Back To My Blogging Roots

Just some thoughts on why I'm here.

Over the past few weeks (okay, MONTHS) I've had the chance to sit back and really reflect on what blogging means to me. This time off from the cyber world has totally brought me full circle, back to where I was when I started this blog last spring.

Writing posts in the beginning was fun.
Just little notes to let family and friends in on what was going on in the Dufour house.
Posting recipes that people had asked for, and little tips and tidbits that I've found to work for me that just might make sense to others too.

Then I got caught up in all of the hullabaloo that goes with finding your "circle" of blogging friends.

Girls, don't get me wrong, I love all of you to pieces, but in life all circles have their competitive sides (C'mon, admit it!). In blogging you may not have to "see" these people face to face, or feel like your competing side by side, yet the competition is still there. Who can nab the most sponsors, who can host the biggest or most giveaways, who has more followers on GFC, FB, Twitter, Bloglovin', Linky Followers, etc...the list goes on. For some of you that's awesome, especially since you see it as (or it is) your job, and I applaud you for all the hard work and effort you put in each day. For me, that's not why I log on to type a post.

So what does this have to do with me? I admit I did get caught up in the competition, almost without knowing it. It hit me like a slap in the face a few months back when I could no longer juggle work, family, our backyard farm, and blogging.  I needed to step away for awhile and re-evaluate why I'm here. I didn't start blogging to compete with anyone, or to make a career out of it. I started to give myself some ME time, to sit back and reflect on my little life through writing. And to hold myself accountable. Accountable for what you ask?? Well, sometimes I think the greatest motivation in life is "showing" others how you can push forward and do things you never thought possible. Whether it be home renovations, or just merely finding time for a nap! And that's what I wanted for myself when I signed up for a Blogger account.

And, what does this have to do with you? Well, first, I thank all of you for being my followers. And I'm humbled by the amount of people that read my posts. I never thought anyone outside of family would even give me a second look a year ago. Never mind still be following me after so much time off. Yet, with time off and reflection comes change. In the near future I will no longer be hosting giveaways (maybe one or two if the time is right), or hosting sponsors. Hopefully this will make my life a little easier and help me to get back to my roots. I think this little blog needs to take a few steps back and be more about me rather than about everyone else. I know many of you are probably rolling your eyes, but at this point its what is best for me. I feel like the rat-race has to stop.

I miss blogging, but I don't miss the small amounts of stress and deadlines that go along with it - I have enough of that to deal with in my non-cyber life!

With that said, button swaps are still an option for those of you that want to share, and I'll still have a place on my side bar for all my favorite blogs (those of you that have been here with me from the beginning will always have a place!). I'll be slowly re-designing my sidebar over the next 2 weeks to de-clutter. That will make signing on to type a bit easier for me. I'm thinking a little simplicity will go a long way in being able to enjoy my little hobby again.

Well, That's That! It has taken me a few months to realize it, but I CAN go back to where I was a year ago and just have fun, and that's what I'm going to do.

Hmmm....funny how typing out such a small thing can take so much weight off your shoulders ;)

Lots of hugs to you all...

Katie

Easter Eggs, Hoppy Tulips, and Thumbprint Flowers

Even though I'm a little late to the party on the egg decorating front I had to share the little creations we made this week. 

Mini Disclaimer: Some {ok, most} of the pictures are from my cell, so the colors aren't as vibrant as they are in real life. 

This year is the first time Mads has really been able to participate in holidays, and this one is proving to be almost as amazing to her as Christmas was. 

She's ecstatic that the Easter Bunny is coming to her house. 

Thrilled that he likes carrots as much as she does.

Giddy at the fact that we got to decorate the eggs that our chickens leave us everyday. 

And she's beyond excited that the Bunny is going to hide her Easter Eggs for her to find. 

Ohhhh to be almost 3 years old again!

I have been meaning to break out the eggs and dye all week and never had a chance until today. Time is something I don't have much of lately but I still wanted to try something new for our eggs this year. Earlier in the week I found this tutorial for Salad Dressing Easter Eggs on ADozenGirlz and fell in love! I'll spare you the major details since she describes how to make them so well, and to save me a few minutes of typing :) The only thing I didn't do was use the Wilton Colors that she used in her tutorial, I used plain 'ole food coloring in neon colors. The short of it - SUPER easy. SUPER cute. SUPER inexpensive. How can you beat vinegar, olive oil, food coloring and water? The shiny, marbled effect you end up with is so pretty and different. I love them!

To keep it frugal we made egg dippers out of some copper wire we had lying around, used mason jars to hold the hot dye liquid, and plain old egg cartons flipped upside down as a drying rack. 

Our eggs of choice - white and blue hardboiled {yes, my chickens lay blue eggs :)}.

I did get a tad more creative than just dipping and popped some designs on a few of the eggs. My trusty hole punch, some adhesive vinyl {contact paper works too} gave me the WOW factor I was looking for on short notice. For those of you with Silhouettes or Cricuts, the possibilities would be endless! I can only imagine the awesomeness...

I decided on polka dots, stripes, and a chevron egg that didn't come out well enough for photos {can't win 'em all!}. It's simple enough to do -  just stick your shapes to the egg, make sure all the air bubbles are out, then pick your dye color.

For the Punkin' we used vinyl letter stickers that I had on hand to make her name.

I also got creative with a little centerpiece for my table. I saw all these super cute Peep centerpieces floating around Pinterest and just HAD to have one. A florist I'm not, but I must say I think it came out cute!

And of course, what would a new season and holiday be without hand and thumbprint art? Of course you remember Maddy's Fall Masterpiece? Well, this time we went for a pretty spring flower bouquet to match my Peeps centerpiece. Hands for the stems and thumbs for the petals.

We made these bouquets into pictures and cards to give the grandparents for Easter Sunday. It's become tradition that each year they receive a homemade hand print from Mads, they love it! And, I don't know about you but I could stare at little handprints all day long, they melt me.

I hope you all have a great Easter if I don't catch you before then ;)

Run Hamster, Run!

Life has been a little crazy the past few months here in Massachusetts.

Insane is more like it.

Work has picked up immensely for me which is awesome, but leaving me little time for anything else. My stove, organized house and my computer have taken the backseat to the pizza delivery dude, piles of laundry EVERYWHERE, and my cell phone constantly attached to my ear.

There was a time when I thrived on this kind of busy. I would work myself to the bone 75+ hours a week, vicariously living through my students and their horses. Making sure they had the best of the best of me. I was there at their beckon call, any time of day or night. I loved what I did. Don't get me wrong, I still do, and if my work weren't part of my life I would be a lost soul. But, its different now. I have a daughter who turns 3 a month from Friday. Heck, I turn 31 this coming Tuesday! So I look at all this "busy" and think "where is this getting me in life??".

I feel like the past 3 months have flown by faster than ever, and I really don't remember much of them. I'm starting to regret not spending the extra time I had with Mads and putting it into my job instead. I look at her and want to cry, my little peanut is growing up so fast. In the blink of an eye she lost her chub and everything else that went along with being a baby. And I never noticed it was going away, not once did I stop and WATCH her change. I just let it happen over night and continued to run in my hamster wheel of life.

Errands, work, more errands, more work....all the while pulling Maddy along with me like a pawn in my little game of chess. A game I'm never going to win if I don't slow down and take in what is REALLY going on around me. All the little things that I take for granted.

Even my marriage has taken a back seat to me pulling more hours at work. D and I rarely see each other and when we do we give each other a VERY brief hug and a kiss, a quick update on schedules then its back out the door. Honestly, I don't even know whats going on in his life on a daily basis. I'm not even sure he knows when I'm at work or when Maddy is at school. It's like we live two separate lives under one roof. We used to text each other throughout the day to be cute and sweet, get caught up with each other, but now that we are both constantly buzzing around from job to job that has even stopped. Now I'm more apt to be on the phone madly texting or emailing my clients, keeping them informed of things that are going on, scheduling changes, etc. I MAKE the time for them, its time I START MAKING the time for US!

Thankfully, we are strong enough in our marriage to go through these spurts of mini-abandonment and come out shining on the other side. We always do. Like I said, there was a time that I thrived on working years ago, and I managed to put us on the back burner then too. Granted, that was before we had a child which made it easier to deal with, but when all is said and done I was selfish. I wanted my job, I wanted my  marriage, and I couldn't say no to my clients or pass up projects. So I sucked it up and worked all hours of the day. In the end it weakened our relationship and luckily I caught it before we started to break down. I realized what I was doing to us, and realized that I couldn't take work to the grave. Family, and life in general are more important to me. It took ALOT of will power but over time I was able to build my schedule around my life and family rather than building my life around work.

I'm finding myself getting to that point again, and I'm struggling. Again I want my cake and to eat it too. I keep telling myself that I CAN do it all. I CAN work lots of  hours, still pull my weight as a homemaker, pull my weight as a bread winner, still bring home the bacon, be a good mom, a good wife, a home accountant, errand runner, and get all these home renovation projects completed. And the truth of the matter is, I can't. I've been so busy trying to be and do all of the above that I'm losing sight of what is real, what is now and in the moment. Yet I keep pushing myself. And I'm starting to shatter.

I'm hoping that by getting all of this out of my head I can start to make the changes I need to make. Hopefully start prioritizing a little better, and make more time for the things that matter, the things that I WANT to remember 5, 10 and 20 years from now. Maybe now that I have admitted my selfishness to myself I can start living the definition of my favorite quote: "Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away". Yup, that about sums it up. My motto, if only I could stick to it.

So, that my friends is what has been on my mind the past few weeks, and why I haven't been around much. I was at least able to let the blog go so that I could find a little time for myself and my family...now if I could just find the courage to let some other things go too.