Monday, June 21, 2010

Sometimes it's Okay to Cheat by Bloom Guest Katy Dill

We love Katy Dill. We love the way she makes art of her life. And also how she keeps it real. We are thrilled to have her at Bloom today.

People tell me I look young.

I make many of my clothes.
I take Pilates on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I take treats to my children's classrooms on their birthdays.
I keep a tidy house.
I have 5 beautiful daughters.


You've already done it: labeled me and compared yourself. We all do it, especially in this time where almost everyone has a blog, and we get to peer in on stranger's lives without them even knowing. We see the photos of birthdays with coordinating cakes, decorations, and party favors. We see a family vacation full of smiles and exotic locales. We see perfectly arranged, spotless homes. And we assume. We assume that everyone else on this earth is living a more exciting, beautiful life without messes, tears, screaming, tantrums, heartache, frustration, and exhaustion.
I have a memory of my mom that she doesn't particularly like me to bring up--nothing horrible, but a less than flattering moment that one hopes all will forget. Yet, I haven't forgotten and don't want to forget because when I picture my mom, I picture someone close to perfect at parenting, and when I find myself getting angry with my children, and losing my temper, I recall the memory and am grateful to know my mom is human, too, despite all the things she did with perfection in raising 6 children.
We show only what we want the world to see in the world of blogs. It's a very lopsided view of anyone's life. So, we label others and we compare ourselves. We weigh our lives in their entirety with the creme de la creme of someone else's. It will never balance out. So, let's give each other a break. Give yourself a break. Most of the really good and worthwhile things we do will never make it to a blog or even be known by anyone on the earth but you. So, let's give ourselves a break. And while you're at it, make these easy-kind-of-cheating cheese or cinnamon-sugar puff pastry straws, because we don't have to make everything from scratch, have a perfectly clean house, with smiling happy children all the time.

People tell me I look young, probably because I'm still breaking out.
I make many of my own clothes, but I've been known to sew myself into my creations.
I take Pilates on Tuesdays and Thursdays from a senior citizen who goes right at my pace.
I take treats to my children's classrooms on their birthdays, usually some Krispy Kremes I pick up down the street.
I keep a tidy house, which sometimes includes mopping my walls.
I have 5 beautiful daughters. Well....I do.
You can get Puff Pastry--not Fillo Dough--in the frozen aisle of your grocery store.
Thaw one or both sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes (if you wait too long, the dough will just stick together and become a big, doughy, frustrating glob--trust me on this).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Unfold a sheet and lightly dust with flour on bottom side.
Brush top with a beaten egg.
Top with cinnamon/sugar or parmesan cheese.
Cut into 1/4-1/2" strips with pizza cutter.
Place on greased cookie sheet about 1/2" apart.
Twist 2-3 times if you'd like (the cinnamon work better as the topping is more likely to stay).
Bake 12-14 minutes. Cool. Serve in a wide glass/vase. Watch the ooohs and ahhhs come in.

14 comments:

Susannah said...

So true about the way that blogs can create a somewhat distorted peek into another's life. Also, thanks for the recipes!

kera said...

SOOOOOOOO the truth Katy!!!! i started my blog as a journal, more or less. I am NO good at scrap booking or even getting pictures into an album yet this came so easy to me so I'm running with it. So just as I wouldn't put a horrible picture into an album I too find I don't share ALL the details of my life here. I do throw in some no so pleasant moments here and there but it's not the norm. I know we have bad days, tantrums, yelling, this house in complete chaos, hair frizzed out, dirty clothes out the whazoo, showerless for a day or 3, and the list goes on and on. Yet I can find myself hours in, jumping from blog to blog and getting down on myself because I too compare myself to others' "perfect" life! Thanks for this reminder!!! oooohhh and thanks for the yummy sticks recipes!

Cheree Moore said...

great post. so true. it's like when i clean my house for guests, but the cleanliness for guests is not a true reflection of my everyday life.

Anonymous said...

this is so great.

Ginny said...

Just another reason why Katy is my favorite blogger.

Laura said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laura said...

Ditto what Ginny said! I love hoe real Katy is and how she's not afraid to tell you the truth!
I totally snickered at the pilates thing- I did jazzercise with a bunch of senior citizens at the beach last week and they were gettin' it!

Joan said...

AMEN, Katy! Thank you for your open/honest perspective.
And hoooooray for puff pastry!
I once wrapped a sheet of that around brie cheese and baked it...about died from the indulgent experience. I highly recommend it (if you like brie, of course).
Thanks again, dear.

Rebecca said...

Well, this is Katy's mother and she didn't tell you what I think she was talking about: the I am so mad incident that during dinner I threw my fork down on the table and it stuck with the tines imbedded in the wood! Or it could be the time I was so mad at Katy for not cleaning her room I dumped the contents of her WHOLE dresser drawer on the floor...or...well, enough I think. Life is really messy. Really messy.

Kelly said...

Keeping it real is great! Thanks for reminding us.

Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes said...

I'll be honest-- I read those first comments about all that and thought "wow. Another blogger who has to be so perfect and full of themselves." LOL! Great post. Let's ALL keep it real!

Nicole said...

Thank you! I needed that. I am constantly comparing myself to others, which makes it harder for me to do any of the other MANY things I want to do to my home or for my family because I'm so overwhelmed with my lacking in all areas. What a great post!

Ginna said...

Love this Katy. I always try to sprinkle a taste of real into my blog (not that my life looks that perfect anyway) but that's the kind of thing that people can identify with, and it's the kind of stuff I actually want to remember later, not just the fancy way I set the table, or how clean my bedroom looked for two seconds one day.
I love your blog!!!

faith said...

Popped in from brightsides. SO true! Thanks for sharing.