pickles and progress

So last weekend I did something new. I made homemade pickles. Yum, right?

Well, let's just see about that.

Photo 1: boy takes (very small) bite of pickle.

Photo 2, 3 and 4:  Boy responds to small bite of pickle.

Uh...yep...they were THAT bad. Seriously. Awful. Pickles.

So, we've got the pickle part of this post covered, now what about the progress? Can bad pickles and progress possibly belong in the same blog post? Well, let's just see about that. ;)

Despite the fact that this particular batch of pickles didn't turn out as planned...progress was made on the pickle-making front. See by diving into something totally new, the kids and I discovered that making pickles is loads of fun. Even though the pickles were seriously awful pickles, we enjoyed the pickle-making process immensely. We discovered something new we enjoy doing together and that's progress in my book any day of the week.

Even more, we discovered a specific pickle recipe *not* to use. And this is a step in the direction of a good batch of pickles. See I will make pickles again, but I won't use the same recipe. I'll probably do a bit more research and find out if others have had success making pickles using a different recipe.

Seems obvious, right? I tried something. Discovered that the results weren't as expected. So I'm going to try something different next time around. Now before you go and call me a rocket scientist (or wonder why I'm wasting your time and mine blogging about this) let me ask you this: have you ever tried something, created results that fell short of your expectations, and then tried the exact same process again the next time hoping for different results?

If so...join the club. We all do this. When it's something like making pickles it's very easy to figure out that we need a different recipe. We need to do something different the next time around, or else we'll just get another batch of seriously awful pickles.

But what if I were blogging about something more important than pickles? What if I were blogging about something that feels like a high-stakes activity—something where a person's sense of self-worth seems to be at stake? What if I were talking about a "failed" attempt to get more organized or lose weight or quit smoking or make some other life change that seems more important than a seriously awful batch of pickles?

Would it be so easy to recognize that the *recipe* was the problem? Or would you try to use the same recipe (organizing process, weight-loss plan, smoking cessation program) and hope for different pickles (outcomes) only to get frustrated with the pickle-maker in the process? It doesn't make much sense, does it? And yet this is so often what we do.

When you want different results, you have to do something different—use a different recipe in the case of pickle making, or try a different approach to getting organized, losing weight or quitting smoking.

Heaven knows I can't help with the pickle making (the proof is in the pickles, I mean the pictures above.) But if you truly in your heart-of-hearts want to get more organized...why not try a different recipe? I can help you with that and I would absolutely love to help you. Let me share my recipe for organizing success with you. Organizing 101 is starting September, 23rd.

Sign up today...and soon you'll be tasting the sweet taste of organizing success. (I'll still be searching for a yummy pickle recipe...so if you can help me out with that, I'd love to hear from you!)

Comments

[MaryC]

Um, you realize it takes longer than a week to cure a pickle, right? Seriously. I'd wait at least 4 weeks before I'd open them.

BUT, the faces were priceless.

[Maureen]

I have a yummy pickle recipe.......email me if you would like it!!!!

[Aby]

See, it's that darn recipe again. The recipe said to wait four days! I did...and they were seriously awful pickles. - Aby

[Erica]

LOL! Great food for thought. Good luck with finding a recipe.

[Susan]

Those pictures are so scrapable! I can not help with the pickle recipe I tend toward Vlasic myself. Good luck to you!

[Amy]

lol! great photos!

[Jenna]

You are a clever girl, Aby. I learn so much from the way you look at things. This post made me think about weight loss & figuring out the right system - not continuing to beat a dead horse. Thanks again & always.

From a recent Organizing 101 student, I have to say that your class was well worth the money! Every time I look at my organized pantry, snack cupboard, & office supplies I think of you.

[kelly]

Uh ... Aby, don't you mean September 23rd for the start of Organizing 101?

[Aby]

Thanks for catching that, Kelly! I fixed the post. :)

[Organizing Mommy]

O.K. I did the exact same thing last year. We ended up making a pickle volcano by adding bunches of baking soda to the mix. It was really great. And we didn't have to eat them. LOL

[Julie]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/abs-b-and-bs-recipe/index.html Try it. You'll like it. Alton Brown knows his stuff!

Seriously love the pickle-faced pics.

~J

[Leslie]

Hi, I enjoy reading your blog and all the great ideas you share. I just had to post about the pickles though. I can dill pickes and bread & butter pickles and they usually take a minimum of 6-8 weeks before you should open the jars and try them. However, if you wait several months, the pickles are so much better and the tastes blend together and don't attack your tongue with a too salty or too vinegary or too spicey taste. So don't open and dump your jars just yet. Let them sit a good 3 or 4 months and try again.

[elizabeth]

I made pickles for the first time (by myself) this year! My grandmother and I used to make tons of them every summer, but I hadn't made any since she passed away. It was so much fun to make them, and it is a nice way to remember the things we used to do together. Her pickle recipe doesn't taste like ANY other that you can buy in the store, so it was wonderful to taste them again (after several years without them). Tomorrow I'm planning on attempting to pickle okra and green tomatoes and can regular tomatoes. Wish me luck! If anyone wants the recipe, please let me know. They are sweet pickles, but they are spicy too...not like bread and butter pickles.

[sharon fletcher]

love the life lessons that can be learned with pickles no less.
Excellent blog post.
Thanks for such a wonderful reminder...