Marinating Your Life

When following a recipe, it is sometimes important that you marinate your meat with certain ingredients to enhance the flavor and bring out the goodness. Along with the main course, it is important to add just the right sides that provide just the right contrast but complements the meal. However, sometimes you can improvise ingredients and leave certain things out or add extra things along the way. Sometimes we forget that our lives are quite similar to a recipe. Our lives would not be as fulfilling without all the extra spice and garnishes. Sometimes our lives might feel like a five-course meal, while other times we might feel as if we're simply going through the drive-thru window for a greasy burger. We're given appetizers of something we might like, only to see that it takes more work than we might have hoped for. We like to satisfy our sweet tooth by getting a slice of happiness.

We fall into a comfort zone which is quite similar to different comfort foods that provide immediate satisfaction, but we might like to get out of the rut to cook a meal that is a little more snazzy. Do you feel that your life has enough ingredients in it, that you are ready to be cooked and served? Or are there things missing that still need to be added? Or is the secret ingredient never quite finished. Meeting new people, traveling new places, and studying new subjects all contributes to us understanding the world better and understanding ourselves better. It is difficult to feel at peace in your own skin sometimes, but with the right combinations...our life can be blended in a blender to create a beautiful experience that is all our own. Be sure that there is enough room on your plate of life to include all the amazing side items, and share your main course of life with others. Let others in to soak up the flavor. In the end, we owe it to ourselves to enhance the flavor in our daily lives...not just in our food.

When life gets stressful or you feel too many people are bringing you down, use the strainer to drain some of the negativity out. Remember, your recipe is all your own. What tastes good to others does not necessarily taste good to you. Don't be afraid to create your own unconventional meal...create a meal and a life that suits your taste. Time to preheat our ovens. No need to set a timer, because your life experiences might happen at all different times. Make your recipe a great one, make it one to pass down to later generations so they can smile and laugh at some of your steps that you took along the way. Next time a recipe says to "marinate something"...don't forget that you are busy marinating your own life as well.

New Year Equals New Blog.

I've always been the type to set a resolution on any day of the year...it definitely doesn't have to be the first of the year in order to have a goal or make a promise to yourself. However, it is fun for people to have a fresh start and a new perspective as we get out our new calendars and think about what things the new year might have to offer. When sizing up a year that has gone by, it's easy to focus on the positive things and the negative things...but the truth is that every year might have its ups and downs. The power and beauty of a new year means moving forward and carrying the things you have learned from previous years with you so that you'll be armed and ready. Stay strong and stay true to yourself and others. Each year I think I am going to "floss more"...so please hold me to that and remind me, haha. The biggest part of all my years has always been family, friends, and pets...and for the past few years I've had my loving husband to share an incredible life with. Hoping for many, many more years with him. No one can ever take away your memories...And there are so many new memories and adventures to make. Don't waste a perfectly good year by getting in a rut or repeating the same year that you just had...make a vow to get even closer to the people that you love. Set a goal to take care of yourself as well as the ones around you that need you and count on you. Give a part of yourself to a good cause that helps you reflect on just how fortunate you really are. I know that things are more easily said than done, but this year and every year, we can make our words our reality. We have many blessings to be thankful for...and a new year is one of them.