a whole new world of friends......

When I joined Facebook 4 or 5 years ago, it was to keep in touch with the people I knew. To share my life with the people I loved who I couldnt see all the time.

When I moved to Coffs, it became even more important to me. It was a way of communicating with my friends, people I knew in REAL life. My friends list was small and consisted of people I knew, well. These were the only people I was interested in. I didn't need hundreds of friends. That seemed silly to me! How can you possibly keep up with that many friends?!!! Why would I want to make friends online that I will never meet?!! 

I had no idea!!!

As always things changed. Its hard to believe, especially for me, but many of the people on my friends list these days I have never met, have only known for the last 2 years or less. But I really do count them as friends!

When Maddi & I went on our cruise in 2009, we went with good friends. Real life friends. But I also joined a facebook event for all the people going on the same cruise. I wanted to see what experiences other had had. Maybe meet a couple of people. These people were and are wonderful! Chatty, friendly, sharing previous experience and reassuring those of us who were new to cruising and more than a little worried about the dreaded sea sickness!!  I met most of them on the cruise, and I am happy to still call many of them friends on facebook today!

When I fell pregnant with Molly I joined Bubhub, encouraged again, by a real life friend who had done the same during her pregnancy and made some friends as a result. 

It was lovely talking to other women going through the same things, experiencing the same feelings, emotions, physical changes. It made me feel normal. Then they started a facebook group. I love the girls in this group. My Yummy Mummies laugh with me, cry with me, make me laugh when I need it, offer me support and advice when i need it. I count them all as friends, even though I have only met 2 of them in real life. I long ago stopped using bubhub, but i hope these girls will be around for a long time yet! I feel a love for all the other bubbas I never knew I could for someone Ive never met! When they are sick, I worry, when they achieve or learn something new I celebrate, just like real life friends!! I still hope to meet most of them...one day!

Now, I have become rather involved in the world of facebook. I have met and made friends with many people in Coffs through interacting with them on facebook! In fact the lovely friend organising my very, um, educational hens night, I met on facebook not even a year ago!! 

Also, I have become a lover of hand made items, clothes, but particularly dolls. Through the magic of facebook I have started building friendships with other lovely ladies who are collectors and lovers of dolls and who are the talented ladies who make the dolls I love so much. Its lovely chatting with like minded people who don't ridicule my love of hand crafted dolls! If anything they encourage it....not sure really how Shane feels about that!!


So, to those that say spending time online is bad for you. Restricts your social life. Makes you anti social and unable to communicate in the real world...... 

You are W.R.O.N.G! 

As long as you are willing to combine real life and online life, balance them, watch and make sure you don't spend your whole life online, you can make it work. In fact, it can make your life better!! 



Remember, I met the man I will be walking down the aisle to in just 8 weeks ONLINE! 



Without my online friends, I would be lost. I laugh, cry, bitch and moan with them as much as I do my real life friends. At times when I am feeling lonely because my real life friends are busy with their own lives, its nice to know I always have someone to talk to