TV Intervention and Chicken Salad

This past weekend, we finally switched from cable to satellite. I mean, honestly, our cable bill was getting a little ridiculous. I know, boring….but it occurred to me that while I like to get out there and do activities like hiking and hanging out at the beach with my pups on the weekend, during the week, I go to work, go to yoga or the gym, after a few chores and fixin’ supper, this one here, she likes a nice reclined pose in front of the TV.

Sometimes in yoga class, the instructor will tell us all to get into a “creative expression of the heart,” meaning make some sh*t up and I have that awkward moment where I am like what do I do and I end up literally in the fetal position “child’s pose.” You know what, next time that happens, I have mind to lay on my side, one arm creating a perfect 90 degree angle, hand holding up head, the other arm extended out in front of me at just the right angle to inevitably shoot a radio signal over my dog who is standing directly in front of my cable box, staring at me expectantly with toy in mouth, so that for that brief moment I feel a slight tinge of guilt. I will call it couch potato pose….

Anyway, even though I don’t like to admit that my husband and I enjoy “rotting our brains” with tv as much as we do, it seemed really important that I write down the list of series recordings that we have on our DVR so that I could make sure to immediately program them in on our new system, because heaven forbid we miss one episode. And that is when it occurred to me that maybe we have a problem, like possibly needing a 12 step program kind of problem.

I had never really looked at the list before and was pretty astonished when I saw that we had 59 programs that we watch regularly, 59! That’s not 59 movies or one time events, this is regularly occurring tv shows, representing hours and hours of our lives. I looked at the list, most of which involved reality television, which we both admit is our guilty pleasure, only a handful of scripted dramas, and a handful of daytime talk shows. It’s embarrassing, but I know the only way to fix a problem is to first admit that there is one.

I realize that I must dwindle this list down, because at the end of my life I don’t want to say I filled it watching other people live their lives. I can actually remember a time that my husband and I didn’t have cable, we couldn’t afford it, so we had rabbit ears that for whatever reason only received signal late at night around 9 pm or so. We would lay on pillows in the floor and watch pbs because that was the only station that would pick up. Once a month we would go to his parents house for a visit and end up in their den gorging ourselves on tv for an entire afternoon, but we always left saying the same thing, that we were shocked at how little new tv programming was being played. In those days, we got a lot done and we entertained ourselves by being fully engaged with each other. Television was a treat, not a way of life.

I say all of this as my satellite TV guy is installing a brand new system with upgraded channel selections giving us so many more programming options. I can hear my husband in the other room making small talk with the installer. He is excited that it is better, meaning more variety, more options, and cheaper, meaning less money. Both things I would be excited about, had I not stared the reality of 59 series recordings in the face this morning, but I wonder is it really better for us to have more TV options and in the long run, what is more valuable? Wish me luck as I attempt to navigate these waters and find a happy medium in the face of all this new-ness.

Anyway, getting completely off the subject, I wanted to share our chicken salad recipe (see I do other things than watch TV). Perfect for parking your butt in for a nice afternoon of reruns and marathons (D’oh!)

Are there any other TVholics out there? What is your favorite can’t miss TV shows? Do you have any favorite screen time snacks?

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad Sandwich topped with Arugula

1 Rotisserie Chicken, meat pulled from bone and chopped into ¼ inch pieces

1 stalk celery, minced

1 small onion, minced

1 tsp cayenne

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup Miracle Whip

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate immediately.