What happens when a cookbook becomes more than recipes? When it meets you at 4:44 AM as you're cleaning bottles, staring out the window, wondering what happened to you? That's exactly what Dina Delicia Gonsar accomplishes with her new book "At The Kitchen Sink" - a refreshing blend of practical recipes and soul-nourishing devotionals.
Returning to Making Room, Dina takes us behind the scenes of her publishing journey, revealing how years of seemingly rejected proposals transformed into perfect divine timing. Those waiting seasons allowed her to incorporate profound personal experiences - including her battle with cancer and postpartum depression - creating devotionals with authentic depth rather than surface-level encouragement.
Unlike traditional cookbooks organized by meal type, Dina structures her book around the actual rhythms of family life. "Carpool Warriors" offers meals you can eat in the car between sports practices. "Mom Minute" provides quick personal nourishment when you haven't had a moment to yourself all day. Even "eating off your kid's plate" becomes an opportunity for creativity - like adding protein powder to abandoned cereal milk.
What resonates most powerfully is Dina's liberation from rigid mealtime rules. Gone are the days of insisting on elaborate multi-component dinners at precise times. Instead, she embraces flexibility: sometimes dinner happens at 4:30 before soccer practice, sometimes it's breakfast foods at night, sometimes it's dessert with dad when he gets home late. This adaptability doesn't diminish the importance of gathering; rather, it makes consistent family time possible amidst life's constantly shifting demands.
Through it all, Dina reframes everyday cooking as meaningful ministry rather than mundane labor. When nobody's applauding the person wiping Cheerios off the floor for the fifth time, her book stands as a reminder that this too is sacred work.
Ready to transform your relationship with mealtime? Order "At The Kitchen Sink" today
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This Episode was sponsored by Feast and Fettle. Get $25 off your first week of personal chef quality meals delivered straight to your door with code GATHER25
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, welcome back to Making Room.
I'm so glad you're here,goodness.
Well, today's conversationseems very relatable to a lot of
us.
Very personal, because I'm in aseason right now where I feel
like I actually have time to becooking.
I have the margin to be cookinga little bit more, but it feels
that there's just a lothappening, a lot of moving
(00:23):
pieces and so, even though Ihave the time to cook, I'm not
enjoying it like I used to.
There seems to be a lingeringstress as I'm cooking.
Maybe actually, dina, I'm goingto start over.
Okay, hey everyone, welcomeback to Making Room.
I'm so glad that you're here.
Today's conversation is sweet,dina.
Our friend Dina is back on theshow.
This is her second time, so youmight have heard her episode.
(00:44):
I should have looked back towhen it is a few years ago.
Maybe, I don't know, maybeyou'll remember COVID.
It's been a few years, but sheis not a stranger to the show
and we are celebrating theupcoming release of her new book
, which I know that you guys aregoing to be encouraged by, and
it's going to speak directly toyour heart.
I don't know about you.
I'm in a season where Iactually have time to be cooking
(01:06):
.
I don't have to watch Wesley ascarefully anymore he's playing
crazy in the background but Ihave time to cook dinners.
But I find that I need a littleextra encouragement as I'm
doing it.
And her cookbook talks to bothof them.
Talks to the new mom to getdelicious dinner on the table
while encouraging her heart, andI know that you're going to
(01:26):
love it as much as we do.
Well, if you are new to Dina,here is her bio to learn a
little bit more about her.
Dina Delicia Gonsar is a creator, writer, speaker and television
personality behind the popularfood blog Dish it Girl.
She was named Best Home Cook bythe Hallmark Channel's Home and
Family and has contributed herrecipes on On Air Talent, on the
(01:47):
Today Show, the Good Dish Guys,grocery Games I didn't know
that actually Inside Edition,gma Online, rachel Ray Online
and Real Simple, as well ascountless other media outlets
she works with.
She Lives Fearless Women'sMinistry as a devotional writer,
podcast co-host and conferencespeaker.
Dina currently lives in NewJersey with her husband, brian
(02:09):
and daughter Sienna Guys.
Dina is a friend, and so Ialways love these conversations
because, I don't know, it feelsmore like we're chatting over
coffee than just having anotherinterview, and so I hope that
you could feel that through thescreen and love it as much as I
do.
Well, if you are in a busyseason, where are we?
Oh my gosh, we are just at thestart of spring.
(02:30):
It feels like sports arestarting.
It feels like goodness, I don'tknow all the crazy.
I was talking to a friend theother day who said yeah,
basically for the next fewmonths we're just going to be
living at the fields.
If that is you and you want toget dinner on the table for your
family, feast and Fettle wantsto come alongside you and make
that a little bit easier.
It is so simple.
(02:51):
If you haven't tried it yet, ifI haven't convinced you, you
head on over tofeastandfettlecom F-E-T-T-L-Ecom
.
You pick your kids' snacks.
There are lunches, dinners.
You could actually even justlike heat it up and bring it to
(03:12):
the fields to feed your family.
They want to come alongside youand make it simple and you can
get $25 off your first week.
Use code gather and the numberis two, five when you order your
coupon code at checkout.
Get it delivered straight toyour door, just like a personal
chef, and you can thank me later.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the
host of Making Room by Gatherpodcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it, and for me
(03:50):
that meant two things that Ineeded the healing to learn how
to accept an invitation and theconfidence to know how to extend
one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through making room by gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:11):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table, but can I tell yousomething?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Okay, hi, hi, friend, I know I'm so motivational, I
can do it.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I'm like I didn't invite somebody over this week.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Oh, you do it so well , I just love being created here
.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Katie, it's amazing and it's been so nice to know
you all these years and watchyou grow this platform and your
heart for people and connectingpeople.
I really love it.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It's thanks to friends like you honestly, I
mean, I say that a lot, but Idon't say it lightly.
It's possible because of thepeople you go through the
journey with right, very truePeople, that you talk about the
highs and the lows which Iactually wanted to start off by
talking to you about, becausepeople might know your
background a little bit from thepast episode.
Do you remember what year itwas?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Gosh, that's a good question.
It's like one of those thingswhere I'm like oh, maybe it was
only two years ago, but itprobably was longer than we
think.
When did you start the podcast2020.
So I think, probably, or Ithink I was one of your first
batch.
(05:40):
Maybe first or second batch, Iguess, wow.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
That's so wild.
Well, so I actually should havelistened back to the episode
before this, because I don'teven know if we talked about the
hopes for a book.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know it's possible we did because I feel
like for a number of yearsthat's kind of where everyone
had me.
They were like either you needa book or you need a show.
You need a book, you need ashow, stuff like that was always
what people would like to emailme with or tell me about in
(06:16):
person, and I was always justvery hesitant with those types
of comments.
Well, they're appreciated, Iappreciate what people are
saying.
I'm always like well, I got tomake sure that I want what God
wants out of this and not justlike what, what I want, or else
I'm going to get into a lot oftrouble, which I mean I.
I always get into a lot oftrouble, so I'm not going to lie
(06:37):
.
But but, um, that was always um, yeah, that was always the
feedback.
And I did have a proposal for abook in many different forms
sitting in a folder on mycomputer for many, many years
and Brian joke around with meand be like how's that proposal
you're sending out thateveryone's rejecting.
Like you say, I'm like oh, it's, it's fine sitting on my
(07:01):
computer, but maybe we'll getinto that later.
But when God opens a door, itfeels so much different than
when you try to push open a door, and I had that experience with
the book and it's somethingthat I hold in my heart as like
an imprint of like, okay, thisis what it feels like and this
is what it looks like when Godtruly has his hand on something.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Well, I guess run with that a little bit, because
I remember before I started thepodcast.
So I'm interviewing a lot ofauthors these days, right, and
so I hear little nuggets oflittle things like the proposal
process, working with an agent,self-publishing, all these kind
of key buzzwords that you hear.
But my goodness, it is adifficult road.
(07:46):
There's a lot behind it thatpeople don't know.
So what do you want people toknow about your road to the book
?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I guess that it was long and it was much longer than
I anticipated.
And you hear those storiesabout maybe Julia Child or this
person and that person, likewhatever field you're interested
in, you listen to, like the howI Built it type podcast, like
people will tell you that a lotof it's not overnight and,
(08:14):
especially with God's timing, alot of things don't happen, you
know, in the timing we thinkwould make sense.
But when you experience hisperfect timing, it is, it all
does make sense.
But when you experience hisperfect timing, it all does make
sense.
Maybe if I would have publishedthis book years ago, I wouldn't
have the experience to put intoit as I did now, or the
(08:36):
testimony as I did now, walkingthrough cancer, walking through
a season with postpartumdepression.
I wouldn't have been able towrite those devotionals that I
did within the book, um, to thelevel or or the depth in which I
was able to.
So I can see, looking back onit, although really hard to wait
(08:56):
, um, perfect, perfect timing ina sense.
And I mean I started out withthe blog not realizing I was
writing a blog.
I was just kind of writing downmy recipes to pass on to
friends when I had them over fordinner parties, because I was
(09:16):
in college and making likeSunday dinner with I was not
your normal, your normaltrajectory, but I just I don't
know.
I was just always that way.
I was always making food andthinking that I had to gather
people with food.
I guess I was reading GourmetMagazine and Cosmopolitan
(09:40):
Magazine.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
I was a different animal as a Walton magazine.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
I was a different animal and, um, so then I think,
what?
What happened?
Is God just like took that andhe started shaping it and, um, I
let me see, hold on one sec.
I'm sorry, katie, no, you'regood.
Are you kidding?
You're good, okay?
Um, you can definitely do that.
I'm sorry, kate, that normallydoesn't happen.
Oh my gosh, I really believe metoday.
(10:11):
And I just have to text Brianto like try to keep a hand on it
.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
You're totally fine.
Usually it's my end, so I'm sosorry.
Okay, I will back up where youHonestly, don't worry about it,
your answer was super good, okay, yeah, no, it actually helps my
(10:37):
brain.
I'm like, oh good, I can reset.
Oh, my gosh, right, okay,honestly, I think your answer
was great.
Okay, I could just trim it.
Was there more you wanted tosay, or do you want me to segue?
Um?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
whatever, whatever you need honestly, whatever you
need, however you need it to be,I mean, like, I mean I can
always tell you more about, like, the publishing process.
Oh, let's do that, let's dothat Just pick up there.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Pick up there and I'll edit it together.
Yeah, sounds good, yeahno-transcript.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know I don't have a lot of outfits of the day and
things like that.
I don't have a ton of affiliatelinks.
You know.
Working on it, I'm like theworst influencer ever.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
People are like where'd you get?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
your sweater.
I'm like it's five years agofrom TJ Maxx, I don't know.
So I struggle in that way.
But it went from schoolcounselor by day writing recipes
for different brands by time.
And then I had a friend inpublic relations who was like I
(12:07):
need someone to do a food demoon TV for a brand.
Do you know how to do that?
And I'm like no, but okay, I'lldo that.
And that turned into me doing alot of television segments.
Again, I didn't know what I wasdoing and that's like the whole
theme of Dish it Girl.
You don't know what you'redoing, but you're going to get
it done.
Yeah, good, you know crock potsin the hotel room, like
(12:28):
watching segments on TV andbeing like, oh, I guess they
have a finished dish, so Ishould do that, all of these
things, and so just very foodheavy.
But then around the time when Ihad Sienna, you know we dealt
with a lot with her being in theNICU and more of an emergency
situation.
And then here I am flyingaround like to home and family
(12:50):
and different television showsdoing food.
And then all of a sudden I'mlike full stop and dealing with
being very type A, veryfunctional, and then wondering
like how did I fall into beingdiagnosed with anxiety and
depression?
And I couldn't hide that frompeople I'm not a good liar, I'm
not good at hiding and you know,almost eight years ago this was
(13:12):
not a lot online about peoplestruggling through motherhood,
just a lot of like I had a babyand now we're going and you know
, boarding a plane, and I'mdoing a television segment Like
that's what I had a lot in myfeed, or like messy bun but
still glowing because I had timeto go to hot yoga this morning,
and I'm like who's watchingyour kid?
I'm like how are you doing this?
(13:33):
Why is your baby good on aplane?
Like what is wrong with me?
And like all of these things,like just piling on me.
And so Dish it Girl took adifferent turn and I started
being more open about just myfaith and sharing that and what
I was going through a little bitmore and people were really
(13:54):
responding and it sounded like alot of people were hurting in
that way and needed that messageand I figured I'd rather let
people see the non-curated part,because so often they will ask
you like how do you keep yourfaith?
Or if you're curious about thattype of thing, just seeing the
(14:15):
picture like before and afterdoesn't help, because you're
like what does it look like inthe middle.
So I started sharing in thatway and didn't stop, and through
that I guess I got hooked upwith Christian Parenting, which
was a wonderful platform to be apart of, and while I was
working with them, someone thereher name is Jill Jefferson,
(14:36):
very lovely.
She was like oh, who's youragent?
And this is like getting likenine years into Dish it Girl.
This was only maybe two yearsago.
And she's like who's your agent?
Dish it Girl, like this wasonly like maybe two years ago.
And she's like who's your agent?
Who's your publishing agent?
Cause everyone assumes I havelike full speed here, but it's
always just been me.
I've never had an agent.
I've never had, yeah, I'venever had any of that.
(14:58):
I've just kind of beenoperating on God's favor, his
open doors, and just like thecapacity of my season.
And I said nobody.
And she's like well, let meintroduce you to so-and-so.
So that was here at Alive andtrying to make the story as
short as possible, I mean, I hadsat through seminars on how to
(15:21):
publish and how to do proposalsand things of that nature prior.
You know, I just didn't, I justwas.
I'm oh, and I still am very shyat trying to approach agents or
you know, even with liketelevision work, things like
that.
I'm not very good at advocatingin that way, um, but you know
the Lord still has a way ofgetting of getting it done.
(15:43):
But you know the Lord still hasa way of getting of getting it
done, um, and so I met with theliterary agent and, again, like,
self-publishing is a greatroute to um, you know,
traditional publishing isn't theonly way.
Um, for example, like Brian'sbeen in a children's book author
for years.
He's been shopping his book andit took him years to get his
book deal, whereas with me itlooked like it happened very
(16:06):
quickly, but it was really yearsin the making.
I, just once I finally had theagent and whatever, I guess I
was ready in that moment.
I didn't have to take the yearswith the proposal.
And so we did the proposal andshe, you know, I'm let's see, I
think I was going to dancepractice with Sienna and she
(16:26):
calls me and she's like allright, I'm going to send this
out today, just so, you know,this could take months for
people to respond.
Don't get discouraged.
And if it does take a couple ofmonths and no one said anything
, we're just going to go back tothe drawing board.
So she's real positive abouteverything, like trying to give
me the real deal.
And so I was like, okay, okay,I'm like that's great.
So I hung up the phone and Ifiled it in the back of my brain
(16:49):
and I'm like, all right, thislet's not get like excited or
worked out.
I'm very realistic, like that.
I'm very like slow to thecelebration.
I think you could say, and I'mlike all right, let's file this
in the back of my brain and ifit works, it works.
If it doesn't, it doesn't.
And then, like an hour later,she called me back and she was
like I have to set up fivemeetings in the next week and I
(17:14):
was so overwhelmed in thatmoment.
I would never expect that kindof response.
That's really not how it workswith me.
Yeah, um and yeah.
And then I yeah.
I ended up going with um penguin.
Uh, they have a more of areligious arm, convergent, yeah,
(17:36):
and there it went.
So, and I say there it wentbecause the trajectory was, you
know, someone passed me on tosomeone else, they took me right
away, um, and then, like youknow, like I said, god just made
it happen like dominoes, andI've never quite had that happen
.
It's been a lot of work inbetween, yeah, I mean in between
(17:57):
, and I guess I had been doingthat work all those years.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
And you knew not to quit.
Like I'm getting a little tearyeyed, like as you're saying it,
because the different likeconversations we've had over the
years of like it feels likeit's not working, but I don't
feel like I'm supposed to quityet.
Like on both of our ends, right.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Katie, like I've have the book coming out now and I
still I'm still having issueswith that, like I'm still, you
know, in a lot of prayer aboutit.
And he's, he is telling me.
He's like don't quit, and I'mlike I'm actively trying to quit
all the time.
I'm like all right, quit, andI'm like I'm actively trying to
quit all the time.
I'm like all right, I'm likethis isn't working.
I understand, maybe I took awrong turn and I really am
(18:37):
writing in, like I love writingand journaling.
I think that's like a great tipfor anyone if you can.
And I'm really hearing likedon't quit.
And I, you know, sometimes Idon't really know why he's
saying that or like what's upahead and it, you know it
doesn't mean that has to be abig thing, but I do know that I
I just want to be faithful withwhatever he's given me.
(18:58):
My main concern is to stewardit well in his name.
Um, it's hard not to quit,especially when you're in
waiting seasons.
Um, yeah, it's.
It's not easy, and Anything inentertainment and publishing
requires a lot of waiting,requires a lot of
self-reassurance.
When you're freelancing oropening your own business, it is
(19:23):
a lot of self-reliance, whichis hard sometimes.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
It is hard, it's a lot of, it's a, it's a slow like
it's the long road right.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, yeah, you have to be in for the marathon, not
the sprint.
There will be times whereyou're sprinting, like right now
I'm in pre-order and, um, youknow, starting to promo it.
So this is like my sprint, butI also have to keep my you know
so my, my energy, my body has tobe in the sprint, but my mind
has to be on the long game andrealize that I'm going to have
(19:54):
to be doing this for a long time.
Like my book might not be likesome huge pre-order success, but
I have a feeling in my heartthat, like over time, this is
going to reach who it needs toreach and that has to be more of
that, has to be more my centerwith this.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
So good.
I um.
I don't want you to think I'mlike doing something behind the
scenes.
I'm going to message my nextguest and just ask for a 15
minute delay.
Really quick.
No, you're good.
I want to like we could havemade this short and sweet, but I
don't want to.
Um, do you have an extra 15minutes?
I totally.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I have whatever time, whatever time?
No, I don't.
I'll try to be more succinct.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
No, I want you to.
I know I don't want that.
Um, um, okay, we're good, good,good, good, um Okay, make a big
(21:08):
backup.
So in the book, what I think isso beautiful about it, and
what's going to be so refreshingto people, is the mix of
devotional or snippets ofencouragement with recipes.
Why was this important to youto include the merge of the two?
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, so it ended up being like two books in one.
There's over 70 recipes andthere's also like a little bit
over, I think, 40 devotional.
So it's like almost equal inthat that sense.
You know, it's not just like Iwrote a little paragraph in
front of each chapter.
That's encouraging, it's likereal, it's like a real five
(21:53):
entries per per chapter.
Um, and I think when I was, Iwas giving the given the task to
finally write this book, Ithought, you know, I can't just
drop, uh, something intopeople's lap.
That's like another cookbookwith just like aesthetically, um
(22:15):
, aspirational moments of likelook at her family, look at her
home, look at the all thesebeautiful pictures of this
beautiful food and you know,just like social media, it just
creates a lot of spirit ofcomparison.
Yes, there's parts ofentertainment, but for me and
what I've gone through, I'macutely aware of how that makes
(22:39):
people feel, who may bestruggling.
Or I think the climate haschanged over the years with
social media, as we are just inthis wheel of constant wishing
and hoping and comparing.
Wishing and hoping andcomparing.
And I always felt like with myInstagram account, I never
wanted anybody to hop over to mycorner and be made to feel that
(23:02):
way, like, oh, I wish my houselooked like hers.
I mean, yeah, there's momentsof that, there are magazine and
curated looking moments to mylife, but there's also a lot of
like.
This is what it looks likeevery day, like in the trenches.
This is like the non-glamourpart.
This is me cleaning my kitchenor my toilet, like I showed you
guys that you know, directlyafter today's show appearance, I
(23:26):
go home and you know you gethome at 1030, rest of the day to
clean, home at 1030, rest ofthe day to clean.
But I wanted to be able to meetsomeone where they were at.
And the people I was thinkingof in my heart is like, yes,
like the mom or the dad, or theperson who's like at the kitchen
sink gripping it Like I don'tknow if I can make it the rest
(23:47):
of the day, or you know who'slike cleaning up like Cheerios
off the floor.
I want to meet you on the floorand like, grab your hands and
look in your eyes and being likewhat you're doing right now is
is ministry.
You know this, this book that Ihave like, while it's beautiful
and polished and a blessing,like that's not where it's at.
Um, so good.
(24:08):
You know there's not a lot ofpeople cheering everybody on in
the everyday, in the, what theythink they think.
I say think mundane becauseit's really obedience and it's
really like kingdom work.
And I said that to my mom once.
I said did you realize, likeall this time, your hospitality
and your willingness to openyour home and you making us
(24:30):
dinner, you know, most nightsout of the week and the holidays
, that you created like that,that was a ministry?
Like just because you weren'tup on a platform speaking
doesn't mean what you were doingwas any less important.
But the problem is it's notbeing clapped for or recognized
(24:50):
the same way some of these othermore public forums are.
So if I have the chance to meetsomeone on the floor, meet
someone at the kitchen sink, orwhen they close the door of
their closet or the bathroom for10 minutes and they're just
like crying because they're likewhat did I do here?
Because I've been there.
I've been there cleaning outthe bottles at like 4.44 in the
(25:11):
morning, staring out the backwindow, like I know, like it has
nothing to do with whether ornot you love your family or it's
what you wanted to do.
You're just like a mess.
It's really dark at a momentand you're like what happened to
me?
So I just didn't want to handsomebody like oh, work a little
harder and make this for dinner.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I wanted an opportunity to say a little bit
more and do a little bit more,so that 444, I feel like people
are going to listen to that andbe like okay, this girl gets it.
Those are the stories, right,like those are the stories that
social media, like you said Imean you said it explicitly
(25:56):
Maybe we're starting to see itmore.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yes, it is happening a lot more than it was eight
years ago.
Eight years ago it was nothingand I just felt like crazy.
I felt crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And honestly, Dina, I was flipping through my
advanced copy, like the PDF, andI was like, man, these are
recipes that are I totally couldmake on a weeknight and my
husband's going to be happy withthem, Like my kids are going to
be happy with them Like theyare.
So they're elevated in a way,just because you love.
You love food and style, butlike every day, like well, you
(26:33):
know, I feel confident makingthem?
Speaker 3 (26:36):
I hope so.
When I, when I was tasked withokay, like I mean, I don't know
how to write a cookbook, I don'tknow what I'm like, I say I
don't know what I'm doing.
So I'm sitting there thinkinglike how am I going to structure
these chapters?
Like, is it breakfast, lunchand dinner chapters?
Like is it breakfast, lunch anddinner?
(26:56):
Is it dips and you know, treats?
And like I was like what is allof this?
Like what am I going to do?
And do we need another bookthat tells us how to do that?
It's hard.
You go to Barnes and Nobles orwherever you go to shop for
books and it's amazing, youstand in the middle of all these
cookbooks and it's like you'relike crap, who's going to buy?
You know, like what are wegoing to do here?
And I just like had this likelittle epiphany, because my
(27:19):
desire is really, like I've saidbefore, to serve people right
where they're at, not where,like social media puts us at or
not where, like, all theaspirational books put us at.
But I'm like what doeseverybody need a solution to
every single day?
So I thought about my week,like my regular week, and I'm
like how am I surviving throughthe week, like, let's get honest
(27:43):
about this.
And you know I I've said itmany times before I had that
moment where I picked up Siennafrom school and I knew we were
going from school to dance tosoccer with 30 minutes in
between, which is crazy.
I don't recommend that and Iwas so sick of stopping a
Chick-fil-A for her, which letme preface by like, do the pizza
, do the Chick-fil-A, do thebreakfast for dinner, do the
(28:04):
cereal?
Like that's all good.
We were just getting into like acycle, because this was a new
season for me, having a kid inmany sports, and I just realized
like I couldn't do anothernight like that.
This was what every week wasgoing to be like.
So I like made us a pizza, madeus a salad, packed it up and we
were tailgating like in our inin our car, at the soccer field
(28:29):
in between.
So that's where chapters likeyou know, carpool, warriors or
weekend, you know, came from.
You know things that you caneat in the car, pack it up,
throw it in the car, things likea mom minute.
There were times where it'slike, you know, like two o'clock
in the afternoon and likeyou're just like gripping the
(28:50):
counter and you're like, oh mygoodness, if I like, serve one
more snack.
Or if, like, one more personcalls my name, I haven't sat all
day.
I don't even think I've peedlike, to be totally honest, you
know, and I would like pop likea piece of chocolate in my mouth
or like a treat.
That's where like the peanutbutter bluffer nutters came from
(29:11):
Um and then eating off yourkid's plate Like how many times
are you eating scraps off yourkid's plate?
And I noticed I wasn't eatingand I wasn't eating right and
that was contributing to all theissues I was having.
And so I started making thingslike she has leftover cereal
(29:32):
milk, I would put protein powderin it and a banana and like
word up and at least it wassomething.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
That is genius.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So that's.
That's in the book too.
You know, there's the momminute.
There's like what are you goingto eat for carpool?
Oh my gosh, I love opening upmy pantry and my fridge and
being like how are we going tomake this work?
So good.
The pantry picks.
And then of course there's likehey, do you have a couple more
(29:59):
minutes in the morning?
Here's something you could setup in the morning, and it's good
for you to pop in the oven orleave the slow cooker on
solutions like that.
So it really spans your week.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I guess you would say yeah, that's like, wherever
you're at, in the range of likecapacity, that's so good.
Well, let's go through each one.
Maybe tell us a recipe ifyou're comfortable with that
that maybe you're like yeah, Ihave my book right here.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I'll go through it Good.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Maybe a recipe you're extra excited about or you
think people will be refreshedto see, as you were saying, that
too, like it's meeting peoplewhere they're at.
This week I was meal preppingand I told Colby I was like I
wish someone could just liketell me what to make.
My brain is just zapped and Ilove that.
With this cookbook I could belike, oh yeah, there's no time
this week, like I'm going tothis chapter, you know, or?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
for sure.
I mean, that's what a lot ofpeople will be like.
Well, how do you like meal prep?
How do you meal plan?
And that's sometimes a hardquestion for me, because I don't
have a Sunday or a day to mealprep, just because of the nature
of my family being close by andI'm usually making dinner for
them on Sunday.
But what I will do is I take alook and every week, as much as
(31:07):
I want it to be the same, it'skind of slightly different, like
what we all have going on.
So I have to look at the weekand I've stopped being so strict
about like I would have a mealplanned for every single night
of the week.
That's crazy.
A lot of cooking yeah, that's,that's, that's crazy.
(31:27):
And I found you know it's notsmart budget wise, because
you're not leaving room for thatnight where you're like you
know what, I can't do it.
We are ordering out or forleftovers and repurposing them
or for I don't know, like if youjust change your direction and
you're like I can't make thiswhole meal, but I can make eggs
(31:49):
tonight, so you're not missingout on like ingredients rotting
away in your fridge, because Iplan so tightly that if I veer
off the beaten path.
So I make sure I haveingredients for two to three
solid meals per week insteadInstead.
That way I know I'm not feelingso guilty when I have to order
(32:09):
pizza, Cause that was a personalproblem.
I would deal with a lot ofguilt for some reason if we had
to order out, and that was alittle like faulty as as well.
So, um, budget wise, it's justyou know and try to plan like
those round two recipes like inthe book.
I have two recipes dedicated torotisserie chicken, to
(32:37):
rotisserie chicken.
I mean, rotisserie chicken is alifesaver, Um, and that that is
part of my chapter that saysahead of the game, prep, prepped
dinners.
So you know, if you're, ifyou're able to sit down and plan
the start of your week andyou're like, all right, I'm
going to be out all afternoonshuttling kids, or I'm not
getting home from work untillate, but the night before I can
set this up and just have itready to throw in the oven or
(32:59):
throw into the crock pot in themorning, like, switch it on.
That's going to save my life onthis day.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Also rotisserie, what I love.
If people are Costco fans whichI know, I have a lot of Costco
fans it's a $4.99.
Yes, it's very cost-effective.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It is.
It's a great-.
You can do a million thingswith it.
You can make it into chickensalad.
You can make it into like Ihave rotisserie chicken, avocado
enchiladas.
Those are so yummy.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
And then I have to admit, though, one of my kitchen
jobs that I hate like I thinkmy least favorite kitchen job is
pulling the meat off therotisserie.
So it really grosses me out,but I like eating it.
So our system is I buy it andthen Colby.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I was going to say you got to enlist.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, he pulls it apart there.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And um, I also have a recipe for rotisserie chicken
spinach stuffed shells.
So you know, having a round tworecipe is good for that.
And then you know even chickensoup.
My chicken soup is a shortcutchicken soup.
It's not in this book, I'vedone it on Instagram before, but
it involves rotisserie chicken.
That's awesome.
That's great.
Yeah, so that's, that's one ofthe, the gems.
(34:08):
What?
Speaker 1 (34:09):
about?
I'm curious though, the momminute.
What's a mom minute one?
You're excited about gems.
What about?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
I'm curious, though the mom minute.
What's a mom minute one you'reexcited about?
Oh gosh, I mean I think thatthe um, peanut butter and fluff
stuff dates are going to make alot of people happy.
Um, but I love.
I mean I try to drink coffeeand it just sits like my coffee
right now is cold again.
That's the worst.
Yeah, you think you're going todrink it and you just don't.
And I was sick of like I don'tlike it reheated, I know, and I
(34:38):
was sick of dumping it down thesink.
So one day I had some chiaseeds and I was like you know
what, let's, let's make thisinto something for the next day
that I'll enjoy, or like theafternoon.
So I have a coffee chia seedpudding in there.
Then I did another recipe withcold coffee, which was called a
banana coffee whip.
So it's just like I make myselfa little treat.
(35:00):
Instead I took a banana, thebrewed coffee and some heavy
cream, and I judged that up formyself and gave myself a little
treat.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Have you ever seen?
As you were saying that, I wasthinking.
When I was a nanny, I saw thisone of the moms had one of those
hot pads.
It was a smart coffee pad.
Have you seen?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
that, yes, I do have one of those now.
I do.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Okay, so like I don't like my coffee reheated either,
so what do you think of it?
Is it worth?
Speaker 3 (35:28):
it, it keeps it, it keeps it warm.
Yeah, it truly keeps it warm.
I got it as a Christmas present, actually, from my
brother-in-law.
Yeah yeah, he's a big coffeedrinker and he's like I love
mine.
He's like you probably needthis and I'm like you're right,
it is life-changing.
Do I use it every single day?
No, cause I'm consistency isnot my thing, but I'm with you,
(35:49):
but it does.
It does.
It does help, it does help.
Okay, I've been happy some dayswhen I'm like, oh, so glad this
is still warm.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
That's so nice.
Okay, I like that.
That sounds like a what's thatlike social media trend right
now.
It's like dopamine hitsdopamine schedule.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Yeah, dressing for, like dopamine dressing this and
that yeah.
That's like a dopamine thing,that is when you revisit your
coffee an hour later and you'relike oh, oh it's still warm,
okay.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Well, so as Sienna and your nieces get older and
the reason I'm pairing themtogether is because if people
follow you, they're together alot, you guys spend a lot of
time together.
They're around the same ages.
What's the age span?
Just so people know as we'retalking.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
So Alina is oh my gosh, she just had her birthday.
She's 11.
She's really old, and Valentinaand Sienna are nine months
apart, which is pretty cool.
So they are seven and eight atthe moment.
There is a time where they'reboth the same age, but right now
seven and eight.
So seven, eight and 11.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
They're the sweetest when they're all together.
I saw a picture of Alinarecently and I feel like she
looks so much older.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
She does.
She's dropping that kitty baby,look for sure.
And she's transitioning moreinto, like that middle school
vibe.
And it's like you know she'sour OG baby, you know she was
our everybody's first baby.
So we have to make thattransition in our minds as well.
(37:25):
Right, she can talk aboutskincare, Like, oh, she does
know about this.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Oh, okay, oh my gosh, it's man.
It's so much learning right,with all these different stages,
it is.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
And it's really sweet to have them together.
I'm glad they have each other.
They're like little sisters forsure.
I just lost your audio.
It just your microphone justclicked off.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I muted it Okay.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
All right, I was like oh, it just lost you oh my
goodness, I was like don't.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I was like not today, satan, not today.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
I know.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
I know.
No, I coughed and I muted him.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, we're good, thank you.
Thank you, wait.
Actually, let me just check tosee if the publicist Hold on one
second.
Yeah, I have this amazingassistant.
She is like a godsend.
That's great, but she has twolittle kids and so she can't
(38:43):
always be like.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Like super, super on it.
Okay, we are good, okay, um,okay, I'll start that over.
(39:12):
So, as the girls are gettingolder and as you're kind of like
learning and growing with them,how are you guys encouraging
them to huh, like, see value inthe table?
Cause right now it's a cultureof fast food, fast meals.
The way that you guys appear tocultivate family time isn't the
(39:34):
norm, but it's such a gift,it's so sweet.
So how are you encouraging themto pursue that?
Because I think so many of uswant that.
We're just like oh, the kidswant to go run and play with
their tablets or differentthings like that.
Like, what do you guys do?
Speaker 3 (39:50):
There's definitely tablet and phone situations,
definitely tablet and phonesituations, like sienna doesn't
have a phone yet, um, but I meanthere's definitely like the
tablet and the phone situationyou know when you go out to
dinner you know they're kind ofbored so they get to play a game
, this and that.
Like you've done things forsurvival, so um you know, uh, I
won't say there isn't that issuewith us here and there, but I
(40:13):
think it all started with myparents and the fact that we ate
dinner together.
I mean, yes, we ate dinnertogether every night, but
especially on Sundays.
And then, as we all grew up andstarted who was going to
college, who was working in thecity, who was moving here and
there, we all still found ourway to my parents' house on
Sunday.
We all still found our way tomy parents' house on Sunday.
(40:35):
So it was a habit that if wemissed a Sunday or had something
else to do, like we feltstrange inside, like not being
together, like we missedsomething.
So I understood what my parentswere doing and how they did
that.
So it takes a lot ofintentionality and it takes work
.
It really does.
(40:56):
It really does.
And that's not to make anybodyfeel bad, it's more to encourage
them that like, hey, is it hardto get everybody together at a
certain time habitually?
Yeah, it is, but it's workthat's worth it.
I say all the time is it easyfor me to do Sunday dinner all
the time?
Like, do I want a Sunday off?
(41:16):
Sure, but I think of like thelong-term ramifications of that
and I see like the fruit of thatwith what my parents did, and
so it's worth it for me to keepit up.
Like do I have strict rulessurrounding it?
Do sometimes we go out to eatinstead?
Do sometimes we do somethingdifferent?
Sure, sure, but we really likefight to stay together.
(41:40):
I know that sounds crazy, butlike around holidays and things
like that, like you've got toopen your home a little bit more
.
As people get married too, likemaybe it's everybody's in-laws
can come.
Like everybody, you have tochange the structure of things.
Sometimes you gotta you alsoneed to know your season and
what season you're in.
(42:00):
They shift and they change, soyour gathering is going to look
different as alina, valentinaand sienna get into their
teenage years.
We're gonna have to come upwith like different, different
things.
Like right now, it's great thatyou know on fr, on Friday or
Saturday nights my sister cancall me and be like you want to
let them play in the basementwhile we order pizza, because
(42:21):
they're still at that age wherethey like to play together, they
like to hang out together likethat.
So we did a lot of a lot ofthat together, um, and just in
my own home with the three of us.
Um, you know it's hard.
Brian, for a season, wasgetting home really late from
the city, at like 730.
(42:41):
So, yes, sienna and I would eatdinner together earlier, and
then Sienna and I would havedessert with daddy as he had his
dinner.
So we were still finding a wayto be at the table together.
But you know, she's like twoand three years old, she can't
wait until like seven, 38o'clock at night.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
I can't wait until seven 38.
I mean, yeah, I couldn't either.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
So I had to modify what we were doing and then, you
know, towards the weekend, be alittle bit more intentional,
that Saturday or Sunday we makesure um, you know, we have that
Um.
And now that she's in a seasonof sports and Brian's working a
little closer to home, you knowwhat Sometimes, like we're
having dinner at 4.30, but itworks because she comes home
(43:24):
from school starving, likeyou're going to find that with
like Wesley, like they're goingto come home from school, like
she's ready for dinner at like3.45.
And I'm always like, no, youcan't do that.
But you know what, with herhaving dance and soccer at right
at dinnertime, right at likeyour five o'clock, I've learned
not so bad if we eat dinner atthree, 45, four, cause you're
(43:45):
ready to eat, you're eatingeverything I'm asking you to.
And then when you come home, Idon't care what kind of snack
you have, you know it's not,it's not as stressful trying to
make them eat when they're tiredand they're whatever.
So you're just always, alwaysadjusting and just realizing
that, even if it's cereal, youknow, as long as you're sitting
(44:08):
together and you have a littlebit of face time, like that's
because even when I was a schoolcounselor.
A lot of kids in my office justwanted more time with someone,
and I understand that that'sreally hard with all the moving
parts.
So it's up to you just todecide.
Where am I going to put this?
What is this going to look like?
(44:29):
What part of the day am I goingto?
Or part of the week am I goingto put this time into?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Such important reminders and just the
flexibility and the grace andthe you said this about, like
your book process and like yourplatform, but kind of following
the capacity of your season.
I wrote that down because Iloved that, that picture
following the capacity of yourseason and as parents, as we're
approaching the table it's goingto look different, but it's the
(44:57):
intentionality and the workingfor it that it is the lasting
impact.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Yeah, and I'm guilty of wanting things to look a
certain way.
You know I wouldn't.
I wouldn't make a dinner unlessit had like your main and like
two sides and like the appetite,like it was crazy.
Like Brian was like I can't eatall this when we first got
married.
He's like I wasn't used to it.
He's like I can't do all thisand I'm like what?
Like this is what it has to be.
And then, having like Sienna, Iwas like, oh, we need to like
(45:25):
sit down at this time everynight and this is what it's got
to look like.
And I just learned I was makingmyself really insane Like who
told me that this is the way itwas supposed to be and that it
was not okay to adjust to myseason, to like look at my
season.
The same thing goes with work,as you know.
Yeah, katie, it looks likeeveryone's always moving and
(45:47):
hustling faster and doing itbetter, whether it's work or
family life.
You're always feel like peoplehave more of a handle or
somebody else is doing it betterthan you and um, that's just
not.
That's just not the case.
That's just a lie that we'refed and you know you have to
make your choices and in makingchoices, realize that.
(46:09):
All right, if I'm choosing todo this with my family, then
maybe parts of my career workare going to suffer for a moment
, but this is what's worth it.
We say we can have it all, butI feel like we can't have it all
at once and I know some peopledon't like to hear that.
But when I realized that ittook a lot of pressure off me,
(46:30):
I'm like in this season, this ismy all, this is what my all
looks like, and then in my nextseason I might get some of these
pieces of my old all back.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
I don't know.
I was just saying that it feelslike an exhale comes with that.
Yeah, an exhale that a lot ofus need.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:47):
Not to say it's easy, but you have to give up some
pieces at certain times and it'shard to give up those pieces,
but once you do, it's filledwith other things at the and
when there are other things atthe appropriate time.
Um, it just makes life a littlebit easier to go through each
and every day.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
Well, that's a powerful way to end.
I know it was so good, so good,so many timely reminders for a
lot of us listening, I mean, andI, you know, I was thinking
this definitely is going to berelatable to a mom of young kids
, but also I've talked to a lotof grandmas lately watching the
kids and it's like a new seasonfor them to just figuring out
(47:30):
new schedules with childcare andwatching kids and all the
things and empty nesting too andlike missing, having your kids
every night, or finding spacefor like.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
Well, how, now that my kids are here, they're in
everywhere, my family's here,they're in everywhere and we
can't get together right onChristmas Day.
Does that mean like Christmasis tanked, or can I be a little
bit more flexible and we cancelebrate our family Christmas
on family Christmas day, likeit's?
I've seen some of thosesituations.
Situations, too, where we haveto just be willing to revise the
(48:06):
way we gather season to season,rather than not gathering at
all.
So good Goodness.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Well, tell people where to get their copy of the
book.
We'll have a link in the shownotes, but where do you get
their copy of the book?
We'll have a link in the shownotes, but where do you want to
send people?
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Great, I mean you can .
I mean wherever books are soldat the moment online, you can
find at the kitchen sink and thepenguin page, for at the
kitchen sink, the penguin bookpage that can send you to
anywhere.
It is that you want to go.
Right now, at the time of thisrecording, we're in pre-order
(48:40):
mode, which is really exciting,because with pre-order, there's
a lot of incentives likeexclusive videos and content
that come with pre-ordering,which is great.
So, yeah, wherever you wouldfind a book, whether it's Amazon
, target, walmart, barnes andNobles, they've all got it.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Oh my gosh, can you believe you're saying those
words?
Nope, that's so wild?
Not at all.
Oh my goodness.
Well, we love you, we'reexcited for you, we're
celebrating with you.
This is so huge.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Thank you so much, Katie.
This has been really special tosit with you and talk about all
this.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
Oh my gosh, I've loved it.
I want to sit here all day withyou, but, guys, you know what
to do.
It is so helpful to authors ifyou go ahead and pre-order, so
head on over to those pages inour show notes, give Dina a
follow and let us know what youthought about the episode and we
will see you next week.
Thank you so much, dina.
See you again soon.
Hey everyone, welcome back to Making Room.
I'm so glad you're here,goodness.
Well, today's conversationseems very relatable to a lot of
us.
Very personal, because I'm in aseason right now where I feel
like I actually have time to becooking.
I have the margin to be cookinga little bit more, but it feels
that there's just a lothappening, a lot of moving
(00:23):
pieces and so, even though Ihave the time to cook, I'm not
enjoying it like I used to.
There seems to be a lingeringstress as I'm cooking.
Maybe actually, dina, I'm goingto start over.
Okay, hey everyone, welcomeback to Making Room.
I'm so glad that you're here.
Today's conversation is sweet,dina.
Our friend Dina is back on theshow.
This is her second time, so youmight have heard her episode.
(00:44):
I should have looked back towhen it is a few years ago.
Maybe, I don't know, maybeyou'll remember COVID.
It's been a few years, but sheis not a stranger to the show
and we are celebrating theupcoming release of her new book
, which I know that you guys aregoing to be encouraged by, and
it's going to speak directly toyour heart.
I don't know about you.
I'm in a season where Iactually have time to be cooking
(01:06):
.
I don't have to watch Wesley ascarefully anymore he's playing
crazy in the background but Ihave time to cook dinners.
But I find that I need a littleextra encouragement as I'm
doing it.
And her cookbook talks to bothof them.
Talks to the new mom to getdelicious dinner on the table
while encouraging her heart, andI know that you're going to
(01:26):
love it as much as we do.
Well, if you are new to Dina,here is her bio to learn a
little bit more about her.
Dina Delicia Gonsar is a creator, writer, speaker and television
personality behind the popularfood blog Dish it Girl.
She was named Best Home Cook bythe Hallmark Channel's Home and
Family and has contributed herrecipes on On Air Talent, on the
(01:47):
Today Show, the Good Dish Guys,grocery Games I didn't know
that actually Inside Edition,gma Online, rachel Ray Online
and Real Simple, as well ascountless other media outlets
she works with.
She Lives Fearless Women'sMinistry as a devotional writer,
podcast co-host and conferencespeaker.
Dina currently lives in NewJersey with her husband, brian
(02:09):
and daughter Sienna Guys.
Dina is a friend, and so Ialways love these conversations
because, I don't know, it feelsmore like we're chatting over
coffee than just having anotherinterview, and so I hope that
you could feel that through thescreen and love it as much as I
do.
Well, if you are in a busyseason, where are we?
Oh my gosh, we are just at thestart of spring.
(02:30):
It feels like sports arestarting.
It feels like goodness, I don'tknow all the crazy.
I was talking to a friend theother day who said yeah,
basically for the next fewmonths we're just going to be
living at the fields.
If that is you and you want toget dinner on the table for your
family, feast and Fettle wantsto come alongside you and make
that a little bit easier.
It is so simple.
(02:51):
If you haven't tried it yet, ifI haven't convinced you, you
head on over tofeastandfettlecom F-E-T-T-L-Ecom
.
You pick your kids' snacks.
There are lunches, dinners.
You could actually even justlike heat it up and bring it to
(03:12):
the fields to feed your family.
They want to come alongside youand make it simple and you can
get $25 off your first week.
Use code gather and the numberis two, five when you order your
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Get it delivered straight toyour door, just like a personal
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Speaker 2 (03:26):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the
host of Making Room by Gatherpodcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it, and for me
(03:50):
that meant two things that Ineeded the healing to learn how
to accept an invitation and theconfidence to know how to extend
one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through making room by gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:11):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table, but can I tell yousomething?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Okay, hi, hi, friend, I know I'm so motivational, I
can do it.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I'm like I didn't invite somebody over this week.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Oh, you do it so well , I just love being created here
.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Katie, it's amazing and it's been so nice to know
you all these years and watchyou grow this platform and your
heart for people and connectingpeople.
I really love it.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It's thanks to friends like you honestly, I
mean, I say that a lot, but Idon't say it lightly.
It's possible because of thepeople you go through the
journey with right, very truePeople, that you talk about the
highs and the lows which Iactually wanted to start off by
talking to you about, becausepeople might know your
background a little bit from thepast episode.
Do you remember what year itwas?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Gosh, that's a good question.
It's like one of those thingswhere I'm like oh, maybe it was
only two years ago, but itprobably was longer than we
think.
When did you start the podcast2020.
So I think, probably, or Ithink I was one of your first
batch.
(05:40):
Maybe first or second batch, Iguess, wow.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
That's so wild.
Well, so I actually should havelistened back to the episode
before this, because I don'teven know if we talked about the
hopes for a book.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know it's possible we did because I feel
like for a number of yearsthat's kind of where everyone
had me.
They were like either you needa book or you need a show.
You need a book, you need ashow, stuff like that was always
what people would like to emailme with or tell me about in
(06:16):
person, and I was always justvery hesitant with those types
of comments.
Well, they're appreciated, Iappreciate what people are
saying.
I'm always like well, I got tomake sure that I want what God
wants out of this and not justlike what, what I want, or else
I'm going to get into a lot oftrouble, which I mean I.
I always get into a lot oftrouble, so I'm not going to lie
(06:37):
.
But but, um, that was always um, yeah, that was always the
feedback.
And I did have a proposal for abook in many different forms
sitting in a folder on mycomputer for many, many years
and Brian joke around with meand be like how's that proposal
you're sending out thateveryone's rejecting.
Like you say, I'm like oh, it's, it's fine sitting on my
(07:01):
computer, but maybe we'll getinto that later.
But when God opens a door, itfeels so much different than
when you try to push open a door, and I had that experience with
the book and it's somethingthat I hold in my heart as like
an imprint of like, okay, thisis what it feels like and this
is what it looks like when Godtruly has his hand on something.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Well, I guess run with that a little bit, because
I remember before I started thepodcast.
So I'm interviewing a lot ofauthors these days, right, and
so I hear little nuggets oflittle things like the proposal
process, working with an agent,self-publishing, all these kind
of key buzzwords that you hear.
But my goodness, it is adifficult road.
(07:46):
There's a lot behind it thatpeople don't know.
So what do you want people toknow about your road to the book
?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I guess that it was long and it was much longer than
I anticipated.
And you hear those storiesabout maybe Julia Child or this
person and that person, likewhatever field you're interested
in, you listen to, like the howI Built it type podcast, like
people will tell you that a lotof it's not overnight and,
(08:14):
especially with God's timing, alot of things don't happen, you
know, in the timing we thinkwould make sense.
But when you experience hisperfect timing, it is, it all
does make sense.
But when you experience hisperfect timing, it all does make
sense.
Maybe if I would have publishedthis book years ago, I wouldn't
have the experience to put intoit as I did now, or the
(08:36):
testimony as I did now, walkingthrough cancer, walking through
a season with postpartumdepression.
I wouldn't have been able towrite those devotionals that I
did within the book, um, to thelevel or or the depth in which I
was able to.
So I can see, looking back onit, although really hard to wait
(08:56):
, um, perfect, perfect timing ina sense.
And I mean I started out withthe blog not realizing I was
writing a blog.
I was just kind of writing downmy recipes to pass on to
friends when I had them over fordinner parties, because I was
(09:16):
in college and making likeSunday dinner with I was not
your normal, your normaltrajectory, but I just I don't
know.
I was just always that way.
I was always making food andthinking that I had to gather
people with food.
I guess I was reading GourmetMagazine and Cosmopolitan
(09:40):
Magazine.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
I was a different animal as a Walton magazine.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
I was a different animal and, um, so then I think,
what?
What happened?
Is God just like took that andhe started shaping it and, um, I
let me see, hold on one sec.
I'm sorry, katie, no, you'regood.
Are you kidding?
You're good, okay?
Um, you can definitely do that.
I'm sorry, kate, that normallydoesn't happen.
Oh my gosh, I really believe metoday.
(10:11):
And I just have to text Brianto like try to keep a hand on it
.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
You're totally fine.
Usually it's my end, so I'm sosorry.
Okay, I will back up where youHonestly, don't worry about it,
your answer was super good, okay, yeah, no, it actually helps my
(10:37):
brain.
I'm like, oh good, I can reset.
Oh, my gosh, right, okay,honestly, I think your answer
was great.
Okay, I could just trim it.
Was there more you wanted tosay, or do you want me to segue?
Um?
Speaker 3 (10:50):
whatever, whatever you need honestly, whatever you
need, however you need it to be,I mean, like, I mean I can
always tell you more about, like, the publishing process.
Oh, let's do that, let's dothat Just pick up there.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Pick up there and I'll edit it together.
Yeah, sounds good, yeahno-transcript.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
You know I don't have a lot of outfits of the day and
things like that.
I don't have a ton of affiliatelinks.
You know.
Working on it, I'm like theworst influencer ever.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
People are like where'd you get?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
your sweater.
I'm like it's five years agofrom TJ Maxx, I don't know.
So I struggle in that way.
But it went from schoolcounselor by day writing recipes
for different brands by time.
And then I had a friend inpublic relations who was like I
(12:07):
need someone to do a food demoon TV for a brand.
Do you know how to do that?
And I'm like no, but okay, I'lldo that.
And that turned into me doing alot of television segments.
Again, I didn't know what I wasdoing and that's like the whole
theme of Dish it Girl.
You don't know what you'redoing, but you're going to get
it done.
Yeah, good, you know crock potsin the hotel room, like
(12:28):
watching segments on TV andbeing like, oh, I guess they
have a finished dish, so Ishould do that, all of these
things, and so just very foodheavy.
But then around the time when Ihad Sienna, you know we dealt
with a lot with her being in theNICU and more of an emergency
situation.
And then here I am flyingaround like to home and family
(12:50):
and different television showsdoing food.
And then all of a sudden I'mlike full stop and dealing with
being very type A, veryfunctional, and then wondering
like how did I fall into beingdiagnosed with anxiety and
depression?
And I couldn't hide that frompeople I'm not a good liar, I'm
not good at hiding and you know,almost eight years ago this was
(13:12):
not a lot online about peoplestruggling through motherhood,
just a lot of like I had a babyand now we're going and you know
, boarding a plane, and I'mdoing a television segment Like
that's what I had a lot in myfeed, or like messy bun but
still glowing because I had timeto go to hot yoga this morning,
and I'm like who's watchingyour kid?
I'm like how are you doing this?
(13:33):
Why is your baby good on aplane?
Like what is wrong with me?
And like all of these things,like just piling on me.
And so Dish it Girl took adifferent turn and I started
being more open about just myfaith and sharing that and what
I was going through a little bitmore and people were really
(13:54):
responding and it sounded like alot of people were hurting in
that way and needed that messageand I figured I'd rather let
people see the non-curated part,because so often they will ask
you like how do you keep yourfaith?
Or if you're curious about thattype of thing, just seeing the
(14:15):
picture like before and afterdoesn't help, because you're
like what does it look like inthe middle.
So I started sharing in thatway and didn't stop, and through
that I guess I got hooked upwith Christian Parenting, which
was a wonderful platform to be apart of, and while I was
working with them, someone thereher name is Jill Jefferson,
(14:36):
very lovely.
She was like oh, who's youragent?
And this is like getting likenine years into Dish it Girl.
This was only maybe two yearsago.
And she's like who's your agent?
Dish it Girl, like this wasonly like maybe two years ago.
And she's like who's your agent?
Who's your publishing agent?
Cause everyone assumes I havelike full speed here, but it's
always just been me.
I've never had an agent.
I've never had, yeah, I'venever had any of that.
(14:58):
I've just kind of beenoperating on God's favor, his
open doors, and just like thecapacity of my season.
And I said nobody.
And she's like well, let meintroduce you to so-and-so.
So that was here at Alive andtrying to make the story as
short as possible, I mean, I hadsat through seminars on how to
(15:21):
publish and how to do proposalsand things of that nature prior.
You know, I just didn't, I justwas.
I'm oh, and I still am very shyat trying to approach agents or
you know, even with liketelevision work, things like
that.
I'm not very good at advocatingin that way, um, but you know
the Lord still has a way ofgetting of getting it done.
(15:43):
But you know the Lord still hasa way of getting of getting it
done, um, and so I met with theliterary agent and, again, like,
self-publishing is a greatroute to um, you know,
traditional publishing isn't theonly way.
Um, for example, like Brian'sbeen in a children's book author
for years.
He's been shopping his book andit took him years to get his
book deal, whereas with me itlooked like it happened very
(16:06):
quickly, but it was really yearsin the making.
I, just once I finally had theagent and whatever, I guess I
was ready in that moment.
I didn't have to take the yearswith the proposal.
And so we did the proposal andshe, you know, I'm let's see, I
think I was going to dancepractice with Sienna and she
(16:26):
calls me and she's like allright, I'm going to send this
out today, just so, you know,this could take months for
people to respond.
Don't get discouraged.
And if it does take a couple ofmonths and no one said anything
, we're just going to go back tothe drawing board.
So she's real positive abouteverything, like trying to give
me the real deal.
And so I was like, okay, okay,I'm like that's great.
So I hung up the phone and Ifiled it in the back of my brain
(16:49):
and I'm like, all right, thislet's not get like excited or
worked out.
I'm very realistic, like that.
I'm very like slow to thecelebration.
I think you could say, and I'mlike all right, let's file this
in the back of my brain and ifit works, it works.
If it doesn't, it doesn't.
And then, like an hour later,she called me back and she was
like I have to set up fivemeetings in the next week and I
(17:14):
was so overwhelmed in thatmoment.
I would never expect that kindof response.
That's really not how it workswith me.
Yeah, um and yeah.
And then I yeah.
I ended up going with um penguin.
Uh, they have a more of areligious arm, convergent, yeah,
(17:36):
and there it went.
So, and I say there it wentbecause the trajectory was, you
know, someone passed me on tosomeone else, they took me right
away, um, and then, like youknow, like I said, god just made
it happen like dominoes, andI've never quite had that happen
.
It's been a lot of work inbetween, yeah, I mean in between
(17:57):
, and I guess I had been doingthat work all those years.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
And you knew not to quit.
Like I'm getting a little tearyeyed, like as you're saying it,
because the different likeconversations we've had over the
years of like it feels likeit's not working, but I don't
feel like I'm supposed to quityet.
Like on both of our ends, right.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Katie, like I've have the book coming out now and I
still I'm still having issueswith that, like I'm still, you
know, in a lot of prayer aboutit.
And he's, he is telling me.
He's like don't quit, and I'mlike I'm actively trying to quit
all the time.
I'm like all right, quit, andI'm like I'm actively trying to
quit all the time.
I'm like all right, I'm likethis isn't working.
I understand, maybe I took awrong turn and I really am
(18:37):
writing in, like I love writingand journaling.
I think that's like a great tipfor anyone if you can.
And I'm really hearing likedon't quit.
And I, you know, sometimes Idon't really know why he's
saying that or like what's upahead and it, you know it
doesn't mean that has to be abig thing, but I do know that I
I just want to be faithful withwhatever he's given me.
(18:58):
My main concern is to stewardit well in his name.
Um, it's hard not to quit,especially when you're in
waiting seasons.
Um, yeah, it's.
It's not easy, and Anything inentertainment and publishing
requires a lot of waiting,requires a lot of
self-reassurance.
When you're freelancing oropening your own business, it is
(19:23):
a lot of self-reliance, whichis hard sometimes.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
It is hard, it's a lot of, it's a, it's a slow like
it's the long road right.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, yeah, you have to be in for the marathon, not
the sprint.
There will be times whereyou're sprinting, like right now
I'm in pre-order and, um, youknow, starting to promo it.
So this is like my sprint, butI also have to keep my you know
so my, my energy, my body has tobe in the sprint, but my mind
has to be on the long game andrealize that I'm going to have
(19:54):
to be doing this for a long time.
Like my book might not be likesome huge pre-order success, but
I have a feeling in my heartthat, like over time, this is
going to reach who it needs toreach and that has to be more of
that, has to be more my centerwith this.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
So good.
I um.
I don't want you to think I'mlike doing something behind the
scenes.
I'm going to message my nextguest and just ask for a 15
minute delay.
Really quick.
No, you're good.
I want to like we could havemade this short and sweet, but I
don't want to.
Um, do you have an extra 15minutes?
I totally.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I have whatever time, whatever time?
No, I don't.
I'll try to be more succinct.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
No, I want you to.
I know I don't want that.
Um, um, okay, we're good, good,good, good, um Okay, make a big
(21:08):
backup.
So in the book, what I think isso beautiful about it, and
what's going to be so refreshingto people, is the mix of
devotional or snippets ofencouragement with recipes.
Why was this important to youto include the merge of the two?
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, so it ended up being like two books in one.
There's over 70 recipes andthere's also like a little bit
over, I think, 40 devotional.
So it's like almost equal inthat that sense.
You know, it's not just like Iwrote a little paragraph in
front of each chapter.
That's encouraging, it's likereal, it's like a real five
(21:53):
entries per per chapter.
Um, and I think when I was, Iwas giving the given the task to
finally write this book, Ithought, you know, I can't just
drop, uh, something intopeople's lap.
That's like another cookbookwith just like aesthetically, um
(22:15):
, aspirational moments of likelook at her family, look at her
home, look at the all thesebeautiful pictures of this
beautiful food and you know,just like social media, it just
creates a lot of spirit ofcomparison.
Yes, there's parts ofentertainment, but for me and
what I've gone through, I'macutely aware of how that makes
(22:39):
people feel, who may bestruggling.
Or I think the climate haschanged over the years with
social media, as we are just inthis wheel of constant wishing
and hoping and comparing.
Wishing and hoping andcomparing.
And I always felt like with myInstagram account, I never
wanted anybody to hop over to mycorner and be made to feel that
(23:02):
way, like, oh, I wish my houselooked like hers.
I mean, yeah, there's momentsof that, there are magazine and
curated looking moments to mylife, but there's also a lot of
like.
This is what it looks likeevery day, like in the trenches.
This is like the non-glamourpart.
This is me cleaning my kitchenor my toilet, like I showed you
guys that you know, directlyafter today's show appearance, I
(23:26):
go home and you know you gethome at 1030, rest of the day to
clean, home at 1030, rest ofthe day to clean.
But I wanted to be able to meetsomeone where they were at.
And the people I was thinkingof in my heart is like, yes,
like the mom or the dad, or theperson who's like at the kitchen
sink gripping it Like I don'tknow if I can make it the rest
(23:47):
of the day, or you know who'slike cleaning up like Cheerios
off the floor.
I want to meet you on the floorand like, grab your hands and
look in your eyes and being likewhat you're doing right now is
is ministry.
You know this, this book that Ihave like, while it's beautiful
and polished and a blessing,like that's not where it's at.
Um, so good.
(24:08):
You know there's not a lot ofpeople cheering everybody on in
the everyday, in the, what theythink they think.
I say think mundane becauseit's really obedience and it's
really like kingdom work.
And I said that to my mom once.
I said did you realize, likeall this time, your hospitality
and your willingness to openyour home and you making us
(24:30):
dinner, you know, most nightsout of the week and the holidays
, that you created like that,that was a ministry?
Like just because you weren'tup on a platform speaking
doesn't mean what you were doingwas any less important.
But the problem is it's notbeing clapped for or recognized
(24:50):
the same way some of these othermore public forums are.
So if I have the chance to meetsomeone on the floor, meet
someone at the kitchen sink, orwhen they close the door of
their closet or the bathroom for10 minutes and they're just
like crying because they're likewhat did I do here?
Because I've been there.
I've been there cleaning outthe bottles at like 4.44 in the
(25:11):
morning, staring out the backwindow, like I know, like it has
nothing to do with whether ornot you love your family or it's
what you wanted to do.
You're just like a mess.
It's really dark at a momentand you're like what happened to
me?
So I just didn't want to handsomebody like oh, work a little
harder and make this for dinner.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I wanted an opportunity to say a little bit
more and do a little bit more,so that 444, I feel like people
are going to listen to that andbe like okay, this girl gets it.
Those are the stories, right,like those are the stories that
social media, like you said Imean you said it explicitly
(25:56):
Maybe we're starting to see itmore.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yes, it is happening a lot more than it was eight
years ago.
Eight years ago it was nothingand I just felt like crazy.
I felt crazy.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
And honestly, Dina, I was flipping through my
advanced copy, like the PDF, andI was like, man, these are
recipes that are I totally couldmake on a weeknight and my
husband's going to be happy withthem, Like my kids are going to
be happy with them Like theyare.
So they're elevated in a way,just because you love.
You love food and style, butlike every day, like well, you
(26:33):
know, I feel confident makingthem?
Speaker 3 (26:36):
I hope so.
When I, when I was tasked withokay, like I mean, I don't know
how to write a cookbook, I don'tknow what I'm like, I say I
don't know what I'm doing.
So I'm sitting there thinkinglike how am I going to structure
these chapters?
Like, is it breakfast, lunchand dinner chapters?
Like is it breakfast, lunch anddinner?
(26:56):
Is it dips and you know, treats?
And like I was like what is allof this?
Like what am I going to do?
And do we need another bookthat tells us how to do that?
It's hard.
You go to Barnes and Nobles orwherever you go to shop for
books and it's amazing, youstand in the middle of all these
cookbooks and it's like you'relike crap, who's going to buy?
You know, like what are wegoing to do here?
And I just like had this likelittle epiphany, because my
(27:19):
desire is really, like I've saidbefore, to serve people right
where they're at, not where,like social media puts us at or
not where, like, all theaspirational books put us at.
But I'm like what doeseverybody need a solution to
every single day?
So I thought about my week,like my regular week, and I'm
like how am I surviving throughthe week, like, let's get honest
(27:43):
about this.
And you know I I've said itmany times before I had that
moment where I picked up Siennafrom school and I knew we were
going from school to dance tosoccer with 30 minutes in
between, which is crazy.
I don't recommend that and Iwas so sick of stopping a
Chick-fil-A for her, which letme preface by like, do the pizza
, do the Chick-fil-A, do thebreakfast for dinner, do the
(28:04):
cereal?
Like that's all good.
We were just getting into like acycle, because this was a new
season for me, having a kid inmany sports, and I just realized
like I couldn't do anothernight like that.
This was what every week wasgoing to be like.
So I like made us a pizza, madeus a salad, packed it up and we
were tailgating like in our inin our car, at the soccer field
(28:29):
in between.
So that's where chapters likeyou know, carpool, warriors or
weekend, you know, came from.
You know things that you caneat in the car, pack it up,
throw it in the car, things likea mom minute.
There were times where it'slike, you know, like two o'clock
in the afternoon and likeyou're just like gripping the
(28:50):
counter and you're like, oh mygoodness, if I like, serve one
more snack.
Or if, like, one more personcalls my name, I haven't sat all
day.
I don't even think I've peedlike, to be totally honest, you
know, and I would like pop likea piece of chocolate in my mouth
or like a treat.
That's where like the peanutbutter bluffer nutters came from
(29:11):
Um and then eating off yourkid's plate Like how many times
are you eating scraps off yourkid's plate?
And I noticed I wasn't eatingand I wasn't eating right and
that was contributing to all theissues I was having.
And so I started making thingslike she has leftover cereal
(29:32):
milk, I would put protein powderin it and a banana and like
word up and at least it wassomething.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
That is genius.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
So that's.
That's in the book too.
You know, there's the momminute.
There's like what are you goingto eat for carpool?
Oh my gosh, I love opening upmy pantry and my fridge and
being like how are we going tomake this work?
So good.
The pantry picks.
And then of course there's likehey, do you have a couple more
(29:59):
minutes in the morning?
Here's something you could setup in the morning, and it's good
for you to pop in the oven orleave the slow cooker on
solutions like that.
So it really spans your week.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I guess you would say yeah, that's like, wherever
you're at, in the range of likecapacity, that's so good.
Well, let's go through each one.
Maybe tell us a recipe ifyou're comfortable with that
that maybe you're like yeah, Ihave my book right here.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I'll go through it Good.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Maybe a recipe you're extra excited about or you
think people will be refreshedto see, as you were saying, that
too, like it's meeting peoplewhere they're at.
This week I was meal preppingand I told Colby I was like I
wish someone could just liketell me what to make.
My brain is just zapped and Ilove that.
With this cookbook I could belike, oh yeah, there's no time
this week, like I'm going tothis chapter, you know, or?
Speaker 3 (30:45):
for sure.
I mean, that's what a lot ofpeople will be like.
Well, how do you like meal prep?
How do you meal plan?
And that's sometimes a hardquestion for me, because I don't
have a Sunday or a day to mealprep, just because of the nature
of my family being close by andI'm usually making dinner for
them on Sunday.
But what I will do is I take alook and every week, as much as
(31:07):
I want it to be the same, it'skind of slightly different, like
what we all have going on.
So I have to look at the weekand I've stopped being so strict
about like I would have a mealplanned for every single night
of the week.
That's crazy.
A lot of cooking yeah, that's,that's, that's crazy.
(31:27):
And I found you know it's notsmart budget wise, because
you're not leaving room for thatnight where you're like you
know what, I can't do it.
We are ordering out or forleftovers and repurposing them
or for I don't know, like if youjust change your direction and
you're like I can't make thiswhole meal, but I can make eggs
(31:49):
tonight, so you're not missingout on like ingredients rotting
away in your fridge, because Iplan so tightly that if I veer
off the beaten path.
So I make sure I haveingredients for two to three
solid meals per week insteadInstead.
That way I know I'm not feelingso guilty when I have to order
(32:09):
pizza, Cause that was a personalproblem.
I would deal with a lot ofguilt for some reason if we had
to order out, and that was alittle like faulty as as well.
So, um, budget wise, it's justyou know and try to plan like
those round two recipes like inthe book.
I have two recipes dedicated torotisserie chicken, to
(32:37):
rotisserie chicken.
I mean, rotisserie chicken is alifesaver, Um, and that that is
part of my chapter that saysahead of the game, prep, prepped
dinners.
So you know, if you're, ifyou're able to sit down and plan
the start of your week andyou're like, all right, I'm
going to be out all afternoonshuttling kids, or I'm not
getting home from work untillate, but the night before I can
set this up and just have itready to throw in the oven or
(32:59):
throw into the crock pot in themorning, like, switch it on.
That's going to save my life onthis day.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Also rotisserie, what I love.
If people are Costco fans whichI know, I have a lot of Costco
fans it's a $4.99.
Yes, it's very cost-effective.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It is.
It's a great-.
You can do a million thingswith it.
You can make it into chickensalad.
You can make it into like Ihave rotisserie chicken, avocado
enchiladas.
Those are so yummy.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
And then I have to admit, though, one of my kitchen
jobs that I hate like I thinkmy least favorite kitchen job is
pulling the meat off therotisserie.
So it really grosses me out,but I like eating it.
So our system is I buy it andthen Colby.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I was going to say you got to enlist.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, he pulls it apart there.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And um, I also have a recipe for rotisserie chicken
spinach stuffed shells.
So you know, having a round tworecipe is good for that.
And then you know even chickensoup.
My chicken soup is a shortcutchicken soup.
It's not in this book, I'vedone it on Instagram before, but
it involves rotisserie chicken.
That's awesome.
That's great.
Yeah, so that's, that's one ofthe, the gems.
(34:08):
What?
Speaker 1 (34:09):
about?
I'm curious though, the momminute.
What's a mom minute one?
You're excited about gems.
What about?
Speaker 3 (34:13):
I'm curious, though the mom minute.
What's a mom minute one you'reexcited about?
Oh gosh, I mean I think thatthe um, peanut butter and fluff
stuff dates are going to make alot of people happy.
Um, but I love.
I mean I try to drink coffeeand it just sits like my coffee
right now is cold again.
That's the worst.
Yeah, you think you're going todrink it and you just don't.
And I was sick of like I don'tlike it reheated, I know, and I
(34:38):
was sick of dumping it down thesink.
So one day I had some chiaseeds and I was like you know
what, let's, let's make thisinto something for the next day
that I'll enjoy, or like theafternoon.
So I have a coffee chia seedpudding in there.
Then I did another recipe withcold coffee, which was called a
banana coffee whip.
So it's just like I make myselfa little treat.
(35:00):
Instead I took a banana, thebrewed coffee and some heavy
cream, and I judged that up formyself and gave myself a little
treat.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Have you ever seen?
As you were saying that, I wasthinking.
When I was a nanny, I saw thisone of the moms had one of those
hot pads.
It was a smart coffee pad.
Have you seen?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
that, yes, I do have one of those now.
I do.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Okay, so like I don't like my coffee reheated either,
so what do you think of it?
Is it worth?
Speaker 3 (35:28):
it, it keeps it, it keeps it warm.
Yeah, it truly keeps it warm.
I got it as a Christmas present, actually, from my
brother-in-law.
Yeah yeah, he's a big coffeedrinker and he's like I love
mine.
He's like you probably needthis and I'm like you're right,
it is life-changing.
Do I use it every single day?
No, cause I'm consistency isnot my thing, but I'm with you,
(35:49):
but it does.
It does.
It does help, it does help.
Okay, I've been happy some dayswhen I'm like, oh, so glad this
is still warm.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
That's so nice.
Okay, I like that.
That sounds like a what's thatlike social media trend right
now.
It's like dopamine hitsdopamine schedule.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Yeah, dressing for, like dopamine dressing this and
that yeah.
That's like a dopamine thing,that is when you revisit your
coffee an hour later and you'relike oh, oh it's still warm,
okay.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Well, so as Sienna and your nieces get older and
the reason I'm pairing themtogether is because if people
follow you, they're together alot, you guys spend a lot of
time together.
They're around the same ages.
What's the age span?
Just so people know as we'retalking.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
So Alina is oh my gosh, she just had her birthday.
She's 11.
She's really old, and Valentinaand Sienna are nine months
apart, which is pretty cool.
So they are seven and eight atthe moment.
There is a time where they'reboth the same age, but right now
seven and eight.
So seven, eight and 11.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
They're the sweetest when they're all together.
I saw a picture of Alinarecently and I feel like she
looks so much older.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
She does.
She's dropping that kitty baby,look for sure.
And she's transitioning moreinto, like that middle school
vibe.
And it's like you know she'sour OG baby, you know she was
our everybody's first baby.
So we have to make thattransition in our minds as well.
(37:25):
Right, she can talk aboutskincare, Like, oh, she does
know about this.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Oh, okay, oh my gosh, it's man.
It's so much learning right,with all these different stages,
it is.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
And it's really sweet to have them together.
I'm glad they have each other.
They're like little sisters forsure.
I just lost your audio.
It just your microphone justclicked off.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I muted it Okay.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
All right, I was like oh, it just lost you oh my
goodness, I was like don't.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I was like not today, satan, not today.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
I know.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
I know.
No, I coughed and I muted him.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, we're good, thank you.
Thank you, wait.
Actually, let me just check tosee if the publicist Hold on one
second.
Yeah, I have this amazingassistant.
She is like a godsend.
That's great, but she has twolittle kids and so she can't
(38:43):
always be like.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Like super, super on it.
Okay, we are good, okay, um,okay, I'll start that over.
(39:12):
So, as the girls are gettingolder and as you're kind of like
learning and growing with them,how are you guys encouraging
them to huh, like, see value inthe table?
Cause right now it's a cultureof fast food, fast meals.
The way that you guys appear tocultivate family time isn't the
(39:34):
norm, but it's such a gift,it's so sweet.
So how are you encouraging themto pursue that?
Because I think so many of uswant that.
We're just like oh, the kidswant to go run and play with
their tablets or differentthings like that.
Like, what do you guys do?
Speaker 3 (39:50):
There's definitely tablet and phone situations,
definitely tablet and phonesituations, like sienna doesn't
have a phone yet, um, but I meanthere's definitely like the
tablet and the phone situationyou know when you go out to
dinner you know they're kind ofbored so they get to play a game
, this and that.
Like you've done things forsurvival, so um you know, uh, I
won't say there isn't that issuewith us here and there, but I
(40:13):
think it all started with myparents and the fact that we ate
dinner together.
I mean, yes, we ate dinnertogether every night, but
especially on Sundays.
And then, as we all grew up andstarted who was going to
college, who was working in thecity, who was moving here and
there, we all still found ourway to my parents' house on
Sunday.
We all still found our way tomy parents' house on Sunday.
(40:35):
So it was a habit that if wemissed a Sunday or had something
else to do, like we feltstrange inside, like not being
together, like we missedsomething.
So I understood what my parentswere doing and how they did
that.
So it takes a lot ofintentionality and it takes work
.
It really does.
(40:56):
It really does.
And that's not to make anybodyfeel bad, it's more to encourage
them that like, hey, is it hardto get everybody together at a
certain time habitually?
Yeah, it is, but it's workthat's worth it.
I say all the time is it easyfor me to do Sunday dinner all
the time?
Like, do I want a Sunday off?
(41:16):
Sure, but I think of like thelong-term ramifications of that
and I see like the fruit of thatwith what my parents did, and
so it's worth it for me to keepit up.
Like do I have strict rulessurrounding it?
Do sometimes we go out to eatinstead?
Do sometimes we do somethingdifferent?
Sure, sure, but we really likefight to stay together.
(41:40):
I know that sounds crazy, butlike around holidays and things
like that, like you've got toopen your home a little bit more
.
As people get married too, likemaybe it's everybody's in-laws
can come.
Like everybody, you have tochange the structure of things.
Sometimes you gotta you alsoneed to know your season and
what season you're in.
(42:00):
They shift and they change, soyour gathering is going to look
different as alina, valentinaand sienna get into their
teenage years.
We're gonna have to come upwith like different, different
things.
Like right now, it's great thatyou know on fr, on Friday or
Saturday nights my sister cancall me and be like you want to
let them play in the basementwhile we order pizza, because
(42:21):
they're still at that age wherethey like to play together, they
like to hang out together likethat.
So we did a lot of a lot ofthat together, um, and just in
my own home with the three of us.
Um, you know it's hard.
Brian, for a season, wasgetting home really late from
the city, at like 730.
(42:41):
So, yes, sienna and I would eatdinner together earlier, and
then Sienna and I would havedessert with daddy as he had his
dinner.
So we were still finding a wayto be at the table together.
But you know, she's like twoand three years old, she can't
wait until like seven, 38o'clock at night.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
I can't wait until seven 38.
I mean, yeah, I couldn't either.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
So I had to modify what we were doing and then, you
know, towards the weekend, be alittle bit more intentional,
that Saturday or Sunday we makesure um, you know, we have that
Um.
And now that she's in a seasonof sports and Brian's working a
little closer to home, you knowwhat Sometimes, like we're
having dinner at 4.30, but itworks because she comes home
(43:24):
from school starving, likeyou're going to find that with
like Wesley, like they're goingto come home from school, like
she's ready for dinner at like3.45.
And I'm always like, no, youcan't do that.
But you know what, with herhaving dance and soccer at right
at dinnertime, right at likeyour five o'clock, I've learned
not so bad if we eat dinner atthree, 45, four, cause you're
(43:45):
ready to eat, you're eatingeverything I'm asking you to.
And then when you come home, Idon't care what kind of snack
you have, you know it's not,it's not as stressful trying to
make them eat when they're tiredand they're whatever.
So you're just always, alwaysadjusting and just realizing
that, even if it's cereal, youknow, as long as you're sitting
(44:08):
together and you have a littlebit of face time, like that's
because even when I was a schoolcounselor.
A lot of kids in my office justwanted more time with someone,
and I understand that that'sreally hard with all the moving
parts.
So it's up to you just todecide.
Where am I going to put this?
What is this going to look like?
(44:29):
What part of the day am I goingto?
Or part of the week am I goingto put this time into?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Such important reminders and just the
flexibility and the grace andthe you said this about, like
your book process and like yourplatform, but kind of following
the capacity of your season.
I wrote that down because Iloved that, that picture
following the capacity of yourseason and as parents, as we're
approaching the table it's goingto look different, but it's the
(44:57):
intentionality and the workingfor it that it is the lasting
impact.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Yeah, and I'm guilty of wanting things to look a
certain way.
You know I wouldn't.
I wouldn't make a dinner unlessit had like your main and like
two sides and like the appetite,like it was crazy.
Like Brian was like I can't eatall this when we first got
married.
He's like I wasn't used to it.
He's like I can't do all thisand I'm like what?
Like this is what it has to be.
And then, having like Sienna, Iwas like, oh, we need to like
(45:25):
sit down at this time everynight and this is what it's got
to look like.
And I just learned I was makingmyself really insane Like who
told me that this is the way itwas supposed to be and that it
was not okay to adjust to myseason, to like look at my
season.
The same thing goes with work,as you know.
Yeah, katie, it looks likeeveryone's always moving and
(45:47):
hustling faster and doing itbetter, whether it's work or
family life.
You're always feel like peoplehave more of a handle or
somebody else is doing it betterthan you and um, that's just
not.
That's just not the case.
That's just a lie that we'refed and you know you have to
make your choices and in makingchoices, realize that.
(46:09):
All right, if I'm choosing todo this with my family, then
maybe parts of my career workare going to suffer for a moment
, but this is what's worth it.
We say we can have it all, butI feel like we can't have it all
at once and I know some peopledon't like to hear that.
But when I realized that ittook a lot of pressure off me,
(46:30):
I'm like in this season, this ismy all, this is what my all
looks like, and then in my nextseason I might get some of these
pieces of my old all back.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
I don't know.
I was just saying that it feelslike an exhale comes with that.
Yeah, an exhale that a lot ofus need.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (46:47):
Not to say it's easy, but you have to give up some
pieces at certain times and it'shard to give up those pieces,
but once you do, it's filledwith other things at the and
when there are other things atthe appropriate time.
Um, it just makes life a littlebit easier to go through each
and every day.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
Well, that's a powerful way to end.
I know it was so good, so good,so many timely reminders for a
lot of us listening, I mean, andI, you know, I was thinking
this definitely is going to berelatable to a mom of young kids
, but also I've talked to a lotof grandmas lately watching the
kids and it's like a new seasonfor them to just figuring out
(47:30):
new schedules with childcare andwatching kids and all the
things and empty nesting too andlike missing, having your kids
every night, or finding spacefor like.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
Well, how, now that my kids are here, they're in
everywhere, my family's here,they're in everywhere and we
can't get together right onChristmas Day.
Does that mean like Christmasis tanked, or can I be a little
bit more flexible and we cancelebrate our family Christmas
on family Christmas day, likeit's?
I've seen some of thosesituations.
Situations, too, where we haveto just be willing to revise the
(48:06):
way we gather season to season,rather than not gathering at
all.
So good Goodness.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Well, tell people where to get their copy of the
book.
We'll have a link in the shownotes, but where do you get
their copy of the book?
We'll have a link in the shownotes, but where do you want to
send people?
Speaker 3 (48:17):
Great, I mean you can .
I mean wherever books are soldat the moment online, you can
find at the kitchen sink and thepenguin page, for at the
kitchen sink, the penguin bookpage that can send you to
anywhere.
It is that you want to go.
Right now, at the time of thisrecording, we're in pre-order
(48:40):
mode, which is really exciting,because with pre-order, there's
a lot of incentives likeexclusive videos and content
that come with pre-ordering,which is great.
So, yeah, wherever you wouldfind a book, whether it's Amazon
, target, walmart, barnes andNobles, they've all got it.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
Oh my gosh, can you believe you're saying those
words?
Nope, that's so wild?
Not at all.
Oh my goodness.
Well, we love you, we'reexcited for you, we're
celebrating with you.
This is so huge.
Speaker 3 (49:10):
Thank you so much, Katie.
This has been really special tosit with you and talk about all
this.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
Oh my gosh, I've loved it.
I want to sit here all day withyou, but, guys, you know what
to do.
It is so helpful to authors ifyou go ahead and pre-order, so
head on over to those pages inour show notes, give Dina a
follow and let us know what youthought about the episode and we
will see you next week.
Thank you so much, dina.
See you again soon.
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