Again, apologies for the delay in posting. This episode went live on June 14! Anyway, social media can be extremely toxic, yet, at the same time, extremely helpful with connecting to other people and finding other like-minded people. Lately, it’s been an absolute love-hate, as you can see from the episode’s title. There are so many extremists, both on the left and the right (though the left seems to be allowed to speak a lot more…I realize both sides believe they have the “correct” perspective, but in reality, I think they’re BOTH wrong. The extreme left seems to be louder and more likely to hate you though. It’s to the point they traumatize me more than the right (though I don’t come across these people too often…Anyway, take a listen (above) to get what I mean! And yes, people like me/look like me CAN get “cancelled” or “Karened” if you know what I mean. If you don’t, well, now you do.

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But what about this coming decade? Well, I turned 40 in September, so this is the big decade of middle age for me. I’m still healthy and fit, working out regularly. Over the past decade, I’ve experimented with various types of fitness, including barre, Essentrics, training and even some weird ones where you wear a machine and it’s supposed to send electrical pulses to reduce fat (not that I have much to reduce). That last one was a massive fail for me and I can tell you it’s a complete waste of money. Glad I got my money back for that. These days, I’m sticking with reformer, Essentrics and training. Barre? I might make a return at a later date, but I’m just too busy doing other things. I’ve also experimented with being vegetarian some days, and though I haven’t gone completely plant based (I love eggs and cheese), I can definitely go more than one day without animal flesh. In fact, I want to make that more routine (but that could mean making two separate entrées). It’s my one goal for the 2020s, to be meatless for two days each week and landmeat free at least one of them.

Speaking of food, I’m also looking forward to introducing my son to even more to expand his palate. He does eat quite a variety of different things, though he seems to like baked goods the most. I’ve made protein/fibre muffins (from a recipe a pediatric dietian I follow on Facebook posted) which consists of chicken, spinach, corn as well as cereal (the original calls for “baby cereal,” but I use oat bran). I’m thinking of combining chicken and tofu for the next version just to lessen the meat.

The 2020s will also see my son enter school. I’m actually kind of stressed about it (though I know I shouldn’t be). He’s already on the wait list for three preschools and another school that starts in Junior Kindergarten. I’ve already made a list of schools which might be a good fit for him – he seems to hate large crowds (but it could be a phase), so I’m hoping that he’ll get a spot in a smaller community. I’d hate for him to get lost.

As for me, in addition to trying to reduce my intake of meat, I’m looking to become more mindful. I’m already meditating on a daily basis – even on weekends – and it’s so far been good. I’ve also been journalling (in the old fashioned way) since 2017. I think I’ve gone through enough Moleskine notebooks to fill an entire library! When I first started, I was writing about eight pages a day, but since motherhood hit, it’s been down to four. Being a mom, after all, takes priority.

I’m also trying to reduce my time on some forms of social media, especially Facebook. Sure, many mom groups are amazing (like the baby feeding groups I belong to. In fact, they’re better than a mom app I have. I find the women in the FB group more educated and intelligent while the mom app ladies are kind of…ummm…you know), but my feed in general is just awful. I’m getting the same ads over and over, and many of my Facebook friends seem to be just a tad bit over politically correct. I’ve done some clean-up – I’ve stopped following many people (especially in certain industries), but I’ve cut few friends. It’s probably about time I do. Some people can be just so awful towards you because your views are different. You really don’t need them in your life! I’m going to stick around Instagram though. Seeing photos of other people’s lives makes me happy! Twitter? Well, it’s just too busy to really end up being anything too crazy. I DO plan to spend more time on LinkedIn. Maybe use it to find philanthropy-related workshops in the area.

I’m also hoping to learn more about investing in businesses. And LinkedIn might help. Perhaps I could find some workshops on angel investing via that social network. I know that this is something I’m hoping to expand into, especially when it comes to working with women-run start-ups (women are far less likely to land a deal).

Am I missing anything? I don’t know. I suppose I can always update this post or write a new one if I come up with anything else!

What about you? What are YOU planning for this coming year?

Image By tonkid/Shutterstock

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I think it might also be the company I’m keeping on Facebook. I spent years in the lifestyle/fashion industry and they’re not exactly known for being too…conservative. While I don’t consider myself part of the (extreme) right (nor do I want to be), I certainly feel out of place (and more so these days) amongst them. And some of them don’t seem to get me. One blogger once called me an “over-privileged brat.” I don’t want to get into it. It can be a sensitive topic and it’s a whole other post.

For the past few days, I’ve been avoiding Facebook on my computer completely and really only looking at my phone’s app maybe two or three times a day. I’m trying to write a bit more, and maybe even attempt a children’s book. I have been working on one, but it’s not really going anywhere. Maybe I should just stick with blogging.

I HAVE posted a few items on Facebook, but they’ve all been cross-posts from a Instagram. Or replies to people on their pages. But that’s pretty much it. I mean, I’ll probably share this article, but that’s sharing and not directly posting.

Facebook just isn’t mentally pleasant anymore. Or at least many of the company I’m keeping. I suppose I need to do a cleanup, but I’ll likely wait until the new year. I’m just not in the mood right now.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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The pins aren’t always about inspiration.  Sometimes, it’s just so I could save something (like a recipe, for example) for future use.  There’s a club soda bread I haven’t made in years, so I searched online to find it.  Rather than bookmarking or saving the link in my notes, I decided to pin.  It’s easier to find recipes that way (rather than my rather stupid method of just posting links).  You may still have to scroll if you have a lot of pins, but at least the photos will help.  There are other things I’m pinning as well, such as ideas for possible redecorating.  I’m not really looking to re-do anything soon as we spent a great deal of money re-doing our kitchen in 2016.  Minor things make sense, of course, such as painting or acquiring artwork.  Some of our walls are a little…bare…I suppose the upcoming One of a Kind Show may give me some ideas as well.

It’s interesting how Pinterest (or Instagram) has been helping me.  That doesn’t seem to be the case for other people – at least from what I’ve read.  Facebook on the other hand…Ugh!  As I’ve said in other posts, both here and on DelectablyChic!, I really don’t want to give Facebook up – not yet, anyway.  It’s where I get A LOT of my news!  And where I communicate with many people I don’t see too often (it’s just too bad most of my family isn’t super-active…or on it at all).  But the whole point of de-stressing is to make one feel happy, right?  And if inspiration based on recipes, decor and vacation spots make me feel happy – especially if I’m able to share them myself (which I can’t on Instagram), then that’s a good thing…right?

Image by: tanuha2001 /Shutterstock

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Photo of the article I wrote in 2004

In my article, I talked about how we grew up in an era where we didn’t have many “true” icons.  Sure, as kids, we were part of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze and were the first cohort to be exposed to computers as children (remember creating flags on Commodore 64s?), but as teenagers?  Compared to Generation X, who had celebrities like Madonna, Prince and Cyndi Lauper and Millennials, with their boy bands, we had little.  Sure, there was New Kids on the Block, but they didn’t last THAT long (not as long as N’Sync, anyway).  On television, there was Beverly Hills, 90210, but we shared the obsession with later Gen Xers.  The only iconic thing I can think of that REALLY addressed us and was FOR US, fairly exclusively, was My So-Called Life.  It didn’t even last ONE SEASON.

Of course, it isn’t all negative.  After all, having cultural icons unique to your youth isn’t EVERYTHING and we probably had more of a “traditional” childhood compared to millennials – especially younger millennials.  Many of us freely rode our bikes in our neighbourhood and didn’t have as scheduled a childhood (okay, I sort of did, but it was limited to Brownies/Guides and piano lessons).  We were able to HAVE FUN, and CREATIVE FUN at that.  We (at I wasn’t) weren’t criticized because we built a wall instead of whatever was pictured on the box when we got a Lego set for our birthday.  Fewer of us were overweight because we played outside so much more.  We were probably the last ones who were able to do that (I loved spending time in our backyard where we had a swing set.  A neighbourhood kid would often just pop in just to play).  But still, it would have been nice to have SOMETHING we could say defined our middle and high school years – especially for the ’77-80 set.  Current events like the OJ trial don’t count.

I’m not looking for actual acknowledgement of coming up with this first…more than a decade ago (okay, maybe I’m KIND of looking for some acknowledgement), but it’s just a little..weird to me (and probably much of my cohort) that we’re only getting some press NOW.  Why not earlier?  I guess it’s like being a middle child.  Yes, the Xennial cohort is, if we want to borrow from an even earlier generation, Jan Brady.

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