To Blog or Not To Blog....

On my last post, I shared a quote from Norman Vincent Peale, "Change your thoughts, change your world." That one sentence has stayed with me ever since I first heard it years ago, and it rings so true. There is definite power in positive thinking, and I have always been a "glass half-full" optimist (sometimes not to my benefit!).  Lately, though, regarding this blog, it seems time for either an attitude adjustment or a reality check. Not sure which is in order... I have been questioning all the energy and time I put into this massive project, trying to decide if all the hours and effort, for the past four years, are worth it. Measures of its success indicate that this blog has a very small niche of devoted followers, but for it to become more than what it is now would require time that I just don't have and honestly choose not to invest. What IS my motivation? Do I just want to be a stand-out blogger among other food bloggers? Is it a competition? Do I even want to compete? I do best when callenging myself as an individual, toward greater personal accomplishments and self-satisfaction for a job well done. I do not do so well when comparing what I do to what others do. It's like apples and oranges, to me, since I feel that we who blog are all individuals working toward a personal goal. Still, I sense that dog-eat-hot dog competitive spirit out in the food blogging world. For me to take this blog to the next level, I'd have to STOP for a while and reevaluate, revamp, and roll out a revised rendition of what this blog is now.  The original motivation was for this to be the foundation for a cook book. I'm very seriously thinking about doing that. The time may just be right.

In the meantime, here a few photos of what inspires me to share my baking world with you.  It's not about me. It's about the people who trust me to contribute to their most meaningful days of celebration, joy, and even remembrance. Sometimes, when I wonder if what I do is worth it, I realize that my cakes are invited to the party to convey messages of birthday joy, of welcoming a baby, of celebrating many years of marriage, of graduations and new homes, and even long lives, well-lived. And most significantly, of celebrating my own children's marriages. There's nothing I can give that means more, from my heart.  I'm not a business.  I don't take orders. I get requests and say no many times more than I say yes. I bake only for those I am close to, for those for whom I am willing to give up my nights and weekends, since I work full-time in an entirely different profession. My cakes play a role, an honored and significant one, to those who mean the world to me, and if nothing else, that is worth it.

So...

Here are photos of some of the happy energy in my kitchen this week!:

Brothers at the sink - something "Rockwellian" about them!

An amazing milestone!

Celebration for a beautiful girl!

Cookies for a memorial service for a lovely lady.
I had just recently baked her favorite cake in celebration of her 95th birthday.

Now, when I wonder if what I do makes a difference, or matters in any real way, I just have to remember that moment when the cake box is opened, when a look of complete delight comes over the face of the recipient, when someone trusts me to add something special to a special day.  I can say that is definitely worth it.