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Friday, May 28, 2010

Oh bloggity blog blog blog.....

As my faithful readers know, I'm not employed. This means I have a lot of time on my hands. Instead of cleaning mold off my walls which seems to need to be done EVERYDAY, I read other blogs. I read blogs written by other expats, new parents, people who are TTC (that's 'trying to conceive' in case you're not in the know), people battling with infertility (no, we have no evidence that we're infertile), pregnancy blogs, mommy blogs, food blogs, photography blogs, weight loss blogs, design blogs (which make me sad because 'designing with mold' is never featured on these), writers blogs, funny blogs...well, you get the idea. Please pause for a moment while I consider how lame I am.

It seems like everyone has a theme to their blog, and I'm aware that this is part of the formula for a quality blog. I struggle with this because I really have no theme. Yes, I'm an expat, but do people want to hear me banging on about how much I miss Target and Panera. Because really, I could write about that Every. Single. Day. I've been an expat now for almost 4 years (wow!) and after a while I feel like you stop writing about the differences and you just accept them and move on. Of course I will still complain about the small refrigerators, especially when we finally start looking for a new place, but I can't see 'expat' as being my main theme anymore.I'm actually amazed at how people who have been expats for 20 years can still write about how annoying it is to have no electrical outlets in the bathroom. Haven't they learned to cope by now??

Now there are the TTC blogs. Not sure how my husband would feel about this being the main topic of this blog. Not sure how I would feel about it! I had to psych myself up just to bring it up on here (don't want to jinx things you know!), but well, there are interesting blogs about this out there. Every morning I wake up at 4:45am to take my temperature so I can then put it on a chart. Why? I have no idea. I look at sample charts and I can not make hide nor hair of what they mean. I keep telling myself that this is important because if after a certain period of time things don't work for us, then I'll have these charts to take to the doctor. I mean, I guess that's why they're important. Do they even want these charts? What I do know is that my cat is not handling this well. The alarm goes off at 4:45 and she thinks it's time to start the day. I'm pretty sure this early morning temperature thing is really done just to get you ready for waking up at ungodly hours with kids. So yeah, I'm not going to start posting charts and talking about the quality of my cervical mucous and whether or not we had sex last night. Sorry.

I should probably make this a weight loss blog, but that's no fun really. I did get a new fit ball last weekend, but our apartment is too small for me to do some of the exercises. Anything that requires side to side movement is out of the question. Plus, don't make me bring up the mold again and air quality in our apartment. I feel yucky when I'm huffing and puffing in here.

So apologies to everyone out there if they think my blog is kind of boring these days and just full of pictures. I'm at a bit of a crossroads right now, call it a blog identity crisis if you will. Bear with me and I hope I will start to feel more inspired over the next few months!

15 comments:

  1. I think the theme of your blog, my friend, is 'life'.

    But I know what you mean. I always struggled with this, too.

    Why the early temp taking? I did some charting as well but I don't recall having to wake up extra early to do so. I used that Take Charge of Your Fertility book and seem to recall just taking my temp when I woke up and trying to keep that as close to the same time as possible every day. Her book also was good for showing you why the charts are important or interesting.

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  2. If 'Life' is my theme, then I need to get one that's more exciting!

    I know you're supposed to take it at the same time everyday. Because I don't get up at the same time everyday, it's just as easy for me to set my alarm super early, take it, then go back to sleep. I just wish the cat was on board with this.

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  3. I think blogs should include pictures and often! And you do have a theme -- it is your life abroad, experiencing a new culture, even if you don't go on and on about missing America. Sometimes we do like it in Ireland and writing about the outside perspective (even in the good and bad) is always awe4some.

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  4. I totally relate to your theme-less issues! I used to write about Squidge but really at almost 4 do you really care that we went to ANOTHER park? If you figure it out let me know!

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  5. Hi Kim,

    There are blogs one reads for whatever reason but I think ultimately we really like to read other people is because we want and need to feel inspired. I do read a lot of expat blogs (as I am fast approaching my move date). I want to have some semblance of normalcy. I don't really care about the cultural differences per se, though those are often very interesting and sometimes disturbing topics. I want to read about how people make the most of a difficult situation. It's like a support group. It doesn't matter to me whether you post photography (which I love btw), travel commentaries, DIY tips, or even *gulps* fertility stuff (cervical mucous?!?), It's all informative and this has been one of the most honest, real, blogs I've ever read. That is why I visit...

    Erika

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  6. You're blog may not have a "theme" persay but I still enjoy it just the same. And, I agree with Liz, the more pictures the better! After a while a big block of unbroken up text can seem too much, a picture here or there helps break it up. Not to mention who doesn't like peeking into someone else's life every now and again?

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  7. My blog doesn't have a "theme" either. It's been about my life here in England for my family in the US, but really it's just a public diary. I write anything and everything. Well, not everything, because everyone I know has the address, so it is quite censored.

    I love your blog the way it is. I don't think you should feel pressure to stick to a theme.

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  8. It's a personal blog - which gives you lots of flexibility to talk about anything you want! :)

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  9. Thanks for the comments everyone! It does make me feel better knowing that people (other than my parents) actually read this blog and enjoy it!

    I'll continue on with the theme of 'life' and just hope things get a bit more exciting around here!

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  10. Yes to all of the above! I know what you mean though, it can be hard to find the balance between honesty and Too Much Info. Write whatever pops into your head :)

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  11. Hi Kim,
    I just came across your blog and I think it's wonderful. I too am from Baltimore and my boyfriend is from London. I'm looking forward to reading your old posts! Keep up the good work :)
    -P.B.

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  12. Yay for Baltimore! I'm having a serious bout of homesickness lately, so that made me smile. I hope things work out with you and you're able to make it to London permanently! Thanks for reading my blog!

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  13. Hi Kim,

    I can really relate to this post. I've been living in London now for just about three years and at first my blog was about finding my first job after graduating from college/uni. There were a lot of things to blog about since it took me 7 months to find my first job! Once I started working I found that I couldn't really write about what was going on at work, because I wanted to be respectful of people's privacy. So I was again just writing about expat life.

    I feel like I am at the point where I want to move beyond just moaning about how different everything is and how I wish I was back home....because I don't really feel that way anymore.

    Don't get me wrong, I still like to have a good moan now and then, but I want to write about what life is like abroad.

    I enjoy reading your posts and I've never found them boring at all! Keep up the blogging!!

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  14. I love your blog! You've definitely been out and done a lot more than I have in Dublin. Your perspective on life is interesting and you take fabulous pictures! Keep going!!!

    PS- My blog doesn't have a theme either. It's all over the place.

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  15. Love your blog, just the way it is!

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