happy halloween

i'm baaack!

So it's been a long time since I've posted anything...mainly because I lost interest in keeping up with this blog. What's the point, right? Well, I decided it doesn't really matter if there is a point. As of lately, I've been starting to feel a little blah, like I have no purpose. So I have had to invent small purposes. Work is often all consuming. No one said being an attorney, and although I love my job, I don't really want to be defined by it. I want to be known for more than that. So I've given myself other things to do and accomplish outside of daily work tasks.

1. Complete a marathon: This has been a bit troublesome. First, because I hate running. Second, because I got injured recently. But I'm determined to check this off my list if it kills me. I will probably push my marathon date to April, but either way it's happening. No matter what. Call me crazy, but hey I am, right? I'm a lawyer, and you have to be a little crazy to want to be a lawyer. :-) So I'm running with a purpose...the purpose is to accomplish something I thought was impossible - something I didn't even like. And along the way hope to discover something myself I didn't know. Although I can't say I love to run, I can say it does provide me a lot of opportunity to think and dream. There is something really solitary about running that is nice. But for right now what I'm discovering is that that I'm very susceptible to shin splits.
   
2. Compile a set of tried and true recipes: I love to bake. And I think I'm pretty good at it. I mean Michael has pretty discriminating tastes, but when I put one of my cakes in front of him he's like a fat kid....it's funny...the whole thing is gone. Before I just baked when I was bored or when I had an occasion to make something. Now I bake with a purpose. I bake to compile a set of recipes in my book. A book of my baking standards that I can come to whenever I need to make something. A book of things that people request and long for and lick their lips thinking about. Basics like chocolate cake, apple pie, red velvet cake, etc. I hand write my recipes in my book, and I imagine some day my kids or grandkids will look at my book and it will bring back tasty memories. Tonight I'm testing a german chocolate cake recipe because Michael's boss' wife made a request for a cake for her father's birthday on Thursday.
   
3. Read for fun: I love to read. Sometimes I forget how much I love to read. When I was a kid I used to read three or four books a week. Remember, that Sequoyah Book List - well, I had to read all those books. And I had to be the first to read them all. Well, now I read depositions and briefs. I read things that are arguably thought provoking, but they are not always enjoyable. So I decided to read with a purpose. I joined a book club - Books & Brunch and am picking up my first book tonight - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. And my new list of books to complete is the New York Times Best Book of the Year Lists. There's about 10 books named a year, so not that many really. I'm starting with 1997 and working my way up. I'm thinking of starting with Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer or maybe American Pastoral by Philip Roth. Nonfiction or fiction, that is the question.
   

Now I just have to wait for Michael to come home so we can pick up everything so I can get started on my next cake. Interestingly, I don't really have a sweet tooth. I don't even crave any of the sweets I make. It's enough that other people do. And I suppose it's a good thing I don't, because otherwise I might be 300 lbs already.