"Did you see that?"

Ah, life without cable. It has been interesting to say the least. Years from now, when I look back at this post I'll probably say to myself, "What!? You gave up cable?" In all honesty, I don't really miss it. In a way, it has been liberating!

No longer do we stress because our DVR is getting full and we need to watch some shows. Nor do I have to worry that my DVR is set correctly to record a series (we rarely watch TV while the kids are up, so we used to spend our evenings watching DVR'd shows). I'm still a little surprised that Justin agreed to get rid of cable. I hounded him for a number of months before we actually went through with it, but in my mind spending $70+ a month for something we rarely used was crazy. 

Thus far, the hardest season has been college football. We do miss being able to watch the Hawkeyes on TV, but had to get used to listening to the game on the radio. Justin did watch the bowl game at a local bar, which hopefully made up for him not being able to see any other games on TV.   New Years Day is usually a day of munching on food and watching football games-not this year! Instead, we spent the day as we would any other weekend day: Playing with the little ones, snacking, napping, more playing...

Of course I miss some of the silly shows I used to watch: Sister Wives, Teen Mom, The Next Food Network Star, Ax Men, Chopped...in fact, I don't think there was a single show on regular channels we used to DVR. Now, we have no choice, but to watch these channels.  Some of the shows we try to watch now are:  Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, The Voice and The Amazing Race. Luckily, most of these are on after the little ones are in bed, but there are many instances where we may miss an episode.

Many people subscribe to Netflix, picking out movies online that are sent to you.  You watch them at your leisure, pop them in the mail when you are done, and have more shipped out.  This is really a great option for those who don't have cable and give you something different to watch.  Plus, you don't have to leave your house!  Justin and I have never been movie people-in fact, if I had 2 hours to kill, I wouldn't want to spend it watching a move.  I'd rather read a new book, go for a run or bake something.  So, Netflix wouldn't be a good choice for us.  Many TV shows are available online now, and I'm sure there will be times where we will want to catch up on a TV series by watching on our IPADs. 

Just another sacrifice; but I honestly don't see a need to get cable for a long time.  This past Sunday, I enjoyed the Iowa Realty Home Show during my run :).  Gave me some good idea for our next home!