I did it

I whacked the cable the landline last week.

It was partly for financial reasons -- that one phone call saved me more than $100 a month. Well, really about $1,000 a year, since I've been sending Comcast a big enough check every tax time to cover a year's worth of cable, phone and internet services. This year they get a third of that. That makes me happy. New couch, come to Mama!

But part of it too was that I realized my kids watch TV and movies on the internet. Seriously! I have been paying for something that they were doing for free. I was the only one who watched the darned cable, and way more than I wanted to. Every evening I camped out in PJs in my customary spot on the couch. The laundry piled up, papers piled up, dust bunnies multiplied. I stopped walking and gained weight. Ugh!

My first year on my own I didn't have any of those services. When I first got cable/internet/phone four years ago, I outlawed electronics during the week. The kids should be doing homework, I said, so no TV, computer, video games, etc. Yeah, I'm mean. I know.

It went for me, too. The TV only came on for the music channels. I cooked dinner, went for walks, read, cleaned the house after work. Spent more time with the kids. Yeah, I blogged, too. Things just seemed more efficient. I had one or two shows that I liked to watch, but I didn't need to make sure I caught up on the latest episodes. Besides, I had OnDemand for that.

Over time, the television came on more and more often. I began to look too forward to couch time. I'm not hatin', but I always said I wanted to do things, not watch people doing things on a little box.

So I axed the cable. It's been about a week and let me tell you....I am now bored! LOL

No, it's not bad, really. It is an adjustment, though. The piles are getting smaller. I have discovered ebooks at the library and have one I'm reading and one waiting to be read. I'm caught up to only THIS week's laundry. I'm actually calling friends again. I like to think they've missed me. And soon I'm going to get my chunky butt back outside and around the block...although if my sister and I end up joining the Kroc Center like we're talking, that will become a mute point.

It's back to the beginning and it will take some getting used to, but I rest much better at night knowing I did stuff that day.