Let me preface this blog post by first saying I am one plugged-in Mommy. I live and breathe the Internet and social media, and whole-heartedly endorse it.  As a woman who works in public relations, it's a necessary professional tool that can come with great benefits.

I use my LinkedIn and Twitter accounts to network with other professionals in my industry, and stay up-to-date with the goings on in my professional world. It takes up time, but not too much of my time to tweet, update, and connect with people I want to connect with, without giving too much information about my personal life.

Then there’s Facebook. I have never really used Facebook in a professional way, and I have always been hesitant to accept a Facebook friendship with a current or former employee, but I usually would do so anyway.

But last week, with me leading the effort, my husband and I decided to delete our Facebook accounts. I’ve always used Facebook for entirely social purposes, like most Facebook users do, as a way to connect with friends of the present and past, post pictures of my daughter, pictures from vacation, at sporting events, weddings, and every other life activity that's worth sharing (for some, that's everything). 

I was also asked to be a Facebook "Friend" by people I barely knew, some I didn't even like. I accepted anyway. You know how they say keep your friends close and enemies closer? I did that on Facebook. (Not that I have a lot of enemies, but everyone has a few people they are just not big fans of, right?!)

I would write on my Friend's walls "Miss you! Let's get together soon!" or I would "Like" their status updates about vacation, family, love and life.

I would cringe at the amount of information people would give out in status messages. (Sorry your child has been up since 2am and vomited all over your rugs and linens, I don't want to hear about it.)

Of course, you can control who sees your page and who's posts you see, but I found it becoming a tireless task to "Unsubscribe" and "Defriend" my over 1300 Facebook "Friends".

I sometimes tried, with no success, to endorse events I was working on, share news stories I cared about, etc., but I don't think they ever got anywhere.

People are on Facebook to be social with people on Facebook only. Period.

My husband, never a fan on Facebook, had no issues immediately deleting his Facebook account when I asked him about it. "Sure," he replied, with no emotion. God love him, I was so envious of him and his ease at deleting his account! He felt nothing. I, on the other hand, knew I was losing an outlet and escape into the social world of my friends and frenemies. The countless hours I'd spent uploading photos, tagging people, reading status updates, and stalking pages, were coming to an end. It was bold, bittersweet move. But it was necessary.

It came down to just finding a better use of my "down" time at home and even at work.

So here I am, one week later, telling you it's the most mature move I've made it years. I feel like I’ve grown up in a sense, and I am more observant of the world around me. I'm getting more things done at home, I'm redirecting my passions elsewhere - cooking, reading, home renovation - and most importantly writing, one of my favorite pastimes.

Instead of rushing to post a cute picture of my daughter to share with the world of Facebook, I savor it for myself, and then email it to the people who I really want to see the picture.

Instead of asking my friends to make plans via Facebook - I've had emails, texts, and phone calls - yes even good old fashioned phone calls - with my friends and loved ones to make plans to see each other.

Instead of surfing Facebook after my daughter goes to bed, I'm enjoying conversation and couch time with my hubby.

In a world where we seem to be so plugged in to stay connected, I've found myself embracing and loving my old social life without Facebook, without having to know the status updates and photos that so-called "Friends" share with the rest of the world.

I've made a vow to maintain my personal "real" friendships via the best way possible, by seeing each other in person or catching up by phone, not by Facebook.

I remain connected on LinkedIn, Twitter, a personal blog, obviously Working Mom Blog, and various other websites for both my professional and personal pleasure. 

Facebook is a phenomenal social tool, don't get me wrong. You cannot discount the fact that people have found lost loved ones by using Facebook and connecting with friends of the past. 

But the truth of the matter is that Facebook involves more self control than I can handle, and I'm glad to now see it as the ghost of my social past.