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.
Mel, your blog will always be the ONLY blog that matters in my book. Seriously, I love you stuff! Keep up the good work!!
I’ve been making your recipes for years! We just moved to New Zealand and it’s been tricky trying to convert from cups to grams and I can’t always get the same ingredients at the stores but for the most part we’ve managed to have many of your recipes grace our table on the other side of the world. Thanks for sharing and keeping us satisfied all these years π
Hi Mel! This is my first time to comment after months of stalking your blog (Aha!) and my first to comment ever on a blog. I’m from Philippines but lives in Brunei and constantly checks on your blog, if not everyday (grins). I am a new mom, with a 4-month baby girl and draws motivation from you for cooking and serving a beautiful family. I bookmarked so many of your recipes and especially love your snapshots Saturdays. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your blog the most. You go Mel! Smiles from halfway around the world π God bless you more!
Oh Mel. I don’t know how you’ve managed as long as you have. I think you’re truly amazing – juggling those precious kids and husband, church service and your blog. Wow! Like everyone else, I don’t need all the bells and whistles. In fact, one of the reasons I love your blog so much is because you don’t post step-by-step pictures (unless it’s for something a bit tricky) – who needs photos of measuring a tsp of vanilla or lime zest? and because your humor and genuine personality show through in each of your posts. With you there’s no trying to be something you’re not. I love the simpleness of you and your site. I don’t facebook, twitter, or pin – I just check your blog every other day! If you decide to pull back and post less often – I totally understand. I hope you don’t pull the plug all together but if that needs to happen – then at least you’ve posted hundreds of recipes already that I can use over and over and over again! Thanks for all you’ve done for the cooking world – especially my cooking world! And P.S. – that darling photo is priceless – thanks for sharing with all of us.
Thanks for keeping it real! It is one of the reasons I love your blog
Your blog is still my absolute favorite! I like that you make ‘real’ food for real families. Don’t change a thing!! I appreciate all of your hard work and so many of your recipes have now made it to my ‘tried and true’ book. Thanks again!
Mel you are simply awesome. As everyone on here has aleady said, we come here for the amazing recipes and don’t need all the bells and whistles so many other blogs get obsessed with. I can’t tell you what a breath of fresh air your blog provides everytime I visit. Thank you thank you thank you!!
I am a new reader of your blog-within the last five months. I’d heard about it for years from my mother-in-law. I’m not sure why I waited so long to check it out, because I love it! I use it every week when planning my meals. Besides loving your recipes, I love your posts and you. I always think we could be the best of friends (I’m sure thousands of others feel the same way). Your blog is perfect the way it is and I so appreciate the time you spend on it. Thank you!
Good for you in staying grounded in what really matters, and for finding a hobby that improves peoples lives!
Hi Mel-Your recipes have changed mine and my family’s life! I always come here when I need a good recipe and I am never disappointed! Some of our favorite meals have come from your site! We used to eat out too much…but your recipes have helped give me the confidence to cook healthy and scrumptious meals for my sweet family and we eat at home mostly now! THANK YOU for ALL your hard work and fabulous recipes!!You are great!! π π
Mel, your blog was one of the very first food blogs I ever stumbled upon, almost five years ago. To this day it is still one of my favorites because of your down to earth personality and approach to food and blogging. Many of your recipes have become our ‘tried and true’ and I am always excited to see what you will post next. Keep up the good work!
Many things I love about your picture… the brother/sister love. I have two boys 18 months apart and then my sweet little princess who is now almost 9 months. The love her two older brothers show her (in between punching each other) is food for my heart. So I love this picture. I also love his BYU shirt. GO COUGS. And I love your daughters hat. My daughter has the same one. π But I also love that you posted this on your website because I love your website. It’s my homepage. My husband clicked on a link last night to another food blog site and I very quickly said, “No! What are you doing?” He seemed confused and I explained yours was the only one I wanted to stay with. I didn’t want to even look at any others because then life gets too complicated and why bring something else into my life when I’ve already found the perfect food recipe source?! So to put it simply… yours is the only tried and true recipe blog for me (and I’m sure hundreds of other mothers out there)! And if you have to take a couple of days or weeks off because your little ones need you… we 125% understand! π
So glad you are not leaving the blogging world as I LOVE your site – you are my go to place whenever I need a recipe. Everything I’ve made of yours always turns out fabulous. Keep doing what you do – we love it!
Mel,
I love your blog & cook from so many of your recipes. I’m glad that you share your time & talents with the rest of us. Don’t worry about changing–we love you the way you are! Happy to take 30th spot, or any other, on your list–keep your family at #1.
The thing that matters most to me in a cooking blog is that I find the best, tastiest, and reliable recipes. I always find them here!
Mel, I think that having millions of visitors each month to you blog says it all! I feel you are the “REAL” deal. Great food and recipes that I can count on to be really good. Not the best pictures did you say? I never noticed that once. I must say that you really are the most witty though. I love your personality and this is another reason why I subscribe to your blog. Let me just say that I can count on 2 hands (actually less than that) the blogs I subscribe to. I’m always thrilled to see what you have cooked up next. Thanks for all you do! I know being a mother of young ones is hard enough but to keep the blog going, church callings and random jobs there, keeping house, etc., can be overwhelming for sure. You need to follow what your heart tells you to do so you don’t start becoming resentful of things that you feel like you need to do. I’ve done that in the past (became resentful) and it’s not a good feeling. Then I would remind myself that something has to give and I really don’t have to do everything. Sending big hugs and thanks your way!
Hi Mel-
I wrote My Tasty Treasures Blog for quite a few years. As my children got older, I found I had not enough time to dedicate to it. I miss it. I intend possibly one day to go back to it. Anyway, I wanted to tell you, YOUR blog I CHECK religiously. ADORE your recipes, would miss you terribly if you left, but Id understand. Crossing my fingers you dont however. Many of my family favorites are from you and I love YOUR guts for it, all my best always!! You are wonderful the way you are, no need for all the bells and whistles. XXOO Donna
Just wanted you to know that if I am looking for a common recipe, a new meal idea, or any dessert, I always go to your site. When I am stressed about dinner or having to prepare something for a visitor, I can relax knowing that if you posted it, it is going to taste fantastic. I am very grateful that you spend so much time and energy on your blog.
Ahem!
I loved reading this post! My blog is just a little baby but I am already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the competitive aspects of blogging. That isn’t really my style so I’m trying to stay focused and just do my thang. Anyway, I loved reading your perspective and super cute brother/sister photo!
Ditto to all! Do what’s best for you Mel. Family first, no regrets.
Your recipes are fantastic and so is your blog. I love your about me section the most and appreciate that you’ve emailed me many times with an answer to my questions. Hope you are able to continue blogging bc you are so good at it. I’m sure you’ll know exactly what is best for you and your family!!
Mel — I just stumbled across your blog this month and I’ve loved the things I’ve found. I’m going through morning sickness while still trying to feed a family and your recipes have looked simple and delicious (and that’s saying something right now). I appreciate the hard work it must take to keep this going. So thanks from a new follower.
And ps — if you ever figure out the brother to brother thing… please pass it on!
Love this post. Literally describes how I feel about blogging, balance, and motherhood perfectly. I am bookmarking this and reading it whenever I start to question my blogging self worth (it happens).
I was introduced to your blog by a friend from work (Jennie R., who I believe you knew in college?), and in the year or so that I have been reading, your blog has jumped to the top of my favorite food blogs. (Yes, really.) You are most definitely a girl after my food-loving heart, but more than that, you show me (and everyone else who reads) that life is real and messy and hectic and that it’s okay. Thank you for sharing your food and, by extension, your life with us. You rock!
B
I have been with you since almost the beginning of your blog and I am a faithful follower and user of your blog. I don’t do all the fancy facebook liking, pinterest pinning, twitter type following but I use your blog on almost a daily basis. That is no lie. I am not sure what I would do without it when it comes to getting food on the table for my family. Oh how I hope you will continue this blog of yours. From my humble blog reading perspective, yours is my FAVORITE! It is the easiest to use, has the most “best” recipes. It is my go to before any other food blog. Yours feels most real and least business-like, and let me tell you a reader can catch onto that and quickly. Thanks for keeping it real, for just posting good recipes that I know if I make they will be good! You are awesome!
I REALLY enjoyed reading this, and everything you said is so true. You just keep on keepin’ on because you’re amazing. And I love that your family comes first, as it should. π
Please don’t ever stop blogging. I love your blog not only because the food is fantastic, but because you keep it about the food. I recommend people visit your blog weekly, because you are the best. You keep it real, and you keep crazy moms like me awesome, because the food is always good. My 2 year old always says that she knows I am her mom because I cook and moms cook. I have always loved to cook, my mom instilled that in me, but you help me keep it fun. Thank you!!!!!
I just found your blog a couple months ago and you are pretty much my go-to place for recipes so thank you!! Don’t change a thing, you are doing a fabulous job just being you and posting the most delcious recipes to help moms all over get dinner on the table. Thank You!!!
Your blog is one of the very few I trust for recipes. I appreciate that your posts are simple, too. I get bogged down scrolling through picture after picture on some sites (really, it get ridiculous when it says “add one egg” and I have to see a picture of the egg, then of it cracking, then of it being added, zzzz…). Thank you for posting the end result and only pictures of the confusing steps if necessary!
Mel, I think that you can tell from all the comments r/t this post that there are many, many of us who come to your blog multiple times during each and every week to see what you have posted. The food, the family, the sense of humor—it feeds our soul—literally and figuratively. Thank you for all that you do! I know you don’t need permission, but I encourage you to just take a step back when you need to do so. As I have stated before, and as I have thought to myself, (many, many times) , I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT! I know I had rather have one blog posting a week or every other week than no blog posting at all. Just know if you have to take a hiatus from time to time, I will be here when you get back. True friends are like that.
I think you are the MOST that I want to read. I like the pure, simple, grounded. Not the flashy, biggest, brightest. I hope you do keep with it. Your recipes are amazing. I am glad your family comes first, 4,11:) I will wait patiently for any new post knowing you are taking take of little souls.
You are so talented – I cook something from your blog almost every day. I can’t imagine how busy you are (I have 6 kids and NO blog and life is crazy)! But you make my life a little easier each day at dinner time. Thank you.
Karen above said it best: “The impact you have on people’s lives is truly remarkable”. You are such an inspiration to so many (not just your family)! When we view your blog, we see a loving wife, committed mother of five, and a humorous, fun, hard working woman who reaches out and touches the lives of others. And I know Mel, because of the kind of mom you are, you do not instruct your children to “follow the crowd” or “do as everyone else is doing”. You offer the world your unique giftedness and love and through your hard work you bless so many. What a great mentor your children have in you! And you will continue doing the right thing by putting your husband and children first. Thanks for sharing with us such a precious, heartwarming, smile bringing picture. π
Mel – I will still follow your blog even if you only were to post one recipe a year. You are truly inspirational and I often wonder how you take such wonderful care of your family, cook such wonderful meals, and still have time to blog. Yours is the only website I follow and am so happy I found it when googling chicken and zucchini recipes.
As a mom, I understand that your family comes first. Your spouse and those little ones should be the most important people in your world! Take care of them, and yourself. But please don’t stop blogging! I wouldn’t know what to make for dinner! Lol! In all seriousness, 95% of our dinners come from you. Everything I have made from your blog is delicious, so I know if you post it, I’ll like it. When I make my weekly menus, your site is the first place, and often only place, I go. I don’t need all the bells and whistles. I appreciate that you post good, wholesome food that is family friendly. Thank you for all your hard work! π
Although I can’t quite remember how I found it, your blog was the first blog I started reading, and it opened up to me the world of food blogging. You will always be the first and I always love and trust your recipes. If you ever stopped, I would be disappointed to not have your fabulous recipes to look forward to, but of course I’d understand. But if you ever do, I hope you at least still keep the site up so your recipes are available to access. If not, give me fair warning so I can stock up on ink and printer paper and print out hard copies of all your recipes and never lose them! Yours are the best!
~Kim
Mel, I love how eloquently you put that. I feel the exact same way about blogging. Sometimes I get waaaay too caught up in all the details of it, and I just need to step back and remember what’s most important in my life. Family and those beautiful kids! (and then there’s laundry…) You were one of the first blogs I read and followed back in the day. Thanks for always being consistently awesome, and a great inspiration to me! π
I know how you feel about the whole internet feedback perception. I was only on facebook but I had to leave that in October because I was too caught up in posting THE BEST status updates and then would be disappointed when people who I thought should comment on it didn’t. I even had to stop looking on Pinterest. I’m much happier not having to feel like I have to please an invisible crowd. I read a lot of blogs and see all the wonderful things people do and sometimes feel like I’m not doing anything of worth but I the most important place I can be is at home with my children. I am a total advocate of having a place for moms to have their ‘me’ time whether it is blogging, crafting, exercising, cooking, w.h.y. . Just remember why you started it and keep it simple.
I checked your blog first thing this morning because I knew you would post today because it is my birthday and friends remember birthdays (sorry for the run-on sentence). Even though we’ve never met (although your husband looks so familiar–did he live at The Riv??) you are a household name around here. My husband knows if there is something new on the table it’s usually compliments of Mel! Thanks for keeping me excited about cooking in a way only ATK/Cooks Illustrated has been able to before. You rock!!
I hear you friend. Sometimes we feel pulled in so many directions we feel we can’t give 100% to anything. You are doing an awesome job and I would cry my eyes out if you threw in the towel. My second favorite part of your blog (hello, the food is first!) is that I can get on and it’s not full of sponsored posts and you doing the equivalent of a commercial for a post. I have stopped following several blogs because they just felt like advertisements. I know you miss out on a lot of free goods and probably money, but I appreciate it!
Love your sweet picture! Those are the best moments.
Awe Shucks Mel, I love your guts too. You all ready know that though don’t you Someday we’ll meet and i’ll squeeze your guts out in a big huge hug (which is sayin’ a lot for my 5’2″ self and I should let you know, i’m not much of a hugger either) and our kids will all play while we bake some delightful Chocolate Chip Cookies.. Well, that’s my someday idea anyway. Your blog is my first and foremost favoritest ever ever ever ever. I must say, all my family and friends don’t even ask me for recipes anymore they just ask me the NAME of the recipe since they know where I got it π
Your blog is my favorite. I never make time to write, because I’m always reading and cooking (and being mom as #1). Your recipes have made me such a better cooker/baker and WAY more self confident in that cooking/baking. So thanks for changing my life (and my husbands…he is also grateful for you, and tells me a lot…even though he doesn’t know who you are…)
To be honest with you…I hate that everyone is going to step by step pictures and so many ads and pins and blah blah blah…I come to look for recipes , tried and true and yummy, just like you post. I love a picture or two….but I don’t need 70 per post. I love your blog and don’t change a thing ! It is a lot of pressure, and a blog is a TON of work! Keep true to you and your fabulous recipes!
Thanks to you and your family for all your hard work. My family loves your recipes!
I’ve been following you for the last year, and although I know I don’t comment as much as I should, I read all of your entries and I look forward to your blog. You are successful at what you do here, and I’m glad you’re doing it and glad to know you. You make all our lives a little better (my husband and kids included), and I thank you.
I’ve been reading your blog since day one. My daughters and I use your recipes regularly, almost daily. Your recipes have become my family’s favorite meals. I’ve been cooking for my elderly parents for several years now, and it had become a chore to come up with meals to make for them. Your recipes have made my life much easier because I always know I have your recipes to fall back on when its time to plan meals for my parents. So, thank you. And I love the Saturday snapshots!
Hi Mel! I am a generally a non-commenter, but I owe you a big ol’ THANK YOU! I could basically say “ditto” to all the other comments. I learned about your blog when a friend had us over for dinner and made your grilled pizza, and when another friend brought us your beef stew and sugar cookies. Everything was so tasty – I had to have the recipes! My sweet mother wasn’t big on cooking, and sadly, I kind of struggle with it a bit myself. Cooking really takes a lot of effort for me, but your blog has made it so, so much easier – I cook with much more variety and am excited (instead of hesitant!) to try new things. I sure appreciate what you share on here. I’m always anxious to see what your next post will be! All the best to you & your sweet family!! P.S. Go Cougars!
Mel, you were my first foodie blog love and you are honestly still my go-to and favorite!!! I don’t ever see that changing. And honestly, it’s a breath of fresh air to have an amazing food blog that isn’t constantly asking me to follow them and their 10 friends on pinterested/fb/IG etc. I do follow you on all of those little social networks, because I want to, not because it’ll give me a small chance to win a great prize. So, thank you! Keep up the great work, I’ll be here as long as you’re blogging- which I’m hoping is as far as the foreseeable future!