Look at this…
This is the awesome disco ball I have just had put in my kitchen!!
Now you may think this crazy – why would anyone want a disco ball in their kitchen? Well this is ‘me’ all over! This ball represents me owning my kitchen!
You see – for years, my husband has been the chef in our house. I haven’t had much kitchen confidence which is odd given that I love eating and I have a confident personality. But in food preparation – alas, no!
It stemmed from my school days when I was overweight. I’d started to put on weight just before puberty (comfort eating – my parents were divorcing) but as I grew bigger, the taunts started. I was called “Blue Peter Belly Appeal”, “Fatso” and my all time favourite: “Last week Nadine was sunbathing on the beach and Greenpeace found her and threw her back in!” (This one was quite creative but to a teenage girl, being called a whale is not funny at the time!)
So I stopped listening in Home Economics. I didn’t want it to look like I was interested in food or cooking, so I wouldn’t get teased. And so I never learned. I didn’t know how to boil and egg or prepare a meal and I had absolutely no idea how to start to construct a meal – what to put with what!
It didn’t matter so much when Simon and I started living together. He’s always been a ‘foodie’ and he learned from his mother about making meals. My mum never loved the kitchen – making meals was a chore rather than a pleasure so I just never picked up any skills in this area. But when I became a mum myself, things changed.
It was ok for me on my own to live on beans on toast if Simon wasn’t around to make something, but when I was home all day with young children, I had to step up to the mark. It has taken a while to start to develop confidence in the kitchen, and I still fail sometimes. I’m by no means an accomplished cook, but I can now prepare a dinner from scratch, doing the vegetables, meat, potatoes, etc and getting everything ready at the same time! (This in itself was a massive hurdle for me before!)
So back to the disco ball. I have started to relax whilst I’m cooking now – I don’t need to have everything quiet and no distractions so I can concentrate! Now I enjoy some funky music whilst I cook, and I like to dance – and every dancer should have a disco ball! The kids and I love it!! We can belt out some Girls Aloud or The Saturdays, and boogie whilst we cook and have a party atmosphere! My kitchen is now ‘Mine’ – not just a place where our food is stored, waiting for Simon to come home and cook it, but it’s a room in the house where I can be as valid as any other.
Here is the ball in ‘situ’:
The disco ball is very “me”. Those who know me in person would agree that my personality is like a sparkly, glittery, larger than life disco ball! So now you know its history, join me regularly for a disco ball coffee morning on this blog, where we can have some light relief from a juggling mums day, and dance like no-one is watching!!
…… Being organised saves time, money, boosts your productivity and helps you enjoy the ‘little stuff’ of life.
Like my content? I’d be honoured if you added me to your blogroll and followed this blog – your support really does make a difference. x
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I adore this, you just show how imporatant it is to get the children into the kitchen and learn how to cook with mum. I think I would like a glitter ball too!
Hi Mad House!
Honestly – it has changed my life! Get a glitter ball, they are awesome. I think mine was about 20 quid off Ebay!
[...] angle of bringing music and happiness into their products. Regular readers will know all about my kitchen disco ball – it is important to be able to sing and dance when you are going about your home-making, so [...]
[...] always been a competent home cook. These days I can whisk and sautee with the best of them but it wasn’t always this way. So I do like simplicity in the kitchen- food that is quick and easy to make and that will fill up [...]