It all begins

This is the year of my big 4-0. For some, not a big deal. For me, a very big deal. Not that I am fearful to turn 40; in fact, life has never been better. 39 has been a year of changes. I left my job in corporate America (well, that happened at 38, but it was pretty close), I decided to start up a new business and I went back to school to study holistic nutrition.

If you know me (and if you don't, this may become clearer as you read on), this has been huge. Most of my 30's were spent working long hours doing things that were not always that fulfilling. I can't say that it was all bad, but as the years moved on, the work became less and less satisfying. And then June 1st 2009 came - the job was over and I knew I could not just pick up and go back to the same ole thing. So maybe all of my 30's weren't so bad - I had the rare opportunity to attend Culinary School in those early years and this is were it all begins.

The business I decided to start was to work with food and wellness. On paper, I market myself as a personal chef and food educator; in reality, I am in this to change lives. To help people to reconnect with food at a primal level. To help people regain the lost art of cooking - not opening a box and popping it in the microwave - true cooking. Starting with real ingredients and preparing them with the utmost of respect. Preparing foods that are tasty and nutritionally sound. Learning to listen to what is going on deep within each of us and making foods that make us healthy and happy.

Ok, I suppose its not that altruistic. My many years of workaholism led to me being a very unhealthy girl. I had gained weight, was tired all the time and couldn't sleep at night. I felt increasingly isolated and unhappy and had zero willpower to change this course. Leaving my job sparked something in me that had been absent since my early 20's. Suddenly, my need to hide out disappeared. I found myself excited about life and miraculously sleep seemed to be easier. I began smiling - a lot. Life did not seem hard and hopeless. I knew I was on to something and I did not want to go back to the way things were. As I began to explore my new business idea and enrolled in my nutritional therapy program, I saw that I had a chance to take my strong work ethic, my love of food and my new found passion for wellness and combine them for my own personal success.

So, 40 is not looking so bad. It's not the end, nor is it the middle, as in a mid-life-crisis, it's the beginning of truly living and loving my life.