Sigh. It’s the end of 8 ½ months of doing (or not doing) whatever in the hell I want. Every. Single. Day. I do admit it’s been lovely.  There’ll be no more daily sleeping until noon, alfresco reading of the news and drinking bottomless cappuccinos before leisurely mid-day bike rides. No more museum visits and beach days and hours spent endlessly cooking in my pj’s. My sabbatical has ended and, today, I’m once again joining the working class. While the company will be a new one, my coworkers, for the most part, will be old friends from my previous job – if one must work for a living, one truly couldn’t ask for a better situation. I really do admire and respect these people. My dreams of being an Innkeeper are not forgotten, just postponed. The search for my dream property has been tougher than expected. I’m convinced it will happen when the time is right.

With an 8-5 schedule, and little time to bake just around the corner, this weekend I decided to belly-up to my stove and make a batch of cookies as a thank you to those friends who have helped me during my 8 month much-needed break. As could be expected from my track record, the first batch made it into my belly rather than their doorsteps – requiring a second batch that were packaged and delivered as intended.

Here’s to beginning my next chapter – and a growing belly that didn’t think it came quick enough.