If I never blog again, this is why...

No. I didn't get a makeover and now I look like a pink-haired Katy Perry. But I did consider growing my hair out and trying the look for a few brief moments over the weekend. Chip even gave me the green light to go for it. But instead, I got my hair cut today, so this look will have to wait.

The real news is that I finally caved in to all the friends I see posting things and linking inspiring food, clothing, home decor, crafty projects, great quotes, flowing wedding gowns and a million other things that they see and love, and I got myself a Pinterest account. I am sure that most of you already know about, have a thousand pins and spend all your free time adding to your boards or browsing others. If you don't know what it's about, you are in for a treat. Or you are in for giving up free time that you would normally have for things like cooking dinner, folding laundry, reading kids bedtime stories, showering and anything else you can squeeze out of your normal schedule in order to spend more time on this site.

Between Face Book, mothering 6 kids, maintaining a rental home, marriage and now Pinterest, it's going to be a feat for me to update this blog at all. =)

Really though, I have to admit that I struggle with wondering what I should write and share here anymore. Years ago when I started Nitty.Gritty. I had fewer kids, lots of pictures and stories to tell- old and new, as well as the naivity that my family and friends would want to read my stories and see the pictures I posted too. The fact is, most of my family and friends no longer check in on this blog and those of you who do, I am not even certain why you read or keep coming back. There has been a huge shift in my happiness level the past couple of years, the stories seem to be the same ones I tell, just in slightly different ways. And well, the photos are fewer and farther between. Especially now that we've moved and I can't find my camera cord, so I am left with pictures snapped from my cellphone.

I sort of chuckle at my own self thinking that someone might actually miss me if I'm gone too long. I had high hopes of resurrecting my frequent posting here this year. And then Pinterest came along. I am actually hoping to do some of the fun/cute/interesting projects I've seen on the site and I hope that maybe getting some of my creativity back may help my happiness level jump a few notches at the same time too.

Life has not been as fun for me lately. But I am going to try with all my might to put a spin on it if I have to and bring back some Joy. Not because I have any more free time or energy, but because I truly believe that it's been missing far too long and I am finally saying, "I've had enough". The pits are only so fun for so long. The dark days don't breed light on their own. I know that because we've been sitting in them for awhile now and I am realizing I haven't been living out so much of what I have written and posted about through the years. I was reading some "old" posts here and literally found myself saying, "I wish I was more like that!" And the "that" is me...so I have some changing to do! I am feeling ready for change. Ready for light. Ready for Joy.

Ready for more Nitty.Gritty.

The good, the bad and hopefully some fun and inspiring in between.

If you see me with pink hair in the next few months, you'll know I am starting to find my way back to the happiness that my heart has longed for. And if it stays the way it is, I still hope that I will find happiness and fullness of life even so. If I never blog again, something has gone awry.

Because I love blogging and I hope to never fully give up on Nitty.Gritty.

Even if the rest of you do. =)