book, and instantly felt 1,000 pounds come off my shoulders. It was all starting to come into focus. I needed to concentrate on our new company. I needed to think about taking some time off from writing, and the stress of book deadlines. I also needed to start playing more with my husband. Our kids are grown (even if they still live at home right now), and it’s time to start carving out time to do fun things together, whether it’s going for a hike, a picnic in the park, or even sneaking away to a matinee movie in the afternoon.

Can I just say how happy I am? I am still doing everything I love to do, just in a new way. I know I have many more books inside of me, but for the moment I’m going to take a breather, and concentrate on our baking mixes, this blog, our You Tube channel (Everyday Dish), and having fun. I’m also planning to sew some cute summer dresses. Did I mention that I love to sew?

I share this story as a reminder that we can re-design our life at any moment. The changes can be little or huge. It’s not always easy, but we need to listen to that voice inside us. That voice that reminds us when we’re off track or need to find our happy place.

xo Julie