Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

Who can sing THAT title with the appropriate tune?

Either people have abandoned Blogger for Facebook, or you have all found something meaningful to do with your lives. Shame on you.

Or maybe it is because I have run out of worthwhile that my comments are at an all-time low? I know: it is because I never declared a contest winner. I must confess to sort of forgetting I actually ran a contest. I will get right on that.

The truth is that right now I'm on top of very little. "When you find yourself in a slump, unslumping yourself is not easily done." I'm mostly doing the right things--I'm studying the scriptures now pretty regularly, prayers are more earnest (if not frequent enough), I'm serving and really trying to focus on my family. So I'm not sure what the deal is. We typically have moved a lot, but Oregon is starting to seem more or less like our home. Maybe I'm coming to terms with that.

Anyway, friends, I got nothing. Just a need to connect. There are things nagging at me that I cannot resolve. Or talk about. I'm feeling grouchy and misunderstood; but mostly I'm tired. And the rain has kept the Jedi more or less in the house for several very long days.

Tonight's dinner--Bacon Spaghetti. (If your husband doesn't jump your bones for this concoction then you just might need couple's therapy.)

Bacon Spaghetti

To a pot of boiling water, add enough thick short pasta (penne, ziti, etc.) for 5 servings. Cook until just before al dente. Drain, rinse and pour into small (8 x 8 or whatever that small rectangle size is) casserole dish. Cut six raw slices of bacon into a non-stick frying pan. Stir fry over med-high heat until crispy. Transfer bacon to paper towels for draining. To the bacon grease add 1 cup of chopped sweet red bell pepper, 1 head of garlic, 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil, and 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Add either a pint of Italian stewed tomatoes and a can of paste or 3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce. If you like it a bit spicy, add a couple of tsp of red pepper flakes. Add the mixture to the noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle Italian blend cheese on the top (mozzarella is too stringy; Parmesan doesn't melt properly) and then sprinkle with bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Oh, yeah, it is so good. At least something is.

29 comments:

Janssen said...

I am finding it more and more difficult to stay on top of the blogs I read. I hate it! I just want to have plenty of time to read all the fun blogs and comment and write my own blog and still read and work out and make dinner and, you know, have a life. Good luck to us both!

Dickey said...

Love you girl.

FoxyJ said...

Yeah, lately I feel like my posts just float out there with no response. But I realize that I do the same thing to other people and I've been trying to have more 'conversations' with the people I read rather than just skimming over their posts and moving on. I think I'd rather have a few good blogging friends than read lots of blogs without any real connection.

Rainie said...

I love you!! We're in need of a serious reconnect. When? Where? I'm there.

Karin said...

I'm here. :-) I am trying to be more "present" with face to face relationships which feed me and therefore have less time for blogging. Not that I was ever a big commenter. :-) I'm also *not* spending my time over on FB. I go there no more than is absolutely necessary. I've been learning too much about some people, KWIM?

Anyway, loved your playlist. Don't think I could narrow mine down. I totally remember those KJQ stickers, though. :-)

Sweet Joys said...

I completely understand what you are feeling. Everything in my life right now seems to be going pretty well, so why am I so discouraged and, to use your word, grouchy some (well, maybe most) days? I feel like I will never measure up to any of my roles or responsibilities.

Just hang in there and remember that we are here to "listen". I absolutely love your blog, even if I don't usually comment on it. I love Blogger for the chance to connect with people and express my thoughts and feelings and understand others' feelings as well. You are so great at that!

But I agree that personal scripture ready and prayer are a must--I just couldn't make it without them!

BTW, I loved your playlist post! I'm going to have to steal that one for my blog!

Doreen said...

I can join you in the slump. I was thisclose to completely losing it today. Church is taking too much time away from family right now. Or maybe my attitude is just not where it should be. Either way, the process of unslumping is not coming easy...

Cathy said...

Whenever I'm slumpish (which happens frequently) I remember CS Lewis's "Law of Undulation". The basic premise is that the closest to constancy that humans get is undulation--variation between peaks and troughs. He says our behavior while in the troughs is particularly valuable, since it is then that we show our diligence by continuing to be good even when not being presently paid for it in terms of happiness, etc. I like this principle; it explains why I might not feel good even when trying to be good. Heavenly Father's not rewarding my behavior right away so I can learn to be good for something other than the reward. It also reassures me that the slump or trough will eventually end. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I actually check the blogs I read all the time, but I don't always leave comments (I am afraid of seeming too interested in other people's lives). Just because I don't comment doesn't mean I'm not reading. I suppose I should be more polite and not lurk around, but it's hard. I don't wanna seem weird! (Too late...)

Sunnie said...

i completly admit that i have been lame at leaving comments lately. ever since the baby and school and soccer and all these kids i have running around, life has gotten a little crazy! my blog gets updated a lot less frequently and i only get around to leaving comments every once in awhile. i'm horrible i know:)

Unknown said...

I'm HERE!
(sung to the tune of Give My Regards to Broadway... a stretch, but if you extend a few syllables, it works!)
;)

Unknown said...

PS thanks for the bacon spaghetti recipe... I'm on it. Maybe it works for un-slumping OTHERS.

Unknown said...

OH--just leaving the love: (actually the slump I'm in requires me to think in increments)
What if:
I don't have any 8x8 rectangles.
(hah!)
xo

Science Teacher Mommy said...

Oops.

I was especially slumpy when I posted this yesterday. Thanks for the validation, but I am embarrassed.

No, no, not for weakness, but for the terrible need for feedback that this medium has given me.

I think a few of you are right about the need for "real" connection. This is clearly the thing acting the hardest on my psyche right now.

Cathy--your comment was completely awesome. I am going to be thinking about this one a lot.

Science Teacher Mommy said...

Oh, and I was thinking of Paula Cole's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" If you don't remember that song, you aren't the only one. Her first album was given a bunch of grammy awards only to see her never make another one.

Melanie said...

I got the song right away. We're here . . .just trying to read blogs on the sly at work (I'm not avoiding work, it's so slow here, so does it really need to be on the sly?) and once you start commenting, it's harder to do a quick click over to that Excel spreadsheet!

FoxyJ said...

I was thinking "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" which is just more evidence that I am a hippie at heart...

And I really need to try some bacon spaghetti. It sounds awesome.

FoxyJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Doreen said...

I was thinking flowers, too. Long time passing. hehe

I'm missing real life connection here, definitely. Almost a year and a half into living here, and I can't say I've made any really good friends yet. Superficial friendships, yes, but no real friendships. Guess those things take time. I need to learn patience. :p

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

[hug]

Interesting that many of us seem to be in similar slumps right now. Perhaps it's the weather (though I typically prefer autumn to summer). Or perhaps it's just the eternal challenge of mothers (or women in general) to focus on what's going well and not obsess about all the things we wish we could change.

Sigh.

I'm glad you're still blogging, even when it takes a little extra effort. It's always good to "hear" your voice.

chicagosapps said...

I love to read your posts too. Keep it up even though I'm an infrequent commenter.

And John would be more likely to divorce me than jump my bones for bacon spaghetti. Of all the meats, bacon is his least favorite and the smell really permeates the house, clothes, and me for days. I only cook bacon when he will be gone for more than 8 hours after. And since I love bacon, I often plan my day around cooking it, followed by the cleaning procedures necessary to remove the smell. Totally worth it.

chris w said...

I love you!

emandtrev said...

I read and/or check your blog almost every day, but like other readers (and some have said the same thing about commenting on my blog--here's hoping), I don't always comment. Please know, though, that I LOVE your blog and think your brilliant. :)

BTW, that bacon spaghetti sounds fab.

Slim said...

I guess I am shameful, but I don't have more than half hour at a time to blog anymore. It is all I can do to keep up on life and have time to enjoy and have fun with my kids. I have had to put limits on my blogging/computer time because I feel like I waste so much time in the virtual world when the real world was happening but passing me by. I am glad you are still blogging so that when I think of you, I can catch up on what you are doing. We do the best we can, huh?

Science Teacher Mommy said...

Hm . . . I can see that I seriously mis-communicated my intentions here. My "shame on you" was a rather tongue-in-cheek way of saying that I think for many people, the honeymoon with blogger is over and a lot of people have realized that it CAN be an enormous time-sucker and have moved on to bigger and better things.

I'm not certain that I was digging for comments either, though that is clearly what happened. Oops.

Note to self: don't blog when I'm at my worst. Self-pity is NOT the persona I'm hoping to put out there.

Cathy said...

One of the common threads here seems to be that we all live nomadic lives, have to start new friendships, and have a hard time making them as "deep" or "meaningful" as they were in our previously less-full lives. Any suggestions? Anyone have cool ways to connect deeply with others while still keeping small children alive?

Me: "That's such an interesting thing you just said...oh no! Theo has found a knife somehow AGAIN" (my one year old is incredibly adept at locating sharp objects) or "Aargh! My child's about to fall off the monkey bars / out of a tree/ through the gap in the bars at the top of the climbing wall by the tallest slide".

And how do you get other BUSY geographically close women to get together? So many invitations have been turned down. Blogging friendships work because evryone can come to them in their leisure time, even if those moments don't coincide.

STM, the C S Lewis idea is from Screwtape letters, somewhere in the first half, if you want a better, more complete explanation. I miss BYU's C S Lewis Society--there was an excellent forum for really talking about meaty ideas.

Unknown said...

btw--speaking of meaty ideas, the bacon spaghetti was YUM-o-licious.
(Except I sizzled my bacon a bit TOO long, so it was bordering on burnt)
I'll make it again~
thanks!

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

Sigh - I miss the C.S. Lewis Society.

And yes - now that I have small children it is difficult to connect with new people the old fashioned way. Schedules are busy, and when children are present it's hard to have a thoughtful conversation whilst devoting half your brain to nurturing little ones and protecting them from injury.

The best solution I've found so far is to invite friends to dinner so we can talk after the kids go to bed (if the friends have children, they bring a portacrib).

Science Teacher Mommy said...

KimBlue--we loved doing that too. And now my friends all have too many kids.

I like how you put that--new friends in the old fashioned way. But I also like what Cathy said about why we blog. I think she really summed it up for me.