This post is all about how to balance life and realize you can do hard things.

Disclosure
Published November 13, 2025
This page might contain affiliate links. In the event of a sale, I will be awarded a small commission (at no extra cost for you).

Life doesn’t stop

For the last few months, we’ve been busy. Between starting school, college classes, student teaching, publishing a book, and LIFE, small things have gotten away from us.

Like car headlights.

For real! How hard is it to change them out?

The answer is 6 months and 10 minutes.

For real. It took me 10 minutes. To change TWO headlights.

I won’t go into HOW to do it, because you can search YouTube on how to do it yourself. I’m not a car mechanic, and I won’t be giving that advice.

However, I will give you advice on how to live your life.
Doing the hard things.
Do the hard things.
Learn the hard thing.

Because… it’s totally worth it! not only for the reward of a job well done, but the feeling of immense accomplishment for doing something you’ve never done before. Or for marking that thing off of your ever-growing to-do list that has been the tension point in your life for months.

Really.

Even if it’s not a source of tension, it’s a task that can be done that you’ve been avoiding; just push up your sleeves, put your hair up (if you need to), and get it done.

So today, after a day of working with middle schoolers and special education students, this momma of 4 looked up a YouTube video on how to change the headlights in a Honda Fit and did it herself.

If I can do it, so can you!

Do the hard thing!

Need a Christmas Gift?

This year, I did another hard thing and published a novel.

From start to finish, first sentence to published, this novel took 19 months. Honest.

Writing, edits, more edits, proofreading, rewrites, working with a cover artist, editor edits, rewrites, typesetting… This was a chore! But in the best way possible.

What is Château Green all about? Here is the synopsis:

Scratch Kitchen Cafe was a thriving business owned by Zoe in Ephraim, Wisconsin, a quaint town in the idyllic wine-growing region of Door County. Heather was the vivacious counter girl, and with the talents of Abby in the kitchen, the cafe thrived and served the village their coffee drinks and pastries. That was, until the pandemic threatened her livelihood, forcing her to only serve at a distance. Zoe was left with no choice but to close her cafe after eleven years, as business fell to nothing.

In a changing world, filled with masks, mandates, social distancing, and coin shortages, Zoe decided to leave everything behind and put all she had into a new adventure – one that took her away from all she was comfortable with, away from her family, to a castle halfway around the world.

Château Vert in Montresor, France, was a family estate dating back to the French Revolution. Zoe fell in love with it when she first vacationed with her family in 2008, revisiting the real estate office window to gaze at the listing often. Now, amidst a worldwide pandemic, peeling wallpaper and thick cobwebs, she found herself falling in love all over again.

In our house, we love books. Do you give or get books as gifts?

This year, maybe give the gift of reading to someone you love (or yourself), that coworker that is always in the book, that friend that won’t stop reading to go for coffee, that aunt who loves all books.

Château Green is a nonfiction book with travel, cooking, friends, all things French, castles, and more.

To find it for sale on Amazon in paperback for $19.99, click the link below. It’s for sale as well on Kindle for $4.99.

Château Green in Paperback on Amazon:
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Château Green for download with Kindle:
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

You may also like

I’m not one for posting about accomplishments, but about projects, recipes, and trips we’ve taken. This one is short and sweet, and hopefully an encourager for you today. If you want some awesome recipes and need some inspiration for dinner, here are 65 Dessert Recipes that you can use to fill out your ever-growing list of foods to make. Who knew 90% of being an adult was trying to figure out what to feed your people every day. For the rest of your life.

And if desserts are your jam (hahaha… yup, I had to), then here are 115 Dinner Ideas to help you along the way to figuring out how to adult. Every day. You’re welcome. And I hope you do enjoy them. Click the links below for either the dessert or dinner recipe links.

This post was all about how you, too, can do hard things!

Follow me on Pinterest

Follow me on Pinterest for so much more inspiration, recipes, DIY and more. New ideas are added daily, and you will always find my most recent blog posts and favorite recipes.

Copyright: All content and photos on Monica's Scratch Kitchen are copyright protected. Please do not use them without written permission. Thank you.

Terms and Conditions