Burnt Out

My mother once told me, "Megan, you can't always do everything." However, it is hard to take that advice from someone who was guilty of trying to do everything too. 

But, growing up, I was convinced with careful planning, organization and the ability to live on minimal sleep - I could do almost anything - but with a cost of becoming burnt out and not being able to give 100% to everything. But I had FOMO (fear of missing out) before it was a real thing. 

With only a few weeks left of living in Kansas City, I have found myself slipping into old habits - and trying to do everything and see everyone before I leave. Last night, I hit a wall. You need sleep, my body said. 

And I went home and slept for 12 hours straight and when I woke up and made myself breakfast, it didn't even burn! Probably because I wasn't rushing around trying to multi-task and get to the next thing. 

I had considered going out of town with friends but found myself happy to have stayed home and taken the time to run errands, workout and relax. 

I read a great article the other day called, The Science of Improving Your Performance at Almost Anything, that touts leisure as important to being effective in life, "We also shouldn’t forget the importance of leisure. This, in addition to health benefits, makes us more creative."

It's pretty obvious that if your mind is running at 100 miles/hour to keep up with your body, you can't really think and let your thoughts go. 

I still have a lot of things left to do before I leave in the next 2 weeks, but for now I'm excited to enjoy this long weekend of leisure to recharge. 

It's Not Me, It's the Toast

Hopefully you don't think I'm some kind of irresponsible girl just out of college and green to the world, because (contrary to the picture painted by the previous posts) I am turning 30 this year and would consider myself to be pretty successful. 

So how do these things happen to you? You might ask. Well this past weekend, I was thinking that same thing. I am a very rational and responsible person 90% of the time, but over the past 2-3 months it'll be like a switch flips and I'll do things very out of character. 

I decided to investigate this weekend and came across a book called, The Brain Chemistry Diet, based on the premise that what you eat can have a huge impact on your mood, how you handle stress and how you overcome depressing situations. Not only that, but it is different based on your personality type. 

This is a very interesting concept that what you eat on a daily basis can drastically impact your mental process and emotions. I used to have a very healthy diet, but over the past several months I have fallen off the wagon and have been eating a lot more carbs and much less fruits and vegetables than I used to. 

I know what you are thinking. I can't blame everything on my toast consumption and there are other contributing factors to my thinking and emotions. However, I became intrigued enough to try it out as an attempt to help be more balanced, especially after reading the case study about "Sarah", whose situation was creepily similar to mine. 

I've identified my personality trait to be a "Star". Without sharing the whole recommended food list, there are specific suggestions on what to eat and what to avoid during certain states of mind. 

While I know there is not a chance that I can follow it to a tee (especially the avoid alcohol & caffeine part), it's an interesting concept that I'm willing to give a try and might improve my cooking skills if I am forced to make other things than toast. :)

I started my experiment tonight and let's just say this is going to be quite the learning experience... 

A Pizza Revelation

Remember when I said my blog wasn't going to be all about pictures of burnt food? Well apologies in advance for the back-to-back burnt posts. 

Friday's benefit & auction was the culmination of 8 long months worth of planning for an American Cancer Society charity event. I was a co-chair this year and we had completely re-concepted the event with a brand new theme, location, night and logistics. It was either going to be a disaster or a bit hit. 

Much to my relief it was a huge hit --> my committee members kicked a** and tons of people came out to support the event, including a lot of my friends. 

That's when things went downhill. The next morning, I woke up to an apartment full of smoke, a head full of fog from booze and the remains of this pizza on the stove. 

Luckily I didn't burn down the apartment. And luckily, Kattie (my future roommate and partner in crime in Chicago) came to my rescue and turned off the burner that was roasting the pizza!

Lessons learned: Don't mix cooking & alcohol. Avoid Fireball Fridays. Avoid 4-inch heels on Fireball Fridays. Stick with good friends who will watch out for you. And #GetItTogether before I go to Chicago.  

Don't You Like Burn Everything?

"Don't You Like Burn Everything?" was the question directed toward me. To most people that may seem like a "burn" (see what I did there?). But when one of my favorite copywriters turned to me and asked that question I just laughed and said yes. 

I'm like the opposite of your friend who tries new recipes and posts pictures of their gourmet meals and everyone drools. I'm the girl who burns toast and then posts it, I said. 

You should start a blog, she said. And so this blog was born. 

But don't worry, I know what you are thinking. This blog is not going to be chock full of horrible-looking, inedible food photos - although there will be a few. But this will serve as a venue for me to share how I navigate life by "being there, burning that" and how I'll navigate the city of Chicago where I am moving in approximately 6 weeks with my friend, Kattie. 

Why would I care about your life, you ask. I don't know, but you're reading about it now, so I captured your attention somehow. I will conclude my first intro post with a slightly burnt food item and a few words of wisdom. 

I had turned down chicken nuggets earlier in the evening because I wanted something more "adult". So when I got home later that evening, I was starving and regretted not eating the nuggets, so I decided to make a quick turkey & grilled cheese sandwich that - spoiler alert - turned out to be neither adult-like and rather a bit burnt. Perfect, I said.  

But I'm not ashamed to say I ate it anyway. I mean, everything tastes better after being washed down with a big glass of wine. 

Morale of the story. You are never too old for chicken nuggets and always say yes if offered some because you never know what your alternative will be.