I may have to reconsider this whole streaking thing at least in the naked sense of the word. Maybe running around naked would be fun? I ran tonight in an oversized carhart with a headlamp strapped to my head, no IPOD and our faithful dog, Stan, by my side and that was so much fun. So maybe running stark naked would be fun too. Not during a snowstorm of course, but maybe on a hot summer's evening it would be invigorating. I don't know though; the way I see it, there are two things I can't get passed with the whole running around naked thing; first I just don't look that great naked and secondly my new next door neighbors are my in-laws so I would have to do so elsewhere and that just seems to add a lot of logistical difficulty to the whole thing. It makes it rather complicated. Anyhow, just some food for thought about the other kind of streaking, now about the real streaking I have been doing lately. Now for the good stuff!
If it weren't for the nonstop football on television today, I would have no idea what day of the week it is. Life has been so completely frazzling-so incredibly busy- the past few days that not only do I not know which way is up, I also have no idea where the toilet paper is, but I do have a kiddie potty residing in my living room. Without toilet paper, I have no idea what I would do if a Kiddie decided to use it, but it is there nonetheless. The point to all of this is when life gets so busy it is easy to lose sight of other priorities because you become consumed by the here and now, by the current crisis. I nearly succumbed to this a couple times this weekend in regards to my running streak commitment, but I didn't and the streak is ALIVE!
Friday I planned to run first thing in the morning, but sometimes plans don't go as planned and before I knew it the day had flown by and it was nearly dark out, I hadn't run and we were expected at a party in less than two hours. I decided after much consideration to just go and run 2 miles, the minimum according to my little running streak rules. So if you happened to be driving down M-104 or 130th around dusk Friday night you may have been witness to what you perceived to be a crazy lady out running in the wind, rain and mud during crazy rush hour traffic that was me. If not, I am glad you didn't see me in that moment of craziness. It was pretty ugly.
Saturday I had a plan to run with a bunch of my running buddies and this time the plan did go as planned! It was splendid! Before Jeff showed up with the moving van at nine, I had already logged 5 miles in Grand Haven and drank a cup of celebratory coffee with friends. Sunday, oh wait that's today, was a different story. Yes today was another story, another plan gone awry. I was supposed to run the Sargeant Preston 6 mile run in Muskegon this morning, I even registered and paid for it a couple months ago. But when the big move finally happened this weekend instead of in November like we had "planned", it didn't work out for me to leave home to run. I was completely disappointed to miss it, but still completely thrilled to finally be in our new home. All day long I kept thinking, if I miss running today I have to start over at zero. This line of thought ate at me all day long. Seriously I could think of little else. When Jeff insisted I go bring a load of stuff from the old house here, I saw an opportunity to squeeze in a run. Finally at 6:30 tonight in the pitch black darkness that fills the forest separating our old home from the new one, I ran what I figure to be roughly 2 miles of the Brainy Day trail during this blessed storm that is blowing around out there. And the streak is alive.
Tomorrow I plan to return to the Aquatic Center for a run in the morning. I realize it is really snowy, but I don't mind the snow for running. I just hope the weather doesn't get in the way of my plan, but if it does I am sure I can think of some way to fit in a short run.
Happy New Year and if you are still wondering about the television. We are sticking with business as usual (that is NOTV 2011 rules) for the short term until we can reach an agreement about how to properly use our television which means that today the telly was on a lot because there were a bunch of football games on.
Vern Out
Smith Kids MSU Tailgate
Dominica, Veronica, Rebel and Miranda
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
I've decided
I have decided what I am going to do in 2012! I am going to run, read and otherwise live in my bath tub. Now I realize this sounds ridiculous, but hear me out on this one; I promise it will make sense in the end.
Now in 2011, I logged over 800 miles, ran my first marathon and did my first mini-streak (not running around naked, but running (so far 26) consecutive days in a row) so I think it is safe to say that I will be running in 2012 in some form or another, but definitely not naked.
I also read 30 books of at least 200 pages in length and since I plan to significantly limited the use of our television, it seems safe to say I will still be reading in 2012. Plus I am a member of the Dysfunctional Book Club (The DBC) which happens to be the coolest Book Club this side of the Rockies. Yet again another great reason to keep reading. I think I shall!
The bath tub part is where things get interesting and where explanation is probably warranted. You see up until last night the new bath tub was just a theory. In theory, it was going to be incredible to soak in it and relax my worries away, but last night my theory became reality. My worries were soaked away one powerful jet at a time. I took my first bath in the new tub and not even three screaming, overly excited, out-of-control children could dampen my mood; it was AWESOME! I was able to get a full body massage while relaxing in piping hot water for about forty five minutes. This new tub seriously is like a hot tub in so many ways. I guess that is why it cost about as much at a hot tub, but it was worth every penny. Every single penny. I LOVE it and I may never find need to wander out of the bathroom now that I have access to this. I have a large enough ledge all the way around it to support wine, cheese and crackers so even food will not be an issue.
So I'll say it again. I've decided what 2012 will bring: running, reading and a year long vacation in my bath tub! And this is one group of decisions that I feel great about making. Unlike so many other choices I have made in 2011 (paint color, carpet, tile, linoleum, toilets, counter tops, cupboards, light fixtures) You get the idea. I made a ton of decisions most of which I felt completely unqualified to make and not the least bit confident making. There is no indecision or doubt in my mind about my 2012 decisions! With hope, luck and a little help from the man upstairs (okay maybe a lot of help if we are being completely honest) I will see to it that these become my reality!
Happy (almost) New Year, 2012!!
Vern Out
Now in 2011, I logged over 800 miles, ran my first marathon and did my first mini-streak (not running around naked, but running (so far 26) consecutive days in a row) so I think it is safe to say that I will be running in 2012 in some form or another, but definitely not naked.
I also read 30 books of at least 200 pages in length and since I plan to significantly limited the use of our television, it seems safe to say I will still be reading in 2012. Plus I am a member of the Dysfunctional Book Club (The DBC) which happens to be the coolest Book Club this side of the Rockies. Yet again another great reason to keep reading. I think I shall!
The bath tub part is where things get interesting and where explanation is probably warranted. You see up until last night the new bath tub was just a theory. In theory, it was going to be incredible to soak in it and relax my worries away, but last night my theory became reality. My worries were soaked away one powerful jet at a time. I took my first bath in the new tub and not even three screaming, overly excited, out-of-control children could dampen my mood; it was AWESOME! I was able to get a full body massage while relaxing in piping hot water for about forty five minutes. This new tub seriously is like a hot tub in so many ways. I guess that is why it cost about as much at a hot tub, but it was worth every penny. Every single penny. I LOVE it and I may never find need to wander out of the bathroom now that I have access to this. I have a large enough ledge all the way around it to support wine, cheese and crackers so even food will not be an issue.
So I'll say it again. I've decided what 2012 will bring: running, reading and a year long vacation in my bath tub! And this is one group of decisions that I feel great about making. Unlike so many other choices I have made in 2011 (paint color, carpet, tile, linoleum, toilets, counter tops, cupboards, light fixtures) You get the idea. I made a ton of decisions most of which I felt completely unqualified to make and not the least bit confident making. There is no indecision or doubt in my mind about my 2012 decisions! With hope, luck and a little help from the man upstairs (okay maybe a lot of help if we are being completely honest) I will see to it that these become my reality!
Happy (almost) New Year, 2012!!
Vern Out
Sunday, December 25, 2011
What's next?
With the year of NOTV drawing to an end, people are probably wondering what's next? I am wondering too so if you have any ideas please send us comments or suggestions. I have a few things figured out, but I am still making plans for 2012 so please share your thoughts.
The first thing this little NOTV experiment did for me was to raise awareness and educate me. I am now much more aware of television time. I also learned that I much prefer life without television to life with it and I learned that my husband feels completely the opposite. He has been missing the television terribly for months now and if not for my complete, unwavering, insistence that we continue without it, he would have caved long ago.
This much is for certain, during the day when Mommy is in charge, we will continue to live without television. Another certainty is that there will be one minor exception to this: If I happen to have the house cleaned, dinner finished, the kids otherwise occupied and it is four in the afternoon, Ellen will be airing in our house and I will be watching it. Ellen I have missed you so terribly and I can't wait for the first time that I get to tune in and shake it with you! Given the stipulations that I have placed on myself, it may be June or July before I get to watch, but I am a patient person so I will wait. I also can't wait to see Kara strattle her little table mimicing Ellen. That is the best!
In the evenings, I feel a compromise will be critical since Jeff feels we should turn the television on for the entire evening and I would just assume leave it off altogether. I think ground rules are going to be absolutely essential so I am in the process of creating some. I will be gathering signatures from all family members as well thereby agreeing to follow the rules governing the television to avoid future arguments. The most important rule is going to be that if the house is not picked up, the television will remain off. Given the kid's talents and abilities in the realm of mess making, this rule alone should eliminate a good portion of the television that would otherwise be watched at night.
I also have a confession to make. The past couple of weeks I had been letting the kids watch videos while I drive us around. It seemed like it was making my life easier since they would then ride quietly and happily while I ran holiday related errands. As with most things in life, just because it seemed to make things easier, it didn't mean it was a good idea. At first, the kids did great with this little arrangement; they were thrilled with the chance to watch shows, but they soon developed a sense of entitlement. The entitlement led to anger and frustration whenever a show was not able to be shown in its entirety and the whole thing spun out of control quickly devolving into a big mess. It was a bad decision on my part to do this in the first place and after a complete, ugly, out-of-control, meltdown by Aven a few days ago I completely eradicated the process. Movies will no longer be aired in our van unless we are driving for more than a couple of hours.
On a totally unrelated topic, The Thornbirds is an excellent book and I finished it in about a week. It was my 30th book of the year! I can honestly say that eliminating the television led me back to reading so I do feel strongly that NOTV has probably made me smarter, or at the very least, made me more well read. My book club girls helped to broaden my horizons too without them I never would have read 1984 or Frankenstein. Thanks guys!
2011 was the year of NOTV. I also ran my first marathon and worked to help design and build our new home. 2011 has been an incredible journey. 2012 is but a blank piece of paper awaiting my thoughts, insights and dreams to fill it up and provide it with direction and purpose. Bring it 2012!!Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our faithful followers!
Vern Out
The first thing this little NOTV experiment did for me was to raise awareness and educate me. I am now much more aware of television time. I also learned that I much prefer life without television to life with it and I learned that my husband feels completely the opposite. He has been missing the television terribly for months now and if not for my complete, unwavering, insistence that we continue without it, he would have caved long ago.
This much is for certain, during the day when Mommy is in charge, we will continue to live without television. Another certainty is that there will be one minor exception to this: If I happen to have the house cleaned, dinner finished, the kids otherwise occupied and it is four in the afternoon, Ellen will be airing in our house and I will be watching it. Ellen I have missed you so terribly and I can't wait for the first time that I get to tune in and shake it with you! Given the stipulations that I have placed on myself, it may be June or July before I get to watch, but I am a patient person so I will wait. I also can't wait to see Kara strattle her little table mimicing Ellen. That is the best!
In the evenings, I feel a compromise will be critical since Jeff feels we should turn the television on for the entire evening and I would just assume leave it off altogether. I think ground rules are going to be absolutely essential so I am in the process of creating some. I will be gathering signatures from all family members as well thereby agreeing to follow the rules governing the television to avoid future arguments. The most important rule is going to be that if the house is not picked up, the television will remain off. Given the kid's talents and abilities in the realm of mess making, this rule alone should eliminate a good portion of the television that would otherwise be watched at night.
I also have a confession to make. The past couple of weeks I had been letting the kids watch videos while I drive us around. It seemed like it was making my life easier since they would then ride quietly and happily while I ran holiday related errands. As with most things in life, just because it seemed to make things easier, it didn't mean it was a good idea. At first, the kids did great with this little arrangement; they were thrilled with the chance to watch shows, but they soon developed a sense of entitlement. The entitlement led to anger and frustration whenever a show was not able to be shown in its entirety and the whole thing spun out of control quickly devolving into a big mess. It was a bad decision on my part to do this in the first place and after a complete, ugly, out-of-control, meltdown by Aven a few days ago I completely eradicated the process. Movies will no longer be aired in our van unless we are driving for more than a couple of hours.
On a totally unrelated topic, The Thornbirds is an excellent book and I finished it in about a week. It was my 30th book of the year! I can honestly say that eliminating the television led me back to reading so I do feel strongly that NOTV has probably made me smarter, or at the very least, made me more well read. My book club girls helped to broaden my horizons too without them I never would have read 1984 or Frankenstein. Thanks guys!
2011 was the year of NOTV. I also ran my first marathon and worked to help design and build our new home. 2011 has been an incredible journey. 2012 is but a blank piece of paper awaiting my thoughts, insights and dreams to fill it up and provide it with direction and purpose. Bring it 2012!!Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our faithful followers!
Vern Out
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas movie marathon
Last night we had all of the family (sans Dominica and Ivar) together for an overnight Christmas spectacular back where it all started-on the Smith family farm. For the occasion, we went all out and watched Christmas movies the whole night long; we watched Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Kranks, Little House on the Prairie Christmas, A Smokey Mountain Christmas Babes in Toyland and a couple others. It was great to have everyone together and watching Christmas movies did help to set the holiday tone, but I am utterly sick of television.
Anyhow, we are now busy cleaning house and preparing for the annual Christmas Eve party with mom's side of the family. One notable difference here is that the food is incredible; I am no longer stuck living off whatever random leftover stuff is in our cupboards and freezers at home. Merry Christmas everyone!
Vern Out
Anyhow, we are now busy cleaning house and preparing for the annual Christmas Eve party with mom's side of the family. One notable difference here is that the food is incredible; I am no longer stuck living off whatever random leftover stuff is in our cupboards and freezers at home. Merry Christmas everyone!
Vern Out
Monday, December 19, 2011
Bread
I broke down and bought a loaf of bread yesterday. I was really in the mood for a grilled cheese and without bread that simply wasn't an option so I caved. At least I didn't fill my cart with a bunch of impulse items like I usually do. I was focused; I got bread. Anyhow, the grilled cheese was amazing. I even coupled it with a can of Tomato Soup so that another can has been eliminated from the pantry. And now we are living off cookies!
Yesterday was my family's 13th Annual Holiday Cookie Day and so we have a LOT of cookies at our place. We did indeed eat cookies and milk for breakfast. I threw a peice of peanut butter toast into the mix so that there was something other than cookies involved in breakfast time, but to be honest the kids are not stupid and they ate cookies, not toast. I really messed up by offering the cookies up front this morning, but I won't make the same mistake at lunch. We may have cookies for lunch as well, but I have a few leftover crackers and slices of cheese at home so I will start with those with a glass of milk and switch over to cookies afterwards. That will definitely be a balanced meal!
I also started reading January's bookclub selection, The Thornbirds and while it started kind of slow I am totally hooked. I read for about three hours last night without realizing so much time had elapsed. It is really getting good so this book will probably suffice as entertainment for the evenings this holiday season since the book is really long, but really good. Iwill also likely be sleep deprived this holiday season since the book is so good that I have to make myself stop reading and go to bed.
I also finished day 16 of my holiday running streak this morning with a glorious six mile jaunt on the cross country trails. I would LOVE a white Christmas, but I will make the most of any situation so instead of sulking over the lack of snow, I am logging a bunch of miles while the trails are clear!
Other than that I did watch the last ten minutes of the Lion's game yesterday and amazingly it was worth it! What an incredible comeback that was! I am optimistic that Miranda, Rebel or Dominica might put a holiday update on here. That sure would be a great Christmas present.
Happy Holidays,
Vern Out
Yesterday was my family's 13th Annual Holiday Cookie Day and so we have a LOT of cookies at our place. We did indeed eat cookies and milk for breakfast. I threw a peice of peanut butter toast into the mix so that there was something other than cookies involved in breakfast time, but to be honest the kids are not stupid and they ate cookies, not toast. I really messed up by offering the cookies up front this morning, but I won't make the same mistake at lunch. We may have cookies for lunch as well, but I have a few leftover crackers and slices of cheese at home so I will start with those with a glass of milk and switch over to cookies afterwards. That will definitely be a balanced meal!
I also started reading January's bookclub selection, The Thornbirds and while it started kind of slow I am totally hooked. I read for about three hours last night without realizing so much time had elapsed. It is really getting good so this book will probably suffice as entertainment for the evenings this holiday season since the book is really long, but really good. Iwill also likely be sleep deprived this holiday season since the book is so good that I have to make myself stop reading and go to bed.
I also finished day 16 of my holiday running streak this morning with a glorious six mile jaunt on the cross country trails. I would LOVE a white Christmas, but I will make the most of any situation so instead of sulking over the lack of snow, I am logging a bunch of miles while the trails are clear!
Other than that I did watch the last ten minutes of the Lion's game yesterday and amazingly it was worth it! What an incredible comeback that was! I am optimistic that Miranda, Rebel or Dominica might put a holiday update on here. That sure would be a great Christmas present.
Happy Holidays,
Vern Out
Friday, December 16, 2011
The crash
Just when I thought I was getting a handle on things, my sister goes and makes me look bad. I tell you sisters are good for nothing. Nothing. Just kidding. I love my sisters. But Miranda did write an update on the blog which nearly caused a traffic accident and had that happened I would have been really mad!!! I'll explain.
While visiting Santa at the library earlier today, I decided to try to get on the blog and do a quick update. I often attempt such ill advised stunts since we still do not have internet at home and the library is my gateway to modern society. Anyhow, I really don't like our huge following (haha-we have 24 the last time I checked) to have to wait for more than a few days without some sort of story about our television free life. So when I logged in to the blog, at first glance I thought I had made a mistake, or worse yet that I had completely forgotten about having written a creative update about the Daniel's family which given my state of mind at the time was completey within the realm of possibility. The opening post was entitled, "The Daniels". I actually logged out and quickly logged back in with the same result so I decided to read it and try to figure out what was going on. Miranda's unexpected update (seriously we hadn't heard from her in months) really threw me for a loop. It was pretty incredible, two full paragraphs in length, entertaining and she even complimented me. Incredible. Now if we could just hear from the Smiths and the vanKotens life would be AWESOME!
Well shortly after I read the post I discovered that my kids had disappeared so I had to investigate their whereabouts. I found Hazel unplugging the copy machine, Kara coloring a picture and Aven hanging out with his new BFF, Emily Kate (I think love may be in the air there). I felt like such a horrible mother for providing such poor supervision that I spent the rest of my time completely involved with my kids which probably was a good thing all things considered. I never got back to the blog until just now and this is only possible because I stole my in-laws aircard thingamagiggy so we have internet for the night!
It really is like living in the stone ages at our place, no television, no internet, and our phone is getting switched to the new house soon so then we will be without that for a few days as well. Also adding to the stone age allure at our home is the fact that I refuse to grocery shop until we move. Hauling grocery into the house once is enough. I absolutely refuse to drag new stuff here to turn around and drag it to the new place in a couple weeks. I do buy milk, but other than that nada. As a result, dinner has been getting more and more comparable to the hunter gatherer meals of yesteryear. It isn't pretty, but I figure if I refuse to shop it may motivate Jeff to try to push our move in plan along a little faster. He seems to be in no particular hurry to move. And I am ready to move.
I need to get back to the near car crash which happened shortly after leaving the library because I wasn't paying attention. My exuse. Well the update about the Daniels was so inspirational to me so that I found myself thinking about it as I drove and I was daydreaming about the whole NOTV thing and pondering how to get my book moving along again and I didn't notice a car that was stopping in front of us. I nearly rear ended it. Thank goodness I didn't after the garage incident Jeff would have been really unforgiving of such an accident. The rest of the day was uneventful other than the fact that I did get to take a nap with Aven for about and hour! It was heavenly.
Hazel and I went to Sam's Club shopping tonight and upon return home found Jeff, Kara and Aven watching Charlie Brown. Jeff is such a cheater. We were gone less than two hours and he had to watch television. Anyhow, I let it slide until the next commercial and then insisted the TV go off and the kids head to bed.
Vern Out
While visiting Santa at the library earlier today, I decided to try to get on the blog and do a quick update. I often attempt such ill advised stunts since we still do not have internet at home and the library is my gateway to modern society. Anyhow, I really don't like our huge following (haha-we have 24 the last time I checked) to have to wait for more than a few days without some sort of story about our television free life. So when I logged in to the blog, at first glance I thought I had made a mistake, or worse yet that I had completely forgotten about having written a creative update about the Daniel's family which given my state of mind at the time was completey within the realm of possibility. The opening post was entitled, "The Daniels". I actually logged out and quickly logged back in with the same result so I decided to read it and try to figure out what was going on. Miranda's unexpected update (seriously we hadn't heard from her in months) really threw me for a loop. It was pretty incredible, two full paragraphs in length, entertaining and she even complimented me. Incredible. Now if we could just hear from the Smiths and the vanKotens life would be AWESOME!
Well shortly after I read the post I discovered that my kids had disappeared so I had to investigate their whereabouts. I found Hazel unplugging the copy machine, Kara coloring a picture and Aven hanging out with his new BFF, Emily Kate (I think love may be in the air there). I felt like such a horrible mother for providing such poor supervision that I spent the rest of my time completely involved with my kids which probably was a good thing all things considered. I never got back to the blog until just now and this is only possible because I stole my in-laws aircard thingamagiggy so we have internet for the night!
It really is like living in the stone ages at our place, no television, no internet, and our phone is getting switched to the new house soon so then we will be without that for a few days as well. Also adding to the stone age allure at our home is the fact that I refuse to grocery shop until we move. Hauling grocery into the house once is enough. I absolutely refuse to drag new stuff here to turn around and drag it to the new place in a couple weeks. I do buy milk, but other than that nada. As a result, dinner has been getting more and more comparable to the hunter gatherer meals of yesteryear. It isn't pretty, but I figure if I refuse to shop it may motivate Jeff to try to push our move in plan along a little faster. He seems to be in no particular hurry to move. And I am ready to move.
I need to get back to the near car crash which happened shortly after leaving the library because I wasn't paying attention. My exuse. Well the update about the Daniels was so inspirational to me so that I found myself thinking about it as I drove and I was daydreaming about the whole NOTV thing and pondering how to get my book moving along again and I didn't notice a car that was stopping in front of us. I nearly rear ended it. Thank goodness I didn't after the garage incident Jeff would have been really unforgiving of such an accident. The rest of the day was uneventful other than the fact that I did get to take a nap with Aven for about and hour! It was heavenly.
Hazel and I went to Sam's Club shopping tonight and upon return home found Jeff, Kara and Aven watching Charlie Brown. Jeff is such a cheater. We were gone less than two hours and he had to watch television. Anyhow, I let it slide until the next commercial and then insisted the TV go off and the kids head to bed.
Vern Out
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Daniels
First of all I am very surprised that the BAT was purchased for the constantine house! and it was pretty gutsy to post it up here, I have a feeling Jeff may know what he's getting for christmas ha ha anyway yes here at the Daniels we are officially quitters, although we have cut back on TV we make no claim or attempt to give up TV completely. Also, I will say that I think verns idea of having a sleepover in the new house is super-cool. How cool to have santa visit the new house :)
Also wanted to let everyone know that I'm afraid I may be turning into mom. Earlier tonight I explained to Kenny that if he doesn't brush his teeth every day that they will all rot and fall out of his head. Oddly enough I found out why mom used to tell us such stories...kenny's eyes got real BIG then he ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. This incident happened only a couple hours after I was yelling at kenny for something and he was looking at me laughing uncontrollably (all you smith kids know what I mean) anyway I suppose turning into mom isnt all bad anyway! One last note - we recently have acquired an super awesome hot tub which I think is a must have to give up TV...ok till next time - the daniels
Also wanted to let everyone know that I'm afraid I may be turning into mom. Earlier tonight I explained to Kenny that if he doesn't brush his teeth every day that they will all rot and fall out of his head. Oddly enough I found out why mom used to tell us such stories...kenny's eyes got real BIG then he ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth. This incident happened only a couple hours after I was yelling at kenny for something and he was looking at me laughing uncontrollably (all you smith kids know what I mean) anyway I suppose turning into mom isnt all bad anyway! One last note - we recently have acquired an super awesome hot tub which I think is a must have to give up TV...ok till next time - the daniels
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