Kendra Adachi - The Lazy Genius Kitchen : Have What You Need, Use What You Have, and Enjoy It Like Never Before

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As I think through the people who have made my life and this book better, its almost embarrassing how good I have it.

First, to the Lazy Genius Collective. I know that a lot of writers say they have the best community on the internet, but they are wrong. I do. You guys are tremendous. Hope we get to keep doing this for a long time.

To Team LGLeslie Fox, Leah Jarvis, and Letoya Monteithyall are the actual best humans to work with ever. I am so grateful for how you are so good at what you do, which gives me space to be good at what I do. May our solar system keep spinning for a long time.

To my agent, Lisa Jackson, thank you for listening to that Editing Weekend ramble when I was pacing the room and losing my mind. That feels like a great snapshot of our relationship, and Im thankful for it.

To my editor, Susan Tjaden, you were the single reason I wanted to sign with WaterBrook, and that hasnt changed. Thank you for being great at your job and making what I do better.

To the design team, you made The Lazy Genius Kitchen the book of my dreams. Marysarah Quinn, Im legitimately obsessed with you. Sarah Anne Horgan, thank you for loving Adam Driver as much as I do.

If you helped share this book with the world as a publicist, a marketer, a podcast host who invited me on as a guest, or a member of a launch team, or have done anything else thats currently unknown to me because of the weird chronology of book publishing, thank you with my whole heart.

To Greg and Caroline Teselle, John and Emily Freeman, and Andraya Northrup for so generously lending me your spaces to write. Thank you, my friends. Your spaces truly feel like home.

To my accountant, my massage therapist, my counselor, my housecleaner, and all the amazing people who have shopped for and loaded my groceries, thank you for doing your work so beautifully so that I can do mine better.

To my masterminders Jamie Golden, Bri McKoy, and Laura Tremaine, you are everything. Thank you all for being smarter than anyone will ever know, for getting angry at me when I dont celebrate stuff, and for being such a safe place. I will take your secrets to my grave.

To my muse, Erin Moon, I love making stuff for you, sharing life with you, and learning about myself from you. Also, our children must eventually wed. In some combination. I am not picky.

To the internet, thank you for this new weird way to make friends and for these excellent people youve given me: Kelly Bandas, Andy Baxter, Chelsea Brennan, Courtney Cleveland, Adrienne Cooper, Scott Erickson, Natalie Hebert, Mattie James, Annie B. Jones, Sharon McMahon, Katie Moser, Bonnie Ohara, Anna Sale, and Kate Strickler.

To my fellow writing/podcasting friends, thank you for making this job less lonely: Anne Bogel, Sarah Stewart Holland, Kristen Howerton, Shannan Martin, Knox McCoy, Tsh Oxenreider, Beth Silvers, and Myquillyn Smith.

To SGT, I painted my nails and then made a friend. Youve been my biggest surprise of the last couple of years, and I love you and am glad you love me even though your unpainted pinky toe is cooler than my entire being.

To my local pals, you make me feel at home; whether we see each other once a day or once a year, youre why I love Greensboro: Diane, Ashley and Danny, John and Emily, Holden, Elizabeth and Seth, Jan, Kathryn, Andy and Brittany, Erienne, Griffin and Erin, Barrie, Anna, Daniel and Andraya, Nanette, Jon and Haven, Liz, Charlie, Hannah and Michael, and Alisa and Jason.

To Hannah Van Patter, I love who you are, how youve made me more of who I am, and how much you love the dirt. Seriously, its like my favorite thing. I couldnt be more grateful to have you as a friend, and I hope we have many more years together.

To Emily P. Freeman, thank you for making me laugh, for understanding this pretend job better than anyone, for naming my stuff, and for holding my jokes and my tears with equal reverence. I love you tons and tons.

To Hannah Kody, my seestra. I won the lottery getting you as my sister. You are the actual human best, and I love you so much. Everyone should have you as a sister. Every single ding-dang person. Except Luke, because that would be weird. Same for your kids. Never mind, this metaphor is crumbling, the point is youre exceptionally great. Love you, bye.

To my mom, Cindy Cage, people often seek out accomplishments so their parents will be proud of them. Thank you for giving me a life where I never had to worry about that. Your love for me is as strong and steady as it gets, and that means the world.

To the rest of my family: Jon, all the Adachis, the Tringalis, the Cage-Wilsons, the Kodys, and the extendeds near and far, thank you for your support and love.

To Sam, Ben, and Annie, Im so deeply proud to be your mom, and I love you like crazy. Like CRAZY.

To Kaz, thank you for loving me like crazy. I am who I am because of you, and this book wouldnt exist in any form without you. Youre the best guy, the best dad, and the worst joke-teller which kind of makes you the best. Always, always love you more.

CONCLUSION

Okay, pal, take a deep breath.

I know youre excited. Im thrilled youre excited. Im excited for you! Your life in the kitchen is about to change. Thats worth being excited about!

But heres why I need you to still take that deep breath. If you busted through this entire book and are so pumped about the five steps, but still havent put them into practice, you might spin out.

Dont spin out.

Hope is a beautiful thing, especially in the kitchen, and this book is full of hope. Its full of potential and promise and permissionand it works . But itll work best if you go slowly and take it in small steps. You dont have to transform your kitchen all at once.

Start small. (LGP #2)

Small steps are easy. Easy steps are sustainable. Sustainable steps keep you moving.

You will experience your kitchen with more confidence and joy if you loosen up your expectations to fix the whole thing at once.

Remember how we talked about your kitchens prep flow being like a river? Right now, you might be experiencing that river on a raft. Your current way of being in your kitchen looks a little janky, is often a rough ride, and you might have fallen off the raft once or twice, but youre still moving. Nothing is wrong . You just dont enjoy the ride as much as youd like.

This book is your toolkit for slowly transforming that raft into a sleek canoe, maybe even equipped for white water. But you can do it slowly.

Apply one change at a time. Go in the order of the book, or pluck one thing that will make your ride feel smoother right away.

I imagine you sitting on the shore of the river, making camp at the end of another long day, and tweaking one little piece of your raft to prepare for tomorrow. You do another tweak the next night, and the next, and the next. Your raft slowly transforms into a boat as you learn from the ride.

And each day gets a little smoother.

Youre not distracted by keeping yourself on your misshapen raft anymore, but you now have the space to look around at how beautiful the scenery is because you feel more secure in your newly fashioned boat.

Its enjoyable .

Thats what happens when you seek to create a Lazy Genius kitchen. You enjoy being there more than you dont. Its not perfect, nor would you want it to be. Perfection is for robots. Youre a human busting with laughter and compassion, spontaneity and peace.

That person doesnt need a perfect kitchen. She just needs a Lazy Genius one.

Deep breaths.