Don’t forget to link up to Just Something I Whipped Up today over at the new party blog.
I have no idea why I feel like I want to write a post like this but I kind of just want to get some things out there. If you’ve been around here for awhile some of these things may not come as any suprise to you. In fact you may even breathe a sigh of relief because you now realize that I know what you are already thinking.
I’m not very reliable I’m finding out. I have such great ideas for this blog but then my life just takes over and my crazy little girls wear me out and half of what I plan and ideas that I post about hardly ever materialize.
For example: The most recent thing is I asked people to sponsor giveaways during the Creative Chick Parade and I didn’t make good on that. I’ve been so incredibly tired lately that I really just did not have the energy to even create the giveaway portion of the posts. It took a lot of energy to even host the Creative Chick Parade. Ya know what kept me committed? The fact that I had so many wonderful blogs joining in with me that I could not just let them (or my faithful friends and readers) down.
Then there’s my “The Girl Creative Eats” that has suddenly fallen by the wayside. Originally I wanted to launch a whole blog that showcased wonderful recipes submitted by readers and that didn’t pan out. I posted a “Food Contributor” call several times I think, received a great response but again, I never really made good on that.
Let’s see, there’s also Teach Me Tuesday which I wanted to host every Tuesday where readers submitted tutorials and I would post them each Tuesday. That kind of had a good run for awhile and then following suit with the others, that fell by the wayside. I mean, we do host that once a month which I think is managable for me but not like I had originally planned.
Hmmmm….what else is there? Oh yes, blog swapping. lol Tried that for awhile and I couldn’t keep up. Sigh.
In my life I have always struggled with finishing things I start. What a shock, huh? I mean, from Bible Studies, to weight loss, to business ventures, etc……..lots of unfinished things. So, I guess I shouldn’t really be shocked that it has carried over into my blogging world.
Anyhow, I’ve been feeling a bit restless with my blog as many of you know. I think somehow God has been getting me to this point a bit. It has consumed a lot of my time and my family, house and kids have suffered and things have been out of balance. Mr. GC is going to be away for 3 LONG months and my girls are going to miss him terribly and I definitely need to compensate for that so maybe God was mentally preparing me for that. I love blogging. And I love my computer. I spend a lot of time with it and we are great friends! The cord on my laptop went and usually when that happens I’m kind of forced to take a break and focus more on my family and I think God does it on purpose. lol
So, with all that said, I’m sorry if any of you have been personally affected by my unreliability whether’s its a giveaway that never panned out or a tutorial that has never been shared. I really do have good intentions. lol I’m just horribly unorganized and easily overwhelmed and distracted. (I probably have an undiagnosed case of A.D.D. lol)
I will still be hosting my parties over at the new party blog and I will be posting any projects that I manage to get done but giveaways and special events may have to take a back seat for awhile. I hope everyone understands. 🙂
By the way, my blog will be a year old in about a month and I’m just 108 followers away from 200o and while I’m totally not obsessed with the number of followers, i think it would be kind of cool to reach 200o by then. 🙂
Girl, don’t even sweat it. Life happens and next to God, our families should be numero uno. I would hope we all understand that.
We are here no matter what. I often find myself telling students, that yes school (blogging) is important but sometimes life gets in the way and that is okay. Do what you can. What you have to. We are all here still reading. Maybe working with another blogger would help….team up maybe. I have considered that as my blog will go long weeks without a post. It saddens me, but the reason is mostly family (which comes first) and school (which pays the bills…well mostly). I wish the best and will be watching for you here. ~Kellly
I know how you feel I always have such great intention for my blog and then it never happens. So don’t worry about not following through, I think it happens to a lot of us. Good luck with life while the hubs is away!!
Wow, I think we can ALL relate to that! And if not, then I definitely can! You’re great, and I will pray that you can prioritize well, and you get to enjoy time with your family, and blog when you actually have a few minutes to yourself 🙂
I soooo understand! Don’t worry about it, girl. I think ALL of us bloggers struggle with this. In fact, it made me feel good to know that someone else feels like this at times, too. Thank you for being so transparent and authentic. As a reader, you can’t ask for much more than that : ). Hang in there! Lots of love and blessings to you.
Love, Laura
P.S. Good luck while Hub is away. I will keep you in my prayers.
No problem! Family comes first! Wow, congrats on 1892 now! I am sure you will be to 2000 soon!
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I check your blog all the time and just realized I wasn’t an official follower. Now you only have 107 more to go 🙂
I’ve been subscribed to your blog in Google Reader for a long time now and love what you do with it!! I guess I haven’t been around long enough to see you as “not being reliable,” and I think you do a great job! You are HUMAN and I really like how that comes across here (I’ve unsubscribed to a more than a few of those “super-mom” type blogs, they just end up being dull and make me feel bad for being real myself!!).
PS I didn’t know subscribing and following were different, so I just became a follower!! Hope you reach your 2000 soon!!
I feel a sigh of relief when bloggers post on this subject because I can more than relate. Many of us are moms which we are already overloaded to begin with. Then to top that off with meeting every goal of your blogging life can really take it’s toll. Don’t stress, you have our support!
I can relate too! Don’t worry, everyone feels overwhelmed and has the best intentions that don’t always materialize. You have a great blog and we enjoy reading no matter how frequent the posts! Jenn @ http://www.thismommyloves.com
I’m the same way! Like everyone said, there are certain things in life that should always take precedence… and that’s totally ok! Don’t beat yourself up over being tired … your blog is AMAZING. It is one of my favorites. 🙂
LOVE reading your blog…but what caught my eye was that your husband will be gone for 3 months. My husband is currently deployed to Iraq for a year long deployment (and we have 2 small children). Out of 365 days, I will get 15 short days with him…why am I telling you this? Because I know how it feels to have a list of things to do, and feel overwhelmed and frustrated when you can’t do them. But I try to remember this is all a part of God’s plan…he’s trying to teach me something, just like you mentioned in your post. So, don’t feel alone…I am right there with you…overwhelmed and missing the hubby! 😉 We moms carry a large weight on our shoulders…so pace yourself while he’s gone, and try not to sweat the small stuff!! And contact me if you need to vent!!!! 😉 Have a great week!
I’m with you Girl, if you want talk with somebody, I’m here.
xoxo
What an honest post — I can sort of understand where you’re coming from. I have two other blogs out there that have, well, succumbed to my disorganization. I think I get over-stressed with trying to make things perfect, then get tired of what I’ve taken on. Just be yourself — we’ll still be here to link up and to drool over the projects you do find time to complete!
So crazy! I haven’t been blogging has long but have totally been going through the same thing. I started doing reviews and giveaways and have realized it’s a lot of hard work. Once I finish the reviews I’m committed to do, I’m going to back off. I feel really convicted that it’s taken to prominent of a place in my mind and time. You can have too much of a good thing I guess. I’m so all or nothing about things…I always get REALLY into whatever I do…but I can’t afford to be all into the blog thing…so, we’ll see what happens! I have a LARGE list of unfinished things too!!
Your family comes first. No matter what!
I personally think you are pretty damn cool! Take care of yourself and your family first, and if you have time to entertain us after that, awesome! If not, I totally understand.
xoxo
~Allison @ House of Hepworths
I think the great thing about this medium is that most of us understand that family is the most important!
Good luck getting things under control and just try not to bite off more than you can chew!
I’m sure many of us can totally relate to this. I struggled with this when i first started my website (not my blog) back in 1997. Kept it for ten years, on and off working on it when I wanted, I wasn’t terribly consistent. I can be the same way with my blog too now that i’ve sold my site. Don’t worry about it, family ALWAYS comes first. Who better to understand that than us? 🙂
FAmily first, and all will fall into place – – – you’re doing great!
I think we can all understand where you are coming from and most importantly why. We all love blogging for one reason or another but FAMILY must come first! Take the time that you need and we’ll be here waiting to for your goodness whenever you do feel the need to share. You are not alone when you fele that you have all of this stuff that you want to blog about and then it never happens. Happens to me all the time!
Diana,
You are not alone AND you are not unreliable. You just put together one awesome blog hop parade and everyone appreciates it!! Raising a family is a lot of work in and of itself. Blogging is fun, but if fun turns into work and feelings of panic with trying to keep up, then you are definitely due a break. Pat yourself on the back for your nearly 2000 followers and know that you’re doing just fine!!
xoxo,
Stef
Oh, I am the same way. Your personality type must be dreamer. Because that’s me to a T. I have super great ideas and really heartfelt intentions, but problems executing. I’ve always been that way, and I’ve struggled with it in my blog life too. I somehow managed to host FMM for over a year, which I consider a personal success. It sounds like you’re trying to take too much on, and while you’re probably super amazing, no one can juggle all of that. My personal motto is that I want to do a few things well. Not a ton of things, a little bit good. If that made sense.
Hope you feel better soon! You’re doing a great job.
♥ Amber
Silver Lining
See? We just love you. Plain, simple, end of story. We love you just the way you are. Period.
I am so the same! I have so many ideas that I never even start, or so many half finished projects! In the past I had 3 different blogs, but it was too much so I’ve decided to compile them all into one. It’s made it a lot easier, even if it’s kind of random. So don’t even worry about it. Blogs are great and a lot of fun, but it’s not life and death. If you need to take care of your family, do it. We will miss you greatly! But I think we all understand. To be honest, do you know what I’ve started doing to make it easier? I try and write whatever posts for the week that I can on Sunday and then schedule them for during the week! I love that feature! There is no way I could keep up with it otherwise! It takes up so much time. 🙂 (hopefully that is not super lame! oh well.)
I also don’t know why I wasn’t following you before, but I am now!! 1894! I hope you make it to 2000!
I wish you the best of luck with everything! And I hope you can find balance with everything! Have a great week!!! 🙂
You do an amazing job and I enjoy your blog very much.
Food network used to have a show starring Sarah Moulton, the executive chef for Gourmet Magazine. I absolutely loved her and she ended up quitting the show because she had a young son, was working two jobs and was writing a cookbook. But the one thing I remember best was her advice to never apologize for anything you serve, even if it didn’t turn out as well as you hoped. We are all our own worst critics and there is never any need to bring up our perceived shortcomings. You have served your readers a fantastic quality and variety of creative “dishes” and no one would complain that you only served 2 desserts instead of the 6 you had planned!
Best wishes, I know it will be hard for you and the girls to be apart from Mr. GC for so long, will pray that time flies and he will be back before you know it =0)
No apologies necessary. I admire you for admitting this, and putting your family first. I pray that you find the balance you’re searching for, and that Mr. GC’s time away goes smoothly for you & kiddos.
I can’t imagine how much work went into last week’s party….oh how I did enjoy it, and appreciate it!
God’s Blessings…
Anyone who puts family ahead of blogging knows what’s up and should be offered all the understanding in the world. Thanks for sharing.
Diana,
I have the same case of too many ideas and too little time. I would really like to know how organized people do it!
Your generosity and spirituality have been an inspiration to me whenever I visit so keep in mind there are probably many, many people you have effected that way!!
You can’t let go of what makes you happy…following your passion is great. It’s all about balance:)
You are in good company. Keep what is most important first…
Hey! Life is life and you have to roll with it! No one expects more out of you than you and probably nobody notices your flaws and mistakes on the blog, but you! =) I know I’m my toughest critic and in fact, I wore my dress backwards to church and did not notice until I went to take it off and saw the tag in the front! lol It’s the same shape V neck shape on the back and front and has no zipper…nobody else noticed, but me. Blogs are kind of the same way. People don’t notice what they are missing as long as you keep your routine. Post once a week or 5, you set up the expectations and if readers like you, they just want to see you every now and then! Have fun with your new pace!
Sweetheart, your life is calling and your bloggy friends understand. I’ve been blogging since April with alot fewer followers and it still eats vast amounts of my time. But I love it! You are so creative I just know we’ll be seeing some wonderful things from you from time to time. Relax and enjoy your family and let your guilt go. There, that’s better!
I admire your honesty. You and I are alot alike and no sense in beating ourselves up over it. Your priorities and heart are in the right place, so do what you can and don’t sweat the rest!!! 🙂
I totally understand! I too have a home, children and a hubby to care for plus a farm and my home business… and I have to fit my time with Jesus in there too 🙂 It’s hard when we can’t do all we want to do, but that is okay. I’m glad you wrote this post and you probably feel better too 🙂 God bless you hun, you and your sweet family, give all to God, let Him direct your paths and before you start something, ask Him if it’s His will for you and for His blessing 🙂
Hi There!
I think your blog is great and that you do a wonderful job! Many, many of my followers have found my blog through your hops, and I really appreciate your work on your blog, and hosting the hops. To that end, there is something for you over at my blog!
Have a great day!