Category: Nerdy Things

For one thing I haven’t written since early January! I feel like I’m more than a little off kilter and need some accountability to get back on track. What better time than the new year? That’s not cliché at all, is it??

Food/Weight

I need to lose about 50 pounds so my goal is about a pound a week in 2015. I also want to find my way to healthier food for all of us. What’s funny is I wasn’t sure at first about writing about weight loss – what if my family and friends saw? But then I realized – I’m pretty sure they know I need to lose weight. It’s not like it’s a secret.  I have a lot more to say about the subject so I’ll just leave that here for now.

 House/Organizing

I’m nowhere near needing Flylady but I’m no Martha, either.  I’d like some better processes.  I love the card system but it’s too much for daily stuff.  Also – I NEED to get my kids helping more. They’ve gotten a little better but I think they can help a lot more than they do.

Money

I am going to step up my coupon game!  I also want to pay some things off – couponing and smart shopping will help with that, too.

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I know we all go into the new year with grand plans, but I really do love a fresh calendar .  I think the simple act of stating my intentions can help me use the new year as a good time to stop some bad habits and replace them with good ones.

 

That is, how I got rid of cable for once and for all.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for ages and finally got up the nerve. I don’t know why I waited so long, the company I’ve been using has awful customer service!

I got fiber optic internet, which is $30 cheaper and 10-20x faster. No kidding.  As soon as it was installed, I called and cancelled my cable TV/internet plan.

Mom gave me a Roku for my birthday – it streams Netflix and Amazon (like the Wii) but offers tons more cool stuff as well.  It’s a tiny device and connects with an optional HDMI cable for high-def.  I haven’t even been able to play with it yet, because my children are obsessed  with it.

Then I got an $8 antenna.  Yes, antenna, just like the old days.  You can get cool, flat ones that you paint to blend in with your decor, but my research indicated that the cheaper option would work as well as the fancy ones in my case. I have no shame, it’s on my window sill for all the world to see! This gives me my network shows at no additional cost.  You plug it in to the same connector that the cable TV uses. After I set it up I scanned and found 24 digital channels. The picture is better with the antenna than it was with my old cable box.

I’m so glad I did this!!! My total monthly expense is now $58 for fiber optic + $9 for netflix. I don’t count the Amazon Prime because I would have that no matter what.