Be good at stuff

I had a workmate once who made the most awesome cob loaf dip.  You know the one. The one so full of deliciousness you gained a kilo looking at it.

The problem with being good at something is you get a reputation for it. And people keep asking you to do that thing. So every time we had a morning tea, workmates would ask her to make it. And because the ingredients cost so much, she began to feel really pressured into making it all the time at her own personal expense - just because everyone wanted to shovel it into their mouths on their way back from the photocopier. In the end she stopped making it.

She got almost TOO good at something. People wanted more of it. That became problematic, so she didn't want to do it any more. What's the moral? Never let on you're good at something. No, wait, that sounds wrong. I think it is: use your talent, share it as you will, but don't let people dictate what you do with it.

Like the old saying goes, the reward for good work is usually more work. And that's ace, whether you're an artist or cake decorator or accountant. But everyone needs to draw their own line as to how much of a good thing is enough. Don't risk burnout simply because people are demanding it of you.

What are you good at? Do you find yourself doing too much of it?

The pleasure of food

I never understood "foodies" and their boundless enthusiasm for food. Still don't. Sure, I enjoy food and I get as much pleasure out of eating peanut butter out of the jar as the next person. But I don't go into paroxyms of delight over fancy restaurants and their menus of food I've never heard of. I don't fangirl on chefs (except tv ones).

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But cooking... ah cooking is different. I didn't get some people's passion for cooking until I got older. The only subject I didn't do well in at high school was Home Economics. In fact, if my friend didn't save my meringue or jam every time I probably would have failed.

Fast forward to the last few years, to when I've become a homemaker. At first, cooking was a chore. Then it was occasionally diverting. Then I discovered tv cooks and actually got interested in recipes and cooking. I totally missed the beginning of the Jamie Oliver bandwagon (remember The Naked Chef? I was all PFFFT WHATEVS at the time) but now I'm firmly on it. Nigella is a bit of an idol. Hugh from River Cottage inspires me.

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This week, I've been having a shit time at work. Well, let's be honest, it's been a stressful month. Monday night I came home and made a Nigella recipe I've never done before (Pea and Pancetta from Nigellissima). Tuesday night I challenged myself to do a Jamie 15 Min Meal for the first time (Grilled Steak, ratatouille and saffron rice).

And heck if I didn't enjoy it. Get pleasure out of it. The creation of the food felt joyous. The eating part was good too. It was a great stress-buster.

Tonight was a bit of a fail because I came home and had a drink then didn't feel like cooking. But maybe two awesome meals is enough for this week.

Oh and I'm totally saving my pennies for Save with Jamie. Why? It combines two things I'm passionate about at the moment - frugality and lessening food waste! 

Do you love cooking? Baking? Why? Tell me I want to know.

I just needed a hug

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Last night I accused my beloved fiancee of being a sociopath.

"What kind of person are you?" I screamed at him. Understandably, he was quite offended.

Having spent the afternoon lying in bed essentially wallowing in my own sadness, I was now more upset that he hadn't come to offer me some comfort.

It was only when he explained to me that he wasn't a bloody mind reader and that he had thought that I had wanted to be left alone that I realised I'm still not getting any better at communicating my needs to him.

And to think, only a few weeks ago it was me telling him he needs to work on his communication.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Do you do this? Get frustrated when people can psychicly predict what you need emotionally? How do you overcome it?

On Stress

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I do not like to hear people declare that they "thrive on stress". Because I used to be that kind of person, and believe me, it wasn't true. Perhaps when I believed it, waaaay back at the beginning of my working life, I didn't really know what it was. Perhaps.

Over the past two years I have learnt that I do not deal with stress very well. It makes me teary. Emotional. Not a good look in the workplace. I have come up with various strategies over time to combat it, including but not limited to:
- chocolate
- alcohol
- junk food
- smoking
- swearing
- crying in the toilets

Sadly, each of these are only short-term solutions (though I'm ashamed to admit I resorted to chocolate this afternoon). Long-term, I believe I have to build up something I like to call Mental Resilience. I borrow this term from the army - can't remember now where exactly I heard it, but I know Bear Grylls is always on about it. And if Bear thinks it's a good thing, then it's ok by me.

It's not about becoming hard. It's about being able to deal with things as they come at you without falling to pieces. No more blubbering mess.

Problem is, short of volunteering to go on a fitness boot camp, I have no idea how to toughen up. If I figure out how to get it, I'll let you know.