I’m thinking of writing an essay about how my relationship with cooking/the kitchen has changed in the last 2-3 years. I need to write this essay to figure out what I even mean by this—the change has been very significant but unusually difficult to articulate One way to describe the change is that I started treating culinary work as more of a serious utilitarian pursuit and less like a fun lifestyle hobby (and this shift has carried over to my thoughts and preferences about the physical space of the kitchen)

postpartum freezer prep day: 3lb slow cooked shredded taco-ish beef to go with the 373838475 tortillas I made the other night (some of which were consumed at dinner, the rest of which are now frozen) seared ✅ in the crockpot covered in salsa ✅ now we prep chicken curry.

you know moves are being made when the big cast iron skillet, crock pot, AND dutch oven are all in use simultaneously

There is a sort of self-defeating element of modesty culture in that it is seen as indecent to discuss sex or sexuality in public, or in ~mixed company~, etc—but this means ceding the discussion entirely to strangers on the internet and/or people who have zero qualms (I’m using imprecise terms here because I don’t mean the “women shouldn’t wear pants” modesty culture (for which I have no particular sympathy) but the “our society is over-sexualized” modesty culture. Modesty is probably not the right word, but I’m not sure what is.)

One thing I’ve been really amazed by throughout pregnancy is how much better strength fitness holds up than cardio. I was so sick that I could barely move in the beginning. If running had been my main exercise instead of lifting, my physical condition would’ve declined a lot more Not that cardio isn’t important—I walk a lot and occasionally do stairs at the gym etc. But lifting was definitely my bread and butter leading up to pregnancy, and after an unexpected ~2-month rest I was pleasantly surprised to see that I didn’t lose that much strength or muscle