Simpler Times

I've been on a quest for days of old.  From the time of my childhood where less was more.

Several weeks ago we brought back Tech Free Time, where every evening all things techie go on the desk.  We have dinner while having face to face conversations; and a couple hours devoted to each other, instead of letting gadgets steal our precious moments.

Learning how to bake bread came at a great time, as I've been more conscious of the food we're eating.  Less processed, more made from scratch - the way Grandma did.  Last night I made chicken Alfredo lasagna and homemade breadsticks.

Tina said, "how do you even make alfredo?  doesn't it just come in a jar?"

I've trimmed and cut, shuffled and rearranged the budget the past few months, thanks to my unexpected stint in unemployment.  My coupon scissors have been dusted off and finding deals has again brought me joy.  And now, we're ready to downsize our television.

Because $1200 is an insane price to pay for watching a big black screen.

Of course, the kids think I'm a little insane.  But truly, with as many choices as are out there now, I just can't justify being a slave to satellite prices.  Where price cuts are only given to new customers and loyalty is rewarded by increased bills, it is time for me to say farewell.

We've had Netflix awhile and I was familiar with other viewing options, but I worried about losing our local news (and giving up Good Morning America).  Up until a few days ago, I didn't realize antennas still existed. Or rather, I didn't know how advanced they had become.  In my mind, I still imagined rabbit ears with tin foil attached.  And that really doesn't match my decor.

But after a trip to a local gadget store, and an afternoon with hubby on the roof, we now have 20 FREE channels.  Adding in Hulu for the bulk of regular shows we watch and cancelling satellite gives us a monthly savings of $87!  Now, if I can just convince the family that a chicken coop is ok for the suburbs...

Mii Monday

Leftovers were inevitable last night.  After my SOUPer bowl Sunday crockpot fest, we all knew what we'd be eating again for dinner.  Thankfully, Mom "invited" her crew over to share in the bounty.  The extra players also worked out perfectly for Noah's plans, a Wii tournament.

A few nights ago he asked if we could not watch TV (how many teenagers say that?) and instead play the Wii as a family.  Of course, he asked this at 9:45 pm so I suggested we make it a Mii Monday.  For any of you who've never played the Wii, you create little characters, reminiscent of electronic weebles, to represent yourself.  These characters are known as Miis (pronounced "me") and you see them on the screen playing whatever game you choose.

After corralling all phones and other electronic devices to the coffee table so we could focus on family, we opted for the sports game.  Surprisingly Mom was ready to go and challenged Noah to bowling.  Aside from nearly doing a head flip after stepping on her pant leg, she did very well.  For her first time  playing, he only beat her by 5 points.  This was a shocker to the gamer he is! 

At first I made the rule that the winner picked the next player and the player picked the game.  After three challenges by all different competitors, Noah was still standing.  I then added the rule that you couldn't play more than three rounds in a row.  He didn't like that rule but finally relinquished his remote.

We laughed and played, broke a sweat or two, giggled some more, and had a wonderful family evening.  Mom and crew left and Tim jumped in to play.  He and Noah competed in baseball, nearly knocking down the ceiling fan in the process. 



Tim's Mii



Tim's "me"



Side note:  Tim's Mii cracks me up every time because it looks just like him.  I found a similar version online to show you.....

They then moved to golf, which in my opinion even on a Wii is B-o-r-i-n-g!  I finally pulled Tim away, only because I had a steaming bowl of soup to bribe him with.  This left Noah and Tina to wrap up the night, taking in a few more games. 

Other than using the tv to play the game, it wasn't used for anything else.  By the time we finished jumping, swooshing, ducking, whacking and laughing, we were happily wore out and ready for bed.  It was a great alternative to vegging out in front of the tv and I think something we need to incorporate at least once a week.  Maybe I'll show you our other Miis someday!