Challenge Day 1!

It begins!  August 1st, challenge day 1.

I'm reducing my tv-watching to 2 hours a week.  No wasting time online with Facebook, Reddit, Stumble, etc.  No wasting time on my phone with games and such nonsense!

Now, that doesn't mean no internet at all.  I'll still use Facebook for communication purposes, along with email.  I'll be online every day (hopefully) to write a short blog about this challenge.

...I'm nervous.

Can I say that?

But, ultimately, I'm excited.  And this is called a challenge for a reason: it is going to be difficult for me.  But I have a game plan, at  least for today.  I need to clean my kitchen, make some homemade vegetable juice, take the dogs on a walk, call my mom, and take a few deep breaths!  I'll be removing all the unnecessary apps from my phone, at least so they're no so easily accessed.  I have plans to reorganize and put away all our movies.  And I'm sure my bookshelf will get a little more attention.

I know this month is going to do me some good.  Perhaps I'll pick up a new hobby.  Maybe I'll do some massage marketing and gain a few more clients.  Make a new friend.  De-stress.  At the very least, I'll have so many more ideas about how to spend my time, my house should be clean and I'll have spent more quality time with Haley, my love.  :)

It's Been a While!

The last time I sat down to write a post for this blog was over two years go.  So much has happened in that time.  I met a guy after my divorce with whom I was in a polyamorous relationship.  He taught me a lot about myself and relationships.  He helped me be comfortable with my sexuality, which I experimented with as well as labels, including bisexual, pansexual, gay.  So, obviously, I am not in a sexual or romantic relationship with him anymore, but he was the one who introduced me to my beautiful wife.  There will be plenty of writing about all aspects of my life, I'm sure, but that's not why I'm writing tonight.

Recently, I've been examining my life, thinking about all the things I want to do but don't do or haven't done.  Things like crochet (I'm working on a huge blanket), take the dogs on a walk for some exercise and time in the sun, read my vast collection of books, and actually keep my kitchen clean and floors vacuumed.  But there's a problem: I always make the same excuses.  "There's no time!"  "I'm so exhausted..."

Where does all my time go?  Why am I so tired all the time?  I'll tell you.  I spend an enormous amount of time on the couch or surfing the internet.  I have cable, Netflix, high speed wireless internet, a smart phone - and as soon as I'm home from work, it's like I'm glued to the tv and facebook...at the same time!  Then I don't want to make dinner so we eat unhealthy, "convenient" food.  I don't want to take the dogs out because my gut is full of gross, heavy dinner.  Bed time comes around and I can't sleep because I haven't done anything all evening, physically or mentally.

So I am embarking on a 31-day personal challenge.  I'm reducing my tv-watching to two hours a week to watch my favorite shows: Longmire and Tiny House Nation.  Also, I'm only going to use my phone for communication, checking my work schedule, getting directions, etc - not to be on facebook or play games.

Start date: August 1
End date: August 31

This gives me a couple days to prepare myself.  Because this is going to be a big change for me.

...I say as I'm watching my fourth hour of tv tonight.