It calls me

It's cold and small, yet bright and intriguing.

It is here that I yell, cry, smile, laugh and conquer.

It brings out jealousy, anger, sadness and joy all within an hour.

It is the thorn in my side.
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When Jeremy and I first started discussing the possibility of me being a stay-at-home mom, it went something like this:

Me: Would I have to cook?

Jeremy: More than now.

Me: So like maybe one or two times a week? Cause right now, I don't cook at all.

Jeremy: Well, maybe a little more than that. I mean, you will be at home all day.

Me: Umm.. I'll be taking care of your child all day. And anyways, I hate cooking. I'm not good at it.

Jeremy: You'll have more time to get good at it. You just have to practice.

Me: I have a 30 minute limit you know. I get really ill if I am in there longer than that.

Jeremy: I'll help you.

Me: By cooking?

Jeremy: Some nights. You won't be as stressed when you aren't rushing to cook after work.

Me: Have we met??

Jeremy: We'll figure it out.

Me: Well, I'm just saying the food you will have to eat may be really bad... I do have a disorder.
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My disorder is called the "Amelia Bedelia effect". Recipes look like hieroglyphics. I read things literally rather than subjectively. I have no room for creativity. I am a disaster in the kitchen.

But now that I am at home full-time, I do feel as though I should contribute more by cooking. Call it a southern thing or my jealousy of all those who are blessed by having skill in the kitchen or plain possession. Either way, I made a conscience decision to start cooking again.

So when my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I decided to ask for a cookbook.

The story goes that my mom and dad poured over cookbooks at the bookstore. They looked at them all. My mom wanted to find me one that had easy recipes that were quick to cook. She also wanted to find me one that used every day ingredients and where I could use all the recipes and not just a select few. My mom knows me oh so well.

When I opened up the gift with the cookbook, I seriously burst out laughing.

The cookbook consists of recipes from name brand companies like Perdue, Campbell and Flowers Foods, and all meals can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. It is the perfect cookbook for me. Seriously, it was made for dummies.

This past week, I made the Best Chili Ever.

Do you see that?? 15 minutes of cooking time!! It was delicious too.

And since it was such a success, I decided to be brave and make Doughnut Puffs for breakfast on Saturday.

They were soo easy to make and tasted so good that I even told Jeremy an idea I had for next time when I made them! Can you believe it?? Me? With ideas for the kitchen?? Seriously, I'm thinking about scheduling a cat scan, because I'm actually enjoying cooking. Yikes!

And thanks Mom for the awesome gift!