Keep it Real Tuesday: A Peek Behind the Blogalicious Curtain

Totally flattering photo of me at the Just Dance 3 Party at #Blogalicious11 courtesy of @ThienKim

The past month+ has been a whirlwind for me!  The amount of manhours that goes into mounting a conference like Blogalicious is staggering and the fact that the work needs to be done off-hours, after work and between kid and family responsibilities is insane.  But it had to be done! Here’s a peek into how I made it work:

• Petitions for Leniency. In addition to my personal blog, I write professionally for several other sites.  But in the weeks leading up to the conference, there was just no possible way that I could honor my committments to those outlets given all I had to do.  One night I was freaking out about having to put together an semi-intelligible post when my husband said: “Why don’t you just ask if you can take a break from contributing until after Blogalicious?”  LIGHTBULB! And why hadn’t I thought of that?  So I did.  And everyone was amazingly understanding and accommodating.  That was a huge source of stress lifted off of my shoulders.
• Lower the Bar. You know food is my thing.  I love cooking it, eating it, reading about it, writing about it.  So I was not at all happy with my nightly dinners consisting of cereal or hot dogs these past few weeks when I had dreams of heartwarming casseroles and elaborate Sunday dinners.  I had to adjust my expectations (of myself – my family, as it turns out, couldn’t have cared less).  We subsisted on pizza (lots of pizza), Binner and random smorgasbords during conference crunch time.  A surprise favorite was frozen butterfly shrimp, Pasta-Roni and canned corn.  A shameful display for this foodie, but hey, the customers were happy.
• Develop a Blind Eye. Oh my house. My poor, neglected house.  I’m talking mountains of clean laundry carpeting the house waiting patiently to be put away; suitcases from Mighty Summit and Brownie Camp that still have yet to be unpacked; piles and piles of unopened mail on the kitchen island; sticky floors and crumb-filled carpets. We had no choice but to learn to live with it and so we ignored it.  I am certain that it drove Hubby as crazy inside as it did me, but bless his heart, he didn’t say anything but did frequent loads of laundry and quietly stepped around the fishing pole (camping!) in the living room.
• Recall the Wonder Years. Remember the theme song? “I get by with a little help from my friends…” My family and friend support system couldn’t have been more awesome.  I vented, complained, cried and laughed at it all with them.  And they listened.

So there you have it. A peek behind what I was relieved to hear at the conference was a calm and collected front.  I’m going to take my time tackling the enormous amount of household tasks awaiting me and I plan to ease back into catching up on my blogging gigs this week. But cooking? That’s back and in full effect, baby.  Starting tonight with an attempt at Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice.