Hi everyone. I’m sure many of you figured this was the case, but there will be no Spring Reading Thing this year. As you can tell from this blog’s dormant state, I can’t even seem to put together a blog post these days, much less run a reading challenge. It’s a combination of busyness, priorities, distractions, and just life.

I’m not shutting down Callapidder Days at this point, though, and I do hope to return to blogging eventually.

If, however any of YOU are hosting a spring reading challenge, please feel free to post a link in the comments so others can check it out. Thanks!

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Update: Sandra Stiles is planning to host a Spring Reading Thing this year, complete with button, prizes, and the familiar low-stress approach you’ve seen here. So if you’re looking for a challenge to join, hop over to Sandra’s blog for more details: Spring Reading Thing 2013

I’ll be the first to admit that blogging about blogging can be…well, weird. But I’m going to do it anyway. Sorry. Feel free to move along to the next blog in your feed reader. I won’t be offended in the least.

I normally shy away from it (blogging about blogging, that is), but when I’ve taken a prolonged and unanounced blog hiatus, I feel somehow compelled to show up here and apologize for my lack of blogging. Or explain why I haven’t been blogging. Or tell you what I have been doing instead of blogging.

At the same time, when it’s been weeks and weeks since I blogged anything, I wonder if it’s about time to shut down Callapidder Days. (Ugh. Even writing that sounds all melodramatic and ridiculous. Sorry again.) After all, if I can walk away for weeks, maybe I have very little left to say.

Or maybe it’s just that my idea of what blogging is has become overly complex in the 6+ years that I’ve been blogging here. I do admit, when I think about “Being a Blogger,” there are voices in my head that tell me I need to:

• Blog daily
• Utilize an editorial calendar
• Promote my blog on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and everywhere else in the social networking universe
• Develop my own unique and engaging voice
• Read and comment on tons of other blogs
• Say fascinating things on Twitter throughout the day
• Develop a niche for my blog and make sure my posts support and relate to that niche
• Attend blogging conferences
• Create Pinterest boards that are followed by many
• Follow, read, and comment on all the “big names” in the bloggy world

Just reading that list makes me tired. The truth is: I don’t have the time or mental energy (or, honestly, desire) to be that kind of blogger right now. I just don’t.

So I suppose it’s no wonder that when those voices give me that to-do list every time I think about maintaining my blog…I would rather go read a book or take a nap. Or maybe both.

But there’s another option. I can simplify things. I can throw that list out the window. I can just write. Write what I feel like writing, when I feel like writing it. I can write about every topic under the sun, or nothing in particular at all, and just forget about niches.

I can visit other blogs when I have the time and inclination, but feel free to walk away from the computer whenever I want to. I can say mundane things on Twitter. I can ignore Pinterest and skip blogging conferences.

So there.

Oh, I know that you already knew all that. So mostly, I’m talking to me. I’m giving myself permission to make this blog fit my personality, my schedule, my energy level, and my season of life. Permission to stop reading all the tweets and posts out there about “Being a Great Blogger.”

I’m adopting an attitude of Blogging Freedom and giving up the idea of Blogging Perfection.

Are you rolling your eyes and muttering under your breath about the excessive melodrama and navel-gazing going on here today? If you are, I get that. I’m doing a bit of that myself. So for both our sakes, I’ll try to keep the whole “blogging about blogging” thing to a minimum for a while.

And I’ll hope that processing some of these thoughts “out loud” gives me a fresh appreciation for the whole blogging thing…and that I’ll show up here more often!

Don’t go!

If you thought you were visiting Callapidder Days, but then were caught off guard by the new look, don’t worry…You’re in the right place.

The beginning of a new year seemed like a good time to play around with a new look. I’ve been wanting something more open and “clean”-feeling for a while, so here we are.

There will still be a few more little changes as I tweak things and make this theme my own, but most of the major overhauling is done.

If things don’t look right in your browser, please let me know. I’ve done as much testing as I can from my home computers, but I’m not a coder, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some things are off. Thanks!

Well, if my intention was to completely drop off the face of the bloggy earth, I would say that I’ve succeeded. In almost two months, I’ve posted nothing but a book review.

I would like to thank all of you who left comments, sent emails, or contacted me in some other way to 1) see if I’m okay, and 2) let me know you missed my blog posts. I really appreciate each kind comment. I am okay. I have just not been blogging. I could go into the multiple reasons why, but quite honestly, blogging about blogging is something I’m not up to at the moment.

I’ve had a few people ask me if this is permanent, if I’ve given up blogging for good. And the answer is: I don’t think so. I truly don’t know what the future of this blog will look like, but I don’t picture me shutting things down, packing my bags, and going home.

SO… all that being said (and I think this post is sounding much more melodramatic than I originally intended), I’m here today to see if there is still interest in a Spring Reading Thing 2011. I know I’ve managed to chase off most of my readers through a sheer dearth of posts. Understandably!

But, if you’re still there, and if you would like to participate in a Spring Reading Thing 2011, would you comment here and let me know?

It would be a simple challenge, pared down. Just some goals, a touch of encouragement/accountability, and a wrap-up, I think. But I know I’ll be reading this spring, and if you will too, and you’d like to read together, I’d be happy to host.

I even made a button, just in case. So if you’re interested, say so, and I’ll get myself together and get things going.