A little about me.

Good heavens, this makes me feel torn.

On one hand, I'm usually pretty wary about what I make public online. My Facebook page is locked down tightly, security-setting wise, and I have a rarely-broken rule about not posting anything negative unless it's funny. On Facebook, I keep it light, and I share waaaaay too many pictures of my adorable kid. I use Twitter mostly as my outlet for political frustration -- although that will make its way onto le blog too -- but I use Twitter in a fairly anonymous way. I use my real name, but almost all of my followers are strangers (howdy, stranger! You can find me on Twitter: @ColCol37). And again, I don't really post personal details about myself. I just feel like there's no privacy anymore no matter what you do -- hi, NSA! -- but that doesn't mean that I have to lean in and just make my every detail a matter of public knowledge.

On the other hand: I have a lot of opinions. About politics, about religion, about the mommy wars, about my generation, and very occasionally even about sports. Sometimes writing about my opinions is going to require opening a window into my personal life. I'm not some pundit on TV who has somehow established her bona fides and now can make pronouncements from on high without the benefit of some backstory. 

But the internet can be just such an ugly place. I'm hesitant to open myself and my family up to the sheer viciousness that routinely spews forth from the bowels of the web. Again, though, I feel like I have an obligation to put my money where my mouth is; the main enabler of the internet ugliness is anonymity. Trying to remain anonymous to protect myself from the anonymous seems hypocritical. 

So. Stuff about me will come out in dribs and drabs. For now: I'm a 30-year-old wife and mother living in Virginia; I'm a chemical engineer who doesn't engineer any chemicals; I'm a practicing Roman Catholic; I'm a Constitutional conservative; I'm unequivocally, unapologetically pro-life; I'm a lover of British television; I'm deeply flawed but always striving towards a future-perfect life.