Things have been a little quiet around here lately and I thought some of you might be wondering why. I initially started blogging about Paleo after reading Robb Wolf's book and my husband and I deciding to give Paleo a try. Resources at the time were limited and a google search would yield a handful of blogs and not so tasty recipes. Today that same google search yields hundreds if not thousands of Paleo blogs and it seems there are new ones popping up daily with an abundance of excellent recipes. It has been 2 years now since I first started the blog, and it's been through a lot of changes in that time! Originally it was called Budget Paleo, and I started it because I figured my closest family and friends would tire of hearing about Paleo on our family blog and I wanted to share some great tasting Paleo recipes. I was so excited about what we were learning and experiencing. A few months into blogging I became a business partner in a CrossFit Box (my husband had already been a partner for a few months prior), and at that time we decided shift gears a little and make the blog part of our nutritional information for the gym so it was linked it to our website. December 2010-December 2011 the blog was primarily used as a part of our CrossFit business, and it took on the name Paleo Made Easy and then later on it had our business name before the Paleo Made Easy. Most of the posts where done by myself, but one of our other business partners did some great guest posts relating to working out and nutrition, sleep etc (if you search the blog all those old posts are still there hiding). It was very focused on Crossfit and workout nutrition during that time.
Then the blog once again took another direction when I left the business and the blog went back to being my own last December. I redesigned it, and took a more personal direction with it, which is also when I combined the two names and made it Budget Paleo...Made Easy. However this past year I had been struggling with my health so much that I haven't been very consistent with my posts. Funny thing is I have written dozens of posts that never got published and have stacks of recipes that never made it to the blog. It started to feel like Paleo was consuming me, it was becoming my life and pushing out other more important things. It almost seemed that the sicker I got, the more I studied, read and thought about Paleo. I would read article after article, blog post after blog post, book after book constantly trying to stay "up" on the latest Paleo news. I would even lay in bed and write posts in my head, dreaming of recipes and things I wanted to blog about. I also realized that the blog was in desperate need of more technical upgrades and I was feeling the underlying pressure from myself that I needed to get something up on the blog more regularly. At the same time my life has was going through a lot of changes. Most of you know I was diagnosed with Lyme disease in June, low thyroid, Adrenal fatigue, Celiac and now most recently a co-infection called Bartonella. The disease and it's treatment have taken away much of my energy and health. I take lot's of naps, some days are better than others, some days I'm barely functioning, other days no one would be able to tell I was sick. My cognitive abilities have been greatly affected and some days I feel like my brain just won't do what I want it to, and thinking straight is just not going to happen. In addition to all that, I recently took over our family finances (trying to create a workable budget, we all know what a challenge that can be) and the finances of my husbands construction business. Plus our kids started school, so most afternoons are spent doing hours of homework with the 4 girls who are in school and Fridays are a homeschool day. Life is very hectic and busy (in fact this post is going to be a day late do to a day busier than expected), so we were faced with a decision and after much prayer and consideration we have decided it's time for me to take a sabbatical from the blog. Right now we are thinking I will stop blogging and then we will reevaluate in 6 months to a year. The blog may need to take yet another direction at that time, it may become less focused on recipes and more on just blogging, or I may be done blogging, we aren't sure yet. I would however like to keep the Facebook page going, there will just be a lot less activity on there, I may post some new recipes or thoughts on Facebook, I haven't really decided yet, we'll kind of see where things go. The way Facebook is set up these days if I don't keep it active no one will really be seeing the posts, but for now it'll continue.
I'm thankful there are so many blogs and great cookbooks available now days, which can offer lots of great help and wonderful recipes, it seems as though the original intent of the blog really no longer exists which makes me more comfortable giving it up. While it is something I've really enjoyed and something I'll probably miss,( I love Paleo and I love cooking and get so excited about sharing it!). I'm also looking forward to what's ahead, I trust that in being obedient to the what I feel the Lord is leading me to do it will be a blessing. I want to thank you all so much for following my blog, it's been an honor and a privilege, I've really enjoyed sharing the gift it is to us with you all. But I know I really need to focus my energy else where and not have the distraction of the blog. Honestly I think it will be more profitable for for me to put the same time and energy into studying the word and encouraging my husband, children and friends in the word, that I've been putting into studying Paleo. Children grow so quickly and I want mine to know my focus is on the word and them, not on Paleo. Yes, Paleo is a way we eat to be healthy but...it is not our life. Best wishes to you all in your Paleo journey, I will leave you with a list of blogs you may be interested in following if you're not already. There is no shortage of great blogs or great recipes out there, I do however, want to preface my list by saying that not all of them share my beliefs or standards, some have inappropriate language but wonderful recipes and I enjoy them for just that (skipping the reading and just using the recipes). Again thank you all for your support, I really appreciate it. God Bless.
Sincerely,
Sheilla Salinger
http://robbwolf.com
http://everydaypaleo.com
http://whole9life.com
http://beta.primal-palate.com
http://www.growinguppaleo.com
http://balancedbites.com
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com
http://paleoslowcooking.com
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz28IehMrq7
http://paleoparents.com
http://www.thepaleomom.com
http://www.thefoodieandthefamily.com
http://paleocomfortfoods.com
http://civilizedcavemancooking.com
http://nomnompaleo.com
http://jensgonepaleo.blogspot.com
http://www.paleomagonline.com
http://fastpaleo.com
http://www.paleodigest.com
http://paleomg.com
http://cavegirleats.com/?ref=akagunduz.com
http://www.cleaneatsinthezoo.com/
http://www.chowstalker.com
http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-diet-recipes/
You will be in my prayers, enjoy your family! I look foward to your facebook posts and I will still be here checking out and using your recipes! God Bless you and your family!
ReplyDeleteThank you both. It's been a really rough month for me with my health and I already miss blogging, but it's for the better for sure. I can barely keep up with daily tasks and the kids right now. I appreciate everyones prayers and support. God Bless you both!
ReplyDeleteSheilla
Sheilla. I will be in prayer for you and your family, that God will heal you and show you His plan. God bless!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sheilla! I just found your site last night, and I love it. My sister has been doing grain-free because of her husband's gut issues (I'm not sure if that equates Paleo), but I just keep thinking that there is no way I could not have my cake and eat it too! I thought, "How boring." But I am pregnant, low-thyroid, adrenals stressed too, and homeschooling 2, w/ 4 kids total at home + one coming in a month (I relate to your symptoms of not being able to function at all some days, although I don't have Lyme or Celiac!). Additionally, my son gets alternately very hyperactive/agressive and then super drowsy (no focus) when he eats processed foods, so we switched to a natural way of living/eating, and I have been thinking about starting a blog about all of the exciting things that have turned him around and have made our lives easier, but I just want to thank you for your encouragement to NOT do a blog during this season in life. I have so much that I need to put my energies to, and as a mother, time in the Word, prayer, loving my husband, and teaching/ training up my children is the most important thing that the Lord has called me to right now. I think that sometimes we stress our bodies to the max, and then we just crash. Having a large family is hard (and wonderful) work! But I just want to let you know that because of YOUR site, I am going to try to give a good effort in steering my family away from grains and go grain-free! I have never seen such wonderful recipes that look so delicious in my life. I am a little concerned that if I bookmark some of your recipes, that they may disappear in the future, so maybe if you send out a heads-up at some point, we can all print them out/ save them to our computers? Thank you also for all of the great links above. I will definitely be checking them out. God bless, and thank you so much!!!
ReplyDeleteErika, thank you so much for sharing! You have really encouraged me, what a blessing, I would love to hear about your sons changes. Raising a large family is very demanding, but also rewarding as you know, God Bless you and your family as you grow. I will definitely give you all a heads up if I completely shut down the blog, my hope would be to keep it as a ghost site, still there with all the recipes accessible but not being updated with new material. God Bless you Erika, and thank you so much for taking the time to write a comment, it really means a lot to me!
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