Nothing says risky like blindly putting a finger on a map and then moving there.
That’s what my husband and I did in 1999. We packed up our tiny apartment and daughter and set out for new adventures in Nebraska.
Over the years, we bought a home, lost it, bought a new one, finished college, had two more kids, had a miscarriage, and then I landed my dream job as a life styles journalist.
I got into a car accident(read about that here) that could’ve killed me and found myself with broken bones, a head injury, surgeries, and being in a CAM boot for 8 months. I lost the ability to run but braved the weights and feel in love aerial yoga. I learned how to fly a 1959 T Piper airplane and filmed a live surgery.
A few months later, I had my own column Chasing Perfect and a few months after that, I became found myself at the helm of Nebraska’s newest magazine HT Living as the Director.
Crazy!
I often tell people I’m not a risk taker, I just rely on courage while starring down fear–usually with a strong cup of coffee–but looking back, life is marked with swinging from one adventure to the next. I’m a bit nomadic but often restlessness drove me to the next best thing like where I am today.
In the midst of risk taking, my identity began to change. The things that I used to think made me ME, were no longer there, like blogging as a faithful mom, speaking across the country, being a stay at home mom, zumba-ing my way through every morning and running into the night with my favorite running playlist. My new life left little time to blog or connect with my readers as I stepped into the life of a working mom.
The me I knew disappeared as I wrestled to stay one step ahead of this new life as a working mom. There were moments when I found myself crying with my best friend as she helped me pick up a broken bag of garbage on my floor. I found myself learning to dance through the darkest moments and scaring the crud out of myself by using my voice to talk about what really matters.
Someone mentioned that I should revive my tired old blog and showcase the life I live now. The one where I’m late to work no matter what time I drop off the kids. The fact the office ladies at my daughter’s high school have a board where my Leggings Aren’t Pants column is tacked and surrounded by my “Please excuse Cheyenne once again because….” notes which are sometimes written on napkins.
It’s the life that’s filled with chauffeuring my kids–all three are on the swim team and I stumble into work every morning with files of ideas for the next magazine or embargoed information or a breaking story. It’s the life where I take my kids to photo shoots for HT and Friday nights find my husband and I dancing long on a country dance floor. Then you’ll find us bright and early worshipping Jesus at church.
The funny thing about all things brave and risk taking is that life isn’t what we imagined but it makes a good story. When I arrived here all those years ago, fresh faced and determined I didn’t know who I was nor did I ever expect to be the woman I see in the mirror today? I can tell you this….I love the story the Creator is Authoring.
As it turns out risk-taking is the next best thing I can do.
So here’s to life the way it is now…and my new blog. Here you’ll find my latest blog posts, columns, fresh new recipes as I learn to live grain free, and the notes from one mom to the next.
Surf the site and tell me what you think. To celebrate the revival of this blog, here’s my favorite grain free recipe for pancakes. Make them, grab a cup of coffee and read a post or two.
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 large pastured eggs
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- In a small bowl combine the coconut flour, blanched almond flour, baking soda and salt.
- Next, separate the egg whites from the yolks.
- Place the egg whites in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk in melted coconut oil Next, whisk milk, maple syrup, vanilla and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the dry mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking well to thoroughly combine, making sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Using a clean large wire whisk, whisk the egg whites rapidly until foamy
- Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter; by gently turning the batter over and over again, until well combined.
- Grease preheated griddle with butter (or coconut oil).
- Ladle a spoonful of batter onto the griddle to form a silver dollar size pancake (about 3” in diameter).
- Cook until the bottoms are a golden brown, flip and cook until bottom is golden brown once again.