Skip to main content

media purge.

i can really only blame my lack of posts on not having any interesting thoughts or happenings going on, but i will also attribute it to my trying to stay away from the computer as much as possible and remember what i SHOULD be doing instead.

i admit that i have a slight facebook addiction. believe it or not, i threaten to delete my account almost weekly. i have a number of reasons for this… generally i do it when i get myself into trouble by making a comment about (what turns into) a controversial topic and wind up offending someone that the comment was never even aimed at… but then i think about the ease of connection i have between family and friends and i decide to stick with it. but the thing that has been bugging me about it lately is that i spend too much time worrying about something as stupid as my facebook account. it’s not that i sit here, all day, on facebook. holy cow that would be boring! i would need to have like 4 million friends in order to have anything new to read, and i’m not really a game player. no, it’s how i feel this constant need to check my email. i ‘need’ to see if anyone has commented on anything i’ve commented on or stuff like that. and then of course, i need to go back and re-comment on stuff, at which time i find new stuff to comment on, etc. etc. etc…  it is SO stupid. so anyway, i’ve gone into a voluntary facebook ‘detox’ in hopes that i can break myself from the stupid magnetic pull of this computer. this is why i REFUSE to have an iphone or the like. it’s bad enough that i can’t get away from this box sitting in the middle of my house. i shudder at the thought of having one that followed me around everywhere.

in a couple of months, our direcTV contract is up and it is NOT being renewed. i am SO excited to be done with this. of course, i’m sure my husband and children will completely disagree. i don’t really watch much tv. there are only a couple shows i ever watch, and i could easily live without those. mostly i use the tv for the kids. yes, i admit it. if i need to get something done or have a little bit of time (hopefully) without interruption, i turn on a show for them. i also find myself using it to diffuse situations where someone is tired and hysterical or kids that are getting in each other’s faces repeatedly and need a mandatory break from each other, especially if the weather is bad AND in that hell-like hour between 5 and 6pm. i’m not proud of that. i know that there are better ways to handle situations like this, but it’s just too easy. too convenient. and then there are the times i KNOW they’ve been watching too much because they can’t come up with anything else to do with themselves, or they get all belligerent or hysterical if i make them turn it off. i’m also pretty particular about what they watch. although i’m sure i’ll miss phineas and ferb when the cable is gone, disney channel drives me nuts. although i appreciate the lack of ‘commercials’ that you get w/ a lot of kids’ programs for stuff like toys, candy, and crap cereal, what we get is previews for shows that i don’t allow my kids to watch and music videos from their latest teenage vixens. ugh! anyway, i’ll be glad when this isn’t an issue anymore… although i will miss my dvr. yeah, yeah, jekyll and hyde, here.

anyway. i realize the irony of the fact that i’m sitting her at this computer, typing about how much i don’t like it. i should probably also admit that my children are currently watching a cartoon. :-/  i don’t hate the computer. i don’t hate tv. i don’t even hate iphones… i just hate the negative side of these things. the time-suck aspect and the ‘busy’ aspect. i feel the need to be ‘busy’ with other things. things i need to do, as well as those things that i enjoy doing. it drives me nuts when i set out with the intention to sit down for a half hour and read a book or work on a knitting project, but i just decide to ‘check my email’ first. UGH! before i know it, that half hour is gone and what have i accomplished? NOTHING! there’s 30 minutes of my life GONE.

so anyway, i’d say i’ve wasted enough time here for today, time to unplug myself from here for now.

Comments

  1. Gosh Rachel I take my hat off to you! I was just thinking today "I wonder what Rachel is up to" so I am pleased you blogged :)
    Facebook gives me so many positive connections with family and friends around the world that my Mum for one would be sad if I ditched it BUT I do agree it is a timer sucker and comments can be construed the wrong way! It's a dilema ;)
    Good on ya but I do miss ya B ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know how you feel about FB! I'm the same way. Not that I threaten to delete my account, but that I have this weird drive inside of me to constantly check my "mail" and post comments on other's statuses. :( I do spend too much time on there, and I too should detox...I just can't bring myself to do it. Anyway, I was thinking when reading this blog post, that we never talk except on FB. Would you like to come over to our place or meet in the middle or something? Your youngest 2 and mine would probably have a blast. I'll send u an e-mail.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

all comments are moderated. unkind comments will be deleted.

you may like...

boxed in.

so i’m feeling a little bit stifled right now. when i took over responsibility for shane’s education, i knew i was making a big time/lifestyle commitment. i also figured that layla and eventually, micah would be involved in this endeavor. i knew that i was stepping out into a great unknown, having never completely done this sort of thing before. it was an experiment. in general, this experiment has gone well. not entirely as planned, but well, nonetheless. i mean really, when you’re dealing with kids (or other human beings, for that matter) what does go as planned. but at this point, i have to say that homeschooling is NOT my favorite thing. it’s not that i can’t do it. it’s not that shane isn’t learning. it’s not that i’m excessively overwhelmed or that i feel like i’m failing. it’s not any of that. the best thing i can figure out is that i feel ‘boxed in’. i feel like my time and opportunities are so limited for all of us. it’s not just about shane, and with layla and micah so mu...

vacations stink… and why i can’t grocery shop

so tuesday, i managed to dig around in my hat a little more and discovered a rabbit named papa john.  essentially, i shuffled the week again, and had our friday pizza on tuesday.  and, in actuality it’s something that was going to happen anyway because we were so excited about having the new papa john’s open up, but realized that we were not going to be home on friday (date night!!!).  SO, that was my excuse. anyway, yesterday, i finally HAD to go.  i had been wondering if it was really so bad, or if it was just one of those things that i was building up in my head as awful and making it worse and worse every time i procrastinated longer. i had to head to redmond, so i figured i’d go to the bella bottega qfc, rather than my usual stop at safeway.  that was my first mistake.  no, actually, that was my last mistake.  the first was not doing it sooner, the second was taking all 3 kids with me.  if it is possible to make grocery shopping with 3 ki...

progress…

wash lindsey’s sleeping bags and return. set up tent to air and sweep out all the dirt. pick raspberries. check pool, add water. get skimmer for pool. clean up stuff in backyard. clean out cooler and return to mom and dad. clean bathrooms. catch up on laundry. (well, mostly. just have one load left to fold and put away.) fold and put away the pile of sheets that has been in my room for weeks. :) sweep and mop dining room and kitchen floor. plan meals and grocery shop for the week. costco run. put away all camping stuff in a somewhat orderly fashion. vacuum rug in garage. put away doll house in garage and stash toys. clean mom and dad’s on thursday. return pei’s lantern. work on mom’s shawl. get shane’s bike. pick up library books. i put #15 and #16 in blue because they’re done, but i didn’t do them. last night after dinner, i took shane and layla with me to cold stone to get a little birthday tre...

instafriday

it’s friday again!!! and that means: layla, still sick, but enjoying some brady bunch episodes in the recliner, with a cat, and a… tent? no idea. this warms my heart! checking out our family history via project life… circa 2007. LOVE! what I spent my sunday evening tackling: done! thank goodness. micah’s “hooked”! hahaha! a quick visit to the library. dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and very pretty roasted potatoes. I got this awesome little bundle at the store that had yukon golds, red, and purple potatoes. purple potatoes are SO fun! I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, a little rosemary, and a bunch of garlic! so yummy. the meatloaf was good, too! operation: pick out cheesy, cheapo valentines. yes, I live in yuppy-ville. if you call 1-888-dog-waste, you can PAY someone to scoop your dog poop for you.I wonder if shane knows about this… empty peanut butter jar = very happy dog. yes, that’s my 5 year old, excitedly tromping in to preschool with...

snifflesniffle, coughcough, ACHOOOOO!!!

ugh. we’ve been hit. first cold of the fall. micah started it a couple days ago. yesterday my throat felt a little scratchy, and by dinner time, I had to declare myself officially SICK. I passed out on the couch last night while dave was watching the giants game, and when I woke up, I made some announcement about how much my throat hurt, and he said, ‘yeah, me too’. so he’s down. and then shane woke up this morning not feeling well. LAYLA, however, is just fine. believe it or not, my child who picks up cold viruses like a magnet is the only one without a cold right now. I’m completely flabbergasted by this, but I’m certainly not holding my breath. I am really kind of astonished by the fact that she hasn’t gotten sick yet. school started over a month ago and, given her track record, I kind of expected to have to call her in sick the second day. but no. she’s been FINE. hopefully it’ll stay that way… maybe the school environment has kicked her immune system into hyperdrive or s...