I decided not to watch any TV this week, starting yesterday. It’s not hard — we have a Tivo with two cable cards so anything I really like will be recorded and saved for some afternoon when I can watch it commercial-free. So I’m not swearing off TV altogether (blasphemy), I’m just choosing when to spend time watching it.

This came about because I realized that I have gotten into this habit of coming home all tired and pregnant and laying on the couch watching TV, having dinner, and feeling like a typical American sloth. Yes pregnancy is exhausting but I think giving in to it all the time doesn’t make things any better. I also noticed I’ve been making these little to-do lists for the evening and then abandoning them entirely.

Another list I made on my way home Tuesday was of the TV shows that I have “season passed”, meaning set up Tivo to record all new episodes. There are only about eight, including The Office, 30 Rock, The Amazing Race, CBS Sunday Morning, Flight of the Conchords, and The Soup.

Brian is joining me on this endeavor, and he has some stuff on Tivo that he likes, too.

There is also the matter of the baby, who will not be allowed to watch television for the first two years of life. So we’ll need to structure our habits around that too, and I don’t want it to feel “difficult.”

So tonight I am listening to music, doing a manicure, washing my makeup brushes, vacuuming, taking a nice long shower, and whatever else I feel like that isn’t TV. We did this last night too and it was very relaxing plus I got my grow lights set up so I can start my vegetable seeds on Friday. Yay!

Oh and there is of course one big exemption: I shall be watching baseball games live. Sports on Tivo just doesn’t work for some reason. Then again, I enjoy baseball on the radio too, so there’s that, and I can even listen to my beloved Giants on internet radio this season, so maybe I’ll go that route from time to time. You’re welcome.

It was snowing when we got up this morning. Big fat wet flakes that piled high quickly. I knew it wouldn’t last, and sure enough it’s almost all gone now. The one upside of it all was Kona getting a chance to run around in it outside. She loves the snow.

It was a fairly lazy day overall. The weather was schizo, from snow to sunshine, to rain and high wind gusts. Brian is out for a run right now with the dog, I am about to make spaghetti dinner.

One accomplishment today was ordering a new couch for the family room. Right now, we have my old Crate and Barrel sectional, which worked great in our SF apartment, fitting right into a corner, but in our house, I must admit it has never worked well in the space, just kind of jutting out into the center of the room. It’s about five years old now and ready to be donated after being sat upon, slept upon, etc every single day since 2004.

So we went to La-Z-Boy, knowing they were having a ridick sale, like everywhere else. We ordered a 3-cushion model in the same style as the chair and loveseat we have in the front room, in the same chocolate brown fabric as the chair. But here is the kicker. They have had a price *reduction* since we ordered our furniture one year ago.

The loveseat last year, same style, was around $900. Granted, it’s a fabulous piece, made in America, etc. The chair was $649. I love em both. Here we are a year later and the exact same style, in the 3-cushion couch, same fabric, is $699. Aw yeah. So we went for it and will get it delivered in six weeks or so. Now we just need to find a great charity that will pick up our old sofa and give us a tax-deductible receipt for it.

I don’t feel inspired to eat anything at all, and all I really want to do is lay on the couch and sleep/watch baseball. My body just feels depleted. Last night I fell asleep on the couch at 8, woke up at 8:30 and had a couple pieces of toast and some grapes, and went to bed exhausted at ten.

I hate wasting a saturday like this. Normally I’d be cleaning the house and making a nice lunch or planning dinner, going outside to walk Kona, etc. But this first trimester thing is wiping me out.

Last night I dreamed about gardening, but I don’t remember details. I got up at 2am to pee and when I got back in bed, I felt so sick I thought maybe this is it, maybe I’m finally going to barf… but it passed.

The sky is clear and blue today, but it’s cold, so I bundled into my warm wool overcoat and wool/silk shawl. I’m also wearing a dress today, which has become so comfortable. I am really looking forward to warmer weather and choosing dresses over pants as I start to round out a bit.

While waiting to board the ferry, I was looking out the window toward the island and a huge bald eagle swooped past, fairly close to the terminal, close enough that I could clearly see its brown body and white head and stern gaze.

I think I need to go get some lunch. I don’t know what I want… some kind of salad and protein if I can manage it. Really have to consciously make the effort to eat vegetables and fruit. Last night’s dinner was a big fruit salad with plain yogurt, and then some tater tots of course.

I read about this a long time ago (the article is five years old) and it always made a lot of sense to me:

African women reject concept of baby strollers

We plan to avoid using a stroller as much as possible. It does seem quite remote, like sticking your baby in a cage and pushing him away from you.

I have also seen, very recently in fact, mothers pushing four- and five-year-old kids around in strollers. What the fuck. What a great way to instill sedentary habits into a person.

Carrying the baby means more physical activity for the parent (weightlifting!) and more bonding time. And encouraging the toddler to walk whenever possible seems pretty important for promoting exercise, independence, and curiosity.

Brian still wants to get a jogger though, because he likes to run. Now that might be a fun activity.