Tuesday, January 31, 2006

I'm Like, Totally TVless


On New Year's Eve, the 6-year-old Sony Trinitron blew its tube. Pow, like that, I had no television. So much for watching the ball drop. It's been one month now and I'm still TVless and I'm loving it! Over the weekend, Jeremy took the dead idiot box to a local TV repair shop and here's how the conversation went:

J: Here's a dead TV you can have.
TVD*: When do you need it back?
J: Never. I don't want it back.
TVD*: What? Don't you want me to repair it? I have 7 others here in my shop, for sale, I can repair it.
J: No, you don't understand, we don't WANT it back. We're not keeping a TV in our home.
TVD*: HUH?!?! What will you do???

*TVD=TV Dude

So, Jeremy came home without the TV and the TVD has yet another TV to repair and add to his sales inventory.

What ARE we doing without a TV in the house, you ask?? Let's see...
  • we've planted an organic vegetable garden
  • we've actively maintained a hot compost pile
  • we've read more books in a month than we have in the last six months
  • we've had dinners together at the table AND have shared conversation
  • we've gone to bed/sleep at a decent hour which makes getting up the next day a helluva lot easier
  • we've cooked and baked more and have eaten healthier meals
  • we've continued to work on the office/studio remodel
  • we've felt less stress and less guilt for wasting time

It's been great having no TV. My friend, Dana, has always been an inspiration towards the removal of a television in our home. For the last several years, she's had a tradition of unplugging her TV during the summer months. I've always admired her for that.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Florida's Finest



January tis the season to juice! Drive through just about any neighborhood and you'll find citrus trees ready to be harvested. Two of my neighbors have orange and grapefruit trees with branches heavily ladened with ripe-and-ready-to-eat fruits. Go to work and pick through grocery bags that co-workers have brought in... stuffed with fruit freebies for the taking.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Pssst... I Have a Secret!!

That secret is that I have WONDERFUL friends! Over the last several weeks I've been receiving spectacular gifts from them and it has absolutely filled my heart with joy! A few of these friends are people I've never met; I've never even heard their voices come to think of it. Those few friends are people I've met through the post, which is no big surprise if you've been reading me for a while. One of those post friends mailed the PostSecret book to me! It was over a year ago that Frank, the project's founder, left a comment on my blog so it's a double honor to have the book added to my permanent collection.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

I've Got Some Nerve

I call myself a motorcyclist yet I've not ridden my bike since July 20, 2005. I've got some nerve! (And yes, I know the specific date because that is the annual Ride To Work Day.) For some reason, still unknown to me, I'd lost the desire to ride. With that said, my moniker of GirlOnAGlide should be erased from my being. I tried to redeem my conscience and feed my soul today and went riding. As always, it proved to be wonderful and I was reminded why I love to ride in the first place.

One reason for going out today was to test ride another bike. It is said that variety is the spice of life so with that nugget of wisdom, I rolled into the Kawasaki dealer in St. Augustine to cop a ride on a KLR. What a huge difference from the monstrosity I currently ride! It was fun in a funky kinda way! If the price had been right, we'd have purchased two. Sadly, it wasn't, so the search continues.... As a sidenote, while I was out on the ride I remembered a woman I met a few years ago who'd ridden her KLR around the world. I was in immediate envy of Mariola's adventures, but more importantly, happy for her to live an uncommon life.

The bike that I'm hot to trot for is Suzuki's V-Strom. I'm hoping I don't have to wait until Daytona's Bike Week in March to find a test ride, that seems so far away at this point! Finding a dealership who will offer a demo ride isn't easy so it's a given that my patience will be tested. Funny how a 20 mile ride south fueled my fire to ride again. It's an addiction and I'm a junkie.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Found a George!

I picked up a George at the library today! Here are some of its stats:

This bill has travelled 939 Miles in 1 Yr, 3 Hrs, 43 Mins at an average of 2.6 Miles per day.

It was initially registered on WheresGeorge.com in Muskegon, MI ONE YEAR from today!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

ATC Challenge



I've agreed to participate in a LMAO (Land Mail Art Object) on Nervousness, which is something I haven't done in ages. I used to be very active on the site, nearly creating some kind of arty something or another almost every day. Let's suffice it to say I've been in an artful nap for a while. The LMAO I am mailing tomorrow contains the ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) above. Someone mailed me a 6"x9" envelope stuffed full of goodies including: paper, stickers, beads, buttons, confetti, ribbon, yarn and just about anything else paper crafting people keep in their stashes. The challenge was to make three ATCs using something sent in the envie. I made the 4th ATC from papers the same sender mailed me in another package I'd asked for. So here they are: Aquatic Life, Aurora Borealis Beads, OH MY, and Confetti Paradise.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Feeling Bad on a Beautiful Day

I woke up feeling like poo today. My throat is raw and the upper half of my cranium would be better off if it was just gone. The sun is out in its full glory today, hard to believe the date on the calendar. The windows are open, the cats are basking in the sun's warmth and it's back to bed I go. There is beauty on this day, as I mentioned. Additionally, there's Sony. (give it a moment to load and have your volume on... it's magical)