How To Use Facebook Appropriately

It seems like everyone has a facebook account now days. I wasn't even too shocked when my Grandpa friended me (I only had to have the smelling salts waved under my nose once). I like facebook because it is totally like eavesdropping on conversations without any possibility of being caught. I can creep on you without you really knowing it.

That being said, I think there are some guidelines everyone should start using.

1. Friending people. I know having a huge number of friends is super popular, but honestly, the little red headed girl you met at camp when you were 8 years old does not really remember you nor does she want to be your friend. Think things through before you issue that friend request.

2. Tagging photos. I love to see a good picture of myself. The key word is "good". If you have a picture of me pulling at my waistband while making a weird cat butt face, do not tag me. Do not even post it on facebook! Use the golden rule. Would you like a freaky picture of you posted and tagged? No? Then don't do it to others!

3. Beware of dirty laundry. We all have those tiffs with our loved ones, ones where we want to let everyone know what a dirty stink pot louse they are, but after we've calmed down we are glad we didn't do something so rude. But with facebook, you can post whatever you feel and it is instantly available for all of your hundreds of friends to read. Now all your friends know that you are in a fight, they can read all your rants and if you are me, be very sorry for the TMI.

4. TMI. To much information isn't just about dirty laundry. It can be an overload of posting. Do I need to know that you are folding laundry, then cooking dinner, than going shopping, then getting ready for bed, then....I'm already bored. Post interesting things! Or funny things! Or in the case of me, rarely post anything.

That leads me to an important insight: I am too boring for facebook! I hardly post anything, I check it about once a week, and I am very slow to friend people, even my own family members! It may not be a case of others using facebook appropriately, it may be a case of facebook not being the place for me.

I might be too old school. Give me an email, a letter by snail mail or a good old fashioned blog! Now those are the ways to communicate to friends and family!

I Love You, Craigslist

I love you. Really! I've found great bargains, and perfect finds, thanks to you. I've gotten rid of things for free, first come first serve, no hauling things to the dump for me! I've sold things and 'made' money, so like a garage sale but without the hassle.

You keep me entertained. You give my husband motorcycles to drool over. And you've made me laugh. Some of your posts are funny!

But, you aren't perfect. Nope. It's not your fault. I swear! It's the flakes that use you. I know, I know. Those flakes are the ones who've sold me my lovely couch or who've picked up a bag of free iris bulbs out of my front yard.

I don't mind the fact that I'm going to get about ten emails on a single item posted. I ignore the ones that are long distance phone numbers, with the call me please plea. I never meet someone halfway. I try to be fair and contact people in the order they email.

But I have a box of dragon legos that I can not get rid of. I've had three people make a plan to look at them, and then nothing. Not one word after that.

I've decided to take it as a sign from God! I wasn't sure if I was ready to let go of my son's favorite toys, even though he is too old for them. I'm not ready. They will be packed up and stored (right now my husband is gasping 'not in the bonus room!') and maybe in a couple years, when my nephews are older, the dragons will find a new home.

Or they'll sit in the bonus room for the next ten years and when my son has his own home, I'll pass them on to his bonus room.

And now, I've got to keep my morning date with you. It's E! news and free stuff on Craigslist that make my morning complete!

The TV Show I Should Stop Watching

I have a love hate relationship with A&E's show, "Hoarders". I should stop watching it for several reasons, but I can't. I think I love gasping in horror and saying, "E, can you believe that? Isn't that awful?"

First off, it's on Monday nights at 10. It is an hour long. That means I won't be thinking about going to bed until after 11! That's pretty late, and before you say, "Well, you are getting older, late nights aren't easy any more," let me be very clear. Late nights have never been easy for me! I was usually the first girl to fall asleep at slumber parties and New Year's Eve is my least favorite holiday!

Second, the show is called "Hoarders". It is all about people who are, you know, hoarders. They can't get rid of anything and usually end up living in a chair because that is the only "clear" space in the entire house. It is actually stomach turning to watch the tours of the house. There is no way I can snack during that show, even if it wasn't long past our cut off hour for snacking. Turns out, I can't eat while watching other people on TV shovel out houses full of human waste and dead animals.

But the real troubles come after the show, after 11, when I spend about 20 minutes wandering my house seeing signs of hoarding in myself! I do not stand for clutter. If it doesn't have a place, it doesn't stay long in our house. But after Monday nights, I can hardly stand to see the pile of clothes I have yet to put away, the stacks of creative memory works in progress I have on my desk and God forbid my bedroom trash overflow at all.

It is making me crazy.

My husband can attest to the truth in that statement!

And yet, every Monday at 10, we are cruising the channel guide. Is it a repeat? No? Then change the channel, quick! I don't want to miss one moment of stomach turning, gasp inducing programming!