I Want To Challenge Myself. If It's Not Too Hard. Maybe.

As we all know, I have an obsessive/compulsive personality. I don't do anything part way.

When I smoked, I smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. When I eat, I eat. I would be an alcoholic if only drinking alcohol didn't make me throw up. Yeah, not pretty. When I start a new hobby (all about this in a blog soon!) I don't do it half way, I jump in with two feet and go over the top with it. When I watch TV, I watch way too damn much TV.

Of course, my personal favorite is reality TV. Hey, when I'm watching about someone else's misery, I'm forgetting about my own. I admit it, I am a reality TV junkie. There are not enough hours in a day to fill the void in my soul!

Anyway, one of the shows I like to watch is American Idol. Let me just go off on a little tangent here. Four judges? For real? That is just way too much. Who cares what Ellen DeGeneres has to say about this? I have nothing against Ellen, I just don't think she belongs as a judge on American Idol. And Kara? If she calls one more person "honey" I'm gonna spit. And what's up with Simon? Is he on anti-depressants all of a sudden? He's one of the reasons to watch the show! I love an opinionated person. If a singer sucks, they should be told they suck. Period. Hey, my family and friends love me enough to tell me every time I try to sing that I suck at it. Fine, so I don't try out for the show. Too many people obviously don't have the friends and family that care enough about them. So, here's Simon, a bland, washed out version of himself. And, what's with the wink this year? He's winking at freakin' everyone. What's that about? For real, the show has gone down hill so far. But I still can't look away. I do love a good train wreck!

After all that rambling, one of the contestants on this year's American Idol, a young guy named Casey, was interviewed on the show about the fact that previous to being on the show, he's never seen the show American Idol. Hello?? What's that about? Casey explained that when he was seven years old, lightning struck and blew up their television. The family never replaced the TV and as he got older he never felt the need for a TV.

That just spoke to me! I was so in awe of this guy. Not for his singing talent, but because he doesn't even own a TV! I so wanted to be like him! How much could I get accomplished in my life if I quit watching TV!! This was a challenge I wanted to undertake. I thought about it for a few weeks. I wanted to give up TV and start accomplishing things like scrubbing this house like I want to. Maybe I could finish that afghan that I started for Maura and John that was supposed to be their Christmas present in 2009!! Hey, they saw it about half way done and now I only have about 20 rows to do! I can DO it! I just need to buckle down and focus. No more TV!

I told this new idea of mine to Ron. Once he stopped laughing and caught his breath, he suggested maybe I start slow and perhaps just give up TV one night a week. Ok, that made sense. We all need to walk before we run.

I could do Mondays. No, Mondays don't work. There was The Bachelor (I told you I loved train wrecks. This is the MOTHER of train wrecks.) There is Chuck (how could you not love Chuck!) and How I Met Your Mother. Yeah, good thing I have a DVR.

I could do Tuesdays. No, Tuesdays don't work. First there is NCIS (Michael Weatherly. Need I say more?) and of course, American Idol.

Maybe Wednesday? No, Wednesdays have America's Next Top Model (Don't judge me. I told you I have a sickness.) and again, American Idol.

How about Thursday? This is the Superbowl of reality TV. Survivor, American Idol, Kitchen Nightmares, Project Runway, Models of the Runway, The Real Housewives series (Ok, the Real Housewives of the OC sucked. But, New York just started again! Between New York and New Jersey? That is what I call must see TV!), LA Ink. Ahh. Have I mentioned that I actually have two DVRs?? Yes, it's a sickness.

Fridays and Saturdays are for catching up on everything I've taped during the week on my DVRs. And, I haven't even mentioned the daytime television that I have to tape. There is Judge Judy (I LOVE her!), The People's Court, and my new thing, Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. Some weekends, there are just not enough hours in the days.

How about Sunday? No, I can't forget about the Amazing Race! Holy Crap! Thank heavens they changed the time to 8:00 pm instead of 10:00 pm! I need that extra two hours to get my heart beat back to normal after some of the stuff they do!

These are just shows on TV now. Wait! There are so many more that I can't miss! Big Brother, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, Deadliest Catch, After the Catch, Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Saving Grace, Raising the Bar, to name just a few.

On top of all of this, it's almost baseball season again! I haven't seen my beloved Cubs, my boys in blue, since October. As of right now, there are only 25 days, 17 hours and 16 minutes until the Cubs' opening day!!! I'm freakin' counting down to it, I don't think I could actually miss it. I NEED to watch baseball.

Give up TV? I don't think I could do it. Man, I do have a problem. I need to get off the junk: the TV junk. Does anyone know of a 12 step program? Or just how I could get a life?