Category Archives: TV

Things I’m Loving: Summer Edition

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Man I start a lot of drafts of posts that I never finish. Posts about how I made Indian food. Or my garden. Or how Facebook seems to think I would like the Grateful Dead. I guess Facebook doesn’t really know me at all. Or how I really love True Blood.

Have you guys seen True Blood? I mean you should totally watch it. The vampires. And the nakedness. Oh it makes me feel uncomfortable. But I can’t look away.

Anyway, I’m just here to write a post I can finish.

Don’t you just love summer? I love it. So, without further ado, the things I’m loving this summer.

  • True Blood. Obv   – as I mentioned above. It makes my Sunday blues not quite so bad. (Sorry guys).

  • Pinkberry. Because yum. I like it with shredded coconut and strawberries.
  • Homemade pesto. I grew basil and I ate it. And it was delicious. So so proud of myself. I can cook. I am woman, hear me roar.
  • Inception. Have you seen this movie? You should. I loved it. And not just because of Leo, although of course I love him. It made me think. And that feels nice sometimes.
  • Operation Beautiful.
  • Sitting on my front porch.
  • This shower curtain. But I’m not five so I won’t buy it. I still love it though.

Olympic Mania

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Man February is crazy. Crazy awesome though! Olympics anyone? Can I get a what what?

Okay I know some of you are bored by the Winter Olympics. And I’ll admit, curling is a little dull. And I’m not a huge fan of shooting things. But. BUT.

Have you seen this man?

I mean honestly, how can you not love that? So NOT boring.

And tonight, Shaun White, who needs a damn haircut but he is still AMAZE-balls. Can’t wait to see him pull the new trick.

shaun-white

No, I’m not rotating that picture. Because that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Anyway, I mostly love the Olympics is what I’m saying. I have a LOT of pet peeves about how NBC is handling the coverage, but mostly I’m just enjoying watching. We were in Singapore for the Beijing Olympics and it was a very different experience. We did get to see quite a bit of coverage, but oftentimes the focus was on sports that Asia is more interested in, like Table Tennis. Rightly so of course, but I missed hearing more about the other sports.  And the one thing I really missed was the little six-minute back stories on the athletes. We did not have those at all in Singapore, of course because they don’t have the time or the resources to do what a major network like NBC does in terms of coverage.  I recently saw someone (sorry, can’t remember who now) say on Twitter that they couldn’t believe how much they could care about somebody after just a few minutes. I completely agree. Personalizing each story is what makes you want to root for someone, don’t you think?

Oh and Canada? BC? Your advertising is totally working. I’d go to Vancouver tomorrow if I could. And I’m totally on board with those mittens.

red-mittens

Fall TV Yipee

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So, not sure if you noticed, but over the summer, TV has been ALL reruns. I’m not a total TV junkie or anything, but I’m not going to lie, I am really looking forward to some refreshing new mind-numbing entertainment. Even daytime TV is ALL NEW! although I try to avoid watching that whenever possible. Except Oprah sometimes. And Ellen. And sometimes the View. Oh and daytime Food Network. But that is it! I swear.

This year I think I’m doubly excited because last fall we were in Singapore, meaning reruns of the Ghost Whisperer were about the closest I got to must-see TV. That’s not true actually, but most of the shows were old seasons of American TV, and even then it was only what was deemed fit by the censors that made it through. The Amazing Race was broadcast via satellite, so John and I looked forward to that every week, but aside from that my TV watching was pretty limited. I was a little obsessed with Gossip Girl, so I watched bits and pieces of that on YouTube. (aside – Did you know that you can’t access shows on network Web sites if you aren’t in the US? I almost broke down in tears the day I tried to watch the season finale of The Bachelor and found I couldn’t).

Anyway since we’ve been back in the States I’ve watched tons of reruns and the like, but now that fall is in the air and the season premiers are mere days away, I find myself getting excited.

But here’s the problem: John has decided he only wants to watch three hours of TV a week. I think this is totally commendable and I’m thrilled he’s choosing to use his time more effectively, but I will not be participating in this little experiment.

Oh no. I have shows I want to watch. And by “watch” I mean “tune in regularly.” We’re currently watching True Blood and Entourage on HBO as well as Top Chef and maybe Project Runway. Those seasons will end soon though. Fall shows I will definitely (unless they become totally unbearable, at which point I reserve the right to veto) watch include:

House, The Biggest Loser, 30 Rock, The Office, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy. That’s not so bad right? Only about five hours all told.

BUT then comes the shows I may be interested and would like to check out:

Glee, Community, Private Practice, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Modern Family, CougarTown, Melrose Place (I know, stop it) and all the random CSI’s and Law and Orders just because I like cop shows.

Holy crap that is a lot of TV. Most of this will go on the DVR, but I’m sure quite a few of these shows will be watched in real time. I will pare down and figure out what I like and what makes me laugh/keeps me riveted but for now, I’m just pumped. I can already feel my eyes rolling back in my head. Oh dear.

One Car Family

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As a one-income family, we’ve done a number of things to cut back and try to spend a little less. As of yesterday, one of those things was becoming a one-car family. It’s something we’ve been talking about for a while; selling the nicer car and maybe replacing it with something four-wheel drive, something mountain-friendly that we can beat up and “haul wood in.” Apparently John sees a lot of wood hauling in our future.

Anyway, the plan was, sell the car, put some of the money back into a cheaper vehicle, and then save the rest. But, after selling the car this week, we’ve decided to maybe hold off on purchasing that new vehicle and see how we fare as a one-car family. John works from home often, and, in my current jobless state I’m pretty flexible when it comes to my driving activities, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem right?

And in theory, it should save us money, not only on gas, but on insurance, maintenance and the like. It’s better for the planet, and hopefully it will be better for the size of our butts, because we’ll be forced to ride our bikes when the other person has the car.

Today is my second full day at home without access to a car though, and I have to say it is not going exactly the way I planned. I did get up and ride my bike to the gym and even stopped off at the grocery store for a few items we needed, but pretty much ever since then, aside from a quick walk with the dog, my butt has been planted firmly on the couch. That’s mostly okay though, because one of the hardest things about being jobless is the tendency to want to go out and DO something. SEE people.

And inevitably, DOING things and SEEING people involves spending money, whether it’s on coffee or lunch or a trip to the mall, and that is sort of missing the point, so I guess sitting at home on my butt is okay for a little while. I think it’s mostly just the psychological issue that I’m dealing with – it’s feeling trapped in my house without any way out. My bike is nice, but it doesn’t allow me that feeling of freedom that getting in the car and just driving does. The radio blasting and the wind in my hair and the feel of the open road and all that.

So will it be worth it, or is this just another sacrifice I have to make as a rank and file member of the unemployed? I am dedicated to giving it my best shot, and if that means I have to sit here and watch Top Chef all day, I think I’m okay with that.