And the Verdict for NoTV2010 Week One is...

I'm really loving this. Honest. I'm not just trying to candy-coat this in hopes of recruiting others into some sort of miserable cable-less, HD-void hell; I'm being very truthful when I say "I love not watching TV".

But I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it at all or that there weren't some very low points of which I am not all proud, for instance the two bowls of ice cream I ate down in the kitchen while Shawn's parents watched "The Biggest Loser" up in the loft, coming down in between commercials to report that "these people are just huge; you should see them", but of course, I can't, which I think is what pushed me from bowl one to bowl two. And, please, someone answer me this: why does everyone I know who watches Biggest Loser religiously always, I mean always, eat a bowl full of ice cream or some equally waistline-damning snack while these poor souls on the screen go through grueling workouts and are forced to wear lycra weigh-in outfits that, let's be honest here, are just plain cruel? I am as guilty as anyone of doing this so I'm not pointing fingers here, but a little psycho-analyzing might be in order (Aunt Kate, any thoughts?).

Anyway, that is all beside the point that I did indeed really miss watching "The Biggest Loser", and yesterday, when it was just me and the kiddos widdling away the hours of a Saturday, well, I wouldn't have minded having the t.v. on, just to veg out while the babes were napping or for a bit of background noise, but those are probably the only two times I really missed it.

I think the reason I am really loving this experiment right now is for two main reasons: 1. more sleep and 2. more time. Maybe this is a condition only reserved for parents of small children, but I tend to be a very tired, overwhelmed sort of person, who crawls out of bed in the morning counting down the hours till I can crawl back in, scrambling through the day trying desperately to check enough off my to-do list to feel like a semi-productive human being but inevitably I run out of time. But since living sans tv, well, I'm getting to bed at a decent hour, and finding that I'm getting a lot more done, since I'm not wasting two to three hours in front of the boob tube every night. I know, I know "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy"; I'm not saying I'm just a "to-do list" machine, rifelling through chores and errands like a domestic engineer Terminator. I just find that when I do relax in the evenings with a book or a game, I do it in a much more peaceful state of mind, not lamenting all the things I didn't get done today and how tired I'll be tomorrow. I guess I just feel a bit more in control of my life.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't think this experiment will cure my life or anyone else's of its daily woes, but it is at least easing mine a little at the moment and I'm thankful for that. Granted, we're only a week and a half into this. My tune may be diffent in a couple of months or, for that matter, next week. We'll see how this bad boy plays out but for now, it's all good (except, of course, for the potential weight I will gain if I can't shake the Biggest Loser binges on Tuesday nights...) This fulfills my duties as this weekend's guest blogger; thanks for tuning in!