Some personal pondering and updates
I’ve been working on two new project blog posts and then decided to take a break and write another personal blog post instead. For my blog, a lot of things have been happening behind the scenes that just way heavily on my mind. These are things that people who still read blogs probably don’t even know about. I just feel like talking about them to get my worries off my chest. But first let’s talk family…
Personal
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The kids
Our son headed back to college for his senior year at Temple last week. And our daughter started her senior year in high school. I can’t believe that I have two seniors now. Of course, this has all kept me busy. Now we are in the midst of her last soccer season and looking into colleges for her.
Unfortunately, she is starting her soccer season sad and down on herself. I won’t miss these mind games played by coaches that’s for sure. It does such damage to already low self-esteem. But I shouldn’t even talk about stuff like this on my blog or I’ll get in trouble and it will get further taken out on my daughter. It’s always the worst feeling having to take it all and not being able to speak up.
Hopefully, the rest of her senior year will be better memories than her senior soccer season.
This is also the time when I reminisce about her journey and how far she has come. Only you guys who have followed me from the beginning know about her struggles for the first 7 years of her life with severe sensory issues and gut health.
Just look at her on her first day of Kindergarten 🥺 with the best big brother:
I had her senior photos taken by a photographer and can’t wait to get them. If you are local check out Britt D’Agostino Photography. You might wonder why I didn’t take those photos myself again like I did for our son. Well, I figured we’d fight less because she is definitely nicer to a stranger than she is to me. It’s less stressful for me that’s for sure!
The furry kids
I don’t know if you saw that I built Frank a ladder to the second-floor window to my son’s bedroom. He definitely misses my son’s nightly company in the bedroom and I have resorted to sleeping half of the night with him. Yeah, I’m crazy! All three indoor cats still hate him so much.
And Maya has gained some weight again and is doing well on her chemo, steroids, and thyroid meds. It has been a lot of work to get her to feel better. According to our vet, she can live with small cell lymphoma like this for many years. Of course, this has made finding pet sitters who are affordable and willing to deal with giving meds a challenge.
I also wanted to share with you quickly that my neighbors bought a prefinished catio and it cracks me up when one of their 3 cats always peeks over the fence at us. Just look at him.
Blogging
There is a massive shift in the blogging community and I don’t know if a small blog like mine can keep existing successfully. A lot of our blogs got hammered with updates from Google and Pinterest with some seriously bad results. I’m not sure if you know that we make money from the ads that are on our sites. The more pageviews we get, the more money we make. Small blogs obviously already don’t make a ton of money but it has been a nice small income for me to be able to stay at home and do what I love which is creating and being creative. Last year was pretty great, to be honest. This year not at all…
A lot of the highest-earning blogs are food blogs because everyone needs to eat and recipes are highly searchable on Google. But there are also major websites that are big businesses with a lot of staff to be able to crank out a ton of content which are also a problem for small websites like mine because I can’t compete with them and their domain authorities or ability to publish a large amount of quality content.
So have any of you googled something lately? If so have you noticed that the first-page search results are mostly sponsored content, retail websites selling their products, and AI-generated content answering your questions instead of blogs? Or you get lots of YouTube video results.
While Google always says they want to make everything a better user experience, I call it all BS because they simply just geared it towards retail and making the most money for themselves. Hey, they are a major company. This is so layered and there is so much more to it.
If you want to help out smaller websites, try skipping the first page in Google search results and maybe head to the 2nd or 3rd page to view that content.
You might also think, why should I care about smaller websites when I can get it all on larger sites? Well if you are for supporting small businesses then this is basically the same thing.
Google’s updates have resulted in a lot of our blogs losing rankings in search which resulted in big pageview declines. But, this isn’t all…
My blog always heavily relied on traffic from Pinterest. I have very visual content with projects that might not be searchable on Google since people don’t even know the project exists. So this is where Pinterest has always been great for me to be discovered. People saw my project’s image and then headed over to check it out.
Have you guys still been using Pinterest? Have you noticed that barely any cool projects and ideas show up anymore? That platform now is also geared towards retail websites or making money with affiliate links on images that don’t lead to blogs. For example, people pin images from Instagram, and Pinterest then tag products on those images and make money from that. They are penalizing blogs now and their algorithm doesn’t show our pins to a lot of users anymore. My traffic from Pinterest has dropped 50% which is devastating. That means 50% less income!!!
Pottery Barn chair makeover | mussel seashell flowers | DIY fluted lampshade | rattan cat bed | no-sew sink skirt | my new ottoman | pipa knot wall hanging | DIY mushroom ornaments | paper doilie stars | Christmas home tour | DIY Mexican pottery ornaments | DIY scary burlap mask
Social Media
Social media apps like Instagram and TikTok are driving me crazy. I can’t and don’t want to obsess about them but I guess I should. You can only be successful on those platforms for your own business growth if you are constantly posting engaging content. It is exhausting and not fun. It’s killing my creativity. I post when I feel like it and have something to share instead of bombarding people with posts which resulted in nobody seeing my posts anymore.
I’m also so sick of seeing older projects that content creators created who have been around for a long time like me, presented by popular influencers as if they came up with the idea.
I’m starting to feel like an old lady who can’t keep up with the latest rules for content creators anymore. It is very hard for one person to be successful in this business anymore unless you hire others. To me that then also loses the authenticity you had when it was just you.
So I’m starting to ponder the thought of getting a different job and giving up unless something changes for the better again which I doubt. If everything keeps declining, then I have no other choice. Maybe I’ll work for one of the big blogs (sigh).
So that’s it and if you made it to the end of this post then thanks so much!
Tschüß and have a great labor day weekend.
I love reading your updates and always get excited when I see the little cuckoo clock notification on my phone💕 whatever your next season in life is I’m sure you’ll make it exciting!
Oh thanks so much Amanda! See you Sunday!
Julia….you have been such an inspiration …. with your creativity, your aesthetic, & the love that you & your family have with those marvelous kitties! If maintaining your cherished blog is now stressful & no longer fun for you, then I would consider taking a break for your own well-being, & perhaps ponder new ways to express yourself. Whatever you decide…..know that you have kept me intrigued & profoundly grateful for all you do for for your kitties.
Thank you so much! It is so good to hear that I have kept you intrigued. And we will always show love to all the kitties.
I love your blog. Thanks for the explanation of Google and Pinterest searches. It explains so much.
Thanks Betty for reading and sticking around. I am glad it explained a lot to you.
Yours is one of the very few I look forward to reading. I would be sorry to see you go though I understand your frustration. I used to be a big Pinterest fan but I can’t remember the last time I checked it. Thanks for the update and I hope you continue sharing your fabulous and creative ideas.
Thanks Nancy. And me too, I used to be such a fan. It was so fun to discover things. I can’t remeber when the last time was that I actually found something inspiring and new on there. Even recipes used to be fun to discover on Pinterest.
I think you have the best blog out there…i know it must be so expensive and time consuming…i have been fighting cancer for over 5 years and really enjoy you ideas and macrame items so much…no one else knows how to do that…if you want food any old site has that..ugh…love your family…daughter is so beautiful..i know i tell my daughter that all the time tooo but ha..ha! love to you always and hope to see you all the time……
Hi Lynda, I am so sorry you are fighting cancer and hope you are getting well. And thank you so much for reading my blog. I appreciate so much! And thanks for the sweet compliment about my daughter.
I’ve followed you for many years, have been inspired by so much of your content and would truly miss your blog if it ended. But I know your next chapter will bring success, too! Many good wishes to you.
Thanks Phil, I don’t want to give up yet but if it declines further, I don’t really have a choice. Thanks so much for following along and reading!
I have always enjoyed reading your blog. I hear ya, anything owned by “Google” is a small business killer, its sad to watch. I personally avoid/skip any sponsored content recommended by Google. It’s a shame about Pintrest – it seems everything Google touches turns to do-doo, and it’s not about supporting the smaller individual folks. Anyhow, have a wonderful Labor day!
You are right Tammara, maybe this blog post will put me on the complete shit list with them now 😉 And bigger website doesn’t mean the content is better quality. It’s usually the small sites that are better quality. And I’m also not writing with the help of AI which should also be considered higher qulity. There are so many sites now that just write content with AI which is so bad. Have a great Labor Day weekend as well.
You are one of the few blogs I still read! Instagram has become too commercial and Facebook allows fraud sites! I feel bad that your creativity is being stifled. I know whatever your future holds will be wonderful! Empty nest is another hurdle coming up! Wishing you and yours the very best of luck!
PS Your daughter is gorgeous like her Mama!
Yes empty nest will be a change. I think my son will move home for a bit though until he has his student loans paid off before he moves out completely. So we won’t be empty nesters yet when our daughter heads to college.
Thanks for the update!
1. Our second grader has sensory issues and so do I. It’s interesting to learn that your family has experienced them as well.
2. Best of luck with all the changes to blogging and social media. For what it’s worth, I much prefer more personal blogs that prioritize real content such as yours. I am also starting to really dislike how many blog post are clearly written with AI. Arrrg! Real, human content matters so much!
3. I definitely delve deep into Google search results, but thanks for the reminder about how important this habit is.
Yes Corrie, so many blogs write with AI and it’s so frustrating. There are no rules or laws to protect our blogs either from AI scraping our content and regurgitating it.
Did you ever check out my old blog posts about my daughter? The doctor’s here in the US had no clue how to help her and wanted to put her on psych meds. She acted and looked crazy. My friend in Germany finally helped her. She is a natural practitioner and figured out that she had a severe yeast overgrowth in her gut, candida. A very strict diet finally changed everything for her. I will be forever grateful to her.
And thanks so much for reading!
So sorry you’re having to deal with these issues! I’ve always enjoyed your blog and hope you’re able to continue. Your daughter is gorgeous!!!
Thanks Jen, it would break my heart to have to stop blogging.
Julia, I wish you all the best on the blog. Remember when it just used to be a fun past time and there were so many of us doing it just to be in community with each other. I remember all the discussion about adding advertisements on blogs. Many bloggers were divided on the issue and now we take it for granted. I enjoy your blog very much- especially your awesome crafty home decor projects. Hope you’ll hang in there- things might improve, right?
Hi Bettsi, and yes I remeber those days well. It was an awesome community and so much fun back then. And thank you so much.
Glad to hear what you and your family are up to and was especially pleased to hear that your daughter is doing well…remember her struggles since I have followed your blog for many years.
Thanks so much Judy for following along all those years. I really appreciate it.
I love your blog! I like reading about your kitties and all the projects you’ve done. I enjoy seeing your kids and trips to Germany. I hope things will work out and you can keep blogging.
I had to laugh about you using a photographer for your daughter because she would be nicer to her. Isn’t it funny how kids can be like that, mine too!!
Take care and I’ll continue reading your blog for as long as I see it, hopefully for a long time!
She is killing me right now with her attitude and I get it she is unhappy right now. It makes me so sad and I guess you always let it out on the people you love the most. And thanks somuch for reading and following along. I really appreciate it.
I love your posts and have been following you and your family and kitties. I hope everything works out okay. Never give up is my saying. Many hugs
Debby
Thanks Debbie, I’m not giving up yet but I might be forced into it at some point. Thanks so much for following along and reading my blog posts.
I really enjoy reading your posts, seeing pictures of you decor projects and keeping up with the news of your kitties.
Thanks for explaining about the business of “content.”
Good luck with whatever you decide about your career direction. I’m sure it will be memorable!
Sarah
Thank you Sarah for the sweet words.
I think you just have to do what is best for you. I can honestly say I am SO MUCH HAPPIER with a different job, not trying to keep up with all the trends. I feel more connected to life than ever. It was hard to break away from it because it had almost become a “habit” and I did like connecting with people online, but I am just in a better place without it.
Yes Cassie, I can see how that makes you happier for sure. One thing I know is that I want to keep working at home. It is my happy place. I know that going into an office/workplace wouldn’t make me happy. It would also break my heart to leave all the kitties who are so used to me being home. Finding other work that you can do at home is the problem 🙁