The End of the Web Challenge

Today, being May 1, more or less marks the end of my efforts to stay off the computer as much as possible. I'm happy to report that, while I didn't stick 100% to the rules I made for myself, I seem to have broken the chokehold the Internet had on my free time.

Here's what I was up to:

I read The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, the last book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (check that out-- if you like YA fiction, it rocks), and Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott. I'm also most of the way through this, which is a total guilty pleasure that I'm totally enjoying. It's like a realllllly long People magazine article, complete with way more than I ever wanted to know about Scientology. (Seriously, people-- thetans, e-meters, a space alien named Xenu?!?! And I thought Mormons were crazy.)

I also rearranged our front room to create a playspace for Eva.

Before:


the view from the front door


the left-hand side of the room


the view from the living room

And after:


Eva sees it for the first time. The letters
spell out "Eva Daisy," crossword style


Showing me that the kitchen sink comes out

I need to take another picture that better show off the funky clock and show the mobile from my friend Skillet (yep-- the elephant one you gave me before she was even born!). The living room looks totally different now, too, so if I can ever get everything picked up to my liking (HA) I'll post more pictures. I'm especially in love with the wooden kitchen. The main sink/stove piece we bought from the awesome folks at Sprout Soup, and the fridge is the best deal I may ever get in my life-- a Kidcraft model that retails for $130, which I got used for $26! I nearly tackled it when I saw it. It has a tiny crayon mark on the front, but I just taped a picture over it. SCORE!

Rather momentously, I'm undecided about returning to Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing, the home of an Internet forum where I used to spend far too many hours. I've logged on to read some threads and congratulate people announcing births and pregnancies, but I've had little desire to actually post anything. I'm wondering if 2+ years there have been enough? I actually sent a message to an administrator to make my account inactive, but it hasn't happened yet.

And so...life goes on. I'm feeling lukewarm about being online, which is a-OK with me, as I'm getting so much more done in my real life. When overuse threatens again, though-- and I'm sure I'll get back there at some point-- I won't take so long to take a break. It did wonders.