Andrea

I blog a lot about things the kids do and like and record so many details about our family, but sometimes I forget to include some of the little quirky things that *I* like and do that are a small, but significant part of my day.  So, since I don't do much scrapbooking anymore, here's a "blog post" version of an "all about me" layout...

In no particular order...here are some (mostly little) things that make me happy these days and have become my "everyday" luxuries:

Oatmeal:

I have always been a bowl (or two) of cereal in the morning kind of girl, but lately, I've been feeling much fuller when I eat a bowl of oatmeal with a little bit of unsweetened applesauce, raisins, cinnamon, and a few crushed pecans. 

I think it makes me feel "healthy"....

White Cheddar Cheese Its:

...but don't be fooled.  I can also put down a full box of White Cheddar Cheese Its in a day.  I'm not *that* healthy.  I used to LOVE the "Get Your Own Box" campaign that Cheese Its did a while back. It was VERY fitting for me. Very.

ZCUT Power Cardio Series:

I bought this set of workout DVDs because I love Zuzka's workouts.  They're short (usually only 10-20 minutes), SUPER hard, and you don't need any extra equipment.  This is her first DVD series, but she also offers a free real-time workout of the week on Thursdays, and it's been perfect for my at-home workouts. 

Sorry for the insane amount of Zuzka cleavage... :/

Mary Kay Roll Up Travel Bag:

My old bathroom bag finally gave up after daily use for several years. One of the zippers broke, so I had to go searching for a new one that would be just as useful, since I use it every day. It hangs on the back of my bathroom door, and I roll it up and take it with me to the gym too.  I couldn't find the exact bag I used to have -- apparently, it's not made anymore -- so...

This Mary Kay Roll Up Travel Bag is the ONLY bag I could find that was big enough for all my stuff, hangs on a hook, has 4 clear pockets, and *bonus* rolls up neatly into a cute little cube with a handle! 

Thank you very much Mary Kay!

I.O. Metro Bree Sectional (in Bela Pewter):

We LOOOOOOVE our new couch.  It's cozy, comfy, and looks so pretty, and best of all, we ALL fit on it.  It took us a while to find it, then about 8 weeks for it to arrive.  But that didn't stop me from going into I.O. Metro often to visit it while we waited for ours to arrive.  The kids even brought library books to try it out.

I'm sure that's not weird...right?

We (and the store employees too I'm sure...) are happy to be able to sit on our own now, in our own living room.

Lily Bloom Bag:

My old Lily Bloom bag was so worn out I finally had to let it go a few months ago. (I'm sensing a theme here..evidently I like bags with pockets and I use them till they fall apart - I think I get that from my mom).  Anyhow, I've been on the lookout for a new one ever since.  TJ Maxx had a bunch in stock one week when I went in, so I picked up this fun bag.

Since I wear so many solid colors, I love a bright print purse!

Heated Rice Bags:

For Christmas, my sister-in-law Rachel made all the Steed girls these cute little heated rice bags.  Just heat 'em up in the microwave for a few minutes, and they feel wonderful on your sore shoulders, hips, hands, back, legs, etc. (I'm telling you, those ZCUT workouts make you *very* sore!)

A Twisty Tail Hair Do:

Lately, my hair has gotten very long (which i like), but it's also been giving me the heebie jeebies about mid-day.  I think it's something about the mess of curls hanging over my shoulders.  Why does my hair always fall forward like giant cocker spaniel ears instead of laying nicely down my back? 

Anyhow, my favorite solution for no-nonsense hair days is this twisty-tail hair do.  It's fast, it's easy, and it doesn't look like a messy bun or ponytail.  It actually makes it appear as if I care a little bit about how it looks.  I'll have to post some better photos of it soon, with a tutorial. 

So there you go...just a few, mostly frivolous, and unneccessary things that make my days a little brighter.  I'm no Oprah, so unfortunately, you can't expect a door prize of each of my favorite things just for reading this, but maybe you'll find someting new that makes you happy too. :)

While Ben was out of town for a few days and the kids were both sick and watching movies, I started itching to do a small project.  I settled on this scrap wood framed print of our personalized "Places We've Lived" subway art.  (It's easy to make your own! Just use the Subway style and add your "locations" with my Custom Family Rules Builder).

It was pretty easy to do, and only took about 10 minutes - truly.

I had already ordered the 8" x 10" poster print through my Zazzle store a while back (though you can also get an instant personalized downloadable version for only $9, and print it at home on cardstock or photo paper).  It features all the important places in our lives together -- which started almost 18 years ago!

I had recenly collected a bunch of 4" scrap wood that had some really cool color and grain, so I rough-cut a few boards down to size - three 18" boards for the back, and two 12" boards for the front. They aren't perfect, but that's kind of the point. :)

I used some brass screws that we had at our workbench in the garage  to attach the front two vertical boards to the three back horizontal boards, and then used more brass screws and washers to wedge a page protector (trimmed down to 8" x 10") onto the front of the board. An 8" x 10" piece of plastic would work well too, but I didn't have any on-hand, and the page protector covers both the front and the back of the print, which seemed like a good idea.

Since the wood was pretty soft, I didn't have to pre-drill, but if it had been harder wood, I'd recommend pre-drilling.

That's it. Then I just propped it up in the corner of our bookshelf and admired it.  (Then I probably had to go clean up some vomit...the kids were sick, remember?)

I've been looking to find something substantial in size to put at the top corner of my living room bookshelves that wasn't a vase or a photograph (I have plenty of those!). So, this "Places We've Lived" print and some natural wood seemed like a good choice, since I've started using a golden yellow as one of the accent colors in our livingroom, that I've been slowly working on redecorating.

Now if I could just find a coffee table that we both like...

I am offering my biggest and best SignsByAndrea sale of the entire year.  Seriously. This sale is SO BIG, it only happens once a year! And it's almost over!

All of my standard personalized signs are BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!* through Cyber Monday (11/26/12). There is no limit on how many you can purchase, so go ahead and pick out personalized hand-crafted signs for all the people on your shopping list!  Just add each personalized sign to your cart, and the discounts will be automatically applied -- no coupon code needed!

*For each painted wood sign you purchase, you will receive one equal or lesser-valued sign for free.  Custom wood signs are not included in this sale and will be quoted and priced separately. Gift Certificates, (de)Signs posters and canvases and digital downloads are also excluded from this sale.

As part of our painting marathon a couple of weeks ago, my office got a new coat of paint - on both the walls and the ceiling. 

While I would have loved some turquoise walls, I decided that it was probably better for our house as a whole to go with the same color we had chosen for the livingroom (which is attached to my office) and the rest of the house.  - Sherwin Williams Worldly Gray 7043.  We painted both the walls and ceiling the same color - and remarkably, only needed one coat of paint to cover it (we used the Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint and were very happy with it). 

Along with covering over lots of scratches, dirt and a WHOLE bunch of holes in the walls, I took the opportunity to give my office a little sophistication upgrade as well. 

Before:

It used to be crafty and crowded (here's a before picture from a few years ago):

When I started feeling claustrophobic, I removed several things from the room, including that giant shelf on the left, that was relocated to Paxton's bedroom to store toys.  But then my office was just kind of yellow-ish and boring as you can see here (photo taken a few weeks ago):

After:

So here it is now, after a little more thought and attention to detail (probably too much if you ask Ben...I tend to get obsessive). 

While there may still be a few tweaks to make along the way, I'm very happy with my slightly more sophisticated office.  It flows much better now from the kitchen and livingroom on either side of it.

Subconsiously, I think I used this office as inspiration and stuck with very neutral shades of gray, tan, and brown, with a touch of color, found mostly in the artwork. 

Here's a view from the living room (which is painted in the same color).

What's New?

I replaced the lampshades on lamps on top of my desk with round white shades instead of the old-style pleated shades that were on there before.  I'm considering adding some trim or covering them with fabric to add some color...but haven't settled on that quite yet.

I also bought a new office chair (Temur-Pedic TP8000), which while it isn't exactly winning any style awards, is very comfortable, and that wins out when I sit in it ALL the time!  My old chair was giving me all sorts of hip problems -- and I'm too young for that.

I really wanted the artwork in my office to be inspiring and meaningful -- and made by other artists...not by me.  My old office was a little too self-indulgent I think, full of my own projects and artwork.  It's time to appreciate the talent of others!  Here's some info about some of the artwork I chose:

• A pen drawing of a statue and aquaduct called Fuente de las Tarascas that I bought in Morelia, Michoachan, Mexico the summer I studied there. (hanging to the right of my desk in the gold frame)
• A watercolor print "Flowers in Vase" from an Israeli artist called Victor Shrem (a wedding gift from my aunt & uncle)
• Do What You Love and Do it Often Printable from How Joyful (FREE)
• Vintage Camera Printable by Design Editor (FREE)

Left Corner:

Here's a look at the left corner of the office BEFORE:

And AFTER:

I bought, hung & hemmed (in that order) new curtains from World Market (Silver Dupioni Grommet Curtain).  Don't look at the back of them. It ain't pretty.  Seriously.  But from the front...it'll do.  A little tip - I hemmed these faux silk curtains by hand, while they were hanging on the pole.  That way I knew they'd rest just above the top of my desk.  Measuring isn't my strong suit and sewing faux silk was WAY too intimidating to attack with my sewing machine.  I hung the curtains right below the crown molding instead of just above the window to help make the room look taller, and to match the height of the new curtains I bought for the living room.

I built a third section to my desk to give myself some table space on the blank wall behind me. (Actually, I built about 75% of it. Ben finished it off after I messed it up and abandoned it to make dinner instead one night. He saves the day often on stuff like that - he's so much more precise than me!)

More Artwork Info:

• The large painting on the left is a watercolor print called "Autumn Sunset" of Chicago, painted by a family friend, Tom Lynch.
• "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy" printed from internet - I can't find the original source... :(
• The black and white photograph of the bare tree was taken by my mom.  I'm not sure where or when? I'll have to ask her.  She had this frame & photo up in her old house on a gallery wall, and I inherited it when she downsized to a camper (she's a rambler now!)

I bought that new table lamp for the corner at Home Goods.  I'm still thinking I might paint it a dark turquoise, but for now, I like the yellow.

The Rug:

This rug took me FOREVER to decide on.  I was pretty much obsessed with rug and curtain shopping both online and locally until I settled on this one from Target.com - Mohawk Medallion Rug.  I had already bought and returned another rug, so I wasn't willing to order online unless I could easily return it locally.  So I stuck with stores like Target. :)  I like how it has a pattern, but isn't completely overwhelming and busy.  Plus, the dark gray medallions tie in the couch from the livingroom (so do the curtains) and the light colored medallions bring out the gold in my storage baskets. 

The "Hallway" Corner:

Finally, here's the last corner of the room, which may still need a little work. You can see how the room connects to both the livingroom (on the left) and kitchen on the right. It was originally supposed to be a formal dining room. 

I'm thinking about painting this antique corner shelf, but can't decide on a color.  Maybe a buttercream yellow? Or muted turqouise?  I would leave it in the natural color, except I don't like how it looks next to the red hardwood floors.  Maybe I could just paint the legs or the legs and the outside panels?  I'm open to suggestions!

I'm not sure what (if anything) to put on the walls above it.  Maybe some bare wall aren't so bad...

In any case, I'm calling the office "done" for now!  And I love it.  Maybe now I can get back to doing some work...instead of obsessively shopping for rugs and curtains.

This year, it seems like our schedule has gotten much crazier with after school activities, church events, and family activities. 

To try and keep track of it all -- and make the rest of the family aware of what's going on (instead of the calendar just being in MY head) -- I've been printing a weekly calendar on computer paper and writing in our activities for the week and pre-planning our dinner menus.  Then I post it on the refrigerator, which is DEFINITELY the hub of our house. :) 

Well, as I'm sure you know, plans and schedules change! So, I did a lot of scratching out, erasing, and rewriting the same things for the next week.  But, aside from the scratch outs, the weekly calendar posted on the refrigerator was definitely working for us.  Not only did I know exactly what needed to be done to prepare for dinner every day, but I could plan out meals based on the carpool and activity schedule, to make everything a little easier on us all.  The system worked....I just needed a more permanent solution that looked nicer and was easier to adjust as our schedule and plans changed.

Enter -- a Dry Erase Board version of my weekly calendar!  Zazzle.com intoduced dry erase boards as a new product not long ago, and I've been wanting to try them out. 

I designed a basic weekly calendar onto two different sizes of dry erase boards (medium & large). I wasn't sure if the medium version (8" x 12") would be big enough to write all our activities on it, so I ordered both sizes to try them out.  The large version is 16" x 22" and would be great for large families with lots going on every week!

Customization:

I ordered the medium sized version with the basic khaki background, but I got creative with the large one to try out some color matching with our new Sherwin William's paint swatch.  I used the hexidecimal value number for our paint color (Worldly Gray #CEC8BB) and just pasted that into the background color.  Viola - a perfectly matched piece of decor!

Here's how you do that...

How to Change the Background Color:

Click on the "customize it" button for the product.

Click on "edit" and then "background color" from the drop-down menu.

Next, choose a color from the color pallette or click on Advanced to enter your own hexidecimal number.

Enter the six digit hexidecimal number for your color of choice (which I found for my paint color at the Sherwin Williams web site).

As you can see, it's not exactly the same color as our walls, but it's pretty darn close! This would be such a cool way to perfectly integrate this dry erase board into your own decor.

Quality:

As far as the quality of Zazzle's dry erase boards, I was overall very pleased. The design printed all the way to the corners, and there is no border or frame added to the board. It comes with a black fine tip dry erase marker that clips right to the front of the board.

The slick finish on the top of the board makes it easy to write on (and easy to wipe off with a paper towel), which is exactly what I was looking for.

It's a pretty low-profile board, only about 3/16" thick.

Mounting Options:

My only disappointment was that the included "mounting equipment" was just double-stick foam tape in three strips on the back of the board. 

I'm sure they stick very well, but I'm *not* confident that they remove easily without ruining whatever it was stuck to, and wasn't about to stick it to my newly painted walls or refrigerator. 

Instead, I glued four magnets to the back of the board so it would not-as-permanently stick to my refrigerator. :)

The 16" x 22" version would be pretty easy to put into an open-back frame (which you can have made at any framing shop).  Or, you could use something like these if you wanted to mount it to a wall:

Size:

After trying out the different sizes for a few weeks, I decided that the medium version was a good size for our family's activities, and it fits nicely on our refrigerator without being too overwhelming.

Price:

At regular price, the large version of this (de)Sign is about $40 plus shipping and the medium version is only about $20 plus shipping.   Plus, Zazzle offers coupons regularly, so this could really be an inexpensive family organization tool.

Conclusion:

I love it! I'm so happy with how my dry erase board has worked out.  And now I can stop wasting printer paper on my weekly calendar scribbles. :)

• Would this calendar and dinner menu dry erase board be helpful in your house?
• What size would you get?
• Would you change the colors? 

If you like this, you can buy it and customize your own here:

Or check out all of Zazzle's dry erase boards from tons of artists!

Windows open.

Music loud.

Kids in school.

Signs to paint.

Must be Wednesday.

Don't mind my super-jank office chair.  I so need to replace it...soon.

Remember that one Labor Day morning when we got up super early and it was raining like crazy, and we dressed up crazy and then piled into the car with all our friends to go run?  I do. :)

All dressed in white from our heads to our toes.  Janel was our fearless driver for team "Runbow Brites", navigating through rain and traffic, weaving us into prime positioning.  It still took us an hour to get there!  But perhaps that made the anticipation more fun.

Leslie, LaDonna, Nichole, myself & Janel all became lifelong friends in that fun little hour of driving. We also learned that Janel fits right into the Barber Motorsports Speedway! hah!

I'm all in when an event involves getting dressed up.  Costumes are so fun - bandana do-rag, a cheek tattoo, tall socks, and an armband (to hold my phone, which was safely protected by a zip-lock baggie).  Ben made fun of me, but I fit RIGHT in!

Across town, the rest of our team was getting ready too.  Say hi to Tom & Kortney:

And the lovely Deb (and her boy Wesley--who was a spectator this time):

Amazingly, we ended up parking right next to Zach, Ben, and Jonathan (who took a shorter route and got there at the same time as us...even though they left 30 minutes later).  

Here we are...already getting wet, but still sparkly white:

Once we all finally arrived, and managed to find each other (we hooked up with Tom & Kortney and Deb once we got to the race), we hopped into the starting line, and were on our way!

I managed to catch sight of Ben, Zach and the kids as we were running by toward the start of the race -- cold, shivering and wet little color watchers:

The 5K race went pretty quickly.  It rained the whole time, we got pelted with color several times along the way, and we arrived at the finish line about 30 minutes later, completely soaked -- and mostly colorful.

Just to make sure, we got an extra dose of color as we unloaded our own color packets at the finish line.

We tried hard to locate all our team members and get a team "after" photo, but this conglomerate will have to do. 

There were just too many people, too much rain, and the kids (and dad's) were not so interested in sticking around in the rain much longer.

In some ways, the rain was wonderful. We kept cool, and the water felt great while we were running.  But, since the rain made it hard for our spectator families to enjoy themselves thoroughly (or take many photos) it did make the whole event feel a little rushed. 

It was lots of fun, but I would have liked to savor a little more of it, dance to the music, and take more photos (of course).  Thank goodness for husbands, facebook, and smart phones!  In the midst of the rain and powder, we managed to get some pretty good shots...without breaking any cameras.

I'd totally do it again.  But I think I'd hope for better weather next time! ;) Thanks girls for coming on this crazy ride with me!

A little bit of reflective rambling about the first week of school:

Admittedly, I like schedules. I like routine. I like to know what to expect.   However, I also like to think I'm pretty good at being flexible and going with the flow when necessary (that's what makes trips like this work!) But, overall--I think schedules and routines are good and they generally suit me well.

So, imagine my surprise, when this first week of school came around and actually got going...I've found that I'm a little bit out-of-sorts and...bored(!).  Getting up at 6am everyday and completing about 15 tasks by the end of breakfast had been WAY forgotten over this wake-up-late, get dressed when you feel like it, watch-a-lot-of-television summer. 

I've noticed that I've spent a good part of each day this week making sure I'm ready for the next section of the day--which means I'm wandering a little aimlessly inbetween because my mind won't focus on what I could be doing NOW. 

It's funny, because I dread the summer arrival when both kids will be home ALL DAY EVERY DAY, all the fighting, the noise, the messes, and overload of kid-themed activities.  I anticipate with excitement when they'll head back to school to see their friends and go to their classes.  I'm thrilled that I'll have more quiet work time by myself, and that then I can focus, create, and produce more easily.

So, how come now that I have all this quiet, my brain feels like mush and I can't focus on anything?  Waking up too early? Too many days of exercise? Too much schedule to keep straight? By 3:00 when Ayla comes home and Paxton wakes up from rest time, all I want to do is stretch out on the couch and veg out till bedtime.

I'm sure this feeling will pass quickly - it always does, and then I'll be back to my get-er-done self, but for this week, I think I spent a lot of time with a blank stare on my face! 

So, I'm wondering if anyone else goes through a week or two of bewilderment at the beginning of each school year?

I just finished a 7 week experiment inspired by the book 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. I'm calling my journey 7 Weeks of Less.  Read on to see how it went!

1. FOOD
2. STUFF
3. CLOTHES
4. WASTE
5. SHOPPING
6. MEDIA
7. STRESS

The Rules:

Ha! This should be interesting, because it's the week I'll be packing and getting myself and the kids ready for a month-long trip to Chicago to visit with family and live out of a suitcase, sleeping in campers, hotels and basements.  If planning for a 4 week trip with two children across the country with a business to run while you're gone doesn't sound stressful, I don't know what does. 

To reduce stress during this time, I want to try a variation of what Jen Hatmaker did with several set-aside times throughout the day to pray and refocus. I'm not sure I can do all "Seven Sacred Pauses", but I'm going to commit to four of them and each day I'm going to dedicate 5 minutes to each prayer - which I realize is nowhere close to an hour, but these are baby steps:

• (7:00 am) The Awakening Hour: Remembering God's goodness and complete control over my life and trusting in Him.
• (11:00 am) The Hour of Illumination: Honoring Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and recommitting to giving my life away in service, love, and peace.
• (2:00 pm) The Hour of Wisdom: Praying for wisdom and perspective.
• (6:00 pm) The Twilight Hour: Expressing gratitude and serenity during the witching hours.

I think I'll set alarms. 

The Wrap-Up:

Though this week wasn't *hard* necessarily, it was definitely effective.  Having an audible reminder on my phone made me stop and pause several times a day to be thankful for what I have, ask God for help where I was struggling, and to pray for the people around me.  I wouldn't say my prayers were anything spectacular or particularly profound, but at least 4 times every day, I acknowledged God and his participation in my life. 

As you can see, I changed my set times a little bit, and I'm sure I didn't pray a full five minutes (or sometimes even a full minute), but still, i'm happy with the strides I made!

The kids even participated with me and they'd get excited when the alarm would go off and ask "Is it time to pray?"  Then they'd help me and we'd take turns saying what we were thankful for.  Most of our prayers went something like this (with plenty of other fun things added in):

Thank you God for our family, friends, and our trip.  Thank you for keeping us safe.  Please help us to obey, make good choices, and to be kind, respectful, helpful, and loving.  Thank you for Jesus and for the sacrifices he made that let us be forgiven when we make mistakes. Amen.

And you know what...even in the midst of packing and getting ready for a very long road trip (AL to IL), a holiday (4th of July) and sleeping in new places, we managed to stay pretty stress free. 

The main exception was the day Paxton was a total disaster (the 4th) and getting into all kinds of trouble, and Ayla had a major meltdown about some green beans.  I'm pretty sure though that stress week and all that prayer helped me get through that day much better than I would have otherwise! 

Especially on those long driving stretches (while the kids were watching movies in the backseat), I found myself starting to talk to God without the reminder.  Though, I'll admit, I often got distracted and started more prayers than I finished.  Perhaps that's the true meaning of "Pray Continually?"

My biggest takeaway from the week was that I'm much more comfortable praying, and more comfortable praying verbally with the kids, which I think is so important. 

I turned off my alarms today, but I may turn them back on if I find myself slipping out of practice.  It's good for me to lean on God a little more and myself a little less.  This week (though I certainly wasn't perfect), I found myself to be calmer, more patient, and a little nicer and less cranky than I can often be.  I don't think that's a coincidence.

And now....7 Weeks of Less is over.  I'm sure I'll hold onto some of the principles I've practiced and learned and am glad I did it.  Thanks Jen Hatmaker for the inspiration!  It has certainly sparked a lot of interesting and thoughtful conversations for me in the past several months.

I'm in the middle of a 7 week experiment inspired by the book 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. I'm calling my journey 7 Weeks of Less.  I'm 6 weeks in.  Read on to see how it's going - and join me if you'd like!

1. FOOD
2. STUFF
3. CLOTHES
4. WASTE
5. SHOPPING
6. MEDIA
7. STRESS

The Rules:

1. No Facebook (except SignsbyAndrea-related)
2. No Pinterest checking and surfing. 
3. No blog reading. 
4. No television. 
5. No Netflix or Hulu.
6. No radio. 
7. Just telephone, email and texts for communication.
8. No magazines or books. (added later)

I'm actually looking forward to this week.  I spend entirely too much time surfing the web, reading blogs and checking pinterest and facebook again and again and again and again.

The Wrap-Up:

WOW.  I'm a click-addict.  In a big-bad-way.  I use Facebook, checking my web site stats, email, Pinterest, and blog reading as an escape from my world, an "out" of my head, and as a way to avoid thinking about important things or talking with the people around me.  And I use it a LOT. 

This week was my hardest week yet, and the biggest felt sacrifice so far.  While I gained a lot of extra time by not checking in on those things all week (in addition to not watching television or movies), I tried pretty hard not to fill that time with other types of distractions.  So, I didn't allow myself to read books, plan a bunch of all-day playdates or call everyone and their brother just to chat.  I did however work on a photo organizing project in the evenings.  I mean...I needed SOMETHING productive to do. 

But truly this week was eye-opening for me.  Maybe not life-changing (addicts take a LONG time to be completely reformed), but definitely eye-opening. 

In a lot of ways, those web sites, movies and social media outlets are my largest form of entertainment everyday.  They're fun.  I like it.  So this week, I felt like everything was all work and no fun, kind of like being grounded as an adult.  That daily entertainment often serves as my "count to ten" moment to distract myself from frustrations with the kids or my to-do list, etc. and helps me calm down.  At the same time, those very same things probably cause just as much stress as they relieve by making me feel like I have to be "in-the-know" about so many not-that-important things.

Am I going to quit Facebook & Pinterest? Not a chance.  Will I try to back it down a notch (or two)? Yes.

Day-by-Day:

Day 1 - Sunday, June 24, 2012

My morning routine of checking email, reading blogs, facebook, checking pinterest. Um...yeah, that only takes about 3 minutes now, when it used to take 30.

I only accidently clicked on my Pinterest bookmark once.  Thankfully, I had Ben block both Pinterest and Facebook from working on my computer.  Then even if I mess up...I can't go any farther. Kind of like parental guidance controls.  Only I'm the parent.

This afternoon, Ben watched a movie. I took a nap and took Ayla to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday present.  No radio allowed in the car.  So she talked...a LOT.

Ben said that he noticed this afternoon I was acting kind of crazy and jittery, like I needed a click fix and didn't know what to do with myself.

Tonight we started going through photo boxes so we can put together some boxes to ship off and have our photos scanned. That was actually a lot of fun, going through old pictures. This is the perfect week for that kind of project.

Day 2- Monday, June 25, 2012

I watched Kailyn & Isaac this morning, so with the exception of about 45 minutes at my computer this morning, writing and posting a newsletter & sale for SignsByAndrea, I didn't have much computer access anyhow. We spent most of the morning driving all over B'ham with four kids.

This afternoon, I took a nap (or tried to), but then spent a good portion of the late afternoon wandering. I didn't want to work, didn't have a project...and would normally have been on Pinterest or Facebook. 

Tonight I took the kids to a Girl Scouts party and we all played outside and had real person-to-person interaction and fun. :) Good to have on no-Media week. 

After the kids went to bed, I went back to weeding through photos while Ben watched a movie in the other room.  

So..I'm definitely feeling this fast.  I miss Facebook.  Then Pinterest. Then blog reading.  Then music in the car.  In that order.  But I have LOTS more free time...

Day 3 - Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Worked all morning.  Paxton played with a babysitter.  I spent the majority of the time in the garage with earplugs in while cutting wood with my new miter saw.  So...no media necessary there. :)

Day 4 - Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

My Fitness magazine came today.  As I was eating lunch I found myself leafing through it, getting totally engrossed in the ads (which were all Olympic themed)...  Then I realized "THIS IS MEDIA!" And it pained me to close the magazine and set it aside until next week. :(

Tonight we went to a BBQ with some people from church at an apartment complex for some men who are getting back on their feet after troubles with addiction, etc.  It was a nice social event, and a great evening for all of us.  Personal interaction (in person) is nicer than media-assisted interaction. 

Day 5 - Thursday, June 28th, 2012

So, really starting to wonder what I'm missing on Facebook & Pinterest.  Would LOVE to sit down and watch a movie tonight. I've found myself wandering around the house aimlessly.  I'm officially completely addicted to clicking links on my computer.  I spent most of the day adding thumbnail images to my blog since Ben helped make a few upgrades to allow images to show up with my latest posts, etc.  So that fed my "click" addiction.  But it was very apparent when I kept on clicking on....I like to click.  I like my computer. I have a hard time knowing what to do on it without Facebook & Pinterest...which means I probably spend an OBSCENE amount of time at those two websites.  Perhaps I need some sort of intervention...not just a week-long fast.

I find myself itching for Sunday.  I'm ready to go into Verizon and get a new smart phone and data package and can't wait till Sunday to do it.  So that then I can have Facebook & Pinterest at my fingertips all day, no matter where I am?   I definitely have a problem!

The truth is, I can tell that I use those "media" outlets as a distraction, a way out of my own head and immediate surroundings.  A way to avoid thinking about important things or dealing with something I don't want to deal with.  It appears that I generally let those media outlets dictate what I think about or how I plan my day, because without them I feel a little lost, not sure where to turn next. 

Day 6 - Friday, June 29th, 2012

Today I was cranky.  It's a Friday thing...I'm always tired and cranky on Fridays.  So are the kids.  That meant when I went to the Rec and ran, without music, I was stuck in my cranky head.  Not a fun place to be. 

We spent the early afternoon at the mall while Ben gave blood at the blood drive.  Funny how this 7 Weeks of Less made me completely un-phased by all the stores in the mall.  It's entirely possible that there is nothing n that entire mall that is "needed".  Talk about excess.

Day 7 - Saturday, June 30, 2012

Ironically, I've spent a good portion of today (my last day of no-media week) planning to buy a smart phone with a data package.  I want one before my month-long trip north next week so I can stay connected for work while I'm away from my computer more than normal.

I'm also considering staying up till midnight to watch a movie and check Facebook.

Scratch that. I decided to watch a movie at 8pm and save my next Facebook/Pinterest check for Sunday afternoon - after church.  Compromise.  Still cheating, but it's a compromise.