Unplugging

 Hello all!!! This blog was wrote in pieces over a few days that I actually logged out of Facebook...GASP!!!! There is that option, buried down under a lot of stuff we never check. It is weird to not have my phone or my tablet buzzing every few minutes with game requests, with notifications, and not thinking about posting every five minutes. BUT it was needed. I think I may do this once a week. You see, I did something weird, I focused on me and my family right here in front of me. I also got a lot of my to do list done.

 I started thinking about doing this because I felt like I was constantly updating or wondering what everyone was up to. I am an hour into it at this point and I all ready feel a calming affect. Now for some of us, social media is our link to the outside world...I get that and I have a lot of friends on there who I turn to and a few support groups for the health issues I deal with. It is best to talk to ones that relate sometimes. The more I thought about unplugging the nicer is sounded. I also needed a recharge. I needed to cut the cord. I needed this because I want to return to my writing roots.

 I am an old school writer. Give me pen, paper, a music source, and headphones. DO NOT forget the coffee, that is all I need to write. I also like doing this outdoors, but the cold is not allowing that...for now. I have so much bubbling inside of me, it is driving me mad. For some you ask, well why you have the blog, and school papers, and of course the ever popular status updates....it is not where I want to explode. See I have a novel fighting to get out, but it never fails, when I start writing, something pulls me away. So I am going to find a way to cut that cord once and for all. I am deeming Sunday's...silent Sunday. From here till forever. Sunday is the one day of the week, I will be writing, focusing on my mental health, and welcoming back the writer inside me. Now we all know blogs and all will be posted on random days, but Sunday's is reserved for my novel and my family.
 I think that this will help not only my creative side, but my mental health, and will spill over into my weight loss as well. I have said it numerous times, this is the year to put it all into perspective...35 is my magic number. I am looking forward to posting beginning and ending numbers for 2015. I am also excited to see where the year takes me with my writing and my friendships and other relationships. This is a year in constant change, and for once, I am not scared of it. More later....time to start my to do list after some brunch!

So on to day 2 of my unplugging experiment. I hopped on a few times yesterday to check to make sure there were no pressing issues, I found none. Just had to put my seal of approval on a few hand made things I have coming in next week. I have found I am calmer. Well, except for my husband's phone bill...3 transfers and found out that I double paid my phone bill and did not pay my husband's, but we got that squared away. Boost is probably the best phone company I have ever dealt with. It also showed me I need this unplugging at least once a week.

I also took some time and looked at all my blog posts from through out the almost three years I have been doing this and I will surpass 2013 entries by the end of March easily. I also have found that I do not have near as many readers as I used to...time ti figure out how to amp up my readers again. I do think that fact I only had 9 total for 2013 is one reason many fell off, but I will get them back...not sure how, but I will get them back.

Yesterday I got some of the stuff on my too do list done, I spent some time playing a few games with husband, had a few dance parties with my daughter, and I went to bed at 10:00pm!!! I also feel like yuck, got whatever my daughter had for a few days last week. But I will be kicking it out in a few days....meds and hot tea and icy hot to the rescue! I also found that by unplugging I actually was more focused on the here and now. My daughter loved all the play time and my hubby enjoyed my attention. I think the biggest reason for doing this, I found I was more focused on what was going on in the virtual world then in my life. I was more worried about a notification on my phone then what someone was saying to me. I wanted to break the cycle. I did not want to do the deactivating thing because I have a few groups and pages that I admin or co admin, there is a need for Facebook in my life. Just not every 2.5 minutes. I think I may actually keep my tablet and my computer logged off and just keep my phone logged in all the time, but I am going to find a way to cut down on the amount of notifications.

Now I want to say, there is nothing wrong with being on Facebook, there is nothing wrong with posting 75 times a day. I know I post more pictures of my kiddo then some, this is how I let distant family watch her grow up and stay a part of her life. BUT I caught myself falling into the trap of posting every move I was making. Sometimes I do it to let people know, hey not ignoring you just busy. Sometimes it was just a venting place, and as my status' got longer, the more I realized, I needed to take a time out. I needed to just breathe and cut the cords for a few days. This has been a refreshing few days and look forward to my once a week time out. I also am putting together a new blog completely for my writing. I won't be posting it in the notes on Facebook anymore.  Check out In the midst of Chaos http://chaoshasanewhome.blogspot.com/2015/02/never-done.html For the new home of my poetry.
SO here is my challenge to my readers...cut the cords one day a week. One day, that is it. Reconnect with the real world, the family that surrounds you. How many of you can do it? How many can go 24 hours without social media and just be social? I know it has been a struggle for me, but feel every week will get easier. So with that I am signing off to jump into all of the craziness that is finals week and all the work that it entails. Until Next time....

Happy Dieting!!!