Life's Whirlwind Adventures

Disclaimer: It is the last day before my holidays are over as I first draft this post.  It is likely scheduled for a February release date. I am a huge supporter of social media, so many great things come of social media, but there is a dark side. I am not naive about other people's practices with social media, for the most part, the people I follow or the people I have in my circle of friends are people I know and have a relationship with them off the computer.  Sometimes that relationship is nothing more than greeting each other and finding out how they've been doing in passing in the mall, but there is a genuine connection, a genuine interest to know them. However, some people are just there to be keyboard commanders and to spread hate around.  I tend to just block and delete those people from my social media circle but if they are determined they will continue to come out and cause havoc. Maybe they were bullied in their real life and this is how they attack back,...

I did it, I made it through February without checking Facebook! I am so proud of myself, because prior to this I would check Facebook every waking hour, sometimes twice an hour.  It was monopolizing a great portion of my day but wasn't getting me any further in any of my personal goals, therefore, it was a waste of time. What I've learned from this break: 1) There are lot's of great things that I miss about Facebook, seeing everyone's pictures, being able to ask for advice and getting multiple view points, being able to make last minute plans, responding to statuses and seeing other responses. There are lot's of times when you see people rally behind one another and offer such unwavering support that you know society isn't completely lost. 2) That I need to unfollow a lot of people.  There are a lot of people who appear on my timeline that I have no desire to follow or hear what they have to say. It could be they are making a lot of political posts (wh...

Ok this week was so HARD!! I had  few doctor's appointments and a few long waits in waiting rooms.  Let me tell you, when you need a time killer is there.  I really wished I'd had the Facebook app on my phone at that point because well it's a good time waster when you are forced to wait. But I did make it through the week, and I didn't cave.  Well not until Family Day, then I decided I could go on check my notifications and put forth any responses that needed to be addressed.  I'm also waiting for something to come in on one of the groups I follow so I needed to see if it was in.  But now that I've checked the notifications and stuff, I'm not sad to not be going on it each day.  Once a Day checking Facebook is more then enough time to check Facebook, unless I'm in the midst of selling or buying things. I'd spend less time on Facebook if I'd block out time (30 mins) each day to check what was going on. It would also make my life much more prod...

When I started this Social Media (Facebook) Hiatus I thought it would be the most difficult thing imaginable.  And the first few days were brutal, I kept wanting to sign in and see who was engaging with my posts, to see what my friends were posting and engage with those posts.  Then I started doing other things to get my mind of Facebook..... I sent out a couple tweets, so I've not been great at cutting myself off Twitter, but honestly it's about 3 tweets a day maybe five minutes total so it's not too bad.  I've definitely kept up with my Instagram and have sent out many, many pictures keeping people updated with what was going on, but I didn't check my notifications for Facebook. I've started doing other things as well, like an hour phone call with my friend Angela.  I've texted people I've never really texted before, I've written letters to many people and have even got them addressed in envelopes ready to be mailed.  Seriously, I love writing ...

Lent is a time of the year when Christian's give up something as a form of reflection to mimic Jesus' choice to give up all he gave up for us.  And blahdeeblah.... anyways I don't usually give things up, I like to hoard my obsessions and addictions but I found like I'd stated in my previous post that Social Media was not improving me but in fact it was impeding me from becoming a better person. I've now taken to writing letters to friends, some of you will get them, some of you may already have gotten them.   I'm spending time with my kids, I'm planning my blogs more efficiently, I'm spending time writing my novel and working on that aspect of my writing.  I'm also focusing on what I've got to do when I get back to work, what I want that to actually look like. Not constantly checking in with Social Media has freed up more time in my day to spend with the boys playing. We stay focused on what we are doing and notifications of a like or new pos...

I said in December that I was going to take a break from Social media and only check my Facebook on the computer.  Well if that were a school class, I'd have received a failing grade, yup failing, it's just so damn addicting!! So February I'm going to take a hiatus from Social media in my personal life.  I'm still going to post for my blogs and for my Fifth Avenue Collection business, but for my personal life, I'm going to take a break. I love Facebook for the connections it has allowed me to keep and the friendships I have made, but sometimes, sometimes I find myself going to a really negative place.  I get really irritated with some of the posts I see on my news feed and to block or unfriend those people that make those posts would cause drama and I'm not about drama.  But I also get irritated with the people that use Facebook to spread propaganda they know very little about!  But then they would totally die defending these views and if you comment they te...

So I had originally planned to do a post on my yoga sessions with Nicole Schulz, and I will but something else came up that I feel the need to articulate about. So here goes. Social media, as great as it is, in keeping us all connected it is an evil, an evil that drives me crazy.  An evil that probably drives teenagers crazy because they feel so much pressure to be perfect and to always be virtually engaging with their friends. Yet Social media is supposed to be a network or your friends and your friends should support you, yet, negative comments, judgemental comments always seem to creep in. I don't share a lot on Facebook, and yet I do.  But most of what I share is pretty neutral, it's not thought provoking, it's not anything to start a conversation, it's things like going to stars and strollers, or thanks to a friend for having a great visit.  I get lot's of likes and that's very uplifting, that people care enough about me and my life to spend even 5 seco...