Greetings from sunny Orlando!
First, this post is really about granola, literally and figuratively.
Yesterday, Woman’s Day magazine online posted my suggestion for their Snack Smart section of their healthy living blog. Check it out here (it’s only a paragraph…but it would be awesome if you’d go there and leave a comment!).
Random update:
It’s beautiful here, and I heard from Joe that the temperature for his race at home this morning was 9 degrees, so I think that makes it even better here. I’m visiting with three former college roommates, who now hail from Ft. Lauderdale, Seattle, and Boston. Mrs. Ft. Lauderdale thinks it’s freezing here, and my other counterparts are ready for a swim. I, personally, am wearing jeans. Why? Because we’re staying in someone’s timeshare (which is really nice), but the property-wide wi-fi turns out only to function outside. So I spent from 7-9am outside on the porch working, and I am certainly not complaining that it was 50 degrees out, but I’m still chilled from it. I also cannot be in direct sunlight for health reasons, so currently I’m doing work in the shade (can’t you tell, I’m working!), while the ladies are in their bikinis in the sun (I’d insert a photo here, but I’m banned from taking any bikini pics).
Just pretend I'm in this picture.
Food is always a challenge for me when I’m around people. I’m handling it well, and it helps to be with friends who accept that I’m different without making me uncomfortable. I bought this today so I’ll at least be prepared for breakfast for a few days.
Four shades of green...makes me sigh with relief, even if there were no organic apples to be found in Publix (I thought that store was supposed to be "the best"?)
Back to Granola! I posted this once before, so if you already read it…skip 
I just think it’s appropriate to all the granola in my life right now.
Many years ago (9?), I saw a show on the Food Network in which they interviewed this woman who lived on a farm and she developed a recipe for granola (that she made for her husband and kids). Initially, she was just trying to get this granola recipe perfect, making little adjustments with each batch…until it came out just right. It happened to be so good, that she started selling it at Farmer’s Markets. She then expanded, and sold it to a wider audience….etc. At the time of the show, she was loving life, doing what she wanted, and making plenty of money from doing it!
After watching the show, I had a conversation with my Mom and later with my sister (who never actually figured out what she wanted to do with her life), about the concept of Finding Your Granola.
I’m sure you’ve met people who know exactly what they want in life—they have passion about a certain topic, and they follow this bliss, making it into a career and feeling great about all of it. You know, that person who works but loves what they do so much they don’t feel like they’re working.
My sister and I always contemplated this (when she graduated from high school, she lamented about how there was nothing she wanted to do). When I lived in Boston, I saw this granola episode, and ever since then my mom and I have used the term for identifying or talking about what the heck that thing would be for us—that thing that would be work and career and a living, but doesn’t feel like work. Maybe I’m deluding myself, and maybe there isn’t anything—but I don’t think I’ll give up the idea, because what if there is!?
It brings me to now, a time when I’m really enjoying all the things I’m dabbling in at the moment—wellness coaching, teaching online, blogging…learning about and practicing making healthy food. But it brings up the issue of how Americans are really great Masters at Dabbling in things. We don’t master anything (our passions) because we spend so much time analyzing and figuring out what we like that we just dabble in things, and never focus enough on one thing to make it a BIG thing.
My mom keeps telling me that she and Fred think that maybe My Granola is actually granola.
Have you tried making this yet?
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What is your granola?
How well do you travel with other people?
Do you stick up for your food preferences when you’re in groups or just go with the flow?
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