Week 7: No TV

Since tomorrow is Monday, & I'm feeling feisty, I'm gonna get back on the Resolutionary Bandwagon & try to quit TV this week. Sounds like walking across coals. But somebody's gotta do it, and I'd like it to be me!

CS Lewis
Yoga
Podcasts
Research/Homework
Prayer
Cell Phone...

help me stay content sans remote!

"Week 6": Eat 3 Vegetables Each Day

I'm reaching here. Trying to think of something easy to accomplish. And since I just spent $100 at Trader Joes, I should be able to accomplish this.

February challenged every fiber of habitude in my life. I took a 2 week break from vegetarian ways to make sure I was getting enough protein in my zombie-like 14 hr a day schedule. My apartment is chaos incarnate.

I'm excited to begin entering a more balanced March. I should be able to face some real personal development tasks. We shall see. A week sans Facebook may be on the horizon... Kinda Lenty of me?

Veggies today: Bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach, oh my!

Ow.

I admit, I am so sore I put off my bendy-flexey routine until 2am last night, and chased it with a round of Tylenol PM, a hot shower, and an ice pack on my throbbing right shoulder. Sure, maybe I'm not "doing it right" but almost anything exercisical makes a similar stain on my neckshoulderback area. So, I'm trying to gentle it up and persevere. Stretching MUST become a part of my daily routine, and the initial breaking-in period is always the most difficult. By year end I expect to be able to do the splitz. Joking.

Week 5: Inhale and Stretch

I'm glad last week is over, and a more enjoyable and fulfulling goal is on the horizon: yoga/pilates/stretch every day. Going to bed with an ice pack on my neck every night should be enough to convince me to attend to my body's needs. But no. I NEVER stretch. It feels like a lost cause. How stupid, though!

Today makes two days strong (thanks to Hulu's yoga & pilates channel). GW's gym has been closed due to DC's Snowmageddon 3.0, but I've enjoyed doing the stretches from the comfort of my happy green living room. I think Youtube might have some free videos for me too if I get bored with Hulu. Here's one of my favorites:

Self Control

Wow, what a challenge. For a social creature like myself, who is experimenting in living alone, TV has become a form of connecting whenever I feel lonely. Once I took away TV, I saw myself turning to other comforts - food, conversation, romantic daydreams, prayer, exercise. Some good, others unhealthy. The act of taking away a staple from my day was very revealing. The disorientation aroused emotions that I need to deal with, in order to get to the other side of indulgence - which is SELF CONTROL. I feel like I've made strides toward this goal, but there is still so much work to do. It's good to know I've found a hot button for future reference. Practice conquering my desire to watch TV, and I can conquer many other temptations.

Hurts So Good

It's not that the sky would fall if I ate another meal and watched an episode of One Tree Hill. But controlling my impulses is a lost art in my life. So I'm saying no, turning off the light, and feeling good about it. This is new.

Adjustment

Ok... "No TV" has evolved into "One Episode a Day" (The Bachelor w/ Khyounghi last night & House over dinner tonight). I wanted to clarify that publicly, so I don't turn this goal into a slip and slide and bail on it completely. Because right now that's all I want to do. But I won't. Cold turkey may not be the way for me to quit TV... but baby steps HAS to be. Or else I have bigger problems than I anticipated!!! Next week... no TV. Here's hoping!

The sleep schedule is moving forward just fine. I have 20 min to make it in under the cut-off! Better brush'n'splash fast to make time for EPL!

Week 4: Sleep Without a Remote

Early to bed, early to rise tanked so bad I ignored the following week out of shame. The verdict is...

A TV fast and a sleep schedule must go hand in hand. So, here goes nothing. I will sleep between 10pm-12am and wake between 7-9am. I will not watch any TV unless it is a news/politics clip on youtube or a music video playing in the background. I just finished the Dollhouse & Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on Hulu, so this is as good a time as any to detox. Hopefully this will help me end my nights more peacefully, with EatPrayLove or shower.

These two tasks seem impossible, but independantly make one another more likely. Here's hopin' it sticks!

P.S. The kitchen has been a mess for days. Maybe to day will be the day I've been waiting for. Time to get back on track!

Week 2: Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Mission accomplished...

I may have thrown a few mini-tantrums, but got my act together and washed the dishes & counters before bed nightly. It felt so nice to wake up to a clean kitchen every morning.

(Did fail once, I admit. When I couldn't get to bed until 4:30am, dishes seemed infinitely unimportant. Not feelin' too bad about that slip, though. Extenuating circumstances, I'd say.)

In my next act, I will go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. I'm shooting for 11:00 pm - 8:00 am. Though tomorrow I'll have to sneak out of bed a little early to make it to the International Students Office on time. Everything else should go nicely, though. That is the joy of being autonomous. It scares me a little, though - this drive to control every little aspect of my life. Good habits and self-discipline must be sacrificed SOMEtimes, I think. I would hate to miss out on a great opportunity just to make it to bed on time. Ick. So, spontanaeity and responsibility should be held in tension... This is my working thesis.

But now: to brush, wash, and turn that lamp of in time!

Week 1: I will wash my dishes every night

Not too hard, but an important component of healthy living. Plus these cockroaches are driving me batty! It's good to start easy & manageable anyway, right?