life

I am Now Two Weeks Removed from Facebook…

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Two weeks ago today, after a very-early-morning toilet moment and subsequent epiphany, I uninstalled the Facebook application from my phone and tablet after turning off all notifications. And today, I can tell you that I haven’t logged back in, not even once, and I genuinely feel like my life is better off for it. I wanted to share a few thoughts with you from what this last couple of weeks have held for me.

The usual disclaimer: I’m not judging you. Plenty of you are able to consume/use social media without negative effects/addictive behaviors. Also, I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll stay off Facebook forever, either. I’m still on Instagram (for now), and I’m still allowing my Insta photos and blog posts to share over to FB, so please know that I’m not against social media entirely.

But, I am against something that’s supposed to bring joy and entertainment becoming a huge time suck and causing stress and dissatisfaction with life. And, with as short as our time here on this earth is, I’m not a fan of something I can shut off and stuff in a pocket dictating my happiness and how I spend my free time. I’m rapidly approaching middle-age, and I don’t want to look back and see that a huge portion of my life was spent staring at a screen (of my own choice).

So here we go: the good, the bad, and the ugly (which is really just the bad, right?)

The Good:

  1. I’m less irritable in general! Since leaving the melee of Facebook, I haven’t seen a single political or theological rant, and no one has tried to sell me something, and it’s glorious.
  2. I don’t feel as bad about my life. It’s still a little shabby, a little overweight, and a lot infertile, but now that I’m no longer barraged with others’ carefully-curated social-media lives, I can maintain a proper perspective about my own little corner of the world.
  3. I’m reading REAL books. I bought a refurbished Kindle Paperwhite for this purpose, so I’ll be able to have several books at-hand but not feel like I’m staring at a blue screen, and I’m currently plowing my way through Walden. I also went to the local library this past Saturday and got a new library card so we can make use of our tax dollars. I haven’t read much since my Master’s program (I had some SERIOUS burnout after two or three novels a week for almost 3 years), and I forgot how much a book feels like an old friend.
  4. I’m staring at screens less in general. The good thing for me about Instagram is that there’s simply not as much to see. I follow a few friends, some celebrities, and some watercolor art and adorable animal accounts, but that’s pretty much it. Once you’ve scrolled for a few minutes, you’ve seen it all. Without Facebook to flip over to, I’ve just got to put the phone down and find something else to do.

The Bad (and Ugly):

  1. I never realized how much I shared random thoughts with everyone. Sometimes I miss it, because there are things that crack me up that I want others to find funny. But then I’m also faced with my own narcissism; do I really think I’m hilarious enough that other people need to see it constantly?
  2. FOMO is real, ya’ll. I’m missing scrolling through my comedy pages and seeing what some of my more distant friends are doing.
  3. People tend to talk to you like you should automatically know what’s going on via Facebook. And when you don’t, they assume you’re being sanctimonious.

But even the bad things aren’t that bad, really. I haven’t felt an urge to go back yet, and as a result, I’ve managed to pare down one more thing that’s causing life stress. It’s much easier to cope with stress when you simply have less stress to cope with.

More to come on this de-stressing, simplifying journey!

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Trying Not to Waste a Saturday

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I’m really bad about making great plans to do things on Saturday (like cleaning) and then ending up in the recliner for eight hours, unbathed and slovenly.  At least we started with a healthy breakfast this morning; Joey talked me down off the food-tantrum ledge (I’m bad about getting super frustrated when food isn’t “easy” and we don’t have exactly what I want) and made some protein pancakes that were pretty delicious.  I’ll post the recipe soon after we do a little tweaking.

Protein pancakes

I’ve promised myself that I’ll hop in the shower at 11 and then start knitting a hat for a very special little girl while Joey finishes up the laundry room.  The next organizing task for me is the closet.  I’ve got stuff hanging in there that I haven’t worn since we moved into the house seven years ago (or even before that; for some reason, I couldn’t let go of a few items that I haven’t worn since college and let’s be honest…even if I keep on the weight loss trajectory I’m on, I’m never going to be 115 pounds again).  I doubt I’ll get to it today, though.  I’d like to get this hat done by tomorrow.

Indy has been so stubborn lately; it’s frustrating.  I love her, but I wouldn’t have chosen her disposition if it was up to me.  She’s sweet and loving, but I’ve never met such an obstinate dog in my life.  I’m hoping that’ll be out of her system by the time we have kids.  She’s beautiful, though, eh?

Indy up close

Functional Adulthood Takes Work. Lots of Work.

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I conquered the top two dresser drawers over the weekend…almost.  I’ve got about half a drawer’s worth of things that I know I need to keep but am not yet sure where to house them permanently.  I’m still counting it a success, though.  Tonight, we conquer the laundry pile.  Our laundry room has been mostly unusable for the past five years or so because we’ve got so much stuff (and clean laundry), so I’m anticipating a great purge is to come tonight.  I swear, our tax return next year is going to rock.

The de-cluttering euphoria is helping, but I’m still overwhelmed by how much work it is to be a functional adult.  We’ve been in “survival mode” for so many years that we’ve forgotten how to take care of ourselves.  I mean, I cleaned the entertainment center before Christmas, and there’s dust on it again.  Ugh.  But, functional adults dust things.  And fold clean laundry.

Bear with me for a bit while I find my blog voice.  There’s so much that I want to do and talk about, but I mostly find myself staring at the screen getting overwhelmed and feeling that I’m profoundly boring.  I don’t cook enough to be a food blogger, I don’t knit enough to be a knit blogger…I don’t have a kid, so I can’t be a mommy blogger.  I’m not a runner (yet), but even if I was, I think running blogs can be a little boring.  As is often the case in life, I’m not quite sure where I fit.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the moon I took the other night; it’s COLD in Charlotte, right now, and they’re even talking about a wintry mix tomorrow night.  I’d be thrilled if we got a little snow.

cold moon

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, So Sue Me…

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Life…busy….blahblahblah.  Truthfully, I haven’t felt much like blogging.  A little bit of an identity crisis and some talk therapy later, I’m feeling much better and back to my old self.  I’ve been wanting very much to try to make a run at professional blogging, not necessarily to replace my current income, but, first, to make a difference and second, to turn into some sort of business-y thing.  I love to write and I’ve always felt drawn to it.  So, anyway…all of that to say that I’ve drug out my food blog, Eating Back to Good, again, and I’m refocusing it on something at which I am an expert:  the emotional/philosophical/physical struggle of losing weight.

On a VERY exciting note:  Joey has gotten the paperwork filed to be a BUSINESS!!!  Keep checking Tobacco Road Creations.  We’re working on getting pictures of his prints up, and there will be MUCH more to come (and products other than prints).  We’re going to do our first Antique show in September, the Antiques and Collectibles Show at Metrolina Expo.  From what I saw after visiting last month, I think that we should do pretty well; we have realistic expectations of what our products are worth, so our items will be affordable!  Come check us out if you’re in the area.  If you want more details, you can email me directly and I’ll get something together for you!

Yesterday, we hiked Linville Falls; it was about three miles (we hiked in our Vibrams!!), and it was so worth it.  The view was insanely beautiful.  Here’s just a taste:

And, for those of you who wondered, Shelli continues to be Maven of Mischief of the Weaver Household:

You talkin’ to me??

Welcome to My New Home, Week Recap, and Stuff…

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Enjoy the pics today…they are all of Shelli since I’ve not been taking too many photos this week.  My apologies for the repeats.  So, I’m pretty disappointed this morning because we’d planned to go hiking on Crowder’s Mountain today, and the news keeps talking about how great the fall foliage is this weekend and the weather is supposed to be totally perfect.  But we’ve had two pee incidents with Shelli in the past three days, and I’m thinking that she’s starting to feel abandoned because of how busy we are with school and stuff and how often we’re gone.  We’ve had “pee issues” with her on and off since last Christmas when she was traumatized by a pretty big Christmas party we had at the house with lots of loud kids…we got her checked and it’s not medical, so it’s how she reacts to stress (unfortunately).  Joey mentioned yesterday that it might be good for her if we just rest at home this weekend and spend Saturday with her.  I’m missing the fall colors, but I also don’t want my baby to feel neglected…it’s weird…I’ve never seen a cat so needy.  Anyway, so today will be filled with reading, a little schoolwork, knitting, planning, stuff like that.  I can’t say that I’m disappointed.  Sometimes, not leaving the house is more rejuvinating than anything else you can do.  I’m planning to try the P90X DVD that I borrowed from Cory today…I really want to get into this yoga thing.

shelli sneaky

Sneaky, sneaky kins;)…

One of my biggest issues is the ability to clear my mind, to stop it from running, and I feel like yoga would help with that…not only the brain-clearing-out thing, but the flexibility and overall feeling of wellness.  With Heather so enamored with it and Angela now getting into it, I read about it pretty often, and it seems like it would be pretty theraputic for me, both as a workout and as therapy;).  Maybe it’ll keep me from going postal at work (or at least from being passive-aggressive to get my point across..hehe).

prarie dog kins

Prarie-dog Kins…this was taken when Santa Claus was riding through our neighborhood on the back of a firetruck (with sirens blaring)  flinging candy at children…those who weren’t too terrified to leave their houses…

School is really kicking my butt lately…I think I’ve hit that point in the semester where I’m just really tired and want it to be over.  I’m looking forward to Christmas break when I can focus on books that I want to read and knitting and stuff.

shelli christmas cap

Shelli modeled my handknit Christmas ornament before I went to my ornament exchange party.  She didn’t really seem to like it.

Last night, we had some of Joey’s friends from his seasonal job over…it was so nice to talk to people who are in the same place in life as we are.  I always struggle with feeling like we’re behind everyone else our age.  There are so many sacrifices that have to be made for the sake of education, especially when one of you is going all the way through the PhD level…one is knowing that you’ll likely not have any semblance of a normal life for the next ten years or so.  They’re going through a similar situation and it’s so helpful to know that other people deal with those feelings too.

Shelli sock of death

The “Sock of Death,”  also known as “the reason my right arm looks like hamburger meat.”  My psychiatrist asks me every time I go if I’m a cutter.  Sometimes, I wonder if he really believes that it’s from playing “Sock of Death” with “Killer Kins.”

I’m toying with an idea for setting up on Etsy shop…more on that later once I make a final decision, but I think it could be pretty fun and maybe something people would want to have:)

So, off I go to continue watching Due South with Joey and the Kins…I leave you with this, the most precious picture that I have…

shelli sleeping