I’ve seen people who send out newsletters do this and i think it is such a great way to keep track of what you’ve been up to!

READING

The very plus side to the month off was i worked HARD at reading and listening to books. I got 7 done this month

A Bit of Earth: A Year in the Garden with God

Dopamine Nation – obviously this was a good time to read it when you are trying to take a month off of social media.

100 Ways to CHange Your Life :

Tell Me Everything: I could not put this down and that’s unlike me with books.

Tell Me More – Kelly Corrigan

Raising Emotionally Strong Boys – David Thomas

The Vanishing American Adult

EATING:

Im used to posting on my hobby page what i am making for supper so i wondered if not posting it would make me not make as much homemade or lose the joy in it… thankfully that wasn’t true at all! I love using my Monday/Tuesday that i am around the house to set up the place with homemade things. I also get my sourdough rolling those two days and make waffles every Tuesday for the freezer.

Tried some new recipes including –

• homemade hot chocolate mix
• homemade cheesy garlic breadsticks

Practicing:

With being off social media i def feel like i worked harder at habits. I am still sleeping really well even with this pregnancy. Consistent in my 1 line a day journal, pretty consistent with devotions every night tho i will admit i am in the part of scripture that is all prophecy and i am a touch bored but trudging through. Have tried to work harder on prayer life and really want that to get even better this year.

Always practicing the consistency of getting outside for a mile a day. for it being a very cold month i think i got 9 and looking at last years it was an improvement and I am happy with that!

Obsessing:

Shockingly at a type 7 enneagram who is always obsessing over something i would say this month was pretty chill. Doing “the next right thing” soaking up and taking care of my children and trying to survive a stressful year end month when you do it for 7 different companies.

But I am still in my obsessing over household swaps stage and finding new things to make from home. This month including grinding our deer with beef fat and beef so that we would use it. started milk kefir. canning black raspberry jam and raspberry lemonade concentrate from this summer that was in the freezer.

Recommending:

A social media break. I was feeling really worn down by it by the end of December and that everyone was just cranky and whining (maybe it was just me) Being off social media for the month was a first! I’ve done weeks at a time but never a month… and i dragged my husband into it too 🙂 I will say it was so good to be off for awhile and to get some projects done/read books things i don’t usually get done because i am wasting too much time on social media. it was nice to not think i had to fill every minute of the day with oh I’ve got five minutes let me scroll. It was nice to not know everyone’s drama and be in the loop…. i am one who truly does like being out of the loop sometimes! I read to my kids more and was always saying yes to a card game. But by the end of the month I did find that i missed the creative side of social media. i follow people that are creators and bring a lot of joy and i missed that. i missed seeing the pictures of the people in my life i love but don’t get to see in my weekly life. i missed the updates on health of people who put that on media to know how they are doing. I think i started to miss this more just because it was january…. and lets be honest it’s a real boring month when you live in iowa and all your hobbies/joy/mental health love the outdoor months more. But it was good for me as an enneagram 7 to do something that made life a little boring. it’s okay to not have exciting things to look forward to. it’s okay to not drown the melancholy month by scrolling. I am very glad i did it – will def be doing again in a summer month too where i can be off it and soaking up beautiful weather and my kids at these fun ages.

Treating:

I feel like even this isn’t fun… i usually love a small little treat but this year we are trying to hit the finances HARD so we can treat ourselves to something very very big we want…. a Shop! It’s worth trying to reign small little expenses in and i do find it to be joyful focusing on not spending and stocking the savings account.