I’m giving myself five nine minutes to just write really quickly tonight, stream-of-consciousness style. Pardon me if it’s too disjointed.
This has been a really intense week. We have big things going on with Nourish, a lot of really hard stuff still going on with our friends and their loss, loads of photo editing from the family shoots I did, training for the half marathon that’s less than 3 weeks away (ran 6 miles tonight with a pretty decent pace!), Oliver and Hazel have both been sick with fevers (and sad and understandably whiney and difficult), plus Ryan has been out of the house a lot more than normal this week. We have seriously just been handing off the kids all week-long, passing at the door with a hello & goodbye kiss while one of us heads off to the next thing we’ve got to do. A little bit fun? Yes. For a while. A whole lot of stress? YES! I miss Ryan! I’ve had to cut a lot of fat this week. And by fat, I mean showers, laundry, blogging, etc. You know, things that really maybe shouldn’t be ignored. (Well, at least the showering and the laundering – those are pretty key.)
It’s been sad to not get to get on here and write and interact with you all this week. I miss you! I know sometimes we have to make calls and this week blogging took the cut. It made me sad because I enjoy it so much. It’s a happy hobby. Hoping that lots of this craziness will die down or level out a bit so we can all get back to normal routine.
I do have a long list of things to share with you, and to give away. Some great stuff, in fact that I’ve handpicked as some of my favorites for Christmas shopping and such. I just need to get around to sharing it all. Maybe a giveaway week would be in order. Do y’all enjoy those or are they annoying? I’ve always wondered. I really try to keep a good balance of me & what I like to blog about with all the cool “stuff” that I like and want to share with you. Every post can’t be a giveaway. And every post certainly can’t be about “stuff”. Then I become ‘just another blog’ and I really don’t want that. I don’t want to be that person either.
I respect you guys and I love that you respect me. I don’t want to lose that. I do want you to always be able to trust that what I’m sharing with you is always first because I like it and second because I am sometimes compensated to share it. (And to answer the question that you may or may not be asking – no, I’m definitely not getting rich off of my blog. If it worked out to an hourly rate, it might be minimum wage at best. Like I said – happy hobby! I do it because I love it.) I always want to maintain this integrity with you guys. I’ve learned a lot in the past few months about how I want to operate as a blogger and while I’ve expanded in some ways, there are definitely places I’ve taken immediate steps back because it didn’t feel like me anymore.
Okay, time’s up. I’m really excited about what I put together for you guys tomorrow. It’s a sewing tutorial and it’s beautiful and I’m slightly over the moon for it.
Thoughts about a giveaway week?
Oh, and because I can hardly bear to publish a post without a photo, here’s one of the kids a few weeks ago making apple pies with me. This year Oliver was old enough to (with help) operate the peeler/corer/slicer & Haze mostly just noshed on the peels (the kids call them “fruit snacks”).
The end!
So sorry for
Arg. Finger malfunction–so sorry for all the stress but yay for the good things–both my kids are sick andhave been whiney too…long days!!! Excited to hear the new Nourish stuff. And I like your giveaways and all the stuff you tell us about. One of these days I’m totally gonna win one :D
I enjoy the giveaway posts but I also really love your everyday life posts — pictures of the kids, funny stories, recollections of your life, wisdom about God, etc. So rock on, sister — keep whatever you’ve got planned on its way!
Aww…poor kiddos! Poor Mom and Dad too! It takes alot out of everyone when little ones are sick!:( I actually really like these types of “rambling” posts! I also really like giveaway posts and I don’t find them annoying at all (until we have to jump through 10 hoops just to enter!:() Do what you can, when you can and your faithful followers will be here until you get back!:) Love, hugs and blessings!?
you have perfect bloggy balance!
i like all your posts :) my favorites are the “real life” ones, but give aways are fun too!
That is a lot to handle at once. And you still got a tutorial done! Impressive. As for giveaways, I might go against the grain here, but I think they’re overdone in blog land. I like them when they’re for things I really would love to win (ie fabric!!), but often if I see a blog relying too much on giveaways for content, I’ll tune out. I don’t see that happening here, but I have on other blogs. Especially when it’s a whole week of them…. Too much! I follow blogs for the content — hearing about other women who are in a similar stage of life as me and who share some of my interests. Giveaways can fit into that picture, just for me personally, they’re not a driving factor in what makes me engaged. Just my two cents!
Did you ever make applesauce with Aunt Muriel? The apple peeling reminds me of that. We always took turns turning the handle to mash the sauce. I love Hazel’s face as she eats the apple peel. She is too funny. I can’t wait to see you all in a couple of weeks. Love you!
I love, love, love your blog, no matter what you post or how often (tho I do look forward to reading it every day)! I hope Oliver and Hazel are feeling better….and thanks for the apron tutorial. I love it..not sure I could do it, but I love it!
I have had a sick, whiney little one as well. So I totally understand. I felt like a shower was a bonus all last week. Hoping this week is better for both of us. My opinion on the giveaways, they are fun in moderation. But I really love just reading about your children, style, sewing, etc.
My internet has been boring without your funny quirkiness!!! Seriously, girl, you crack me up. And I love all your posts, be they be abt real life, photos, garage sales (my fav!), and contests. I am all abt the contests, so bring them on!! Sorry your life was so hectic last week. Hope this one is better!!