“Fear less, hope more: eat less, chew
more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love
more; and all good things are yours.” Swedish Proverb
For today, I'm going to add my own coda to the above: "blog less, live more!"
I hope you are ready for more changes around here
dear ones. Not much, don't worry! But over my spring break last week,
I did some serious stock taking, and have realized that my life has
run completely outside of the bounds of balance that I desire for it. So
that is calling me to some drastic change in many areas of my life.
Including blogging. Currently I write this blog, a personal blog, a
dog blog, and a stamping blog for my customers. Not to mention the
pages associated with LG like The Kitchen, Personal Shopper, and The
Style Files. I loved them all, but they were quickly becoming o.v.e.r.l.o.a.d. I was drowning in blogging, and had (unfortunately, perhaps)
also had caught the “big blogger” bug. I had tapped into a whole new
audience, and was finding great success submitting some of my
articles to memes and getting featured on high profile blogs, I loved
finding new readers via hours of blog reading and commenting, the
list could go on... But then reality hit: yes, having a blog that is
large enough to bring home income for your family takes LOTS of work
and LOTS of hours of dedication. It quickly becomes impersonal, it
also opens you up to much more criticism and expectations as a
writer. It may not grow in the way or at the rate that you want it to. I didn't like any of that. Besides, I was already keeping
several businesses afloat, and didn't have time or sanity to add
another.- So the “big blogger” dream died. Having a very specifically
organized blog was so appealing to me, but apparently, it wasn't to
you (you know, the ones who mattered!) because the traffic flow to The Kitchen, The Style Files, and The
Personal Shopper was not at all what I had hoped it would be. Comments all
over LG were low to non-existent (which is a big deal for someone who
blogs to connect with people – not to have a once-a-day monologue).
Something wasn't right. A lot of somethings weren't right.- Time to re-evaluate.
So after some mulling, praying, and talking
things over with my husband, here is the verdict: Living Graciously
will remain "open for business". But remember how I said it was the least-commented blog...we're
gonna work on that part, right girls? ;-) Windy Poplars will become
integrated into Living Graciously – hence the new name. This will
now become a combo of personal writing and helpful hints and projects
– of course with recipes thrown in for good measure...I really do
that part for myself anyway, it keeps all my recipes organized and easily
accessible.- Cottage Stamping will become dormant, but will remain open as
a scroll-through resource for ideas and inspiration at this time.
Pooch Tales will be closed, and Chester will become a guest writer
here at LG@WP. The Style Files will be an
every-now-and-then feature here, and I will post any great deals I find to the LG@WP
Facebook Fan Page so that you will have more instant access to them.
So, if you're not already, become a fan today!
Ok, so that's what's going on here this
week, and pardon the construction dust as all of it settles! I do
still plan to continue GM Quests at this time. I do notice that lots
of my traffic at LG still comes from Windy Poplars readers (you visit
WP first, then click the LG tab), but because Windy Poplars is now
going dormant, please transfer your Google “friendship” over to
LG, so I will still visit you on your reader! You can also choose to
subscribe to LG which some people like, and each new post will be
delivered right to your e-mail inbox. You can find that option on the
sidebar.
Thank you so much for being the wonderful
readers that you are! YOU are why I write! It is my hope that with
taking these big steps toward change, I will have much more time to
be a faithful blog reader, which is truly a love of mine! Watch for
me to come around visiting soon!
