Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Getting My Life Back

There was a point during our beach vacation this year when I realized I really needed the vacation. "Really needed" as in: "If I did not have this vacation, I was going to implode." When I returned, I began the process of getting my life back.

Mainly it's meant drawing boundaries between me and work and being a little quicker to say "the heck with it - I'm going to bed/relax/exercise/drink a beer." It's meant hiring part-time help and delegating. And it's meant shrugging when I might have, in the past, gotten tight between the shoulders at the weight of things.

Last night it meant going to be before 8 p.m. and sleeping 9 blessed hours. When I consider the amount of sleep I've lost over the past 4 years due to kids and work, I'd say it's something close to 2,100 hours - perhaps a lot more. Well, last night I took a couple of those hours back.

I honestly don't think our business is going to fail. But if it did, at this point, I would consider the experience extremely educational and worth every difficult minute. Everyone should start a business, just to see what they learn about themselves. I've been humbled tremendously as I've been challenged like never before.

Challenging, exhillerating ... but sometimes you just have to say, "the heck with it ... I'm going to bed!"

5 comments:

JGH said...

Hi! Nice to meet you and your blog! Here's the recipe for Eggplant Meatbals. I grated the eggplant rather than cube because I thought it would shorten cooking time. I only cooked it for about 10 minutes and it was great.

Mariann's Eggplant Meatballs
1 large eggplant
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 egg
1/2 to 1 cup breadcrumbs, homemade or canned
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped basil
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying
Tomato sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, wash, peel and cube eggplant. Boil eggplant cubes for 30 minutes to an hour until the eggplant is cooked through, and soft. Drain eggplant well and let cool. Place in a large bowl.

Place the chopped onions and garlic in a small microwave dish and microwave to soften up for a minute. Add to the eggplant. Then add egg, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon at first. Then switch to your hands for this is the only real way to make eggplant meatballs.

This is really were the feel of the mixture is determined. If you feel the eggplant mixture is too mushy, add exra breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is a consistency you can work with to make balls.

Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a large frying pan. Heat until shimmering but not smoking.
Form eggplant mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. (You might need to oil your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to your palms.) Place into the hot oil and fry until brown on all sides and eggplant is cooked all the way through. Place on paper towels to drain. Serve with tomato sauce on the side for dipping.

ENJOY! - The meatless meatball!

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Anonymous said...

Wow...not only do I get to leave a comment, but I get a surprise bonus meatball recipe. Woohoo! Go eggplant!

Now I'm so excited I don't remember what I was going to say about your 9 hours of sleep. Oh well. Go sleep!

Daisy said...

What a coincidence! I went to be at 845pm last night. I usually get distracted with projects and reading, but last night, I, too, said to heck with it all.

Then again, I don't have children or my own business, so I should probably be doing that (going to bed early) a little more. I'm excited at the prospect of children, but I'm also excited by sleep.

Congrats on staying awake and staying in business! I hope you keep getting a few more hours of zzzz's when you need 'em!

angela | the painted house said...

Hooray for you for getting to this point. It is hard to do, but the world is going to wait for goods that are truly AWESOME.

And, score, on the eggplant recipe!

Anonymous said...

Welcome back!! Those are some beautiful memories from your vacation trip.