Practice Makes Perfect

Like most of us who aren't extremely gifted in one thing or another, I've had to work (sometimes hard) for most things in my life. Although I am a huge believe in the fact that things happen for a reason and will sometimes allow something not going as planned to ultimately sway my course, I've never been afraid struggling along to get what I want either.

I worked hard at basketball in high school. I usually never walked away w/ the MVP trophy (although once I did!), but Most Improved Player had my name on it year after year. Despite A's coming easy for me in high school, college was a different story. I was usually putting in significantly more hours of study time than that of my peers. And although my ultimate career dream is for me to be working with animals, I've spent the last few years breaking into the medical field to take home a bigger paycheck and ultimately dig myself (& now my husband too) entirely out of all debts by my 30th birthday.

A combination of being newly married to a very picky eater and taking advantage of all that Anchorage has to offer, which includes MANY rainy days, has brought me to dusting off my cooking skills and revamping my personal recipe book. I love to cook, so this challenge has been a fun one. Baking however, is a completely different story. Having always wanted to bake like my grandmother, but never having the time (or nerve) to start is no longer an excuse. I've spent the last few weeks tackling a few smaller baking challenges. Early this week I decided to tackle a more difficult one, my maternal grandmother's gob recipe. Patience may not be one of my strong suits, but thankfully this lesson in patience and practice is a tasty one! 

My husband is also tackling a new challenge. He bought a violin while on his last tour of duty in Afghanistan, but it's been sitting in it's pretty little case ever since. Tuesday night I surprised him with his first violin lesson. He's got a natural ear for music. Which I'm grateful for because it means he's already progressing quickly and the sound of someone learning to play a difficult instrument is much more tolerable in our house.