Monday, December 19, 2011

The Truth About No TV

OK, so when did I throw out the TV?  Oh yes, it was right before I gained about 3-5lbs!  Good Lord!

The truth is that I got rid of my TV because it was a big ole dust magnet!  The shear size of the damn thing was starting to make me claustrophobic.  I wanted to start seeing the walls of my home, the floor of my home, the tops of tables in my home.  I did not get rid of the TV because I'm some kind "TV is bad" snob!  I don't think there's anything wrong with TV and in fact I think it can add a lot of value to one's life....or not!  I can't worry about anyone else's life, just my own.

Personally I admit I had a few trashy shows I "vegged" out in front of.  But for the most part my DVR was full of cooking shows and competitions, style and fashion shows, antique and collectible shows (Mark used to call Antique Roadshow, "Antique Sleepshow"!  Cause it put me right to sleep!)  Since I wake up and start my day at 4:00am, after dinner and spending some time on the computer I would retire to the front of the TV around 7:00pm in hopes that it would lull me to sleep. Which it did....but sometimes I found myself fighting sleep in order to watch the end of a show!

Most of the time I found that I was watching shows of no value really....some of them are called "repeats"!  And some nights feeling bored, and not tired, I would sneak off into the kitchen to find something to munch on.  Sometimes I was truly hungry because I hadn't eaten enough earlier in the day, and sometimes I was just bored....speaking of being bored!

No TV, but plenty of wine, snacks, facebook and online shopping.....whoops!  I still found myself eating out of boredom, only now its not in front of the TV.  I know how much normal body weight fluctuates, and it has indeed increased.  Once I became aware of it however I'm quick to now notice when I'm doing it.  Eating when you are not hungry is the craziest thing and when you notice it it really doesn't even feel good!  Funny thing about habits though....you can start new ones, bad or good, quickly!  Hey...maybe I'll work on some good ones!  Yep, I'm going to do it!

I did manage to get all of my Christmas shopping for Sophi done though....and only a few thing for myself....you know, I've got to get rid of something old first in order to buy something new!  But I'm even tired and bored of shopping!  Especially now that I'm clearing out and wanting to live minimally....how many pairs of boots does the average minimalist own?  One, two?  Darn!

Seriously though....in addition to all of these things I found myself going to bed at least 1/2 hour earlier than my regular 8:00pm bedtime and just lying still, meditating myself to sleep....it's been nice.

But I do miss TV sometimes.



10 comments:

Mark Reifkind said...

Hon,

lets just get a TV :))

Tracy Reifkind said...

Never!

Kidding...in due time my love, in due time!

guy said...

Might I suggest reading "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius :) Seriously it's always good to catch up on your reading, just don't develop book clutter like me lol.

Tracy Reifkind said...

Guy,

I'm actually waiting on a few books....from Amazon, lol!

I'll add that one to my list....and have no fear of me becoming a book clutter! I find it easy to get rid of books once I read them. In fact I want to get rid of them!

Diana said...

I'm a huge Antiques Roadshow "roadie"....I went on it when they came here to Milwaukee about 10 years ago to hopefully be told I had something that was so valuable I'd be able to live nicely on a beach somewhere! As you can see, I'm still in Wisconsin! LOL

Have you looked at the nice flat screens? We have a sweet one that replaced our huge "box" of a TV which sat inside of a piece of crap, comes in box-you put together type armoire...now all that is gone and just a nice TV on the wall....I have a huge open area in our bedroom. Although moving or removing furniture sure freaks out the cats! LMAO!

Unknown said...

I do have a tv just no cable. So actually I never watch it, just an occasional DVD every now and then.
The only thing my husband really wants to watch is the news but we watch that on the computer. I do have a nice computer!

I also embrace the statement. Something new comes in, something old goes out! I love it!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Diana,

What did you take? Was it worth anything? I often wonder what I would take....

I will eventually get another TV...I don't think you can buy anything but a flat screen these days? Anyway, I want to start having my granddaughter over so we can do "yoga for tots" and watch Shirley Temple DVD's!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Hanneke,

No cable? Then you don't really have a TV...lol!

A nice computer makes up for just about anything else!

Funny how as I'm cleaning things out I have to keep myself from buying "organizing" stuff! I just tell myself that I have enough baskets, boxes and bags...re-purpose, recycle, reuse...besides it just frees up money for more important things...like boots!

Maribel said...

the "habit" of eating when not hungry is something that has crept back in to my life at the moment.

Yesterday, after reading this post, I decided to not eat until I actually felt hungry. It was 12:45pm when I had my first meal, not including my morning coffee. I know that's not a normal feeling, but because the "habit" from the day before was THAT much food, it held me over until the next day. Crazy!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Maribel,

I used to "use" those high calorie days to fuel my workouts the next morning!

I really don't like eating when I'm not hungry.