Thursday, January 8, 2015

Where To Go In 2015

I'm the worst at making New Year's Resolutions. 
I really don't like January all that much but, oddly enough, I love winter.



Don't worry, in a few weeks I'll be fine and I'll be back in the swing of things. 
Making a New Year's resolution that I won't stick to after a few days is defeatist. 
A defeat that I don't need in a month I don't care for.
So while I don't have resolutions, per say, I have been thinking. 



I love blogging. I think it helped me at a time in my life when I needed an outlet. 
I like sharing random bits and pieces about my life with you as well as the projects that we've done.



Blogging is a lot of work.
I'm not trying to earn a living off of my blog so why do I feel the need to be wildly popular? 
I don't know why but I thought I'd be further along after three years of this. 
I'm not complaining just regrouping.
I've seen other blogs and bloggers experience much more success and recognition in the same time frame but some have bailed on blogging all together. 



I found myself frustrated when it was cloudy or raining on a day that I'd planned to take blog photos. 
Why?
In the push to get the best photos possible I was losing sight of the simple joy of sharing something with you.


So here are some conclusions that I've come to.  
If it's cloudy, so what?  My blog photos don't have to be the best in the world.
I'm just sharing my diy diary with you. 
I'll still try to take good photos but I'm really not going to worry about getting pinned anymore. 
You know what?



Many of the photos getting pinned now are professionally photographed. In my opinion, the magazines and big sites have taken over Pinterest. When one of my projects finally got popular on Pinterest it only linked back to Hometalk anyway.



I refuse to spend more time on Pinterest so I can be a super "pinner." 
I realize that if I were earning an income from this it might be a different. 
I want to have more fun with this blog! 
I'm not going anywhere but I'm going to take it less seriously. 

So I'll start with a story.
Last Sunday morning I woke up after a long night. 
I'd tossed and turned all night.


The same thing started to happen the other night. 
I'm back at school this week so I couldn't have a sleepless night. 
I realized that something was wrong with my sleep number mattress.
 So as quietly as I could I dug the remote out of Bill's bedside table. 
My setting was only on 15. Way below normal. 
Since I am a good wife, I made sure that Bill's side was fine. 
It was.
How did it get changed? Someone suggested that Bill did it and I said, "No!" 
I posted about it on Facebook and got some suggestions.
Maybe when I scraped the popcorn in our room the bed deflated?
At dinner last night I was speculating on what happened and Bill confessed!
He did it as a practical joke - A FEW WEEKS AGO!
Oh it is on!
I don't know what I will do or when but this will be avenged!



I think the first thing I will say is that my back is so sore from sleeping on the wrong sleep number.


I have noticed that my dog has spent a lot of time napping on my side of the bed. 
Her sleep number must be 15.
I hope you are having a great day!
Blessings,
Katie  
Linking with,
Between Naps on the Porch   
A Stroll Thru Life 
A Return to Loveliness

13 comments :

  1. I for one love your blog and always wait for your posts! When I started to blog the only thing I wanted to do was share my love of decorating with other women that were like minded, I haven't posted a lot for a couple months...I guess you can call it burnout...I don't want to stop blogging so I'm just trying to regroup myself!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie, your blog is on my bloglist and I read every new post. I don't always comment on blogs, especially if there are already a lot of comments. Please be aware that we are out here reading, and enjoying, the snippets of your life you chose to share. Thank you for the time you spend providing your readers with glimpses of your life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Before I even got past the first few lines of this post -- before I knew it would be about blogging -- I wanted to comment about how much I love your writing style. Yours is one of the very first blogs I started to read, and I really, really like your style, Katie! You have just the right amount of wit (I laughed out loud about the dog's sleep number), your projects are great, and so are your photos! That said, I totally relate to everything you said. I've been at this almost two years, and I had no idea when I got into this that in order to get anyone to read it, I had to do a lot of work! Linky parties, pinterest, twitter, FB, and now Instagram! It all takes so much time away from just blogging! And, I haven't grown nearly as much as others, either. I saw in HGTV magazine that a blogger who started 2 years ago was featured in their magazine. Anyhow, whatever you decide to write about, I'll be here to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness! How funny. I definitely think you should get revenge on him for that though! My husband plays tricks on me sometimes too. Often I've caught him turning up my seat warmer in the car to the highest setting. In a few minutes my rear is HOT! He then laughs and I frown! So, now I'm a nervous Nellie whenever we ride together. I watch his hands more closely now when he's near those buttons. LOL! My husband is a fireman and they are all pranksters! I'm sure you will think of something fun to surprise your husband with. And for the record, I think it's best that you have fun with your blog. People that enjoy blogging post better stuff! I sometimes don't like a lot of forced blog posts (the kind that post every single day).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, Katie. Too funny, but not for your poor back. I don't know about sleep number beds, I have a (well, neither one of us can remember the name, it starts with a T) and is supposed to be great, but my back hurts every morning so I would not be a good judge. I don't earn anything from my blog. I've been at it for going on 4 years now and I'm still at 250 some odd followers. Don't think that is an outstanding number but, nevertheless, I have a few good friends who are always there so, for me, that is enough. I like to write interesting things and show decent pictures but don't know if I always hit the mark but I try. As far as Pinterest goes, I am on it quite a bit just looking for ideas to use in my decorating or crafts. I don't even know how to check if I am being pinned but that's ok. I suppose any of us who blog would like to be considered one of the "big ones", I don't doubt that, but still being a small fish in a big sea is really OK, as long as you are happy with what's going on, but I do have a pet peeve and that is if someone takes the time (and we all know how much time it takes) to read your blog and write a comment, then I hope that I never get that big that I don't answer back. Obviously, that won't become a problem!! ..Happy Friday..Judy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Too funny! Maybe you need to get one of those fake hands and put it under his pillow!

    I've been blogging over 4 years and my blog has grown very slowly. To tell the truth, I had more fun blogging when nobody was reading! I'm never going to be a big blogger because I have no desire to join Facebook, Hometalk, etc. I'm not blogging for money either, so I don't worry about how often I post. I'm just here to have fun with my camera and hopefully make somebody smile when they visit. My biggest problem is my super slow laptop, but I'm not ready to shell out cash for a new one just yet. Have fun with your blog and forget about the numbers......except the one on your side of the mattress. :o)

    I enjoy visiting your blog.
    Vickie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Katie,
    I love this post and your honesty on blogging. I made up my mind that I am going to post when I have something to share and visit everyone when I can. You are so right blogging is like a full time job. I do not use my blog to make money and I know a lot do and say " if it is like a full time job to do this then I should get paid". Maybe that is true for some. I just love the friendships and like minded peeps I have meet that get my decor crazy. That has been my reward so with that in mind I let go of trying to be popular, trying to get more followers etc. just show what I love and enjoy. It has made blogging so much more enjoyable for me. OMG about your sleep number. I am a 35 and my hubby is 45 on his side. Well our basset hound apparently is a 35 too. She refuses to sleep in his side of the bed and will only sleep on my side lol! So to test my theory one night I changed his setting to 35 and guess what the dog slept on his side!!!! Have a great week end.
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can relate to your feelings on blogging. My blog is growing very slowly, I've barely posted all year, but I haven't had a lot to blog about and when I finally do post there aren't many comments unless I join a lot of parties. I've discovered that I'm a casual blogger and I've finally accepted that about myself.

    I think you have a lovely blog and share some pretty photos, so I'm surprised your blog isn't growing faster. I know it is a frustrating process and so much work, setting up your posts, editing your photos, so time consuming. I hate doing all that social media that they say is required, I don't do pinterest at all, so I will have to settle for fewer visits on my blog and since I'm not making an income blogging it isn't that important to me anyway. I've been meaning to write about this very thing and I'm also considering taking my blog in a new direction, so I'm glad you started the conversation.

    You have quite a mischievous looking dog there, very cute! Enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You shared exactly what is in my heart about blogging. I fret over the photos, the numbers, frequency, you name it I fret over it or at least I did. I've had some personal issues this past year that prevented me from blogging at the level I desired but it finally dawned on me this isn't my livelihood so why fret. I don't earn a dime from my blog and that is my choice. I love blogging for the opportunities it has given me and friendships I have made. I know I won't blog forever but for now it fills a void in my life since retirement. I wrote a post a couple of months ago about why I blog. It helped me put things in perspective and I hope writing this post helps you too.

    And as for that naughty husband of yours I'm sure the payback will be sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm new visiting here recently and I love your blog. I also love that you don't decorate with too much stuff. I call it "decoclutter". Simplistic and beautiful. I went through a period like this with my photos. I don't do PhotoShop and could be the only one out here that doesn't. Fancy smanchy photos. I look at what's IN the photo more than how it was taken. I'll be coming back. I'd also say revenge is definitely warranted on hubby's part LOL

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Katie! I can relate to a lot of what you've said in this post. Especially the photography part! I also struggle with the writing part LOL! But I love the friendships I've made. I'm a stay at home mom and blogging has kept me sane on some days. Your blog is beautiful by the way!

    ReplyDelete
  12. uh-oh....looks like the dog got run out of the dog house...and now he's in trouble too....yikes.... :^)
    The room is still lovely though......
    Blessings,
    J

    ReplyDelete