Too many ideas! Not enough time!
As usual, lots to say but not a lot of time to format this into something that makes logical sense and has a structure. So. Bullets!
*The only good thing about starting a week with a Tuesday that felt like a Monday (womp womp) is that your Wednesday then feels like a Tuesday, and that is a much more enjoyable situation. Especially when you have Friday off.
*Speaking of Friday’s off, I’m giving up my work schedule that gives me every other Friday off. I’ve had this schedule for a little over 2 years and enjoyed it, but the downside is it means I work longer hours. Giving it up means I will get off work at 3:30 from now on and I’m basically thrilled about that. Garrett and I did a lot of scheming and planning and just talking about life this weekend and one of the things that has been stressing me out for quite some time is the fact that I leave for work before 7am, get home at about 4:30, go to the gym at 5, come home and cook dinner and by the time I hit the couch it’s 7pm and NOW WHERE THE HELL DID THE DAY GO AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GET UP AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN TOMORROW? Something clicked this weekend and I thought to myself, hey — you don’t have to do that if you don’t want. Isn’t that just the most empowering thought. I mean seriously, digest that for a minute. So, for me, being done with work at 3:30 will be nice for a change.
*We picked our running assignments for The Relay the other night (my team is super rad, yay!) and I’m Runner 9. That probably doesn’t mean anything to most of you, but maybe this will: It is rated the second easiest route! ha! HOORAY! (Not that I think it will be easy for me by any stretch of the imagination) It has me running 4.4 miles through Sonoma (right where my Grandma used to live which is AWESOME), 6.5 miles at night through Millbrae and 6.3 miles through Ben Lomond. I’m excited. It’s a little over 17 miles which will be a challenging amount of distance for me, but not so much incline that I will want to off myself. I think it’s a good match for my skills. Still haven’t worked out a training plan yet and THE CLOCK IS TICKING.
*Some folks have been asking for a post about what I recommend regarding the Whole 30 reintroduction protocol and what my plans are Post Whole 30. I’m marinating on it and will try and maybe get it together by this weekend.
*Speaking of Whole 30, can we talk about the fact that it is Day 21 and I still (STILL) really miss booze. I’m surprised because at this point, during my last go round, I was over it. But these days all I can think about is when I get to have a glass of wine. I’m scouring Pinterest for cocktail recipes and lustily looking at the bottles of cider in our outdoor fridge. It’s kind of weird. I’m thinking about continuing the Whole 30 through February and honestly the food challenge is not even phasing me. But thinking about going through another 30 days WITHOUT A FREAKING DRINK? Man, it’s causing some panic.
*And since we’re doing a little stream of consciousness and talking about potential posts, I’m really itching to do a post about The Business of Blogging. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Partially because I have done some sponsored posts and want to talk about that. Partially because I have moved this blog into the For-Profit arena in the past few years and I want to say more about that so you know my intentions. And partially because I have lots of thoughts about pursuing your passions and career goals without being a total sleaze-bag and I think it all relates. Man, I have lots of ideas I need to get out on paper soon. Time to use my favorite SEO Tools Centre’s free online sentence counter.
*No time is sort of this recurring theme in my life and it’s 100% my own fault that I don’t have the time that I want. I’ve been bitching to Garrett lately about how I don’t really have time to read, but I realized yesterday when I confessed to twitter that I follow 295 blogs in linkbuildingplan.com (TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE! AND SOME POST MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY!) that it is not so much that I don’t have time for reading, but that I am not making time to read books. I guess this number probably explains a little bit about why I’ve felt compelled to start sharing weekly links though, because MAN, I read a lot of crap I want to share! That said, are you into linnks? Hate them? Wish they didn’t come on Friday’s like every other website on the internet? 🙂 Because I’ve been thinking about what is the best way to share them. Is a round up post fun to read? Would you rather me link them over on the Holly Would If She Could Facebook Page? I always worry on Facebook that nobody actually *sees* the posts because of Zuckerber’s Maniacal Formulas or whatever. But I’m open. Feedback, yo. I’m asking for it. :::cringes:::: Also while we’re at it…how many blogs do YOU follow?
*Social media culling is on my radar and I’m taking on my digital landscape like someone walking through the jungle with a machete. I cut my reader down about 20 sites yesterday (hey, it’s a start!) and then I went over to twitter and asked myself the same questions that I’m now asking myself about Facebook friends:
* do I have your email?
* do I follow you somewhere else (twitter/instagram/RRS) and do I like you there better?
* could I easily find you again if I wanted to contact you?
* have we interacted recently? (…and have I enjoyed it?)
And hopefully shortly I will have a little more time. Time to do things like write posts that aren’t long, meandering and peppered with bullets. 🙂
I LOVE the cartoon at the top. I haven’t even read the post yet but had to comment that I’m laughing hysterically at my desk because I totally relate to the feeling of being accosted in the middle of the night by the demon of good ideas.
I like the links on your blog, but I’m a new-ish reader and haven’t started following you in other places. Maybe I should change that. And, I’m currently stressing about how I’ll remember to stay up to date on my blog reading when Google gets rid of iGoogle this September. It’s my homepage, and Google is planning to murder it! Sorry, those are my problems. What I meant to say is, links! Yes! I’ve missed other people’s links since Google killed Reader’s “follow” feature a while back – or took it into G+. Same thing.
The number one thing I thought I’d miss on Whole 30 was booze. I barely miss it. And I’ve been out in bars the last three weeks, drinking water, until the wee hours of the morning (3 AM last weekend!). And it is SO nice to not wake up with a giant hangover. But man, I would so love just ONE glass of wine.
I miss milk/cream like nobody’s business. Which is weird because I had stopped really drinking milk and I had switched to black coffee with sugar. But I would do just about anything right now for a latte. TEN MORE DAYS!
I love links posts! i don’t much love business of blogging posts. But do your thing, girl. I can always skip the stuff I don’t love.
Is it bad if I admit that one of the best parts of this post is the bullet points because my week is already so BSC {bat.shit.crazy} that I can’t think beyond bullet points???
Mmmkay…
P.S. Day 21 and I miss Diet Coke. How ridiculous is that? Like dreaming about it miss it!
295?! Holy shit Holly! I follow about 20 and sometimes I end up just clicking “make as read” if I stockpile too many.
I’m definitely interested in reading more about the business of blogging and what you’re doing.
I’m not going to lie, my cravings haven’t gone away and I’m on day 17. I keep reading post whole30 plans where the people are like “I don’t have any cravings, I think I’ll keep eating like this forever” and I’m all like GIVE ME A DAMN CANDY BAR!
I’m sort of waffling back and forth…like one day I feel like I could eat like this forever and the next I’m like GREASY GLUTEN FILLED PEPPERONI PIZZA GET IN MY MAW. And I never eat crap like that. So. Weird weird. 🙂
Booze was my downfall both times I did the Whole30. I gave in, I was weak. I missed my booze. The food, not even an issue, so I totally get what you are saying.
I following 203 blogs, WAY.TOO.MANY……
Yes! The 200 club! I’m not alone!
I really miss the booze too, but I think its more the social aspect versus the actual booze itself! The only times when I have REALLY wanted it was some Sunday mornings (mimosa??) and in Iowa, when I was surrounded by drinking fools 😉
I can’t even believe you stayed MARGINALLY compliant in Des Moines, Katie. You are a champ!
HAH. It was hard. I ate a lot of salad. A LOT.
Oh my gosh, Holly, you are the best, and this post is proof. I just love your honesty–you are an internet gem. Seriously.
To give you some feedback, I shall make a list.
1) I do enjoy link round-ups but sometimes feel overwhelmed by them. If I have time/desire to click around and read, then I do, but if not, meh–I just skip them. I’m certainly not upset if you decide to keep posting them here.
2) I only read a few blogs devotedly–they are the blogs of people who read my blog and leave thoughtful comments. My feeling is that throwaway comments are cheap (“great post! read my blog!”), so I don’t feel compelled to pursue a blog friendship with those people. I think the best blog friendships really grow organically because you like what the other person is doing and saying and they like you. I have thought about this issue a lot, especially as a blogger who took a long time to find like-minded blog friends who really clicked with me. Does that make sense?
I also think that it is very hard to produce quality content for daily posts. Seriously, just last night, I was reading the archives of a blog and came across a post where the story was “I ate oatmeal and drank coffee this morning. Now I have nothing to say.” And that, my friends, is not quality content. It’s not that short posts can’t be done well (because they can), but anytime you find yourself typing, “I have nothing to say,” STOP RIGHT THERE. Get up and walk away from the computer.
3) Your comments on the Business of Blogging were awesome. I for one think you will continue to be an awesome blogger as you venture into the realm of sponsored blogging. Good luck, my dear! xoxo
4) I’m also trying to find more time to read books. It’s hard 🙁 The internet is shiny and distracting.
1) Yay for leaving work at 3:30pm. I think that’s a great decision. One of the things I miss about being a teacher is leaving work around 4pm. I always felt like I could go do things. Granted, my evenings were just instead packed with grading papers and lesson planning, but at least I was home before the sun set. lol.
2) I would be very interested to hear how you’re planning on doing your reintroduction. I’m thinking about starting off just paleo-fing stuff first. That way I can prove to myself that I could keep eating like this even after the Whole30. But then I’m not sure. I feel like rice or lentils (properly soaked) aren’t going to give me any trouble. So do I start with them? Or since I miss sugar the most, do I start with a bit of honey?
3) I hear you on the booze. Last night as we were eating dinner, my boyfriend (not on the whole30) suddenly decided he wanted to pop open a bottle of wine…I drank tea. I’ve realized though that I don’t really miss alcohol since I don’t like the way it makes me feel. But I do miss being part of a group. Drinking is such a social thing.
4) I would LOVE to read posts on the business of blogging. I started out on a blogspot blog, just posting random stuff last April. But within the last 4 months, I moved over to Painfreekitchen and am really interested in making it better. I’ve read articles etc that talk about the benefits of using things like pinterest, chowstalker, social media in general to promote your blog but sometimes I feel like I’ve hit a plateo. Not sure what the next step is.
5) 295 blogs. Yikes! I think I’m somewhere around 100. But I catagorize them in my google reader. I even made a Whole30 folder, which I’ve been reading first this month. As for the sharing, I LOVE that you post links. There is a reason people post links on Friday. It’s because no one actually wants to do any work at work. So they waste time on the internet 🙂 Alternatively, you could also post links on Monday, for the same reason. Not a huge fan of facebook. I don’t think anyone will see them.
– Rachel
I’m looking forward to the reintroduction phase and have been picking out special recipes to make with some of my favorite things (oh hey cheese…I suspect my stomach hates you, but I’m so excited to put you on everything for three days). It would be great to hear your thoughts and about what you did last time and might do differently this time around.
As a fellow blogger, I would love to read your thoughts on the business of blogging! I also follow a ton of blogs, but I tend to rotate on a monthly basis. If someone hasn’t posted much or I’ve realized that their content isn’t really for me, they get removed…and then replaced by 5 new blogs. Ouch! It does suck away the free time but I love hearing all their ideas. To that end, I enjoy your link roundups and think they’re a good shareable post for Fridays.
I hope your new schedule works out. I’ve been considering changing mine too because I had a similar thought- it doesn’t have to be like this!
Isn’t it crazy to realize that? Everytime I get myself all riled up and overwhelmed I think to myself “You make the schedule” even when, you know, it’s not about the schedule. I can’t wait to start!
I like the links.
Hi Holly,
I like the links here on the blog. I don’t have a Facebook page and I would miss them if they were there. But maybe then I wouldn’t spend so much time reading on-line?? I have about 150 sites in my Delicious bookmarks, some I haven’t gone to in a long time, so some housecleaning is due.
Day 23 for me and I miss my drinks!! Booze and dairy are what I miss, which is great, since I’m doing this to kick sugar to the curb, I am happy I am not going nuts about treats.
Heading off the internet right now to go make taco salad for dinner!
I hope you don’t ever stop blogging to free up time! I like your links because they are thought provoking, inspiring, informative or just plain fun.nthanks for everything you share with us
Ha! I’m actually trying to give up other things to free up time for blogging. 🙂 heh
I like weekly links, but I have to be honest – I only actually read about 10% of them. I will click on all of them but only actual spend time reading the ones that are truly interesting to me. I follow about 10 blogs – 7 are paleo blogs (the big ones like Robb Wolf and MDA, plus a few lower key ones) and the others are people I know but no longer talk to, so I’m that super creep that reads their blog and knows everything about their life HA!
I’ve probably got about a hundred blogs in my reader, some bookmarked, and others delivered to my email. I don’t regularly read all of them… at one point in time they each sparked my interest in one particular area. My problem is that my “focused interest” is constantly changing, so I’m regularly discovering (or rediscovering) new blog niches.
As far as blogs I regularly check and read at the moment, it’s only a handful since I suffer from the ever-constant LACK OF TIME theme you describe above. And I comment on even fewer than that.
Just to put in my two cents as well, I do enjoy the links on Fridays and please do not put them on FB because the chances of me seeing them there are slimmer (I’m kind of out of love with FB altogether…).
I’m also very interested to hear your insight on blogging. I’ve been toying with the idea of blogging for YEARS but there is such conflicting advice on getting started. Add my kaleidoscopic range of interests to that confusion and you have one giant non-starter. But it nags at me daily.
BTW I don’t mind the bullets at all, though I do enjoy your prose 🙂
I like the bullet points and I like the links. I read your blog because I’m interested in what you have to say, so having the chance to read what YOU find interesting just makes sense to me.
Please keep the links. I don’t do Facebook so if you only have things there I will miss them. Don’t want that. I enjoy reading your blog post. And I, like you subscribe to too many blogs, not sure how many, would be interesting to count them. Thanks for all you do!!
I love love love the Friday reads with the links. It feels like my friend, Holly, sorted through 300 blogs and is sharing the best of it for the week. Wait, that is kinda what happens, huh? Sometimes I read something you’ve linked to and it takes me down a rabbit hole that I can’t get out of for quite a while but I love it.
I do want you to have time to read too though, because I love to read with you (or after you, whatever). So do what you gotta do, sister. Ultimately, no matter what all us want, love, anticipate from you, this is your show. And we’ll probably tune in for whatever you offer.
Roger that?
Keep the links here! I hate Facebook with a such a passion that it can only be compared to snakes. FACEBOOK AND SNAKES. Links here!
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Oh Holly!
You are just so fantastic.
Go for the shorter days, with the way you describe your life, sounds like it will really help you.
I personally love my 3 day weekend and catch up an ME stuff on fridays. Things like following blogs all build up and on Friday morning I just read for hours!
Currently as of this morning I follow 20 RSS feeds and have about 3 that come into my email. So as someone already said, its great that you read all the rest for us and send us the best ones to read!
And yes, as a future blogger, please keep posting any and all business-of-blogging ideas. Personally I always pretend your writing them specifically for me! HA – self deluded much!
On the W30 front, well I have failed, long ago. My mind really wanted to do it but my heart wasn’t there. I was easily distracted with stress this month.
Your the best keep it up.
So, I used to follow about 125 blogs. And it was too much when even reading them every single day I couldn’t get through them. So I started to hack away at them with a really harsh eye. Anything that I wasn’t excited to read about was gone. Anything I didn’t get something useful from in a month or more was gone. I ended up siphoning down to about 75. Of those, many are food/paleo blogs where I pin stuff regularly, which also helps.
And then, when I gave up feeling bad about not reading people’s blogs when I wasn’t getting fulfillment out of them, I felt much better! Now if only I can make the time to write on mY blog!
Links are fun!
I have 58 subscriptions in my reader, and that is too many for me to keep up with! I try to pare down based on my current interests. Not into decorating right now? Unsubscribe from the decor blogs. Lately I’m trying to dress more professionally, so I’ve added a few fashion bloggers. I thought I might try to cut back on my blog-reading because I have a very busy semester ahead of me, but I think it provides a nice brain break that I need! I haven’t been able to quit.
I’m the same way, and oddly enough I just purged a lot of decor blogs because SERIOUSLY? I am a failure at decorating my house. No need for a (many times daily) reminder! 🙂