I am utterly, completely, and UN-shamefully addicted to Pinterest!  I didn't really get the whole idea when I first came across it.  Didn't pay much attention.  I can't even tell you how just recently I happened to try it out again.  Probably all the hype about it: newscasts, articles, and of course all the posts by many of my friends on Facebook. Anyway,  how ever this addiction came to be, it happened and it happened quick.  Once I started pinning I couldn't stop. Very similar to my Facebook addiction!  But O M G, this in my opinion was so much better!  What a great "guilty pleasure" that I really didn't have to feel too guilty about.  It was a wonderful way to search and organize for all kinds of new things I was determined to try. Well, that was the idea anyway...But then after pinning hundreds of different ideas, recipes, crafts, etc, etc, I realized like many of my fellow pinners that I was spending WAY too much time pinning and not nearly enough time "doing."  My guilty pleasure was making me feel very guilty.  This led me to create a board I called "Tried It And Liked It!." My thinking was that every new idea or recipe I actually tried that I would move to that board and soon I'd have a collection of new and exciting things I had  introduced to my family.  In a couple of weeks time though, I had only tried two new recipes.  Not quite the achievement I was looking for.  I knew my idea was good, but it still wasn't keeping me off the long long road of hours of pinning that really led to nowhere.  After a little more thinking and of course more pinning,  I came up with 365 Days of Pinterest.

 MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE
Basically 365 Days of Pinterest is a challenge I have given myself to put my pins in use.  No more procrastination or excuses.  No more feeling guilty about sitting on the computer all day pinning ideas and never trying them.  I, not unlike many people I know, have gotten into a rut.  With families dedicated to busy schedules and so much going on it's obviously easy to stick with what you know. After serving the same meals over and over again, some favorites have turned into, "Not that again!"  Unfinished crafts and projects crowd my closets and my shopping list is always the "same ol' same ol."  We use the same products, shop at the same stores, go on the same vacations.  You get the drift.  Now I'm not saying my family and I never try anything new.  Life is full of changes and of course we are continuously have to go along with the changes and we naturally experience new things everyday.  But there's still that rut I mentioned earlier.  The one that has been caused by failing to step outside of our comfort zone.  Or maybe it was caused by laziness...or stubbornness... lack of time, lack of money.  Regardless of what caused this rut, I'm ready to attempt to get out of it!

STARTING TODAY
Today is May 19th, 2012.  It's a Saturday. This is the day I am finally going to start my challenge.  Every day for the next 365 days I'm going to try something new that I have found on Pinterest.  One day it may be a new recipe, the next an exercise I've never tried, the next a project for the kids.  I'm not creating any boundaries for myself.  No real rules, only that every single day I have to do this. Some days I may commit myself to a day long project, other days may have to be something less time-consuming.  I may read a new book, try a new lipstick, or paint my walls a new color.  Maybe we'll play a new game, build something, do something nice for someone else.  Who knows?  Of course I've thought about life's little obstacles that may or may not come along.  I might get sick, or I may be grouchy and just may not feel like doing much of anything.  I may work late and come home to a messy house...Southeastern Ohio may be struck with severe thunderstorms or the worst blizzard in history and God forbid...the internet might go out! Hopefully in the next year very few of these kind of dreaded obstacles will occur, but I feel that regardless of what is going on I should be able to find at least some little thing that I can use to meet my challenge.  I am replacing my "Tried It and Liked It!" board with "365 Days of Pinterest" where daily I will pin my project, event, or whatever it turns out to be.  I'll also blog about this hopefully fulfilling experience here and fill you in on my opinions of these new things I plan to try.  I'm hoping this will be an exciting and fun experience.  The feeling of accomplishment is always wonderful and I think this is just the thing for me.   A year from now, on May 19th 2012 I plan to look at the 365 pins on my board and feel great knowing that I at least tried!   Ok...Time to start day one of 365 Days of Pinterest!  Wish me luck!