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Still blogging away alongside three other talented bloggers.  Each week, one of us chooses a topic and we all post a blog entry on that topic, usually on Thursdays.  (Usually we are on time.  Usually.  Ok, sometimes.)

Here are the links to the other fabulous blogs:

Merryland Girl

Froggie 

Moma Rock 

Froggie chose this week’s topic, and she said:  If someone you hardly knew took a look at your Facebook Timeline, what are the first three things they’d learn about you and talk about those three things. 

 Like many people, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  Some days, I swear I will not spend one more minute reading/looking at one more mindless thing; other days, I am grateful that there is a single location where I can keep in touch with literally hundreds of friends spread across the world.  Some days, every post seems brilliant or at least entertaining; other days, the content of my News Feed makes me stabby and yelly.  At election time, I find I have to block a few people’s feeds, and yet, often, Facebook is where I glean chunks of my information as to current events.  Having said that, I am guilty of spending a great deal of time on Facebook, so I must not hate it too much.  Or maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.  (Hmmm, look – I just learned that about myself!)

In regards to Froggie’s topic, I decided to do a Top Three list, starting from least obvious to most.  And here we go:
 

(3)        I love to bake.  Or eat.  Or look at pictures of baked goods and think about eating them. 

 Several months ago, thanks to Pinterest, I stumbled upon a number of websites with names like “Chocolate!  Chocolate!  Chocolate!” and “All Baked Goods All the Time!” and “Eat All This Stuff and You’ll Need New Pants!”  Of course, these sites all have Facebook pages, and I went hog wild with the “like” button, salivating all the while.  So each day, my News Feed is filled with images of gooey brownies, dense cheesecake, moist banana bread, and pie – lots and lots of pie.  I “share” the ones I’d like to try so I don’t lose the recipes, and this has led to a cavalcade of food porn on my Timeline.  The recipes have become a running joke with one FB friend (who has snagged a few of my choices and tried them herself) and a source of consternation for another friend who probably really likes the way her pants fit.  Someone taking a casual scroll down my Timeline would likely end up craving cake in seconds flat.

 I do love to bake (and to eat baked goods), so these FB posts offer an accurate peek into my personality.  (I am eating a sugar cookie as I type these words …). 

 (2)        I take stupid quizzes, I read goofy articles or, to sum up:  I have too much free time.

 I know which serial killer I am (Jack the Ripper), which member of the Golden Girls I most resemble (Stan!), and the state in which I am supposed to live (California).  Thank you, Buzzfeed quiz gods!  I also know which on-screen celebrity couples didn’t like each other off-screen and when the new Powerpuff Girls show is being released.  I’ve shared every Brian Williams-related meme I could find – along with dozens having to do with not-so-bright people because they remind me of someone I used to know and with whom I was forced to regularly interact.  I’m the first to admit that when I’m bored – really, really bored – I troll Facebook and snag memes and take quizzes.  Plus, Facebook is the perfect distraction when I’m stuck in a line or with time to kill and all that’s handy is my phone.  This free time leads to a Timeline full of inane quiz results and stupid-funny memes. 

 I’ve always had at least a passing interest in pop culture, and I’m always up for a chuckle, so these items are not misplaced on my Timeline.  Though after scrolling through today, I’m wondering whether I couldn’t perhaps find better ways to bide my time.  Hey, at least I’m not addicted to Candy Crush!

 (3)        I have somewhat of a social conscience (when I’m not taking stupid quizzes).

 As I looked through my own Timeline before writing this, I was struck by how many times I’ve shared stories about lost/found pets, missing/runaway kids and adults, and articles and memes about autism.  As to the former, I feel compelled to share photos and stories of lost or missing people and pets, as I know if the tables were turned, I’d beg others to do the same.  Who’s to say that someone won’t see a photo on FB and realize they just saw that dog running through their park, or that missing woman in a car at the gas station?  The Internet – and Facebook – have made the world a much smaller place, so even if the odds aren’t super great, I’ll take the half a second to hit “share” in hopes that someone will see something and make a connection. 

My reasons for sharing autism articles and memes are also personal.  These items hit close to my home and they deeply touch my heart.  But probably more than that, as an autism parent, I want to spread awareness and knowledge.  So few people know anything about autism, particularly Asperger’s Syndrome, the type of autism in our family.  And so many people don’t take the time to learn.  They are also afraid to ask questions.  So I post the articles and the memes in hopes of getting my FB world thinking, as a way of allowing them to understand should they so desire, as a way of making the world a more welcoming, understanding, and informed place for my child and others like her.  Will Facebook posts help?  Do they matter?  I don’t know.  But if one person reads one article they might not have otherwise read, then it was sure worth it.

For you, my Five Loyal Readers with whom I am Facebook friends, unless I finally break up with Facebook, I wouldn’t expect much to change on my Timeline.  You’ll still find cookie recipes, dumb quiz results, [what I think are] funny memes, photos of lost or missing people and pets, and autism articles.  Sprinkled in there will be pictures of my kids and stories about one of the cats and – when I’m on time – my weekly blog post.  I’ll throw in the occasional book review (am hoping to do more of those, perhaps on my own blog), occasional rants about bad airline service, or notes of gratitude for birthday wishes or the kindness of a friend.  At the end of the day, perhaps the biggest thing someone will learn from via my Timeline is that I like what I like, and I tend to stick with it, even if what I like is a bit silly or makes me go up a jeans size or two.