TV or not TV? That is the question.

Just say "No" to Elmo

Today on facebook I saw a post by a friend of mine who said she allows her son to watch a little bit of Sesame Street some days.  She was complaining that she hates Elmo—and I can hardly blame her!  But, to my memory, her son is only about fifteen months old—at any rate, I know he is less than two years old—and I couldn't help wondering why she turned on the TV for him at all. 

I can understand the lure of the "electronic babysitter;" I admit I've succumbed to it myself.  And I can understand using the TV as a means of shutting down a tired but overactive brain—a good movie can put me out in twenty minutes.  But why broadcast TV?

When we lived in Tennessee we gave up regular broadcast television.  Not because we were so high-minded, or considered ourselves above it.  I watched television and liked it well enough. No, it was because we were poor and cheap.  We got no television signal out in Murfreesboro, TN , and we didn't want to pay to watch TV (on our 15-inch black and white set) so we didn't get cable either. At first I was able to see a fuzzy version of Friends occasionally.  It was a clever, well-written show, and I liked it pretty well until I was watching one episode where ALL they talked about was sex (the "humorous" schtick was Jennifer Aniston and the dark-haired girl fighting over the last condom in the apartment while a couple of "really hot" guys—apparently one-night stands—waited in the two women's bedrooms).  I turned it off in disgust, and after that we just watched our meager supply of—mostly children's—video tapes. (And let me tell you, Homeward Bound loses whatever charm it may have had pretty quickly when watched several times a week on a small, black and white screen!)

I do love Arthur

Well we lived that way  for about three and a half years (although eventually we did upgrade for a bigger, color TV and we got a few more movies), and then we moved back to Utah and lived with our regular TV-watching family for a while.  And you know what?  Suddenly everything on television—even shows we had previously liked—just seemed stupid.  (Except for Arthur—the kid's show. I love Arthur.) 

So when we got our own house we just didn't bother to start watching TV again.  DVD's?  Yes, a few times a week—sometimes several a week.  We are pretty much in the dark about what new movies are coming out, since they are advertised on TV, and when people tell us about that hilarious television commercial for such-and-such we have no idea what they're talking about.  My loyal readers (all five of you) may disagree, but from what I hear there's not really anything on the tube worth giving our time and attention to. We really don't miss it.  Not only that, but I find that our tolerance level for mindless sex, violence, and vulgar humor has dropped incredibly low—which, I think, cannot be a bad thing.

For example, Bruce, while working a sales job last summer, was in a client's house waiting for the other half of the couple to get home.  While he was there they were watching what Bruce described to me as the most vile show he's seen:  Two and a Half Men.  By his description, the entire episode was about sex and the conclusion reached by the main characters was that life would be better if they all just went into their own rooms and masturbated.  This is humor?  Lovely.  But just a few weeks after Bruce told me about this I saw another facebook friend—a nice, decent, moral young woman—talk about how happy she was that she got to watch that same show (probably not the same episode), and how cute and funny it was. 
???
A while ago I went to my mom's house while she and my dad happened to be watching one of those crime shows (CSI?).  I was exposed to a completely naked woman who'd been beaten and stabbed multiple times lying on the table of the morgue while the main characters talked about how terrible it was.  This is entertainment?    Why don't we all just go down to the arena and watch some gladiators kill each other? 
It was terrible, but my parents—who are really great people whom I love and respect—didn't seem too bothered by what they were seeing. 
I can only guess that everyone has become very immune to the things that my family now finds offensive.

Would I try to push our non-TV lifestyle onto everyone around me?  No.  Do I think that time spent in front of the TV could be better spent?  Well... yeah.  (Of course my kids would like to trade the same childhood hours I spent watching The Brady Bunch for playing computer video games instead.  *sigh*, but we are slowly changing things in that arena.)

No.  I don't insist on telling the world, "Get away from the boob-tube!"  But I will issue a challenge for anyone who is interested:  Can you go TV-free for two weeks?  You can still watch your movie collection, but no broadcast TV.  If you decide to take me up on it, let me know how it goes. :-)

Bridal Wear

I am really liking my Bridal class!  It's probably my favorite this semester—in fact, I think I want to re-take it another semester.  I actually get to do a fun project, use a little creativity, and learn stuff all at the same time!  I wish I'd taken a camera with me for Lindsey's first fitting, but I'll try to remember to take one to photograph my progress and show you the dress. :)

Super-Cool, Non-School Project!

Well, the title says it all!  I am working on a super-cool, non-school project and it is so much fun!  Fortunately my classes this semester don't require a lot of homework.  (Whether to finish a degree or to quit is still up in the air.  I will have to meditate on it.) 
Anyway, in my free time I'm making a children's book.  Not just any children's book, but one patterned from a childhood favorite.  It's going well, and I'm super-interested and super-excited. :-)  (When it's all done I'll post pictures.)

Further down on the agenda is to refinish my countertops.  The paint stuff is peeling off; when I got it I wondered if it might...and it does.  So I'm planning to redo them over fall break.  Maybe.  If I feel that ambitious.

In school I am taking Embellishments—so far we've aged fabrics, done applique, made fringe, done pin-weaving, sewn five different kinds of pleats and tucks, and done faggoting. 
I also have Knitwear, which is very good because this girl with 20-30 years of sewing under her belt has never learned how to use a serger. 
I'm taking Stress Management; so far we've learned about stress but not how to manage it.  And the teacher gave us a pop quiz yesterday—I'm not so sure she's got this down right.  ;-)
I'm taking Meditation and discovering that I'm really quite good at sitting very still and letting my mind be quiet when I have the chance to do it (I think this must be a Mom Survival Technique). 
And I'm taking Bridal/Evening Wear.  In that class I am making Lindsey's first prom dress—which she won't be able to wear until next year because she's not old enough to date.  But it will be a way pretty dress, made-to-order, and perfectly fitted (as long as she doesn't grow, gain weight or lose weight).  And it will have a corseted bodice because I know how to do those now.  I'll post pictures when it's done.
So if I can gear up to get myself to my classes, they're all right—especially Bridal, which is the most creative class.

But it's my own project that has me excited! It's gonna be super-cool!

Driving Test

It was nerve-wracking, but I got through it. 

Jason passed his driving test on the first try this morning!  He did great; I had all the nerves for him while I was waiting.

Now we have an errand-boy! :-)

What would YOU do?

I am quite torn.  Well, maybe only sort of torn.

While my life has become infinitely busier since I started school, I think it has become more boring as well. (How's that for a paradox?)  I used to have deep thoughts.  I used to have an idea what was going on with my kids.  I used to think about what kind of super-powers I would have.  I used to redecorate my house.  Now I mostly think about school and homework. 

And I wonder, Why am I going to school, again?

The thing is, I don't really know why.  At first I was interested because I'd picked up a copy of Threads magazine at the store, and as I thumbed through it I realized that even though I am quite a good seamstress, I didn't know a lot of what they were talking about.  I thought, I should get into the fashion design program at SLCC and learn all this stuff!  It sounded pretty cool.  And then I thought that if I did learn all that stuff I could sew for people from home and maybe earn a little extra money.  Yeah, it all sounded pretty good.

But the more time I spend in school, the more I wonder if it's really "all that."  I have learned a few techniques that I didn't know, but a lot of the sewing stuff is review to my 20 + years of practice.  I have learned a lot about pattern making, but in the pattern classes I realized that I could figure out how to do it just by reading the book.  Often I'd just do the work on my own—without teacher instruction—and when it was due the teacher would tell me if it was good, bad, or ugly.  My work was always fabulous!  (No, I'm not just being silly—it really was.)  So I kind of think, If I had the book—or knew what books to read—I could learn this at home by myself.

In the mean time I'm also taking classes like Algebra and History to complete my degree.  These classes are very interesting, but they take up a lot of my brain power and time. I really like all my classes when I'm at school—even Algebra and History, and I'm very conscientious about getting my homework done well and on time.

But I miss being at home.  I miss having the time to work on my house, grow my pathetic garden, can tomatoes and peaches, paint the walls, sew for my kids, try out new and exciting recipes (or just spend the time to make some old favorites), shop for my family . . . 
I really miss being a housewife—the mom and the wife of my home.

So I look at my objectives in going to school in the first place.  1. Learning new (sewing) stuff.  Yep, I think if I knew what books to look at I could do it on my own.  2.  Earning money by sewing from home.  Um, I'm not sure I'm quite so keen on that any more.  But even if I was, do I really need a degree to do it?  Would any of my clients ask about my English grades?

inside my head

On the one hand, it would be kind of cool to get my degree.  And I don't want my kids to get the message that dropping out is OK (although, really, my situation is not quite the same as theirs, is it?).  And I'm pretty proud of my fantastic grades.

On the other hand, I want to be home.  It's really cool to redecorate my house and do all the other afore-mentioned stuff.  And I'm pretty proud of my fantastic work at home!

On the other hand, maybe I'm just tired of school because I haven't had a real break yet.  Maybe if I take next summer off I'll feel differently by next fall.

On the other hand, UGH!  Nine more months of almost non-stop college before I get a break just so I can make a decision about whether or not to keep going?  That's like an entire pregnancy!!

On the other hand, it's only about two more years.

On the other hand, my little kids are growing up now while all my attention is focused on school! Jessica, my baby, will be ten in two years.

It goes around and around and around.  What would you do if you were me?

In fact, I'm going to put a poll in the sidebar!  Not like you really get to choose for me, but it will entertain me. :-)