#99 Go One Month Without Watching TV - Done!

18 Down
83 To Go

I didn't watch any TV through the month of May. Okay, so I cheated a couple of times, but I was pretty good.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with myself in those hours I generally watched TV, but I eventually got the hang of it and actually got some things done.

1) I read four screenplays - #14 still in progress
2) I'm almost finished with my perspective drawing task - #17 almost done
3) I made my goal of walking 100 miles by the end of the month - #86 only 900 miles to go
4) I added two more CDs to my collection - #70 3 CDs down 7 more to go
5) I flew a kite - #60 done
6) and I ate at a Greek restaurant - #80 done

So it ended up being a pretty productive month after all.

My hubby bought me a new recliner for Mother's Day and I haven't been able to enjoy it yet, so guess what I'm going to do tonight. You got it. Sit in my new chair and watch a movie.

#86 Walk 1000 Miles - Update

100 Miles Completed
900 Miles To Go

850 Days to do it in.
No problem!

#60 Fly a Kite - Complete

17 Down
84 To Go

Hi all. I've been working on a screenplay and haven't posted for a while, but I'm still alive and still plugging away on my tasks. I'll give you an update in a couple of days.

I bought this kite a couple of weeks ago. Pretty, ain't she? Walmart, $10. She's a two fister (see the two strings?) with a 60 inch wing span. We tried to fly it soon after I bought it, but quickly realized that she's pretty heavy and needs a lot of wind for lift. Saturday the wind was blowing pretty good so we tried again.

Boy did we have wind! And boy did she have lift! I'm not sure if I was controlling the kite of the kite controlling me. I got her up in the air onece and I had to lean waaay back to keep from getting pulled forward. Suddenly, she lost lift. Yep, you guessed it. Sprawled out in the grass, head over heals, getting ate alive by the chiggers. Needless to say, my family thought it was hilarious.

Hubby was having a hard time controlling how much string came off the little controllers, so he decided to wrap the string around his fingers. Ouch! You don't want to do that! The kite got lift and tried to cut the ends of his fingers off. No blood, but a couple of nice string burns for his effort.

My youngest son had the best luck. He got it flying on his first try and kept it up longer than anyone. He even had it up long enough for me to take a few pictures, for your viewing pleasure. Beginner's luck! He learned how to do it by watching us. That's my story anyway.

We had never tried to fly a kite with two strings before so it took a little getting used to. (Hint: If it rolls left, pull right) Once we figured that out we could keep it flying for a while, but once the strings got twisted, we were screwed. Armed with this new knowlege, and new cockiness, we decided to take it to the top of the hill where there was ever more wind. Wow! Hubby was flying, I was launching. I tossed it up in the air and it took off and immediately started doing wild erratic dives and loops... in my direction!. It sounded like a Cessna coming at me! It didn't take me long to learn the fine art of toss and RUN!

But alas, the wind at the top of the hill proved stronger than the kite string. Sigh. The string broke three times and we finally called it quits. But we had a good time playing with it. She was worth every bit of $10, and with some new string she'll be ready to fly again.

Hey. Go fly a kite! You'll like it, trust me.

Hmm, Not Working as Planned

I cut out TV for the month of May hoping for a few more hours of productivity each day. NOPE! I'm too tired to be creative so writing is out. I fall asleep if I try to read after 8pm, so catching up on a few screenplays is out. I thought it would be a good time to really hit my drawing tasks, but that's not happening either. After dinner, I loaf around for a while, get bored and go to bed. Years and years of vegging out after 8pm has created a biological monster. What is it they say? You can lead a body away from the TV, but you can't make it think. Or something like that. Dang, old habits die hard!

# 80 Eat at a Greek Restaurant - Complete!

16 Down
85 To Go

...Gyros,
the
Mad Greek,
Maussaka...

Mom and I went out for lunch today and ate at The Mad Greek restaurant. We had Gyros and Maussaka. I had never tried either before, so it was an exploration for me. They were both real good. I'll have to try a Falafel next time.

We also added to our cocktail collections. She had an Irish coffee, and I had a Martini. Her Irish coffee was good... : ) I still don't know what all the fuss is about with Martinis, but I can say I've had one now.

Ready for May

The second screenplay is the biggest thing that I will be working on this month. But to help out, I decided to complete #99 - Go one month without watching TV.

Now, that task is impossible to do 100%. I live with three other people and the TV is on every night. It's on while I cook dinner, it's on while we eat, it's on until we all go to bed. I won't ask everyone else to turn it off, but the two, or three, or four hours between dinner and bed that I usually spend vegging out in front of the tube will be spent doing something a little more productive. That works out to be between 60 and 120 extra hours of productivity for the month of May. I can live with that. So I transfered my Netflix selections over to hubby, cleaned up my work space in the bedroom, cracked my knuckles, clicked my heels three times and now I'm ready for a month of writing.