Couch Potato

Mom was right. I have grown into a huge couch potato.

Everyday when I get home from work, whether it's 6:30pm or 11:30pm, it's the same ritual. I drop my purse next to the door and drape my jacket over the kitchen chair. My shoes get flung into the general direction of the hallway--because it would take too much time to walk the 5 steps to put them in the hallway closet. Then with great anticipation, I plop onto the ever sinking well of cushions on the right side of our couch and begin watching a saga of all my favorite TV shows.

When we bought Tivo, we gave into the illusion that it would save us time watching TV. True, we don't waste time browsing through channels or sitting through commercials, but we still spend plenty of time watching the boob tube. With our flashy fast forward button, we can cram in 2 episodes of Seinfeld, 1 episode of the Office, 2 episodes of Spice up my Kitchen and all of ESPN's top plays in just one hour! Which of course means that we can spend the rest of the night doing something productive... like watching Mythbusters, 18 Kids and Counting, 2 episodes of Cake Boss, and a little bit of Dirty Jobs before it's too late to keep our eyes open.

I know what you're thinking. How pathetic! Especially with all the household chores that need to get done and the other busy things going on in our lives, how could we ever justify using all our spare time for TV?

In all honesty, I think being a couch potato is a pretty good way to spend my time these days. First off, watching TV helps me forget about all the stresses at work. It gives me a chance to recoup from some very exhausting days. Plus, I usually get to cuddle up with Jeremy while watching the tube. Who can resist that?

I've actually been surprised at how bonding of an experience watching TV with Jeremy has become. The pause button is another great Tivo feature that has allowed us to laugh, comment, discuss, agree, debate, and learn about what we are watching. It has also allowed us to learn from each other's interests. You'd be pretty impressed with how much I know about football and baseball now and how much Jeremy knows about redecorating houses. All thanks to our beloved Tele.

Another great thing about watching with Tivo is that we don't have to put up with any mucky shows or commercials. We're able to get plenty of uplifting shows like one of my favorites: 18 Kids and Counting. After each episode, I'm super motivated to be more family oriented, to share the gospel and to be grateful for Jeremy and my family. We love watching Mythbusters and Planet Earth 'cuz we actually learn so much about science and nature. We even started making homemade cakes to keep our mouths from watering during new episodes of Cake Boss.

Sure, there might be many more productive things we could be doing during the week. But sometimes there isn't anything quite as enjoying after a hard day of work as getting bundled up on the sofa with my spouse, a bowl of popcorn, and that trusty remote control. Ooh! Turn it up, the Colbert Report is on!