Brown rice with cream of cannellini beans, roasted garlic-infused olive oil and baby spinach

I was just reading a comment to a blogging friend's new post and unexpectedly got inspiration for my own post.

A few weeks ago I mentioned some of my pet peeves in the kitchen. Today I present you with a list of blogging pet peeves.

1. 'Please read my post before you leave a comment' or 'Commenting is not mandatory'

I know there is much more important stuff going on in the world than my blog. I understand that cutting your toenails is a more practical way to spend your time than reading my post. I even get it if you happen upon my blog, you scroll through the pictures and leave because: a) you don't like the recipe; b) you think the pictures are bad; 3) the design just gets on your nerves. I get it. I've been there, I've done it. But why, o why do you leave a comment that blatantly proves you did not read a word of what I just wrote? We all know why, but don't do it, don't be a traffic whore, people won't click onto your blog after reading your comment anyway.

The same goes for people who do read your post but don't really pay that much attention and comment anyway. I love getting comments, I love interacting, I really do. But if you are in a rush and don't feel like reading the whole post, don't feel obliged to leave a comment: a) that blatantly shows that you didn't get my point AT ALL because you just skimmed through the post; b) asking me how I am enjoying life in Florence if I just mentioned more than once that I live in Milan.

2. Why the heck can't I comment on some blogs?

There are a few blogs I follow that I have problems commenting on, but not all the time. Just nine out of ten times. It drives me bananas. On one I usally can't even get my cursor into the comment space. On another I write away only to click onto publish and watch it load endlessly to no avail. Beats me. 

3. Unrelated links in my comment space.

I am pretty new to blogging and I have surfed the blogosphere and left comments (and still do sometimes) mentioning posts in them too, but: 1) I always mention a post that was somehow related to the topic; 2) I rarely leave a link to my posts and if I have, there was a specific reason. Normally I just mention I posted on the topic and people are free to visit me if they are further interested.

Also, I always make an effort to visit the blogs of all those who leave comments and I often link to blogs I enjoy. Meaning I am happy to help people increase their traffic, but perhaps if you leave a funny or interesting comment, people will be more curious to check you out.

4. Typos

We all make typos, we all sometimes miss a few of them here and there. I probably made some right here and don't realize it. But if each and every post is filled with typos, then you are not revising what you wrote. Which is fine if you are writing in your journal but not as fine if your journal is a public blog. In my opinion at least.

5. Why do I keep coming back?

I read some of the blogs I follow on Blogger, others are in my blogroll and many more are in the Favorites of my browser. Each time I read through this list there are some links I skip automatically and some other links I click onto but groan inside as I do so. While I read them I keep checking how much is missing to the end. Why do I keep coming back? Why do I feel forced to? Why I am I wasting my time reading when there is so much good stuff out there? (Note to self: remember to use the same approach with books and articles). The solution is: delete. Delete if that blog is ok but the author irritates the hell out of you every time you read a post. Delete if the blog is just plain boring. Delete if the pictures are so bad or the font is so tiny or weird that you skip on to the next blog as quickly as you can. Delete if you are reading that blog because it was one of the first you discovered and you are sentimental, but to be honest you really don't like it that much. Delete if you dislike the blog even if everyone else is raving about it. Delete if that blog is torture to read but the author left you a nice comment eons ago when nobody commented yet and you feel an obligation towards them. Same goes for a blogger you are not into that comments all the time. Just delete. I comment on people's blogs that I enjoy even if they never visit mine. Who cares, if you love what they do? Delete those blogs that you log onto more often than their authors do. If they haven't written a post in 16 months, they probably won't in the next 16 either.

What are your blogging pet peeves?

To post or not to post?

I started writing this post after commenting on a blogging friend's post this morning, but it had really started forming in my mind last night when I was sorting through some pictures for my blog. I was wondering what I would write about today, what I should post. I had no recipe I considered post-worthy, no eye candy and I was also feeling a tad uninspired. The truth is, I wanted to be passed out in front of the TV, not sitting at a desk working. The kids were finally in bed and asleep and I felt like I was going through the motions of yet another daily chore.

Empty wash machine

Load wash machine

Empty dishwasher

Sort socks

Write names on 50 diapers for daycare

Edit pictures for blog

Wait, since when has my blog become a chore?

I love this blog, it is my newest born child. I nurture it, I think about it throughout the day and I look forward to spending time with it. It is my creative outlet, my space to be me and not somebody's mother or wife or colleague.

I think what happened is that I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. With the summer approaching quickly and the markets brimming with promise, filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables that we haven't seen in months, I feel like I should be cooking up a storm but I am not and this makes me feel frustrated. I feel like I never have time: time to make a decent meal, time to take a good picture, time to even get to the supermarket. I read about people who have cues of recipes to post and I feel like I am struggling to keep up and this dries up my creative juices.

Time is always the problem, it always has been. In the winter my blogging life was a rush to capture light. By the time I got home it was dark and the only meals I could photograph decently were the ones I made on the week end. Fine, I adjusted. I made a few good eats on Saturday and Sunday and wrote about them during the week. Now spring is here and I finally have the light (I know, that sounds like a sentence stolen from some Fantasy movie) but I never get home early enough to cook because playground season has started and we are often away on the week ends making even our weekly trip to the supermarket to stock up tricky.

Basically, what I am saying is that sometimes you have to stop, breathe and tell yourself to take it easy. Life is full of obligations and responsibilities and chores. Mine is about constantly rushing from one place to the next, feeling guilty at work because I have kids, feeling guilty with my kids because they are enrolled in each and every after-school and summer activity the school has to offer. So if it is Friday and I ain't got nothing to post or to tell the world, I won't post.

Because posting and blogging is supopsed to be fun, because there is always someone out there who has something interesting to say or bake if I don't, because posting is not my job and there are no deadlines (unless I choose them) and if I don't post for a week it is not the end of the world.

Sometimes you just need to sit back and recharge your batteries and follow the example of something as simple as my homemade vanilla extract. This baby is resting in a dark cool place and let me tell you, it is thriving.

Lesson learned.

Have a great weekend!