7/14/09

Underlining and Unplugging (Deep Breath)

Tuesday~July 14, 2009

Why is everything underlined? Why won't Blogger stop underlining everything I'm typing? Why did I somehow type YOU'RE instead of YOUR in my last post in a very obvious grammar FLUB?

Sheesh, the underlining!!! All I did was upload some pictures and now the underlining won't stop! Why are pictures a call for underlining? Everything has to be underlined???? Really Blogger? WHY? And also...Why are there so many power cords dangling around my goof off work space? ...

(You wanna know what blog I was reading? GOOD. It's called It's Your Movie and it rocks.)

Oh look! The underlining stopped! That's nice. So um...where was I? Oh yeah...Why am I not sure I should say "underlined?" Under-lined? Under lined? NO, that can't be right. Must be underlined then. Good! I think....

(Deep breath)

Everything is FINE. Except for that whole thing with somehow typing YOU'RE when it should have been YOUR, but whatever. (P.S. If you're my friend (online (or is it on-line?) or off) and I make such an error, tell me in the comments (or over the phone or in an email or text or on facebook) because you know that I know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE so you can just know that I was in a hurry or something and give me a heads up about my flub so I can fix it, mkay?)

(Ahem)

And then there's the fact that we're leaving for a few days and our schedule is PACKED all the way until we leave Thursday morning (which is in five seconds) so I have no time to actually get ready to leave. Oh! And then there's that thing called BlogHer coming up next week...Oh my...WHEN will I get ready to go? When will I pack? WHAT will I pack????

Oh well, everything is totally fine...I think...

But then I look to my left and I see this...



AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

Heather, just do the paperwork...then it won't be there.

Nah, I think I'll just sit here and try to get Blogger to let me UNunderline stuff, thankyouverymuch.

Today, on Twitter, I said something like "Dear Life, please slow down. It's great that you're busy, but you're going a bit overboard. Thank you kindly, Heather."

(Yes, my tweets are totally enthralling.)

Life really has been busy this fine July. It's all good stuff, but sometimes I just need to catch my breath! So here I sit (see above picture), decompressing. And while I'm sitting here, I must say that having a blog is a lot like having a radio station. I mean, just think of it and you'll be sure to see the similarities:

Some people like your station, some don't. Some songs/posts resonate with some people and others don't because they're meant to resonate with someone else. Some people get tired of listening/reading and they change the channel. Some become faithful listeners/readers, tuning in daily (but hopefully not on their commute to work, that would be dangerous). Some surf the stations/blogs and skip right past, never fully listening/reading. Others stop a moment and give you a chance. I could go on and on with this analogy. Really, I could...

(Deep breath)

So what's my point? Um...thank you for listening to my station!

Even when there's just static!

So um...lastly. I've mentioned too many times that my two cute little boy toot knockers and I have been on the go more lately...

And also...we did it...



We UNPLUGGED. (dum dum duuum)


That's right. My point is...No more TV for the kiddos.

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

(Another deep breath)

This is what I want, it really is. (Don't you dare feel guilty about the TV in your house because of this announcement! Some people know moderation better than I do. AND they don't have children like Miles who literally embody every negative action they see on TV, even if it's something as harmless as Arthur...or not harmless, like Caillou (Oh, the whining! SHEESH!).) So yeah, I feel good about our own personal decision.

But um...

THIS IS A BIG ADJUSTMENT!!!

(Just so you know.)

(Deep breath.)

(OK...one last thing. If Miles wakes up exceptionally early, as he does most days, he gets to watch one half hour of TV while the rest of us wake up...other than that...NO TV.)

(Wow...I can actually do this! I can!)

(I hope.)

(Bye.)

51 clicked right here to comment:

Deven said...

Hopefully unplugging goes smoothly and the withdrawal twitches and jitters subside quickly. (By the way, anyone know the difference between withdraw and withdrawal? I sure don't.)

Amen, sistah, on the Caillou thang.

It'll all come together.

Susan B. said...

You may have noticed I have a problem with the grammer and spelling stuff. I mostly know the right way too, but when I have so many ideas and just want to get them out....sometimes that stuff gets overlooked, oh well people get the point. and congratulation on the unplugged. We are doing pretty good with limiting TV and movies this summer too, I am just scared for the winter. Less to do,..more time trapped in the house. What will we do then?? Please post ideas!!

Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting said...

If you click on "edit html" in this blog post, under 'edit posts', most certainly at the beginning of the code there will be a < u > (without spaces). Delete it, and then just before the picture, find the < / u > (without the spaces) and delete it, too.

Unplugging, woohoo! Good for you!!

And in just a little over a week, I'm gonna be hugging you. A lot a lot. I am besides myself. We have got to get together more often, so we can hang out. Any chance for you to go to TypeAMomConference, by chance??? :)

Carrie said...

Wow, it would be hard to have no TV - Sesame St. is my hour of sanity in the morning - but that's all we watch, except for the occasional Veggie Tales (on a daddy's-working-late-and-mommy's-losing-her-mind occasion, usually). :) Totally understand your decision!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

I'm still impressed you're taking your fine little radio station to BlogHer.

Bet you could even watch TV in the hotel without feeling guilty.

Angie said...

Yes, you can do it! Because although I don't know you, I know you. :) Hooray for no tv... my kiddos get Sat. morning wholesome cartoons and the occasional movie. It's nice to be unplugged, and even nicer to see them using their imaginations and playing together.

Have a wonderful trip. :)

K a b l o o e y said...

Caillou, I can stomach, but that little pill Ruby? I pity poor Max. (I bet that's why their parents left -- she's an insufferable pill.)

Keep us posted about the TV ban. We're kind of off TV for my daughter, but she's hooked on Nick Jr.com.

That'll be the next intervention.

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Wow. This post was exhilarating! Oh my gosh, I just spelled exhilarating correctly on the first try. YIPPEEEE!

Good analogy on the blog/radio thing.

Sad I'm not going to BlogHer.

Happy for you and the Unplug! Keep us posted on that!

Erin said...

I almost never notice your/you're mistakes, because I'm reading for content and not for grammar.

I'm very impressed that you are unplugging. That's great! I can't live without Curious George in the morning while I shower - it's the only show both of my kids will watch without interrupting me in the shower.

Good luck packing and getting ready for BlogHer!

happygeek said...

Good for you on the unplugging!
Happy packing!

Sarah@Life in the Parsonage said...

Blogger has messed with me this week too. No worries on the typos...I do it all the time...although in my case one should not assumer I knew better ;)

Love ya Heather of the EO.

Roban said...

I enjoyed reading your post although it may have given me a mild case of vicarious stress.

(deep breath)

Really....

And I used to work in radio, so the analogy really worked for me. I wonder if anyone will tune in today?

Great idea about unplugging the TV. My daughter watches in moderation; we're too busy blogging and facebooking and (I gave up, sort of) tweeting.

Roban

Amy said...

Oh how I wish I had your willpower to unplug. I think it would be more torture on me to be without Dora. . . I would have to play polly pockets, little people, barbies all day long. YIKES! I do have to set limits on the TV, and some days I do better than others. Love your blog. This was a great entry.

Kristina P. said...

I am so jealous you are going to Blogher! And if I unplugged, I would be sooooooo bored at work!

Mama-Face said...

The underlining!!!!! Ha, what is it about the underlining? That made me laugh so much because I curse at blogger every time with all the inexplicable things that pop up. I think we should all posts pic's of or desks; it would be liberating. I love the color of your walls. awesome.

In my house the only one who would cry about losing the TV is me. I don't think anyone else would notice.

Sheryl said...

first of all, i am so jealous of your orange walls. i need to get that out of my system, because it could come between our "friendship".

love reading what you have to say, even when you make grammatical errors (that, of course, i notice but would never point out)

so...way to go on the unplugging. i haven't watched tv since february 2007. not because there is anything wrong with it, just because there was nothing there for me!! can't imagine having unplugged my kids when they were little, i am far too selfish.

ok, enjoy your vacation!!

Blessed said...

we're unplugged. we don't even have a TV... but there is the nifty little thing on the internet called "You Tube" that in my desperation to finish just one more thing sometimes I'll open and let Sugar watch for 10 or 15 minutes and then all I hear the rest of the day is "watch more mommy?, watch more?" I have a feeling it's a good thing we've decided to be an "unplugged" family :) Good luck to you on your unplugging - you can do it!

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Uh, whew!!

Someone might have mentioned this in the comments already but sometimes if you are typing in an area where the photo is uploaded, it will hyperlink it and underline your text. You should be able to just hit return a couple times and then write, or just compose via html!

Steph

Anonymous said...

I tune in faithfully to EVERY post! I just love you too much to stop. =] Okay, the truth is (though I do love you) that it's a selfish thing. Your blog makes me happy. Really, it does. Be they funny posts, hectic posts, heartwarming posts, soul-stirring posts, or life changing posts--I love your blog. Don't ever go away.

Congratulations with the unplugging. I'm invoking my crap-mom-right to not be as good of a mom as you and just say, "Yay for you! Sorry I can't do the same for now!" =] (You know I'm totally happy, right? Because I'm not upset in any way. Jealous, maybe. Not upset though.)

Melanie Jacobson said...

I hate the Blogger picture function.

That is all.

Jo said...

It's all going to be great! Just keep taking those deep breaths and try to enjoy the moment you're in (unless it's doing paperwork, and in that case, just get it over with as fast as possible).
Good for you on unplugging. And good luck!!!

Christy said...

Good luck with your new rule! Hope it's easier than you anticipate!

And that underlining thing is so annoying! I've found that I just type gibberish before uploading photos, then delete it and that seems to work.

I promise to let you know if I find a your/you're in your posts, if you'll do the same for me!

Rach@In His Hands said...

God speed as you continue on the unplugged path. :-)

Josiah received the cutest water bottle in the mail recently. Can't wait til he's home so he can use it! Thanks lady. Oh, and the card ROCKED!!!!!

Unknown said...

You sound like you need a glass of wine ... or 4. Can't wait to hear all about your Blogher trip!

Debbie said...

Drives me nuts when blogger decides to attack me. And, I didn't notice the grammar error. I would have told you and I hope you'd do the same for me.
About the unplugging - took me a long time to embrace this fact but it is true. Kids that don't watch TV have more time to be creative and have fun. They also have more time to fight with their siblings. Be prepared. It is not all bad. It will prepare them for their futures as reality TV stars:)

Debbie said...

Oh, and when you are at BlogHer, I don't want anyone to talk about meeting you. Can you work that out?

Chele said...

For the record... I love your blog! I also did not notice the "your" error. And I love your tweets too! So my friend, don't worry about anything! Just take it as it comes! You need a prayer... I'm going to do that now! :)

The Three 22nds said...

we haven't unplugged, but we have figured out what works for us: absolutely no TV in the mornings. Ever. Well, if they are sick than we do.

They can watch one of their library DVDs at 4:30, which is the bewitching hour.

And I am not ready to give that up...

Keyona said...

Oh, I wish I was going to Blogher but can't wait to hear about the fun you have!!

Jen said...

impressive, this post is just impressive.
you are a much better woman than I, unplugging and everything.

Dave said...

i love blogger. it never does anything flaky to me.

i think your hilarious, and i like you're radio station. it's "broadcasts" almost always resonate with me

Elizabeth said...

You are brave. My hero for turning off the tv! Of course I'm writing this while all 3 of my kids are vegged out in front of the t.v. with stoned looks on their faces. Yea for me.

Your radio station is one of my favorites!

sara said...

be careful what you wish for! ha! I wished for things to slow down and be quiet.....I ended up sick in bed for a week! :)

Love the analogy of the radio stations.....even though I don't always comment, yours is a fav!

praying for strength and creativity to stay with this commitment you've made!

LisAway said...

Congratulations!! We have enough videos (yes, VHS) and DVDs that I would LOVE to get rid of cable (we live far enough out of town that satellite is our ONLY option) but Greg needs his news.

I don't love or get the underlining thing either. Wish I'd known it could make for such good post fodder, though! :) (actually I hate the term fodder for posts because I don't actually go around trying to find something to blog about, but I did like your underlined thoughts.)

Amy said...

You're sounding a little overwhelmed. (ok, maybe that was an understatement...but at least it wasn't underlined...)

Congrats on going No TV! We've found that we don't have time for TV now that we don't really watch any. It's amazing to watch your life fill up with other things.

Muthering Heights said...

Wow, good for you for unplugging!!

Becky said...

You CAN do it! I believe in you!! And it is an adjustment. Riley went from a little (sometimes a lot) of TV almost every day to a little once a week. Cold turkey. I could really tell a difference in his behavior, because he didn't have that down time. Now we figure out different things for down time - books, "resting" on a blanket, coloring - anything that gets him to stay still for at least half an hour so he can calm the craziness down a bit. I only hope I can keep this up when his dad goes back to school next month.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Good for you!

We did the no cable thing and live off our DVD collection, and scaled back a bit, but still watch too much. No guilt though, because we've come a LONG way, baby. =P

Happy busy times!

Ash said...

If I unplugged I would have to stop blogging.

That's not going to happen. I'd miss you too much!

And Caillou, yeah, that kid needs to be stopped.

Radioactive Tori said...

I just love this post. I would totally tell you if I noticed a gramatical error. I often don't notice even though I too know the difference. Seems I am much less judgey when I read other peoples writing than I am of myself.

Good luck with the tv. When my oldest was little, I let her watch Caillou. She complained about his whining! It cracked me up, but she is right.

Kazzy said...

When we had two little boys we unplugged for 4 years and my boys learned to read and got along great. I highly encourage the experiment. Have fun on your few days away.

Luisa Perkins said...

The occasional unplugging works wonders! And Caillou is SO very evil....

Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I deliberately kept my summer as low-key as possible but, maybe just from having all the kids home (which I LOVE) I'm still not seeming to get any time in for blogging or reading blogs. (Come to think of it, this may have something to do with my having read a bunch of books so far this summer. Bliss.) I'm about to declare Reader bankruptcy and just mark everything as read. Anyway, I started out meaning to express empathy for that overwhelmed feeling, so I hope you'll feel that even if it's not what I said.

We've never gotten cable because we had it where we lived before and my son was addicted. And we supposedly have a 1-hour-per-day of electronic media per kid rule, although it seems like the kids are always trying to get away with more. And I don't enforce it with kids #3 and #4 when I want free babysitting, and I need to work on that. Good luck! I'll bet it will be worth it and you'll be happy about it.

Wendi@EveryDayMiracles said...

Totally and completely adorable post - so very "you".

And wow have I made some silly grammatical mistakes on my blog... yeah, embarrassing. You like never ever do though - so thanks for making the rest of us feel a little bit better with the whole "you're" thing. :)

a Tonggu Momma said...

Unplugging is good. Unplugging is great. Especially when it completely avoids Cai-Yuck.

Elisa said...

You can do it, Heath-a-roonies!
You can do it!
{claps her hands}


We were unplugged for 3 years and it was the best three years ever! We only watched movies we could rent at the Library. My house has never been that peaceful.

I would LOVE to unplug.. un-plug.. Un Plug... whatever.

The point is, I want to do it again. TV is a distraction from the things that are the most important. I wouldn't miss it one bit.

The husband on the other hand? He would slowly slip into the abyss of madness.

swonderful said...

OH my gosh.

1. Caillou is just really totally ridiculous and I can't believe it has been on for so long and they never reimagined the character of Caillou or at the very least recast the voice actor.

2. Uhhh I THINK I LOVE YOU. I can't believe you gave me a little shout out like that. Thank you so much. (blush blush blush)

Kristen Howerton said...

I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one with a fire hazard of cords by the computer and a huge stack of mail/bills/crap I need to deal with. :)

MamaBear said...

We unplugged a year ago, but the movies have creeped in more than I care to admit. The upside is that there are ZERO commercials (I even fast forward through the previews)

We took a break this past week from watching movies - but the one time I can't help it is when Julia gets up earlier than everyone else and I'm dying for a little more sleep.

Wanna come deal with my DRAWER of paperwork that sits like a cement block on my conscience when you're finish up with yours? Ugh. I wish I could figure out how to slow life down around here!

Dedee said...

I'm recommending breathing for you. And some chocolate. . .

Anonymous said...

Interesting blog as for me. It would be great to read more about this matter. Thank you for sharing that data.
Sexy Lady
English escorts

Related Posts with Thumbnails
 

Blog Designed by: NW Designs