Two and a half years ago we decided to cut TV out of our home life. There was a little trepidation and a great deal of uncertainty at the time. Further, right up to that point I would have been the first one to get in your face and tell you how little TV we watched and how much we controlled it with our DVR/Tivo. At any rate we decided to pull the plug to all local, cable and satellite broadcasting.

There have been several surprises as a result. I hadn’t realized how much worldly influence penetrates our homes through that TV. It’s so gradual and sneaky that only when it was completely cut off did we see it. I was pleasantly surprised Blake and I never missed it, we’d expected the break to be difficult. The kids struggled for the first couple of weeks. Today they are so good about balancing their free time with activities beyond the TV screen and I don’t hear anymore about all the things they just have to have from all the commercials. They still enjoy so much of what TV has to offer, but now it’s more controlled and less immediate. In short, we got so many more positives than we were expecting that I still reel from the knowledge that it’s all spun from a single decision.

Today I’m thinking on how much my new remotes have given me by way of control and enjoyment and how glad I am that I switched to them. Two primary ones come to mind. The first is Netflix. The second is my computer. We set up our Netflix with three users, Blake and I share one queue, Cidnie has her own and so does Taylor. The fun part about Netfix is that the kids feel a sense of control about what they want to watch. In a very real way, this has replaced their TV remote. The queues can be updated any time and there’s no limit to how many DVDs you can put there and there are parental controls for ratings/content. The movies come to you via mail and you simply return them the same way, there’s no late fees or time constraints; you get your new movie when you return your previous one. We can all enjoy these on our big screen and in the comfort of our living room. We’re simply controlling both the show content and eliminating all the commercials. Recently, I’ve been showing the kids how to add TV series into their queues. These are fun because there will be several episodes per disc and fun for me too because we get a lot of old TV shows. Last night we watched the pilot episode of Fantasy Island and they loved it. I laughed when I put together how much Hugh Jackman looks like a young Bill Bixby. No wonder I loved the Incredible Hulk as a girl! *swoon* Back to the point, another major positive for me is not being responsible for housing and storing all the discs. I truly hate this element of owning movies and DVDs. When I’m not putting back the hundreds of movies the kids have displaced looking for one, I’m cursing how many have been so scratched that they don’t play right if at all. It makes me cranky.

Here’s where my second new remote device comes into play. My iMac is amazing with graphics and all I need with it is a good internet connection. I have two options with my computer. First, I can watch TV programs online for free through sites like hulu.com. Second, I can use iTunes to organize my purchased content. The online TV has limited commercial interruption and while the new shows have great graphic quality the old ones are pretty rough. I should add that Netflix is now adding this feature in increments to their site so you can watch some content online. iTunes fixes the quality and commercial issue but adds the need to download and store the content. However, I’m confident it’s only a matter of time before someone will figure out how to merge all the benefits into one tool for consumers. One of the great benefits of this era is enjoying so much control over so many options. I’m no longer at the mercy of a big broadcasting company. I’m also no longer forced into ownership as the only option to enjoy programs I may want to see again but not enough to justify owning it.

I’ve found that the only thing we lost when we cut the TV out of our home was all the unwanted and “filler” tripe. However, what we’ve gained defies measure. I truly believe in today’s world more and more parents will have to make some tough and big decisions to help fortify their homes and moral influence on their children. I’m so glad we made this one when we did. I can’t get back the wasted time spent in the years before we cut the cord, but I can make the most of now and that’s worth a lot.

P.S. I just checked out Netflix and see they have a new $99 device that does exactly what I just described. I knew it was just a matter of time.

We’ve been having a discussion at my house lately about the many ways we spend our time. My husband has been listening to a lot of audio books on his commute and he mentioned something that hit him hard about his most recent of how the man he was learning about didn’t waste a lot of time. The man was Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in the world. I would add possibly the most generous man too.

So we’ve been reviewing how we spend our time at my house. We’ve been pretty careful about TV consumption. My husband and I record a few of our favorite series and watch them after the kids have gone to bed. We learned when our daughter was not quite two that we quickly became bad parents with no patience and raised voices if we tried to watch something we wanted while she was awake and needing mom and dad. We’ve also monitored more of what comes into the home by recording shows for the kids to watch nearly eliminating live TV. Not only does this help us filter what comes in, it also helps us track the time spent. So on the level of what we watch and how, I feel great. But even with all this I can’t deny that we still spend a lot of free time watching TV. With new series beginning the fall we picked up Bionic Woman and Journeyman to our Heroes and Office line up. So we just doubled the time we’ll spend watching TV after the kids have gone to bed. And the TV is such a great babysitter for mom to get some work done that the kids spend far too much time in front of it. It’s not that what we’re doing with our time is bad…given the shows and time spent together you could even classify it as good. But it’s undeniably not the better or best use of our precious time.

So we’re contemplating shutting off the TV service. We’d still have movies and some of the kid’s shows on DVD so it wouldn’t be like removing TV entirely but it certainly would make a dent in our use of it.

My husband said something that struck me last night. He reminded me of our early days of trying to conceive and how we’d used the logic that we’d never want to look back and be able to say “what if” we had tried something. What if taking a simple pill would have resulted in a pregnancy? Could we live with that haunting unknown? Now we can look back with peace of mind, now we know. He used the same logic for our current discussion saying how much worse it will be if years down the road we look back and say “What if” we had spent more time doing “x” instead of watching TV. There will be a much greater ache if there are things that could have been achieved, morals that could have been strengthened, character that could have been defined and knowledge that could have been gained with a little more effort on our part to spend more time with meaningful activities and recreation. Although I might initially miss the characters and story lines of some of my favorite shows, they won’t miss me. In fact, they won’t even notice my absence. Isn’t that saying something?

I don’t want to look back on my life and see a lot of good decisions but multiple missed opportunities because they weren’t the better or best decisions. Your thoughts?

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Family Positive Impact Potential Balance TV Talk

Well it’s Monday…again and I’m suffering from high expectation syndrome. It’s the start of the week so I’m always thinking/hoping I’ll get a serious leg up on all the tasks needing attention. Thankfully, the big jobs got done last week. But now it’s after noon and I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much of anything done - partially because there’s not as much looming in front of me. *sigh*

Tonight we’re having a little party at our house with some neighbors for the season finale of 24. I hope it doesn’t disappoint. So far this season hasn’t been as enticing for me. It started with a big bang (literally) but they took out the main terrorist just past mid season and the last several weeks have been drawn out story lines that don’t seem to be connecting. I’m really hoping they can tie it all in for me tonight in a way that doesn’t leave me going “eh” and if they kill off Chloe I’m done. She’s one of only two main players left for me. It is this viewer’s humble opinion that you can’t mess too much with an original cast or you lose the emotional investment of the audience. Worse case scenario is still good though because I know the Heroes finale won’t disappoint and we’ll be able to watch it later thanks to the technology of the DVR.

I had high expectations for our Phoenix Suns too and so the last game with the Spurs was a big disappointment. They really are an amazing team and poured their hearts into it. Oh well, one less thing to plan time for. Besides, I have family coming to town this weekend and the kids can’t wait to see their cousins and have them at their house. So I suppose I should find some form of motivation to keep moving today. Too bad I gave up my Mountain Dew, that might just have done the trick….LOL.

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Housework Blogging TV Talk

It’s time to take a moment and recognize/enjoy the good things at the present moment. This is something I’m learning to do more often. It’s so easy to wish your life away thinking “When……then I’ll be happy - or - get to that - or - take a moment.” The time to live, remember and enjoy is now. Tomorrow never comes because there’s always another tomorrow to procrastinate to. Experience has shown me that no matter how bad today seems for whatever reason, years later I’ll look back and wish I’d appreciated how good it was or seized the moment to do something with my kids. So today I’m enjoying:

Beautiful flowers from my wonderful hubby.

My poem being published - and being the FIRST one in the book!

Watching my son enjoy Zathura for the thousandth time and baking him cookies.

And last but not least, LOVING the fact that my sink is finally being installed.

Plus, tonight is The Office and the final showdown on American Idol includes my two favorites. My floors are clean and I still have time to blog. Life is good.

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Sharing Motherhood Housework Success Blogging TV Talk

Well, I’m deciding to start the day by looking for silver linings. It’s amazing how many can actually be found when you start looking. Too bad it’s not more difficult to always see the clouds. Here’s a short random list showing just how diverse the clouds can be:

• This morning was a little crazy in that I had to take my dog to the vet at 7 a.m. It was extra chaos and work to meet everyone’s needs.
  I can say I’m not just ready but well into my day only an hour and a half later.
• My photoshop software stopped working after my daughter’s Disney digital camera software was installed.
  I actually found the program CD with ease, am SO grateful the photo files are not stored with the program files that need removed/replaced and my daughter loves her new camera. (Ha! triple header!)
• Sanjaya is still on American Idol; a sad display of things gone wrong and long term I believe it could be a very bad/damaging reflection on the kid in the near future.
  I can still have an opinion/vote and while he may be burning his “15 minutes of fame” at least he’s getting it full throttle.
• Unexpected bills and expenses always come up and rob me of my positive thoughts on all things financial.
  Yesterday my bank account received the state portion of our tax refund.

So there’s always a way to achieve balance, I just find it requires a little effort on my part. (more…)

And it’s not just about Chris going home tonight, it’s about Sanjaya being in his own universe. I just shake my head wondering how he keeps getting enough votes to remain in a competition that has swallowed him. Personally I think every week he remains does more damage for himself and his future - now he’s being discussed as the worst contestant ever to make it into the top 12, then 10…put that on your resume after the teeny boppers find a new love. It’s like the train wreck you can’t stop watching and we’re all just waiting for the wave to come to a crashing end. And for what it’s worth, I think we’ll notice a change in chemistry with Chris leaving. I think he was a tension buster for the entire group and I think his absence will have a noticeable impact.

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TV Talk

I’m singing the TV blues today. You see, I’m spoiled. I’ve come to expect a lot out of TV viewing with DVRs and big pictures. It’s all about bigger, badder best, and if you’re married it’s likely that you’ve been exposed to a lot of blue smoke to justify the new toys and their price tag. My hubby got one of those newest, biggest, baddest, best TVs about 8 weeks ago. I’m not going to complain about the new TV, it’s been great - the huge screen and picture quality are awesome and there’s nothing like enjoying the few TV shows we like on the big screen. But I’m not sure I’m sold on the technology. When we bought our TV at the end of January there was such hype over the new 6 color lamp. Apparently the old flat panel technology was a 3 color lamp. So the concept is deeper colors, etc. Okay, now I’m great with the idea of enhancement but our lamp already died. We’re assured that this is not a normal thing and our lamp must have been defective and with it under warranty it’s no cost to us to replace it. That is no financial cost, but the personal cost has been high. You see, it went out late last Thursday, and because it’s so new they had to order a new lamp as no one in the entire Phoenix valley had one in stock (how is that even possible?) Today is delivery day. So it’s now been 6 nights of no DVR and watching TV on the smaller set in our bedroom. It absolutely killed me to have the TV dictating our schedule these past few nights knowing I wouldn’t have the ability to pause or delay starting programs. And guess what? Everyone and their dog calls or stops by when you can’t pause the show you want to watch!
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Well, for the first time I seriously considered voting last night for every OTHER contestant on American Idol like 50 times just to help make sure Sanjaya goes home this week. I didn’t have the patience, but I thought about it! All I can say is that if he doesn’t there is no justice in the universe. Of course, he’s already made it much farther than he should have so unfortunately even though it would be supremely disappointing if he didn’t go home tonight it wouldn’t be a surprise either. It’s not that I hate the kid, I just think he doesn’t belong with the vocal talent he’s in the mix with. Without fail, every time he hits the stage I find myself frustrated that I can barely hear him and wishing for a fast forward button to end it.

I don’t think any of the guys stood a chance with a theme of Diana Ross songs last night. It was like reliving the week of Broadway classics a few seasons ago. I really cringe when I hear such a narrow focus theme for the week. If memory serves me right, there was already one male contender who sang a female artist’s song this season and he got the same “mix” review of not terrible not fantastic - so duh….a whole night of only female artist songs to choose from, what did anyone expect to happen? For the guys, it went exactly as I expected it would. Haley surprised me though, I thought it was one of her better performances and I liked hearing more of her voice. I was glad Simon gave her a lift. Melinda and Lakisha performed exactly as expected and I was very tickled for Jordin to do so well, especially after 2 very long hours of listening to singing. It was a nice way to end the night.

I’ll come back and add to this post after tonight’s show, but I’m already saying I’ll be beyond disappointed if any of the 12 go before Sanjaya.

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TV Talk

Last night’s American Idol proves how unpredictable it continues to become. Only one of the three who went home last night deserved to go home yet. I’m definitely with the judges on last night’s outcome that America just plain got a few of those wrong. The most I can make of it is some underground voting coup going on for Sanjaya and the sympathy votes for Haley. But then last year was totally off a few times too, like Chris not making it to the top three. I think the first few seasons were more predictable but the last two years seem to be showing a growing wild card trend. It’s not that any of these singers aren’t good - they had to be to make it this far and it’s about more than one performance, but in my opinion there has been obvious displays of talent levels and the ones who won’t last (at least based on this still being a singing competition) but shouldn’t have made it past others made it through last night. At least the top contenders made it into the top 12, but to say I was disappointed with the outcome would be an understatement.

At least there’s a good side to being unpredictable - shows like 24 and Heroes have mastered making the element work in a positive way. I’m pretty bummed that there’s a seven week wait now for Heroes and I’m always counting the hours to Monday night for Jack. The only thing it’s doing for American Idol is generating morbid curiosity now to see what else goes wrong.

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Blogging TV Talk

I’m still not completely sure how I feel about this season of American Idol, but I have to remember that most of my impressions from previous years came from the top 12 down so maybe it’s just about time. But I know that the year of Carrie Underwood I took to her from the start and liked a lot of the others a lot too, and last year Chris Daughtry was the Carrie for me and I also really liked a lot of the others too. So far this year there’s a few I like but no one I’ve just taken to the same way - again maybe it’s just too early, I’m not sure.
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