I'm on a Train...

Thirty three hours on a train. I would love to share with all you foodies out there exactly how good (or disgusting) the train food was. Tell you fabulous tales about the amazing people I met, but I have to be honest. I decided when I got on the train and found my perfect seat with my plug in for my lap top right in front of me, that this train ride was “just for me”. This month long road trip I am on is going to come with enough adventures, I decided and I wanted time just for me.

This has been a long and winding year for me. I have met amazing new friends, started new business adventures (or working on it) and I decided I deserved a small moment all to myself to relax and do exactly what I wanted to do. So, I did without remorse. I wrote some of my book, which is crazily close to having a first draft which almost seems impossible to me. I read the entire Julie and Julia; My Year of Cooking Dangerously. I have been wanting to do this for some time and shit. It was hilarious. If you haven’t read it, call me and I will let you borrow my copy. She literally says everything. And I mean EVERYTHING that I think on a daily basis. Things like, “What the hell am I doing?” and “Who cares what I am doing?” and “Am I crazy for doing this?” She says it all and I love the honesty because those quiet moments when it is just my mom and I are great, but sometimes my inner critic makes an uninvited appearance. We whole heartedly want to bring families closer together through cooking and sharing meals around a table. I am PASSIONATE about this. But does anyone else really care? Maybe the better question is; should it matter? If it matters to me and makes me happy, isn’t that all that matters? Who knows, sometimes it is, but sometimes doubt creeps in and it’s an ugly ex-boyfriend; let me tell you. Doubt is something I have been trying to divorce for some time now.

For you foodies, I will share with you what I did pack for this 33-hour train ride. Check it out and if you want, follow the road trip. I have no idea what’s going to happen. All I know is at some point in April I will be back in Montana. That’s all I know.

Here’s what I brought on my train ride:

2 apples; sliced
Lots of celery; sliced into sticks
String cheese sticks; I ate shredded not bitten into (biting them just feels wrong)
Atkins protein bars (after all have to watch the girlish figure, or something like that)
Zip lock bag filled with mixed nuts
Turkey and cheddar sandwich on whole wheat
1 water bottle (filled with white wine naturally; my grandpa always said water is for sissies)
2 airplane bottle of rum (just in case of emergency)

So that is what I did. I wrote, sipped white wine out of a water bottle, snacked, and read. I said hi to a few people even told a few I was on a road trip and a writer. Otherwise, I let myself have this moment for me.

Cheers and stay tuned. You might see some scenery you like. I saw bald eagles throughout the entire trip.

Mental Health Benefit: Take the time to relax when you want. Follow your instincts when you feel the need to be quiet. I really wanted and deserved a moment to myself not doing anything other than what I wanted, so I took it. I hope you do to.

Cheers,

Your Hot Mess on a Train