…and now for something completely different

When I started this blog it was mainly to combat boredom. In my freelance theater work I had weeks –sometimes even months– between jobs; I went from working six days a week, up to eighteen hours a day, to unemployed for what felt like a million years. Since I was already home I might as well cook and bake, right? And since I had the time, I might as well challenge myself to make more complicated dishes.

What a slippery slope that was.

It is rapidly approaching one year since I quietly launched Little Blue Hen to an audience of three, and in that year I have learned a lot. I’ve typed a lot. I’ve taken a lot of photos, most of them bad. Meals have been cooked and over-cooked. I’ve over-proofed more than half the loaves of bread I have baked in the last three months. Pie crust and pasta and tortillas have been rolled, cooked, and devoured. I’ve packed up and moved across the country. Vegetables and herbs have been grown on very different balconies. I’ve read a lot of advice, tutorials, forums, other blogs, and FAQs.

And for the last half of the year, I’ve been mostly unemployed. Though I started the blog to help fill those times, this has been a long stretch which hasn’t been easy for me. I was frustrated and unmotivated and needed something else.

On May 3 I officially start “classes” for the distance learning program with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to become a certified health coach. It’s a professional training program where I’ll be learning about how food and lifestyle affect people’s health, happiness, and well-being. I’ll also learn how to counsel other people to improve their lives and reach their health goals.

Starting this blog was instrumental in getting me interested in health, nutrition, and a holistic approach to well-being. Sometimes it seems like a totally logical step. Sometimes it’s a little scary. But I’m excited.

Does that mean I will stop posting marathons of dessert recipes? Probably not. I’m sure the curriculum will influence my posting, but eating healthy doesn’t mean a salad- (or anything-) only diet. If anything I am looking forward to improving the quality of the information in my posts through these classes and I hope you find it rewarding.

In other news, I have still been sending out resumes and I did get a job offer for a show that starts rehearsal in August. I am hoping to fill in the months between now and then with other opportunities.

I’m also writing content for another site and you can see my first “published” article here at GreenDivaMom.com.

So thank you for visiting my little site and I will keep trying to improve it. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email — I love feedback! If you have any questions about health coaching, definitely let me know, and I will keep posting information as my program progresses.