The Beast known as Pinterest

I have issues. OK, I know we have already established that I have many issues but let's touch on only one at a time. I am the queen of the wild hair and lately I have sprouted more wild hairs than a Bigfoot has covering its entire body. I really don't know what comes over me but I can tell you that it comes in spurts, which is probably the only reason I remain married. My family has learned that the roller coaster that is my wild hair binges will only be around for a short while. Like a brilliant star, I will burn bright, blinding all those in my mini orbit only to putter out until I once again return to the comfort of monitoring the sofa and making sure no one steals it.

My latest wild hair binge is different though and I think it is scaring us all, me included. My normal "I just gotta get some stuff done" mantra has a new fuel, a drug, an enabling entity that threatens life as we know it...Pinterest!

Hello, My name is ______ (go ahead, insert your name, it is the first step after all) and I am a Pinterest Addict. I am known to sit up late at night, become engrossed while at my children's practices and anytime I am the passenger in the car you can find me cyber surfing the mother of all addicting web sites. I have wasted hours and hours perusing through pages and pages of fresh new ideas, recipes, crafts, quotes and just about anything that I can. I "pin" ideas constantly in anticipation that I will go back and take that idea and make it my own. Beautiful spaces crowd the pages and I want my home to look like those. I have been reduced to an envious, coveting fiend that wields a "to do" list like it is Excalibur. I will have a Pinterest worthy life even if it kills me!

In the last two weeks my Pinterest fueled wild hair and I have painted the master bathroom a beautiful sage green and accessorized it with rich tones of chocolate brown and forest green. Baseboards, doors and vanity were all freshened up with bright white paint and now we all refer to the area as our "grown ups" bathroom. I am in my 40s and I finally have a "grown up" room!

My Pinterest wild hair and I then moved outdoors and enlisted the help of my husband to dig out, frame and pour a new concrete walkway in the back yard. That was a two day project that included 1,710 pounds of concrete, 500 pounds of gravel and countless dirty looks of exasperation from my spouse. Our walkway is a thing of beauty but my wild hair was still not satisfied. We then moved massive amounts of dirt around to create a new flower bed with freshly planted ground cover and a wine barrel garden of fresh flowers. While we were at it we also planted some grass seed to try to bring back the area we trampled out during the concrete path project. You would think after all that we would be tired...well, I was at least but my wild hair still had other Pinterest ideas.

Currently, Pinterest Wild Hair and I are in the midst of a building project. With the rejuvenation of the back yard we are sorely lacking seating areas so bring on the benches! We are building 4 solid wood benches that can be rearranged and changed like a modular sofa to add seating, table space and countless other possibilities, which I am sure will be inspired by Pinterest. As I was dragging out the table saw for this latest foray into home improvement wonderfulness, I found myself promising my husband he wouldn't have to lift a finger. The look on his face assured me that if I didn't make good on that promise there would be some explaining to do!

Right now, Pinterest Wild Hair and I are experiencing a rain delay, which only gives me more time with my DIY crack web site and I have used the time well. I am no longer just a re-pinner, borrowing other people's ideas and peppering my boards with pictures of their realities to feed my insatiable dreams. I have PINNED! I thought I was addicted before, but noooooo. The game has been elevated to a new level with my first contribution to the cyber dream world. I posted a photo of my new wine barrel garden and something amazing happened. People re-pinned me! They like me, they really like me! My email box overflowed with notifications that my little photo was  being added to boards with titles like "My Dream Home" "Favorite Ideas" and "Things I Should Do". The high is better than any drug and I can't wait until my latest project is completed so I can pin again!!

I guess if you are going to have a wild hair there could be worse ones than the Pinterest Wild Hair. The house is looking great and the backyard is becoming the oasis I have always envisioned. There is only one problem, and unfortunately it is a pretty big one. Every time I pick up the computer, iPad or phone new ideas and photos magically appear further fueling my Pinterest Wild Hair. We might be in for a long roller coaster ride this time!