Seven Quick Takes vol 54 and My Ten Cents on Everything!

Joining Jen with the seven what-whats.

{one}

Lets get my health griping out of the way first. 

The kids are all better!! Hurray! Hallelujah!

But I'm still sick. Damnation! 

I took about five steps backwards on Wednesday night when I couldn't sleep. At all. I was exhausted and couldn't sleep - the worst! I think it was because my body was so used to responding to sick kids every five minutes every night for over a week that the first time everyone slept peacefully my body couldn't handle it. I was wasted yesterday. 

And of course most of life around here is dependent on me functioning fully at 110% capacity so there is nothing in the fridge, the laundry is reproducing at alarming rates in every room, things have been cancelled, all progress made in organization over the past century in this house has been totally destroyed, etc etc etc. And the crazy part is I don't even mind that much.

{two}

So this whole blogging issue that's surfaced this week...here's my ten cents because you've all been waiting, I know. 

I thought Simcha's main point was - us girls place a little too much importance on how we feel about blogs and should instead just accept our own personalities and focus on blogs that suit us instead of obsessing over blogs that aren't really our cup of tea i.e. pity-party/obsessing over the perfect mom. And I love this point! I would preach this point about most everything everyday if I could! Know your own personality, dammit!! I get so tired of women moaning about some blog - just don't read it! 

I think Simcha's intention was not to bombard pretty blogs, or say that every blog that writes about their happy children and not their grumpy children is wrong. I think her point was if you find yourself envying other blogs, or rethinking your life/kids/happiness because of an individual blog then own it and move on. Don't waste so much time wondering why your life doesn't seem so pretty, or being mad that someone's life is perfect. Or defending the way you blog for that matter! These are such easy emotional pitfalls for us but if we just accept that suchandsuch blog is too "something" for us, just don't read it because there are so many blogs out there that will speak to you, that will inspire you, that you will relate to. Spend your time on those!

{three}

I think everyone's read blogs at a point in their lives where they think that a blog writer is perfect and their life must be perfect and thus our life is just crap on a plate. Some blogs really do share a lifestyle that is unattainable and unrealistic. Some blogs are way too pretty. And I think most of those blogs are professional blogs, and not really mom blogs, and I don't think I've ever read a Catholic mom blog that has ever put itself out there as such. I think if you're only reading professional style/fashion/mom blogs then you really can tend in the direction of feeling inadequate. 

I've been reading blogs a long time now. I was so happy to discover blogs because here were women who shared similar interests to me at a time where I was around moms in certain mom groups who seemed to have no interests that were remotely similar to mine. And I'm so happy I did because I feel inspired, happier, and not so lonely in reading these blogs! 

That being said I've read blogs that I consistently read but wasn't getting any enjoyment from. I didn't feel any connection, and mostly had bad feelings about from them, and disagreed with their attitudes more often than not. And then finally I said to myself - who cares if this blog is popular, I don't like it! And I stopped reading it. And I had more time to read blogs I did love, and there are many! It was a question of what suited me. Losing what didn't suit me took nothing away from me except all those opportunities to compare. 

{four}

That all being said I love a variety of blogs. I love the blogs where the authors find beauty everywhere, I love blogs where women are real, I love blogs that are literary, I love blogs that are mainly photographic, I love blogs by people who aren't Catholic, I love blogs. 

The beauty of blogging is that anyone can write what they want about what interests them. This is why it's impossible not to find something to love. Also it should be on the reader to not judge a blog author solely on their blog. Because a blog isn't someone's life, even if you're The Pioneer Woman. There still might be things about The Pioneer Woman we don't know about! Crazy, I know! 

{five}

I finally did some personality tests this week! (Mainly because Jenny asked, and Kendra, Modern Mrs. Darcy, and Olivia wrote about them so well!) 

And I'm a....wait for it....ENTJ!

Except that my extrovert over introvert ratio was 1%. I thought I was fairly balanced in that department but 1%?!? That's ridiculous. I feel like I can't be a cool introvert or a confident extrovert. I'm a boring balance. I read both descriptions for ENTJ and INTJ and feel fairly close to both so who knows. My Intuition over Sensing as well as Thinking over Feeling ratios were both 12% according to this test. But all tests point to the fact that I'm a big ol' judger. And I guess judgers goin to judge.

{six}

I haven't done a Meyers-Briggs test since college and I'm sure that I scored a much higher degree of extroversion then than now. I think that this can be attributed to maturity to a degree, and marriage, and motherhood.

I married an big introvert and I think that's rubbed off on me. I know my extroversion has rubbed off on him as he is much more extroverted now than when we married. I wonder if of studies have been done to compare how marriage effects personality, because it does.

And I think motherhood has made me more introverted. Mostly because I had so many babies so quickly that when I get a moment to myself I want it to be a quiet one. I feel drained by the time I can get a second and usually don't even have the energy to call a friend on the phone. Some days I'm just dying for my kids to stop asking me questions and talking to me. So. Much. Talking. If anything, I need to make myself go out more these days. But I also think that being an introvert can be a bit more suitable to being a stay at home mom. It makes finding your own interests in the home easier I think. This is a big topic I could go on about for a while I think.

{seven}

And with all the lovely talk about G.K.'s possible canonization I thought I'd post this prayer card for anyone so inclined. I hope it works miracles soon! 

Ok, I'm off to nap and ignore laundry. I hope this is the last weekend where I feel sick for a while!