Snapshot Saturday: Why I Keep Blogging Even When I Feel Like I Should Quit
It never ceases to amaze me the sweetness that can exist between brother and sister when they don’t think I’m looking. Now, if only I could witness this between brother and brother. I’d probably pass out.
It is moments like this that keep me grounded and help me keep my perspective. Am I the only one that struggles with this? The ongoing balance of life?
I am so very grateful for this space of mine. This blog. It (and many of you!) have been a part of my life for over 5 1/2 years, which is a long time in blog-speak. But the challenge of balancing blogging with all the other things running through my reality keeps me hopping. No different from any of you managing family and jobs and well, life. It seems that at times the balance comes easily, other times not so much.
So, so much has changed in the food blogging world since I started out 5 1/2 years ago. First and foremost, what used to be a blog that only my mom looked at (hi, mom) has now grown into a spot visited by millions of visitors each month. Kind of knocks me flat when I think of it. What started as a fun little hobby has now turned into a wonderful work-from-home business. It used to be that snapping a quick picture and throwing it up on the web insisting people make it immediately was all it took to share a great recipe. Now, it seems the blogging pressures of the current day are to have the most Facebook followers, most pins, most ad revenue, most food props, most witty writing, most beautiful pictures, most sponsors, most traffic, most step-by-step pictures, most everything. While those aren’t necessarily bad things (some would argue they are changes for the greater good), it still makes me want to run far, far away sometimes. It’s hard not to get caught up in all the drama and noise of blogging, not to mention the competition that leaves me questioning my blogging self-worth (I mean, really, gag! Let’s talk about some real problems here!).
But honestly, stick with me here, my whole point in sharing this is that as I look back over the last nearly-six years, I realize that even though times are changing around me, I am still grounded by the same purpose I had when I posted for the first time ever back in December in 2007: to share tried-and-true recipes, baby. If that ends up leaving me behind in the swirling dust of the blogosphere, then so be it.
When I get burdened down by the cumbersome pressure of blog/life balance, all it takes is seeing a picture with the intense sweetness like the one above to remind me that at the end of the day, I am a mother first and a blogger second…or more realistically 3rd or 4th or 11th when all the other non-compensated roles come into play. And I really wouldn’t have it any other way. The minute I feel my rowdy, little family needs more mom and less blogger or if I lose sight of my goal (the one where I share recipes that rock my world with you), well, then, that’s when I’ll be calling it quits (not as a mother, as a blogger…jeez!). For now? It’s all about the food! And if anything other than sibling tenderness can restore balance in my life, it is food (dark chocolate food, in particular).
Thanks for listening. Love your guts.
If you’d like to check out past Snapshot Saturdays, click HERE.
Keep on blogging! As many others have mentioned, yours is the first place I come to look for a sure-to-be-a-hit recipe, and it’s also often when I come to compare your recipe for something to one I might have found elsewhere online. I love that you post a lot of healthy, from scratch recipes (though please keep posting your amazing desserts, too!), and that most of the ingredients are pretty easy to find. Keep it up! Oh, and thanks for all the time and effort you put in. ๐
Well you must be doing something right by not getting too caught up in the craziness, because I come here FIRST for every recipe I need, and only look elsewhere if I can’t find it here. For years this has been my #1 go-to spot and I love knowing I can trust the recipes you put up on here! Thanks for being real!
I started blogging a year and a half ago, and the changes the food blogging world experienced are huge, I can only imagine almost six. Iยดm all about the recipes too, and I love your blog a lot because of that. Reliable sutff and authenticity is hard to come upon these days, with all the social media numbers. Today is friendยดs day here in argentina, so a big hug to you Mel, one of my favorite blogging `friendsยด!
Love you! LOVE your recipes/blog. Thank you for you.
Hey Mel, your website is my absolute favorite for recipes. Nearly everything I’ve tried has turned out perfectly, and the things that haven’t are probably due to user error. I ALWAYS direct people to your blog for great, family friendly recipes. I love that your recipes are kid-friendly, homemade, without wacky ingredients (unless it’s for a REALLY GOOD REASON), and some of the most delicious food I’ve ever made.
But the other reason I like your blog is that I feel that you are so genuine when you write. I follow other blogs, but I always feel their blogs are a little forced. From you, I get the feeling you truly love what you do. Basically, I think you and your blog are fabulous!
I love your recipes. I love your blog. I love that your family comes first. I hope you stick around for a long time!! Thank you!!
You rock! But better than that is that you are REAL! Your food is normal food that tastes AWESOME! I can relate to you and that means a lot in this blogging stuff.
I too don’t use any of the pinning, tweeting, face booking! I also love that you don’t have all these ads that keep popping up.
You and your blog are great, just the way you are. Don’t change. Feel free to post less if life gets too stressful….you won’t loose me.
It’s pretty much you and The Pioneer Woman that are my go to food blogs.
I like your priorities and mine are similar: family first, chocolate second, blog third. ๐
Love ya
Mel, I have been following your blog for about a year and appreciate your deep filled honesty. I am also a blogger, but I am definitely not as consistent as you. Thanks for giving us all the real definition of what a mommy blogger should be. Makes me feel better that I am keeping my priorities straight! Keep doing what you’re doing … you have a great audience that loves you, regardless of the “numbers” involved!
Thanks you guys. Really. I didn’t mean for this to be a pick-me-up post (it was more like a brain dump post) but I’ve been really bolstered up by your comments. It means the world to me. Thank you for your kindness and loyalty!
Mel, you must never speak such blasphemy of potentially quitting your blog again. Your blog taught me how to cook. Almost everything i make comes from your blog. You don’t need to do fancy things to keep up in the blog world, because at the end of the day, people come here for your content. I like knowing that when you say a recipe is good, it’s good, and I don’t have to worry about the recipe not turning out. We love you, keep up the good work.
just so you know, i loooooooove your blog! probably 85% of the dinners i make come from you, and i know i can trust you! also, i love that you don’t have a gajillion step-by-step pictures on every single post. i hate scrolling through a crazy-long post just to get to the simple recipe at the bottom. keep on keepin’ on, sister! you’re amazing!
I am so glad you posted this. I am not as near as accomplished as you are & my blog is still newer, but I feel lots of pressure too. At first, my blog was about making a portfolio of my culinary creations & recipes for future work opportunities, as I am a stay-at-home mom & needed something as a “resume” for work later. (I am a Culinary Graduate.) I have realized I love food blogging, & I love that I can do it at my own pace & I love that I have made some money off of it. But then it feels as though everyone else that is newer to blog world is having greater success than me. More fans, more sponsors, more giveaways, etc.
I genuinely want readers that love me for me & my recipes. I really hope that they make my recipes at home & love them. I never post a recipe that doesn’t turn out just so I can have something on the blog. And I have only recently really started working with sponsors & giveaways, & it kind of sucks to be “buying” my fans. I like the organic ones who have stumbled upon my recipes from pinterest & like me because they want to, not because they want the prize I am offering. Anyway, it really is a fun/crazy blogging world to be a part of. And it’s nice to hear more moms feeling the same way. Family is first! And always should be!
I am new to your blog — just a couple of weeks. I LOVE your recipes and have literally used one everyday since I found you. Thank-you!!
Thanks Mel for the honesty. I appreciate how you keep things real, and prioritized. You are a good example to me. I would understand if you pulled the plug on the whole venture, but I am so grateful you haven’t. Thanks the great recipes and the thoroughness in you research. If you every need a helper–or guest, shoot me an email. I would love to help!
Mel- just keep it simple, really. I love your blog partly because it isn’t all fancy/hyped up. For me, all I want in a blog is a little interesting commentary, a couple decent pictures, and a fantastic recipe. That’s what you have, and why you remain my favorite food blog! ๐
Hi Mel, please don’t worry about the MOST monster which I sometimes feel is not limited to just food blogging but being a mom in general in society and with the internet today (who can have the most cute kiddos, who can make the most healthy, most organic meals, who can do the most adorable Pinterest crafts with their children, who can keep the most clean house and work fulltime etc, etc). I guess what I’m trying to say is a I feel you, but I hope you don’t change a thing. I stumbled upon your blog while on maternity leave with my 2nd baby this past spring and I have never followed one until yours. I simply love it and am slightly obsessed with it. It has helped me find really great recipes with favorites that we already turn to weekly which helps my grocery bill, always makes me feel like I’m for once making yummy meals that I know will be eaten, and most importantly it saves my sanity when it is time to menu plan and actually cook. I’m also trying to convince my husband to move to a rural area, have several more children and buy a kitchen grain mill after seeing you do it:)
aw, Mel, I love this post! This is why I love your blog – you stay out of the competition of it all. You’ve always been my blogging role model for sure ๐ And it’s kind of amazing how much my blog has already suffered with only one sweet little baby to take care of – I can’t imagine how you get done all that you do.
Beautiful post Mel and something I can really relate to! The balance between being a mom and blogging is a handful at times but definitely a great outlet and hobby for me! You are an inspiration!
Your blog is my absolute favorite and my go-to. Your loyal readers don’t buy into the hype of giveaways and flashy props. Your blog can rest on its sweet author and wonderful food (isnt that the point of a food blog anyways?) I appreciate all the time and dedication you give to keep this up. I don’t know how you do it. I have two young boys and hardly have time to blink! Keep it up. Youre amazing!
Quit blogging??? **gasp**!!! What in the world would my family eat??!!! ๐ you can’t do that to me Mel!! ๐
Ah that ever elusive balance. I am pretty sure that we only experience brief periods while the seesaw of life is bringing the next up, or down swing.
It is lovely to eat and share wonderful food through the craziness. Thank you for sticking to your goal. It makes for recipes that are keepers at our house.
I rarely pin and I never tweet. But I cook your recipes five times a week and on the days I don’t I am always disappointed and say, “I should have just made something from Mel.” I consider us good friends because of the influence you have had on my cooking. Thank you for making mealtime fun. I recommend your recipes to everyone I talk to about cooking. I make some of your recipes again and again which is a real compliment to you because I used to NEVER make the same thing twice.
I would miss you so much and also your family (and your recipes) if you stopped blogging. It’s a joy to read.
Mel, your blog is AMAZING just the way it is! I make at least two or three of your meals every week. Thank you for everything you do!
Great perspective. As long as you feel the same joy in posting that you did when you began, then I think you’ve managed to succeed. There is a lot of blog pressure out there {says the girl with a barely budding little blog}, but stay true to yourself and the rest will surely follow. Your kiddos are lucky to have a mama with her priorities in check! Keep cookin’! ๐
I just discovered your blog fairly recently. This week all my recipes that I prepared were yours! All big hits and I’m sharing your website with others. Your recipes are consistently great! Family friendly!
There are so many blogs that I’ve followed for a while and then stopped following because they filled up with sponsored posts and became less about sharing recipes and more about the authors obviously trying to make more money. I understand people trying to make a little additional cash, but a lot of the sponsored posts aren’t really relevant to the purpose of the blog and just become annoying.
What I’m trying to say is that I (along with so many other people) keep coming back to your blog because you keep doing what you originally set out to do, share great recipes and help us feed our families well. It is specifically your lack of sponsored posts, competition, blogHer stories, etc. that attracts me to your blog. I don’t identify with that stuff, but I do identify with you and your family and trying to do the best you can with them. And if you need to cut back to one or two posts per week, I don’t think anyone will complain because we know they’ll be great!
Can I just say your blog is my favorite because it DOESN’T include all the promotions, giveaways and such! I love your food and like that I don’t have to read through other stuff to get to it. It’s like getting recepies from a cookbook instead of a magazine:) and if you miss a week or two or twelve – good. It means you’re enjoying your sweet family.
Thank you for your blog, Mel! Seems unfair that you do all the work finding and then teaching the perfect recipe and I stroll onto your website, simply pull up a recipe that looks awesome and suddenly this girl who had no cooking experience is “a rock star in the kitchen.” You are not just any blogger – you are a teacher! Oh, and I TRUST you that the recipes will turn out just like you say they will – they do every time. Thanks so much for the blog – you are awesome and I really appreciate every thing you do on here!
Your blog is HANDS DOWN the best one around . 90 percent of the meals I make come from you! I even tried one of your recipes out ( for the first time) at a family gathering for 25 people, because I knew I could trust the source. Of course, the food rocked my socks ! Thank you for taking time away from your darling family to help the rest of us look like culinary geniuses.:) I , for one, would be devastated if the recipes ever stop coming .
I don’t follow pinterest and I am not on facebook- who has time for all of that? When I see people with fancy food props and striped straws, it just makes me wonder about how much money they spend on all of that stuff. Sure, it looks nice in the picture, but this is real life and those things add up. I love your blog because I can relate to you. Your life is more like my life. You are cooking for a husband and several children and want something that will work for little kids as well as their parents. Everything I have made from here has been outstanding! I know if you posted it, it will be good. There are not many blogs I can say that about. Keep doing what you are doing. You being you is not a weakness, it is your greatest strength.
Thank you, Mel. For all the time you give to us in sharing all of your great recipes. My family enjoys your food. When they are happy with what I have made them, all is right in my world. I love that family is first with you, as it should be. Your family is lucky to have someone who loves them so much. I would be very sad if you stopped but would understand it if you did. Family first. Thank your family, for sharing you with us. You have helped me to enjoy trying new dishes and enjoying them. You have a beautiful family! Enjoy your Saturday! ๐
Mel, I found your blog just a couple months ago. Let me just tell you, my family is as happy as I am that I found you! Every.single.recipe I’ve made has been a total hit. Last week I used one of your recipes for every dinner I made. We loved them all. My daughter and husband LOVE the grilled pork chops. I say all that to say THANK YOU! I can’t imagine the amount of time and energy it takes to maintain this blog.
I’ve never commented before, but after all the blood, sweat and tears (and life balance) you’ve put into this blog, I want you to know how much I LOVE and use this site!! It all started when my neighbour brought me a plate of the MOST delicious oatmeal coconut chewies a year and a half ago. When she told me where the recipe came from, i started looking through the site and realized this blog was also where honey lime enchiladas came from!! (A recipe forwarded to me by my SIL about 5 years ago–which quickly became my family’s #1 favorite recipe!! I always make it for company and it has become a favorite of so many friends and family members!) I knew if the baking here was as good as the cooking, this site was a keeper! Now I cook or bake something from here every single week!!!! I feel like my cooking/baking has come a long way the past year, so thank you so much for sharing your talents with all of us!! This is my go to cooking blog! I’m waiting with bated breath to hear your report on baking cookies with silpats. my birthday is coming up and I’m trying to decide if it should go on my wish lost. ๐
Sorry for the longest comment ever! Cheers from Canada!
Yes, yes, what everyone else said. This week alone I’ve made your waffles, cowboy casserole, zucchini lasagna, zucchini bread…in fact if I cooked this week it was one of your recipes. You gave me the confidence and skills to learn to cook. The impact you have on people’s lives is truly remarkable….thank you!!!! PS I don’t think a single one of your readers would care if you took more days with your family here and there.
Mel – Just wanted to say that you’re the best and first resource I go to when I feed my family and the people I love. I tell all my friends about your site. You have become a cherished friend to me even though we will likely never meet. I want to encourage you that when things are hard, it’s because it’s alot of work to make a difference in the world, but let me assure you that you are making a difference to other people (like me). Thank you for bearing your heart to us and for all the time and effort you put into your blog. Now go be a mom for awhile, that is the highest calling ๐
Nice post! It’s hard to find the balance when you have so many things that you want to get done in the day, but might not always have the time.
I’m a new reader of your blog & I can honestly say that out of around 50 food blogs that I’m involved with, yours is the best in my book. I have been cooking over 50+ years & I’m always looking for new recipes & new ways to cook food. Your recipes are fantastic! I also like your optimistic attitude about life & family. Having raised 3 children & worked at a full-time job I know how difficult & tiring it can be to juggle everything. I agree with Laura who says, ” I donโt care about pins, facebook, props, wittiness, or fabulous pictures โ I just love your recipes! (and my family does too) Keep up the good work. :)” Please know that I appreciate all the time you spend on your blog.
It sounds to me that you have your priority’s right! I have learned over the years not to let myself get caught up in the “noise” of the world. Keep doing what you’re doing!
BTW…love your recipes!
Your blog is my first stop when searching for a great recipe. Many of your recipes are now family favorites. No need to worry about competition, just keep up the great recipes!
This i why we love your blog..YOU. I am a better cook, mother and person…thank u for sharing your love of cooking and family with us all.
Dear Mel, I don’t care about pins, facebook, props, wittiness, or fabulous pictures – I just love your recipes! (and my family does too) Keep up the good work. ๐
Mel, I don’t know if you actually make money from your blog, given the lack of ads and endorsements. I suspect it COSTS you money. At any rate, like others stated before me, keep it up. Although the pictures are fabulous and the commentary is first-rate, it’s the dependable, family-friendly recipes that keep me coming back again and again. I cook from your blog regularly. I think I could cook almost exclusively from your blog if forced to choose. Your bread recipes in particular have taught me so much. What I’m trying to say is that you have established yourself in this realm with me and so many others. You could slap a cell phone picture and a recipe up and that would be enough.
Precious picture for sure.
You are right about your family being first before the blog. So many lose site of that I think.
BLESSINGS!!
One of the reasons I’ve loved you for years is because you always seem to do your own thing and never worry about what the latest fad is, what everyone else is saying on twitter, what is trendy, etc. You are just you and you post wonderful recipes and we all love you for it. Anyone who has tried food blogging knows the intense pressure you can feel and the near obsession you can develop with trying to be the best, the latest, the biggest, the first, etc. I’ve always looked to your site as someone who knows who she is (a loving mom with a great sense of humor who makes killer recipes and takes good pics to boot) and doesn’t try to be anything else. Thanks for all the wonderful posts!
Great post, this is why I like your blog so much ๐ Keep up a great work and family, always first ๐
Mel, I love your blog! I’m sure these fabulous recipes you put out take a ton of time, so thanks for your hard work. Of all of the beautiful, witty, famous blogs I follow (and I follow more than I should), I adore your recipes the most. Heck, my husband knows you by your first name because I always say, “It’s one of Mel’s recipes.” If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. ๐
Your opening comment made me laugh out loud! I have six boys, and until that little girl came along, there was a LOT less love and tenderness going on over here. Just sayin’! Love your blog! Love that you belong to my type of religion ๐ Love that you share!
Mel, I love your blog and cook 90% of my meals from your recipes. keep it simple and because the food is awesome it’ll always be here.