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We canceled Netflix a while back. We hadn't been using it that much, and then they did their price hike, and we decided it was time to cancel. I'm only adding in this part of the story because there were some people, at the time, who were all, "what's the big deal? So they raised their prices! It's still such a value!" And sure, it is. The problem with what Netflix did? Is that they came out and said, "Hi, today we're going to charge you TWICE what we charged you yesterday for the same service." and then they expected that no one would be UPSET by this. THEN, when so many people were angry and cancel-y, there was this email apology but you could tell that they were actually rather baffled as to why people were actually upset with them. It was just so badly handled, in my opinion. Still, that wasn't really the reason that we canceled, though it was at the same time. A couple of weeks ago, we turned it back on because... well, because they have Phineas & Ferb, all episodes, and that's an integral part of the bedtime ritual between M and E, and we thought it'd be fun to watch them all in order and the DVR has this wonky way of listing them. Anyway. M and I actually don't watch much television, most of the time, and Evie doesn't either. She used to watch way too much television, but she's replaced that with computer games, which is a whole separate issue. Anyway, we have Netflix on the TV now and out of the blue one day last week, we decided to cancel the satellite service because we realized that we were paying $75 per month and hardly watching it.
After we got home, I did a little research and realized that we have seven months left on our contract, and if we cancel, we'd pay $17.50 per month. $122 would still pay for itself within two months, though. Anyway, I called tonight and talked to the lady, and asked about a tiny "welcome package" that I saw as a footnote on their website for $14.99, and... now we have 40 channels for the next seven months (or longer..) and it costs less than we'd have paid for breaking our contract. But by far the best part is that I have that warm glow that comes from actually doing something kind of big* from my to-do list, and doing it well. The concept of paying $122 for nothing is much worse than paying $105 for television. Though, actually, I kept DVR so it's really a little more than the cancellation fee would have been, but not much. :) NickJR is the only thing I think we'll miss, but the DVR is full of E's favorite stuff from that channel already.
*Calling in itself does not qualify as big, but deciding doing the supporting research, made it a big project in my head and therefore, one of those things that I customarily procrastinate on.
It seems rather unbelievable that Christmas is just a week away. Maybe it's because my tree has been up since September, but it sort of feels like Christmas should still be years away. Speaking of the tree, though, we are the most awesome parents ever. We did the whole red-and-green thing for our October Christmas with M's parents. After it was over, I decided that I'd be taking all of the decorations off the tree because I didn't want to look at it for three more months, or ruin the excitement of actual Christmas. I considered a fall-themed tree, but it turned out that I didn't have enough fall decorations to make it work. So... I turned it into a pink princess tree. If I'd finished it, I think it'd have been pinterest cute. I just didn't really have enough pink or purple decorations, even with the big box that we got to supplement. I had been planning for Evie to help me make ornaments for it, but she's not really much of a crafting buddy like she used to be. Lately, we end up mad at each other when we try. I'm hoping she grows out of this particular phase soon because we used to have a lot of fun with it. Anyway, when it came time to put the red-and-green back on the tree, we decided to just keep the pink instead. It's cute, and how many four-year-olds get two Christmases in one year PLUS a pretty pink princess tree for the real one? With luck, it'll be a good memory for her.
I also caved to peer pressure--or really, peer inspiration--and bought an Elf on the Shelf. I turned her into a girl by sewing her a little felt skirt, adding stick-on foam glittery red earrings and painting her lips a bit pinker. E is pretty anti-boy. much as we have tried to convince her that boys are people too, she just doesn't buy it. Evie named her Lily, and I waited eagerly to see her blossoming excitement each morning. Yeah. Not... really. She likes the elf, and she does smile and look pleased when she sees where it's hiding every day. But, it also annoys her because, as she says, it's not a REAL elf. It's made of PLASTIC, Mom. Not REAL. She was getting upset enough that I finally had to sit down with her and explain the whole thing about the magic of Christmas and pretending that something is real, and that's dangerous territory for someone who wants to keep Santa alive for at least ten more years. Okay, maybe not ten but she's too young to be questioning how REAL something Christmas-related is. I kind of wish I hadn't bought it because she doesn't enjoy it as much as I thought she would. I was picturing that whole eyes-alight-with-the-magic-and-wonder-of-the-Christmas-season thing. Instead, I am getting that teenager look, and believe me, I am more than willing to leave that look in the future where it belongs.
This post was supposed to have a picture of Lily but I accidentally did other things, like watching Desperate Housewives and playing Castleville, and forgot about returning to this post, and now it is way past my bedtime. Again. Attempt two at a shopping trip tomorrow, which may be interesting with my bum ankle, but such is life. Poor M has nearly nothing under the tree so I must go procure some gifts at some point. :)
After we got home, I did a little research and realized that we have seven months left on our contract, and if we cancel, we'd pay $17.50 per month. $122 would still pay for itself within two months, though. Anyway, I called tonight and talked to the lady, and asked about a tiny "welcome package" that I saw as a footnote on their website for $14.99, and... now we have 40 channels for the next seven months (or longer..) and it costs less than we'd have paid for breaking our contract. But by far the best part is that I have that warm glow that comes from actually doing something kind of big* from my to-do list, and doing it well. The concept of paying $122 for nothing is much worse than paying $105 for television. Though, actually, I kept DVR so it's really a little more than the cancellation fee would have been, but not much. :) NickJR is the only thing I think we'll miss, but the DVR is full of E's favorite stuff from that channel already.
*Calling in itself does not qualify as big, but deciding doing the supporting research, made it a big project in my head and therefore, one of those things that I customarily procrastinate on.
It seems rather unbelievable that Christmas is just a week away. Maybe it's because my tree has been up since September, but it sort of feels like Christmas should still be years away. Speaking of the tree, though, we are the most awesome parents ever. We did the whole red-and-green thing for our October Christmas with M's parents. After it was over, I decided that I'd be taking all of the decorations off the tree because I didn't want to look at it for three more months, or ruin the excitement of actual Christmas. I considered a fall-themed tree, but it turned out that I didn't have enough fall decorations to make it work. So... I turned it into a pink princess tree. If I'd finished it, I think it'd have been pinterest cute. I just didn't really have enough pink or purple decorations, even with the big box that we got to supplement. I had been planning for Evie to help me make ornaments for it, but she's not really much of a crafting buddy like she used to be. Lately, we end up mad at each other when we try. I'm hoping she grows out of this particular phase soon because we used to have a lot of fun with it. Anyway, when it came time to put the red-and-green back on the tree, we decided to just keep the pink instead. It's cute, and how many four-year-olds get two Christmases in one year PLUS a pretty pink princess tree for the real one? With luck, it'll be a good memory for her.
I also caved to peer pressure--or really, peer inspiration--and bought an Elf on the Shelf. I turned her into a girl by sewing her a little felt skirt, adding stick-on foam glittery red earrings and painting her lips a bit pinker. E is pretty anti-boy. much as we have tried to convince her that boys are people too, she just doesn't buy it. Evie named her Lily, and I waited eagerly to see her blossoming excitement each morning. Yeah. Not... really. She likes the elf, and she does smile and look pleased when she sees where it's hiding every day. But, it also annoys her because, as she says, it's not a REAL elf. It's made of PLASTIC, Mom. Not REAL. She was getting upset enough that I finally had to sit down with her and explain the whole thing about the magic of Christmas and pretending that something is real, and that's dangerous territory for someone who wants to keep Santa alive for at least ten more years. Okay, maybe not ten but she's too young to be questioning how REAL something Christmas-related is. I kind of wish I hadn't bought it because she doesn't enjoy it as much as I thought she would. I was picturing that whole eyes-alight-with-the-magic-and-wonder-of-the-Christmas-season thing. Instead, I am getting that teenager look, and believe me, I am more than willing to leave that look in the future where it belongs.
This post was supposed to have a picture of Lily but I accidentally did other things, like watching Desperate Housewives and playing Castleville, and forgot about returning to this post, and now it is way past my bedtime. Again. Attempt two at a shopping trip tomorrow, which may be interesting with my bum ankle, but such is life. Poor M has nearly nothing under the tree so I must go procure some gifts at some point. :)
