Since I skipped last week’s TOL for Thanksgiving (it felt SO nice to be done cooking Thursday afternoon!) I feel like I haven’t shared non-food-related thoughts in quite a while. Do I even have any? Yes, of course! They’re centering mainly around being busy (yup, it gets old) and mentally preparing myself for our mid-December trip. Here they are, my thoughts brought to you, censored to some degree (if only for language), but with no particular rhyme or reason.
1.) Between December rearing its cold and dark-way-too-early head plus our trip to CA (less than two weeks away, eek) I’ve been online shopping like it’s my job lately. Then again I think online shopping really is in the job description of “mom” since the kids do not yet have money/credit cards/good judgement to shop with.
The trip itself is challenging to shop for since a.) we have a wedding to go to b.) we have a rehearsal dinner, too and c.) we’re going to Disney. Plus we can’t do laundry – is your blood pressure up right now with mine?!
I know these are the “little things” in life but man – little things translate into big anxiety quite often for me. I think right now I’m supposed to ask myself “what’s the worst that could happen?” and seriously – this question was 100% not invented by someone who actually experiences anxiety.
Perhaps the shopping woes are covering up deeper worries about how the trip will go. Well duh, yes this is true. However, the shopping in and of itself on top of all the other prep work (holidays, blog stuff, etc.) is enough for my nerves without actual anxiety behind it.
2.) Okay, I’m beginning to feel like I sound whiny right now so I will stop. I will not tell you my woes about the basement renovation that will probably never end. I will keep all that negativity to myself! And moving on, Drew is still drawing like a champ and asking me to promote his Youtube channel. I need to take lessons from him:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5bLhUjLLsM[/embedyt]
That made me smile, I’m good now 🙂
3.) Can we talk about dessert please? It happens a lot, I’m aware. I haven’t posted a WIAW in forever but maybe I should, because my “dessert bowl” has changed at least a little bit over the past couple of months. Specifically, after I bought Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss ice cream to go with my skillet cookie, I was 500% hooked. As in needs-to-be-in-my-freezer-or-I-go-out-at-8pm-to-get-some hooked.
Reviews are extremely positive from non-Paleo eating family members, and it’s the only ice cream we ate with our pies on Thanksgiving. So yes, I’m obsessed. For awhile leading up to Thanksgiving, my dessert every night was a “cranberry bar banana split” – sliced bananas, coconut vanilla ice cream, and a crumbled up cranberry bar. SO good!
When the cranberry bars were finished, I moved onto these turtle cookie bars – which are coming this weekend:
I got mad when these were gone, I can’t lie. Luckily I still had chocolate gingerbread truffles to eat with the ice cream. Maybe it’s the time of year, but dessert lately has been go-big-or-go-home style for us!
4.) I have trouble, to say the least, taking “time off.” There were a solid 4 days last week where I did little to no work on the blog and it made me realize that life exists outside of my blog. But of course it does! Yet so easy to forget! Or, be resistant to exploring for fear of feeling “lazy.”
For those of you who have blogs/work at home/run a business, you know that you live your work quite literally (or work your life?) so you might have forgotten what time off really means. In fact, “time off” is something I need to figure out for myself, like ASAP. Because burnout is a real thing that I’m not immune to. I have learned this from running, to parenting, and I will learn it again most likely with everything I throw myself into.
I don’t want to make this a “resolution” sort of thing, but rather something to take seriously in my approach day to day, because I love what I’m doing and want to love it just as much a year from now.
Tell Me!
When have you experienced burnout in the past?
What’s in your dessert bowl lately?
I like how you said that “whats the worst that could happen?” wasn’t created by someone who experiences anxiety. If Im feeling anxious and someone asks me that they better watch out because I will go on about all the terrible things that could happen! I definitely get burnt out from things when I don’t find a good balance.
OMG yes. Because believe us, we have likely thought about it. I always think back to the movie Young Frankstein: “Could be worse!” “How?” “Could be raining!” Cue thunder and downpour
we are going to Disney in a few weeks too, only we will be in Disney world. I seriously shut my computer in the later afternoon every day to avoid burnout . there’s only so much we can do and if I don’t, I will lose my mind!
I’ve definitely been burnout. Most recently was last month which is why I planned some serious downtime last week. I find when I do not take time off my motivation goes out the window or I just can’t thinking of anything to write about. Living life helps with that!
It has been a while since I had a skillet cookie with ice cream. That must change soon!
And so easy to make too, dangerous 🙂
I’m feeling a tad bit burned out right now and cannot wait for Christmas – NY’s break! Now I have got to get my hands on Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss ice cream and btw – your skillet cake and those turtle cookie bars look so insanely delicious!
I’ve definitely suffered from burnout on more than one occasion, and when it happens, I find that my motivation to do anything goes completely out the window until I take a few days to just do nothing and recover. It’s tough, though! Because when you’re self employed, there’s literally always something you -could- be doing… But it’s no good to always be doing something if you come to hate what you’re doing. So yeah… it’s a delicate balance.
I experience burnout if I blog too much and don’t take time off for inspiration. Don’t feel bad taking time off; God made us to need rest and sleep, so don’t worry about sleeping instead of blogging. <3 This is something I need to hear often too.
All of your holiday treats? Wow, can I be your neighbor and learn from all your baking skillz?
i have serious burnout right now. its been brewing since last october. i know i suck. most of it is work related but also some home related. and the holidays make me anxious to ! i cannot wait for my time off between christmas and new year i am just so tired and need some time off to be at home with cookies, tv, xmas tree lights, baths, candles, youtube, and my bed ! the thought of that is the only thing keeping me going. now i work at a corporate job so lack of motivation is certainly a thing but i have deadlines that push me to still do things. i can totally see if i was self employed though that i would like curl up for a week in a blankie and not come out. but…i bet if i did that i would feel better faster ! for me the only cure for burnout is time off and some time alone to recoup. but for me small chunks of that dont seem to help. its like i need longer chunks of recoup time. like 2 hours wont help but 2 days would !!!!!! ahhh a girl could dream ! i need a beach vacation !
OMG- those turtle bars look incredible!!
Hey Michelle,
Cullen here, I recently got burn out just from working so much and coaching at our gym. It’s a bittersweet thing. You focus on the clients so much you forget to workout or have to wake up earlier to workout then you start losing sleep etc etc etc… I’ve gotten back on track and figured out how to manage better. Just felt like the holiday season was approaching and spending time with family was really adding up lol!
What’s in my dessert bowl lately – (shhh it’s not paleo) but the Confetti Cake Ben & Jerry’s is so delicious. I’ve been trying to avoid it, but it’s stupid delicious.
Confetti cake sounds amazing, maybe I’ll have to think up some sort of Paleo version for that! And burnout is such a real thing – glad you’re back on track, tough to get myself to avoid it.
Time off is a wonderful thing when you can learn how to do it guilt free. When I used to take time off from my job, I never called to check in or checked my bazillion emails. I told my employees if they needed me to call or text because my email would be turned off. It was so very good for me mentally to completely unplug. Same goes for the blog although it can be tricky to separate since it’s working from the home. That being said, it’s still completely worth it.
The trip will go fine. Maybe you’ll run out of clean clothes but I’m sure your kids won’t be the first running around Disney with dirty shirts.Enjoy it. Also so you know, I’m stressing about the holidays with Ave and I’m telling myself the same kind of thing. 🙂