16 Hours Left

There are 16 short hours left until I pull the plug. I am spending the morning, watching a little TV (of course) decompressing from a fairly stressful week. I will need to find some new ways to decompress in the coming weeks and months. Let's see...bubble baths are always a winner. I think Qi Gong and Yoga will be my next line of defense. These are both things I've neglected over the last year that I think will make a big difference for me.

On a different note, preparing for the new year is of course about adjusting ourselves for the future, but also about reflecting on the year we've just completed. 2009 has been a good year for me. At the beginning of the year I made a vision board- a tool to focus my intentions and goals. 

On it was a picture of wonderful healthy foods-I wanted to improve my eating habits. This year I did the Raw Food plan for 2 months. 2 months eating mainly fruits, veggies and nuts. Yay for me! This year, I've decided to do about 2/3's raw. I think it's a balanced and doable. And with my tv-free hours I will have time to try those new raw recipes I've wanted to learn.

Also, I had listed travel. This year I got to travel home to California to see my family. And I went to Monterey and San Francisco. I got some great shots in the city and at the beach.  Then later that summer, I went to the gulf coast to camp at the beach. That was an incredible trip. Probably one of the best vacations I've ever had! And then in the fall, I took the kids and grand babies to Disney World. What fun!

There were lots of other things on the vision board. Some I made progress on and some I didn't. But overall when I look back on the year, I feel a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the life I live and the friends and family with which I am blessed. And I have such a sense of hope and excitement for 2010. Now to work on my vision board for this year. Hmmmm....i hope I can find a big enough board!

Purpose

The main purpose for this blog is to force me to write. And to write everyday. And secondly, to help me develop my voice and what I want to say. Giving up the boob tube is mainly about developing myself. At the end of 2010 I want to be more than I am at this moment. A better writer, a better photographer, but also a better person. I want to be a better friend, a better sister and mother. This is a scary place for me. Anyone who knows me will tell you I am an extremely private person. I don't open up to many people. Maybe I figure the less of myself I put out there, the less they have to judge. But it also makes it very hard to connect. I often feel disconnected and distant from people and the world around me. So back to the theory of doing something different to get different results. This is radically different for me! Hanging myself out here for all to see. Even if no one reads these words. At least I've opened the door and made myself available. So here I am!

Countdown

Commencing countdown to 1945. As closely as I can tell, that was just before TV became commercially broadcast in the US. As the hour draws close to pull the plug (cue ominous music) I am realizing more and more just how addicted I am to the thing! I found myself thinking about how I was going to miss House or other characters as if they were real people in my life and not actors in a show. Maybe I've substituted their presence for the company of real live humans in my days. They can be easier to deal with and their drama doesn't affect me, so that has always been a plus in my book. I've always hated drama and done all I could to avoid it, including (i think) becoming a little distant and disconnected from those around me.

Real live humans are messy. But that's life. Messy, dirty and hard at times, but wonderful nonetheless. Here's to being more in the mess and more in the moment, and more connected in real life...drama and all!

Why

So, what will this blog be about? Well, as you can guess I've decided to pull the plug on television for a year. Why? What made me decide to do such a strange thing? It started with getting ready for the New Year and making a "goals plan". Not a list of resolutions. That has never worked for me in the past. But a plan. Some goals for the new year and a strategy on just how to arrive at these goals. After sitting down and working on the plan, I realized how many things I really want to accomplish this year. Some I've been trying to accomplish for decades (like getting into shape) and some are new dreams. But there are ALOT of them. And I realized before I even started that there were not enough hours in the day to do all I wanted to do. At first, I felt defeated. Then my mind went to work figuring ways to squeeze more time out of my days. I already knew getting up an extra hour early (like I've promised myself in the past) wouldn't work for me. I am NOT a morning person. Some say it's dangerous to talk to me before my morning coffee, but I think they're a bit harsh. So a.m. workouts and the like are out. Then it hit me, like a brick dropping on my head. (heavy, obvious and somewhat painful) What about all those hours I spend watching TV? What exactly could I manage to accomplish if those hours were free? And that's what I intend to find out through this experiment. What will my life be like in a year if I give up the TV adddiction? They say the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing and yet expect different results. So maybe this is my journey to sanity. Doing something completely different and hopefully not just expecting, but getting new results!