Lather, Rinse, Repeat: A Rant about Facebook

I've had an exciting evening.  I've been cleaning out my attic and recently posted a couple of hockey bags for sale on some local sales sites via facebook.  I've been corresponding with a couple of buyers via messenger.  I have one bag sold with a pickup tomorrow and was in the middle of getting the other sale set up when this happened.  

Wait... what???  My account is temporarily locked??  Ok.  I guess I'll do the security check to secure my account...

I had to complete the security challenge, which is REALLY hard to read, and then identify a few friends photos... no problem.  

I then had to create a new password... I can do that too.

Yes!!!  I'm all set and ready to return to facebook.

What the....  Ok, I'll just click on my desktop icon and.....

$%&*!!!!!

I've now completed the same task about eight times now.  I've identified friend's photos, correctly stated my first grade teacher's last name, had a verification text sent to me via my cell phone.  Everything.  I cannot unlock my account.  I can't access it via my phone or ipad either.  It just keeps going in an endless loop.  If I ever do connect again, I'll never remember my password because I'VE CHANGED IT EIGHT TIMES!!!

Here's the worst part.  There's no way to contact Facebook.  It's showing I have an active account and it's telling me that I have to log in to make a complaint or request help which I cannot do.  There's also no way to e-mail them.  I even found a phone number for facebook that is specifically set up so when you call them they say YOU CANNOT CONTACT FACEBOOK OVER THE PHONE!!!  Who does that????  I have some select words for Mark Zuckerberg right now.  

I just wanted to declutter my attic and sell some hockey bags... apparently that's asking too much.  *sigh*  

Dogs in Paradise

Pumpkin Carving!

More silly photos from the teens and tweens

Sam and Allie wanted to take photos with their "friends"...

Tommy likes to hike his shorts up and document it.  Phoenix (the dog) is very confused...

Never Boring Living With Teenagers.

Blink

It's crazy to think that it's been nearly 5 years since my last post.  I was back on here to scour my blog for pictures of my father-in-law.  He passed away two days ago and we've been preparing photos for the slide show at his service.  Hard to believe how quickly my kids have grown and life has passed.  I guess it takes a death for me to get back on here.... it's that busy.

Grandpa with Petey in 1997

It's tricky now too.  My kids are not as excited to pose with tupperware on their heads and dance for the camera.  They are more likely to give me sarcastic looks and text on their phones.  My days consist of driving around a lot.  Not the most post-worthy activities.  I should do that though... post a map of my driving escapades if for no other reason but to remind me that I'm not just imagining that my life is a blur.

So how does one keep up with the demands of life and still try to savor it?  It's really a legitimate question that I don't have an answer to.  Pete's in college (!) now, my "baby" is almost 10.  Our life has switched from internal activities within our home to external ones throughout the region.  With each child involved in one activity a couple times a week, it makes for multiple activities every night.

It begs to ask the question though.  Can I find joy in documenting teenagers and some tweens?  Will they let me?  They always seem to enjoy reading the older posts but never seem to want to allow me to photograph them in the present *sigh*.  It's something to ponder.....

Soda Thoughts

I'm giving up soda for the New Year. It's sort of like New Year's and Lent rolled into one shot. I like these dorky self-improvement holidays. I like the feeling of trying to conquer my perceived weaknesses. Although, I must admit, soda is not a true love of mine...not like chocolate (which I also gave up for a year). No, this is not a love, just an occasional fling that has empty, unnecessary calories. I really do want better health and fitness this year so this is a natural resolution.

So here's the confusion... where do I stop? If I'm giving up soda because I don't want the empty beverage calories, then shouldn't I also give up all juice drinks? I won't give up 100% juice because I find it helpful to grab some in the morning when I'm on the run and can't sit and eat a meal. So it's now soda and drinks that are not 100% juice. But here's the real dilemma... what about hot drinks (i.e. hot chocolate) which are, in my opinion, a necessity in the wintertime? Do I give those up too?

I think I'll keep the hot chocolate and give that up for the real lent or something like that. Nothing that's too long term. Although I don't drink soda all the time, I don't want to lose my sanity and fail miserably...I have to keep my choco. It is, after all, my true love. =)

Here's hoping it leads to better health and fitness. Happy New Year's Everyone! Drink a soda for me!