Art is always and everywhere the secret confession, and at the same time the immortal movement of its time. ~ Karl Marx
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I want to improve Don’t Forget To Feed The Baby.
It’s important to me that this blog be something that my followers look forward to reading, and that they think of fondly when they are not reading it.
So, in order to make this blog all that it can be, I have conceived my Blog Improvement Project. Over the last months, I have looked critically at other, more successful, blogs; I have analyzed what makes them so great; and I am now ready to copy emulate mirror incorporate the things that I perceive to be the keys to their success. I am ready to, incrementally, turn this into a cookie cutter successful blog.
Please join me, as I take Don’t Forget To Feed The Baby from blah to … well, whatever it will be when we’re done. Hooray!
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This week’s Blog Improvement Project was supposed to be, according to my made-up and completely-arbitrary schedule, a Confessional Post.
My original intent was to talk about some of the many things that cause me great grief and pain, like Drew Barrymore and people who wear leggings as pants. It occurred to me, though, that this might be taken as making fun of people who write sincerely confessional blogs, many of which are beautifully written and genuinely moving. Since that really isn’t my intent, I decided to change tactics.
My next thought was to do a true confessional post. I worried about what I should talk about — my lifelong struggle with depression and social anxiety? The two miscarriages that I had before Sausage came along? My dying grandmother, and the regrets I harbor at never having known her better? My fears that I will pass on my neuroses and emotional baggage to my innocent son? I became really depressed thinking about it all. I’ve never been a journal-er; I talk about my problems with therapists, close friends, and some family members, but I don’t find writing about it to be terribly cathartic, and I don’t much like the idea of sharing the intimate details of my struggles with the public at large. Maybe someday I will want to blog about some of these things, but right now I’m not ready for that.
Sad Kathy is sad.
I thought about how I don’t even much like to read confessional blogs, just like I don’t like to watch deeply emotional or disturbing movies, or read books from Oprah’s Book Club. I like comedy, I like action and adventure, fantasy and science fiction — in other words, escapism. Reality has too many triggers for me. I like to keep things light.
This led me to think about this blog. I started it in order to share my baby food recipes, but it very quickly evolved into a humor blog. I can’t even entirely comfortably call it a parenting blog, since I don’t really write about parenting — I write about my life, about the things that I find funny, and it just happens that I’m also a parent. I write this blog to entertain anyone who happens to appreciate my brand of humor (which isn’t everyone — if I ever do have a real confessional post, remind me to tell you about all the people who think I’m NOT. FUNNY. AT. ALL.)
Furthermore, I write this blog to entertain myself. Finding things to laugh at, to make fun of, helps me to retain perspective. It’s hard to cry when you’re busy laughing. I write this blog to get myself out of my head.
So there’s my confession. I didn’t really know what I was trying to do here. I knew that I needed a creative outlet, and that I was having fun writing, but I didn’t really have a purpose. This part of the project has helped me to figure out my purpose with all of this — I write this blog because it keeps me laughing. Hopefully, what I write here resonates with my readers and helps to keep all of you laughing as well. Because you know what? Life is pretty ridiculous. Sometimes we all just need to get out of our heads enough to recognize that.
See? This is pretty ridiculous. “I laugh and then I will eat your face! OM NOM NOM.”
Don't Forget to Feed the Baby 
In early 2011, I took a couple of months off from blogging to think about why I wanted to blog and what I wanted to write about. It took a while longer to really take shape, but I’m happy with where I am now. I think a lot of us face this question at one point or another.
I feel like this is a work in progress. At least now I have a clearer idea of why I’m writing and what sorts of things I want to write about, even if I still don’t really know where it’s going.
There are so many blogs out there — this one works for me! Yay!
Thanks!
There ain’t nothing wrong with keeping it light! Some of my best friends have been my best friends for that very reason. Also, I like the tights/Drew Barrymore idea!
There’s nothing to like about Drew Barrymore wearing leggings as pants. It’s a sign of the coming apocalypse. The jegging apocalypse.
I guess that’s one good thing about having no vision when I started my blog. Random was the best I could come up with. 🙂 Now I have no standards to live up to. I think you are doing a stand up job by the way.
Thank you! I hadn’t really intended to have any breakthroughs with this part of my project … it was all supposed to be tongue in cheek. But hey, it never hurts to know why you’re doing the things you’re doing, right?
I think that is okay, perhaps even good. Putting your writing out there and simply doing things is far better than the alternative of planning and planning and planning and never actually starting because you haven’t yet made a decision.
I do sometimes think that I should maintain some ties to my baby food roots. At this point, though, it would all be, “Toast a piece of bread. Put cream cheese on it. Cut it into tiny bits.”
I hear you, Kathy. There are times when I say a silent prayer to the gods of whole wheat bread, all-natural peanut butter, and organic jams. I even pretend I am doing something good for her.
I could write a baby food blog. I’d call it, Things You Can Make That Your Children Won’t Eat or “That’s ‘SGusting”. I don’t know that it would catch on though.
Well, Sausage did eat my food, but the blog didn’t catch on anyway until I moved toward the funny stuff … now I have literally tens of followers, some of whom even read regularly. I have hit the big time!
Me too! We must organize a lunch for mildly successful, semi-read bloggers to celebrate ourselves and our awesomeness.
At what point are we mildly successful, though? Because I’m still wicked excited when I break 100 views in one day.
That sounds like success to me. I’m happy that I’m not just writing for an audience of one. And my daughter is incredibly impressed that I have my very own website. I declare us SUCCESSFUL! Somebody get us a cocktail.
COCKTAILS ALL AROUND!
Wow! I could have written this confession. I also find too many triggers in reality. I don’t (generally) like to read other people’s cathartic writing. There are plenty of sorrows out there without me throwing mine all over the Internet. For the most part I write because it’s fun and entertaining for me. I hope it’s entertaining for others.
Excellent post!
Thank you!
it is your space..do with it what you like and we will read! You rock…
Thank you! Next up: scanned pictures of my pasty white butt. MY SPACE MY RULES.
haaa it cannot compete with my flat ass but you can try
I don’t mind other people’s cathartic writing, but I loathe my own.
Ha! Maybe sometime I’ll get really drunk and share some of the incredibly bad poetry I used to write when I was really depressed. It’s pretty terrifying.
I can’t read my own because it makes me want to light myself on fire. I should write a poem about that.
I like the idea of a confession blog, but I’m with you…I can’t really stomach the idea of sharing the really serious feelings type stuff with the world. Making people laugh is more fun anyway 🙂
That’s true. We are the party animals of the blogosphere. Let other people be all serious — we will wear funny hats and curse violently!
It takes a lot of courage to “confession blog” so thanks for even the small snippets of inside stuff you revealed. Keep up with the humour stuff too – you’re good at it.
Yeah, I’ll stick with what I know — deflecting through humor.
“I don’t like to watch deeply emotional or disturbing movies, or read books from Oprah’s Book Club. I like comedy, I like action and adventure, fantasy and science fiction — in other words, escapism. Reality has too many triggers for me. I like to keep things light.”
DITTO FOR ME!!! I am so superficial and undeep. Given time, even horrible events get written up with a wry twist.
The thing is, I’m too deep. I can’t watch things with heavily emotional impact because it hits me too hard. Especially when a book or movie hits on something close to my heart, it can really set me off into depression. That’s why I keep things fluffy — real life has plenty of drama for me.
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It’s so considerate of you to want to improve your blog, for the sake of your readers and for theoverall good of the blogosphere. While I think your blog is pretty spiffy, I would suggest adding some festive entertainment–perhaps someone juggling a golf ball, a bowling ball, and a blow torch (but of course nothing rowdy enough to wake the baby). Just a thought…
I’ll have to add that to my list of things that I may-or-may-not do. Thanks for the tip!
Is buying a pair of leggings like the ones Drew Barrymore is wearing, also on your list?
NO. That is NOT on my list. But if I did buy a pair of leggings like that, I would wear them under a very long shirt or a skirt, because LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS. This is a very important issue, and one that doesn’t get enough attention, as it’s always outshone by things like drugs and cancer. I’M TRYING TO RAISE AWARENESS HERE.
I like your humor!! And will be interested to see how the “improvement project” unfolds!
Thank you! I’m interested to see that as well.
jeggings. no. leggings that look like jeans. no. i just wanted to say that. and that i am enjoying your blog. i love your humor and feck it that you’re not talking about babyfood. i know that’s not supposed to be one word, but i’m too tired to hit space bar. anyway, we’ll get back to babies and gaybies when we’re ready. i’ll take the merriment in the meanwhile, anytime. much love, sm
Feck baby food. I’m on a crusade to end the misuse of leggings by American women. Someone has to end the insanity.