VernetteOutLoud

Walking the Line Between Love And Hate For Social Media

Walking The Line Between Love and Hate For Social Media Apps On Phone

The Social Media Conundrum 

As a blogger, I am constantly walking the line between love and hate for social media. I mentioned to a friend that I deleted the Twitter and Facebook apps from my phone at the start of 2017. And her first question to me was, “But aren’t you a blogger, how does that work?”

It’s been working just fine, thankyouverymuch. For me, being constantly connected all the time, was draining. I truly feel blessed to be living in this information age, but damn! I crave simpler interactions, where I can focus on the person and conversation at hand. And where we don’t look at our phones all the time.

If I’m out with friends, I want to give them my undivided attention because time is precious. And if in this busy world we now live in, with all it’s distraction someone chooses to spend their limited time with you, I feel like we need to honour that.

Don’t get me wrong, social media has it’s place. But this constant checking our various timelines and refreshing your feed over and over…no matter the cost to your pocket – hello data? – or your peace of mind data is concerning. What are we so afraid of missing out on?

The solution

For me, it started with prioritizing my unplugged time. I started with some pretty drastic measures, not only did I delete the apps from my phone, but an hour before I went to bed I would put my phone on airplane mode. Then I wouldn’t switch it back until I was well on the way to work.

Drastic, but it worked. My mornings felt much easier and I got a proper handle on my day before I got bombarded by news,  morning posts and memes. Eventually I got in the habit of disconnecting before bedtime and I didn’t need to put my phone on airplane mode.

I still walk the line between love and hate for social media, only now I’m better at taking care of myself. I know when to disconnect, unfollow and unfriend. And as for FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) – I got over that a loooong time ago.

Has this ever happened to you? Do you feel drained being so connected all the time? Have you ever taken a break from social media? Feel free to leave a comment below.

 

Saturdays Were Made For Coffee With Friends

perfect lattes sharing coffee

Coffee With Friends

Saturdays were made for sharing coffee with friends and today I’m rejoining the fun #weekendcoffeeshare community. Now it might be a bit late for some you to sip on some java – because caffeine and sleep are not very good bed-fellows and I completely understand.

So feel free to to have your bedtime-friendly beverage while I sip on a mason jar full of my french press cold brew coffee. Trust me, coffee so close to bedtime has absolutely no effect on me whatsoever. And I’m almost sure that that is not a good thing.

Unfurl Your Wings

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the quote that keeps coming to mind is “unfurl your wings”. I saw  a photo on Pinterest ages ago of those words. They were tattooed on someone’s collarbone and I thought at the time, if I were to ever get a tattoo, that would be it.

The reason my thoughts keep marching back to those words, is the meaning behind them especially for me at this point in my life. I see the act of unfurling my wings as the beginning of something. A leap of faith – if you will. If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I am ready. It’s my time to fly.

The Problem With Flight

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that flying scares the cuss out of me. Because the punk that I am is afraid of heights. The whole reason we’re having coffee this late is because I’ve been dwaddling over this post for hours. I cuss you not. I don’t know when I developed this spirit of fear – fear of being seen. But this cuss is real.

Taking The Leap Anyway

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’m taking the leap anyway. Coming back to this space, though only three days in has been scary as cuss. But I’m here. I’m writing and hitting publish. Here’s to being afraid to be seen but showing up anyway. I hope you enjoyed out little chat and I apologize for all the cuss words.

Now it’s your turn, how was your weekend? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee is being shared over great conversations. Join in this week’s fun here.

 

A Note To My Future Self

This is my first Five Minute Friday link up since 2014! I cannot believe that it has been so long! AAAAAHHH I feel blessed to rejoin this group of writers. This week I’m going write a note to my future self.

You can join in too. The rules are pretty simple – write for 5 minutes on the word prompt for the week and post to your blog, then add your post to the linky party over at the Five Minute Friday community.

GO

Hey Future Self, it’s me, your younger, less hot self! I’m sending you lots of love.

I know that the decisions I make today are leading me towards you and while sometimes I cannot see things clearly, my track record thus far has been pretty great. Whatever it is, whatever it looks like, no matter how bad it gets, YOU GOT THIS.

Every day that I wake up, I try to be mindful that you, the future me, depends on who I decide to be today, in this moment. And the woman I am today, decides to make the most of her time here, with what she has, right where she is, exactly as she it. Because that is always enough.

I hope I make you proud.

STOP

After I wrote this post I did a quick Google search and found this amazing website that makes it super easy to write a note to your future self. Feel free to check it out here. 

My Very Own 30-Day Challenge: The One Where I Start Again

Has it really been four whole months?

My last post in this space I was happily celebrating my half-birthday. Quick update, I’ve celebrated two of my friends’ half-birthdays since and I believe that this is something that will catch on. But I digress. Let’s talk about starting again and this being the first day of my very own 30-Day “blogging” challenge.

Back in 2011 Max Cutts gave a brilliant TED Talk on the benefits of trying something for 30 days. It’s well worth the 3-minute watch.

 

GETTING STARTED

While blogging every day for a whole month is really not “trying something new” for me. I feel like I’ve been away for so long that it might as well qualify as an experiment in stick-to-it-tiveness. Which is a much needed habit to cultivate and 30 days “is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit” to my life. 

So I’m starting again today. I haven’t created any daily prompts and this might come back to bite me on the ass during this 30-day journey. But the great thing is for the most part I have a clear idea of how the blog space will be filled, and I have written down the general content I want to publish over the course of the next four weeks.

I have have also decided that this experiment will extend to Instagram and as you can see from today’s post, June is off to a fantastic start!

french press coffee fresh brew blk n white

Follow Me On Instagram!

What isn’t in this photo however, is that this was my second attempt. My first try exploded all over my kitchen counter, my belly and thighs. It was a painful reminder that you shouldn’t attempt to make you morning coffee before you’ve actually had your morning coffee.

So here’s to starting again. Here’s to taking small steps, doing something I love – writing – and at the end of this experiment, let’s hope that these changes stick!

Have you ever tried a 30-Day Challenge? What was the outcome? Or will you be trying a 30-day challenge this month as well?Please feel free to share below!

 

#WeekendCoffeeShare: Celebrating My Half Birthday

Latte Art Weekend Coffee Share Celebrating My Half Birthday

I’m celebrating my half birthday today! Whoo hoo. #morelife

If we were having coffee, are you ready to party like it’s my half birthday? Because I am! And just in case you were wondering…YES half birthdays are a thing! Do a quick Google search and the interwebs will tell you that a half birthday is the day approximately six months (give or take a leap year or two) before or after the anniversary of the day you were born.

Why a half birthday?

When I happened upon the concept earlier this year, I had a light bulb moment! You see, my birthday is always bittersweet.  I am always in mental count down mode to mum’s death, as she died eight days after my birthday. And I stopped feeling as joyous about my birthday as I used to prior to the events of 2010.

So, taking all of that into consideration, I thought, why not make it a thing, make it my thing? My half birthday would be the celebration where I could do something a little extra special for myself without the sadness that usually engulfs me on July 30th. I also have all the energy of firsts – first month of a new year to give the day some extra magic. Bonus: It will always fall around the end of January, right around payday. HELLO!!! 

No half-baked celebration

Imagine just one birthday every year ah, but there are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays! – Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter was certainly on to something there. Life is too short not to take time to celebrate the journey. And that includes all the days that happen to be unbirthdays and in my case, a half birthday. Do you want know when is your half birthday? Find out here.

No birthday (half or otherwise) would be complete without a birthday wish. Thus, my 2017 Half Birthday Wish is that you choose a close friend or family member and go aaalll out – bake them a half cake or sing half of the happy birthday song – one of my close friends sang the birthday song for me today, croaky voice and all.

Or, sing the Unbirthday Song from Alice in Wonderland and add a bit more fun and give them only half of a present. Trust me, it will be the best half birthday ever!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

If we were having coffee, it’s time for a birthday cake martini baby! Because this is no half-baked celebration. I promise to swap the amaretto for coffee liqueur. Because, this is #weekendcoffeeshare after all.

Needless to say, I super excited for this celebration and I’m looking forward to surprising some special people in my life on their half birthdays this year. I’m already thinking about what next year’s celebration could include – perhaps a mini vacation? Who knows and that’s the absolute fun part.

Now it’s your turn, how would you celebrate your half birthday? Please feel free to share in the comments below.

*****#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee (or birthday cake martinis) is being shared over great conversations.

#WeekendCoffeeShare originated at Part Time Monster:

I started the Weekend Coffee Share last year after lots of feedback and several months of writing posts that imagined a conversation with my blog readers that started with the “if we were having coffee” line. The coffee share runs on the weekends, and there aren’t a lot of rules—-posts just need to be formatted like a conversation over beverages (we’ve had tea-drinkers and cocktail-hours as well as coffee) AND be written within the past week (so you don’t need to publish on the weekend to join the link-up). The hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare is in use all weekend on Twitter and Facebook, and it is sometimes used a bit during the week as well. ~Part Time Monster