You guys.  JUST as I was getting ready to start writing this blog…THIS popped up: iPhone Separation Anxiety is Real : Study Says.  (Since I’m an Android user…clearly, I’ll never have a problem 😉 )  The whole point to this blog was to be a quick follow up from my last one–the one where I, essentially, melted down about how stupid Social Networks have made me over the last few years.  That article made me laugh because I can totally get that–not so much with my phone, but, with checking things, in general–email, comments, likes, etc.; every stoplight was an opportunity to catch up and see what was new.  Anyway, since that last blog a few things have happened.  

1) I received some of the most amazing, positive, and supportive comments and personal emails.  I, seriously, have incredible people around me and, if it wasn’t for Social Network’s, I wouldn’t have met many of you.  (Yeah.  I’m still trying to come to terms with that one, too.  I’m stuck in a confusing spot between thankful and hateful of social networking.)

2) I realized that being bored, even for a couple minutes, is TOTALLY OKAY.  I remembered what it was like to stare at lights, and think about nothing, and think about new things I want to do, and to think about things that I’ve done.  When the kid eats lunch, when I’m stuck at a red light, or at a train crossing, when I’m waiting for someone, when I’m in bed–I’m logged off and I feel…normal.  (Those were all hard habits to break.  They were easily combated with a reading book, working on a craft, thinking about new projects I want to get moving on, cleaning/organizing, baking, and some word game books though.)

3) I miss knowing what my far away daughter, my aunt, my cousin, my family, and my good friends are posting.  I miss pics of their school, their lives and their kiddo’s and I miss that connection.  One of my biggest reasons for liking social media was to keep in touch like I never could before–especially with far away family.  (Which I have a ton of.)  On FB, I already have a ‘Friends’ and ‘Acquaintance’ list.  I had devised that mostly so I didn’t have to post everything to everyone–I could keep the more ‘personal’ updates and photos to just those closest to me.  I’m thinking that maybe devising another list of just the folks I’m really missing, so I can keep up with them on a weekly basis, might be important to me.

4) I figured that, on average, I would spend about and hour on social media per day.  Ten minutes in the morning, five minutes here and there, and twenty minutes at night–some days more, some less.  Completely take that away and I’ve been given seven, extra, hours in my week.  I was, basically, gifted with an extra ‘work day’.  (Why one would think that is a gift–I’m not sure, actually.)  Currently, I’m in a slower work period and am only working 15-20 hours per week.  (January in the life of a photographer…yup.)  That will change as soon as soon as the weather changes–I have client emails out like crazy, and weddings, portrait session’s and new project’s are being added to my books all the time.  I’m hoping the extra time really makes my editing process much more efficient in the upcoming months–in theory, it absolutely will.  In the meantime though…I’m using 2 of those hours each week for workout’s (which will just stay that way because the energy is just THERE again), and then the rest of the time is currently to do other stuff–ya know, all the things I mentioned above.  Plus, I’m having fun photographing it 🙂  (The below photos are a little bit of the ‘extra’ I’ve easily accomplished in my ‘new’ time lately.  Plus…my kitchen cabinets have been COMPLETELY reorganized and cleaned out–that’s a job that I just hadn’t had time for, but have wanted to accomplish for years.  Oh.  The photo of my toddler eating breakfast at his big boy table, with a big boy cup, isn’t something I’ve accomplished in my extra time–it’s something he’s working on and something that I have time to 100% supervise at every meal, and, consequently, clean up after every meal 😉 )

 Seasoned crackers, an old recipe book that I finally found the time to go through and find a new recipe in; and the before and after of the bread that both the toddler and I learned is delicious.  Plus, it actually contains more oatmeal than oil–which doesn’t kill my workout progress 🙂

I got lonely for summer and then remembered that I had pressed a bunch of summer flowers from the yard; so, I turned them, and some old salsa jars, into candle holders.  Cranberry, orange, muffins for the family’s, Saturday’s breakfast–since I was the first one up.  Lemon bars being made for my kid’s Friday, after school, snack.  The toddler–before the mess (and the dogs, before helping to clean up the mess).  Again, the toddler, this time working on making his own, Minion (aka: ba-ba).  And, finally, the finished lemon bars.  (Which were gone within 24 hours 🙂 )

Anyway, I just thought I’d post a follow up before getting this blog back on the topic of more photo-related things.  (My next blog will be a photo heavy one–and, I can’t wait 🙂  It’s gonna be a fun one!)