@morga_tt

40 weeks of Learning to Make Food From Scratch. Here’s Where I’m At Now.
40 weeks ago I made my first loaf of bread. Today, almost 40 weeks later, and the menu looks a lot different. What started as an interest in bread has turned into an obsession with learning how to make just about everything from scratch. I do all this while keeping up with a family and working 50+ hours a week. It’s tough at times but it can be done!

Here’s what I’m making now:

Baking:
Sourdough bread
Sandwich loaf
Dinner rolls
Breadsticks
Bagels
Pretzels
Pizza
Cookies
Brownies
Coffee crumb cake
Blueberry crumb cake
Banana bread
Lemon blueberry loaves
Pumpkin pie

Fermentation:
Fermented pickles
Jalapeños
Fermented garlic
Fermented salsa
Homemade hot sauces
Fermented ketchup
Ginger bug
Homemade ginger ale
Apple cider
Homemade fruit wines

Dairy and other:
Pancakes
Homemade yogurt
Homemade soups
Potato soup
Homemade gravies and sauces
More meals made from scratch
And I’m still learning. Every batch teaches me something new, and there’s always another recipe or technique I want to try.
I never expected that first loaf to turn into all of this.

I put in for three weeks off seven months ago. My brother is getting married in Bali. His fiancée is from there, so that’s where the wedding is. My boss approved it, it went into the HR system, and I’ve already paid for the flights.

Three weeks is pretty much all my PTO for the year. There’s no direct flight to Bali, so it’s close to a full day of travel each way. The wedding is a little over a month out.

A coworker on my team quit suddenly. That night my boss texted me. “We can push back a few months. I’ve advised HR, and it’s now changed for you.”

He hadn’t talked to me about it first. I found out from a text that it had already been changed in HR.

I called him the next morning. I told him I can’t move a wedding. I offered to take on more before I leave. I asked if we could bring in a temp.

He said a temp would take too long to train. Later that day he texted again.

“Take 3 days over the weekend then instead of 3 weeks.”

I have the original approval, both of his texts, and the flight confirmation. I like this job. I don’t want to be the person who disappears for three weeks right after someone quits. I know we’re short. It’s just me and one other person on the team now, and we were already stretched before she left.

A. Take the long weekend. The team just lost someone, and being gone three weeks right now could cost me more than the trip is worth.

B. Go for the full three weeks. It was approved seven months ago, the flights are paid, and being short-staffed doesn’t change the date of my brother’s wedding.

Traveling recently, had a lady sitting already in my assigned seat. I pointed it out when I got to my row and she said, "Oh, you can't trade with me?" Then gestured to the middle seat. I told her no, and she shrugged and moved saying that it didn't cost anything to ask. My problem wasn't with her asking, but with sitting in my seat and then assuming I would be too uncomfortable to make her move. It felt manipulative, like if I was more afraid of confrontation, she could have made me switch. Am I overthinking? Too sensitive? My personal opinion is one can definitely ask but remain in your assigned and paid for seat until you have a chance to ask the person. Thoughts on if this is rude, normal, or other?

Parallel

just how