phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey Rem! You want a TV? One just got dropped off at my house and I'll give it to you ABSOLUTELY FREE!"
(this is not the first, not second, but THIRD time a free TV has been offered to us)
"uh, hey thanks. let me talk to the Mr. about it."
"oh.....(confused). It's free!?...you know that, right?"
"yeah, got it. thanks."
Mr. walks in "who was that?"
"uh…..no one." (guilty look on face and Mr. Stoneman gives me the the me guess its about a tv look)
And so it goes.
Now that our short-lived modeling career is over(thanks to those that helped me figure out the best one!), on to less (or more) trivial things.
I hate TV's. I do. Scratch that, I hate OWNing a tv. To me, any background noise is my home is obnoxious. Including music- and although I find it sometimes pleasurable, for the most part I keep my mouth shut and let Mr. Stoneman blast Ray Lamontagne throughout our little home and whistle along.
So you can call me crazy, extreme, controlling, blah, blah, blah, but I've read more books in the past year than I have in my entire life. why? because its the first time I haven't had a tv to sit in front of and a show to find an excuse to watch. And, my husband may or may not have a hard time sometimes being completely "present" in our conversations, especially when a laptop anywhere in the vicinity is involved.
My argument: I've seen you sit in front of a tv and watch it all night.
His argument: ONLY during basketball season!
My argument: and football season
His argument: okay, then too.
My argument: that's like, 90% of the year!
His argument: You even say that when you restrict something from yourself, you crave it more when its around
My argument: your body NEEDS carbohydrates and fats, babe, it doesn't need to sit in front of a television.
and on and on and on it goes.
He's not the only one guilty either. I'm sure if I had a tv I would be right on the bandwagon of the Bachelor, Bachelorette, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, American Idol, America's Got Talent, Lost, and maybe even 24 (because I have been known to watch Alias for hours on end). But then what? I would know all the facts about people and get emotionally involved with people I've never met, probably don't have great morals, and for the most part, be judging them and picking apart every single bad habit, off-pitch, off-beat, off-base moment they have. And what life is that?
Being "present" at that point would not just be hard for ONE of us (shhhhh....honey one second, she's just about to give her final rose!)
Anyway, I know I'm ranting, and may sound upset (i'm not, just opinionated), but I would really appreciate those who own or don't own or used to own a tv to let me know your thoughts on just why you own or don't own or used to own a tv, as I’d like to be open to new ways of thinking in this matter:)
pros and cons are much appreciated.
18 comments:
To tell you the truth, I'm conflicted about tv watching as well. We've definitely had similar discussions (time and time again) about how many games are on in a row, but unlike you, I never win that one. I won't lie, I love watching movies. And it's nice to completely zone out after a really draining day of school... HOWEVER, I feel like because we have it easily accessible, it's never off. We can't eat a meal without background noise. Before the news comes on with the topic we're waiting for, we channel surf in the meantime. What really worries me is this: How in the world are we going to set a good example for our kids and limit THEIR tv time, while our watching habits are so bad? There's so much on tv that I don't want my kids subjected to. The other issue is simply that Todd grew up watching tv with his parents. News with mom, games with dad. It was their bonding time - yelling at the players. :) Todd expects to do the same thing with his boys. So until I figure out how to introduce a healthy limit without it becoming a major point of contention, I'm praying for all girls.
We don't have a tv either. I love it. I KNOW we would waste time watching it, and we don't want to waste time - it's as simple as that. We have our trusty laptop/speakers/on the coffee table thing working now for movies and occasional 24/Lost/Office episodes (without commercials they're a lot faster!). If we do end up getting a tv in the near future, we won't be getting cable and will just be using it for movies. In my opinion, life is wonderful without it!
P.S. I loved your photo shoot! Such gorgeous pictures. :)
well coming from a stay at home mom i would go CRAZY with out a tv! it is fabulous when my kids take naps and i just want to tune out and get lost in a show. it's also pretty nice when i need to get in the shower and need something to keep kylee out of trouble. i do think that it shouldn't be on all day long:)
let me express the side of one who currently has a TV in just about every room of her house (a habit I developed from my parents). One, Kyle and I love watching TV together. It's one of our very favorite things to do together. And against popular belief, it's not like we sit down and zone out and ignore each other for hours. We actually talk the whole time about everything (what we are watching, what something we are watching made us think about, etc.) We really love to watch TV together. Second, I'm now learning the ropes of being a stay-at-home wife/eventually momma and, let's face it, sometimes I'm lonely/nervous/scared about being home alone and the TV provides just enough background noise while I'm cleaning/cooking/etc. that I can feel a little bit more confident. However, I think you should stick to your guns. If you are totally happy without a TV, don't get one. I think you are 20x more entertaining than a TV anyway.
So Kylan and I have lived both ways, with and without a TV. And, as with everything in life, there are pros and cons to both ways.
Pros to having a TV: there is a lot of interesting stuff to watch on the history channel, discovery channel, etc. plus some really great educational stuff on PBS for kids. It's fun to have a way to unwind and relax together and I'm with your friend above, Kylan and I spend a lot of time laughing together about the Office or speculating about Lost, etc.
Cons to having a TV: there is a lot of interesting stuff to watch that you could spend alot of or all of your time watching that doesn't necessarily change your life for the better. Not a horrible thing, but definitely not the best use of time.
Bottom line is this: it's just up to you and Cole. I tend to think that cutting something off 100% is not usually the best way to handle things. The only kids I know that grew up without TV never wanted to do anything at my house except watch TV. It seems like teaching yourself to set some sort of limit is always the best way to go. Maybe you each get one show to watch. Or maybe you have one night a week that you get to watch. Or maybe you just live without one. That's what we're doing right now and to tell you the truth, life is just fine!
Good luck!
LOVING it! thanks guys, keep it coming!
truth is, we like the opportunity to go to Cole's parent's house and watch American Idol or the Office over there. Its great to have that excuse to go over there and see them. we watch the office on our computer sometimes, and that's fun too. But even then, alot of whats on there is a little much for me.
I don't cut it off completely, I just don't want to own one.....
looks like I might be making it more complicated than it needs to be? :)
I like having one so we can have movie nights on Sat nights and for the shows we both like to watch.
We did keep it and movies off for the week before conference to have a home where the spirit would reside and it made for a FABULOUS week! And we got a ton done (little odds and ends that are hard to get done "during commercials" LOL)
Okay, first off... I adore the pictures you guys took! They are absolutely amazing! You are gorgeous.
TV thing... well, We didn't have a tv for the 7 months of our marriage and we both loved it! When we wanted to watch a movie, we would either go to the movies or watch one on our laptop. Then we moved into a place with 3 TV's already in it for us. I agree with background noise being extremely annoying.
We are really not addicted to any shows because we have no idea when they are on. I guess we're not big tv people.
So what I'm getting to is I would go without rather than with.
You know how how much TV I watch!! It's down right ridiculous! We actually just got TiVo and it's been awesome because instead of planning my life around when a show is on, I can record it and watch it when I want to.
Sorry, getting off topic a tad...I have noticed Austin and I watch way too much TV so I've considered not watching it on certain days. Especially during Basketball & Football & Hockey & Baseball season! Holy cow there are a lot of games!! (Austin would be at a friend's house or his parent's house everyday if we didn't have a TV! YIKES!)
I don't know if I could cut it out 100% but if that's what you think is best, then go for it!! Good luck! I'm too PRO TV right now to give you any worthy advice! HAHA
Huzzah! Yay for Remi. Keep it up. Background noise fills in the space where the Spirit might speak.
You could compromise and have a certain set amount of time for a week that you each could watch tv. We did this when our kids were little- they got tickets for TV time. They could share their ticket with someone else and watch the same show or they could choose to watch something on their own. I don't remember now how many hours per week they got but it worked great for everyone. They learned to work together to get the most out of their allotted time, there was a limit to the TV watching time but they still were able to watch a few good programs. They could also "earn" extra time by doing chores or something extraordinary-(that could get interesting with a married couple :)) I know it's just the 2 of you and you're adults but it could be tweaked to work for you. Good luck!
"moderation in everthin" Quinn Ether Erickson"
of course that IS how grandma dot "meditates" :)
Hey Remi,
I am just like you, there is no tv in our house and i am so happy about it. Buy my husband is not really a tv or sports watcher that much, sure he likes to watch a good game but he can easily do without. tv just sucks your life away i think. Time is irreplaceable and do you want to use it watching tv? Good luck with the decision :)
Hey, Remi! I check in here from time to time....love your pics in the last couple posts; what a gorgeous couple you guys are!!
Me and the Man and kids all survive fine w/o TV. We watch movies here and there, and any shows that we feel the excruciating need to see we can watch on Hulu.... :) More time spent doing other things.
Hey Girl.. first off you make me laugh. Here's what works for our home (because after all.. no one's opinion matters really.. because you and Cole have to figure out what works for YOU and your family.. not anyone else's)
I, personally, could probably live without a TV. But my husband came from a family who were HEAVILY into watching sports (all of them.. baseball, basketball, football, college sports, etc. you know name it).. But, he doesn't watch all the games.. and I give him the times when he really really wants to watch them because that is his release and relaxation. My hub doesn't want to sit and take in some reading time to relax.. he would rather nap. lol.
Anyway.. we have one.. a big one (tv). I can't say it hasn't saved our lives a time or two with the kids. Like yesterday, when I was sicker than a dog barfing my guts out.. we had a movie day. Otherwise.. the house would have been recked, fighting, screaming... etc... the t.v. does give mommy some quiet time for the kids to get a few things done. We have a few rules too.. like no TV on during dinner. No TV after 10 a.m... and then it comes back on when I am making dinner (again.. so I can concentrate for 10 minutes while they are occupied.).. call me a bad mom.. but I leave most of the day open so the kids can run around and use their little imaginations and play without background noise.
Pray about.. no seriously.. don't let this come between you and your hubby. You can control yourself more than you think.
hope that helped..and made a little sense.
I do have to say one more thing (sorry!)
I agree with Ky & Jen. All the kids I knew that had no TV... ONLY wanted to sit in front of my TV when they came to visit.
Moderation in everything.
rem you're hilarious. i agree with horse that you are SO much more entertaining than t.v. don't get one.
love tv. im addicted. hate reading. and just looked at ALL your pics again on his website. still obsessed with you.
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