How it's been...

First off before I can go any further I just need to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone for all of their support, well wishes, encouragement and all around positive thoughts that have come out as a result of my big news of last week.  With any big decision that you make you are always going to waiver a touch with whether you are making the right choice or not and just seeing every one's words and cheer surrounding this really helped push me over the edge.  A few years ago I borrowed a mantra from Tom Daschle (for all of you none politic buffs: the former Senate Majority Leader) which is "that your windshield is larger then your rear view mirror" and these past few days, I just keep on "wind shielding it" and looking forward to what the future will hold.  Don't get me wrong, I still have the "holy shit" moments of "what the hell have I done?" but I just keep trying to remind myself of whether I would rather be getting up at 4am to go to a job that I no longer found fulfilling and because of that usually become OK with this new stage in my life.

So I'm sure you have been asking yourself by this point...well what is Catie up to with all of this free time on her hands?  Well I can tell you it's been a little bit of an adjustment realizing you have all of this free time now on your hands especially after always dreaming and joking that you really just wanted a few free days to get things done.  The first few days have been filled with some home organizing, some general housekeeping and of course a new string of stay at home dinners.  Our Christmas cards are already written and sent out which is a major accomplishment for this house considering we never even mailed cards at all and I've already started making the cookie baking list which is going to kick off next week.  There is a lot of things I'm looking forward to accomplishing in the next few weeks but the nice thing is that they no longer have to be done at a marathon pace like they used to be.  And if it ever stops raining, then maybe I can get outside to run my own little marathon of a couple of miles before I'm destined for a winter of treadmills.

One funny coincidence of being home these first few days has been that 2 different people have inquired about "cooking questions for the chef" and they both happened to do with roasting beets.  So if 2 people have already asked, I'm sure there are more home cooks out there who have the urge to roast some nice beets as well and here is my preferred method: roasted beets with balsamic glaze.  I follow the recipe up until they are fork tender and ready to be peeled and then they just get a quick toss of good balsamic before they get sliced over a salad.  And nothing beats a nice roasted beet salad over some field greens with crumbled goat cheese and whatever nuts you have around your kitchen as a nice simple dinner.  So to make a long story short, if you have a burning cooking question that you are looking to find out whether it be simple or complex send it on over my way and I'm sure with all of this free time I can come up with a good answer and solution for you.