New beginnings can be so refreshing – except when it means coming up with a bunch of new content for a new blog hosted on a new site for your new career; then it can seem a bit overwhelming, but just a smidge.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the chance to kick things off with a bang – and by that I, of course, mean writing about what you can expect from me on this blog. That ought to be fun for all of us, no? I’m building content people, not bucking for a Nobel Prize. I promise things will get more entertaining from here.
The irony of calling this blog “The Struggle is Real” is not lost on me at this point (nor should it be lost on you; if you read my bio in any length, you are probably wondering what someone with my background could struggle with on a daily basis.). As each day passes though and I sit here in suburbia, I realize more and more that the struggle IS real – the struggle for understanding, for courage, for strength. The struggle is real to raise children, to be married and to keep up with the Jonses. The struggle is real to watch the news and worry about the world we live in, to see war, to see evil and not only have to explain it to our children but try to make sense of it to ourselves. Every day we are all struggling with the nuances of life while simultaneously attempting to be grateful for what we have and, if you’re like me at all, just to be grateful that things aren’t worse.
So what’s the answer? Mine is simple: to laugh. Sometimes, the only way to get through the day is to find humor in the horrible. I’m not saying that this blog will be a place to make light of war or the serious state of things. No, no. That won’t happen here. What I am hoping is to be able to discuss things that may take your mind off of the seriousness of life, even for a minute. If it isn’t amusing in some form, you won’t find it here. Here’s a little more about me (the stuff you can’t write in a professional bio) that will give you some perspective for upcoming blogs:
I’m a wife and a mom, full-time. Discussion on diapers and bowel movements and feeding times and naps are not out of my realm. You will likely see reference to one of these topics on occasion.
I’m a professional. . . despite my love for t-shirts and drawstring pants. I worked in Corporate America for a decade before becoming a full-time house manager. I know what it’s like to work for the man, to work for a woman who pretended to be a man and to own my own business. I have opinions on women in the work place (actual issues that exist and made-up complaints that continue to mask as issues in the news as well – there are more than you think), generation X, education, hiring, resumes and pay raises. I have big opinions on work and earning your keep in life so you’ll see a lot of that as well; it won’t be politically correct (I’m sure) so if you need some of my material for corporate training, contact me and I’ll send you a more professional version.
I’m chubby. I always have been. Here’s the ironic thing: I’ve always been an athlete, a hard worker, a vegetable eater. I don’t have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or hygiene issues. I’ve basically broken every “chubby girl” stereotype that exists, as have so many of the larger-than-life ladies out there. Naturally, I have opinions about exercise and food (both of which you can read in my book “Peas are Gross” and will also likely spill over into the content found here.) My membership in the chubby clubby also allows me some opinions on sex-ism, bigotry and racism, but few (if any) of the situations involving these topics are remotely funny so you’ll likely not find my commentary here.
I’m a pop-culture junkie. If it happens on E News, I generally know about it and have an opinion. I love supermarket magazines (the only ones of which I find remotely credible are People and US Weekly, although I usually have to give props to the other paper-based gossip mags for their creativity – where do they come up with this stuff?!?) I love to talk about how much I despise rich people with no talent, mostly because I secretly want to be them or at least be their bank account. So, in natural order, you’ll see some Kardashian jokes here as well as my opinion on other “news” that could only qualify as “news” in America. People are dying of hunger and we want to know who got arrested, people. It’s a weird culture, eh?
I’m a Mormon. Is this the part where you stop reading because you think my husband is forcing me and my sister wives to earn our keep my starting a blog? My braids and I are offended. Don’t worry – I’m a mainstream Mormon which means a couple of important things: no sister wives and I wear pants whenever I feel like it.
Seriously though, I mention the Mormon thing for a couple of reasons: first, I’m committing to this being a clean blog. You won’t find explicit content or even swearing on this blog. Just like my book, this will be a safe-haven with content that you can share with your mother and teenage daughter without being embarrassed. I hate giving a reading recommendation and having to issue a warning along with it: “Be prepared, there is some rough language.” I’m a firm believer that you can be funny without being crass or crude.
If there is ever material here that leads you to question the above statement, I need to know. Like any good blog, here is my disclaimer for you commenters: I reserve the right to pull down any comments or commentary that defaces my blog. If you want to get nasty and use foul language, move along to a Yahoo! forum. Opinions are always welcome, even ones that differ from my own (although to be fair, that rarely happens. Jokes, jokes.) but cruelty and foul language won’t be tolerated. (Can you tell now that I’m a mom? Seriously. I am not above sending you to your room to think about what you’ve done.)
Secondarily, being a Mormon should tell you about the things that I value: family, God, faith. Those are the priorities in my home. I also believe in work, having an opinion, standing up for yourself, being educated and being open-minded. I have electricity, which means I watch television. I have a college degree, which means I know how to read. I’ve owned a marketing business, which means I know the pressures of working and managing a family. My opinions don’t come from the dark ages and will hopefully shed some light on the fact that Utah is a pretty educated and opinionated place to be. Fair enough?
Here we go. Welcome to the blog. May you find laughter and sharable material here. May you be more creative than me and turn some of my more witty quotes into Pinterest-worthy memes. May we talk about all of the awkward moments in life and learn to laugh at ourselves a little more.
Keep on keepin’ on,
Carlee
