The Weekly Ramble 2/10/24

The week went by quickly and based on my camera roll, I don’t know exactly what I did.

You know how people joke that if you don’t post it on social, it didn’t happen? Well, I have identified something about myself… I haven’t posted much on social, ergo I didn’t take many pictures, therefore nothing happened?

Hmmm. That gives me pause.

Maybe no one else has this problem, but I’m not liking it. I’m not liking how many drivers I see glued to their phones out on the road. Or how I reach for my phone as soon as my eyes open in the morning. Or how I don’t know what I did this week based on some weird camera roll-social media continuum.

It’s time for a change.

I can’t do anything about fellow drivers, of course, but I can change me.

I’ve done a lot of research and thinking about my relationship with media in general, social media specifically. That was what, January 2nd when I wrote that post?

Here we are about six weeks later. I’ve read two books on the subject, expanded my reach to real life friends via text and Marco Polo, and contemplated a massive unplugging from social media.

Comparing this week’s screen time with what I recorded back on 1/2/24, I can see some improvement. Time on Marco Polo and Messages is up (real life) while Instagram (not real life) is down.

Back at the start of the year, I didn’t plan on taking any type of media break, but I think I’m going to do it. I’ve been working through what that will look like and plan on discussing it with the fam tomorrow at Sunday Dinner. I want their support and maybe some will join me. I will share a post on this next week.

Looking at what I did plan to do:

• work on my physical health habits

• put safeguards on my time

• take family adventures

• dejunk and organize – my closet is in dire straights

• file taxes by the end of February

• meet the neighbors

• prep for upcoming trips

It’s clear that I could use the 16 hours of time that Instagram sucks up each week!

On the plus side of “using time wisely,” I’ve been to the gym 8 times this month. To be clear, I do not enjoy this activity. I don’t hate it, but it’s not like I’m excited to do it, either.

And no, I’m not doing endless hours of cardio. I’m lifting weights so that 60-year old Jessica can move without pain and pick up her suitcase. Oh and a grandkid or two.

Each day when I get back, someone in my family asks, “How was the gym?”

I don’t really have an answer. It was. I did it.

It’s not that it’s bad. Or good. It just is. And honestly, I’m okay with that. I know that it’s good for me long term, even if I don’t enjoy it. It’s like going to the dentist. Whatevs.

That said, I’m pretty proud of myself for doing it, but I’m also okay that there’s something in my life that is more or less neutral.

Other than the naked lady in the dressing room, of course, but that story is for another day.

You may recall/assume that many images on my camera roll in the past have been of sunrises. Unfortunately, this past week we haven’t seen many sunrises due to the rain.

The rains have finally passed us by for now. I hear there’s more coming next weekend.

Between the cloudy skies and early mornings at the gym, there are literally no sunrises on my horizon. This definitely makes a difference in how I feel, so I will need to tweak my schedule soon. I didn’t realize what a positive impact it had on me!

All the same, I’m thankful for the sunshine and blue skies.

In other news, I’ve been hanging out with Bryan and our kids, talking with friends, and trying to stay on top of my writing projects. I’ve also been listening to podcasts and audio books as well as reading a few books myself.

A few days a week I spend shooting recipes for Good Cheap Eats.

Every recipe you see on the site takes about 90 minutes to prep and photograph and about that same amount of time to write, edit, etc. Even though it’s not as lucrative as you might imagine, I do love doing it, so there’s that.

I guess that’s it for my weekly ramble.