Can you spell "irony"?

For a whole lot of reasons, I have been very quiet on the blog front lately ("Really Georgie? No!" How kind of you to say so....).

Since being at home on maternity leave with the Princess, I find if I sit down in front of the computer, hours just get sucked away, I do an email or two, read some blogs, do a little Ravelry-ing, and the whole day is gone.

I have lots of goals for my leave, not the least of which is to enjoy my special time with the Princess (but never doubt I have a massive, multi-layered list of Things to Do), and unfortunately being on the computer excludes every thing else. I don't think sitting on my lap watching the screen counts as suitable stimulation for a 3-month-old.

I have made a conscious effort to reduce my screen-time. I don't want to find whole days have been sucked out my week by faffing about the internets. I don't want to find it's January, I'm heading back to work, the Princess is 6 months old and I've done nothing of consequence with this very important time. I am very privileged to have significant maternity leave in a country where many women are forced to go back to work after just 6 weeks (and many don't even get any remuneration for those 6 weeks), and I feel obliged not to fritter it away on frivolous things.

It's spring here in Canberra, and I want to enjoy being outdoors with the Princess and Pirate Jim. I would like to achieve some long-standing goals around the home, such as decluttering and re-organising all the stuff we have. I want to have more than an hour a day to spend on knitting. I want to get back to sewing, and crocheting, and spinning, I cant do that from in front of the computer.

As a consequence I have dropped out of the blogging habit, and although I try and read them, I comment much less often on other blogs. I still read, but I just observe, don't participate as much. I have been an appalling correspondent of late, and am dreadfully behind in returning emails.

But I miss it. I have decided that, rather than feel guilty about my screen time, I need to be more disciplined, give myself discrete windows of usage time, and not stray from that.

So ironically, rather than step further back from blogging, I will step up instead, and take on a challenge. Blogtoberfest has started over on Big Cat's Emporium, and I'm signing up. There's no pressure, just the challenge of posting every day. I'm a day late, but better late than never, I say!

Bring it on! Now, I'm just off to check Rav, and my email, and the weather in Belgrade....