Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Can we talk about how much I love my DVR?

Several years ago, my sister-in-law, Jessica came to live with us when she got out of the Army. While she was here, she introduced me to high speed cable internet. She absolutely hated dial up and offered to pay for the cable internet while she lived here. It allowed us to run our computer and hers all at the same time. Great! I thought, what a treat while she lives here. After she moved out, do you think we just gave up that wonderful internet service? Of course not! We were hooked! And that was even before I knew about WIRELESS internet that now allows me to use my laptop wherever I want. Not too long after this Jessica got this device called a DVR for her cable. She told me about it a few times. It just didn't sink in right away what she was talking about. I knew about TIVO and had long wanted one, but for a long time it seemed that only rich people had TIVO - not your average family. I didn't think I would ever want to really lay out the money to buy the TIVO box and service even though I thought it was something I would love. Again, Jessica, told me about her DVR box. I don't know when it clicked what it was and how I could actually have it in my own home. Remember, I am cheap! Not frugal, but CHEAP! For me to add the $9.99 a month on to my already high cable bill, I needed to think. I finally decided that Tim and I were not even using the cable box in our bedroom anymore. We had been paying like $6 a month for that. All of a sudden, it seemed like a really good idea to get the DVR box. I had no idea how much my life would change with this invention! Okay, here is the truth about me... I am a tv junkie! I love to watch tv. I have a zillion shows I like to watch. I know! I know! I am a homeschool mom. Doesn't that mean I should detest tv and think it is a big waste of time and only read books? Nope, not me! I love my tv. I think I always liked tv even when I was a kid. I remember my parents would go out on Friday night to "the club". I would eat my tombstone pizza and drink my pepsi in front of TGIF. Then I would watch Dallas and Knots Landing. In 1980, I was 8 years old and I was totally enthralled with "Who Shot JR?" I sorta have to laugh because I can't see Savannah watching Dallas, but in my defense - we did not have bunch of different kids channels to choose from at night like Nick Jr, Disney, Discovery Kids, etc. We had Dallas to watch after 9pm! I probably didn't watch as much tv as a teenager because I had a social life. Then I had Timmy and became glued to thirtysomething. I was the 17 year old dreaming of the lives of these people playing thirtysomething characters. My mom tells me I achieved becoming the "Hope" character from that show. I guess I did without realizing it! All through my marriage Tim and I have had "our shows". At the very beginning of our marriage, we really liked "Tales From the Crypt" on HBO. He worked a lot and went to school then. We loved it when we could lay a blanket down on the floor and watch an hour of this once a week. Now we have our DVR. We tape about 5 shows a week that are "our shows". When the kids go to bed, we can start them on our own time. If the kids keep waking up (or as the truth is - fighting sleep) we can pause it, deal with whatever, and go back to where we left off. Last night, Timmy had a friend over. She was watching Heroes with us. We had to pause it 3 times to settle Sebastian into bed. She asked me if my house was always this lively! I laughed and told her that I did really love my DVR just because this was the norm around here. That got me to thinking about this blog post! Now you know the truth about me... I hope it doesn't change your opinion of me. I still like to read and learn about stuff. I just also like to watch Oprah on occasion and of course there is American Idol and Medium, don't forget Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Sopranos, Heroes, Little People, Big World, and a few others!

No comments: