You should join Pinterest if…

For those who don’t know anything about Pinterest, here’s the gist. It’s a photo-sharing social network. You “pin” photos of stuff you like or find interesting onto themed boards. For example, I have a pinboard for each decorating project I tackle, one for recipes to try, one for “cool crap I would do if I were a better mom,” etc. I find it useful for inspiration and for organizing my bookmarks in a visual way. For me, the at-a-glance board of appealing food blog recipes alone has been worth the effort, and I have tried more new recipes since joining Pinterest than in the past few years combined. But the culture of the place is very weird. Or maybe my social network is just weird. Or both. Yeah, probably both.

Anyway, I love Pinterest. You might love it too if:

1) You like to torture yourself with photos of gooey cookies and brownies right next to thin women with perfect abs and motivational quotes about diet and exercise.

Oreos and hot fudge baked into brownies

Source: kevinandamanda.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Exercise motivation (actually pinned by the same person)

Source: shapethatbody.tumblr.com via Maggie on Pinterest

2) You have a tender place in your heart for adorably whimsical holiday-themed treats.

3) You think that filling water balloons with paint and letting your children splat them on the driveway sounds like an awesome idea. OK, that actually is kind of awesome.

4) You have the time and motivation to make cute themed Bento box lunches for your children.

Source: cutestfood.com via Jessica on Pinterest

5) You enjoy fantasizing about clothing ensembles that would look really stylish on you if you weighed 110 pounds, shoes you would buy if you never had to walk anywhere, and homes you would own if you were a billionaire.

6) You homeschool and have run out of ideas.

7) You have loads of extra money to blow on fabulous etsy jewelry.

Source: etsy.com via Pam on Pinterest

8) You’re ready to organize an entry, playroom, craft room, or laundry room within an inch of its life.

9) You really, really, really like cake pops.

10) Fingernail polish in one simple color cannot adequately express your individuality as a human being.

Source: letthemhavepolish.com via Maggie on Pinterest

11) You appreciate lolcats, photos of babies with cute animals, photos of soldiers with cute animals, or photos of two cute animals together who do not belong together. Or you’re just really into baby hedgehogs.

Source: jessicaswift.com via Lydia & Kate on Pinterest

Lest you think Pinterest is a waste of time, every so often, you stumble on something like this Scottish bar stool for kilted men, and it makes it all worthwhile.

Source: signsfunny.com via Lydia & Kate on Pinterest

If you want, go ahead and follow me on Pinterest.