Overloaded

Do you ever just feel completely overloaded?

No, I’m not talking about the pile of laundry gathering at the foot of your bed.*

*Is that just me?

Or the leaning tower of honey-roasted peanut containers I’ve stacked on the counter. [Hey, you need a lot of nuts to make enough jars of Cinnamon Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter for everyone who came to the VA is 4 Bloggers Meet-up !] And while the pile of papers I need to grade is starting to get a bit too high, that’s not what I’m talking about either. I’m talking about an overloaded mind.

You see, I am one of those people whose brain’s never shuts off. It’ll start with one thing–like unnecessary stress and paranoia that after switching to a new feed at WordPress no one was ever going to read my blog again–and eventually catapaults itself through a maze of “I should do this,” and “Will they hate me if I don’t do that?” which, combined with the constant cycle of recipe and flavor ideas that run through my head at any given moment–say hello to Sweet Potato Samosa Stew, y’all!–leaves me constantly fired up. I start to lose track of things I ‘should’ be blogging about, like the Bamboo Bottle I was sent months ago to review. [And yet, it just keeps getting pushed down the to-do list...] Then I start feeling bad about not reviewing products, or not having a brand new recipe that will set the blog world aflame with excitement, and that just compounds the problem further…so that I do things like forget to announce the winner of my CORE Foods giveaway and blog about ABBA-inspired Quinoa Cookies instead. Oh, by the way…the winner of that giveaway?

Miss Peanut Butter & Jenny !*

*Who, I’ll be honest, I feel like is a super blog-star and I feel so honored she even glances at my blog.

I’m also–contrary to popular belief and observation due to how much of a firecracker I am in social situations–the type of person who needs a lot of alone time to recharge her batteries. So, while I absolutely adore attending brunches and organizing meet-ups (and yes, I will blog more about our Virginia is 4 Bloggers Meet-Up later)… …this extro [slash] introverted combination personality leads me to very quickly to overschedule and overstimulate, followed by a reactive retreat from the world.

Which is what happened today.

I almost didn’t even go into the kitchen. I almost said, “Oh well! Forget it! Those Texas Rio Star grapefruits can wait!” But I didn’t. Because no matter how overloaded I am, I know that the only way to feel better is to just plow on through.*

*I am now, apparently, the farm girl I always dreamed of being. [Well, fine, a farm girl who just sort of looks at the pigs and cows...but doesn't actually do anything with them...]

You know the old* saying: when you’re overloaded with winter squash…

*And by “old” I mean “made up right now by me.”

…the only thing you can do is start roasting.*

*These look a bit like I feel: overdone.

And I mean, really…it’s not like these (vegan) Fig & Walnut Cookies for my February Foodie Pen Pal were going to make themselves, right? I realize this probably makes absolutely no sense at all. I guess all I’m trying to say is, sometimes I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I get stressed out about things that shouldn’t be stressful. And I put undue pressure on myself…about most things.

It’s silly, but it happens.

Maybe I’m crazy, but in the end life–and blogging–goes on.*

*Just perhaps not in the way I had planned…

[And also...Sunday nights are the worst.]