Life without TV

So last night I was taking Merrill out to dinner for her birthday when Jordan starts blowing up my phone with calls and texts. I tried to ignore her, as we were in a really nice Italian restaurant (Giovanni's for you Nashville folks), and I hadn't been gone all that long - certainly not long enough for an emergency to already have erupted - but since I had only set my phone on vibrate, and was carrying a small clutch, it was kind of hard.

"What's the emergency?" I text her. Yes - at the table. (We had already told the server we had cocktails and appetizers at another location, so were only here for the main course. That didn't go over too well. The Giovanni had already stopped by and introduced himself. I told him his restaurant had a lot to live up to - my tira missou experience in Carmine's in NY (another blog another time), and even though he said he had "nothing to worry about" I'm not sure he cared much for that. So I was sort of nervous we would be asked to leave, but...)

The emergency? The tv bulb finally blew. I knew if was going out - when my parents gave me the TV it was already pretty dim, and the coloring was weird, so I knew it was just a matter of time. But it's sort of scary when it happens - it makes a loud pop and everything goes black. So it really freaked Jordan out. She knew what had happened, so I was not sure why she was calling me. Like I could run home and quickly replace the bulb or something. Got a spare? Yeah, right in my purse... DUH!

So today I was shopping for a new bulb. I did get a better deal than I thought I would, but it still cost me about $130.00 with shipping/tax. I believe my dad said the tv wasn't really worth replacing the bulb again, but it's so huge, and now I'm spoiled with it, and since I can't afford a new one, I figured it wasn't too bad. Anyways, the bulb will ship in 3-7 days. Good thing we'll be in St. Lous this week, because life without tv is eerie!

Here's life without TV in our house:
- Jordan never shuts up. She thinks her stories are awesome, but they are only slightly better than mine!

- Morgan considers anyone looking at her or talking to her a stalker - as in, "Mom, why do you keep stalking me?" I got to hear this more often than usual today since I was trying to fill the silence.

- Now I know why I like to nap with the tv on. Normal naptime for Steph - 30 to 45 minutes. Today's nap? 1 1/2 hours!!!! Wasted the whole darn afternoon!

- The chairs in the rec room (where Jordan and I finally reverted to watch tv) aren't all that comfortable. And the tv is really small. And there is no surround sound.

- I'm really sick of "screamo" music. Yes, it is a new genre. Yes, it is just like it sounds - screaming!

The thing I've realized the most today is that I never would have called us a tv family. We don't just sit around all day watching tv. But the tv is always on. It is a normal part of our "family noise." And it's really kind of creepy without it!

Next blog: Steph replacing the bulb. The company I ordered it from had a 5 minute YouTube how-to video on it. Included in supplies needed were latex gloves. Need I say more??