By midmorning on Saturday I had come to conclusion that I needed a vacation from my social media platforms. I was running late to my yoga class that I was teaching and the only option I had to get in touch with my students was via Facebook. I sent them each a message letting them know I was running behind and left it at that.

I arrived at my class exactly 30 minutes late to a room full of no one.

I quickly checked my phone and realized people had only just saw the message and probably came to the class thinking I just didn't show up. I felt crushed. I felt like an irresponsible person.

 I sat in silence for about 10 minutes when the thought came to me. I needed to get my priorities straight and a big part of that was disconnecting from social media and taking more to phone calls and face to face time with people.

I sent message off to my students asking for their phone numbers (the place I teach only asks for email on the registration sheet). In the future I would call everyone to let them know if there was a problem before they made the trip to the class.

Once I had the messages sent, I uninstalled Facebook from my phone. I had previously uninstalled Twitter as my phone was getting full and I don't use Twitter half as much as Facebook.

I made the decision that social media was too distracting and wasn't always reliable. From the moment I removed the app, I began to think about all of the other things I needed to achieve for the day. I did find myself  checking my phone for the first hour, but after that the habit seemed to pass.

I had a massage and then went a bought myself lunch. After buying lunch I went into a few stores. I bought myself a nice plush blanket for the fall and winter months and I headed home. I had the day to myself as R was out of town for the day.

I made myself a hot cup of coffee and downloaded a new book on my Kindle and cuddled up on the couch with my new blanket (yes it was chilly enough at one point to do this!). It was nice knowing I was controlling my own feelings of the world at that moment.

There was no social media to sway my thoughts. I didn't have to scroll across the latest Trump drama or see a friend ranting about something that was probably important for them at the time but would also probably realize later that it was silly to post.

My feelings and thoughts were in the then and now and the only one who could change them at that point was me.

I enjoyed the New York State Fair yesterday without distractions from my phone. I was with my friends and her kids and I had so much fun interacting with all of them then messing with my phone. My husband was impressed that I was able to control not being on my phone all day. I was proud too, but a part of me knew already that it wouldn't be hard.

I continued to live off the "social  media grid" through last night around 7pm. I did sign in to check my Yoga page messages to make sure I didn't have any issues I needed to respond to and I signed back out.

I think I am going to continue to keep myself off of social media, other than to do work stuff. I will post for my blog and keep up with my yoga page, but other than that I am going to focus on other things. I am going to get other things done first.

After 31 hours of being off the grid I realized, I didn't miss much. If someone needed to get in touch with me, they did. When I scrolled through my feed quickly I didn't see anything so important that I felt I missed something. It was pretty magical.

Now to continue this week as this coming weekend I am literally going off the grid to the mountains of North Carolina where they may or may not be any form of cell service.

Bring it on!

Namaste.

It's that time of year again when you need to start mowing your lawn. The snow is all gone and that brown stuff that is uncovered will soon be lively and green and need to be mowed weekly. As I looked out the window today thinking this, it dawned on me that I have NEVER mowed a lawn before. Say what?! True story.

This then got me thinking of all the things I have never done, but seemed like fairly common things. The list I came up with seriously makes me feel like I live under a rock. So without further adieu, five things I have never done, but am fairly certain are common.

#1 Never been camping: I grew up with a father, who's idea of camping was renting a "motel" room instead of a "hotel" room. Sleeping outdoors in a tent on the ground was way to much work in his eyes. If you wanted to see things like bugs and dirt, stay in a motel, he'd say. (Completely aware this sounds absolutely crazy) Now that I am older and have my own idea of what camping really is, I have finally decided this will be the summer I will experience it. Although, I have recently saw an ad for "glamping" and that sounds wonderful too!

#2 Never been Skiing: I spent the better half of my life living in the northeast. Not only do I live up north, I've spent most of my adult life living in the mountains. Where it snows. A lot. This still never got me excited enough to want to suit up in layers upon layers, then strap more layers of equipment on my body, only to travel to the top of a mountain where I will be forced to fall back down (Yes, fall. Because that's what I do on snow and ice). No current plans to pursue this. Ever.

#3 Never donated blood: Seriously though, I have given blood, it just wasn't for the greater cause. It seems like every time I had the opportunity to donate my blood, I was either sick or just had "donated" blood to find out why I was sick. I am sure I have "donated" enough of my blood over the years to fill a blood bank, but sadly it didn't go there. Maybe that should be a goal this year. Maybe.

#4 Never stood in line for a Black Friday sale: As much as I am a thrifty shopper, ain't nothing coming in between me and my sleep. Getting up while it's still dark to go out and fight someone for a toaster is not only insane, it's scary. I would like to keep all of my body parts thank you. No toaster is worth losing a limb over, or in some cases your life! Shop online kids. Most of the time the deals there are WAY better than any crazy midnight special.

#5 Never been to a drive in movie theater: When I first moved up north, there was a cute little drive in about 15 minutes from my house. I was only a freshman in high school at that point so I didn't drive. I also didn't have many friends so there went that idea. By the time I had friends who drove the drive in was replaced with a car dealership. It was a sad day. Good news is after I mentioned this to my boyfriend, he promised to take me to a nearby one this summer. I knew there was a reason I keep him around. 

So there you have it, my life under a rock!