11/17/11

Getting Real: Part 1

I have a confession to make.  I don't know that I've been who I've wanted to be on my blog.  My blog is called the atypical housewife for a reason.  It's not because I'm normal, typical, or a classic housewife figure, it's because I'm not your typical girl, woman, wife, housewife, or person.  I feel as though my blog has become a place where I am censoring myself.  Should I blog about this or that?  What will people think of me?  I am not normally the kind of girl who cares of what other people’s perceptions are of me.  However, here I am, writing this post, because I either haven't been enough of myself, or I've on purpose avoided certain topics because I know what others will think.  I've struggled with what this blog should be about, what should I be writing about, and this is what I feel led to do first.  Get real about myself, my marriage, my life.  I'm not sure on step number two yet, but I have faith that God will help me figure it out!  So, I'm going to make a list of various things I think I need to say that I either have avoided, or haven't mentioned...

1.  I really do like my dogs and cats more than I like most people.  My animals tend to have better manners than most humans, always listen when I talk, are amazing cuddlers, and bring so, so much joy to my life.

2.  My dogs, and cats do have free reign in my house.  They are allowed on the couch, on chairs, and in our bed.  We do not crate our animals at night. (Or any other time)  Our animals do have rules though.  No paws on the table, no begging when we eat, they have learned the command "Up up up" which means get off the bed, couch, or move out of the floor if they need too.

3.  I, in some ways, am an animal rights activist.  I believe God gave us animals to take care of, and as an animal lover I take that seriously.

4.  Just because I like animals doesn't mean I don't eat them.  I love hamburger, and chicken.  I do not judge vegans or vegetarians, as I believe if that's what you're called to do then do it.

5.  Growing up when we celebrated Christmas, Santa was involved.  Though, Jesus' birth was always more important than Santa.  I have a Santa collection my grandma started, and when I have kids they will also get the opportunity for Santa to come drop off gifts.  Christ will always be the main reason for Christmas though.

6.  My husband and I celebrate Halloween.  In fact, I actually rather enjoy Halloween.  To me it is a holiday full of pumpkins, candy, spooky movies, and fun costumes.  I was not allowed to dress in evil costumes growing up, this includes witches, devils, skeletons, Frankenstein, or anything gross or gory.  I plan on doing the same for my children.  Halloween has no power over me.  It's origins may be pagan, but so are most of our other holidays.  I also believe Halloween is a GREAT time to witness.

7.  My husband’s hands really are dirty all the time.  It doesn't matter if he stood at the sink and scrubbed for ages, just got out of the shower, or went swimming.  They are still dirty.  Or at least they look dirty.  This does not bother me.  I saw his hands once white, like normal hands.  It was after spending days swimming in the pool and ocean on our honeymoon.  We even took a picture.  Then he had to fix our flat tire, and no more clean hands!

8.  I am sarcastic.  Not all the time mind you.  And I'm usually not sarcastic with people I don't know well because that is not good manners.  But with my husband and I, it's like a sarcastic free for all.

9.  Under normal circumstances I do not get bent out of shape, frustrated, or angry often or easily.  When bad things happen I often laugh about it...really, what other option is there?

10.  I am not comfortable in big crowds, or around strangers.  I am shy, I just am.  I can manage through social situations but I am almost always clumsy and awkward about it.  Once I feel comfortable then I am more likely to be more myself.

11.  I do tell stories from my animal’s perception.  They have their own little accents and such.

12.  Try as I might, I do not like overly feminine things.  Like the color mauve, lots of florals, and pretty pictures.  I do not like gold, glitter, swags, and I could not spend the rest of my life wearing skirts.

13.  I am not a neat freak, or an organized person.  I wish I was, but I'm not.  I want to become more organized, and I'd love to get some sort of system down for keeping things clean, but it's just not who I am.  My goal is that people can stop by anytime and I won't be ashamed or embarrassed.

14.  My husband does not eat vegetables.  Well, I take that back, he eats corn, green beans, and potatoes.  I do not make him eat these things, if I could sneak veggies in I would, and maybe someday he will eat additional veggies.

15.  We do not eat organic.  I think eating organic and eating more sustainable foods is an awesome thing.  I wish it was something we could do.  We can't though.  Our budget would not support that.  And that's ok.  Someday we'll be able to eat more organic and more natural things, until then we're content with our chemical laden foods!

16.  My husband works second shift, and doesn't get home until about 1 AM.  My husband and I usually get to bed about 4 or 5 in the morning.  We usually wake up about 1:30 in the afternoon.  It works well for us as we've both always been night owls.

17.  I cannot wear most perfumes, or lotions, and even have to leave some stores due to perfume.  The smell of some scents will automatically give me a migraine.  From what I can tell, I can tolerate fruit smells, herb smells, and some flower smells, anything else is like acid to my brain.

18.  I like black fingernail polish.  I think black is often looked down upon as a color, but I find it a wonderful neutral color.

19.  I literally am a jack of all trades and a master of none.  I can design blogs, cook, sew, embroider, etc, well, but I do not excel at any of them.

20.  I do like the Twilight series.  If I had to choose I'd say Team Jacob. (Jacob reminds me of my husband <3)  I also like Harry Potter, but have not read the books.  I am not fanatic about these things; I also do not think they are all bad.  I am most definitely going to see the newest Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn, Friday morning.

So, there’s a taste of who I really am.  I really am down to earth, laid back, and funny.  I do have a bad temper sometimes; I do not always cook every meal to perfection.  I’m just me, so if you choose to stick around and read my blog, you’ll get some tips about being a housewife, and some tips on cooking.  You’ll also see my life how I see it, and hear all the crunchy details.  Tomorrow I'll be writing the real story about my marriage.  (It isn't as dramatic as it sounds!) Stay tuned!

5 comments:

Rebecca said...

I think we all struggle with keepin' it real sometimes. I know where your coming from. I believe it was Stephen King who said "Once you start writing for anyone other than yourself" you might as well stop. :) I love reading your blog and I love hearing more about you!! :)

Whitney said...

Hey Monica, those things about you are none that you should feel the need to hide! They're YOU. Though it is important to be considerate of other points of view when blogging, it is also important that the readers get to see you personally. They follow not a generic page, but a very personal one. If you're worried about being offensive to anyone, then turn the concern of content into a concern of crafting the writing. Sometimes fear of being offensive is a clue that we need to be more open ourselves or that the writing could be structured more carefully. Keep striving to put forth the "real you!" :)

Heather said...

Good for you Monica! You haven't scared me off ~ I'm stickin' around! :)

Cecillia♥ said...

This was super refreshing to read :) I've quit my old blogs and made a new one for these reasons. I feel inspired to write, but I struggle to be myself at times.

Btw, I love Harry Potter and Twilight too lol :)

Shelly said...

We seem to have A LOT in common!