so i'm a Betty...now what?

[mommyofgirls]

i came across a thread about bettys and olives...i am most definitely a betty with a STRONG desire for structure and order. anywho, is there a book based on this philosophy or anything? i have been diagnosed, if you will, and now what shall i do with this information?

[Daisy]

1. Admission is the first step.
2. Realize that Olives are people too, albeit strange and hard to understand.
3. Pray you have some Betty babies just for balance of power in the household.

~ An Olive

married to a Betty (I can't call him that! How about Bet)

Mother of a Olive and a Bet.

LOL, I have no idea if there is a book out there someplace. Let me know if you find one.

[water2wine]

Ok I think Daisy got the Betty and Olive thing reversed Are you really a Betty? You seem far too organized for that.

As far as what to do if you are a Betty, nothing. Just use HOD and you will be organized in ways you always dreamed of but could never pull off on your own. It is the perfect curriculum to organize the organizationally challenged and it can survive open and go, fly by the seat of your pants behavior typical of a Betty. Seriously you are already fixed just using HOD.

[Daisy]

HAAAA, I did. Okay, I'm going to fix it.

[water2wine]

HAAAA, I did. Okay, I'm going to fix it.

Hahahaha! I thought so. I mean after all you used a list to explain it. Hehehehe!

[water2wine]

mommyofgirls I am off the chart of what Mary describes as a Betty. I seriously need all my thoughts and ideas reigned in for me. HOD has been perfect. I have some basic organization skills but my thoughts and ideas get me going off tangents. I think you are going to find HOD is great for taking care of all that. I think Olives love it to because they love the structure. Carrie really has it written very well to please both the Olive and the Betty. And I really do not think that is true of all curriculum to be able to find that balance of pleasing all types.

[Momtoamayalilal2]

1. Admission is the first step.
2. Realize that Olives are people too, albeit strange and hard to understand.
3. Pray you have some Betty babies just for balance of power in the household.

~ An Olive

married to a Betty (I can't call him that! How about Bet)

Mother of a Olive and a Bet.

LOL, I have no idea if there is a book out there someplace. Let me know if you find one.

ROTFLOL!! If you know Daisy, you know that most of her thoughts will come out in a list! LOL

Mine do also, but we're not talking about me...I don't have those kinda of issues

And Daisy, I am CRACKING up at your Bet hubby....LOL...mine is the same. Sigh....

I think Mary read a book or something about this...maybe at a conference??

[kayrenee]

So an Olive is organized and Betty is not? What's the in-between person? You know, the kind who WANTS to be organized but isn't, knows HOW to do it, frequently makes sincere efforts at it and becomes totally immersed, but then at some point decides that her family needs clean underwear and something more nutritional than frozen pizza, so lets the organization go for another month or two? You know the kind of person who lives in two worlds?

[water2wine]

People can be balanced Kayrenee maybe you are just blessed that way.

[Daisy]

I'm not always a straight up Olive.

I can be spontaneous and carefree.

I just have to plan to be that way.

ROFLOL.

[mommyofgirls]

So an Olive is organized and Betty is not? What's the in-between person? You know, the kind who WANTS to be organized but isn't, knows HOW to do it, frequently makes sincere efforts at it and becomes totally immersed, but then at some point decides that her family needs clean underwear and something more nutritional than frozen pizza, so lets the organization go for another month or two? You know the kind of person who lives in two worlds?

this tends to be me at times. i think you are a Betty. i came across a thread on this board that talked about the two personalities - it's not just as simple as organized or not - it has to do with how relational you are, etc. when i have more time, i'll try and find it again and link it...

daisy, i'm married to an olive. LOL you people drive me crazy!

ETA: to further complicate things, i am a Betty who HATES clutter and mess and disorganization. it's like i have two heads sometimes!!

[kayrenee]

W2W, I'm not so sure I'm balanced. Just confused and frustrated about certain things. Because if I'm a Betty, then "I'm a Betty who HATES clutter and mess and disorganization!" And if I'm an Olive, then I'm missing something somewhere.

My dh would swear I'm an Olive because HE is a true Bet! (Or at least I think so... I'd love to see the relational side of these labels!)

I know I've read Mary's summary of all this before, but it's been a long time.

[Daisy]

I think it is frustrating to be an Olive sometimes. I have a really hard time thinking relationally. I'm that list girl. I keep the house running like a well-oiled machine. Except that deep down in the inside I want those relationships.

I want to play Uno after dinner and not feel obsessed with the fact that the sink is full of dishes.

I want to think the flowers my romantic Bet husband bought me are nice instead of wishing he'd just finish the honey-do list instead.

I worry that my children will always remember me as the slave driver and Dad as the "FUN" one.

So how is that for some honesty? I thank God everyday that he brought a Bet husband into my life who has, after 14 yrs, chilled me out a bit.

Just enjoy the fact that you are a Betty. Give your kids a hug and go dance in the grass.

[water2wine]

W2W, I'm not so sure I'm balanced. Just confused and frustrated about certain things. Because if I'm a Betty, then "I'm a Betty who HATES clutter and mess and disorganization!" And if I'm an Olive, then I'm missing something somewhere.

My dh would swear I'm an Olive because HE is a true Bet! (Or at least I think so... I'd love to see the relational side of these labels!)

I know I've read Mary's summary of all this before, but it's been a long time.

None of us are completely any of this. But I think it does help to know how you are mostly wired to know what you need to be successful. I like a clean organized or semi organized house as well. But I know myself well enough to know that an intricate list is not going to be what gets me there. It's just not the way I am wired. I write lists just to dump it off my brain and not make myself crazy thinking about it but I do not work well off them unless they have a lot of flexibility. Although I need something to keep me reigned in because I tend to think about too many things at once. That is why HOD is perfect for me. It keeps me on track but still gives me the flexibility to add a crazy idea here and there without ruining the flow of the day. I am pretty sure if Carrie made a house cleaning schedule it would work for me too. But as it is I am just a see it needs to be done do it type of girl with a chore chart so I do not have to keep track of the kids. With the future I love planing and looking at things but I can't stand to map out every second of it. So I like to know that what I have will work with my general idea but not have to be the one to plan every detail of it. I look at the work box systems everyone seems to be raving about lately and they make my head spin for some reason. I see that it could work but it looks like something I would not keep up or work for me personally. I applaud people that can be that organized but it is just not me. So I think it is just about knowing yourself to know what will help you and what will not. That is the key.

[mommyofgirls]

oh, now we're being honest are we? okay, how's this:

i hate being a betty a lot of the time. we are instructed by God to be managers of our homes, to keep them prim and proper, the laundry done, the dishes caught up, to educate our children, to keep our homes running, as Daisy says, a well oiled machine. do you know how hard this is for a betty??? I'M supposed to be the one who cares the most and is better at these things, and in our house that is not always the case. our house is very clean most of the time, but it does not come easily to me and so many days i wish it did. combine that with the fact i am so sensitve that a simple comment like, "Do i have any jeans clean?" by my dh can reduce me to tears, and i am an emotional roller coaster some days.

so, yes, i actually LOVE to dance in the grass, but sometimes i wish i loved doing dishes.