When I was little my dad taught me about the “good-bad-good” sandwich; a technique that can be applied to any situation from writing letters to assessing your state of mind. I use it when I’m feeling sorry for myself about something silly as a way to remind myself of how lucky I really am. Take the thing that’s getting you down (tonight’s emphatically Canadian weather, in my case) and sandwich it between two things that make you smile. This chilly evening, I give you mine, best served alongside a steaming mug of cocoa.
Good:
Today was my first day as a health intern and I love my job. My editor is great, my colleagues seem so friendly already, I’m writing about fitness and nutrition and there is a gym in the building that offers yoga, pilates and other classes during lunch hour that all of the staff regularly attend. Dream job.
Two years ago at around this time I was at rock bottom. I was miserable with my program (commerce); my self-worth had plummeted, and I felt like I had messed up the rest of my life by setting myself up for a career I would hate. I spent my birthday in tears. Today, two years later and nearing 22, I’m studying what I love and working at job I feel is almost too good to be true. I learned a lot from the trouble I went through, and am so thankful for the way my life turned around. I try my hardest to recognize just how much I have to be happy about.
I am back in Toronto and it is so very cold, so very dark, and so very unlike my lovely sunny month off. In keeping with the dark, gloomy weather, I’ve decided to be a huge grump this evening, hence my serious sandwich requirement. Toronto is an exciting place, but the weather is so hostile. I’ve layered on the sweaters and have been going from tea to hot chocolate to soup all day. I’ve also surrounded myself with vanilla candles so the air smells warm and inviting in my apartment, even as the temperature plummets farther and father below zero outside.
Also, I seriously miss my cat. He’s in Montreal until I go home this weekend to pick him up D: in addition to keeping me company he makes a wonderful heater-upper. *sulk*
Good:
This cookbook.
On one of my last days with my family in Florida, Arc and I hit up the flea market. I bought a (necessary) Daytona Beach hoodie in the most cheerful shade of yellow to prepare for the trip back up north, we split an enormous homemade pickle, and we found this gem hiding in a pile of used books for sale:
The best thing about a used cookbook is that opening them is like stepping into a friend’s kitchen.
This treasure is riddled with notes and lists dating back as far as 1980.
Nothing makes me want to cook something more than seeing “good!” scribbled next to the title.
If it was comment-worthy in 1982, I’m sure it still is today.
I read recipe titles out on the drive home and flagged the ones that we were particularly excited about. One of my resolutions for the new year is to make an effort to cook new things every week from the 13591085 cookbooks that I love pouring over. I know the New Year’s post is long overdue – as my birthday is on Sunday, I’ve decided I’ll just make a birthday resolution post instead! No point starting off my resolutions behind.
- Question: Do you mark up your cookbooks? I have recently started scribbling notes in mine. It’s fun/useful to see what I liked/changed/etc.
I’m giving myself until Sunday to be lazy in the kitchen. I’ve been spending my meals hovering over heart-warming bowls of oats, soup and steamed veggies as I attempt to adjust to the frigid weather up here.
Speaking of heart-warming, I’m going to curl up with a movie and call tonight a lazy night. I feel better for having written this post; I hope that it helped you, too! The next time something has you down, study the situation and frame it with the things that really matter.
What’s in your good-bad-good sandwich?
When I was little my dad taught me about the “good-bad-good” sandwich; a technique that can be applied to any situation from writing letters to assessing your state of mind. I use it when I’m feeling sorry for myself about something silly as a way to remind myself of how lucky I really am. Take the thing that’s getting you down (tonight’s emphatically Canadian weather, in my case) and sandwich it between two things that make you smile. This chilly evening, I give you mine, best served alongside a steaming mug of cocoa.
Good:
Today was my first day as a health intern and I love my job. My editor is great, my colleagues seem so friendly already, I’m writing about fitness and nutrition and there is a gym in the building that offers yoga, pilates and other classes during lunch hour that all of the staff regularly attend. Dream job.
Two years ago at around this time I was at rock bottom. I was miserable with my program (commerce); my self-worth had plummeted, and I felt like I had messed up the rest of my life by setting myself up for a career I would hate. I spent my birthday in tears. Today, two years later and nearing 22, I’m studying what I love and working at job I feel is almost too good to be true. I learned a lot from the trouble I went through, and am so thankful for the way my life turned around. I try my hardest to recognize just how much I have to be happy about.
I am back in Toronto and it is so very cold, so very dark, and so very unlike my lovely sunny month off. In keeping with the dark, gloomy weather, I’ve decided to be a huge grump this evening, hence my serious sandwich requirement. Toronto is an exciting place, but the weather is so hostile. I’ve layered on the sweaters and have been going from tea to hot chocolate to soup all day. I’ve also surrounded myself with vanilla candles so the air smells warm and inviting in my apartment, even as the temperature plummets farther and father below zero outside.
Also, I seriously miss my cat. He’s in Montreal until I go home this weekend to pick him up D: in addition to keeping me company he makes a wonderful heater-upper. *sulk*
Good:
This cookbook.
On one of my last days with my family in Florida, Arc and I hit up the flea market. I bought a (necessary) Daytona Beach hoodie in the most cheerful shade of yellow to prepare for the trip back up north, we split an enormous homemade pickle, and we found this gem hiding in a pile of used books for sale:
The best thing about a used cookbook is that opening them is like stepping into a friend’s kitchen. This treasure is riddled with notes and lists dating back as far as 1980.
Nothing makes me want to cook something more than seeing “good!” scribbled next to the title. If it was comment-worthy in 1982, I’m sure it still is today.I read recipe titles out on the drive home and flagged the ones that we were particularly excited about. One of my resolutions for the new year is to make an effort to cook new things every week from the 13591085 cookbooks that I love pouring over. I know the New Year’s post is long overdue – as my birthday is on Sunday, I’ve decided I’ll just make a birthday resolution post instead! No point starting off my resolutions behind.
I’m giving myself until Sunday to be lazy in the kitchen. I’ve been spending my meals hovering over heart-warming bowls of oats, soup and steamed veggies as I attempt to adjust to the frigid weather up here.
Speaking of heart-warming, I’m going to curl up with a movie and call tonight a lazy night. I feel better for having written this post; I hope that it helped you, too! The next time something has you down, study the situation and frame it with the things that really matter.
What’s in your good-bad-good sandwich?