The First Ever "Keepin' It Real" Extravaganza!

It's that time. Lift up the edges of those rugs Ladies and show us what you've swept under there. We all know the best of our thoughts and moments make it to our blogs, but what about the other stuff? That stuff we'd rather not share?

As Jess once said, we don't mean to project the image of Mary Poppins (Practically Perfect in Every Way) to the blogosphere....it just sort of happens. So if you do consider yourself to be a flawless wife, mother, homemaker, homeschool mom, cook, etc....well, you're still welcome here. May we all be encouraged by what we read today as we discover that everybody's got something.

OK, I'll start. My name is Brenda and this is my blog. You can start here and then move on down to the Mr. Linky to read more of the fun stuff. Enjoy and join in if you like!

Keepin' It Real: Why There Is No Reading List On My Blog

Sometimes I feel so illiterate. All these blogs have "What's on My Nightstand" or "My 2008 Reading List" in the sidebar. Some bloggers even use the little strikeout feature to show all the books they've already read. It's a pretty common thing. Helpful too, if you like book recommendations.

Except here's the problem. This is my nightstand:


That's a Bible laying there although that really isn't the one I read. Also I don't read in bed much because my husband spends the entire time blowing at my light as if it were a candle. His way of hinting that he likes to go to sleep with the lights off. I keep explaining that when you close your eyes...well. Anyway. And that's a picture of my sweet husband when he was 1. Check out those threads! He has a baby picture of me on his nightstand. They're from our wedding. And those are MY golf clubs on the right. I'm so athletic. And I'm not entirely sure what that piece of tree is doing there. But that doesn't have anything to do with this post.

So, no reading in bed limits things a bit. But by golly, I read!!! I read lots of things. I will not be out-done! Here is what I've read in the last few days:

I started by reading some library books. See? There's even a CHAPTER BOOK in the lot!

But I needed something more realistic. So I moved on to this:
(Ug. Please help me. I'm only doing it so I can go camping with my daughter rather than send her off with strangers.)

But that was too dry. So then Goldilocks tried this:

And it was JUST RIGHT!!! (I highly recommend the Pink Pie.)

Still, I minored in English in college for goodness sake! Surely I can handle more reading material than this! Then I opened my mailbox and saw this:

So that is why you will not see me posting my exciting reading list in my sidebar, or launching a new blog to review the books I have read.

I used to read. Honest, I did. I read real live grown-up books. Long ones. I promise. But what can you expect when your "reading room" offers toilet paper and a hand towel?

OK, now it's your turn! Help us "Keep It Real!"