I'm moving!

For many reasons, I've decided to switch over to using Wordpress, instead of blogger. I've moved all the posts over there, but was unable to get the comments over there, so I'll leave this one up for awhile.

Here's my new blog address:
http://thedriveblogger.wordpress.com/

Thanks for reading! :-)

Gah!

I buckled last night. Dangit! It was getting late and I had a headache, so I put the book down and started deleting stuff from our DVR (not watching just yet, just deleting). Then I came across something and thought..."I forgot I missed that show this week! I'm tired of reading...screw it!" And I watched an hour of tv. Luckily, after that hour, I shut off the tv and went to bed. Man, I'm disappointed in myself, though. I really wanted to go the whole week without tv. I still plan on going today (Sunday, my last day of this!) without tv, so I'm not throwing in the towel. I'm going out on a high note.

I'm twitching!

I'll get to how Adam Sandler relates to this post in a minute... :-)

Last night was easy without tv...we played Wii with my in-laws. I know what you're thinking--"cheater, that's tv!" BUT, I justified it because the whole reason I'm doing this is to avoid the trap of tv shows that are rotting my brain. The wii is fun and we had some family bonding time. So there. Neener neener neener!

Anyway, now that my husband is having a boys' night and I'm home by myself, I'm getting those twitches of withdrawal I was worried about. Sure, I have my books, but I've been reading sooo much this week and I just want to watch a chick flick, eat junk, and snuggle with the dogs. I'll see how long I can take this reading stuff. (Wink, wink!)

Speaking of reading, I'm almost done with Fast Food Nation. If you're at all interested in where your food comes from, this is a must-read. However, if you're not interested in changing what you eat on a daily basis, don't read this book. I'm planning on making some fairly drastic changes in my food choices because of what I read. While the book wasn't quite as captivating as a novel, I became more and more curious as I continued to read. The book has presented me with information about the food industry that disgusted me to the point where I'm rethinking my eating. I feel like I'm so overwhelmed at how little I'd be able to eat if I listened to the author of the book, that I want to throw up my hands & just give up. But instead, I think I'll prioritize the ethical violations I feel most strongly about and boycott those. With that said, I'll most likely be swearing off red meat. At least for now...I can always add more later.

I have another book about the food industry, but I'm going to give my mind a break from the topic while I mull over the information I've learned. In the meantime, I'm going to move onto a more entertaining book.

Between this book and an article that a friend passed on, I'm having quite a bit of internal conflict. Let me explain more. The article my friend sent me was about how a local store trashes their clothes instead of donates them. In fact, they trash them so "well" that they are completely destroyed. It's such a waste, on so many levels. So now I feel like I can't shop at stores who engage in such unethical practices. I was naive to think that stores don't all just donate what they can't sell.

I'm finally learning more about corporate culture and greed and what it's doing to our country. I can't live in my own little bubble anymore and pretend these things don't happen. Especially if I want to have kids someday and raise them in this world.

So here's where this comes back to Adam Sandler...remember the line from Billy Madison? "Businessss Ethicsss?"

That's it. I just want you to remember a funny movie after all my serious stuff. :-)

Thursday = Must-See TV! Oh noes!

I was a bit nervous about missing my Thursday shows. I was worried I might start going through withdrawal. Luckily, my book kept me distracted and my electric blanket kept me warm, while the snow piled up and the wind chills dipped lower. I must say, I'm starting to feel less "dumbed down" and more "smart" building up in my brain. Too bad I don't know any fun MRI people, who could scan my brain before and during this experiment for giggles (and for free!).

This morning, I made an exception to my experiment and watched 20 minutes of tv, so I could catch up on the overnight snow and how hazardous the roads would be. A slight cheat, but it was in no way entertaining...only a fact-finding mission. :-)

I anticipate the twitch of withdrawal symptoms to begin tomorrow and into Sunday, when my body and mind will surely want to fall into the dumb stupor it's grown accustomed to on the weekends.

Day Three Without my Beloved

Day Three.

I kept myself pretty busy again last night. I also started a chore system, so that I don't leave everything to the weekends. Let me tell you...it's been a while since I felt so on top of things around the house and with our finances. It's a good feeling.

I have a feeling that Friday-Sunday are going to be pretty boring for that reason. Luckily, Saturday morning, I'll have to work (Luckily? Wait, who am I?), so that will make me go to bed early and take up part of the day.

The book I've been reading this week (in my newly-found spare time) is Fast Food Nation. So far, it's okay, but not exactly enthralling. The author gets into extreme detail about mundane facts about the history of fast food chains, etc. I've heard the book is rather eye-opening about what that food actually is that we eat at fast food restaurants and I'd consider that interesting, which is why I picked it up in the first place. When I finish the book, I'll let you know, but right now, I'm only about a third of the way through it.

In the meantime, here are some other habits I'm working on in the new year for a fresh start. We'll see how many stick, but so far so good!

• As mentioned above, do more housework during the week, to make weekends more free.
• Get into a night-time routine, so I'm not rushing around so much in the mornings.
• Drink 3-4 (16.9 oz) bottles of water daily.
• Learn more about the food industry and work on my addiction to fast food & junk food.
• Move more (I lost motivation for physical fitness since the wedding!).

I *think* that's all. But, really, it's a lot to change!

Day Two...

of D's Terrible Torture Experiment. Just kidding...it's really not that bad. Honestly, it's not. Here are two reasons why:

1. I don't have to be done with chores or hobbies by a certain time so I can watch my favorite shows. It's a bit freeing, if you will. Not over-the-top nudist colony freeing (hey there's something I'll never try!), but I feel somewhat liberated, nonetheless.

2. I'm actually getting more restful sleep! I've rarely had a problem falling or staying asleep (unless I'm sick), but without falling asleep to the tv, I'm finding that I feel much more rested in the mornings.

Last night, I ended up avoiding grocery shopping, but I did run errands. And then I came back, did some stuff around the house and practiced guitar for the first time since, oh, maybe when my husband bought me the thing years ago! I learned five songs (nothing you've ever heard, trust me) and after 20 minutes, my fingers hurt. They hurt badly...so badly, in fact, I thought they were bleeding. So, apparently I have wussy fingers that I'll need to toughen up if I want to be the crazy guitar-weilding granny. (Yeah that's right, that came out of nowhere. I decided yesterday, I want to be able to teach my grandkids guitar someday, assuming I even end up having grandkids, or kids for that matter!)

One day down, six more to go...

Wow, this no-tv thing is nuts. How am I going to do this for a WHOLE week?!

I'm learning some very important things about myself and my tv habits, though.

1. I watch about 30-40 hours of tv in an average week, where I have stuff to do and I'm working, but not constantly on the go.

2. My husband & I spend much of our together time in front of the tv. I barely saw him last night because he was enjoying some of my favorite shows ("How I Met Your Mother," "Big Bang Theory") while I was reading.

3. The dogs rely on me to lounge around so they can relax. I was working on a scrapbook last night in the dining room and they sat there and looked at me the whole time. Like they were thinking, "What's wrong with mommy? We need to get her some help! Daaaadddyyy!! Mommy's broken!" Oakley barked at me. A lot.

4. I may come to loathe this "experiment," but I really do think it's good for me. I'll be learning guitar tonight & grocery shopping. :-)

5. I've grown up with my life revolving around tv. When I was a child, I remember my mom turning on the tv as soon as we came in the door and it was always on, for "noise." I remember having to finish my homework by 8p so I could watch my shows and eat my snack (that's another addiction, but for another day!). There were at least one to three shows I just had to watch every night. And I've continued those habits through the years. When I lived by myself, the tv was a constant. It helped me avoid those little "bumps in the night" that might scare me. When I go upstairs to clean or whatever, I immediately turn the tv on. It's not that any of this is wrong or bad, but it's something I never thought about and would like to change.

Radical idea!

By George, I think I've got it! A great way to kick off my Use It or Lose It resolution. This is the radical idea I mentioned the other day. Here it is...wait for it, wait for it...

I'm not going to watch tv for an entire week!

Yes, for some of you, that's nothing, but for me? For me, this could very well be some sort of awful, terrible torture. I could very possibly end up in a straightjacket by the end of the week. I'm not even exaggerating. You know how some people give things up for lent? And often it's something easy, like pop when they're not even a pop-drinker. Then occasionally, you hear someone say they're giving up something drastic, like sweets. THAT would be even worse than giving up tv, but I can't jump into that one yet. I tried the South Beach diet for two days, went through sugar withdrawal, gave up and got a DQ blizzard.

Why oh why am I doing this? I think this will help me break my addiction to tv. And I read about a lady doing this for a magazine article a few years ago and it intrigued me. So I made up my mind to "just do it."

I will leave the DVR set up the way it is, so I may watch my beloved shows next week, if I want to do that.

Day One:
Today is the first day of this groundbreaking experiment. I was feeling life was a bit quiet this morning when I got ready without the tv. (Radio isn't off-limits, but I didn't have it on, either.)

Then I walked outside, and crap! We got 4 inches of snow! I shoveled the walk, tried to drive to work, then turned around and came back. When I got home, I turned on the tv because surely, there would be some serious coverage of this massive snowstorm, right? They showed the Pittsburgh area and the roads were wet and they barely got any snow. BUT, our area schools were closed. So, I bent the rules a little bit, but it was because I thought the world was ending, and that the snow would be up to our roof by dinner. It won't.

So far, I haven't done well, but that'll change! I won't cheat anymore, I swear it! ;-)

Operation: Use It or Lose It in 2010

I've been giving lots of thought to my resolutions for 2010. I started by thinking about who I am now and how I've changed over the years. In many ways, I feel more settled, I feel better about myself, and I feel like I "get" life more now. BUT, who has seen Idiocracy?

It's actually a bit of a dumb movie, but the premise really "spoke" to me when I saw it a couple years ago. In a nutshell, they say that man is getting dumber with each generation. Take, for example, coffee cups with the warning about hot coffee. Or maybe the stupid reality shows on tv (hiding my head in shame, since I watch them religiously!). They show a world where no one can actually think for themselves. They let other people think for them.

Why am I giving you a movie review? Because I feel this happening to me! When I was in high school and college, I always made time to write and read (for the fun of it! Gasp!). I sat and listened to music while in "deep thought." I played music. I actually did things to USE my brain. And now? Well, now I'm a slave to prime-time tv, I'm addicted to reading the latest on the Gosselin family trainwreck, and I have subscriptions to countless magazines because I can't seem to focus my attention on finishing a book. I'm letting my brain ROT!

SO, I want to commit to using my brain AND my heart AND my body in the ways they were meant. I sure don't want to set myself up for failure, though, so I don't want to be too ambitious. I'm going to break it up into manageable pieces and take baby steps. I'm hoping to be able to record my successes and failures here and ideally look back at this day next year and say, "Yeah, I really made progress."

Stay tuned...I have a radical (for me!) experiment coming up very soon. It's going to rock my world (and hopefully yours too!).