Foodie Fresh is featured on Fitblogger today!
As I mentioned the other day, the first year anniversary of my blog came and went without me giving it the first thought. I began this blog on October 24, 2009 so I am almost two weeks late in remembering this. For those of you who don’t blog, let me explain why any blogger should remember, mark on their calendar, and celebrate their blog’s anniversary date. Blogging is challenging.
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It is time consuming. It forces you to write when you are fresh out of creativity for the day, when you can’t find the words, or don’t like the words you have found. For me, it has made me reconsider my choices and how I present my self and my life to my audience. It has made me question myself.
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Some of these things are good, while some of them are questionable. When I look back on my first post, I can’t help but think about how my blog has changed in the past year. And I don’t just mean the look of the blog or the quality of my photographs. My writing and cooking continues to improve the more I work on this blog and challenge myself to be more creative. But I don’t want to stop there, and that has got me thinking.
I have been somewhat absent from blogging this week for a variety of reasons. For one, I’ve been in a bit of a funk.
No. That’s not really accurate. I’ve been in a bubble of self reflection that I think most people go through now and again. While mulling through a river of thoughts, I wasn’t left with a lot of things to say or a lot of energy or creativity to use in the kitchen. Wednesday and Thursday, I ate plenty of bread and almond butter…you know, comforting things…and didn’t exercise at all. But let me be clear, I’m not sad, just thoughtful.
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And while I was thoughtful, I thought a lot about the direction of my blogging.
-Is my blogging a true representation of myself? Sometimes, but not always
-Am I saying all the things I want to say? Sometimes. Censorship is a necessary evil, but there’s a fine line between censoring yourself out of practicality or out of fear or pride
-Are my readers getting from my blog what I would like to project? I have no idea
So what am I going to do about it?
1. Challenge myself to write more creatively and to address more topics close to my heart.
Whether it be organic farming practices, body image, or health promotion and education, these are things in which I am deeply interested. But sometimes I feel like I’ve worked my way into a niche blog and I can only blog about food and fitness. I want to explore these other interests and promote discussion here on my blog.
2. Be more candid about my own journey.
If you read my About page, you may think I have this whole health balance thing all figured out. Well, I don’t. And I apologize if I have ever represented myself that way. I am still in the process of figuring out what works best for me and sometimes my ideas about this and how I approach it changes on a weekly basis. Some days I am happy in my own skin and some days I want to peel it off and start over. A personal goal of mine is to be more reflective on those less happy days and address my issues head on. I think this blog could be a good stage for that.
3. Continue to grow creatively in the kitchen.
There are so many new things I want to try that I really should start keeping a running tab.
4. Focus on quality over quantity.
I have really amped up my blogging in the past few months. However, if I am going to focus on creativity and quality in my blog posts – blog posts that I can be proud of, exposing my ideas in new ways – I can’t blog three times a day. It’s just not going to happen, unless someone offers to support my grocery store and Pottery Barn habit just for being me.
So…you’re going to see less of this
and more posts like this.
I am fully aware and accepting that this may change the whole dynamic of this blog and my audience in tow, and I am okay with that. I didn’t start this blog to gather as many hits and comments as I possibly could. I started it because I needed a creative outlet in my life. So many times I don’t go through with an idea because of fear and doubt. This blog is one of the times I fully embraced a new idea and a new challenge whole heartedly. I don’t want that challenge to stop because I’ve grown too comfortable in post after post of what I ate today and honestly, I’m a little bored with this format for own writing.
Rascal has been challenging himself in new ways too.
I am excited about what the new year brings for me and my blog and I hope you will continue to read and be a part of my life. I would love to hear your feedback, all kinds, whether it be supportive or critical. Don’t be shy.