Blog Overload

I stopped reading blogs written by people I don't know. I found myself spending more time online recently than I like. I also wanted to do something or give up something during Lent. So this is what I chose. It's been nice in a couple of ways. One, I'm spending less time online. Two, I'm not comparing my life to the lives of people I don't know. It's too easy for me to see the snippets some one posts and then make assumptions about who they are. And those people who portray such rosy, perfect lives - well, I'd feel a bit bummed sometimes after reading their posts, even though I know their lives aren't quite as perfect as they portray them to be. (And really, my life is pretty great, but some people really make it look like they "do it all" and I got tired of reading about it.)

Anyway, I enjoy the blogs written by people I know and have a connection to in the real world. Sometimes I think it's too distracting from my present environment when I spend time reading about the lives of people I don't know and interact with and am most likely not going to interact with. Some of the blogs I read are witty and encouraging and I can glean some valuable things from them, but I figure I can also most likely glean such things from people in my social circles.

So, if I know you and you blog, I'll read your blog. If I don't know you, I won't be reading your blog, and honestly, you probably aren't reading this blog either, so it all works out just fine.

Small Spaces

There are days when I am very, very thankful for our tiny backyard. It's fenced and gated, and I can see almost all of it from the kitchen. This has been a life saver a number of times over the past few weeks when I felt like Edwin needed to get outside and play (and I needed a mental break) but it didn't really work for us to go to the park.

We have a sand box on a little porch right outside the kitchen, a great patch of dirt (the garden) and enough random stuff to entertain a toddler. We both enjoy the freedom he has to explore.