Look, I tried to like Vampire Diaries but I think it's just kind of dumb and I can't watch it any more

I do this thing where I go in phases of extreme productivity where I get All The Things Done followed by weeks-long stretches where I spend my evenings watching questionable television about teenage vampires, with an iPad on my lap, and a slice of chocolate cake at my side, getting absolutely nothing of importance done.

(I am currently in about week 4 of a vampire/chocolate cake phase.)

My friend Courtney used to ask me, "What are you doing tonight?" and she would ask me this on like, a Monday, which is traditionally a non-drinking day for single people in their early twenties, so my usual response would be, "Um, I don't know?" Courtney always had some kind of plan for her after-work hours. Paint her nails, organize a cabinet, research something, make a curtain, watch a specific movie, make something new for dinner, go to bed early, etc.

She planned out her off time in advance and I started doing the same thing and it was kind of fun and nice to have A Thing to look forward to in my evenings rather than getting home and just laying on the sofa for three hours. (I totally sat on the sofa for hours at a time anyway [and still do!], but now it was The Thing and I looked forward to it all day, which somehow made it BETTER.) Sometimes, The Thing even required a trip to Target for craft supplies or nail polish or whatever and that was also kind of fun.

I picked up on this habit of hers and I've been silently planning my evening hours for about ten years. I like to stew about what I'm going to do that evening and consider my options all morning (or even days before) and when I decide (even if I decide on vampires and chocolate cake) it's like this delightful little carrot waiting for me at about 8 PM.

"If I can get through this meeting/commute/pile of dishes/whiney child, I can do XYZ!"

Sometimes, The Thing is ambitious like "Sew Kitchen Curtains" and sometimes it's "Open A Bottle Of Wine As Soon As The Children Go To Bed." But the point is there's always SOMETHING (productive or not) to look forward to and that's the part I like.

Anyway, I go through phases with my selections. These days I'm watching Vampire Diaries but I read ahead on Wikipedia and now I feel bored and like it's not moving fast enough and there's too much pesky character development. I think my new project is going to be a huge, giant, toy purge. I can only do it in the evenings so the children can't see me donating/throwing away their toys, but we have seriously reached Maximum Capacity with toys. There are four plastic bins in Claire's room because there is simply no place else to put them. Charlotte has also outgrown a lot of baby toys and there are even more toys with missing or broken parts, plus lots of toys nobody plays with that need to move along to their next home.

(This is making me think of Toy Story and how sad the toys must be because I'm going to pitch them. Surely THEY KNOW, right? They have to know. Too bad, toys!)

Anyway, I was wondering what YOU all do after everyone is home from work and dinner has been eaten and children are in bed, pets fed, cows milked, etc. and you have some time of your own. I am about to abandon Vampire Diaries and the toy purge can't take me more than two days, and then I'll need some new, exciting ideas, and I would very much like to just copy you. And, does anyone else do this "wheeeee, it's finally MY time" thing? I realize it might read a little OCD, but I do keep the whole thing loose and easy and I'm not militant about it AT ALL. I just like to look forward to things!

Comments

[Carrisa]

I started the Vampire Diaries earlier this year on Netflix and then caught up with season 3 while it was airing via hulu and reruns. Season 3 nearly killed me and I was all about to give up and then the finale happened. So I guess I'll have to play it by ear. But the only reason I've even hung on this long is because of the eye candy. Not because of Nina Dobrev that's for sure.

I watch too much tv. My only saving grace is that I don't watch reality tv. That's a saving grace right?

I don't really have any good for you suggestions. Big Brother starts back up next month.

[Elizabeth]

I was reading this and nodding along and realizing that I do do this, except...the thing I am looking forward to and planning on doing is always always always a book. It used to be some times cooking something desserty or going for a run or taking a bath or watching like, Sex In the City, but now it's always just a book. I think this means that I am old and tired.

[Arina]

Yes! I do this! And the days I do this are actually much bettter days for all of us, because I'm not dawdling through the worst part of the day. (please tell me from about 5:00 on is the worst part of the day.) The whining, the inability to deal with anything, the dinner scramble, etc is so much harder when I don't have something for me to look forward to!

[Morgan]

There is no evening adult time here. I dream of someday watching my own tv shows. We get home from our commutes and daycare at 6. Eat dinner. Children monopolize tv. Bath time for children. Bedtime for children. AT 9:30 PM. (still nap at school) I get maybe 10 minutes of read g a book before I am drooling in my pillow at 10:15 pm. Someday I fully expect to assign any and all homework time to my husband and I will get to do projects in the evening. Even if my "project" is Glee or Downton Abbey.

[Megan]

Hmmm. I go through phases. Either reading or maybe a scrapbooking/sewing/cooking/crafty thing. My husband and I have a stay at home date night on Fridays where we watch (on Netflix) some show we missed the first time around or shows we've DVR'd while enjoying cocktails. This means the TV is mostly left off during the week (except for sports...some sort of basketball today? :). I enjoy my evenings during the week a lot more if I leave the TV off. It took me a long time to figure this out.

[Laura Diniwilk]

Ooh, please post about the toy purge, as I need to do that here too. I keep telling people not to buy anything for Lucia because they already bought all the toys for Adriana, but no one will listen to me.

L is 10 months old and I feel like I am STILL catching up on sleep in all of my spare time. Perhaps I need to start planning things in the evenings so I'm not commenting on blogs at 3 am because I went to bed at 8?

[HereWeGoAJen]

We don't do much in the evenings. Elizabeth gets taken up to bed between 7:15-7:45 and sometimes I still have to clean up the kitchen after that. Matt gets up crazy early in the morning and is always exhausted at night, so he starts going upstairs around eight most nights. I feel bad if I don't go too, so I go up and get ready for bed. We watch about an hour's worth of DVRed TV together (this is my favorite part of the night because it is just so nice to be in bed together, all comfortable, and watch something we both enjoy) and then start going to sleep by about 9:30. Matt gets up about 5-5:30 and I sleep until 7:02 when Elizabeth wakes up as if she had an alarm clock. And that is how I am not tired, even though pregnancy keeps me awake for hours in the middle of the night, because I am still in bed for ten plus hours every night.

[Jess]

Now that my husband has a computer game he likes to Play in the evenings I knit and watch either bad cable TV or Friends reruns. It's glorious.

[Hillary]

It's baseball season, so nearly every night, I am reading or futzing on my phone while my husband watches baseball. The rest of the year, we might watch TV (ie Netflix, internet TV) together or I do freelance work or read or ...
well, that's about it. Like Elizabeth, my plan usually involves a book.

[Lucy]

Is it bad that my thing to look forward to most nights is ice cream and house hunters? I should do something else, but usually I'm holding the (hopefully asleep) baby, so not much else can really get done. But I so look forward to it.

[Home Sweet Sarah]

You know, I don't do this (usually), but I think it's a great idea.

Since I usually go to bed by 9pm (I am an old lady), I typically only have an hour of me time and it's usually spent painting my nails or reading a book.

YAWN.

Tonight, though, I am going to force myself to make enchiladas and banana bread, as well as do laundry, so I suppose I have that to look forward to. Hah.

[elz]

I took me a couple episodes to get into "The Vampire Diaries." Now, I LOVE it. Like obsessed.

Yes, I pretty much schedule my nights. I have to. It's the only way anything gets done!

[Elsha]

I totally look forward to some me time in the evenings. Sometimes I work on projects, sometimes I play around online, but I do think about it during the day, and I know what I'll be doing once the kids are in bed.

[Jesabes]

This is a really good idea. I hope I remember to do it! (I read this post last week on my iPad and saved it to come back and comment that I was going to do this...then promptly forgot.)