Pinterest Anonymous

Cracks me up every time. I need it framed.

I'm not sure about you.
However, I am pretty certain I should probably enter Pinterest Anonymous.
Hi. My name is Melissa, and I am a Pinterestaholic.

My story begins a few years ago when you needed to request an invite to be allowed to join Pinterest. It was a secret society. I remember waiting for this invite anxiously. No kidding. I was anxiously waiting to get my invite to a website. What's that? Did you call me a loser? Oh but I assure you, you have no idea the realms of Pinterest and what it will bestow upon you by clicking around this site of mass distraction. My friend got her invite before me, I was super pissed. It's like getting looked over for the cool kids sorority and all I wanted to do was wear a toga. Now a days anyone can join this website, and although it took some of the novelty away, you can bet your sweet bippy it did has not deterred me.

I presently reference Pinterest like I reference WebMD when I have a sharp pain in my head. Recently I self diagnosed myself with either a tumor or an aneurysm. So I better start planning my funeral with Pinterest, cause if it is the latter, it could happen at any moment. I want a distressed looking turquoise casket and painted mason jars to hold the flowers, as well wreaths make from cupcake liners. No poster board picture displays, you need to handcraft frames out of pallets. And we need to come up with some good favors. Start pinning.

Morbid. But totally serious. Funerals can also be crafty and creative. I will be searching your board to see if you qualify to help plan.

While having these random sharp head pains,  I need to make cupcakes for  the Kindergarten Valentines Day Party. Now come on, I cannot go buy a box of mix and some icing at Target. I am over the top. I was all over Pinterest the other night looking for the exact Valentine Cupcake for this year which the children will devour in less then a minute flat. Presentation people. Let's not forget it. My cupcake will have no less then fifty ingredients and look like something cupid himself created.This is in Party Planning 101. I torture myself, and if you are a master pinner you do too. You stand amidst the bomb that went off in your kitchen knowing that you could have just ordered 32 cupcakes from a bakery, put them on a plate, and called them your own, but what does that do for our egos? That's right. Not a thing. The greatest glory will come when your cupcake itself is sitting on the 'Popular Pin' Board.

You know if you are a devoted pinner it becomes a little bit of a healthy competition Who am I kidding, this is not healthy at all, it's borderline obsessive and this is why I am now needing to enter a rehab for this addiction. But I am pretty certain there will be a waiting list, and we will be pinning  and sharing while waiting. 'Oh did you see this Christmas Tree for your mantel with leaves made of felt!?!?' 

It's all about these awesome ideas, but its also a bit of who can find and come up with the greatest most original pins. It's a show of who you are. Kind of like facebook but with material objects. You know when people post pictures of just their feet on the sand with the ocean in the background? 'Yeah you think your thing you found to do with modge podge is awesome? Well look at this end table made of recycled barn wood with old book pages adhered to it. BAM!'

You pin a pin, which leads you to another person's boards. You know it for certain that sometimes when you click into a person's board you get a little disappointed, like the click was a little useless for they are no way up to par with those you pin with. It's true, don't even try it. Her recipes are definitely not something you would cook and her quotes are just plain unmotivational.

 The pinning society that you have created usually includes your friends and family. And also people you specifically follow because their pins just plain rank up there with your interests, humor, so on and so forth.

My parents pin. My mom will not join facebook, she holds to the opinion that it's too trendy and will take up too much of her time. Yet, she vicariously looks over the shoulders of those who have a facebook page and will comment. She however has joined pinterest because apparently this is different. And that it is, but I'll tell you mama has an awful lot of gardening ideas that didn't take just a few minutes to pin. Just sayin.

My dad is an avid pinner. According to his boards he is going to Hawaii, making old tools with new tools, working out with lions, and building a bio dome. I do laugh sometimes at my dad's pins, but not because they are just laughable. It's mostly because some of the ideas are so outrageous, totally him, and I know that in that moment, he is sitting there on his computer thinking about how he can make a certain pin come into fruition. No joke. And I can't wait to see my mom's face.

From Mike's Boards. I might actually swing on a swing again.

Occasionally while pinning I will seriously been in a nice and quiet room, kids in bed, and be laughing out loud at a certain pin. Again, go ahead, call me a loser, but some of these can seriously change a mood into a smile or at least a snort of a laugh. E cards especially crack me up, and also provide you with some really good comebacks if you need one. Not encouraging tit for tat, but sometimes even just saying them in your head or to your BFF works.These laughs are reassurance again that I am not the only person who thinks or goes through these things.

Sorry Ma...but it's funny.

There have also been pins that I would love to pin, but don't because I am pretty certain I would offend people and also get a lecture from my mother. Cause you know when you are 35 lectures from your mother are still really cool. What's that? Yes I did sneak out of the house at night with my friends when I was 17. And I have also read the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy!! Horrors, which I call enlightenment. Wait for it...lecture on how this is not funny will be given this week.

My favorite thing to do is to search for one thing you are looking for...let's say a cupcake recipe since this is what I am after, and quickly you have found that you have accumulated and pinned over 20 recipes and are now laughing at cat pictures. What???  And one recipe would have been sufficient, but you never know, and you need to stock up. Or when planning a birthday party for your 8 year old. Once you pick a theme, it now has its own board with no fewer then 60 pins of ideas for this party. And then you are somehow then looking at new nail color shades and designs.

Now that you have pinned the party ideas and having it, you are now going to be up until 3 a.m. making pom poms to hang from the ceiling every night for a week leading up to the party. All because of Pinterest. It's no longer Martha...it's now bigger. Exhausted, fingers bleeding.

 Pinterest, I believe, feeds into everyone's secret hoarding tendencies. But its all  there on a website, not crawling up the walls of your home, so it can't be that bad. But damn those cupcakes look good, and that's right, I punched and strung each paper circle to make that garland above your head.

 

What I look like while making my big Pinterest ideas.

But it's organized chaos if you really do it right. It's you naming specific boards for specific pins. It is not only hoarding, it is OCD at it's finest. Naming your boards and picking it's cover photo can really be a challenge. I mean sure, you can just label them, 'Food', or 'Clothes,' or 'Furniture', or 'People at Walmart Pictures.' Or you can get fancy, and this is the challenge. Simple and Thematic.Listen, I readily admit it and confess. Pinterest is no closet in my bedroom. This is some important crap right here.

Pinning is like shopping without the cash. It is dreaming without the commitment. It is laughing without having to worry if people are thinking you are overly crass. But then you read this blog and find out my secrets. It is having a stylist without being a millionaire. It's remodeling your home with some pretty sweet ideas. It is creating ideas with good intentions. It's...

Planning a vacation.

Paris? On the bucket list. Who's isn't it on?

 Tybee Island, Georgia. Must be in a beach cottage. I also pinned ideas for my own flipped beach shack, but one ought to visit the place first and acquire some massive fundage. Minor.

 Bora Bora. And this is where I never come home. Ever.

Inspiration, Advice, & Ideas from Friends.

 ...cause friends can send you pins and vice versa. What What. Some of them are great laughs, some of them are really good reminders, or slaps in the face to wake up, or something great to make with yarn

...you know, whatever your fancy.

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This blog  ( <---- click that word homies, we are moving up here with the links) It was shared with me, but what is better is the instagram feed #theoandbeau, which you can connect to through her sidebar instagram button. Adorable.

 

Confirmation and Motivation .

... for yourself or perhaps some others that you desire to take such advice. 

Innovative Ideas. Gift Ideas. 

 Taco Tuesday just got better.

 The girls with love this. Christmas List...check!

 This is a deodorizing patch to squash the smell of passing gas. I don't know about you, but I just found my go to birthday presents for this year.

Announcement Ideas

 

 Man alive I wish I had thought of this.

Party Planning.

Making old things new again. How To's.

 No need to thank me.

Ways to warm your junk.

 What? It's been cold this winter. Bundle up.

Links to a really awesome video by my fave late night host.(again...click here,dad)

Or links to my new favorite song. Go ahead, turn it up and dance.

Here's My Pinterest Profile

So go ahead and join up. I can promise you hours and hours of clicking or tapping on things you never knew existed. And on second thought...I won't be giving up and joining 'PA' anytime soon. Happy Weekend People, see you on the boards.

On Snow

Poor kid forgot to winterize the Jeep.

So he saw his shadow. Do you care? I don't. I feel bad for the little guy, all coming out to take a leak, gather something to eat, all these people in his business.

 It's going to snow tomorrow. It's winter. I need to pull up my granny panties and be on with it.

However, followed right by him seeing his shadow, and tomorrow's 4 to 6 inches, no wait, 3 to 5, no it's 2 to 4...and will change like every freaking hour by our roving weather men, is the prediction of the biggest snow storm of the season next weekend. How splendid.

Predictions placed upon groundhogs. Pretty daunting. All this thing wants to do is eat and burrow. I can totally relate.

It's like me saying if my cat farts in her sleep and the stench wakes me from my sleep before 6 a.m., then there will be six more weeks of winter. People, it is now Lillian the Cat Day, and there will be six more weeks of torture. I could have placed my bet on it before she had even released the bomb.

 This is not my cat, it's my Mom's. But I'm sure she farts too. I made her play outside with the kids last snow day. She too was pissed about seeing her shadow.

But who really cares about my cat's farts? I don't really care about Groundhog's Day.

This winter though.
I think I am just plain old 35.

I mean its so pretty when snow falls. It's so quiet out there isn't it? I called my mom during one snow fall and proclaimed to her that she needed to open her door and look at the snow flakes closely. They actually looked like snow flakes that you see in a print of something all dimensional and stuff. I was fascinated, or really down on some sleep. 

However. It has been so cold. I mean you open the door and it actually hurts your bones to be out in it. I scream/squeal like a girl each time I run out into it to my car. Why can't someone come and start my car for me so it's nice and toasty in the morning? Come on. Not even every morning, just once in awhile when it is like 3 degrees outside just shoot me a text, 'Hey I was driving by on my way to Jersey and thought I would start your car for you exactly at 8.40 a.m. so it is ready by 9 to drive the kids the half a mile to school. Toss me your keys!' I will make you coffee, I will sing to you, I will proclaim you the biggest hero in my life. Not enticing you? Yeah, I don't blame you. Its freezing out there.

Then you add snow on top of it and it's all like mad chaos up in here. I know, I totally sound like the biggest creep all hating on winter with 3 small children. It's not that I hate it, per se. I like to ski. When it's sunny. And over thirty degrees. I just prefer to be nice and toasty. My dream is to own a beach cottage, that had previously been a beach shack, and fix it all up like I am Nicole Curtis from the Rehab Addict. My feet prefer to be bare and on sand. My skin warm and smelling like coconuts. Not all cold and itchy requiring a vat of lotion to feel alive. But it can't be any beach, and it can't be any shack, and so we endure winters until the time comes, cause that's really what the theme is, enduring. And the weather has certainly given me that opportunity.

 

It's o.k. and all to go tromping through the snow. Specifically since children eat this joyful event up. 'SNOOOOOOOW!' Two have now reached the age where they understand snow days from school. I can remember this all too well. I would actually pack up my things and hitch a ride with the first available parent to my best friends house to get stuck there and eat Ramen, watch reruns on the boob tube, and watch her fight with her siblings all day.

 Here's what though. I have since moved my children to the school district I attended as a child. And let me tell you something. This school district stares down snow storms. It crosses its arms and watches the list of school closing and delays grow and grow. It grits its teeth as the snow begins to fall, daring it to actually grow to depths or dangers worthy of closing our schools. It mocks the weaker schools closing hours before snow has even accumulated an inch. I now, again, listen to people say, 'oh well look, this or that one closed, yours will close for sure...,' they have no idea what they speak of. This school district does not play with vacation days. It waits until the last possible second to make a decision. Your alarm has already gone off, you have already begun your day, coffee is brewing, and you have long since begun to make the noises that let the children know that they need to come out of hibernation. It is then they make the call...if they are going to at all. If you wait for it, your whole routine is thrown off if there is not a cancellation. And then tardiness occurs. That word is no good. And it's a funny joke to no one but the superintendent. This is now my children's lives.

But occasionally there is more then a foot of the white stuff and he will declare it a snow day. And they are all now awake. Half dressed. Half breakfast eaten. One sock on, one off. I can barely form sentences yet. But they are looking at me, looking outside, smiling, eyes glistening...and then it happens...'Mommy can we go outside and play in it...right now?'

Children.

So I appease. And I endure. In no particular order:

1. 3 children in almost the same exact size. So snow pants are interchangeable but not so much. And we start...'Kendall did you wear the black bibs or the black boarding pants last time?'...'Ethan, here put these on, no take them off, I think they would better fit Jake, no keep them on here is some for Jake.'...'Did you grow since last week, why are they shorter?!!?! No one in the tri state area has snow pants in stock right now, so in the words of Tim Gunn, make it work. Stop whining!!! You aren't supposed to be able to walk right in snow pants, we go over this every single time!!!'

2. 'You must wear a hat!!!!!!!!! I do not care if you think you look like a fool. You wear a hat. You know what you will look like a fool if you don't wear a hat because you will be the only one not in a hat and your friends will say, are you a fool where is your hat!?!? Don't be that fool.'

3.  'Who cares if the socks have a little pink on them, they are warm, the ones you wore last week smell like butt and are unwashed and crusty, please just wear these and be warm!!!'

4. 'Where is that other glove!!!?!?!? Why can you not put the things back where they came from when I say to put them there!?!? Do I look like a mother or something picking up after you and being organized!!?!?!? Here's the big one and here is the little one, now where are their friends??? In your school desk!!?!?? How does this happen?'

5. 'No, we drink hot chocolate after we come inside from playing outside for no shorter then 1 hour. Beyond that, can you hold a mug with those gloves on? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Don't take them off!!!!'

6. 'O.k., for the 27th try, spread your fingers, keep them like that as I pull the glove over your hand until I say it's o.k. to not be frozen like that. Alright, no wait, where is your pinky finger? It's in the wrong spot with the other finger. Alright, here take it off, we will try again.'

7.  'O.k. sit down. Now push your foot into the boot. PUSSSSH!!!! Not working? O.k., try standing up and wiggling around a little. Got it? Toes in? It feels funny? Oh its the wrong foot, let's do it again.'

8. 'Now this is why I asked does anyone need to go pee pee before we even started this. Well you should have at least tried, I bet a little of that would have come out and you wouldn't have to go so bad right now.'

9. 'Your sister did not laugh you with the scarf on now stop. Tell him you didn't laugh at him please. There is no crying or laughing about scarves, they are pertinent in sub zero temps, now wrap it around your face again. NO LAUGHING!!!'

10. 'Where are your coats? Why did you not hang them on the hook with your school bags last night? We go through this every morning. Alright, now you will just have to sit there while I retrace steps. You're hot!?!?! Do you see the sweat pouring from my forehead, this is hot kid.'

11. 'Hat.On the head.Now.'

12. 'Wait for your brother!!!'

13. 'O.k., let me get ready and I will be right out.'

5 minutes later, on my way out the door...

'I'm cold, can I come in and have hot chocolate now???'

The snow is pretty though.


****And because I love it...picture has to be shared here too...

Best Picture of Winter 2014.

I secretly think he flies on saucers when I am not looking...kid is too much of a natural here.

Making My Own Definition

So the other night I am sitting and watching the Grammy's. As I sit and watch the Grammy's,  I realize that I am sitting the same way I always sit wonder while watching them,' why am I watching the Grammy's?' They annoy me. I don't know, Taylor Swift flipping her head back and forth. Is this necessary? I wasn't really sure why Madonna and Queen Latifah needed to be part of the marital ceremony performed by Macklemore. I thought maybe Ellen should have married all these people, if someone was going to do it, she spurred on this song. I mean Queen Latifah? But they didn't ask my opinion prior. I get the statement it was making and fully support it, I just wasn't sure that I would get married in an aisle at the Grammy's, with Madonna holding a cane, and who picked that song? Really what was with her cane? And really I am not sure why Beyonce had to get her hair wet. It was confusing. And can she please stop wearing leotards? It's also annoying. It is not a Broadway Tap Dancing Revival...all.the.time. Can she switch it up? I think she can afford an entire ensemble. She is not a cast member of Cats. And every time I see Willie Nelson's braids my impulsiveness sets in, and all I want to do is take a pair of scissors and clip them right of. Thank goodness Willie and I will never ever be in the same place, at the same time.

And then came on Carole King and Sara Bareilles. I love Carole King. Her music and voice are comforting, mature, and just wise. I have always enjoyed the laid back Lilith Fair type style of music once in awhile. You know hair flowing freely, long skirts, no make up, flower crowns, bare feet. Take out your Indigo Girls, you know you want to. Anyway, I just sat silently listening to these women on this past Sunday evening, and the lyrics of the song they were singing, their talents coming through the  musical instruments that they also were playing. They didn't need anything more, no crazy sets or small attire, and it was so good. It was music.

I have obviously heard Sara's song, 'Be Brave,' before. It is on quite frequently...like all songs played on the radio.Can they say overkill?  But this was the first time I sat and listened to the words. They were sung slowly and deliberately by these two women and I heard it.

The word, 'brave,' is a noun, a verb, and an adjective. You're welcome. I am certain you feel really enlightened presently...smarter...ready to take the SAT's again. I will do you one greater and tell you the definition too. Now stop, no need to thank me. So when describing something brave...you would be describing something ready to face danger; endure danger or pain, you are showing courage. You can just be, 'the brave.' A person who demonstrates courage or a fighting spirit. Name your kid Brave, set the bar really high. 'A spider!?!?! You're cowering in the corner over a spider...live out your name kid...I didn't bestow upon you pussy footing!!!!' Or you can actually be showing bravery...actively enduring pain without showing any fear.

Many of us probably think that being brave is saved for those who demonstrate great acts of valor. We cannot possibly be equal to those many deem as brave. We can show courage, but bravery? That's reserved for the  finest. You know, the fireman, a soldier, someone risking their lives for others. All great acts of courage and bravery, obviously. But allowing your actions to be considered brave, it seems like a challenge in comparison, right?

I, however, listened to the words in Sara's song and listened to Carole's awesome voice and considered those in my life that I consider brave. Those that I guarantee do not consider their actions worth being described as brave. When in fact they are.

I have a friend I am very humbled by. Her life is a story still being written and her depth is still unknown. When I think I do not have enough strength I am reminded and inspired her. This woman lost her husband by a senseless act of violence committed by a family member. In an instant she became a single mother, a widow, not given the chance to say goodbye to the man she loved and grew strength from. And she  endures. Her spirit endures. She has such a fighting spirit. She is a refuge for her kids and others kids...and sometimes even me. She is brave.

I have a friend who lost her mom to cancer over ten years ago. I vividly remember seeing her on the day her mom passed and actually seeing strength in her. It radiated from her. Lots of people lose a parent. This is something to me, I cannot fathom. The unfairness of losing a parent too soon is enough to make me weep, for anyone. This is incredibly hard. This friend of mine went on. I mean what else are you supposed to do? I am sure there were crippling times. I am sure she is stricken with overwhelming grief once in awhile. But she endures the pain. I reunited with her this week over dinner and her strength still radiates from her. Her mom's spirit in her. She is brave.

I know a woman who lost her son. She is obviously more then a friend to me, she is a mentor, and always has been since I was a stupid teenage girl. She lost her son over ten years ago as well. Her son and her son's fiance, killed by another driver, driving at them full force under the influence. A tragic loss. The grief was and still is unbearable. I can remember going to their home in the days after their deaths and the cloud of heaviness that silenced all of us in there. A man willingly operated a vehicle, clearly under the influence and stole something from her and the rest of her family; my friends. The anger that raged. Yet, this woman, she forgave this man. She showed him mercy. She showed him grace. She let him know what he had taken from her and her family and friends, but she faced danger and pain and forgave him. There is no forgetting her son. I enter her home today and he is everywhere, as he should be. It is like he is there subtly, but he isn't. But the story that radiates outside of his loss, is her bravery. Her demonstration of ultimate kindness and our ultimate purpose...mercy. Don't ever let me hear you cannot forgive someone for something less then this. She is brave.

My daughter. She came home in tears quite a few times last school year in tears over older girls who were teasing and bullying her on the bus. My heart broke for her. The meanness of other people becoming a harsh reality for her. I encouraged her. I encouraged her spirit and I encouraged her to face this pain. She was aware of what bullying was and she turned around one morning and faced the unfairness, on her own.  Marching herself into school and notifying who she was supposed to. Sitting down with the girls who were bullying her and an adult, and telling them how it made her feel. I am not saying that this is the answer for all types of bullying, but this empowered my girl. She now continually stands up for those being bullied, her heart on her sleeve. She is brave.

I can tell you stories all day long of those I find brave and why they are this way. I feel its something we shouldn't diminish. Recognize it and gain strength from it. Bravery is honorable, and bravery is inspiring.

In recent times I have adapted the mindset to look at things like this; would I allow what is happening to me happen to my daughter without her acknowledging it and stopping it? Or would I allow my sons to treat another like this? If my answer is no, it is time to face it. Is this bravery? Is this bravery to stand up for what I think is right? Is it brave to expect to be treated a certain way and standing up and opening my mouth when it isn't? Is it brave to voice my pain and experiences wanting to empower others?

I listen to the lyrics...she is encouraging us to say whatever it is we want to say, to let the words fall out. I think about the personal stories of bravery that I only just listed here and can see how beneficial it has been for me for these women to have let their words fall out. Their bravery has been their strength and mine, and whoever else have heard their stories...even my sweet Kendall's.

She then sings, 'Honestly, I want to see you be brave.'

I hear sarcasm, you might not, but what I hear is like, alright already, enough is enough, stop being broken, stop being depressed, stop letting the past weigh you down...show me that you can be brave.

And this is part of the new turn in me. Each person that is brave has let go. They have faced pain and or danger head on and declared it unwelcome in their mind. They have said goodbye to things that have crippled them in their past and turned these things into their courage to move forward. They have forgiven and accepted and allowed love and compassion win. Bravery allows your spirit to come out.

I am finally getting to brave.

"Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is."

'Let your past make you better, not bitter'

I will confess, I have been a quote whore lately.

Written words speak volumes to me.You want me to hear something louder then I ever have, write it down for me.

So much clarity and thought comes from something written.

While going through things that have been so very painful, I have found so much strength in quotes.
Some I have read and I am like, 'that's it!!!' They have been the words I wish to say to express myself but haven't been able to find them. They have been my motivation in times where I have felt like crawling back into bed pretending that I actually don't have real responsibilities. They have made me cry. They have made me laugh. They have made me think.

They have given me justification over issues that I have really struggled with. They have allowed me to feel validation that my pain is real and that the things I say and feel are actually not complete nonsense.They have given me reason when I have reached top frustration level. They have encouraged me. They have so put me in my place and have had me really wrestle with my current mind set and how it should really be or I should really act.


They have made me feel not so alone in my struggles. It is comforting to realize when reading one that the person being quoted experienced something that left them with these words.Their pain that was real and significant is now helping me. It is with that motivation that I sometimes write. I find it incredibly healing to verbalize what is on my heart, my soul, and on the tip of my tongue through writing. I feel at times that it is much clearer then if I were to leak my verbal diarrhea through my mouth. I have been called out on this a lot and have chosen to be very careful with my words for the most part.

 It is true, I am my grandmothers granddaughter, so there are times that there isn't much left unsaid. Perhaps just the audience has changed. The list is very small as to whom I let me guard down around and can be the completely uncensored me with them. I am completely ok with this. Feeling judged and unworthy is a miserable feeling. Getting a redo, or a chance at a completely personal renovation has left me choosing wisely. I don't want to come across really self righteous when I share that. It's just I have been kicked in the vag so many times now that a girl builds some boundaries.

I have also found a lot of these things in not just quotes but lyrics too. Songs that people wrote while experiencing life and all its up and downs. I have always been this way with music. I have passed on songs to people to better express where I am and how I feel. This has also had me struggle  tremendously as well, because people keep on playing music, even in the grocery store, cause when reaching for a box of angel hair pasta a certain song on the overhead can bring me to tears...again....awkward crying moment.

So much clarity and thought comes from something written.

So I have found myself grateful for the quotes, words of inspiration, and songs  passed onto my by friends and family and those I have stumbled upon myself. I am one of those girls that posts these reminders all over the place. It can never ever hurt to be reminded of where you came from, what you choose to inspire you, what you wish you had the balls, or um, tough enough vag, to say, and what your motivation should be. My house has now become a museum of my scars and my heart in progress.

And who knows maybe someday someone will quote me and I should hope it's not anything spoken in a moment of lesser sanity...but I have a feeling the children are taking mental notes. That's not very nice.