Life Without Cable Pt. 4

A few weeks ago I blogged about how during my vacation back to Chicago it dawned on me the insane amount of TV I watched. I'm proud to report that by saying adios to the majority of reality TV shows I watched, I managed to cut my overall TV viewing down by at least 50%.

For the most part it has been rather easy to go without all the dramatic shows, but last night I found myself feeling nostalgic for Basketball Wives. It almost pains me to admit this, but I was starting to wonder what the ladies were up to...well, not Royce because she's just not my cup of tea -- or Meeka for that matter... but I was curious about what Tami, Evelyn, Jen, and Shaunie had up their sleeves. I had seen some clips online hinting to a blowup between Jen and Evelyn and like a good train wreck I had to watch.

So, today I pulled up a few episodes online (does that count as cheating? lol) and WOW... they have a whole shit storm going on between the two of them. For the sake of playing devil's advocate I can sympathize with Evelyn because it's very hard to fake the funk when you have friends, best friends at that, that are not  seemingly happy for your relationship or where you're going with your romantic life. On the other hand Jen is entitled to her opinion, but being a close friend to someone you don't necessarily air that out in an interview to the general public.

One of my pet peeves in life is dealing with people that don't address an issue up front, instead allowing their feelings to fester, resulting in a major blowup. I think I have a rather nice circle of girlfriends and for the most part everyone expresses their feelings so there's little to no drama.

Basketball Wives - Full Episodes - Reality TV Shows

Full Disclosure: I will DEFINITELY be watching the finale next week, so I'm looking forward to seeing if they're able to discuss their feelings like adults... but who am I kidding, the show is based on drama so I'm sure they'll come to blows.

Sidebar -- What in the world was Royce wearing at that car dealership with Meeka? How are you looking at luxury cars dressed like a Pre-Teen ready to hangout at the basketball courts! Meeka, Royce, and Suzie can all drift back into the black abyss they came from.


** For anyone that is interested -- Jen blogs about each episode at Hollywood Life. **

Life Without Cable Pt. 3

This post should have been titled: I love Netflix!

The journey my husband and I have been on to downgrade our cable services, all with hopes of living cable-free, has hit a plateau. We were able to get our bill down to a comfortable price and we discovered the joys of Netflix.

I can't say enough positive things about the Netflix service. I'm sure being able to live stream HD quality shows via his Playstation 3 is a huge factor, but I just love the ease of using this service. On top of the convenience the selection is vast and has something for everyone.

We've been able to discover new (to us) shows and watch entire seasons at a time. High on my list of favorites are: 24, Glee, Swamp People .... and my husband's favorites Ancient Aliens and Battlestar Galactica - - which I'll admit can hold my attention though I have no clue what's going on with the storyline lol.

For now Netflix has given me a lot of hope that I could survive life in a household free of cable... but when I think about it, I kinda love TV, I love my DVR even more... so why live life without it? lol...

Life Without Cable Pt. 2

My journey to living a cable free life hit a major snag - - NBA Playoffs!! My husband is a sport's freak and every game has turned into a "must watch" event. An even bigger problem is that there seems to be a game on every night of the week which is making the task of sharing a TV quite taxing.

A few nights ago I "banished" him to watch a game on our "no longer connected to a digital cable box" TV. Watching TV that lacked HD was like stepping into a time machine... a really bad time machine back to the 90s lol.. and he would NOT stop complaining. I seriously thought we were going to have to go out and grab another digital receiver, even it it lacked a DVR, just so he would stop running his mouth lol... but we had a talk about how we were both going to need to make sacrifices - - I gave up a bunch of reality shows that are not must-watch for me, and he's learning that every single game isn't life or death (though Bulls games are not up for discussion).

Like I previously shared, we got rid of one of our DVR boxes and managed to cut our cable/internet service by $68, so whenever I find myself getting frustrated that I'm watching yet another layup or free throw I try to remind myself that we have an extra $ each month that we didn't have before. It helps... kinda lol.

I know that life without cable is possible, and I'm really pleased with the amount of shows available online and via Netflix, but seriously - - I'm a TV person!! Even if I'm watching CNN or HGTV (because I watch more than reality shows) having a TV is a must for me.

For those that gave up cable or cut back on their selection of channels, how long did it take you? I'm definitely going to need baby steps.

Life Without Cable Pt. 1

So, I made the first step - - I called the cable company and renegotiated our monthly bill, along with returning one of the two DVR boxes we had. Currently we only have cable on one TV in addition to our internet and were able to drop our bill by about $60 each month. It was a pain in the ass dealing with the Time Warner Cable rep... we were literally on the phone for an hour... but I got the bill lower, we still have cable, and I'm a happy camper.

In 3 months the DVR special promotion we have will be over and I'll consider calling back in for a new deal or saying adios to DVR altogether. Most of the shows I record are available online so DVR isn't an absolute MUST, but giving up cable cold-turkey would have been very dramatic for me.... baby steps!

On another note, my husband and I are doing well with one TV. We're learning to compromise, I guess I should say that I am learning to compromise more and not be a TV hog. Yes, I have the TV on lock lol... but my clench is slowly loosening up. I've also given up a few shows that I no longer have the time or desire to watch: Braxton Family Values  - - had to go. I can't handle another reality show lol. In all honesty I only need Bravo, HGTV, and the Travel Channel to survive.