Dear Blogger Friends,
Ok, I know I haven’t written anything in April so far, anyway, and I want to explain why. Well, at least try to…
Part of it is your fault – you as a collective whole. All you talented, amazing crafters & artisans out there that I rely on for inspiration and entertainment on a daily basis. I have become addicted to reading blogs. Bella Dia was my first craft blog and I slowly started traversing through new blogs everyday admiring the beautiful things people were making. I soon started my own and have never looked back. But – I have hit a wall. My Google Reader subscription list hit its highest number the other day at 243 blogs. Every morning when I wake up the first thing I do is check my updated blog list, most days the counter reads “100+” I can’t stop! I sit at the table with my laptop for hours and then wonder why I don’t have the time for sewing or stamping. Reading about all your creative ventures sometimes prevents me from creating my own things and writing on my own blog. I know moderation is the key but I don’t know how. I consider myself a loyal lurker to all my beloved blogs and do not know how to free myself. How do you all balance, home life, blogging, crafting and your own free time? Can someone, anyone, give me some insight?
Sincerely Yours,
Melanie “drowning in blogs” Taylor
Newlywed Nomads 
I once read someone compare blog reading & clicking links to Alice going down the rabbit hole. 🙂 It’s definitely a balance – I’ll read blogs while watching TV & sometimes it goes on & on & on…other times I’ll just reach a point & realize it’s time to turn off the computer & pick up the knitting needles. 🙂
Oh boy, can I relate to this? How do I do it? Naughty surfing while at work…oh, and I don’t sleep. Little things like that.
oh well you’ve asked the right lady for this one!!
I cut back my bloglines list to 50-100 that is more than enough to look at. You know you can become more than inspired to then not create at all. So yeah I cut down my list, broke them down into catagories and turn the computer on first thing give myself 1/2 hour and then the computer goes off until around 4pm where I check things in between getting dinner ready and molly bathed.
I haven’t found the balance yet either… I desperately want to! There are so many great blogs. Sometimes I have to give myself a time limit, and no matter where I am at that point, I need to just minimize the screen and turn the monitor off!
I try to dedicate about one hour per day to blog reading. Then I cut myself off. I could read for HOURS every day. And then I’d never get anything (read: work) done!