For What It's Worth


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Taking a little break...


 Soooo....I've been in quite the blogging slump.

My reading slump is OVER so yay! But my urge to write reviews or blog is pretty much zilch at the moment. Also, we're having a new roof installed that is taking insanely long (1 1/2 weeks and counting) and it's so noisy here that I can't get much of anything done anyway.

Instead I've been redesigning my blog - which I really need to stop doing at some point - but I've developed something of an addiction to Etsy digital clipart. It's like the new .99 ebook download for me. lol

Any hoo I saw the cute yoga dog/cat clipart and had to use them somewhere so voila!

To be honest I'm not sure how much longer I'll be hanging in there with this whole blogging thing. So many of my friends have left or are considering leaving. The desire to crank out *thoughtful* reviews is gone for me. I just want to say "Hey - read it!" & ignore anything I don't like. But personally, I like a mix of good and bad reviews, so it feels weird for me to only be positive and ignore what I don't like. And I want to talk about other things besides books. Hopefully you'll hang in here with me. You always have and THANK YOU!

So this is my last ditch effort to stay. I have this new design and if I feel the urge to do anything other than mild tweaks (which still need to be done - font colors etc) I quit!

I'll be taking next week off and maybe one more if the roof doesn't get done. I need quiet to read and blog and don't seem to be getting that anytime soon.

Happy and safe 4th of July to those who celebrates and a wonderful relaxing summer to everyone!

I'll leave you with a few pics of Beau who knows how to ignore stress and chill....




34 comments:

  1. Oh no, Karen, don't leave! :-( Have the vacation and just have a very loose schedule, do only mini reviews, maybe? Just don't give up! Hugs xxx

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    1. I think I would miss it too much. I feel burned out when I'm here but I also get twitchy when I'm away lol

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  2. I forbid you to leave for entirely selfish reasons (è_é). LOL.
    Also, blogging does wonder for your health...sometimes!

    Really - we may not have the same tastes in books (except a few), but I would miss you if you stopped blogging. Maybe it's because you were my first blogging friend back when I started, or because you're nice and funny, or because we are almost the same age...Also, yes, I'm sure you would miss your blog yourself. You don't need to post every other day, or even every other week...and you don't need to post about books and books only. Just be creative and easygoing, and in the meantime, get those evil roofers off you ass! ;P

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    1. I forgot - fun design, and I want a Beau+Scooby too!

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    2. I'm more bored with the blogging process - writing and formatting reviews - than with blogging. I know I would miss it too much to quit. At least for now anyway.

      I still need to find what works for me and would still be interesting for followers.

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    3. And - thank you for all the kind words!

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  3. Please never become only positive! Gods, sorry all, but I do not like those blogs. I need both world, how else will I get both sides

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    1. Yeah - that's not me lol Hey - it's fine if I really do love everything but I can't see myself ONLY talking about the good. I find and learn more from a mix of reviews.

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  4. Don't leave and I truely understand needing breaks and just getting out of that slump :) . I was there and I feel better since I leave all my thoughts on goodreads now instead of the blog. Yeah for having the house worked out. (((( HUGS))))

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    1. I don't think I will leave - I don't feel burdened by the blog so that's good. (I cut way down on review books). It's more that I don't have the urge to type of posts.

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  5. I just realized your blog layout changed, it looks elegant though :) I understand about taking breaks though, I'm in a blogging slump myself where I feel uninspired to write any posts. Hope it works out for you soon <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

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    1. I have things I want to talk about but the writing up a post thing is boring to me right now. Hopefully I'll find a happy medium so I can continue with it. We all go through this - it's inevitable if we do it long enough.

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  6. I love it when you change up your blog. I'm so jealous I can't do that! We've gone through this before...the "thoughtful" review. I decided I'm just going to go with it. If I feel like posting something I will. If not, I won't. What's been really important to me are the friendships I've developed...and I'm never going to give those up! Enjoy your vacation!

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    1. I use picmonkey to play with clipart - buttons/header etc. It's kind of dummy proof and sadly I'm finding it more fun than blogging lol

      And you are so right about the friendships. That's the thing that stops me from quitting. I look forward to the interaction even when the posting becomes difficult.

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  7. First of all, I love your header with the yoga dog and cat!!! soooo cute!!! And I love the pics of Beau and Scooby :) Even cuter!!!

    Secondly, I totally understand your slump, unfortunately. Hopefully this break will do you well and you'll feel rejuvenated about reading and blogging! I totally understand the need/want to move into other areas of blogging, too!! I say, Go for it!!

    I hope all is going well with your roof!!!!!

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    1. Thanks. The yoga doodles made me laugh - I just had to use them somewhere!

      And the roof.....they're banging away up there right now. Grrrr

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  8. Hoping it is only a slump and you will find your blogging mojo return.

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    1. Me too because I really don't feel like I want to quit yet but I'm also bored with it :-(

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  9. Hope the roof finishes up quickly and you get your blogging mojo back. I think the key is just do what you feel..if that is just a few sentences recommending a book...or a mention of a new restaurant...or what you are doing in the garden...don't feel like you have to write regularly, on regular topics or that you have to write a novel!! I'd rather see you pop in and out , then be completely gone. (That said...if you do go that route...I would completely understand...I've debated it myself!)

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  10. I know what you mean. I've been scaling back on the blog for a while now. I mostly just post M/W/F unless I'm a part of a blog tour or something that lands on T/Th. I like to keep mine at a hobby level so I don't mind scaling back but haven't been able to give it up completely. I hope you stay in touch if you go!

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    1. Oh and I forgot to add... I love the blog and Beau is so adorbs!

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    2. I think I'm going with the M/W/F thing too.

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  11. BAH! I just came back Karen and you ABANDON ME!

    I SIMPLY ADORE THE NEW BLOG DESIGN! I love how the animals are hanging off of everything, super cute!

    Have a lovely stress-free holiday weekend Karen! See you soon! <3

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  12. I'll be sad to see you go but I had a whiff of no blog last week and I can see how freeing that can be.

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  13. Aw, I really like the dog and cat clips. And NO you cannot clip. I hope you find a way to blog that makes YOU happy. Maybe more shorter reviews? Or add more non-book posts? Either way, I'm following along. :)

    -Lauren

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    1. I don't really stress about it anymore but the desire to post isn't there either. On the other hand I don't want to quit. What a contradiction! lol

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  14. Enjoy your tweaking, and take the time you need.
    I'd hate to see you quit, but you have to see what's best for you

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  15. OMG! LOOK AT YOUR BLOG! It's so cute! I love the little critters. And I'll always take pictures of Beau. Hey, do your thing. If you want to post, post. If you don't, don't! It's all good and it's your blog! (As you know, I haven't been blogging or commenting much this summer, either. I'm slowly getting back into it, though I'll probably be off again once school starts up in August. *sigh*)

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    1. Thanks. I love those yoga dogs/cats lol I swear - I find these cute things on Etsy and boom! distracted for another week lol

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  16. I've been having a huge blogging slump... I can't summon the will to turn on the computer and actually do something "blog related" anymore.. I think I was just so used to not having time to blog that now that I finally do have time I can't seem to use it. I hope you stay here with us! Whether it's blogging about books or just about life in general :)

    Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms.

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    1. Same here. I end up surfing around the internet instead lol

      I'm trying to find whatever that magic formula is that keeps me interested but not overwhelmed.

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  17. Aw I hope you don't stop! Nothing wrong with changing your blogging style for a while until you get back in the normal for you blogging mode. Blog short reviews or squees or total random stuff. I think that'd be great!

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