Techless Tuesdays!

*Shoutout to my bff Stef for encouraging me to post this!

Hello, our names are Stephanie and Ryan and we are addicted to technology.  Yes friends, its true.  There have been too many evenings in which Netflix is on, Ry is on the computer, I am on the iPad (and probably texting too).  So many screens!

We've known for a while that we need to do something to break the habit.  "We need a day to unplug!  Ok, no devices after 7pm every night!"  Both good intentions, but the unplug "day" was never set, and and expecting a nightly tech-ban right off the bat is unrealistic.

We decided to set a more manageable goal.  One day a week.

...and Techless Tuesday was born.

It's been two weeks and I have to say I am already looking forward to Tuesdays every week!  Our first TT started off well.  We took out Bananagrams and Scattergories and played a bit.  Then we both decided that we needed to book a flight from Milos to Athens immediately for our upcoming Greek vacation.  We spent the rest of the night on the computer.  But - it was a start, and at least we were doing something purposeful on the technology together and not just perusing social media.

The second TT went much better.  I planned ahead a little and decided that we would go through all of our scrapbooks and photo albums since we started dating.  It took a while, and it was really fun to reminisce about all the places we've been and things we've done.  We can say for certain after going through all the pictures that we were both cursed with a second adolescence circa 2008 and it wasn't pretty.

Thank God photo books are the new scrapbooks - I had no skills.

I swung by the dollar store this week and picked up a few TT items for the future.  I grabbed a 500 piece puzzle, 2 kites, and a big bottle of bubbles and a bubble ring to play with.  It is supposed to be nice next week and we are getting a lot of daylight now.  We can go to a nearby park and reconnect with our inner children.  I only spent about 5 bucks and won't be too disappointed when the kites break immediately.  I might also look up a DIY bubble recipe.

Bubble wand and 2 for $1 kites!

I'm excited to make this a staple in our schedules. Although, starting in July Ryan works late on Tuesdays so this may morph in to Techless Thursday.  Doing this one evening a week is way more manageable and realistic for us.  I've been enjoying it so much so far that it will hopeful speed to other days of the week.

Some ideas for future TTs:

• Print some origami instructions and try them out
• dedicate the time to a complicated dessert
• clean (this might not be much fun, but at least it counts and its productive!)
• sit outside with drinks (its getting warmer and its really nice to sit on our apartment balcony with tea or wine and talk.  Something about being outside makes it more relaxed and less tempting to grab your phone)
• go for a walk
• billiards (our apartment clubhouse has a pool table)
• Wii Just Dance (ok I know this is obviously tech, but its active and fun to do together versus sitting on your but playing CandyCrush.
• Writing letters or cards to: wounded soldiers, a children's hospital, nursing home, etc

Lots of cards just waiting to be written

• carve a pumpkin, decorate a tree, color eggs
• learn a new card game
• register for a low-cost community/adult education class (we took Swedish Flat-plane Wood Carving one night a week for 6 weeks a few months back)
• detail your cars (break out the q-tips for the tight spaces)
• volunteer 

Other ideas welcome!  Thanks for reading!