#BlogElevated excitement with @EricTTung & @grrrfeisty (photo by Eric)
This weekend I went to Blog Elevated for the second time. You might think that going to the same conference twice you might not learn anything. You’d be wrong. New speakers, new sessions, new bloggers to meet—I am so overwhelmed with ideas and thoughts and new knowledge. If you’re a reader of my weekly email, I compared my thoughts to seagulls when someone is throwing their leftover lunch at them. My thoughts are many. They are frenzied. They are whipping around and biting one another and fighting over that piece of crust with a little mayo. Okay, so all comparisons break down somewhere. The point: I have a lot on my mind. Changes are a’comin.
One big change I didn’t expect to be making? A change in how much TV I watch.
I didn’t go to the conference thinking anything about TV and yet that’s the easiest and most up-front takeaway. At first I sort of fought this realization and then I confessed it to myself and now I’m confessing it to you.
I’m Kiki and I am a TV holic.
I watch TV when I’m nursing Quin. I watch TV during nap time. During lunch time. After the kids’ bedtime. I watch TV, it seems, ALL the time.
All while I’ve got my laptop so I can pretend like I’m being productive. But how can I write an awesome blog post when I’ve got Criminal Minds up on the big screen? We don’t even have regular TV, much less cable, but we do have Netflix, that foul temptress. After Cooper was born, I watched all ten (TEN) seasons of CSI: Miami. Before Quin, I watched The Closer. Now I’ve been working my way quite steadily through Criminal Minds. Oh–AFTER I finished all of Leverage. (Yes, since Quin was born.) This whole binge-watching thing is right up my alley. I love binging.
But this weekend I heard Ashley Hackshaw from Lil Blue Boo talk about her love of books and writing. This from a girl who professed to have failed English, a girl who didn’t like reading growing up. I could FEEL her love of books and writing and words palpably in the air as she spoke and it stirred something up in me: memory and longing.
You see, I was the little girl hoarding outdated reading textbooks, taking them home from my elementary school classes so I could read MORE after school. I was the girl filling out journal after journal and notebook after notebook for YEARS. Every day. Every. DAY. We almost need a storage unit to hold them all. I think I’ve put pen to paper no more than a dozen times since Quin was born. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THAT LITTLE GIRL?
Children, for sure. (Psst- Click to see my post entitled “Children’d” depicting what would have happened if Teen Girl Squad grew up and had babies.) But other than children, TV has been steadily killing my mojo. I *think* I’m being productive while the TV is on. But if there were a hidden camera, I think I’d see myself slack-jawed, staring at the electric box more often than not. One of my closest high school friends called it the Satan box and she really meant it and we kind of laughed at her. (And then she won one at our graduation party and we really laughed. Then she sold it and went on a mission trip. Possibly the best use of a TV ever.)
Rob and I didn’t even own a TV when we first got married. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “What did we DO?” And I remember this one time we went roller blading on the Terry Hershey trail and there were all these gnats and we kept getting them in our mouths which was gross, but also funny and because we were laughing, we got MORE of them in our mouths and then when we came home we ate a whole pizza to wash down the gnats. That’s just one night, but I still remember it. What did we do last week? Um….
Before Netflix, we didn’t even have the 20 basic stations (which are 8 local, 8 en Espanol, & 4 weird religious). Except for those few years I was American Idol obsessed, when I made Rob fashion an antenna out of wire hangers. There was nothing TO watch back then. It was easy to ignore the Satan box! Now there are too many shows I like and too little time to waste watching them.
So I’m saying goodbye to Shemar Moore. (Note: Hotch is actually my favorite with his perma-grumpyface, but I think Agent Morgan has a bigger fan base out there, so I’m directing this at Shemar Moore.) I’m saying goodbye to TV for at least a month week.
A month sounds terrifyingly long, so we will start with a week. I hope it’s easier than the time I tried the Atkins diet when, on day 3, I was found crying in the aisle of the “health” bars, trying to find something with chocolate and under 5 carbs. Let’s hope we NEVER get to that place again. (Seriously. I cried in that aisle.) I want to get some things done! I want to write real writing! I want to finish an ebook on how to raise kids that DON’T become baby Pharisees and maybe write more of my fiction and also I want to make sure my posts here are stellar.
I’m plan to listen to music and read books and write in my journal. I’m going to find that little girl who read 100 pages a day. I know she’s still in here somewhere but has been stuck in a corner because of the electric box. Begone, you flat screen of mind-numbing entertainment! Find some other soul to suck. I have Things to Do. Saying goodbye to TV means saying hello to much more important things. And tonight I said a nice, long goodbye with four episodes of Criminal Minds to tide me over.
Have you ever taken a TV fast? Is TV even a part of your daily life?
(And also tell me all your favorite shows so I can think longingly about them while NOT watching them.)
To read about what other people learned and what changes they are making as a result of Blog Elevated, you can find recaps HERE.
I watch TV two hours a week, tops, and then it is The Amazing Race and Survivor with my husband. Otherwise, I don’t watch at all (though he does–he loves Netflix, like you!). In order to read and write and work, I sometimes take long breaks from Facebook, too. It’s crazy how many things want to gobble up your attention and keep you from writing!
I missed Ashley’s session! Ugh.. Now I’m sad that I did! (I was sad before but now I’m even more sad). And I don’t watch much TV.. just because I spent too much time on my phone. I think my phone is your TV. Does that make sense? To be fair though browsing through Pinterest counts as work, right?! (Just say yes, please and thank you).
Ps.. love your take away and I can’t wait to see what other changes you have in store!!
I was never a TV watcher, I used to read about 8 books a week (nope, totally NOT kidding…I read fast!). Then things got busy and I found myself doing the same thing…sitting in front of the TV with my laptop open and thinking that I was getting stuff done.
I made a compromise with myself. One day every 2 weeks (OK, sometimes it’s more like once a week) or so, I plop myself down with snacks and catch up on the shows on my DVR, watch Netflix and check out what’s new with Amazon Prime.
It’s worked out great, I still get my TV relaxation but I’m also getting more done and that takes away some of the stress so I don’t feel overwhelmed and want to sit down and do nothing but watch TV…yes, now I’m rambling but you get what I’m saying 😉
I didn’t have a TV in my apartment during College. It wasn’t until Nathan and I moved in together that I had TV. I am SO much more productive without TV! That’s why I’m loving my iMac, it doesn’t move to the TV 😉
Love this. There is a time and a place for tv, good and bad (come on…we all enjoy a good bad reality show from time to time). Mostly…I just dont have time for tv. I thought maybe I was missing out, but your thoughts remind me that our time is too important not to spend living instead of watching other people’s fake lives. Go team! You can do this. But maybe stock up on some carbs to comfort you. 😉
What a great post!! I’m Crystal and I’m addicted to tv. My daughter and I are watching Criminal Minds on netflix right now too. As a family, we have enjoyed watching tv for a very long time. We make a pact not to turn it on until after 7 p.m. during the week. However, weekends we do watch a lot of tv if we are doing something. Darn that Netflix!!! Good luck to you this next month!!
Whenever you’re back to watching Netflix . . . have you seen Psych? Doc Martin? Powerpuff Girls? Awesome shows!
i am addicted to multi-tasking…so this becomes an issue for me, too! i have to force myself to play music in lieu of watching tv…
Yes, we gave it up for Lent one year. We ended up watching it the last week because my grandpa died and I just needed to focus on something else for a bit. Results? Tons of reading and blogging got done. Wish we’d kept it up!
Dang that Longmire! Here’s my recap: http://www.eatprayreadlove.com/the-benefits-of-going-tv-free/
I gave up TV and took up classical music on the radio. Seems like I need noise in the background but nothing that makes me want to sing along or stop working and get up to dance…
I love the productivity graphic…I snorted. I don’t watch much TV because I’d rather read a book. I watch Downton Abby, Amazing Race and Survivor (and when those last two aren’t on, I’ll watch Psych, Lie to Me or Doc Martin).
I had fun making it! I have sort of lost my reading love and hope to find it again!
I think they sell background noise CDs, like what you’d hear in a coffee shop, and I need that! Classical sounds good too.
I need to rediscover reading AND music! Right now I’m enjoying the silence, but I’m itching for good work music!
I’ll have to go check that out! I’ve given it up before and never really used to watch it, but I think having kids has made me want to turn my brain OFF. A little isn’t bad…so maybe I can go back. But the binging? That’s bad!
We watched all of Psych! You are the second person to recommend Doc Martin! I’ll check it out when I return to TV…in moderation. 🙂
I like watching it together and making a thing of it. Lately it’s just been me by myself distracting me from all the other things I could do.
I agree! Time and a place. So after my break, I’ll bring it back in. If I can handle it. 🙂
I didn’t have one in college either! I NEVER watched it really. So weird that I watch so much now. I was much better about that (and lots of things) when I was younger. What happened to me!!! Oh, yeah…kids. 🙂
I read fast too!! But maybe not THAT fast! You’re a robot, Miranda. 🙂
She was so fab. Yes, it makes sense. Phone = TV. Totally.
That’s a good idea to have just one or two shows. that’s how I USED to be. Now I’m like a TV whore. Did I just write that? Yup.
When I started maternity leave and could no longer proper get on with things I watched Criminal Minds from the very beginning. Garcia is my favourite I think. I also watched Doctor Who from the first Christopher Eccleston episode, One Born Every Minute, Warehouse 13, I started The Young Doctor’s Notebook too.. Since Jaxon arrived I’ve watched two seasons of Perception, a heap of documentaries about weight loss (Fat: The Fight of My Life) and I’m sure I’ve been watching other stuff too. Yes I am Hannah and I am a TV holic. I have it on in the background while I knit and crochet too.
Quite a lot of the shows I watch have finished for the summer break (Castle, Grey’s etc) so now would be the time for the break before they start showing the next series around Christmas. Then again Strictly Come Dancing (UK version of Dancing with the Stars) has just started.
😉