Good Bye….old friend…

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Over a week ago, we lost something in our house that was near and dear to us. Something that gave us lots of hours of entertainment and memories. Ladies and Gentleman, we lost our lovely living room TV. We were losing her for about a month, when we started to see lines develop at the top of the screen, but we decided to be totally frugal in the situation and “let it ride ’til the wheels fell off.” Our 42 inch beauty is now dead, gone, ka-put, and we would have never thought how much it would have changed us. Surprisingly, we haven’t missed it too much. This is the TV where we would watch family movies and where, late at night, I would finally catch up on the shows I had missed all day while on “mom duty” or working down at the base. Technically, this was MY television….I recorded all of my programs on this one, viewed our family videos on here and kept on while I sat on the living room floor clipping coupons. But, it hasn’t phased me, or the whole family in general, as much as I was expecting it to.

Change #1: I was hardly phased by the loss but DH was miserable. We actually ended up losing the old girl when our whole apartment complex had a power outage(second one that week)and we were without power for close to 4 hours. We anticipated everything coming back on once we got power back, but once DH saw that the ol’ girl was refusing to turn on, he panicked. I laughed. I seem to be doing that a lot these days in times of stress and testament. I mean, we knew it was coming! Why was he so upset? I asked him and he replied, “I feel like we didn’t have enough time together.” Ha! I just love that man. He’s insane.

Change #2: We’re getting more accomplished. I noticed now that since I don’t have the option to just turn on the TV when my favorite shows are coming on, I seem to be getting more done. I know you families out there without ANY televisions are thinking “duh, woman! no distraction equals more work done.” Yeah, yeah, I did know that but I always thought TV wasn’t much of a distraction to me. I used to use it as background noise when cooking, cleaning, what have you. I can’t stand total silence, not even when I’m sleeping. Now, like someone who isn’t a pyscho, I listen to my Ipod while cooking and cleaning. My Mother-In-Law was nice enough last year for Christmas to get me a stereo that hooks up to the Ipod and is small enough to fit on top of my fridge. I’ve been using it all year, but I’ve really been taking advantage of it recently.

Change #3: I have to decide which shows are worth my time and share that time with Hubby. Since the only working TV in our home is now located in the bedroom and Hubby has to get to bed at a decent time, I have to pick and choose which shows I will hog up the TV for. This actually has been harder for me than anything else, because I tend to be a channel surfer, since I know that most shows will be repeated. If I miss a part, I can always look for that show the next day. Not anymore! I decided which shows I do love and I think Hubby will not mind sitting with me to watch. We actually watch quite a few shows together already, but the “girlie” shows like Desperate Housewives and most of the stuff on TLC, I had to run by him first. Thank goodness he loves Jon and Kate plus 8.

Change #4: Sonny Boy and I are getting to bed earlier. Since the living room is right off of Sonny Boy’s room, whenever I would try to catch up on my shows at night, I risked the chance of keeping him up as well. Most of the time, he fell out like a ton of bricks when he hit his pillow, but there were nights when I’d hear him playing around in his room way late. I knew it was because he knew there was someone up in the next room and he decided to “join the party.” Well, since there’s no TV noise coming from the next room now, he stays asleep. And sleeps hard. I tend to take that time to catch up on e-mails now, or watch a show or two online, if I feel like it. As a result, I’ve been going to bed at least 2 hours earlier than I used to. At first I felt like I had missed out on something by not being online in the message boards, but I finally realize that I really haven’t. The only downfall is that I haven’t posted as many blog posts as I used to. I write my best at night.

Change #5: We are enjoying each other more. Well, we’re trying to. Sonny Boy seems to be biting my ankles even harder now that I’m on a mission to get more done, which causes a few problems, but Hubby loves when he comes home and yet another thing is different. Something is put away that has been out for months, another closet is cleared up, ever bit of dirty clothes are washed and cookies are in the oven. I feel like June Cleaver over here!

Now, the honeymoon won’t last for every long. We will be getting a new living room TV off of craigslist after the holidays. Even though we are enjoying the time off from the TV now, January is a whole different story. January is “American Idol” time. I need time alone with Simon. The boys will just get in the way. Simon, darling, I’ll see you soon. :o)

How about you all? Who doesn’t have TV in their house? Who knows that they can’t live without it? Anyone thinking about getting rid of theirs?

About Amiyrah

My name is Amiyrah and I'm an an African American fashion & lifestyle blogger based in Ohio.

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9 Comments

  1. 11.18.08

    Good for you! I know I can probably deal with it, but DH would go NUTS! The main TV is his baby. It was the FIRST thing we bought when we moved out together. No, not furniture, a dining room table, a bed…the TV..and it’s a big one too. Typical male! HAHA!
    I think I’d listen to the radio more as well. I know during the holidays, I like to put on the holiday music channel, but if we didn’t have TV couldn’t listen to it 🙂

  2. 11.18.08
    Jenny said:

    Way to go! I was without TV for 5 years and didn’t miss it. Had to get it when I started dating my DBF as he complained that he needed his one hour of TV time at night – and it’s in the living room. I’m a strong believer that bedroom should only have bed and dressers and no distractions. I still don’t bother to watch much of it unless he’s here. I do watch Grey’s now but not too happy with recent stuff so might soon give that up as well. I’d rather read whenever I can.

  3. 11.18.08

    We have television, but no cable. My husband installed an antennae in the attic, so we get our t.v. for free. We cut the cable during the summer, so we did not go through the withdrawal symptoms. We spent more time outdoors, and there were mostly summer re-runs anyway. Now, we have been accustomed to it.

    Valerie
    Frugal Family Fun Blog
    Good times on a budget!
    http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com

  4. 11.18.08
    nidena said:

    Like Valerie, I have a TV but no cable. I don’t have an antenna though. I watch only DVDs and certainly don’t miss all those darn commercials. If I really want to watch something on one of the “big” channels–ABC, CBS, or NBC–I just go to the gym; that way I knock out two birds with one stone. I just might be doing that tonight to watch The Biggest Loser…maybe…those 6am workouts are starting to get to me. 🙂

  5. 11.19.08
    Anonymous said:

    We got rid of cable and satellite two years ago. We get 3 channels on TV. Our TV is a small 9″ (or smaller) TV that gets used to watch videos such as Bob the Builder or other children’s or family movies when it is storming outside or one of the children are sick.

    Most of the entertainment here is in the form of schoolwork (homeschooling) books, or playing outside. And with a small farm, outdoor play is a LOT of fun for three small children.

    Kim

    http://mrshoppes.livejournal.com/

  6. 11.19.08
  7. 11.23.08
    Emily said:

    I debate about this a lot. Right now I have a good deal on cable service, but it runs out early next year and I’m not sure if I can get another one. Plus my cable company will not offer the network I most want. So, I won’t be ditching my TV but I may be ditching the cable.

    I used to get frustrated when they’d put shows I liked on hiatus for some sporting event, so I quit watching a lot of prime time tv anyway. That was reinforced during last year’s writers’ strike. So I could probably handle it without too many problems. As much TV as you can find on the internet and through netflix, etc, you could probably find anything you wanted if you really wanted to see it.

  8. 11.24.08
    Amiyrah said:

    emily, you are so right! DH and I actually sat in the living room and watch about 4 episodes of “30 rock” right after dinner today. It was nice to have minimal commercials and decide if we wanted to watch the next episode or not. We have been dying to watch the show but never had the time to sit and watch when it comes on during its regular time. This was so great to do on our time and all in a row! Plus, it was free! As much as I miss “my” TV, I do love that I can sit here and watch “The Office” or parts of SNL while finishing up blog posts. And if i miss a part, I can just rewind it lol.

  9. 11.24.08

    Now I KNOW I couldn’t live without my tv. You are great to try and do it! I do try to ‘limit’ myself to only certain shows at night, because like you, I caught myself getting more and more caught up in the shows and doing not much else. Or what I do is make myself get up during commercials (even if I dvr them) and changing the laundry, making a bed, scrubbing the toilet, something productive for that 6-8 period. You can do it girlfriend…