Today I spent some time making my blog pretty. You can learn a lot about yourself (things you may or may not have already known) by decorating your blog. As you can see mine is pink...and girly...and contains the word "princess" at least once. This is me. Granted, the background also has sheep and some kind of cherub thing and this is not me, but I did the best I could. When searching for a blog template I went to www.thecutestblogontheblock.com seemed like a logical place to start. I went to the search bar and unintentionally typed the word pink, it was just my first instinct. I found about 70 bajillion pink templates and fell in love with almost all of them. After choosing the background it gave me suggestions of what to add and the banner that matched the chosen background happened to have a phrase about being a princess, sigh, it must be fate.
So, maybe I should explain about this whole princess thing. Most people probably assume the princess thing happened from being Mommy and Daddy's spoiled little princess...not true. I grew up in a family of 7 where money was tight and none of us were spoiled. I did love pink and frills though. While my brother and sister played soccer I took ballet. I celebrated femininity even then. As I grew older I hit the awkward teenage years and traded in my pink tutu, pointe shoes, and bun for a red white and blue cheerleading uniform, pom poms, and a high ponytail. When I was 16 I went on a youth trip and made friends with some boys (one of whom I grew up to marry) and they deemed me a princess, I didn't stop them. Apparently it fit well, because within a year it was my nickname and I had been given quite a bit of Princess Paraphernalia (including several t-shirts, pajamas, and a hoodie). As I grew older I told myself that I had grown out of the princess phase, but who am I kidding...it's a part of me, I can't help it. I'm not going to lie, occasionally I clean the house while wearing a tiara...you should try it, it makes housework so much better!
I still love being a girl, but as I became a mother, gained some weight, lost some self-esteem and settled into comfortable (aka: monotonous) life I've lost some of the joy that goes along with being feminine. When I learned that it was a lot faster to throw my hair into a ponytail and throw on a sweatshirt and jeans rather than fix my hair, put on makeup and pick out a decent outfit I gave into laziness. I'm ready to work my way out of that. Not that I'm going to spend 2 hours getting ready every morning or that I'll never leave the house in a sweatshirt and ponytail again, but if I can put a little more effort into my appearance I bet I'll begin to rediscover the self-esteem and joy that is part of being a woman (and of course, a princess).
