Sun and Food for the Soul

I woke up in a bit of a funk today. Job searching, followed by good 'ol job rejections, had brought me down. I really didn't want to be in a funk though and decided that some sun and aromatherapy (in the form of food cooking) was what I needed to lift my spirits.

It was a windy day so Owen had the wonderful idea of going to a park and flying a kite. Unfortunately, it seemed winder than it was so our kite flying wasn't that successful.

Owen didn't let that stop him from having fun though and he decided to take the matter into his own hands.

After the park, we came home to bake some bread. This is where my food aromatherapy came into play. I figured it would be hard to be in a funk when my house smelled like freshly baked bread. Owen immediately jumped in to help out. He's getting this baking thing down.

For the next two and a half hours I kicked my funk to the curb by making a home cooked meal. I have to admit, I am damn proud of this meal for many reasons:

• For one, I took a healthier approach to making sadness go away than I may have done in the past. (I'm looking at you pizza and beer.)
• Second, Owen was really into helping and I so enjoyed cooking with him. I had my soup simmering and he came over to check it out. It was loaded with veggies and beans so I wasn't sure he would eat it. He wanted to try some and after sampling some, gave me the thumbs up of approval. He then asked for a bowl of it, and as he was eating it turned to me and asked, "is there garlic in here?" I said of course. He then asked if he could add some bouillon seasoning to his bowl. At this point I was in a bit of shock that those words came out of his mouth, and I proceeded to get him some. He then asked if he could have the "mustard salt" like "daddy puts in his noodle soup." This is when it dawned on me that all the time we spend in the kitchen cooking was impacting Owen in a very positive way. 
• Finally, this meal rocked. It was simple, but it felt good knowing that I made every single thing we ate (minus the Tabasco) from scratch: soup, bread, dressing, salad. No additives, just pure and simple ingredients.

We've been vegetarians (bordering vegan) for over a year now. Our eating habits have changed drastically. While we may have not lost as much weight as we have hoped, we are healthier than we were a year ago. It takes time to make a healthy meal from scratch and so we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. This is where a considerable amount of our family bonding takes place. Ed and I talk while cutting vegetables and Owen gets a kick out of "stealing" the cut vegetables from us and eating them.  I've read it takes 66 consecutive days (or some other random number) of doing an act for it to become a habit. I really feel (hope) this way of eating has become a way of life for us. It took work to get here, but I am thankful for it.