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I've been that way for a few weeks now. I feel bad about it. I have a lot of stuff on my plate, school ending, a volunteer project, applying for a job, racing bikes and packing for a 3 week vacation. I have a half-made bear sitting there looking at me...well sort-of, because she doesn't have eyes. 
My husband lost my card-reader and didn't get me a new one for a week and I think people got bored with my blog.
I also have a question for you...I visit blogs that will have a photo of a coffee cup as their only entry for the week and have 67 comments on the photo. This is a craft blog, mind you and this will be a pic of a regular 'ole coffee cup with coffee in it and people will go hog wild with comments. I don't get it.
Maybe will make a leg today. Maybe I have PMS.
Apple Dumpling DesignsI don't get it either...and who cares. Just be you!! Your blog is wonderful. I check it out all the time and love it. If you post something new...great...if not I check back another day. I think that's what blogs are about...just keeping in touch. I hardly have any comments on mine and for about 2.5 seconds my feelings were a wee bit hurt and thought maybe it was stupid, and boring but then I just got over it and moved on with what's really important to me and comments on my blog is not high on my priority list. :)
Do what you can...creativity comes in waves...at least for me it does.
q.D.paToOtieSJennifer,
You sound like you need a BIG HUG and some CHOCOLATE! You are probably one of the most creative people I know and your bears just ooze cuteness. I read your Blog last night and check it frequently despite your hubby losing your card reader. I love seeing what you are going to do next and was amazed at your racing mountain bikes. I wish I was more motivated to exercise!
And as for comments on a Blog, I don't get it either. I mean, there are days when I don't get a single comment and in the beginning I felt kind of discouraged asking myself why am I doing this if no one reads it? Now, I do it for ME! It's therapy I swear. I feel so much better after starting it because I've secretly always wanted to be a writer and now I get to do it. It's like I have a mini magazine - I'm so tickled. I'd have 50 Blogs if I could keep up!
Anyway, another big hug to you just because I think you're great and you should too!
P.S. A three week vacation. :dance: Now I could go for that I think! Take plenty of pics! :photo:
BruinwerksI subscribe to and read your blog all the time Jennifer! I guess I'm just not a comment leaver generally. You have also introduced me to lots of other great blogs that I enjoy reading.
Everyone goes through the "I don't feel so creative" blahs. It does pass but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now and I think our brains kind of prioritize for us. Have a great holiday and then come back ready to go!
Cheryl 
Oh Jennifer, I can so relate to how you feel . I have been in a slump all week. I have been working on a bear and am forcing myself to finish. I just feel really uninspired and at times wonder if I want to make bears anymore. I really hope it is just the absolutely horrid, cold, wet weather here. It is soooo depressing-where is spring ?? I hope this wave passes soon for both of us.
As for the blog, that is precisely why I don't have one. I would take it so personally if no one commented - stupid I know, but I'm insecure. But, I love reading others , your included . Hang in there, I think we need these slump times to re-evaluate life and wait for some new inspiration. Maybe it is just burnout from all you have going on. Go do something totally fun an just for you. I think I'm going to go shopping 
:hug: :hug: :hug:
WisconsinJennifer, I feel the same way, but for me it is finding the time. I finished Nancy Tillberg's Bear Designing class over a month ago and my half sewn bear is still sitting on my sewing machine. I agree this time of year is extremely busy. From now until school is out we have band concerts, awards banquets, a medieval festival, mini courses, a piano recital, and baseball, baseball, and more baseball. I think about mid June I should be able to finish my bear, but better late than never, Right!
Your blog is perfect, don't change a thing.
Lynn
I have a lot of stuff on my plate, school ending, a volunteer project, applying for a job, racing bikes and packing for a 3 week vacation.
I also have a question for you...I visit blogs that will have a photo of a coffee cup as their only entry for the week and have 67 comments on the photo. This is a craft blog, mind you and this will be a pic of a regular 'ole coffee cup with coffee in it and people will go hog wild with comments. I don't get it.
I think you answered your own first problem in this line Jennifer..... you have way too much on the go to be very creative or even have any time to stab or stitch. Where and when would you manage to do it?...in the middle of a bike race? perhaps while warming up?... perhaps you need to just slow down.... take some time to enjoy the other things that you are doing. They are all important...at least as important as creating...or...if they aren't.... say :"NO" and do what you enjoy. Sometimes we let ourselves be bamboozled into doing things that we don't want to do and then regret saying yes. I am getting really bad now... older and wiser and all that.... finally I just say no. It irks the hell out of some folks..but you know what? .... life is too short to do what I don't want to do any more. My grumpy old Dad use to tell me that I shouldn't wait til I was 80 to do what I darn well pleased. I should have listened and begun even earlier than I have. Now it is your turn... decide on priorities ...and ... go for it.
Also... about the blogs..... hey..!! You still haven't added mine to your list!! There is one more thing on your "to do" list...lol
Like Shantell, I also go to your blog regularly..find it very intersting.. love the pics and your ideas about things....but only leave comments on occasion. If I am not the first person to make note of something on people's blogs...or if I don't have a quirky, or cute or funny comment that I think looks good on there.... ....then most of the time I don't bother to add one that is just another of the same........sorry..... but I am there.....honest I am.
When I first began my blog ...I expected peoplel to show up in droves too......well, okay... expected at least a few if not a lot of comments... it just doesn't happen. Don't worry...doesn't mean they are not out there. Every so often something catches their interst and they all jump on the bandwagon.....much like on here. Look at the silly threads that bring every single TTer out of the woodwork. And some days dozens will post exactly the same sentiments to a thready....what good is that? Who needs to look at 15 posts saying the same things? NOt interesting to me.... I prefer things that are a bit of a learning experience,... perhaps even add someting to my thinking for the day...etc....
Carry on Jennifer....don't rush it... don't force it......your little creations are wonderful.... they are amazing to see when one presets...but it is great that you are also interested in activity and in your health, proper diet..... and in family and related things to that..... you do have a lot going on and should be enjoying it all. Shantell is right ......our blogs and creating things are not what life is all about. That is just a small part of it really. In your heart you know it....perhaps you are just having a slightly introspective type of day and are reaching out a bit.... searching for some answers to a few things....
Tomorrow could be a whole other ball game. You could come up with a brand new little creation that will knock our socks off. Or not... it might not be til next month...... don't fret....we will be here waiting to see it when it happens.....
oh, and one more thing...man, am I long winded today or what?..... .....about blogs.....
Maybe you could find your way around to a few blogs of others once in a while and leave comments of your own or even just the occasional "hiya". That gets your own blog addy out there; more folks will see it and soon...have to check our your blog... cuz they see it here, there and everywhere. It is kinda like..... "she told two friends...and she told two friends"..... you know the scenario.....
Brother...I was sooooo long winded everybody got in there before I even got it posted....good comments all and half of what I was trying to say...hahahhahha
Look what we awoke to this morning Tammy...
the branches of the tress are groaning under the weight of the wet snow..
I'm another one who reads your blog regularly, but I rarely leave a comment on anyone's blog!!!
I began to wonder whether anyone was checking-out my blog, so I added a visitor counter, and lo and behold I found out that I was not the only person who looked at my blog!!!! 
It may be worth adding a counter to your own blog, if you wanted to know if people had visited?
Have a great trip!!! :hug:
yes...but don't forget to count the number of times u go there to check if a visitor goes there...it seems to count us too...even going back and forth to do the editing if I am not getting visitors while I am doing that.
Also... about the blogs..... hey..!! You still haven't added mine to your list!! There is one more thing on your "to do" list...lol
Done Veronica!
I know I've been lazy about updating. I am not so much bothered by the amount of my visitors, I just didn't want to disappoint the folks that visit. I can view who is visiting and how many people are visiting each day. I can view where I am getting hits. I was getting repeat hits from a Polish site. I finally went there and interpreted what they were saying about me. It was a craft chat board and they had been linking to my blog and tutorials. Pretty cool. I am still getting traffic even with my lame photos. 
I just wanted to know if other people had slumps too. I visit some blogs that aren't updated in months so i guess I can't feel so bad.
I told my sister that the end of the school year is comparable to "Christmas Stress." It can get ridiculous. 
Waggle BearsJennifer, you are so creative. I think all of us feel as you do one time or another. I love your blog and I check in with everyone's blog every day...maybe not every blog every day...but I go through them over a period of several days.
I most often don't leave a comment either. It doesn't mean I don't love your bears and your blog. I've just started a blog so I would appreciate your adding me to your list. Maybe you'll come back from vacation all revived and with school ending, maybe things will settle down. I remember my kids in school. It seems to me to be very stressful about the first month and again at the end of the year with so much going on.
Lisa said Hugs and chocolate...great idea. :hug: :hug: :hug:
so I would appreciate your adding me to your list.
Done!!!
I ate some fresh guacamole that I made. I think that will be my chocolate fix since I am not a chocolate lover. But I definitely feel that I ate the equivalent to a chocolate bar in calories.
Posts: 1,836I dig you Jennifer!! You crack me up with your observations!
I'm loving the blogging thing, I look forward to posting and I know that my fam and friends are peeking in, so anything on top of that is bonus for me right now. My observation on blogs (and I'll probably go there myself at some point...) are the photos of artistically strewn stuff. Those pics are my "coffee". I imagine the technique is like those painters who load up their brushes and flick paint....I picture crafters taking out the buttons, rickrack, sequins and calico fabrics and doing the same...just artfully chucking them along the table for a photo op. That makes me giggle...it's not a bad thing, it's just a funny thing for me. Someone did it once (probably Martha Stewart) and now it's the marker for "cool craft photo" And like I said I'll probably do it someday....maybe. 
As for the comments....some folks will always just get more signatures in their yearbooks. I never got lots of those, but the ones I got.... did then and still do mean a lot to me. It's the quality, not the quantity.
:hug: :hug:
~Chrissi
PS...This holiday weekend I finally will have the time to sit down, sort the blog list here and add all of the wonderful blogs !
I think we all go through phases of 'losing our mojo' Jennifer. Being creative takes a heap of energy and sometimes, that energy has to be diverted elsewhere, or nothing else would ever get done. I also find that when I've had a burst of creative inspiration and have worked really hard on my projects, I need to take a breather and have a little 'me' time, to give my batteries a chance to recharge.
As for the blogs, I love them! I often do the rounds to see what's been going on in everyone's worlds, but I don't always leave comments ... I know, shame on me! I really enjoy the opportunity they give for getting to know people in more detail than a website can usually achieve. When I started mine, I wasn't sure what direction to take with it, but made a conscious decision not to box myself into a corner with it by sticking solely to one subject ... so instead, I ramble! It's what I tend to do in real life, so it follows that my blog will work best in that way. As for comments, it's lovely to receive them and I make a point of responding, so that my visitors know I'm listening to them and enjoying what they have to share with me.
Veronica is very wise. You are doing an awful lot to add bear-making onto that list. As someone who also seems to live my life in bursts and fits, I encourage you to stop looking at that bear as Something I Should Have Done By Now, and think of it more as Something I'll Get To Do When The Craziness Settles Down.
It's been my personal experience that the number of comments I get is inversely proportional to the size of my own entry. If I write four screenfuls, I'll get no comments. In my last 50 entries, this is the post that got the most number of different people to comment: I miss hanging out at somebody's house and helping them pick out something to wear to the club, or a date.
Blogs are wierd, because on the one hand they're an effort to reach out and connect with the world, but on the other we have to learn not to expect that effort to be returned. If you want to get a sense of how often your blog is read, you could install some traffic monitoring software (I use http://www.statcounter.com ).
If you want to get a sense of how often your blog is read, you could install some traffic monitoring software
Typepad already has it built in. I can log into my account and view that as well as where all the hits are coming from.
Oh yea, so here's my super-creative-martha-stewart-i-love-my-kitchen shot with two days worth of dishes in the sink.
I can't believe I am posting this.
This was actually Mother's Day morning. Nice huh?
A. the flowers from my daughter
B. Bissell Green machine present (I do admit, this is what I wanted)
C. My coffee
D. Milk of Magnesia
And I actually have to use "B" today because my son smacked my daughter in the face last night and gave her a bloody nose during American Idol and me coloring my hair. I had no shirt on and goop all over my head.
This is why I need "D."
Apple Dumpling DesignsYou crack me up!!!!
Typepad already has it built in. I can log into my account and view that as well as where all the hits are coming from.
That's kind of like stalking your stalkers, isn't it. :crackup: :crackup:
Pardon my ignorance, but who's Martha Stewart? :doh:
Posts: 1,836Pardon my ignorance, but who's Martha Stewart? :doh:
Martha Stewart is a crafting, cooking, catering, gardening, retailing, book publishing, tv hosting, stock market queen :lol:, jack/"jill" of all trades. She does all of this to make us American girls feel inadequate ( 
kidding!!).
I like her magazine, it usually has some pretty good ideas throughout. Some are ridiculously far fetched, but most are pretty good.
:hug:
~Chrissi
Waggle BearsOh, Paula, I thought everyone world-wide knew Martha Stewart. She's complicated! She's very good at self-promoting...t.v. show...magazine Martha Stewart Living...cooking, cleaning, gardening, painting, crafting...you name it and she does it. Try this:
Some people love her and some hate her.
She's an ex-felon too. :thumbsup:
I still like Martha, always have. I subscribed to her magazine for YEARS. She's richer now than before she went to prison. She's obviously doing something right.
Posts: 8,574Oh you ladies are too funny.
Yes Miss Jennifer, we all feel uncreative at one time or another and sometimes at the most inconvient time as well.
When you fix dinner is every one of a 5 star quality? I know mine aren't-infact we are pushing things to even rack up a 2 star meal.
Its the same way with creativity.
I try something new-something I have been interested in but hadn't tried yet. Right now I am playing with sculpting-different, difficult,learning new things and developing an appreciation for sculpture artists.
The other thing I do is shop on e-bay, "ending soonest", for that hit of instant gratification, and usually lace as it is usually cheap and always usable. Sometimes it is piano babies or angels, but usually lace.
Its fun, and its different and yet the same. Quite Buddhist this, both and nonboth.
You'll get over it-something will spark your interest and get you going again, although I do believe Lisa had a point about that chocolate, in fact I think I shall have a wee piece, just for you!
gollyhugs
dilu
Yes i do believe i am feeling better, hope you are too...
