I’m backkkk…well, sort of….

I am not one for making “new year’s” resolutions….I kind of feel like if you want to change something you should just do it immediately and not wait for a new year to start. However, this year I did want to consciously make a change… in an effort to be conscious and present more….and be online a lot less….more specifically, Facebook. I notice that, while Facebook has a lot of good features, it also has many “time sucking” features. I found myself checking-in in the morning scrolling through my newsfeed…at times, things I saw would irritate me…or change my mood. Other times…. I just thought, gosh I’ve just wasted 30 minutes looking at recipes or stupid pet videos. I felt an imbalance…which started to affect my mood.I found myself thinking (and talking to Melissa about it too….) more often than not…”I need to ditch Facebook.”

I know that in the beginning,the draw was to catch up with people and always know what’s going on…. seeing friends vacations… babies …birthdays etc….. some of that is really fun…sometimes it can make even the most self-confident person feel a little left out. I found that when I check in and see things that may have happened that I was not included in…well…..I think that it’s just human nature to feel a little left out (even if you wouldn’t have wanted to be there anyway. Just me?!?) I am much more of an introvert keeping a few friends close….a homebody at heart and I think that is the struggle with Facebook because you automatically always see what all the others are doing…the good and bad and the nonsense. We are always preaching to my kids, balance social media and real life. Be present with your family, your world, your community, your church, your school… while also enjoying the fun aspects of social media. I think that is our downfall as parents….when we preach these things to our kids and then we never really act on them ourselves. This year I am committed, and have done a really good job so far, at limiting and balancing phone time/electronic time… with things that I used to really enjoy …baking, creating, reading, writing, etc….revisiting those activities. What would you do if the internet broke tomorrow? I am pleased to report that I am loving being more present—-and less present online.

I took a long break from the blog and really considered how I want to be purposeful going forward….sharing things that I feel are fun to share but not repeating myself or repeating everything that is already out there. How many more shiplap tutorials can we see?!!? Am I right?? It is a fairly saturated market now… The whole blogging world and social shares in general. That is why if I share something on here I want it to be something that is helpful,useful, purposeful and clever and hopefully something that you can use in your own life. I will be on here less often and not on any sort of regular schedule… but I am still here and I still enjoy this platform. I still enjoy hearing from you all. My Facebook page will no longer be updated because Facebook does not allow me to continue that page without a personal page which I have deleted. I still enjoy Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest …so you can catch up with me there! I have found that Twitter is extremely useful,quick and interesting..not nearly the time sucker that Facebook was…and Instagram is great for a quick photo or a funny blurb about my day and I have found it to be a very uplifting social media. And of course Pinterest too.

I have gone back to reading magazines ,books and watching TV which by the way that will be my next post, we are saving over $125 a month by cutting the cable cord! I cannot wait to share with you what I have learned in this process so that you can do the same this year!

So I guess what I want to say is Happy 2017 …. I am still here and I will still be here sharing fun clever things in the future. We have our house up for sale and we are moving mid February. I am really excited to share with you some of the projects that we will be taking on in this new house. I have told my friends that this house reminds both the hubs and I have our very first house. A sweet ranch house with a great yard….extremely livable….very comfortable… and lots of natural light. I can already see our family enjoying time in this home and I’m excited to share with you some of the things that we will do with it! It is definitely a blank canvas for me right now which I am loving!

Be like Chloe…pure joy in 15 degrees fetching a ball:) Of course, you will need coffee to be fully filled with joy—ya know if you are outside in 15 degrees and all….

And because I love to leave you with something useful….I made stove top popcorn the other day and it was AMAZING!!!!!

Medium pot. Heat 2 T coconut oil. Put in 3 kernels and listen for them to pop.

When they pop, pour in 1/3 C kernels and remove from heat for 30 seconds.

Return to a med/high heat and swirl with lid on until kernels are popped (be careful to not over cook/burn!)

Pour into a bowl and immediately sprinkle with Lawry’s seasoning.

OMG delicious! And very healthy too!