Tag Archives: facebook

Time Munchers and Pancakes

Pinterest and Facebooks are time munchers.

Just imagine that little Pac-Man mouth, gobbling away at little bubbles of free time – that’s what happens to time when I open Pinterest or Facebook.

What’s a girl to do about that?

It’s a double-edged sword, for certain.

There are positive aspects of both sites, but the negative will easily outweigh those positives if I’m not careful.

The positive things about Pinterest:

  • my boards are easy tools to find those items that I’ve pre-screened as “keepers”, especially food or household recipes;
  • my favorite links have led me to find new blogs that I now follow on Facebook.

The downside is that I was not looking for those recipes or those blogs, although I’m glad they’re available.

Compare Pinterest to a giant shopping catalog.

Remember those Sears catalogs?  Everyone in our house would take turns, flipping dog-eared pages and marking our favorite “wants”.  The pictures create a longing in us for things that weren’t on our mind before we saw them.

Then there’s Facebook.

Facebook can be a useful tool:

  • to keep in touch (if you can equate type to touch) with dear friends and family who are also living busy lives;
  • there are family photos that I can easily access to make prints;
  • it’s also easy to create groups for high school reunions, or special interests.

I’ve added resourceful pages to my news feed and joined groups that allow me to connect with people who share the same interests.

Initially, Facebook was a mind sucking daily soap opera,  with a barrage of game ads and requests.  I was lured for a while by the daily dramas played out, but that quickly grew old.

I felt the need to counter the drama with my own placid version of life, then would be left with the comparisons of who liked what I said.  It created an emotional void, where the lack of interaction was deemed just as strong a representative as those likes and comments.

There came a point where serious changes had to be made:

  • first I adjusted my settings, so I only see what I want to on each site;
  • then I had to refrain from giving too much time to the sites, allowing a 20 minute block twice daily to catch up on what might be missing in my life.

I know.  You’re wondering:  Is there a point to all this?

But, of course!  :)

A few months ago I found this homemade baking mix on Pinterest.  It was right around Passover, so I knew that with the Days of Unleavened Bread it would not be something I would make soon.  So I bookmarked it for later.

Uh-huh. Yep.  It’s later.

I made up the batch a few weeks ago and stored it in the fridge, ready whenever I got around to it.

Of course, being the health nut that I am, I improved the ingredients slightly, using aluminum free baking powder, raw sugar, and mineral salt – and there was definitely organic butter included.

I finally tested the biscuits and they were delicious!  Light, airy, tasty, crunchy.  Good stuff Maynard!

The only downside:  they crumbled when we bit into them or tried to butter them or spread jam on them.  I’m guessing it’s because the mix is stored in the refrigerator, so next time I will allow the mix to warm to room temperature before they are baked.

Then, I made the pancakes.

You .  have .  to .  try .  these .  pancakes.

Seriously.

They are that good!

I wanted to taste them while I was still making them, but just had to have a bit of syrup for the real taste test.  Half the plate later, Hubby came in to see if his plate was ready.

Oh, oops!

Seems I got carried away with the tasting.

Just call me Miss Pac-Man.

Adequate

I’ve found that Pinterest is an extremely attractive break from reality.

It’s also made me feel somewhat less than adequate.

Let me explain.

The absolutely best thing about Pinterest is the ability to quickly categorize and locate things that are appealing to each of us.  Personally speaking, it has awakened an awareness of refreshing and powerful blogs, excellent resource sites, and new ways to use old items.  For those reasons, Pinterest rocks!

The downside is the comparison factor.

Seeing all of the awesome new things that can be done, but not doing them.

Knowing that there are delicious recipes I really want to try, but I stick with my regular menu because its ingredients and timetables are familiar.

Having the materials for that project and then discovering that it will take more time than I have at my disposal.

Comparatively, I end up feeling inadequate.

That’s when I decided it was time to put the computer to the side.  Ignore it like it doesn’t exist.

You see, I had spent my spare time digging and finding and discovering and being wooed and lured by the endless possibilities.  Obsession had begun to bloom, and it was an obsession of inactivity.  All of that reading and browsing and finding was not getting done what needs to be done.

Yesterday, I started while the coffee was brewing.

Sweep the floor, tidy the kitchen, plan the next steps.

Then I sat down and drank that first cup, already energized by action.  This was my allotted spare time, time to browse and dream, time to check my email and see how the family is doing on Facebook.

Before I had finished my cuppa, I was pulling out the bills to be paid and getting them organized and ready.  I had awakened my brain a bit early this morning by forcing it into action as soon as I was out of bed.  My browsing and dreaming time were greatly reduced.

The day continued in like manner.  Not until it was time to prepare supper did I stop for a quick update on the social scenes.  I’ll confess, it was not my “most productive day ever”, but I did get several things done.

One of those things was an unraveling of the knot that had formed in my thoughts.  I’d pronounced myself an inadequate gardener because I did not yet have my planned garden bed (Garden number two) ready for planting.

I had blamed myself.

I had compared myself and my efforts to the sites I had “pinned” and the blogs I had read and I had waved the flag of surrender before I had even started!

That one day of freedom from comparisons allowed my tangled brain to unwind and recognize the stumbling block.

The plot of yard that I’ve not prepared has not met expectations in the past two years that it’s been gardened.  Prior to that, it was the leftovers of an alley driveway, and the curve position for a bike track, and a dumping ground for all sorts of things over the years.  The crabgrass and bindweed have already formed a matted and impenetrable barrier to vegetables.

This ground was not going to be ready without a major overhaul!  My puny annual efforts were not going to make a dent.

Freedom!

I announced to Hubby, “I’m not planting back there this year”.

I was suddenly liberated.  I was suddenly adequate.

The ground will take a lot of work, serious work.

We’re going to have to naturally kill off that blanket of nasty growth and then build the soil.  It’s going to take a lot of black material and a lot of mulch, but we’re going to smother the heck out of that ground, and then rebuild it with a cover crop.  Then, we’ll see if it’s fit to set raised beds and lay foot paths, and grow perennial beds and vegetable beds.

I’ve seen some fabulous ideas on Pinterest and have linked to terrific blogs and resource sites…

This Dreamin’ Girl will continue to dream in the meanwhile.  :)