Taking Stock, Making Soup

Three months and a few days ago, I made some predictions; I set some goals. Perhaps it's that the milestone I mentioned then is now just a couple of days away. Or that it's annual review time in my professional life. Or that it's just natural to reflect as we close the door on the first quarter of 2008.

To bring you up to speed, professionally I'm midway through my project; we'll be wrapping up the analysis phase next week. I completed six weeks of coursework and passed the final exam, so the completion of this project and a second one scheduled to start in the fall are all that stand between me and Lean Six Sigma "Black Belt" certification. The project hasn't been without its share of hiccups, but it's been an ongoing learning, growing experience for me, my team and my company.

In my blog world I've had some successes and some struggles...

I've managed to drop 15 pounds in thirteen weeks without limiting my repertoire to fat-free, carb-free, sugar-free, tasteless plastic food. I've made some healthy choices and some butter-laden choices, but I think the key to my success in this arena is that I made *conscious* choices -- and that I kept my activity level in line with my caloric intake week to week.

I've done a better job of employing my cookbook collection and entertaining our friends in-house than I have at blogging about the experiences. And the Blog 365 thing has been a bit of a bust... I've found that I write better (and enjoy the process more) when my head's in it, rather than when I'm writing for the sake of writing. There's a lot of ME on these pages, and I like it that way... I'm not interested in publishing content I wouldn't bother to read. So that means more often than not I'm posting once or twice a week. And so the journey continues...

The soup? Oh. Right. The soup. (Cream of) Carrot & Cilantro Soup. Made with Nantes carrots from the CSA box and a vat of turkey stock I found at the back of the freezer during my Kitchn Cure clean up exercise. Fragrant and full of flavor, the perfect lunch paired with a hunk of French bread.

Technorati Tags: Food | Soup | Recipe | Key Ingredient: Carrot