Today, we get an extra hour, and although I still don’t fully understand why we still do this in most of North America, I’m not complaining. We all need an extra hour. To sleep, read, spend time with our friends and families, enjoy this awesome weather, and relax. To get off our phones and screens and just be.
My goal when I quit my job was to have time to do all the things in life that I want more of, namely: travel, read, yoga. The traveling part hasn’t happened, and I have not been happy about that. But the yoga has, thankfully, yoga has enveloped my life; and the reading, although I don’t get as much time as I want, I still get to dive into a book every day.
In my former life as a career professional, there was no difference between my work and home life, you just work, always, you are always on call, always answering emails and texts. And now running my own business, it’s exactly the same – I spend most of my time working. But this time, I love it. This time, I get to select which customers I work with. And this time, I get to be way, way, more creative. And most importantly, something I should have realized but never did, I’ve been able to learn so much more about marketing, about business, about creativity. Being stuck in an office with non stop work coming at you, there’s no break for any form of creativity. Now, it surrounds me. And my husband, my business partner, he has years of experience in managing a business on his own. He sees everything in a different light. His wisdom has blown me away these past several months. I knew he was smart and creative but I never understood the extent of that until we ventured into this company. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by things and people that push me to be better.
But the time, it’s so hard to manage. I now teach yoga too, and I can’t begin to explain how much I love that. Since I’m new at this, I spend hours reading, researching, planning routines, selecting playlists, planning alternative routines or poses based on who shows up before each class I teach. My hour-long classes take me hours to plan for. I think most new teachers must be the same. But one thing I’ve realized, my all-time favorite teachers, they don’t just show up. They come with notes and themes and plan way in advance. It’s why I love them and seek them out, and continue to go to their classes. They put in the effort, and they make it fun. I hope I always remember that: spend the time to make it worth it for those who are showing up.
So today, we get an extra hour. I’m spending it writing this blog, because that’s something I truly don’t have much time for anymore, and then I’m turning this screen off. For now, let’s enjoy this extra hour we get outside, with loved ones, with ourselves, fully and wholly. And, if you have the time, make this soup!
An Extra Hour to Make Ginger Coconut Fall Soup
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. ginger, fresh, minced
- 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 2.5-3 lb. pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
- 8 c. water
- 1 13.5 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat the onions, shallot, garlic and ginger over medium heat in a large saucepan for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and water to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender (or pour into a regular blender), blend until smooth.
- Add the coconut milk, and return to heat for a few minutes until soup has heated through, stirring well.