One Week In

It's been one week since I began my resolution to stop looking at my cell phone so much, and I've made a few realizations:

1. First and foremost, I am calmer. It turns out that constantly grabbing my cell phone wasn't relaxing me. The relentless political posts on Facebook and keeping up with emails as they came in really wasn't doing much for my minute-to-minute well-being. What does make me feel good is taking in the world around me, whether it's hamming it up with Buddy in the car while we wait for something, or in my sun-dappled kitchen as I sit for a minute in the rare quiet moment of everyone playing outside while I cook supper.

2. All those times I thought I was being proactive and effective with my time by grabbing my phone "when I had a minute" to "catch up on things"... nope. It really was accomplishing next to nothing. I never was getting ahead like I thought I was. Now, when I check my phone after a few hours, see that I have 5 emails, and read them, I laugh. Not once in the past week have any of  my emails been urgent, and not once have I suffered from not being on top of them in the way that I was when I was checking my phone constantly. There wasn't anything that couldn't wait until later that evening.

3. As much as I am enjoying the newfound freedom of not being as addicted to my phone, I also quickly realized that I, of course, use my cell as a camera and to check the time! While I have no interest in buying and / or carrying around a separate camera, I could do myself a favor and buy a watch for the first time in years. I know what would cut down my cell time even more.

4. Every day it's gotten a little easier. I really had to watch myself, and still do at times, because it was such an ingrained habit. It does feel like what I imagine an addict may go through... what do I do with my hands instead? I know how pathetic that may sound, but a habit is a habit, and I fully admit that, like reaching for a cigarette, my hands were trained to reach for my cell in a quiet moment, heck, even in a busy moment, when I just wanted to retreat. It's been a lot of retraining on my part. I have to busy myself with other things, or just be. Just sit in the kitchen for a moment.

I'm one week in and the only plans I have are to continue down this path. I am calmer, more focused, more productive and happier with myself. While my last post was commenting on cell usage in general, this particular resolution is about me. I don't expect the people around me to change. I'm doing this because I was genuinely annoyed at myself for an addiction that only hampered my life.

And so begins week two!

Leave the phone

I'm officially annoyed at smartphones and the zombies behind the screens.

Someone waiting in line behind you? I bet they've whipped out their phone to aimlessly scroll Facebook. Someone pulling up to the gas pump but just sitting there? They've pulled out their phone to send a text before getting out (which is better than doing so while driving, of course). Someone walking into the store? Their phone is out, too, and I'm surprised more people don't get killed while looking down at their screens.

Can we stop already?!

I am just as guilty at some of the above scenarios, and I've become annoyed at myself. I want to stop this dumb habit. Can I not handle a few tedious seconds without having to distract myself? How do I expect my kids to believe me about the joys of a life lived outside the confines of a screen if they see me reach for my own phone constantly, like it's a pacifier of sorts?

There is no email that can't wait until later in the evening, after the kids are in bed. Now that everyone has smartphones, this urgency is self-created. We expect instantaneous replies. When did this change happen? It's unrealistic and it's unfair. We have lives to live, and it's hard to do much living when we're staring at our phones all day.

I'm trying, again, to put my phone away more and enjoy what's in front of me. It doesn't mean that this change will happen overnight, but I am hoping that I will "forget" my phone more often and realize I need it a lot less than society tells me I do.

Healthy Recipes

One of my goals of 2016 was to find a new, healthy recipe to try each week. Like any good resolution, it lasted about a month and a half before I became content with just our usual rotation. However, I did find some delicious, good-for-you recipes, and I very much plan on restarting my goal soon. Here are my favorite recipes so far:


1. Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet. This was my first new recipe of the year and it was a hit. I used ground hamburg instead of turkey. It was so satisfying and tasty. Highly recommend! You can find the recipe here.

2. Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad. It's hands down my favorite healthy recipe I've discovered so far. It's my new go-to lunch! Very fresh-tasting, filling and yummy. I actually only stick to the main ingredients- I smash the chickpeas and mix in avocado. I spread it on high fiber bread with some lettuce and tomato and call it a day. Couldn't get any simpler. It shocked me how much I loved this, and actually crave it now. You can find the recipe here.

3. Roasted Chickpea Fajitas. Oh me, oh my. These, too, were amazing, and I will now make these over chicken fajitas any day of the week! One of the things that has surprised me on this quest is how much I don't miss meat in this recipe or in the salad above. Here is the delicious fajita recipe.

I did try more new recipes than just these, so I will have to share those another day. These were definitely my top three and are now in our regular meal rotation. What should I try next? Do you have a healthy recipe to share?

The Time is Now

Everyone has their thing they do to unwind at the end of a long day. Some people binge on Netflix. Some people catch up on their DVR. Others spend a lot of time online.

I'm part of that latter group. I could spend hours upon hours browsing and searching and finding.

I'm trying to do less of that. Here's why.

I realized that when I spent hours online after the kids were in bed, I was becoming passive in my own life. On Pinterest, I would find "Top 10 Books of 2015" and then crawl into bed too late to read. Also on Pinterest, I would find some great craft ideas or yoga moves, and pin them for another day.

When, exactly, was that day going to come?

The truth is, my time during the day is pretty darn busy. I'm getting one or both kids ready for school, balancing four part-time jobs, various committees, and still trying to keep the house in shape and everyone fed.

I won't be pulling out yoga moves or my glue gun mid-morning. If it's going to happen, it's going to be in the evening or during the weekend. In 2016, I'm trying to be more conscious of my time. I love to read, so I'm doing my best to get into bed early enough to do so, and still get enough sleep. I want to stay flexible, so I'm doing my best to do some stretching and yoga before I turn in to read my book. I love snail mail, so I've been writing more and sending more to people I care about. My plants have needed re-potting for approximately 5 years, and I finally bought some pots and did most of them. I like to watch movies, so I try to watch one with Steve once a week.

Of course I still spend some time online. I like going on Facebook and catching up with what my friends and family are doing, and I like shopping online at Target and Amazon. But I'm trying to not make that the largest portion of my free time.

Bottom line: being online so much had stopped me from doing. I realize, in hindsight, that 2015 was a very reactive year for me: people invited me to things, and I kind of just sat back and let things happen and be planned out for me. I'm changing that this year. I'm now ready to be proactive again. I don't want to be a passive observer in my own life. I want to be a doer. The time is now to do the things I want to do, because tomorrow isn't a guarantee.