No interest in Pinterest

For the last while I've been coming across links (or "pins") to this website Pinterest on different blogs and on Facebook.  Finally my curiosity got the best of me, and I checked it out and signed up for an account.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Pinterest, here's the description from the site:

What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.  People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.

Sounds kind of interesting, doesn't it?  A place to catalog all the neat things you come across and see what other people have been discovering.  I could see myself really getting into it, except for the fact that I've decided to de-activate my account.  Why am I doing that?  Well, there are two reasons.

First of all, this looks like it could become a giant computer time-suck, and goodness knows that I've got enough of those already (Facebook, my blog, reading other people's blogs, etc).  I'm sure I could spend hours looking through other people's pinboards, or surfing the web looking for things to pin to mine.  Sure it would be fun, but do I really need that?  No.  I don't need another reason to spend time on the computer.  If anything, I need to shut it down more often and spend more time "in real life."

My second reason for wanting to avoid Pinterest is that I can see my pinboards quickly devolving from "things that I like" into "things that I want."  Sure, it's fine to dream, and look for inspiration for your own life, but for me (and I'm just talking about me here, I'm not judging anyone who likes/uses Pinterest), I can see that it would just lead to envy and dissatisfaction with what I have.  I don't have a designer living room, I don't wear cute/interesting clothing ensembles, I don't make gourmet recipes.  And you know what?  I'm okay with that.  I can see Pinterest being helpful if, like the description says, you were planning a wedding or redecorating your house, but I'm not doing anything like that right now.  Right now I need to spend time "pinning" the things I have in real life to my own "mental pinboard."  I need to count my blessings.  I would rather spend my time looking at what I have in my life, and being grateful for that, as opposed to looking at what others have.

So I've decided to start my own "1000 gifts" list instead - a list of the little things in life that are worth noting and giving thanks for.  Here is the start of it:

1. dirty dishes on the counter - no lack of food here, even if it's not gourmet
2. homemade baby food
3. little toys under foot, carefully arranged, a sign of a great imagination at work
4. the sound of a guitar and a sometimes-off-key singer (that would be me), a kazoo and a tambourine - my little family band making a joyful noise
5. sidewalk chalk
6. a tea party on a Sunday afternoon with some lovely ladies
7. a sweet, little girl in a white dress
8. chubby baby thighs
9. warm summer days
10. warm summer nights