It made me want to cook something.

I just watched the movie Julie and Julia. I'd label myself a "I'll wait until it comes out on DVD" kind of movie watcher and this was one that I had been anxiously awaiting.

So I sat on the couch with a bag of pita chips and watched it while I let the children drown in video games. I liked it. I didn't love it, but I really liked it. It was about cooking and blogging and writing and trying to get published. How could I not like it?

Of course it made me immediately want to get up and cook something or blog something or both. It made me want to read both of the books that the movie is based off of and most of all, it made me want to go to Paris again.

But instead I sat and pondered. Yes, pondered. You see, the thing that I really took away from the movie was that both of these women were failures. Yes, ultimately they both became huge successes in their own right, but before that for a long, long time they were both big, fat failures.

I love that! I love it when you hear stories of people who didn't give up regardless of their struggles. I love to read stories of people that are hard-headed and strong willed and talented and don't let disappointments and setbacks and well, failures get in their way.

Which made me wonder...why I would ever give up so easily? Julia didn't even though her 1st cookbook (which is now in its 49th printing) was rejected numerous times. Julie didn't give up writing her blog even though it made her very narcissistic and bitchy. And look how the both of them turned out.

I made the decision a few days ago to continue writing my column on a monthly basis versus a weekly basis. My editors convinced me that my readers (which was the first time that I had really thought of having readers, isn't that funny?) well that my readers would actually miss me.

So I'm not quitting (the idea really, really bothered me and kept me up until at least 11 o'clock one night worrying about it.) I'm just...adjusting. I think reassessing is important. I've always said that revising and editing cannot be skipped in writing or in life. (You can quote me on that one if you want to.) I'll continue to blog regularly, but be looking for my Mama Wants More monthly column at the beginning of each month.

Oh, and Bon Appetit!