Rules, TV, and Comfort Zones (Friday Fragments)

• New rules are hard to follow since old habits are hard to break. Today, I broke no less than five rules, but I did manage to stick to four of them, including allowing myself time to do what makes me happy (hello, blog!) and forcing myself out of the house tonight. Baby steps, I guess.
• My friend Sarabeth and I revamped (no pun intended - well, maybe a little) our True Blood Challenge blog. If you love True Blood, come check us out! We host monthly craft challenges that are True Blood themed, but we also post recaps and spoilers, as well as have giveaways, so there's something for everyone.

• Speaking of my fangtastic (wow, that was bad) fictional friends, I'm of course excited about the True Blood premiere on Sunday, but thanks to an amazingly sweet cable operator, I can now also look forward to the premiere of Weeds the following night. That show makes me laugh and cry like few others (don't pretend like the Silas-Nancy drama doesn't make you tear up, too). Since we've never allowed ourselves to splurge on Showtime, Hubby and I usually have to wait for the DVDs, but with our surprise service bonus, we are able to enjoy in real time, and we also got to watch the latest season of Dexter on demand (there's definitely something to be said for not having to wait a week between episodes). I know that TV shouldn't be the thing to make me this happy, yet it does. Part of it is because of the escape and entertainment that the shows provide; the other part of it is the fun I have watching with Hubby and talking about it the next day with my friends. TV is very much a social thing for me. Thanks to texting, I was able to watch every episode of LOST "with" my two girlfriends who live elsewhere. 

Granted, we didn't have the most insightful conversations.

• A situation came up yesterday that got Hubby and I talking about comfort zones. I did a lot of yapping about "sucking it up and doing it" when forced outside my comfort zone. Upon further reflection, though, I realized that I willingly go outside my comfort zone only when forced to do so. There are many things I'd like to do and try, but "I don't feel comfortable going because I don't know anyone" or "I don't do X well enough to be comfortable trying Y" comes out of my mouth more often than not, preventing me from experiencing what could be wonderful things. And what's the worst that could happen? It'd be terrible, and I'd never do it again, right? So add to the rules (as if I needed to add one more thing) "go outside your comfort zone more." From trying new things in the kitchen, like Amy, to taking a class I'm afraid would make me look like an idiot (Zumba, I'm looking at you!), to going to a club or organizational meeting where I know no one, I want to willingly go out of my comfort zone a few times a year. I think about all the things I've done in the past that were out of my comfort zone that ended well, and I know there are more experiences like that out there.
• In keeping with my new rule to do what works for me in terms of being more productive, I'm reinstating Set It Sunday starting this coming week. Making myself accountable in such a public way really pushed me toward accomplishing my goals. That's not to say I don't have internal motivation, but the extra shove is nice. If you have a goal - big or small - that you'd like to accomplish this week, come back by on Sunday and join me.

Whether your weekend includes goals, TV, going outside your comfort zone, or not, I hope you have a great one!