Flashback Friday- living without TV.

I have been so excited to tell you about this month's challenge... but haven't had a chance to finish the post- but it's coming... tomorrow... You will have it revealed to you...and it's a big one. I'll give you a clue...it's not as extreme as a complete month media fast like in the post below...but perhaps a little media diet...check back tomorrow. 

For now here is

Flashback Friday
(Diary Entry on 7/07/08)
Side note: What I love about this post is that it was a time when I was in graduate school,  didn't have children, and was always slammed with photography work. At that time there wasn't really a big obsession of facebook, pinterest,  instagram, ipad apps, and everyone having a smart phone.  Sigh...life was a lot more simple then- however- I still craved background noise and starting my day with the TV on as I spent hours editing photos on my computer for work.

What would it have been like to be a student and working from home with the distractions we have today?

I'm happy to say, I can (and actually prefer) to type in silence and be away from the TV for days or even weeks at a time... but there are a lot other distractions that have come about since 2008... I'll talk to you tomorrow about them.

Dear Television,

I know you may have noticed that we have been avoiding you. You see, today is day TWO of our “TV fast.” Yup, that is right- our stake has asked all of us members to turn you off for four weeks and pay more attention to our families and the Lord. So, as of yesterday, we have not gathered around you laughing and vegging out while tuning into Extreme House Makeover or Desperate Housewives. No, instead we quietly spent the evening reading and catching up from the weekend and… yes…we actually went to bed before eleven! New record time for us!

Okay okay, to some, your absence is not missed…but I have to confess, today I have really struggled to keep away from you. Today when I woke up, I missed tuning into my friends: Al, Matt, Meredith, and Ann who always keep me in the loop about what is going on in the world. But I restrained from pushing the ON button that was staring back at me and taunting me. No, instead, I went straight to work diligently editing the hundreds of photos I have on my desktop…but the silence was KILLN’ me! I tried turning up my music but it didn’t seem to help- I even chatted with friends on the phone…but nothing could replace the background noise that I have grown so accustomed to. I actually missed being distracted by your mindless MTV reality shows or being entertained by Oprah, Ellen or even Dr. Phil in the afternoon! Sheesh... I haven’t realized how much I actually rely on you to keep me company when I am home spending hours and hours in front of the computer editing photos. I just finished 9 hours worth (mostly in silence) of editing photos today... (yes I am still in my PJ's- don't jduge) now I only have a whopping 7,000 photos more to edit this month! Wedding season-It is INSANE!!! How will I ever get by with out you?

Desperately going through withdrawals,

Cristi

Happy Friday.
besitos, xo

Stopping to Smell the Roses...Literally

The sun is waking up and I hold a warm bowl of oatmeal in between my hands. I love the way it feels. Little Man is sleeping in which gives me extra time to reflect and think about my challenge this month.

I feel like it's been a busy week -but who doesn't have busy weeks? There were several times I was consumed with the business of my day when the little bells on my phone came on to tell me to take a few minutes and become present. (October's Challenge)

How often do we get stuck in the daily tasks of our "to dos" to really enjoy each moment to the fullest?

The other day Little Man and I were at our weekly library stop... he loves to take his SWEET time to and from the car. I am usually on a mission to get home and get dinner ready and practically drag him to the car.

Not this time.

This time I pushed aside that need to rush on to the the next thing and entered his world and explored with him for a moment. Stomping and crunching through piles of leaves, I followed and observed.

I stopped and noticed the things he was interested in.

We took time to smell the roses. Literally.

Then he ran to a patch of grass and just laid there curiously observing the things in the sky. Feeling quite hungry, I resisted the need to get back home... I went over to him and laid beside him. The sky was bright. We watched an airplane in the sky.

And then I saw this.

Right in front of me was this beautiful tree...the very same one we pass every time I rush to the car. But from down there- it just really struck me. In a few weeks this tree will be bare. I would have missed it's beauty because I was too busy focusing on the next thing to really observe what is in front of me all along.

Reminder: take in the beauties of fall...soon they will be gone.

It was a good day.
besitos,
xo