1. This week I've been CRAVING Panera's Green Goddess Cobb with Chicken Salad. I've thought about it many times every day. This is not unusual for me. My love for this salad cannot be overstated. I've been eating it for a few years and I can never get enough. I just had one for lunch last Saturday and I'm going to try to get another one this weekend. I usually customize mine by adding extra avocado and dressing (the dressing is soooo good!) and cancelling the bacon. I LOVE THIS SALAD! And I love Panera for making it!
2. Speaking of chicken, on Tuesdays I usually make a crockpot chicken dinner because Sam's piano lesson is at 5:00 so it's nice to come home to dinner that's already pretty much made. My love for crockpot chicken is another thing that cannot be overstated. I call it "crackpot chicken" because the chicken is so tender and warm and flavorful when I sample it directly from the crockpot that I usually can't stop myself from taking several more bites. I have a serious love for crackpot chicken!
3. I was going through an old list of blogs I used to read and almost every single one of them is no longer active. Ten years ago the blogging community was very active and there were so many bloggers who were supportive of one another--I had a lot of "blog friends" and we'd comment on each other's blogs all the time and we got to know each other pretty well through our blogs, but so much of that has gone away over the last several years. Now it's almost non-existent. There are the big popular money-making blogs and the small personal ones like mine and not too much in between, whereas there used to be a lot more in between and many, many more smaller blogs. I guess people don't blog as much anymore because it's not as trendy and popular and "new" as it once was, and I'm sure the rise of social media has a lot to do with it too. Plus, life is busy (but it was busy back then too, wasn't it?).
In any case, I continue to blog because the medium works for me. In large part it has replaced scrapbooking and photo albums for me. I have my blog printed out in books every so often so that we have physical copies of the family memories and other things that I chose to write about. It's also a good creative outlet for writing and picture-taking, so it helps me to keep my skills up.
I don't really blog that much for an audience anymore, although having a small one helps keep me motivated to edit and make things look nice (and I'm so thankful for every person who regularly takes the time to read my humble little blog!). I think I'll disable comments since hardly anyone ever comments anymore anyway. If you want to talk to me about something I post, talk to me or email or text me about it (or just fume about it to yourself, ha ha). I guess that's my way of modernizing my blog, instead of giving up on it altogether as so many others have done--and I don't mean that judgementally at all. I can definitely see how blogging can easily fall by the wayside and not be a priority in life for so many people. I just happen to have the time and desire to keep on doing it.
So even though there have been several close calls in which my blog has almost disappeared (and did in fact once actually disappear, thanks once again to the maddening antics of Google/Blogger), The Doll Sweet Journal is still very much alive and kicking! There was that big hiccup over the last few months when I couldn't post my pictures, but I defeated Google/Blogger once again in that battle and came out victorious. 🙌
In any case, I continue to blog because the medium works for me. In large part it has replaced scrapbooking and photo albums for me. I have my blog printed out in books every so often so that we have physical copies of the family memories and other things that I chose to write about. It's also a good creative outlet for writing and picture-taking, so it helps me to keep my skills up.
I don't really blog that much for an audience anymore, although having a small one helps keep me motivated to edit and make things look nice (and I'm so thankful for every person who regularly takes the time to read my humble little blog!). I think I'll disable comments since hardly anyone ever comments anymore anyway. If you want to talk to me about something I post, talk to me or email or text me about it (or just fume about it to yourself, ha ha). I guess that's my way of modernizing my blog, instead of giving up on it altogether as so many others have done--and I don't mean that judgementally at all. I can definitely see how blogging can easily fall by the wayside and not be a priority in life for so many people. I just happen to have the time and desire to keep on doing it.
So even though there have been several close calls in which my blog has almost disappeared (and did in fact once actually disappear, thanks once again to the maddening antics of Google/Blogger), The Doll Sweet Journal is still very much alive and kicking! There was that big hiccup over the last few months when I couldn't post my pictures, but I defeated Google/Blogger once again in that battle and came out victorious. 🙌
4. The best news story I heard this week is about a Market Basket grocery store here in Massachusetts that is rumored to be haunted. A Victorian-era female ghost has apparently been spotted there by several people. How cool is that?! I'm certain that ghosts do exist because of some memorable experiences I've had and also because of my religious beliefs. So I believe this story could very well be true. One of the best things about this story is the Market Basket spokesperson's statement that the ghost must be attracted to their Victorian-era prices. What a great plug! 😂
5. March passed quickly and really did come in like a lion and is going out like a lamb. We finally got the big snowstorm that I waited for all winter, and now I'm ready for spring. Some things I'm looking forward to in April are General Conference (in which I hope they'll announce that early-morning seminary is no longer going to be in the early morning and will instead maybe be part of the new youth program that's being developed to replace Scouts and the other youth programs. John starts seminary in the fall and I'm not looking forward to the super-early mornings, plus I don't think they make a lot of sense for the nocturnal circadian rhythms of teenagers. One can hope!)...okay where was I? I'm also excited about our Universal Studios vacation to Orlando, and Easter. And the warmer temperatures and budding blossoms and the overall general loveliness of spring. Bring it on!
