just realized...

that august first marked the one-year anniversary of us giving up the television in our home. i have to say, it feels like much longer. i mean this is in a good way. it's been a year since we've been eating dinner together at the table--and lucy has just begun to join us with her high chair tray removed and her seat pulled up to the table--like a real person. with standing in her seat, putting her feet on the table and slipping maizy bits of food aside, it really is an enjoyable time. i cannot believe that we used to sit in front of the television, balancing plates on our laps, while we ate our meal together. our couch is certainly cleaner for it, anyway. and i estimate we've saved around $720 over the course of one year in digital cable charges.

we still have a television (though we're down to 1 now, instead of 2) and we watch movies occasionally when lucy has gone to bed. i've also been known to put snaps on a diaper or two while watching grey's anatomy on dvd. but for the most part around here, the television is off. when it's too quiet at home, we turn on music or talk radio. we read more (6 books this summer for me!). i sew a lot. jeremy scours the internet for all things truck-related. we get our cooking recipes online, instead of from the food network cooking shows. i'm no longer addicted to any sort of reality programming. it's an advertisement-free zone (minus radio commercials, junk mail, magazine and internet ads... well, i guess you really can't escape advertising, even in your own home).

good stuff, all of it. an experiment turned way-of-life. one that i highly recommend!