Last Day of No TV

So here we are. I have survived my No TV/VIDEO GAMES challenge for the past 28 days. It definitely wasn't easy, but I did it. I did realize that when I'm bored, rather than read a book or work on a project, my go-to was the TV. This challenge forced me to get out there and actually do something. Go for a walk, or finally finish a project I'd been meaning to for months. I actually found myself wanting to be outside of the house with no TV temptations. It was hard with a roommate who watches the television ALL the time. But she was kind enough to mostly watch in her bedroom rather than out in the communal area where A and I would hang out.

My DVR is on overload. Thankfully my roomie would tell me when something would be close to getting erased so I could pick and choose what I wanted to keep. I think there's only like 10% left, but with tomorrow being March 1, I can help alleviate the problem and actually WATCH some of them before they get deleted.

It's been nice though, without the TV on. There have been more dance parties in my kitchen while I'm cooking. No one sees them, but I enjoy it. :) I decided that since we're at the end of this challenge, I think I might challenge myself to something different. My grandmother gave me an old crock pot that still works, so I think I might start trying new recipes weekly. Since I've been working out, I'm more conscious of what I eat and try not to eat too much crappy food. I don't want to ruin all the gym time I'm putting in with super unhealthy food. So we'll see how it goes...

Besides something for Lent, have you decided to take something out of your daily life for a 30 day trial?

The Boob Tube

That's what my father calls the TV. Not sure why, you'll have to ask him.

It's day 19 of my no tv challenge and I'm DYING!! At least today, I am. While I have been finding ways to stay occupied (i.e. shopping, board games, reading...), there are days that you just don't feel like doing anything and THAT was what today felt like. I just wanted to veg in front of my tv doing absolutely nothing. *SIGH*

I think I felt this way mainly in part because I worked my butt off at the gym yesterday and my entire body was aching. Plus the cold rainy weather always makes me feel like I need to curl up in my pjs with a blanket and just relax. I drank about 18oz of coconut water, took my vitamins, and had lots of protein when I woke up thinking that it might help the sore muscles. If I don't move, I don't hurt. Isn't that how it always is?

So what did I do to ignore the cravings:

1. I turned on the kitchen radio to dance and slide around in my socks and pjs (cause I could)
2. I pulled out my bread machine and baked some whole wheat bread.
3. Cleaned up the kitchen.
4. Continued working on our family haggadah
5. Ran over to the library to get a new book to read
6. Went to the gym

That last one nearly killed me. I must have been crazy. My body was already aching. But I said I would meet some friend for Zumba, which I had yet to try. Verdict: It's a lot of fun! My quads were screaming for the entire hour of dancing, but I endured it and LOVED it. There's another class on Thursday, but I think I might try yoga instead. Tomorrow is a strength training day again and I might just want to do a day of stretching after that. We'll see...

So here it is, after midnight (technically the beginning of day 20) and I survived yet another 24hrs of NO TV. Only 8 more days to go. I can do this!

Mother/Daughter Day

That's exactly what today was; mother/daughter day. It started as early as 8:30am and ended around 4:30ish. I was originally just expecting to spend a couple hours with her since she signed us up to take this "Make your own Haggadah" class. But then the class ran late so there was no time to take me home before her next event - brunch with her BCO (breast cancer.org) friends. They meet once a month and celebrate their lives and help each other through tough times when needed. Before I even got there, I felt like I would be intruding on their special time, but I was warmly greeting with smiles and hugs. These ladies are a riot! It was a lot of fun chatting with them. They are all older (50+) and have such amazing spirits. One woman has been a survivor for 15 years! My mom is one of the babies. She's on her 4th year of survival. So proud of her and I'm so happy that she found some amazing ladies to relate to and keep her thriving.

For those of you that don't know, my mom is in her late 60s and LOVES technology. And I mean LOVE. When something new comes out, she wants it and usually gets it. Of course, she doesn't get it right away and saves up for it. But she'll get it. Last night I was given her old iPad since she got the iPad mini. And before that, she gave me her 1st Kindle after she got a new one. I'm not complaining. I love technology but my mom is like a technology whore. And she knows it. We laugh about it. It's one of the many things I love about my mom. I love that she can laugh at herself and the silly things she does. A good sense of humor goes a long way.

All in all, we didn't go out and do a lot, but the quality time we spent together meant a lot.

What do you do with your mom?

Mom and me (3 months) in West Orange, NJ

It's Snowing in San Diego

The east coast may have found Nemo, but San Diego seems to have found some snow! My sister lives a little over an hour away and she got snow that stuck around. While it didn't snow in my neighborhood, we did get hail. It's kinda like the same thing only you don't want to stand outside with your mouth open to catch it.

The house was nice and toasty this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was venture into the cold and windy outdoors. But I had to get my last workout of the week in. I've gotta log my miles for Relay. Though I won't be walking all 24 hours, I do my fair share of track time - at the least I get in 6 miles. There was one year I actually walked the length of a half marathon. My feet were definitely feeling that.


I wish that I'd had firewood lying around the house. This would have been the perfect night for it. Instead, I just turned the heat up a little, sat at a table and did a little valentine nail art. I'm not super good at it, but it's an enjoyable way to wind down for the evening, especially with some tunes playing in the background.

my valentine nail art

See, it's cold and rainy nights like this that I would snuggle up in a blanket on the couch and watch a movie. This challenge has really made me think of alternative ways to keep myself mildly entertained. What would you do if you couldn't watch tv? How would you spend your time?

28 Day Challenge - The first 6 days

If your significant other challenged you to 28 days of no TV or video games, would you accept?
I did. I accepted his challenge well aware of how much I would probably miss my TV shows. And do I? YES!!

We just finished day 6 and can I just say, I MISS MY TV!! While I don't miss it all the time, I do find myself craving it occasionally when I'm eating lunch or dinner by myself. The house is so much quieter. The first couple of days I was so crabby; snappy, even. It was like going through a detox. I kept telling myself "I'm bored. There's nothing to do." But it wasn't true. I have a lot of things around the house that could occupy my time, but I "needed" my TV. I needed the tv, not because I had to watch it, but because I couldn't. I'm perfectly fine reading a book, browsing the net or even finally getting to that project I've always been meaning to start/finish. TV was my background noise.

Here are a few things I've done since the TV has been off:
1. I've listened to my music a lot more in the last 6 days than I have in the last 6 weeks.
2. After 8 years of shelving a story I was writing, I finally pulled it out and started to finish it.
3. Took my dog, Zoe, to the dog park. She's in heaven.
4. Finished a book in 4 days and started reading another.
5. Walked to the library and spent my free time browsing their vast collection.
6. Actually used our Thai cookbook and tried my hand at Asian cooking. I made a fish curry. It turned out well enough that I would make it again!
7. Went roller skating. I haven't done that in years!

So I'm being a little more productive. I think I just need to make that list of all the projects that I've wanted to start or finish and pick something every day to accomplish. I've found that as long as I keep myself busy, I don't feel the need to watch TV or play video games. Being out and about makes this challenge a lot easier. It's the getting home and feeling the need to jump back into my old routine of vegging on the couch that has made this a little difficult. But I'm hanging in there and craving the TV a little less every day.

My original plan was to blog at the start of this challenge, but somehow that escaped me. So I will do my best to keep you all updated on the rest of my TV detox. Here's to weening off the things that rot my brain...