I’ve got some big news for you all. Today is my last day at my job. This is good news, by the way. It’s ALSO going to be my very fist giveaway on the blog. More good news! A first and a last all in the same day, how nicely does that work out?
So in honor of my leaving this place of employment and retiring my favorite little striped Baggu lunch bag, I’m going to be giving away a new Baggu Bag (winner picks the color and pattern) to one lucky lunch carrying reader. But, before I give you the details on the giveaway, I’d like to divulge a little more about this big change in my life and hopefully help draw some context around things.
I’ve been planning my exit at the ad agency I work at for several months now. Well, at least in my head I have been planning it. Carving out the exact conversation I’d have. Waiting for the right time. Anticipating the moment that I’d blow up, allowing the undeniable truth that this job is not for me, carry me straight into my bosses office where I’d say, “I QUIT!” Of course, after months of this scenario building in my head, it wasn’t actually until last month that I finally got the courage to tell my boss that, “I need to explore other creative opportunities.” Translates to: I just can’t do this shit anymore.
I don’t enjoy it. And someone else will. Therefore, that someone should have my job. I think that’s fair enough. But most importantly, I wasn’t learning anything anymore (not anything I cared about anyway), and there’s just no future for me at a job like that.
(A retrospective of me at my desk doing various things, none of which appear to relate to work in any capacity, over the past 3 years. God, this place has aged me.)
So then, if coming up with creative marketing campaigns and writing ad copy for an unappreciative client base isn’t really my thing anymore, what is? If I’m not destined to be a writer of short sentences, what am I destined for?
Don’t pressure me, I’m not quite sure yet. Um, this blog thing is fun. Maybe that’ll take me somewhere? Recently, some opportunities seem to be surfacing as a result of it so who knows. I’ll do some freelance copywriting too I guess. Well, maybe. I don’t know. Way to have a plan, Gabi. Luckily we don’t have any children to worry about providing for right now. Plus, Jason gets it. It was a little scary for us when he quit his job three years ago to start Makr, but it ended up being the best decision he could have made. He couldn’t be happier today and I couldn’t be more proud. (gush.) So it’s my turn now and he’s being wonderfully supportive as always, even promising not to let me starve to death. So sweet, I know. But I have some money saved and fortunately, there’s never anything at the mall I want to buy anyway.
Upon starting my last week at work, a good friend asked me if I was sad at all. Like if there was anything I would miss about it my job. This question left me dumbfounded. I had not considered this at all. How terrible of me that nothing came to mind. The answer finally came to me three days later.
Thing one: I will miss my parking pass, which gives me free and unlimited access to one very convenient and centralized parking garage downtown.
Thing two: I will miss lunch.
I will miss my lunch hour the most. I like the routine of it. Packing an awesome lunch and looking forward to eating it all day. Reading a book under a tree with my bagged meal. Watching stupid youtube videos at my desk while I eat. Walking around the lake and grabbing sushi on the way back. Running errands. Blogging with one hand and feeding myself with the other. I even adore my lunch bag itself! A couple days a week I might meet up and eat with somebody else, but usually lunchtime is my time. My lunch hour has always allowed me to break up the crappy workflow and enjoy the hours between 9am and 5pm a little more. I love it. Yes, I realize that I’ll continue to have lunch every day regardless of employment, but it just won’t be the same.
Are any of you with me on this one? Is your lunch more than just a meal to hold you over until dinner? What’s your routine? Do you eat out or pack a lunch? What do you typically bring? Do you do something special…maybe with someone special? Or do you just shove a sammie down your throat and keep moving along? What does your lunch hour mean to you?
Rules for the Baggu Bag giveaway: *UPDATE* The time to enter for the giveaway has now ended – August 12, 2010 2:30 pm EST.
1. You don’t have to answer all of the above questions (or even any of them), but I would love to hear something about your lunch hour and what it entails. Maybe lunch is nothing special to you, and that’s fine too. I’m curious either way. Tell me about it. I will enter you no matter how interesting, funny, long or short your response.
2. Either post your response as a comment or email it to Gabrielle{at}honestfare {dot}com and I will enter you for the giveaway. Email is probably better if it’s a longer or more personal story ;) Please use Baggu in the subject line.
3. One winner will be randomly selected a week from today – Thursday, August 12, 2010.
4. The lucky winner gets a Baby Baggu (perfect for carrying your lunch or just about anything in)! Winner selects the color they like and the bag will be sent to them at no cost.
FYI: Just so you guys know, Baggu did not influence this post in any way. I want to be transparent and tell you that I decided to write a post about my last lunch and incorporate my special Baggu lunch bag. The company was happy to contribute a free bag for my continued support as a customer and blogger over the years.
So without further ado, I guess I should go enjoy my last lunch on the job and then clean out my desk…
Bitter sweet.
71 Comments
Hi Gabi – great post. I work at a school so it was hard to find a quiet spot (without being bothered by students) until my colleague brought an extra little table for the back corner of our office, and shielded it from view with a big plant. Now it’s my lunchtime refuge! I love to hide back there with a magazine and my food and smile when I hear people looking for me. “She’s eating lunch,” my colleague tells them, and the kids usually get the hint to come back later.
I would love to win a baby lunchbag baggu – much prettier than the tattered paper bags I reuse over and over! :)
i feel exactly the same about lunch. i love preparing it, and i love the feeling of looking forward to it all morning. when i had a delicious lunch, it makes me feel good the rest of the day! that has especially been important to me when i had jobs that i did not really enjoy.
I love bringing my own lunch that leaves me refreshed and not too full to finish my day’s work. There is something so gratifying about preparing your own food.
You baggu is darling — thanks for sharing the love :)
Hey, Congrats to you. I would love to be able to have a designated lunch hour everyday. In fact I crave it. With 2 young kiddos at home I am lucky if I even eat. I would love this lunch bag. I think it would inspire me to pack it up and take it out in the back yard for a picnic on a beautiful quilt with my youngsters.
Congratulations on your new adventure! And those bags are RIDICULOUSLY adorable. I may buy one even if I don’t win. On my lunch break, I usually walk to the neighborhood grocery half a mile away. I often run into at least one person I know and I appreciate the fresh air. Plus they have great sushi.
Oh this is too weird– I just posted a giveaway this morning on my blog and asked people to share their dream lunch menu! I’m giving away a book with lunch bag patterns to sew (one of mine is included) and a lunch bag. Must be the day for lunch-related giveaways!
On that note, a gal can never have too many… I usually bring my lunch to the office, eat it and THEN take my lunch break a little bit later. I find it helps the day go by faster! Sometimes I read in a nearby park or other lunch breaks I get a few errands done. Usually it’s a salad, wrap or leftovers.
Good luck on your next adventure! And feel free to stop by my blog to win another lunch bag, though I understand if Baggu has your loyalty :)
I eat lunch at my desk most days, but also enjoy thinking about, prepping, and packing my lunch the day or night before. I usually pile my tupperwares of leftovers all into one giant tote.
It’s so much fun hours after arriving at work to busy open whatever treat I have that day.
I’d love to have a beautiful little bag to bring my lunches with. Thanks for having this great giveaway!
I’m personally a fan of “I can’t do this shit anymore.” I’m going to save that one for my last job, hopefully when I’m 50.
Congratulations. I have no doubt this blog will take you somewhere BIG!!!
I feel the same about my lunch and lunch break. Noon couldn’t come any sooner everyday. It’s that time of the work day, where I can forget about designing Halloween costumes (yes I do that for a living all year long) and all the emergencies and urgent projects thrown my way constantly (if I didn’t know any better, I would think I save lives everyday).
I’m lucky to work a block away from my fiance so everyday we meet up to either grab a bite or eat our packed food in a park nearby. We also run our errands and do our grocery shopping. If he is traveling for the day, I eat my lunch with 2 of my co-workers aka my good friends. Some days are spent at my desk, catching up on my favorite blogs.
I love this awesome giveaway :)
Congrats on making a big move towards finding what you really want to do!
My favorite lunch ritual is to head down to the water and read. I work in the Navy Yard in Boston, right on the water, so it’s so nice to get out there when the weather’s nice. :)
I’m currently unemployed (not by choice, unfortunately), so my lunch hour is held at home, much like dinner, with my puppy standing two inches from my plate, looking very adorable and hungry. I love to cook, so I mostly eat in. My lunches are like my dinners, delicious! I don’t distinguish between meals. In my eye, lunch and dinner are equal opportunity meals that mean I can have two awesome plates of food instead of just one. Usually my fridge is so overflowing with food I want to eat, I have to remind myself that I don’t have to eat some of everything for lunch because dinner is still coming! Hehe. I love lunch!
Today I’m eating a cupcake purchased after a particularly indulgent breakfast in Hollywood.
..Carrot cake with cream cheese :)
Gabi de mi corazón!
It feels like I left the office years and years ago, but if I was still there, it’d be safe to say that I’d miss you tons. Much love and I cannot wait to see what you’re up to next! =]
I wish I got a whole hour for lunch! I only get a half hour….but I guess that means I don’t have to be at work as long as all of you that get a whole hour.
I usually eat at my desk too….either reading a book or messing around on the internet.
I love lunch! But I’m also a big snacker :)
Thanks for the great post! I feel like I have had and have so many jobs that my lunches have been in so many places.
I do get up with my partner every morning at 5:30am to make a smoothie for her breakfast and a homemade lunch as well as a snack. We both have byo bags, but I would love to try out the baggu bag! I work the lunch shift at a restaurant now, so I just get to watch everyone eat lunch, but I do get to enjoy my lunch in peace at home at about 3pm. I have gotten in the habit of making myself a lunch too, so that when I get home I don’t stuff a bunch of junk down my throat because I am starving by that time! My favorite lunch hours were when I worked at a college and found a dark cool room that no one ever used where I could hideout and regain the strength needed to make it through rest of the day. I would spread all my food out, put my feet up on another chair, and read. My little rule was that the book that I would read during this lunch hour was not to be read at any other time of the day, so this really made me look forward to this special time. Not only is packing your lunch healthier, but also allows you more time to relax and enjoy. For me, walking through the parking lot, getting in the car, driving to a fast food place, waiting in line, driving back, parking, walking back to the office, and finally getting back to your desk only to realize you don’t even have time to eat, is NO way to spend your precious lunch break (and it makes you feel like poo the rest of the day)!
Hi,
You have got a nice blog. Have been reading it occasionally. Good luck to you in whatever you pursue after your current job.
Most of the days, I take my lunch to work. During lunchtime, I read my favorite blogs and check out different recipes on what I can make for dinner :)
I don’t officially get time out in my day for lunch, but I make time. Sadly, I’m often running to the cafeteria to grab a salad or something else quick. If I get some moments of peace at my desk, just me and my salad, I catch up on blogs – yours being one of them.
Congratulations to you for following your heart. I’m sure big things (good things!) are in store for you.
My lunch break is my saving grace. I’m the only person in my office who takes a full hour and I’m the only person who goes home for lunch. I don’t mind being the only one here by 5:00, because I don’t think I could take a paltry half hour to run across the street to the Fashion Square food court, scarf down some fast food, and immediately go back to work (like everyone seems to do here). I love the bike ride to and from my house, even in the heat, and I love being home after sitting in my beige dungeon of an office. Both things help rejuvenate me in the middle of the workday. As for lunch, I always make something different- salads, omelets, sandwiches, leftovers, etc.. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of watermelon while I’m preparing whatever I’m preparing. I let the dogs go nuts in the backyard and I sit in the sunroom watching 30 Rock reruns on my laptop while I’m eating. Classy, I know.
P.S. That parking garage sucks and you know it. Ride your bike downtown.
P.P.S. Let me know about that ride-along ;)
Oh wow – congratulations on taking such an exciting step! I also wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading the blog.
I completely agree with you about lunch. I always take an hour, and it’s mostly spent either sitting in the park when the weather’s nice, or working on my blog. I always try to bring my lunch with me, both to save money and because I usually like my own food much more than anything else available in the area. My husband and I take turns cooking, but even so, we usually both end up cooking together anyway. Thanks for the chance to win!
I just stumbled upon your blog yesterday. And I must say, it is the most beautiful food blog I’ve seen so far. Not only the content is brilliant, the design is so appealing that I could virtually wander around your blog for hours.
Now about my lunch. Sometimes I really like to prepare food for the lunch break, especially leftovers from the evening before.
But I also love to go out for lunch. I live in Hamburg, Germany. And I work in a good neighborhood when it comes to lunch. You can find anything from any country in the world. My favorite place is a Japanese, where they offer a special lunch menu of sushi. For me sushi is the perfect lunch meal. It is healthy, fresh, not too heavy…
And for your future, I wish you all the best. And you already started the best thing you could do: You started….
I’m a teacher. Our lunch break is 30 minutes long, and that 30 minutes includes getting the kids down to lunch and picking them up – not long for eating at all. Most days, I have lunch in the teachers’ lounge with some other teachers, catching up and talking about students and recharging for the afternoon. Occasionally though, I have lunch with a student (it’s a reward in my classroom to have lunch with me). On those lucky days, I take the student and our lunches up to the classroom and we have lunch at our back table. I can never remember what I’ve eaten on those days. The stories the children tell me about themselves and their lives are captivating, and even though I don’t get a chance to enjoy adult conversation or use the bathroom, I love those lunches.
I work at a university library, and the only “dining” option open is a place that sells bagels and bagel sandwiches. I only get 20-3o minutes for a lunch break, so it takes too long to walk off campus to another restaurant, and I’m going out of town tomorrow, so I don’t have any food in my fridge.
The result: lunch has been a mediocre bagel sandwich for the last 3 days.
Normally, however, I love lunch. Especially on the weekends when you can go out somewhere with a friend and chat and unhurriedly eat delicious food that you love.
I’ve been coveting a Baggu lunch bag for a while now, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! (I need to replace my Target $1 bin Hello Kitty lunch bag that is just too small as it was made for children.)
congrats! I did the same thing a few months ago – and am still figuring out what I’m doing :) I have found that lunch has changed while working on things at home. Lunch is drawn out in a series of snacks between 11:30-2:30… I like to eat, so this gives me more mini lunch times :) Good luck to you.
gabi, i’m so so so happy for you! you don’t even know how much i feel your pain, re/ a job that you don’t enjoy anymore. please don’t enter me in the giveaway, i just wanted to wish you congratulations on being so courageous! you have many great opportunities ahead of you. i’m looking forward to your upcoming posts!
I love carrying my lunch and carrying something different every day. Almost always something healthy and it is more than just getting full to me,it is almost art. I just like to see how fancy I can make a brown bag lunch! I don’t work right now but I remember my fun lunches,best part of the day.
jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com
I only work away from the home about 10 hours per week, the rest of my time is at home with two girls, 1 & 3 years old. Lunch typically falls just before naptime. Often that means racing to prepare something for two tired and hungry children. Normally I am starving too so my food gets shoveled and prepared as fast as theirs does. If I can hold off I love to get them down for their naps and come back down, eat and read the paper. Rarely happens but so nice when it does. Today we had leftover BBQ pizza, a recipe from this site in fact! It is a hit around here. With figs in season I made one with figs, arugula and goat cheese in addition to the goat cheese, arugula, pesto, pine nut that you did. Both are fantastic.
When I had a thriving career, lunch was usually a very fun affair, out with my photo homies somewhere moderately tasty.
These days, lunch means at least a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old sharing my table, and whether it’s lunch in or out, it usually has at least one big laugh and one big mess!
Lunch is so wonderful indeed. I work in a curatorial dept in an art museum and for lunch I like to go to the museum cafe’s courtyard, which you have to walk through some galleries to get there, so I admire all of my favorites along the way. And I have to wear my museum ID so people stop and chat to me along the way asking questions or directions which its just fun to talk to visitors or overhear their conversations, because doing research all day in an office is not so personable. It’s more fun to see people interacting with the objects we work so hard to learn about and preserve. Lunch is lovely indeed.
How exciting! And don’t worry, you’ll figure out what it is that you want to do.
I quit my job at the beginning of the year, for similar reasons, and became a yoga teacher. So now I do that and write (I’m still building up my workload, but it’ll get there). I still love lunchtime though! It’s just that now I usually have cooked lunch. And since I work mostly evenings, lunchtime is my sit-down mealtime.
Speaking of which… it’s lunchtime now. Yum.
I can’t go out for lunch at my job so I always have to bring it. And I only get 30mins instead of any hour…boo!
I don’t have a lunch break right now since it is summer, and also barely when I am in school. I’d love to be able to have a set lunch every day where I could pack something different each day.
Hi! I’m actually not commenting to enter, but just to tell you way to go! I quit my day job about four months ago to become a full-time photographer (and now I work – and eat lunch – from home!).
I seriously could have written the exact same post at that time – I know exactly how you feel (and coincidentally have lots of photobooth images from my three years there). The good news? I’m LOVING what I do and haven’t even for one moment missed a thing about my old job – not even my lunch break!
Best wishes!
Congrats on moving forward in your life! It’s always exciting moving on from one thing to another, I wish you all the best. I used to pack my lunch ritually every day for work until I quit 3 years ago. Like you, it was definitely “my time” when I ate. Now I have the freedom to eat lunch anytime and anywhere… although it usually ends up at my computer anyways!
My lunch break is mostly at home, specially if my workday starts after it or ends before lunch. I enjoy cooking to my man, we eat everyday lunch together at home (yay for the french 1,5h lunch breaks!) . If i’m working, I’m taking some small things to eat and drinks. Or sometimes when the weather is perfect, I surprise my man and make picnic lunch in a park :)
For me, lunch is the second important meal in a day, after breakfast.
And i’m really happy you make that decision, it’s hard to tell it but after it feels so good! I know what i’m talking about ;)
I hope you’ll find something really interesting to do!
Hi there.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I recently moved to New York to being a new job. Between the couch surfing, apartment hunting, bearings finding, and new job starting, my lunch “hour” has morphed into something of a lunch “15 minutes.” I make phone calls on my break, grab soup and dash back up to my desk. (So sad, I know!)
Well, now that I have an apartment (kitchen included) I can’t wait to start preparing lunches.
Thanks again for the giveaway. Best of luck!
I live only a mile from my office, so my lunch varies between running home to throw in a load of laundry, or long lunches at the picnic table on my patio, admiring my veggie garden and eating a sandwich i just whipped up fresh. LOVE the home at lunch routine!
Hi Gabi,
Long time reader, first time commentor. I too enjoy my parking pass as downtown is an expensive place to park. But being downtown means a lot of different things to do for lunch. Somedays I pack my lunch if I had time in the morning to make something or take leftovers from dinner thenight before. On the Thursday of the payweek I take time to write out our bills for the the next two weeks. I find it easier to do it at work than at home. With a toddler, things that used to take little time manage to become an afternoon event. There are nice shops and restaurants nearby that I like to frequent.
Good luck with your new adventure!
I wonder if anyone is confused by your Halloween MSCL photo in the collage..
I commute an hour and a half from home to work. Lunch is usually my savior during my day. After my drive in, then work for the morning, lunch is my time to empty my head for a bit before more work and another drive. I also yoga twice a week during lunch (extra relaxation!).
yeah for you! not everyone can do what you are doing! life is too short to work at a place that feels like it is draining you. i totally GET it. as for lunch is not always routine in my line of work however we do have a ‘lunch club’. i am blessed to work w/ some awesome ladies that i call friends. once a week we meet for lunch outside weather permitting and chat about everything under the sun and not about work- as much as possible. we also chat about food which i adore. and yes i bring all kinds of yummy things to work. then once a month we meet at a cool little local place and eat huge salads. my fav is the large greek salad. love the stripe baggu! good luck btw on your new adventure~
Good f or you to have the courage to leave a job you hate! I need to grow a pair and do the same… I love the Baggu bag and want the same striped one you have! Lunch time during the week is probably my fav time of day… Its that special hour you have to yourself. I usually bring my lunch and sometimes eat with a few co-workers other times I sit alone and eat lunch and read a book. Lunch is also the best time to run errands you dont feel like doing after work!
I’ve been dreaming about quitting my day job for as long as i have been working in it (8 years) … I know:pathetic.
Lunch has been the hour I allowed my self to dream, visit my favourite blogs, read, and click all the link.
Like you, My lunch hour is infront of the computer, usually interrupted a million times.
I make my lunch, and by make i mean, i homemade as much as possible from it… even tried to grow my fruits and veggies.
Lately my fav. is yogurt, olive oil granola and berries or mango.
I’m proud of you, when you do what you love, the rest falls in place. I feel more comfortable now walking next week to my boss and telling him:”it’s been a pleasure, but it has to end. it os time for me to be free”
You’ll be fine and will do great.
I work from home mostly so I mostly have lunch at home (logical I’d say!). I like the days when we have dinner left-overs for lunch: I reheat them into a bowl, sit on the floor next to my dog (who is always hopeful for a little piece of corn cake), and read on my laptop as I eat.
The days I have to cook for lunch, not as good: I have to be as quick as possible so it doesn’t take too much time and I don’t get to enjoy the cooking as much as I could.
And no matter what I have for lunch, I always have a little piece of dark chocolate as dessert. Or two, if no one’s watching :)
So proud of you, girl! Although, I’m sure the office will miss having a babe around goofing off and lookin’ cute all day long. I’m looking forward to seeing your passions become your livelihood! You’re detail oriented, smart, and have extraordinary visual talent, you will do so well working on your own terms.
My favorite lunch time meal is something easy to prepare and made with delicious produce. I adore toast with hummus, avocado, spinach, and pepper with a side of fruit, a carrot or snap peas, and a big ol’ glass of water! All consumed while sitting in the sunshine on my deck with Stella…
xo.
Since I work at a hospital, my lunch breaks are just that……..breaks in my lunch!! I tend to eat fast, and try to slow down, but I never know what’s next! My favorite lunch though is a turkey sammie on whole wheat with lots of lettuce and avacado. Chips are good too!!
Good for you to change when you need do!
I always try to bring a lunch to work with me and there are several reasons for that. I don’t believe in paying money that I could make better and cheaper. I don’t like waiting in lines. I don’t like having to map out my time and decide whether or not I will make it to that taqueria and back without running over. I just like to be able to sit down and eat something that I want to eat and know that it is tasty and healthy and good.
I love lunch break. Especially when i work on the farm, and I feel like I have earned it and the food tastes better. The best lunch’s are Friday potlucks where you get to try a little of everything.
Well, I don’t have a lunch hour, but more like a lunch-25 minute dash. I am a teacher, and I DO look forward to lunch. My husband, dear sweet man that he is, makes my lunch for me and I look forward to it every day. He writes notes, throws random toys from gumball machines in there, etc. Always a treat!
Congratulations! I am about to start week four as an unemployed (by choice) woman. It is definitely a new adventure. I moved to New York to go back to school and see where this whole food blogging thing takes me. I must admit, I don’t really take a lunch break anymore – sometimes it is a late breakfast, sometimes it is a quick veggie salad, sometimes lunch doesn’t even come until 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The lack of structure is something to get used to, but it’s worth it to go after something bigger and better. Good luck to you!
thanks for the giveaway gabi! of course you have the cutest little lunch bag ever! would love a little striped bag to make my all-to-brief lunch break more enjoyable.
I often eat my lunch at my desk, but when I can I try to go for a short walk and eat outside (Chicago weather permitting).
And today, I pack a delicious lunch and then forgot at home. This happens more often than I like.
Also, congratulations, and best of luck.
Great post! I love packing my lunch. I’m working a terrible part time grocery job while I look for something better, but while at school I would pack very large lunches to keep me going. I loved it. I loved being the only one with homemade black beans and rice, kielbasa, and fresh fruit. Unfortunately I used and use a plastic bag as a lunch bag cause I just never got around to making my own.
I love lunch! At work, as a teacher, it is a brief moment to myself and to interact with other adults. On the weekends and over the summer it is a wonderful time to spend with my husband.
Last year, when I started bringing my own lunch to school, I had to bribe myself to get me through the withdrawal of my favorite local restaurant. Baking cookies every Sunday, so I would have those to look forward to all morning in my lunch bag worked really well!
sweet. sweet. sweet. I work from home and have a one year old meandering around. Lunch is the time I get during the day to unplug and get crazy with her. After work it’s all businessy dinner, bath, etc so lunch is party time. If we split our day up into a mullet–lunch would be the back.
I left the corporate world over a year ago and I’m loving every minute of it. I’m my own boss (or rather my 3 year old is my boss!) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Once you work for yourself it is truly hard to work for someone else again! Now I know how my dad felt…
my husband and i work evenings so our lunch time is the meal of the day we have together. we are usually running errands so a cute little bag to bring on our bikes or in our car would be ideal! so we don’t end up eating crap, which, sadly, happens from time to time.
I ADORE lunch hour. It’s the only time I get to eat all the yummy foods my husband doesn’t like (without feeling guilty). Lately I’ve started making it into a gourmet affair – last week my favorite was heirloom tomato and mozz salad along with some water crackers, prociutto and gouda. My coworkers make fun of me (nicely), but I can’t help it. YUM.
Congratulations!! Good for you to move on from something totally uninspiring (to you) – I’m excited for you!!
I love lunch. I’m usually a lunch-packer & look forward to the hour of entertainment & humor provided by the girls I work with. But my favorite is when I don’t have time to pack a lunch because that means I HAVE to run home & eat with my 3-year-old daughter!! (That does make it hard to go back to work though!)
moving away from a stifling job is so exhilarating! i have to admit that i am a tad bit jealous as my job just drastically changed and i’m not sure it was for the best. in any case…
my lunch hour is spent at home, nursing my 7 month old son, and trying to cram some food into my face as well. i am SO lucky to live extremely close to home so that i can continue to work and develop a nursing experience for my son. it isn’t easy to balance working full time and nursing, so i am very thankful for each and every lunch! (even if sometimes i do not get to eat anything at all…)
Congrats on the new venture! Leaps of faith are always rewarded with a value immeasurable in dollars. Now that I think about it, I don’t take enough time to really enjoy lunch each day. Granted I do get an hour each day, give or take, to do as I wish with, I don’t take advantage of it. I think it may be time to take my own “leap of faith hour” each day and just go really enjoy what the world has to offer right in my immediate surroundings. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hope I’m not too late for the giveaway!
I am a cook in a restaurant so I get to make whatever I feel like eating that day- it’s the best!
Lately I’ve been doing taquitos with blackened mahi or grilled steak and pico de gallo, lime juice, sour cream and tabasco. Yum!
I pack my own lunch every day since I work in a fairly rural area. Just now, I had some spaghetti alla carbonara left overs that I made for my husband’s birthday. Next up is watermelon salad with mint, feta, and a balsamic honey reduction. I don’t always have such amazing left overs, but today I am lucky!
I wish I could say I don’t look forward to my one hour away from my cubicle every day … but I can’t, cause I do. I really really do. I usually don’t even eat during the actual lunch hour but instead fill my time with various errands around Lake Mary or even walking to the Publix next door. I just like getting away from the monotonous that is my job. Or … I spend the hour blogging away. Well maybe not the whole hour … some of that computer time might be spent reading other blogs (like yours!).
Good luck with your future! I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding something else fabulous to do. You seem very gifted in your blogging/cooking.
- Jess
So proud of you!
My lunch hour typically involves me either rushing around or using the treadmill downstairs for a de-stressing sweat sesh. However, one day a week, I truly savor leaving the office, or sitting quietly at my desk with a book and just enjoying every minute of the hour without letting it rush right past me. If I leave the office I usually end up in the park across the street.
Sounds like you’re ready for some adventure, Gabi. Congrats.
I’m a full-time design/art direction student so lunch is just a matter of survival. My school has a fridge and I lop my construction-worker-esque lunchbox filled to the brim with leftovers every day. I don’t really have much of a structure to it and I tend to pack entirely too much food in case if I end up at school for dinner too. To me, my lunch is a lifesaver.
Ah! lunchtime. If I can get away from the office and go outside or go home, that is perfect. Lately I’ve been spending my lunch at the outdoor pool swimming lengths. What a beautiful way to break up the day (and a bit of a necessity to get ready for this weekend’s triathlon). Thanks for the fun post and giveaway!
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to thank you all for participating and sharing a piece of your everyday routine with me. How great it has been to learn so much about everyone – we all lead such different lives, yet have so much in common. And it sounds like a lot of us love our precious lunch hours! I also appreciate all the inspiring and supportive notes I’ve received about moving on from my job. Thank you , thank you.
So here’s what we’ll do…
The time to enter for the giveaway has ended, but I’m going to leave the comments open for the post so people can continue sharing if they like. I’ll be announcing our lucky winner in my next post!
Talk soon,
gabi
Ooh, I missed the giveaway! I’ll share anyway :) I work a terribly boring office job a few blocks from my house so I walk home every single lunch break and make myself something special. That half an hour in my own kitchen, listening to music, in the middle of an otherwise soul sucking day completely saves my sanity.
I love my lunch break. It has changed since I became a mom. I now put H down at one and scurry to the kitchen to see what I am going to whip up. I take my food & my phone outside to our pseudo porch to eat and browse.
Congrats on taking the plunge!!! I can’t imagine you will regret it. Still loving your granola.
I miss your lunches too, Gabi. I miss watching you prepare them, hearing you talk about them and getting schooled on ingredients (most of which I had no understanding of how to incorporate into the food I ate). You’ve permanently changed the way I view food (and cats…sort of).
Good for you.
the contest is over but i so agree with you. lunch time is the best! but the difference is i just started my job (almost 4 months and counting. oh dear, is that a bad thing?) but i have to say, lunch hour is my FAVOURITE. and doggy bag lunch, my FAVOURITE. i always have a kick planning my afternoon lunches, although they’re so quicky and feisty meals that i never blog about them, cos it’s almost always 3 or 4 ingredients. and who needs another recipe for tofu, cherry tomatoes and roast chicken with pesto? oh dear. haha. but good on you! for leaving the job you don’t like. life’s too short, they say, and they’re almost always right. i’m taking a page from Steve Jobs. if you go through too many days saying you don’t want to do something, then you know you should change something =) hope to see this blog grow! love it! and honest fare – what a heartwarming name.