What Kind of Blogging?

I was thinking about my blog and why I was doing it.  The real purpose is to keep my husband and friends up to date on what we do in the Newlin household; we live far away from our friends and my husband is in Iraq.  Pretty simple.  It's hard to do it consistently, but I still manage to plug in what we are doing and what our goals are as a family and as homeschoolers.  I'm never going to be a "famous" or even "popular" blogger.  I just write simply. 

Then I got to thinking about other homeschool blogs out there.  Some are very warm and helpful and give lots of good advice on homeschooling (Thanks, Christy!).  Some are fun and whimsical and still manage to give great points of view on homeschooling (like the Juggling Paynes).  Some, dare I say it,  just irk me. 

The ones that irk me are they ones that appear to be helpful, but just come across as don't you wish you could be as wonderful as we are?  I don't enjoy reading those blogs.  They have beautiful custom-designed layouts, beautiful artwork, top-notch photography, and their families are the stellar, perfect, smiling models of super intelligent, above-grade level scholars.  Their science projects would put NASA to shame.  Their craft projects send Martha Stewart sobbing in her custom-blended tea. 

I question the purpose of these blogs.  They are certainly well put together and easy on the eyes.  Their homeschool efforts are certainly noteworthy.  But I just can't read those blogs anymore.  They tell you that they are homey, simple and humble...but humbleness means not having to toot your own horn.  I am convinced that they aren't blogging to be helpful, but rather to maintain their fan club of adoring sheep.  I think I would enjoy reading those blogs if they would actual mention their difficulties and write with sincere humility.   False humility is sickening. 

Since I am human, I do feel jealousy.  I do feel spite.  But since I am human, I am allowed to shield myself from those who would make me feel less worthy than what I am.  I think that my reading those types of blogs just brings me down, and that makes those types of blogs the complete opposite of helpful.  They might be great for some people, but not for me.