No, you’re not going crazy
And yes, my site has changed, yet again.
Many of you may remember the big move over to WordPress a couple months ago, which I was just so excited about and had been pouring hours (and hours and hours and then more hours) into getting everything ready.
Though I'm still thrilled with my new design, and overall I love using WordPress for many reasons (I actually quite prefer it), I have unfortunately had to make the very sad decision to move back to Typepad.
For reasons completely unknown and not understood by my techie-impaired self, the theme that I had chosen to work with in WP began to corrupt my files. The long and short of it is that it made it extremely tedious to write and edit each post, and the issues also manifested theirself on the pages that you saw, through lots of little quirks, links that didn't work, lack of ability to add more to my sidebars, etc. I haven't even been able to check my stats for well over a month (so for all I know, there are about 5 of you reading this)!
I tried to get it fixed. I tried to do it myself. I hired people. I payed too much money. I fretted. I cried. I prayed. I discussed it with my husband over and over.
In the end, it came down to this. Dealing with these issues has made me incredibly burnt out by blogging, a fact that is very sad for me. I love blogging, and I love all of you, and I don't want to stop. However, if I continued on as things were, I would have eventually abandoned my blog, because it was taking far too much of my time, energy and attention (which ultimately affected my family, something I regret).
And so, I return to this more humble site, without the pretty horizontal navigational bar (though I just may figure out how to make one someday), without the more reader-friendly comments, with a design that looks just slightly less sleek, with less exciting possibilities for adding to the site, but…
Much happier, must less stressed out, and able to once again balance my blog, keep my priorities in order, and actually spend my time thinking about content, not technical issues.
I do apologize in advance, as there may still be a bit of dust still to settle as I unpack and get things rearranged and just as they need to be. I hope you'll be patient with me, and please, please let me know if you're seeing issues on the site, a broken link, etc. It will really serve me in getting things back as they should be!
So welcome back to my humble little bloggy home! I'm so glad you're here!
It’s all about content for me, Stephanie, and your content is awesome. Keep up the good work!
No worries! I didn’t even notice. Your blog is still beautiful and full of great insight.
I love your blog no matter where it is!
I tried to switch to WP also and found it very time consuming and a huge learning curve so I switched back to blogger, so I completely understand!
Your site is still quite functional, so it’s also about content for me. I enjoy reading your blog, especially your entries on nutrition and principles such as those found in Nourishing Traditions… and how you manage that and a budget!
I totally get this!!! When I left Blogger, I had to choose between self-hosted WP or Typepad. I only know just enough about code and stuff to know that I don’t know much. I thought about it a lot and figured – for the exact same reasons you listed – it was easier to go to Typepad where it’s pretty user-friendly and there is lots of great support. I knew if I tried to do WP, I would spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME doing it.
Anyway, all of that is to say I can completely relate and I am glad you switched back. I know it was the best choice for you. 🙂
Hmmm, sounds like you were running a bad plugin (I have dealt with a similar issue in one of the blogs I host–stupid thing eventually took down the whole server.) Good that you found something that works for you. Wanted to share a post I just ran across that went along with your comments on sunscreen: http://www.naturalnews.com/023317.html.
Oh, you are all so sweet. Thanks for the encouragment!
Stephanie and Megan, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who found it just too much!
And Megan, thanks for saying that it’s the right choice. That’s a nice thing to hear. Honestly, even though I am in the midst of changeover issues right now (links, feeds, etc.) I feel so peaceful about it. I’m so glad I did it.
Heather, interesting about the plugin! I did have plugin issues, which I deactivated, but the issues ultimately returned, so I think mine was the actual theme. Ugh. Anyways, it’s gone now! Interesting article link- thanks!
Ah there you are! Gosh I don’t blame you one bit. Sometimes I feel like I’m being held hostage by WP, I have to get help to even do the tiniest of things.
Your blog is great so don’t sweat it!
I actually like commenting here better that on WP. The comment box always went off screen for me and I couldn’t see what I was typing. I love Typepad and I think your site still looks fantastic!
Pieces, I wish I had know that the commenting was funny on my old site for you- I’m so sorry! It’s hard to know how a site shows up in different browsers, but obviously it wasn’t working for your browser. Glad you like it better here- so do I!