A Week Without Facebook

It's been a week since I declared my Facebook Fast, and I thought I would let you know how it's been going.

Do I miss Facebook? YES and NO

Why do I and don't I miss Facebook? I don't feel connected and I don't feel connected

Facebook is how everyone communicates, and if I'm not communicating on Facebook, then I am not communicating much at all. A part of me feels like I may be missing out, but then I think about all of the wonderful parts of not being connected. On Sunday for instance, I didn't have to read through all of the maddening status updates from Alabama fans after their loss. I don't have to read about what you are doing every five minutes while you are just sitting at a red light on a bridge at 5:35 pm before you go through the drive thru and pick up dinner and head home to feed your kids, give them a bath, and put them to bed before telling all of us every minute detail from the moment you rolled out of bed today. I don't have to know where you've been by your check-ins nor do you need to know where I've been. I don't want to read a promotional shout out about your new business every few hours. Don't get me wrong, some people want to know every move you make, but I don't think I do anymore.

Facebook is not all bad or annoying. It is fulfilling to keep up with friends in other states and countries. I love looking at your pictures, and I especially enjoy the great articles that have been posted from other sources by my friends. I learned about a new radio station that I love through Facebook. I guess I'm realizing that I need to filter my news page when I log back on. I believe that is the only solution to not be so annoyed all the time!

So what have I been doing without Facebook? I have been exercising more. Okay, so doing my Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred two times last week isn't something to brag about, but I promise that Facebook would have made the number of times I excercised zero. I read two books, one on being childfree and the other on yoga. I had some of the best quiet times in the mornings, I made a few delicious dinners, and baked homemade cupcakes for the first time in my life. I sat in the quiet and soaked it in, and Michael and I had amazing conversations.

I believe I could do more to make this fast worth it, so I need to work on that. I know I will reconnect on Facebook when the 40 days are over. It's almost impossible to give it up forever. But I realize that I can accomplish so much more and fulfill my day with meaningful tasks if I choose to disconnect more often.

Facebook Fast

I am still in disbelief that it is November already! This can't be true! November is a big month for us as we celebrate Michael's birthday November 4, Scarlett's Birthday November 7, and my birthday November 20. This will be my last birthday celebration of my 20's, and I don't know if I have accepted it! 29 sounds so blah.

We are also celebrating Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with Sean and Caroline who will be hosting the festivities for the first time as husband and wife. I am excited about seeing their new home and enjoying Michael's family, but I pray that we don't get snowed in!

I hope that with all that we have going on, November will somehow be a time of quiet and reflection. 40 days from today, I will be attending a LIFE Retreat with my LIFE Group, and I pray that my life will be forever changed by this experience. I have committed to purging some areas of my life until then so that I can experience God as much as possible this month in preparation for the experience.

I am also, as we speak, giving up Facebook until the LIFE retreat ends. This is going to be so hard for me, but I believe it is necessary. I feel convicted about the time I WASTE on facebook. I in no way mean to offend anyone by saying this, but I waste precious time looking at the profiles of people that I am truly not "friends" with. I have Facebook friends who I would pass by in the grocery store if I saw them because I wouldn't have anything to say or I may not even recognize them in person! I know that I have Facebook friends who only added me to be nosy and vice versa. I'm definitely not innocent of being a Facebook stalker myself!!!

For me, Facebook is not real life, and though I do think there are great things about it, and I love keeping up with friends from places we have lived, it has replaced valuable time spent on real-life relationships. Today, I deleted any Facebook friends that I am not real friends with or would not befriend in person. It is nothing personal, but it just felt fake. I used to think that having less Facebook friends than others meant I was a loser. But today, when I purged my Facebook friends, I felt amazing. When I do log on again in December, my newsfeed won't be cluttered with junk from friends who aren't really my friends at all.

I hope the time that I have free from Facebook, the TV, and the internet (except for a few occasional blogging moments) will give me a greater sense of myself and my purpose. I want to grow closer to God, I want to discover parts of myself, and I want to grow my relationship with my amazing husband and friends who I can actually touch!

Frugal Friday!

Today has to be the most beautiful day in Birmingham in months!!! There is not a cloud in the sky, and it's only in the 70's! I can't think of a better way to celebrate a Friday than by taking Scarlett to the park this afternoon and going to the Ladies ReCreate Conference at our church tonight. I am so excited for this event, and the best part is that most of my LIFE Group is going too!

I thought I would make this Friday even better by sharing one of my favorite recipes. It's not really a recipe to be honest, but it makes a delicious quick meal on a budget!

All you need is:

1 Can black beans, drained

Taco sized flour tortillas

1 Can Rotel, drained

1 Pouch Mahatma Yellow Rice

Your favorite freshly grated cheese

Cook the rice according to package directions. When rice is cooked, add a few spoonfuls of Rotel. In a skillet, heat the black beans then add remaining rotel, cooked rice, and cheese. Fill the tortillas with the mixture. It's simple and magical!

If I'm feeling wild, I'll saute peppers and onions or squash and zucchini and add to the tacos, but most of the time I just stick to the basics!

Cooking & Decluttering

YUM! YUM! Look what I get to eat tonight! Michael, the greatest husband ever, who cooked me breakfast this morning and hung out with me today at HomeGoods, Home Depot, and Bed Bath and Beyond, has officially kicked off our tour of The Pioneer Woman Cookbook with her chicken spaghetti.

This recipe could feed a family of eight, and it looks like we are going to be eating this for lunch and dinner tomorrow before freezing the rest, but it smells and looks so good! I am so excited and can't wait for it to be out of the oven in just a few minutes.

Most of her recipes are cooked in an iron skillet. I bought one on Friday (you should have seen me trying to lug that heavy thing to my car), and I can't wait to try it out. If you haven't, go get her book! Try a used bookstore like I did, and get it for a steal. I promise it is money well spent! I guess I should probably tell you that after I've tried the first recipe. Whoops!

This is my favorite part of her book. She has pictures of every step of the recipe. It's awesome, and every cook should do this in my opinion.

Here is Michael cutting up the chicken, and of course our little Sweet Pea is right under him hoping a few scraps will fall her way. On a different note, do you see how white our kitchen is? It drives me crazy!!! Our entire apartment is white, I mean everything! I am slowly working on it, and luckily we get to paint. Michael promised me we will paint before football season starts. I also started a fun project today that will add some more color in the kitchen. I will post that very soon, I promise!

In addition to my fun kitchen project, I also worked on a few decluttering projects too. I hate clutter. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Moving from a large home to a two bedroom apartment has been great in so many ways, but some spaces are cramped. Especially my closet that I now share with Michael. My mission was to go through my shoes, belts, purses, and jewelry, and I decided to donate what I haven't used in several months. Most of the things I donated haven't been used in years. Why in the world have I been keeping this stuff?

You can see Scarlett snoozing in the background of this picture. She looks thrilled doesn't she? I had a real mess on my hands, but I love decluttering. It makes me discover new treasures I forgot I had, it makes me feel good to donate nice things to people who can snag up great deals, and it relieves stress. I am a firm believer that living more simply relieves so much stress in life. After spending hours organizing and decluttering today, there is no way I want to have a cluttered life that forces me to do this several times a year. I can't really pinpoint the exact cause, but there is something about living with so much stuff that makes you feel like your drowning.

The bigger issue is learning not to buy new stuff to replace the stuff that you give away. There is a reason I gave away all those shoes. Its' probably best that I find a few great pairs of shoes and wear them out instead of buying 10 pairs of cheap shoes that just sit in my closet. Old habits die hard, but I want to learn to buy with more intention and really think "Do I really need this?" Besides, saving on clothes I don't wear will probably give us more money to buy groceries for our Pioneer Cooking Adventures!!!