News | Through a Seattle Looking Glass

I’ve been following the Duggar’s since their 16 Children and Moving In premiered back when I was in college. Astounded by this family that had 16 kids, all with their name starting with the letter J, how could you not want to keep up with them instead of the Kardashians?

I rented their first book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting! and read it in a day. There is something fascinating about a family that runs their life so unlike your own. Religion itself is an interesting subject for myself. I wasn’t raised with a direction of religion within my family, but had been placed n a Lutheran primary (elementary) school growing up. I’ve never recovered from it.

What I took from my young school years was the knowledge and understanding of the christian faith. Now the Duggar’s, to those that don’t know, are actually Christian themselves. The strand of Christianity they practice is the Quiverfull movement. As with most religions, they should be taken with a grain of salt. The Duggar’s are known for having a load of kids, making the older kids in the family raise the younger children, obviously not using contraception and for being extremely conservative (they also believe in creationism).

I…have some support for the Duggar’s. Regardless of the negative things people love to exploit them for because they don’t understand their family dynamic, I am impressed with the love they have for each other. They love each and everyone one of their children and want them to succeed. It’s a rarity nuclear family lack.

Having children is a spectacular thing, but 19 of them? That is something not every family would be able to face. (the Duggar’s also are known for living debt free) I think along with most of the general population that having that many children is way out of line for me. However, the Duggar’s are not me, and I am certainly not the Duggar’s. I am not one to pass judgement on their lifestyle. I try to learn the positives from them, minus the religion.

Recently Michelle Duggar experienced a miscarriage. That kind of event is private and personal. The Duggar’s, being as public as they are, are ridiculed for their chosen way to mourn the loss of their unborn baby. Whenever I bring up the Duggar’s, it’s to make fun of them, but to expose a different kind of thinking to those unaware. No matter how wrong or strange you think they are, a miscarriage is a horrible thing.

They are a unique family, and if the video hasn’t brought that out (seriously? The people of the world CANNOT fit in Jacksonville), I encourage you to take the good aspects their family presents, love, respect for each, and helping those in need. But always with a grain of salt.

Next week I promise there will be more photos.

Everyone, well everyone that works or markets via social media is talking about Pinterest in the UK. It’s exploded all over the UK in the past ten months. How do I know this? Why do I care? It’s a part of job, and excitingly, I was the one that suggested using the social media outlet to help market Hotcourses here in London. Check them out here.

For being a part-time employee, it’s an accomplishment I’m very proud of. For the past month many questions have been directed towards me. Being an American, Pinterest has been around for the past two years, it was created right before I moved to London and I knew about it but didn’t have the time to invest in this beautiful social media tool. I noticed more of my friends ‘pinning’ things via Facebook last year and decided that now is the time to ‘muck in’ and see what it’s all about.

Now I find myself constantly repinning things, trying to increase my boards for the USA market while managing my personal one here within the UK. Is there a difference? Oh yes, indeed. Check out this infographic. (I heart my job, oh how I wish it was full-time)

via Mashable

Personally, I love Pinterest. It gives me plenty to look at and set financial goals for. On the food front, it’s the easiest way to keep a collection of recipes together. I’ve had a folder on my computer for a couple of years, but I never look in it. With Pinterest I can see the recipe I’m looking for, or if I need inspiration, there’s no better way to find it than by looking at what others love to eat. The photos alone are mouth-watering.

How do I use it in the workplace? It’s a bit challenging, and the hot topic at work this week has been whether or not to use cute animals to get traffic, repins, likes and follows for our boards. I love cute animals, I have a Kitties board for my personal one, and a Desired Roommates for my Hotcourses USA. Totally legit subjects that help define my fan base and online presence. Yet for those that wish to stay away from the cutesy-ness, (aka my male coworkers) there is a struggle. It’ll be interesting to see how Pinterest will evolve once they start selling ad space, and UK users rise.

Seriously though, how can you not fall in love with a face like this?