No Electricity....Sort Of

Sunday was no electricity day at our house!  I thought it would be a good experience to help us appreciate something we take for granted a hundred times a day.  We didn't go crazy and turn off the a/c (I did turn it up 2 degrees) or unplug the fridge but we kept the lights off, no dishwasher, no washing machine, no TV, no computers, etc.
I thought we would get more natural light in the kitchen so cooking (on our gas stove that I know uses some electricity) was difficult and my sweet husband washed all the dishes by hand.  This is why we went to dinner at Chuys :)  We sat outside to take advantage of the natural light and enjoyed someone else cooking and doing dishes for us.  The kids were a little bent out of shape in the morning when we didn't turn on the lights but candles made everything OK.  We went swimming and played in the backyard so they wouldn't miss their TV shows. 

For me it was a huge awakening as to how much time I spend checking e-mail, stalking Facebook, drooling at recipes on Pinterest, etc.  It was a little disturbing as to how many times during the day I had the urge to hop on the computer.  So I've decided that I am going to keep my computer off unless I am working on something specific and only allow myself a designated block of time each day to check e-mail, read blogs, facebook, etc. This will save electricity as well as wasted time :)
In the evenings I usually piddle on the computer and read while my husband plays his video games.  Last night we got to enjoy each others company and we were in bed by 9:00.  We plan to spend more time disconnected in the evenings.