Yes – despite the name of this blog (trust me, it’s a fluke I’ll share with you over coffee and tea one day), I am not a flowery girl.
I own 2.5 dresses.
Don’t ask.
Imagine my surprise (which eventually turned into a form of delight) when I get an email from a very nice lady or two at (in)Courage wanting me to write a monthly feature for them.
You see, (in)Courage is owned by Dayspring which is owned by Hallmark. And in 2005 when I was two millimeters from quitting my job at a church, I was already 76% finished with my Hallmark Corporate Card Writer application.
They make you do these exercises where you write a bunch of greeting cards.
A Get Well Card, 12 lines long, serious in nature, no rhyming.
A Graduation card, 7 lines long, hip hop in nature, involving clowns, rhyming, and only using words from the 1980s.
That last one may be an exaggeration.
But regardless, I had made it through a couple of preliminary rounds of testing as a Hallmark Writer. Then I got stuck on:
A romance card, humorous but serious in nature, 18 lines, rhyming.
I just couldn’t do it. Don’t know why. The Hubs and I. You’ve read it. We’re quite funny people. But I don’t think our views on bacon quite possibly being better than sex would translate well.
And we ended up moving from Kansas City to Dallas anyway. So it wouldn’t have worked out.
I digress.
(in)Courage, on the surface only, is a website that would scare the real me.
Because women and flowers and dainty things scare me. Again. Not a flowery girl. But then I realized there are more non-florasites out there than just me. In fact, there’s a lot of really great moms, single girls, dressy girls, tomboys, what-ever-ers. And somehow, (in)Courage began to find them. And ask us to write.
Officially, (in)Courage launches in a couple days (if you go to their website now you can learn a bit about them), but as one of their 20 writers (of which I do not know the person who is doing enough drugs to actually trust me to write for them) we each have the honor of introducing you to another one of the writers.
Kind of like a chain blog.
But less creepy.
And no promises of money (just really good writing and fun) at the end.
Some of you may have found your way here by my friend Angie’s blog. Angie and I have matching tattoos that say “I survived The Temple of Kali Ma” from our trip to India. We were roommates in Calcutta. We are friends (still, even after she learned my feet really stink after walking around in 120* weather with Crocs on). Wait. Even after she saw me wearing Crocs. That’s a true friend.
And it’s my turn to introduce you to another lovely lady. Her name is Ann. Without the “E.” (Do you know how impossibly difficult it was to write it with out the “E?” I had to go back like twice. Old habits.)
Ann Voskamp’s been blogging for five years at Holy Experience under the tag line, “Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God.” She’s all about seeing the beauty of the God-flame in the common and taking off the sandals. In the fringe hours after her six kids, the Farmer Husband, and the washing machine sleep, Ann taps a keyboard and is just crazy enough to be currently writing a book for Zondervan.
Related posts:
No… no flowers. A tattoo of birds, but no flowers.
Not really a tomboy either… I’m not into sports, only kayaking, climbing and hiking. Maybe I’m an adventurer. I do wear skirts though. I prefer them to shorts and in the South, body temperature maintenance is kind of a necessity, but they’re always those flowy, patchy hippie ones, not ever the kind my mother would buy.
The last time I was at her house, she said, “I hope one day you stop wearing t-shirts…” “Gee thanks Mom.”
Labels: Adventurer, Free Spirit, Hippie? A little…
I like flowers, but do not have only 1 vase in my home, and am not one to wear flowers, so I wouldn’t say I’m flowery, but I’m not a tomboy, either. I am an eclectic mix who likes a bit of it all. :) *I have done a terrible job of answering your question, but I’m going to take a leap of faith and be (in)couraged anyway. I’m really excited to read what you all have to say. :)
i am a guy (who is not flower-y :)), but i do recognize that i have hints of metro-ness. for instance: my wife encourages me to help her shop for new clothes, and i enjoy doing so (and do so pretty well, thank you).
i also am using some body soap from Banana Republic. don’t even judge. :)
all that said, i am still very boy: love going to the airport to watch aircraft come and go (or go flying myslelf – private pilot); love standing ten feet from the tracks as a Norfolk-Southern train hurdles through Wilmore just down the road from our home; and, i am prone to typical guy sounds…nice, yes?
I like flowers (I guess I have to, since my last name *is* a flower… Rose :)), but am not flowery. Not really. I love wearing skirts (my fave is one I made out of old jeans though, so does that count?) and don’t like sports enough to be a tomboy, but at the same time I can’t stand chick flicks and consider a late night playing Guitar Hero a fun time.
I think deep down, I’m a kind of artsy punk rock hippie geek. And proud of it too!
Funny, because literally half an hour ago, I heard a co-worker in the hall describing me and his wife as “artsy and booky and would rather watch Lord of the Rings than Mamma Mia.” Yes, that’s sums us up. :)
I am very much aware that girly-girl genes skip a generation in my family. My daughter, who is 7 going on 16, knows more about makeup and frilly, sparkly, pretty stuff than I do. In fact, she uses my lipstick more than I do.
I can compare being girly to swimming upstream, at least for me. I love it and admire it in other women, but it’s a struggle to attempt it myself.
I prefer to blend in with a pair of time loved jeans, a button down shirt, and a pair of solid, functional shoes. Getting ready in the morning takes 15-20 minutes, including a shower. Shopping is painful on it’s own, but shopping for shoes is torture.
That being said, my feminine side shines in my role as a mother. I have the best of both words… I nurture, I soothe, I give of myself to the kids selflessly, I make our house a home, I emotionally connect with my kids, I am hands-on involved, not afraid to get dirty or help the kids capture creepy crawlies, and I have a sense of adventure that can’t be quenched.
For what it’s worth, I think you could have ROCKED that “romance” card. Seriously. Bacon humor is in high demand, but in such short supply at Hallmark.
I am a combination of Mother Theressa and Gretchen Wilson (country singer, sings Home Wrecker, Redneck Woman, looks like Pocahontas) anyway so I’m Redneck and love the poor. Two very extreme personality types. I will joke sometime that “I am bout to go Gretchen” on someone or I will ask others to pray I can be more like Theresa.
My tattoo says “FeatherIron” in Sindarrian which is an Elvish language from JRR Tolkiens Middle Earth…yea, I’m a proud freak.
I think I have one shirt and one dress with flowers on it. No bedding with flowers. I do have a vase with silk flowers in our living room. I like wearing dresses & heels so I guess that makes me pretty girly. At the same time when hanging with friends I’m usually more comfortable hanging out with the guys and usually have to force myself to go hang out with the ladies.
I am not a flowery-girl or a girly-girl. My daughter is a great combination of both being a girly-girl and a sports girl. Loves sports, plays basketball and softball, but loves to dress up too.
Me, not so much. Don’t like skirts or dresses, but I do love sports of all kinds. More of a tom-boy growing up. Jeans and a great tee-shirt would be the prefered clothing articles. HATE shopping, much to the chagrin of my mother, husband and daughter.
Thankfully, I have a job that a pair of khakis and a nice shirt is appropriate, because if I had to dress up every day, I think I would go crazy.
Okay, when I first saw this, I honestly thought you were about to semi-bash this place for making lame greeting cards. Haha… I’m glad I was wrong. I love cards, but I do dislike the lame flowery or religious grandma ones… I buy those as a joke for friends.
Since you asked, I will take this opportunity to say that I hate daisies in particular, and I don’t know why everyone likes them so much. Daisies come off as naive to me.
So I guess I’m the kind of girl that likes things like flowers and dresses etc mostly for when they are practical… and occasionally when they are for beauty. I don’t like girliness at the cost of ones good sense and reason (I grew up in a house of 5 blonde women and one poor daddy… we had our struggles).
I guess I’m a Laura Ingalls or an Elizabeth Bennet. And I’m more than okay with that :)
So glad to be part of this amazing journey with people like you! Can’t wait until Monday!! As for a ‘label’ for myself… I don’t really know?? I am a bit of a lot of things… I like it that way! ;)
I’m pretty sure the drugs they were taking when they asked me were a lot more potent – you rock!
Also, I am a girly-girl, but I don’t like flowery things. Figure that one out.
Woman, not girl. I’ve worked long and hard to be called a woman and while I, finally, understand why my 95+ year old MIL enjoyed being called a girl, I enjoy being called a woman. Not a lady, that’s for grand English folks. A woman.
A woman after God’s own heart.
I think I’m a hybrid-girl. I’m the bicycle-mechanic-in-a-skirt-girl. Or the gardening-with-bare-hands-in-a-vintage-apron-girl.
Wow, you so remind me of a very dear friend of mine…
Anywho, so glad to be on this (in)courage journey with you! I am really likin’ your writing style friend!
Label…that’s a tough one. I think my label might say, “Under Construction”. I spent close to twenty years in an ‘alternative lifestyle’, and my last decade has been spent trying to negotiate the ‘mainstream lifestyle’. Please don’t misunderstand, I am thrilled that God set me free from that mess, but learning to live saved and straight has been a crazy journey.
I still like big machine (especially yellow ones) but I also like shoes, makeup and big earrings that are shiny. No flowers though; not on my clothes or in my yard…maybe in a vase on the table, but I’m throwing them out before the petals fall off :)
Love flowers, hate dresses, so I’m kind of a hybrid :) The incourage thing sounds really cool though.
Hey Anne,
I’m a non-florasite myself – and actually, have attempted those Hallmark application card prompts. Couldn’t do it. That’s not my thing. But (in)courage is definitely going to be my thing!
Excited to work with you and get to know you better!
Mary
I take a tad bit of pleasure out of being a sore thumb or out of being melancholy, and I would rather hang out with men than with women, BUT these women with (in)courage – I would love to follow them around like a little puppy.
{I’m flawed to the bits.}
This is going to be good for us, I think. Flowery or not.
I am a girly-girl who loves sports–a used-to-be tomboy who adores dresses, make-up and all things pretty, feminine and whimsical. But get me on a volleyball court or softball field or in front of a football game and I transform.
I am truly excited about inCourage!
definitely a girly girl…love ALL things pink :). as far as flowers go…have to be taken with the pattern (fabrics, etc.) and fake, but *love* fresh and really only gerbera daisies. really enjoy high school and college basketball…can live with baseball (go cards :). not big on the other contact sports…give me a fishin pole, tho and i’m good to go :). can’t wait to see the (in)courage schtuff…glad the 10th is only 3 days away:).
I’m a geeky girl or should I say a geeky grandma (already?!!). I frustrate my youngest daughter (of five) who is in cosmetology school and keeps bugging me to get my hair cut (I like it long!). I love teaching, writing, and working with my computer. Surprisingly, I’ve done quite well in learning new tricks and trying new things, so I am really a geek. I’ve told my kids and my students never to make fun of geeks because I am one.
I came across your blog through Jessica Turner’s ‘chain’ in courage blog post. As I was reading your post on your new assignment (congratulations, by the way) I happened to look over and your name caught my attention. Anne Jackson…I mailed a package to an “Anne Jackson” a few weeks ago. I called my husband (michael buckingham) over and I said, look at her picture. Is this the Anne Jackson you know? Sure enough, it is! It is a small world afterall.
I’m comfortable. That’s kind of how I labeled myself- far from a girly-girl but not a tomboy. Most days I only wear foundation and I can get dirty- I work with kids and do behavioral therapy so I have to! My favorite outfits usually consist of jeans, t-shirt and rainbows or tennis shoes. I hate heels. I hate thinking I have to be “uncomfortable” in order to be attractive. When I get home I put on my comfy pj-like pants. So I’m a comfortable girl!
When one of your cards gets published let me know- I will buy it!
knowing you — you’re a lot more flowery than you’re giving yourself credit. you might not have 3 or more dresses… but YOU know how to accessorize, you work your jewelry and the clothes you do own. you are girly. really — you are.
growing up i was certainly a tomboy. but the older i get, the more i embrace my femininity. what makes me special is that i am a girl. the world wasn’t finished before Eve and i think we as women need to embrace the power in that. i am girly but not conventionally. not flowery. but i am girly. i like to smell good. i love shoes. i’m obsessed with how my hair looks. and pink is creeping more and more into my wardrobe.
women need to feel empowered to be feminine. i think for too long we have been told we need to compete with men… and we’ve lost what makes us special. but that is likely a topic for another day.
i know it is also a personality thing and each woman is different and that is also beautiful. what an honorable opportunity you have to write to women, for women. and to speak to each one of us.
I’m not too flowery. I mean I have 3 skirts (I think) but no dresses at the moment. But I like being a girl (@ almost 46 I’d better be comfortable with it! plus I have 3 daughters). Glad it takes all kinds of women to make the world a beautiful place. Looking forward to much greatness from (in)Courage. You do like to keep busy, don’t you?
I’m appreciative of beauty, but outside myself.
Except when I have a good hair day.
Except I’m too cheap to buy product enough to have many good hair days.
My husband shops for my clothes and improves me.
I bike to work. I sit with my legs crossed underneath me.
I’d rather read N.T. Wright than watch The Bachelor.
I love Jesus and encouraging my family.
I am woman. Hear me … hum?
I think I am an intriguing mix of some true girly-girlness and tomboy. I do love flowers – but real ones, not draped all over my house. I love beautiful things and have been known to dress up on occasion. But I’m more at home in my jeans and tshirt and really would prefer to still have good enough skin to just skip makeup alltogether. But I am very emotional and touchy feely. I think I confuse people. Sometimes even myself.
Congratulations and best wishes, Anne. You’ll do a good job – and may God’s Spirit minister through you!
With all the ladies describing themselves so well, I feel rather out of place as a guy – And realize it’s not honestly easy to do. Take a bunch of qualities – all kinds, put them in your mixmaster, and you’ll be close. Quiet. According to my wife, both intellectual and absentminded. A thinker. As shy as you can get (or worse), yet anything can pop out (ask my wife and kids!) But also a doer, especially of things (good ones) most people never even think of, especially in the outdoors, often miles from anywhere. Still outhike my kids, who are in their 20’s ands very healthy. Never have cared much about clothes, which is good because I rarely find any that fit anyway.
Again, best of luck.
yay crystal! well said, sister :). girls rock and as i tell my children (boys) as well as my nieces and MANY young cousins (girls) be who YOU are :). individuality is good… be the shepherd…not one of the sheep:). as a hairdresser (a jack of all trades…master of none) i encourage gals who like to wear short hair…that its all good & it can be *feminine*. that you don’t have to look like a man if you want to wear short hair (unless you want to) you can wear long hair and there are lots of options with styling and accessories to change your look without a drastic cut. you can look more *girly*, more sophisticated, tomboyish, dramatic, etc. all with a little imagination and liquid styling tools. magazines are great resources for ideas (our library sells the outdated ones for 15 cents) good resource for gently used clothes is Goodwill & Salvation Army store. If you’re on a budget (like most of the country) GW boutique (goodwill) offers 50% sale every other week and i can always find good, quality, name brand (if that matters…sometimes its just better quality) schtuff for next to nothing. for myself and the brothers. so whatever your style is, you have lots of options…with hair and clothing, and if you want to try a *new* look or style without a huge investment…here are a few ideas for you:).
peace~
serious ? to the ladies-
if you are not flowery, do you still like receiving flowers from your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband?
I’m not flowery that’s for sure. In fact I think I match you on the dress count although I’d have to do some serious closet digging to be sure.
@tony Flowers wouldn’t be my first choice of a gift, neither would diamonds and the like for that matter, but I’d apreciate the effort and intention behind the flowers (probably more than the flowers)
Tony, flowers tend to wilt when they depend on me to take care of them. Dark chocolate is my preference for a gift.
Seriously…
I really want to understand this.
OK – maybe flowers aren’t your preferred choice for a gift from your man, but are there girls out there who — like my sister — really don’t like getting flowers?
How can you not like getting flowers?
I’m a 27-year-old-been-kicked-out-of-countries-for-sharing-the-Gospel dude and *I* would feel honored to get flowers from my wife… What’s up with that?
I love to get flowers – from anybody (unless it’s a stalker weirdness), but especially from my husband. I LOVE flowers!
I own one skirt from years ago that doesn’t fit me anymore. I live in jeans. I love being given flowers. I don’t understand make up but am willing to learn. I’m beginning to love romantic comedies. I’m beginning to love me after some major healing. Becoming more girly and…don’t tell anyone…am liking it :0)