Why I Took an 8 Month Break

*taps mic* Is this thing on?

Hi! It has certainly been a minute, hasn’t it? In fact, my last post here on Fooduzzi, until I went completely and totally dark, was posted on December 18, the six year birthday of this blog.

Since then, Fooduzzi has sat dormant. No new recipes, no posts on social, no Taste Test Tuesdays on Instagram –– nada.

And… I owe you a bit of an explanation! With the exception of a little note in my Instagram bio saying that I was on a break, I kind of just dropped off the face of the internet.

Nothing gossipy or scandalous happened –– I just needed a break. A big one. So I took it.

It really was that simple.

But I know you might have some questions, so I figured I’d give you a bit of a recap of the why behind the break, what I was doing instead, and what you can expect from me, and from Fooduzzi, moving forward:

Why I took a break

1. I was anxious and really feeling the isolation from covid.

Man. Last year was rough, wasn’t it?

Mark and I were super adamant about isolating, social distancing, and keeping to ourselves until we were lucky enough to get vaccinated early this year. And, as I’m sure a lot of you know, 2020 was the absolute worst.

Everything just kind of caught up with me by the end of last year, and I just needed time to… decompress. I tend to veer “more anxious” than not, and the pandemic was certainly a powerful, loud, always-in-my-face source of my anxious thoughts last year.

I’m an introvert, and I typically don’t mind spending time by myself and staying at home, but after nearly an entire year of it? It got to me.

Not only that, but we weren’t going into stores, so shopping for blog supplies was a bit more challenging. Not impossible (I mean, come on, a lot of food bloggers made it work!), but certainly more difficult than I had the mental capacity for by the end of 2020.

2. I wasn’t feeling inspired.

Not seeing people, not going places, and not experiencing things really tanked things in the inspiration department for me. I know a lot of creators felt the same way –– we weren’t doing the things that had once inspired us to create.

I know a lot of people were able to find inspiration from other places throughout quarantine, and that’s great. But it was a serious struggle for me.

Fooduzzi isn’t the source of my full-time income, so it was relatively easy to peace out for a few months. I know a lot of food bloggers who do this full-time don’t usually have the luxury to just… stop when they feel the need to. So I feel really lucky to have been able to step away when I wasn’t feeling at the top of my game.

3. I just didn’t want to think about food (as much as I used to).

*Sigh* This was a big reason I took a step away from the blog, but it’s actually a good reason.

There was a time in my life (a hard, stressful, sucky time) that food was everything for me. An unhealthy obsession. The single thing I thought about more than anything else every single day.

It was… a lot. Too much. And over the years, I’ve gotten more and more comfortable with letting go of my obsessions and celebrating food for what it is –– a way to celebrate cultures, a way to bring friends and family together, and a way to fuel our bodies to do the things we do each and every day.

I’ve come a long way since those lonely, dark days of food obsession. So much so, that I just didn’t want to think about food at all for a while!

During that time, it was really nice to not photograph food. To not think about plating or styling. To not think up new recipes and to just make whatever I wanted.

That said, I’ve really started to miss the creativity that drives this blog, which leads me to my last point:

4. I needed some time away to miss it.

Fooduzzi started to be one of those things that I felt like I had to do instead of something I wanted to do. I wasn’t really enjoying the recipe development process, the photography, or, most surprisingly, the writing.

Writing has always been the #1 thing I loved about the blog, and when that got to be too much, I knew it was time to take a step away for a while. It was honestly a little scary to be so out of love with writing, as it has been such a source of joy for me for most of my life.

I didn’t know when I’d feel the pull, the tug, to continue writing and creating content again.

But I’m here now because I do miss it and I do miss you! And I’m really, truly excited to be back.

What happened with my blog traffic?

Honestly, I have no idea. I’m sure it went down (no “new” content on the blog is a lot less interesting to readers than posting once/week!), but I have no idea by how much. I’ll dig into it eventually, but I also don’t really care.

Why? Not only is Fooduzzi not my only source of income, I physically and mentally needed a break. That break was so much more valuable than any potential additional traffic I could have brought to my blog by posting subpar content earlier this year. I knew I couldn’t give it my best anymore, and I’d much rather publish nothing than publish not-so-awesome posts.

I needed a break in order to continue posting the most valuable content I can for you. Simple as that.

What have I been doing instead of blogging?

We got vaccinated back in the spring, so since then, we’ve been seeing friends and family, going to restaurants and breweries, and just (safely) enjoying things sorta opening up again.

I’m still wearing my mask inside stores, but having the vaccine has certainly lifted a very heavy weight off of my shoulders.

I’ve also been reading a lot. It has been such an important source of entertainment for me, and I’ve loved getting lost in the stories I’ve read so far this year. Here are a few of my new faves:

• Project Hail Mary: Probably my #1 favorite book of all-time!
• People We Meet On Vacation: Super cute.
• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird: Such an emotional read, but I adored it.
• A Man Called Ove: Ditto. Tugs at your heartstrings and doesn’t let go until the very last page.
• The Last Flight: A really fun, non-put-downable thriller.
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: Another top read of all-time for me. And one I could definitely re-read again in the future!

Maya is the best reading buddy!

I’ve also been building strength and seriously enjoying the Peloton app. We don’t have a Peloton bike or tread, but I am loving all of the classes on the app! Seriously so fun. I’m having a blast working through my favorite instructors’ classes. I’m officially part of the Strength Century Club, and I got my shirt. Feeling proud and strong!

You may have already guessed this by the photo above, but I also got pandemic bangs! Lol. One of those things I’ve been thinking about for… forever, and I finally did it! I feel like they make me a wee bit more confident, and I like looking more put-together by quickly running a brush through my hair and giving the bangs a little extra care.

What can you expect moving forward?

The same snarky, silly, sarcastic Alexa and plant-based recipes you know and (hopefully) love. Definitely not as often as I was posting back in the early days of the blog, but more often than… not at all.

Also definitely some more content about books because I really have been a reading fiend recently, and I’d love to have some conversations about some of my faves here with you! I was actually kinda thinking of pairing a recipe with a book –– would that be weird or cool? Still feeling that idea out!

Also Taste Test Tuesday is coming back to my Stories on Instagram! Get ready, my friends. Super excited to bring that series back.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and for being here and for sticking with me while I was taking some time away. And to those of you who reached out to me during my break, thank you. It meant so much.

Really excited to get back to posting. Here’s to much more plant-based yum! ?