A lot of bloggers/tweeters have been posting photos or videos of themselves sans makeup, waking up in the morning or with oreos in their teeth. It’s part of POTSC’s Real Me campaign. I’m like, “Yeah, like I’m going to do that.”
And I actually was going to.
But, oh, this is good…
I thought I’d go one step further.
I’m showing you the inside of my van. [gasp].
And I’m going to take a video right now before I chicken out or clean up.
That’s worse than me without makeup, I promise.
As of right now imma gonna tell you what I have in there: two leftover cupcakes from yesterday’s class party, an unused carseat, an empty juice box, Hope’s riding chaps, lip gloss, my purse, a coat, a scarf, some crocs for the kids, tons of books,and so many other things.
So. Many. Other. Things.
So that’s it. You have me, without the clean up I do before someone rides in my car, before the clean up I do before I drive to the car wash. You have the van that I live in most of the day in all it’s goldfishy-glory.
The real me. Without airbrush, without a dustbuster.
In the spirit of authenticity and genuineness, here I am.
The REAL Me from Sarah Markley on Vimeo.
What do you “clean up” for others?
If you’ve done a “real me” photo, leave the link in your comment. I’d love to see it!
One more thing, if you subscribe on a reader or get this through email, click over to the blog to view the video or click here to watch straight from Vimeo
Tags: POTSC, video post
That was great! I feel so much better about my van now! (However, no, you may not look in my 11-year old son’s room. Or the laundry room.)
first of all i love it that you are always the first person to comment on my blogs. you are up in the middle of the night.
secondly, i agree about the laundry room. and i don’t have an 11 yr old boy, but i can imagine… =)
It’s almost as if I’m up early, I’m up so late! Totally ridiculous! But I do get to be first, so there’s that.
oh my goodness, I think I just had a small heartache! lol Ur right….its way worse than no makeup
I’m sending this link to my husband. Our vans could be twins, only mine has dump trucks instead of dolls. With three car seats we rarely have the space for anyone to ride with us, so rushing to clean it up doesn’t happen very often. But the house, oh the house, how I shove and hide so much before people come. And the thing is I know most of our friends and family wouldn’t judge us for toys on the floor and clean laundry in baskets (but not put away, why is that the hardest part?). But still I feel like I have to “hide” how we really live. Thanks for the “without makeup” shot.
my husband was like, “You’re really gonna do that?”. but i think he needs to do one of his own car. computers, cables, etc. crazier than mine for sure.
just instead of cracker crumbs there are empty bags from Mcdonalds.
I love it!
Totally makes me feel ok about how our wagon looks right now!
As I a mom of small kids I can relate to the mess and the frantic cleaning when you know someone is coming to ride with you. Thanks for showing the real you – I knew I couldn’t be the only messy vehicle owner out there
awesome.. I got to come and organize for you! ha! you should see my house most days. I need to get a picture out asap.
I love your honesty!
please do!! =)
you’re amazing sarah!! maybe i’m just emotional this morning but watching your video almost made me cry because I often feel like everyone else always has everything together and I’m the only one scrambling behind the scenes.
Thank you for your vulnerability and for making me, and others out there, feel like they aren’t so alone in what it REALLY looks like behind closed doors!
did you THINK you were the only one? =)
you should see my house…
maybe that will be the next real me video. =)
my favorite posts in the whole world are ones that remind me that i am okay, normal, accepted for who i am by the One Who Is. God loves the REAL us and i love that………..
this was such a great idea for a real me video. it is amazing to me how much stuff kids produce. i had my nephews for just hours at a time, and it floors me what my house looks like when they leave. now that’s real.
my real me stuff can be found here: http://www.pinkhairedgirl.net/?p=4099
it is UH mazing how much kids can leave in their wake. i hear you. =) and i’m going to check out your real me stuff. last night when i was doing links i did them quickly and didn’t do a complete search of all the real me friends out there. =)
Seriously, our vans are related.
Only mine has WAY MORE cracker and cookie crumbs littering every square inch!
Thanks for being real
Sarah….you are such a dear =) My heart is happy today because of your cute video! I am in a wheelchair and I have a handicap van with a ramp. My daughter is 17 and some days when I roll up into “MY Van” lol… one would think it’s a laundry room! She leaves sweatshirts, water bottles, socks, books, wrappers from what ever she ate for a snack, and some times I can’t even get my wheelchair into “MY Van” until she puts everything from on the floor…up onto the back seat!
I wish we still had carry-out boys at the grocery store!!! Katie would die if a cute boy carried out our groceries and she had to move all her junk, just so he could put the bag of groceries into “MY Van” !! She has her own car but it’s a old clunker and gets bad gas mileage so she always wants to use “MY Van” lol… I think the auto makers need to start putting washers & dryers into our vans and a garbage compactor would be great too =)
Thanks for sharing with us today!
I love your blog…
xoxo
another Mom with a messy van in MN so don’t feel alone!
this is awesome! and i know, it’s MY van but it’s littered with THEIR things. (sigh)
I clean up my house for people when they are coming over for the first time.
After that, I don’t care.
I may or may not wear make up on a regular basis.
yes, and i’m working on a few videos to prove it. the no-makeup that is. =)
You left your purse in the car?? You are darling. I love you!
in front of my house. i was only home for an hour but i usually don’t do that. =)
have had it stolen once a long time ago out of my car and I never leave it in there now.
Doesn’t EVERY mom’s minivan look like that? I hope so. Or I’m in trouble too. We could feed a small nation with the amount of graham crackers & goldfish in the car. We have a potty in the car too. Cuz well….you never know when you’re going to have to…..
I just started my own BLOG this week! Would you do me a favor & check it out? I think I have some great things to say atleast. Hopefully others will too. Let me know what you think.
yeah! what’s the link? i didn’t see it when i clicked on your name.
and, we used to have a potty in there too.
Haha, isn’t that some sort of health code violation going on there!!
Love your heart, Sarah, and your crazy fast talking always makes me smile. I’m posting my video tomorrow–I saw the chatter about this yesterday and I’m always all about an opportunity for transparency!
Who said you could drive my car??? Hahaha!
Ha, love this!! I did a whole post a while back dedicated to the contents of my car. I should have videoed it! http://thegypsymama.com/2009/09/09/meet-the-contents-of-my-car-be-afraid-be-very-afraid/
Sarah….I often stop by your blog when I see it on facebook, but I don’t think I have ever really commented. I love how real you are!
Your video made me think of my car…floors fairly clean (except for maybe crumbs), a few reusable shopping bags, a Bible, hand lotion and hand sanitizer, my CD case, and old Thomas Guide map….and really that is it. I don’t know how it happened, but somewhere along the way my little passengers grew up, got their own driver’s licenses, bought cars and vacated mine. I really miss those days of carting them around and hearing about their days. Yes, it is nice having a clean car that is MINE again, but the cost to have it is very great. Enjoy your sweet girls while they are little…someday you will have a clean car again and it will make you just a little bit melancholy.
Am I the only one out there with small kids AND a clean car? There are the occasional drink cups and Lego pieces, but they get taken inside the house within two days.
I do always clean up my house before someone comes to my house. Even when it’s family or best friends. I have to have everything COMPLETELY clutter-free. Even in rooms in which the visitor will never enter. I think it’s because my job is to take care of the house and if it’s a mess, I’m shouting to the world that I’m not doing my job. (Of course, I’m sitting here reading blogs instead of doing housework….=D)
And if you want to see me without makeup, check out my twitter (@aggieredhead) or blog profile picture (they’re the same). I took the picture, posted it, and then realized that I didn’t have any makeup on. I might or might not take a new one with makeup – haven’t decided yet.
you made my day!!! Loved it!
HA! you crack me up!
Yesterday I found out that you have struggled with weight. Today I found out that your van is disgusting. FANTASTIC!!! Lately, I’ve been cleaning my Honda by tossing everything into the trunk. I sit here and wonder now what all is back there. Maybe I will look on my lunch hour. Maybe not. Ignornace is Bliss. Personally, I have no qualms abt being seen without make-up, etc. But, if you were to come to my home un-announced, walk down the hall and peer into my 16 yr old son’s bedroom (or even mine), ask to use the restroom, I would FLIP OUT! Everything has to be a ‘certain way’ before I would ask anyone over. Thanks for the peak into your van. Believe it or not, it’s inspiring!
Why are we so obsessed with what everyone else thinks? And why do we so quickly judge others – or even feel it is our place to judge someone else? A few months back I came across this quote from Chuck Swindoll in his book Come Before Winter and it stuck with me:
“How come we’re so surprised when we see it {incompetence/failure} in others and so devastated when it has occurred in ourselves? Come on, ease off. If our perfect Lord is gracious enough to take our worst, our ugliest, our most boring, our least successful, our leaning tower of failures and forgive them, burying them in the depths of the sea, then it’s high time we give each other a break. After all, imperfection is one of the few things we still have in common. It links us close together in the same family! So then, whenever one of us blows it and we can’t hide, how about a little support from those who haven’t been caught yet? Oops, correction. How about a lot of support?”
We are all bound by our imperfections: Our messy/cluttered cars, imperfect homes, blemishes, etc. I try to be transparent with people, but feel a lot of anxiety when it comes to people seeing my messy home or my face without makeup. It’s easier for me to be judged by my friends than total strangers because at least friends know the “Real” me and love me anyway. Strangers are deciding if they want to bother to get to know me.
Kudos to you for going for it Sarah!
WOWZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha…. the thing is, all of our vans, homes, sinks… look like that at one time or another. Thanks for sharing, brave girl
Hugs,
Traci
Thank you for sharing! I was just pondering this morning wether to clean my car out to take it to the shop. I opted to leave it dirty! Glad to know I am not the only one who lives out of my car! LOL….you are wonderful!
Wow, that’s amazing! If I let my van get like that with 7 kids nobody would be able to get in at all.
OH wow. this makes me miss you! And it makes me remember the dream I had that I met you and you were driving a van or something.
i think it’s a rule that a parent’s minivan look like that. Our’s does too. honestly, even my jeep liberty, suffers from old fast food wrappers & the what not.
Thanks for sharing.
Where have you been all my life? My girlfriend just sent me a link to this post. You so could have been a contender in my DMV (dirty minivan) contest last year. Here’s the link:
http://hagenhoopla.blogspot.com/2009/03/dmvs-cribs-what-does-your-car-look-like.html
Browse around and check out the most cluttered purse contest as well. And then the ugly photos thing has been a yearly passion(?) of mine for years. You will feel better about yourself . . . and your van. Press on. A dirty minivan means happy kids (and a disgusted husband). At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Although a DMV might actually just mean a crazy mom, but we’ll keep that on the down low.
Wendy
Ha! I love it. Mine looks same as yours except you have 1 upped me. Your goldfish crackers are still in a bag sealed up. Mine are crushed all over the floor board. That’s not mentioning what’s in between the seats. We’ve found french fries, pieces of chicken nuggets and so on.
I subscribe to you through email and I love your blog.
I will do a quick pick up of toys, make sure my living area is vacuumed if I know someone is coming over.
OK, you win. Your mini-van is dirtier than mine. AND I HAVE THREE MORE KIDS THAN YOU!
I feel very, very, very good about myself now. I feel downright self-righteous. Dang, that’s a good feeling! Thanks, Sarah!
Let’s do this again next week!
This was brilliant! I’m smiling, big time, because I can so relate to this. My car…it’s a disaster. The front seat are not too bad, the back seat that my 4 yr old inhabits…that’s a different story!
Thanks for posting your take on “the real me”. I wouldn’t have thought of it, but don’t we worry what people would think of us if they were to see our car in it’s, um, naturalness??
For some reason I can’t see the video…but I can imagine as I have recently seen the inside of my own mini van! This is so funny because we’ve been doing a little “get real” campaign to promote an event here where I live and I didn’t even know there was something like this going around in blog world. I love it!
Oh I love it! I’d show you my face without makeup any day over the inside of the car! (If your’s is bad with 2 kiddos, think of how much worse it would be with FIVE!) I should do this with my hideous laundry room. A laundry room redo is on the to-do list this weekend so maybe I should video tape it in all it’s nasty glory now.
That. Was. Awesome.
Gotta love the family van! Its a life and story in itself. No van is complete without carseats, empty water bottles,and fishy crackers. Those are staples and come standard with every van.
Sarah…… I LOOOOOVE YOU!!! Oh the dreaded van! Love it! I made a video last week of my dirty house because friends and family often (in love) make fun of how organized I am! I will have to put it up on my blog tomorrow in honor of real me week!
Oh, that’s so funny… I didn’t even know people were doing that but I did it just a few days ago! I posted a picture of myself smiling but looking a hot mess with no makeup, dull skin, wierdie-kink hair, etc when I had a sinus cold. Then I went on to add that my sweatpants were baggy 20 pounds ago. I missed mentioning my giant slippers, though… haha. We all have less-than-perfect days, I think an honest blogger should occasionally have the online version of answering the door in sweatpants and a messy bun from time to time
You are absolutely gorgeous girly! I don’t have any children yet but hope to have 4 babies one day, can’t even imagine what my SUV will look like lol But I guess in the end just seeing their bright smiling faces in the rearview mirror will make it all worth it. Loved your video, have a fabulous day hon
who gave you the keys to my van!?!
That is too funny! My van looks pretty similar! The back stays fairly decent(behind the seats), but there are toys and clutter everywhere else along with a ton of coke cans in my basket thing between the two front seats!
Haha…my car looks exactly the same way! I don’t think my girls have EVER left the house without a treasured object, that is really only treasured until they get out of the car! As for my jusk, I am so lazy about taking my stuff out! Plus, you know, I can’t get the baby out, and carry my EMPTY water bottle that I could easily stick in my purse until I got to the recycle bin!
Sarah – thanks for your bravery.
Your van looks like mine except mine is not a sea of pink but blue/black mess because of my son. Kids…gotta love ‘em!
phew! my kids just cleaned the van last weekend. yes, the kids cleaned it. it’s their mess. they moved in and i had them move out.
noah’s room is off limits.
me without make-up is off limits too (that is scarier than noah’s room)!
That is many levels of hideous and hilarious at the same time!!! So funny. At least it is a very colorful mess!
And mine has been almost that bad… almost. Ok, maybe once it was that bad… ok, maybe 5 times. 
Love it. We moved a month ago and have zero children, and our car is WAY worse than that! I still have odds and ends on the floor- front seat, back seat, trunk, plus the whole back seat is full of crud. And I didn’t actually do a real me post, but this post http://mandiesmumblings.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-i-want-to-look-at.html shows the state of my dining room, which is about the equivalent of my car, and of my real self. It’s SO true.
I finally get to post a comment about this video.
It’s. Truly. Hilarious.
I love your transparency. You rock.
heres the thing…when im there next month…bring your van..i’ll clean it for you. cuz i love you.
yup.
I love that you did this. I can honestly say that I feel like I can relate so much better to you now. I think it is so important that we all remember that we each have our areas in life that aren’t perfect and I love to get to know people better to get to know the REAL person — who is always better than that perfect image we have in our mind.
This is how my car usually looks too – but now I had a wonderful idea and made the mess-maker clean it up. Every Saturday my 6yr old is required to clean out the backseat of the car! Because let’s be honest – I don’t eat goldfish and I don’t read “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” while I’m driving! So – it only looks like that now Monday – Friday! PROGRESS!! =)
Stef