A Dispatch Before August Ends

Driving down the Pacifica coast on a summer weekend

Hello again.

It’s been a while – oops! Every time I finish a post now I feel this huge sense of relief and accomplishment, and I think that now I can focus some time on some other tasks on my list before I need to work on the next post. Lately those other tasks are multiplying and multiplying, and more time passes before I realize to my chagrin that I haven’t gotten to work on any new posts.

Between six and seven months Isabelle has really started to assert her independence. She’s not having any of the sit-quietly-and-play-with-toys thing anymore and instead is trying to scoot, pull herself up, put everything she can in her mouth, and basically prevent me from taking my eyes off her for more than 10 seconds. I’ve been trying to plan our end of year trips to visit family: baby’s first flight looks to be a 14-hour trans-Pacific journey – daunting to say the least, but we’re looking forward to the adventure! Poor hubby’s been working late, meaning my evenings are often spent putting Isabelle to bed and playing with Snickers (our other child!) so she’s not feeling neglected. We’ve been trying to enjoy our free moments on the weekends while summer’s still here.

apple fritters from the Gravenstein apple fair

There’s also other food-related projects in the works – some mini writing gigs (have you seen my pieces here and here, by the way?) and a book project that I’ll share more about when the time is right (I know, I’m totally burying the lede, but these days, priorities shift in the blink of an eye).

So…I guess I’m just like any other first-time mom trying to juggle about 100 different things at once, right? The ground shifts and sways, more balls get tossed your way, and sometimes something just has to give. Apologies that the something often turns out to be the blog. I have half a dozen posts in the works, all waiting for me to find the time to type the recipe up or process the photos, or just finish that paragraph where I wrote half a sentence before the baby started crying.

I’m not really complaining. Life is full, and every day I feel so lucky that I get to be with Isabelle, or that some fun new opportunity comes up. I’m just sad I haven’t had time to share it all properly with you. I am thisclose to finishing up a report on a Valrhona event I got to attend a while ago, and I’m crossing my fingers that with a babysitter coming in the weekend I’ll finally find the time to post it. Monday, hopefully! Monday – that’s what I’m aiming for. Little goals, little steps, little victories each day.

Thanks for your patience, and all your kind e-mails. It means a lot! Ok, baby is calling. I’ll leave a little preview of what I made for the Valrhona post here. Happy weekend!