I broke my own Facebook rule...

And for very good reason!

We haven't announced it to too many people yet, but we are moving to La Crosse, Wisconsin in the timeframe of 5-11 months. It's such a large frame because we do not want to move there in the dead of winter, in early winter, or in late winter. I, personally (being an Oklahoma girl from birth) do not want to experience a Northern winter any sooner than I have to.

About a week ago today or tomorrow, I received a support letter in the mail from my very good friend Ashley Engebretsen. She, too, is going to living in La Crosse, Wisconsin this August. *Ahhh!!!!* She and her husband are being transferred from a small town in North Dakota to the beautiful city of La Crosse. I am so excited. My heart was bursting with joy, and I had to contact her IMMEDIATELY! I had to share with her how we were going to be reunited, living in the same city, and both of us there with the thought of that being our home long-term. I am going to have a friend in La Crosse. Not just any friend, either. She and I became close during our years at college together. We'd see each other weekly, bake cookies together, study together, go on jogs together...I'm so thankful we get a chance to be involved in each others' lives again.

So, what did I do? How did I try to contact her? I went to Facebook (which is when I broke my rule) and tried to find her. Turns out, she deactivated her Facebook for many of the reasons I stated in my first post on the matter. Well, since I had broken my rule, I kept breaking it. --This is kind of an aside, but after reading this interesting article from a man who left the internet for a year, I didn't feel too badly about it. My two weeks of only going on Wednesdays and Saturdays helped me out more than I thought it would. Plus, I got rid of about 200 friends and am working on deleting more. Not having 1000 "friends" means my homepage doesn't update as often with people I don't really care about, but who are doing fascinating things. This is a step in the right direction. I'd thought of doing that for a while but I didn't want to waste my time with deleting people. If you've used this excuse, don't. Just do it, take the time to delete that person you met at the caf your freshman year of college, back in the two-thousands when EVERYONE friended EVERYONE for who knows why. (Why did we do that?....)

I've gotten a much better hold on my social media use, and I've been able to talk about the good and the bad of it with some friends and family since the first post. It really can be both good and bad, like many things.

OH, and to finish the story of my dear friend Ashley. I eventually contacted her by........drumroll, please?...........calling her on the good old cell phone. Yes, I kind of have a talking-on-the-phone-phobia, but it was totally worth it. I got to hear a little bit about her life, more than what I get in the monthly newsletter. It was wonderful to hear her voice.

I'm definitely going to miss Oklahoma and being closer to my family and dear friends that I've made while living in Norman. But we believe this is a good choice for us. Anthony grew up in La Crosse, and it is where his parents currently reside.

Adventures are to be had!