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Tulsa (along with many places) is getting slammed with unwanted, unexpected snow. I had heard the possibility of snow this week on the radio, but figured we’d be spared. Wrong. Tulsa is getting pummeled….and I did not cover my garden (and we’re in Dallas!). So much for my green thumb — I’m a bad garden mommy! I am HOPING that my potatoes, onion, spinach, and kale can withstand this unwelcome winter weather and pull through. Say a little prayer for me!
And just as I gloated about the 75 degree sunny weather in Dallas yesterday, it is now cold and rainy! I had planned a run this morning but weenied out. Mr. Prevention endured the cold and rain and headed out for 3 miles (good for him!)! We have massages booked this afternoon, compliments of our wonderful hosts. What a pleasant surprise, I cannot wait! 😀
If you have time, I strongly recommend any fellow bloggers to read this post by Honoring Health on “Comparing My Blog to Yours”. It was so enlightening and I felt so at ease after reading Christie’s take on blogging and the emotions it can surface as a writer. It stimulated some great responses, check it out! I’m sure we can all relate in many ways. I know I do!
Also, I was perusing my Cooking Light on our way to Dallas and I read something I decided I must share. The article was in response to reader comments regarding the supposed “lax” nature of Cooking Light’s idea of “light” as of late. The article stated in response:
The villainization and hero-worshiping of individual nutrients, meanwhile, is proving naive.
I really appreciated seeing this sentence. I think it’s so important to continue making strides in making nutritious food taste GOOD! If nutrition isn’t exciting and appealing, it will simply be a fad or a phase that people enter into for a finite period of time producing no lasting, maintainable changes. I appreciate Cooking Light taking time to explain that specific ingredients are not to be added to the “Naughty List” and others to the “Praise List”. This greatly limits the span of taste and quality that ought to be present in the foods we eat. All foods and ingredients, in my opinion, can be part of a healthy diet. Thanks, Cooking Light!
So, a big hello from Dallas and I hope that where ever you are has better weather than Dallas and Tulsa!!
Question: Do you find it difficult not to compare your blog to others? As Christie asked in her post, do you wonder why some blogs do so well and others not-so-well based on the quality of their content? While this is subjective, I’m sure we’ve all wondered! 😉
Random Question: If you filled out an NCAA bracket, who do you have winning it all? Kansas for me!
oh sorry about the weather!
yes i too read that post and loved it…..i guess we all want to have tons of visitors and tons of comments…..another way for us to feel unworthy and not good enough….i try to comment on peoples blogs who support me and therefore i support them in return…..
stay warm and dry lady 🙂
I just popped over to your blog because I keep wondering how your plants are doing. Sorry to hear about the weather, poor cold plants… I hope they survived the snow!
I think a lot of the “comparing” depends on why you blog. I blog for the community aspect of it. I think if I were ever to become popular it would actually become more stressful for me. An odd comparison but sort of like would you rather run a small bodega or a huge grocery store – I’d rather have the small bodega where I run into the same people all the time. Some new faces here and there, but a strong sense of community. I think the blogging community has the sense of community, but I think you get a chance to know people better when you’re at the smaller end. My two cents. Of course, I’m also not a writer. I blog because I love the inspiration I receive from others and I want to give back… but I don’t think I’m a natural writer (although I’m clearly rather wordy!).
I try not to compare my blog to anyone else’s. I try to let my personality shine through and I don’t really worry about it past that! Either people will like it or they won’t…you know? I can’t control that and don’t want to spend time stressing about it either.
So sorry about the snow in Tulsa! I really hope your garden makes it!! Who would have thought snow in March in Tulsa? I wouldn’t have! I am glad you are enjoying Dallas!
NCAA: KANSAS!!!
I try hard not to compare my blog either. Every one is so individual. I love reading all different kinds of blogs and learn something from all of them.
So sorry about the snow – I hate snow a LOT!
eek! snow on your freshly planted garden! I think it will be okay since the snow/cold spell is only supposed to last for a day or 2. They will defrost before you know it!
Thanks for linking to that blog post, it was very enlightening.
Oh no! I hope your garden survives! I actually made homemade asparagus and spinach ravioli – I’ll post the recipe tomorrow – it turned out so good! 😀
While I am happy I have readers, I’ve never really compared my blog to anyone else’s. What I love is that years from now (many years!) from now, my grandchildren will be able to read my words and get to know me at age 42. And have a way to try my recipes!
What I hate most is that I think some people comment just to get people to come back to their site – I actually read all the words of the blogs I read.
Case in point, I had a post a while back, and it had a picture of an apple fritter from donuts brought to work, and I talked about my Dad who was diabetic but just loved those donuts and how they “magically” ended up at home! I then went on to say how much I missed my Dad, etc.
Someone actually commented and said “as a diabetic, you shouldn’t eat donuts like that.” I was like, HUH?!
I am with you with the snow – luckily this time of year it doesn’t last long!
Oh no, did it really snow that much. How did that happen?
I loved that post by Christie! So insightful!
Sorry about Kansas! This NCAA tourney has proved to be a challenge for even the most “researched” bracket-filler-outers! I’m hoping for the best for your garden, this weather all over the US is so unpredictable.
Sorry about the Kansas thing. Jason had them winning too.
Oh no, I hope your little plants are ok! I agree with Cooking Light too – everything is ok in moderation.
I hope your little plants pull through! Enjoy the massages (what a great surprise!) and your weekend! 🙂
Blogging is like high school…it can get cliquey, and there certainly is a separation between the “popular” and the “not popular”. I think many bloggers seem to relate to this predicament! Certainly a mystery why they are so popular…I guess
1) they have been blogging longer than any of us,
2) They blog 3 times a day,
3) They don’t talk much about themselves (at least not enough to be too personal) and stick to the food,
4) They have fantastic SLRs for fantastic pictures of pulverized kale and bug-like chia seeds.
That’s my guess? Dunno…
Anyway, will say a little prayer for you! I hope your little garden survives!
I try not to compare my blog to others. I do have my favorites, but I don’t exactly know why I like them so much…maybe because I can relate to the person or like the layout of their page [crazy but true].. not sure! I know I love getting more than 1 comment on a post! I think that is just human though.
Hope you garden lives on.. crazy snow.. we got it yesterday in NE (home) and I guess today in MO (where I live). Sick of it! So over it. BRING ON THE HEAT!
Aww, bummer about the weather 🙁 Hopefully it will improve by Sunday? I’ll send warm, spring-like vibes to your plants AND cross my fingers for them. I’m sure they’ll pull through!
I loved Christie’s post on blog-comparing. I’m not sure why some are more popular than others – my guess is that they gained momentum, either through luck or some enterprising of their own, and are now “known” and expected to be popular, so the momentum builds. I try to stay away from blog-comparing, because I think building your own unique voice is more worth your energy 🙂
Enjoy your massages!
I hope your lovely new garden survives the unseasonal weather!
Yes, I always compare my blog to others. In some ways it helps me grow, other times it is discouraging. I will head over to read that post.
I hope your beautiful garden weathers the storm….Hope the rest of your weekend is fab!
I’m making your crock pot lasagna tonight!! check out my latest blog, I linked to you 🙂
It’s so funny, some bloggers and I got together on Friday to cook together and we talked about the stratification within the blogger world as well. The haves and the have nots. I think it’s probably semi-random what makes some bloggers popular and others not. I definitely compare my blog to others, not even in a hypercritical way but to see what I can change to appeal to more readers. I think having your own voice is definitely important, and photos are also key. Commenting on other’s blogs will get you more readers for sure. Outside of these tricks though, I do maintain that it is quite stochastic.
I’m so sorry about your garden! It couldn’t ahve been predicted though so I don’t think it makes you a bad mommy! Seriously, why is it snowing in March?!?!?
Just said a little prayer for your garden!! Thanks for passing along that link, sounds interesting. Off to read it now…
Awww hope your garden’s going to survive! Enjoy your massages today… I love getting massages!
I had Kansas going all the way, too. 🙁
I hope that your garden toughs through it! You’ll have to let us know how it does….
Thank you so much for the link! I’m off to read it now. I sometimes do compare my blog to others, but I realize each blog is for a different purpose. And I know so many bloggers put a TON of time each day into their posts – which I don’t really want to do at this point! I love how each blog has a different purpose and perspective on things, though. Like I couldn’t myself do a “food blog,” but I find them interesting to read!
oh no… I hope your plants survive. My friend (here in VA) ran away to Texan after the big blizzard only to find hail waiting for her (that was few weeks ago right?)
Good question you ask about comparing your blog to others. It’s like comparing your kids to others 😉 you know you shouldn’t do it but you can’t help not to.
To be honest, I do look at other blogs and see what’s going right for them and if that’s something that I want to do and goes with my purpose and personality. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. My blog is still in infancy and it helps alot to see what/how others are succeeding. It’s been a way of learning for me, especially with food photography.
Stay warm!
I hope you’re having a fantastic time in Dallas, Nicole! And I’ll definitely say a little prayer for your garden!
That snow sucks! I didn’t know till last week but apparently we always get a snowfall after the first day of spring. So even though we’ve had great whether and the snow is gone we’re not in the clear yet.
I’m a Duke fan so if I had done a bracket I’d choose them no matter what. Going to be tough though as theres a lot of good teams.
Aw I hope the garden survives–I’m sure it’ll hang in there! I read that in the beginning of the Cooking Light mag too–interesting!
Oh no! That’s a bummer. I hope your veggies survive.
“do you wonder why some blogs do so well and others not-so-well based on the quality of their content? ”
Yes yes yes! I’ve really been working to improve mine lately, but it’s so hard. I see so many blogs out there with equivalent or even far less original content getting a bazillion more comments, and I would love to know what I’m doing wrong. It can be very frustrating and sadly I’ve fallen victim to comment and traffic stalking…
I’m so sorry about your veggies, I hope they survive the cold! The sentence from Cooking Light reminded me of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, where he talked about nutritionism and how we may not be sure of why certain nutrients are good/bad (reacting with other things in a whole food, combinations, etc). It is so important to focus on eating good, well rounded foods and meals, rather than “I need less fat” or “Less calories = good”. Thank you for that!
Thanks for the link on comparing blogs! I often wonder the same thing… why people get so many comments on those food blogs, and why some blogs are more popular than others. But hey, as long as we are still having fun, I think that is all that matters!