Cake and Cumin

So, it’s official. I have 5 more work days left until Neighborsations becomes my full time job. I have about a million emotions that run through my mind every day ranging from completely terrified to so excited that I want to squeal and run around the apartment. This quote kinda nails it.

A few days ago I posted a Bill Cosby quote that said “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it”. I thought, since I haven’t done a 6 list in a little while, that I would do one on starting something new which can be both exciting and invigorating but also challenging and a bit terrifying.

1. All the fun, inspiring quotes actually become motivational instead of cliché
2. You get to think about a whole new set of challenges and solutions
3. You realize that you can do something completely new and different
4. You enjoy failure and know that every time you fail, it will lead you to a better result
5. You learn and learn and learn some more
6. You meet new people. Whenever you are starting something new there are always new people to meet at events, happy hours, meetups, and other places.

Some of you may have noticed that recently blog posts have been a little further apart than in the past. Well, there’s a reason… I’ve been working on a new idea, a company called Neighborsations. When day when cooking, I realized that the only neighbor I know (and can therefore feed often) is my downstairs neighbor… 1 out of probably 15 people in my building. I thought about that for a little while and tried to figure out why that was the case and finally, I stumbled upon the answer… he and I are both Michigan fans (Go Blue!) and we learned that one of the first times we met. Because we knew we had something in common, we had something to talk about and gradually became friends. Neighborsations exists to enable that to happen more often. The company connects neighbors based on common interests to enable more meaningful offline interactions. As most people working on new ideas (either inside or outside of an existing company) can tell you, the process is both exciting and terrifying. However, even when I have days where I’m not sure what to do next, the 6 things listed above still excite me about starting something new. Please sign up at www.neighborsations.com and like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter… and obviously, let others know about it as well.

This past weekend, I was able to participate in Lean Startup Machine. LSM was an intense, but amazing experience where I learned a TON very quickly. Check out the site because they happen all over the world! Anyway, as a result, though, the CSA planning for the week fell to the other half of this household and I have to say, I am a bit impressed.

This week we received: Banana Peppers, Bell Peppers, Heirloom Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Spring Onions, Cantaloupe, Young Kale, Yukon Potatoes, and Red Beets w/ Tops.

First, this weekend, there as a great chili which included a bunch of tomatoes, red onions, green bell peppers and banana peppers.

The kale was sauteed and eaten as a side.

The cantaloupe was cut up for a fruity snack.

Tonight is pizza so we’ll put some onions and maybe some bell pepper on that.

Finally, I really think whenever I have a chance (maybe next weekend?) I’m going to attempt candied beets in beet ice cream.

An exciting announcement for me! I have officially created a space to work on Neighborsations. Check out the website here to learn more!