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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Item 46: No Social Media

I did it! I stayed off of social media for a whole week, and it was an amazing feeling! I didn't think it would be so easy considering I'm still not working, and normally sit at home a lot.  I usually don't get out of bed, or go to sleep at night without checking my Instagram or Facebook.  But without it, I was getting out of bed sooner, being more productive throughout the day, and going to bed earlier too.  I really was feeling quite addicted, it was controlling my life in a way. It's easy to spend hours browsing Instagram, or checking on old friends via their FB. So instead I found other ways to keep busy. Here's the run down of what I've been up to for the past week without social media:

  • Thursday: watched a little TV, walked the dogs, went to Ulta for some much needed bronzer, then Target for other essentials, went to the gym, dyed my hair, went to dinner with the group, then our favorite new bar. Very busy day!
  • Friday: got my hair fixed (I will not do it myself ever again), went to lunch with the hubby, then did a little shopping together, picked up a b-day present, read Little Bee, went out for milk shakes.
  • Saturday: house cleaning, sent present, grocery shopping, read, made S'mores Pie, dinner, and early to bed!
  • Sunday: went on a little road trip up north and on a hike (4 hours, 5 miles, and 15,900 steps) with Frankie and crew, then came home, read, and sat in the sun with the dogs, scrubbed the showers, laundry.
  • Monday: mini workout, Tanger outlets in Severville with Katie, then BBQ with Katie & Daniel, enjoyed sun & wine with great friends!
  • Tuesday: Played with dogs (my 2 plus our guest Cooper), made crock-pot corned beef & cabbage (traditional St. Patricks day meal), read, took a much needed nap, went to lake w/ Cooper, ate dinner, then to Irish Times for St. Patty's Day celebration!
  • Wednesday: Worked on today's blog, finished reading Little Bee, studied for ambulance drivers license test, set up interview for Paramedic position at Rural Metro, Knoxville, signed up for organ & tissue donor program, gym, library for new book.
Overall, I really think it did me good to stay off social media. I was very productive, and felt a sense of freedom and calm without the senseless pressure on myself to occasionally post, or to continuously monitor the lives of my friends & acquaintances.  Don't get me wrong, I did miss seeing some IG posts, and I'm very curious as to what my news feed will be buzzing with, but I really do need to cut back.  Maybe even just cut back on who I follow on both.  I honestly would love to only be FB friends w/ close friends and family, I hate feeling pressured to friend every person I've ever known, not that I don't care about you or that I don't want to acknowledge you, I just want to simplify my social media life.  Or maybe I'll cut back to only check in on Sunday's... Anyway, I'm happy to be back, but I will probably be on a lot less now. Cheers!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Item No. 55: Buy a Houseplant

(Source: Houseplants for Healthier Eyes)

An easy way to make a house a home, is to add a houseplant.  It can be fake, but what's the fun in that?  Living houseplants add life, and can enhance the air we breathe (like a natural air purifier). Unfortunately, when it comes to plants, I have a history of killing them, and I don't mean by eating them.  I have over the past 10 years, killed every house or outdoor plant I've owned, Oops!  Each plant I've owned has been a different species, and each succeeding plant seems to live longer than its predecessor (that's a good sign right?).  Yet, I will not give up on my ability to care for one.  It seems that my house plants have a better hope of survival since I am inside everyday, and don't always get outside to tend to the outsiders.  So for item 55 on my list of 101 things, I came across this article Houseplants for Healthier Eyes And Cleaner Indoor Air, by way of my optometrists website.  Its a good article about houseplants that clean the air, which in turn, improves eye health, and our health in general by removing indoor toxins.  Listed in the article was another article, The Top 10 Plants For Removing Indoor Toxins which also helped me in my search for my next plant/experiment/victim.  And of course I searched Pinterest for more houseplant ideas.  From my sources I have come up with a few options:

Philodendron:
Comes in many varieties.
 I am particularly partial to the
hanging variety, maybe for my mantle.


Boston Fern:
This is also listed on NASA's list
of plants that improve air quality.
I'm thinking this could go on a
stand in our bedroom upstairs.

Spider Plant:
I love the way the branches hang,
and new "babies" are born,
from which you can create more transplants.
There is a hook in my ceiling in the
living room that I could hang this from.

 Succulents:
I am very attracted to these,
I will probably look for a pre-made
arrangement to start with.
This would be a nice touch to
the kitchen or bathrooms.

I haven't included some other common "easy" to care for plants, because either I've already killed them, or I wasn't partial to them for myself.  And I most certainly am not going to consider the Lucky Bamboo plant, it would be extremely bad luck if I end up letting it die!  Actually, when I look a these plants, I am reminded of my late Nana & Papa's house in Monterey, CA, and also my Grandmother's house in Alameda.  They were both full of lovely houseplants, including some, if not all, of these plants I have chosen.  My next step is to research which plants are best suited for the environment I live in, find a local nursery to see what they suggest, get some prices, and figure out where I will place my plant(s).