Podcasts - Fake Doctors Real Friends

We started a Scrubs rewatch and listening along to the podcast, Rake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach + Donald.  It's been so nice rewatching and listening to some behind-the-scenes.  It is one of our favorite shows and good comfort viewing.  If you are a fan of the show, I highly recommend rewatching and listening along.  

Sexy Friday

It's been a long time, but I've been glomming all things The Good Place today after last night's series finale.  So, today's Sexy Friday is Manny Jacinto who is just adorable, and he makes Jason so lovable on the show even though I'm sure someone like Jason would be totally annoying in real life.  He's just wide-eyed on the show.  

The Good Place

I knew I would cry, and I did - early and often.  At what point, Husband just turned his head and I shielded myself yelling, "There's nothing to see here!"  I really liked this show.  I didn't fall quickly, but I liked it.  It was like a slow burn.  Then, I'd look back at the seasons and marvel at it.  I wasn't sure how this fourth season was going to go, and it took me some time to get into the rhythm, but it was a close-to-perfect finale.  It is unclear if my excitement for Brooklyn Nine-Nine next week will be greater than the hole The Good Place left.  Once I stop crying, maybe I'll rewatch and catch all those little things I missed throughout.  Sidenote: I didn't understand most of the Jacksonville Jaguar jokes.

Everything is Awesome

Ever since Little Miss and I watched the Golden Globe Red Carpet, she's been asking when the next Carpet is.  So, she's been looking forward to the Oscars.  She got dressed up in a lace dress I own and put on some crystal jewelry.  She drank her milk out of a crystal champagne flute.  It was a big, fancy night for her.  Also, and I may regret this, we let her stay up WAY too late.  She put in her picks for the Oscar pool and got a respectable number correct considering she had never heard of most of the movies and kept trying to vote for "The Theory of Whiplash".  She chose a couple of categories correct that we didn't guess correctly.  She was absolutely entertained by The Lego Movie's performance and was super happy Big Hero 6 won.  It was a lot of fun watching the awards with her, and I look forward to award season with her next year.

Weekend Update - Labor Day

We had a glorious low-key weekend.  I worked from home on Friday.  

On Saturday, Husband went to a friend's house to watch sports.  Meanwhile, Baby and I took a little nap after our morning routine.  Then, we took a walk.  He slept most of the evening while I watched tv.  Husband came home after we were both in bed.

On Sunday, Little Miss came home after being away for what seemed like forever.  It was great to have her home.  We had a nice family dinner together.

On Monday, we got up and got going.  Little Miss and I needed to do some last-minute school shopping.  So, we went to Target for a backpack, lunch bag and a few other essentials - like Kit Kats.  We had a girls' lunch and then went to buy some back to school shoes.  Little Miss had to have these cowboy boots.  She wore them out of the store, and she absolutely loves them.

And now we have a First Grader!  More on that after I load the pictures...

Weekend Update - A Whole Lot of Nothing

Last weekend, there was a lot of nothing.  I don't remember Friday, but I'm sure it involved dinner, food and bed.

On Saturday, Husband woke up with Baby and then went to be in an informal golf tournament.  So, Baby and I hung out.  He wanted nothing to do with a nap which was unfortunate.  So, we watched a bit of Doctor Who together.  After lunch, we went to the mall where I bought him a few outfits and some for next year - big sale and one-day coupon.  We picked up Little Miss after her long vacation with my family, hit the grocery store and headed home.  Husband met us as soon as we got home.  We had dinner, did laundry and I watched a lot of tv - premiere of Doctor Who and The Outlander.  I got full control of the television which was exciting.

On Sunday, we packed up Little Miss to go on vacation for a week with the in-laws.  Then, we did a lot more of nothing.  We took a morning nap which was glorious.  I surfed the internet.  Then, because I forgot something at the store, I had to leave and run errands.  I did defrost dinner so that was done at least, just had to throw it into the crock-pot.  We made the chicken teriyaki that I made while pregnant over some jasmine rice, snow peas and some potstickers from Trader Joe's. It was all super easy considering almost all of it came from the freezer. It may not be the most healthy, but it wasn't bad and really easy.  Sunday night, we watched the MTV video awards.  Our household has been way to into pop music lately.  It's ridiculously scary, but it's been a fun time.  There's been a lot of dancing.

Weekend Update - In Like a Lion

March started with a busy weekend!  I had slowly started cleaning - mostly easy things like tidying the closets and desk.  There wasn't anything challenging being done.  I also organized under the sink in my bathroom.  All the things needed to be done, but they weren't the most pressing.  However, we do try to put Little Miss's activities first if we can.  So, on Saturday, we woke up and met a bus stop friend and her mother to visit the National History Museum.  It is the last month before the dinosaur exhibit is closed for 5 years.  It turned out the kids didn't really care.  They were happy to just run around and hang out.

She was so brave at the museum though!  She held the biggest beetle that I've ever seen and some sort of green insect.  She got nose to nose with a tarantula (didn't hold her because she was busy eating though). 

We stayed at the hotel straight through lunch and then hit up IHOP on the way home for a quick but late lunch.  Then, I dropped off Little Miss and got ready to go out for the evening.  I met some friends for some Mexican which was delicious.  I bet it tasted better with a margarita, but I did not have one.  The guacamole was delicious though.  On the way home, I stopped across the street to bring home some homemade pop tarts and a chocolate donut for breakfast.

On Sunday, I woke up with Little Miss, and we had a delicious sugar-filled breakfast.  Then, after lunch, we went to the first ice skating lesson of the next level up.  Husband went to play golf and met us there afterwards, but Little Miss and I had a good time.  There were only 2 kids in her class so she got a lot of attention and really learned a lot in one lesson.  

In the evening, Husband and I settled in for a nice dinner while we watched the Oscar ceremony.  It wasn't the best program and we saw very few movies, but it was still a nice evening.

Weekend Update - 2 for 1 Deal

Because so little happened in the last two weekends, I'm smooshing them into one weekend update. 

Two weeks ago, we dropped Little Miss off with my parents, and my parents, Sister, Nephew and she went to Maine.  She had a great time with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  This year, friends of the family also went so the two cottages were given quite the work out.  Little Miss came back a total big girl.  She seemed taller, more confident (which is hard to believe) and just so chatty about the whole vacation.

In the meantime, I went to see matchbox twenty and The Goo Goo Dolls.  You can view the setlist here.  It was a great show, and I had a nice night out with my friend. 

Last weekend, I picked up Little Miss from my parents.  We drove into the city to drop something off with Husband and then went to Target for a first day of school outfit, Trader Joe's and the grocery store.  Little Miss was all tuckered out when we got home.  Sunday, we did very little.  We basically had brunch, took a family nap and then had dinner.

In the meantime, I've been trying to catch up on Breaking Bad.  I did watch 2 seasons in the last couple of weeks.  I hope to be caught up with season 5 for this Sunday.  It's been a challenge. 

Weekend Update - Weekend of Nothing

Last weekend, we did nothing.  That's not entirely true.  I think we did a bath on Friday night with Little Miss.  On Saturday, she went with the In-Laws to the carnival and had a sleepover with her cousin.  They do so love each other.  I read a book and Husband had sports on.  We watched Louis C.K. on HBO as our big date night.  On Sunday, we slept gloriously late.  Then, Little Miss came home to help me clean the apartment, take her bath, eat dinner and go to bed.  So, very quiet weekend which was lovely.  The next two are stuffed with plans so it was nice to be boring while we could.

Toddler Talk

Who knows how conversations start with toddlers.  All I know is we were talking and ended up talking about how some tv is not real.  Little Miss usually has a good grasp on what is real and what is not.  This has come up in conversation during particularly graphic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle episodes or commercials for certain video games on television.  The other day, some such example came up and this is how it went after I mentioned a tv show is not real:

Little Miss:  I know.  I know it's not real.  Some shows are real and some are pretend.  Like this is not real, but Snow White is real.  I know this because she's real.  I met her, remember?

So, yeah, thanks for that, DisneyWorld.  I can either let her believe everything is real or just crush her. 

Weekend Update - We're Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday

Last Friday, I don't think we did anything. It was a busy week for me. Between Husband breaking his ankle and needing to go to the doctor and my social life of movie-going and bowling, I was ready to relax. I can't remember what I did on Friday, but I don't think it was a lot. Either way, on Saturday, I had grand plans of completing three small errands - return library books, visit the fabric store and go to the grocery store. Right.

So, the morning was pretty productive. There was breakfast and then like 3 hours passed in about 5 minutes. I swear I have no idea what happened. A big part of the time flying was Little Miss woke up in a crazy mood. She was very belligerent and cranky. I knew she wouldn't get a nap and would be staying up late so the odds were definitely not in our favor for having a relaxing day. After what seemed like a day and a half, we finally got out the door. I renewed the library books so we didn't have to go there. Husband was disappointed because he wanted me to pick up Girl Scout cookies from the booth there. However, there was a booth at the fabric store so he got his wish anyway. Then, Little Miss and I grabbed lunch during which there were many threats. She decided she didn't like the food even though she ordered it. After she tried it (which was the best mac and cheese I've ever had), she decided it wasn't so bad. We did run out of time before we could have dessert so she got a Tagalong in the car. We got home just in time to wrap the Inlaws' presents and head to Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law's house to celebrate joint birthdays (even though they're really in January and February).

We had a great time. The cousins were so cute together and really played nicely (see picture #1).  We had a delicious meal which Little Miss tried.  She was honest and said she liked the taste but didn't care for the texture of brisket.  I know beef is an odd texture and expected the reaction, but I wanted her to tell me if that was what she didn't like or if it was the whole thing.  So, I'm going to try meatballs next week.  I think it's a baby step from a hamburger but also she can help make them.  We transitioned into big girl toothpaste this week, too, so lots of changes.  She was reluctant to accept that change, but she's gotten better each night.  She just has to use the new toothpaste once a day until the old baby toothpaste is gone.

On Sunday, Little Miss was a full-on brat.  She took a very brief nap which didn't help.  Husband's friend came over briefly.  Then, Little Miss took a walk with me to the ATM and took, no lie, 20 minutes to get dressed.  When we got home, she took a bath and used up all our remaining patience.  So, she went to bed a lot earlier which worked out because then I got to watch the Academy Awards in peace.  Usually, we make a nice meal, but this year take out worked perfectly.  Also, Little Miss had a good night's sleep for the first time in days and woke up such a good girl this week.  (Extra note:  next time, we'll take the family picture before the end of the evening when we're all not as tired.)

Worst Parents Ever

What's that terrifying picture, you ask? Well, I may have mentioned before that Little Miss is way into The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So, when she has permission, she goes into our room, turns on the DVR and chooses an episode to watch. She got all excited because the show aired a new episode, I, Monster. So, from what I understand (I was away from home when this occurred), she came out to Husband and said it was scary. He made a big deal of deleting the offensive episode in which The Rat King is introduced. Since then, she's been going back to watching Peppa Pig and Third and Bird and some other children's shows which are safer and colorful. I know the show is TV7, and we usually do watch them with her. That was, I swear, the first show she's watched on her own. I guess that'll teach us. Poor thing. That picture is the least scary one, too. He is really scary.

Weekend Update - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Last weekend was busy!  Husband left for Vegas on his annual trip on Friday and returned on Monday.  Little Miss spent Friday night with the inlaws so I could have a night out with a friend.  We did dinner and a movie - a late movie at that.  

On Saturday, I picked up Little Miss and met Sister and Nephew at The Olive Garden for lunch.  Then, the four of us went to Toys 'R' Us where Little Miss got a little treat and I got 2 rolls of wrapping paper for 80 cents (40 cents each).  After, Little Miss and I went to Target where we met up with a school friend of Little Miss's.  The two of them played for quite awhile running around the store.  We hung out at Starbucks with her friend and his mom and then shopped a little and went home.  OK, we shopped a lot.  Little Miss got to use her gift cards and had her heart set on some rock and roll Dora and finally got Donatello (her latest obsession is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).  She also got a purse and sunglasses.  I also may have picked up a purse and wallet.  

I also tried two recipes from Pinterest (a honey/lime fruit salad which was decent and a brisket recipe - with a roast substitute).  I even made a decent gravy though next time will be better.  I lacked a bit of seasoning, but I feel if I got color and consistency correct, I can always add to it.  After dinner, I cleaned and the place looks huge now!

On Sunday, Little Miss and I both slept late.  Then, she had a birthday party for two school friends.  We went home and cooked dinner and waited for my friend to come over for our 4th annual Golden Globes viewing.  It was low key, but it was a lot of fun to have some company.

It was a busy weekend, but we had a lot of fun.  Plus, now my flu is completely gone which is fantastic.  I did have a sty (or so the doctor believes) and have to deal with some eye issues, but it's more of an inconvenience than an issue.  It's not like the flu that just sucks the life out of you and leaves you a shell of your former self for 3 weeks.

Newtown, Connecticut

Husband and I were caught up in the memorials and stories emerging from the Newtown, Connecticut shooting last Friday.  We mostly read online and kept it off of the television.  We took turns wiping our eyes and hugging Little Miss just a little tighter.  We mostly shielded the event from Little Miss as much as we could.  Then, during Sunday Night Football, we were silent along with the stadium in respect for the victims.  Little Miss was not and would not listen to us.  So, I tried talking to her to no effect.  Then, we booted her to bed.

When she got to bed, she looked up at me wide-eyed.  I just told her we were being quiet because something sad happened.  She wanted to know what happened.  "I'm ready to listen.  You can tell me now," she said.  She was so earnest and interested.  I hesitated.  Maybe if she was older or if she caught some footage on television, I would tell her.  I don't want to lie, but I also want to keep her protected from the world just a little longer.  She did press me a few more times in a very solemn way, in a way I've never seen her before, but I held off telling her the entire truth.  I told her there was just something very sad on television.  She just nodded, and I was grateful that was all she needed to know before lying down to bed.

I know there will come a time where she'll be exposed to a situation on television or in school, and we'll have to have a conversation with her, but we haven't gotten there yet.  This jump between 4 and 5 is traumatic enough for us.  She's grown up and matured overnight, it seems, but then in some ways, she's still our little girl.  I feel somewhat cowardly for not coming clean, but she'll grow up soon enough. Meanwhile, she can stay our little girl for one day more.

UPDATE:  In the meantime, Husband sent me an article where a woman told her children, aged 3 and 6.  I do understand telling small children especially if there is an older sibling.  I also think I would tell Little Miss if she was in kindergarten already or in public school where the lock downs are happening more often and where news is spreading quickly that it would help her deal with all the adult panic.  So, ultimately, we may change our course of action, but we haven't yet and, if we do, I want us both to be there for her

FURTHER UPDATE:  Husband did tell me later in the day that he agreed with everything I said and thought.  It's always nice to know that we're on the same page for big decisions.  It's only the television and menu that causes bickering.

Sexy Friday

I'll admit it. Arrow is my new guilty pleasure - or it would be if I felt guilty for watching it. It is in no small part to Stephen Amell. He's been in many shows that I've watched - though I've abandoned the shows before he made an appearance. An interview has him discussing his issue with nudity in his guest-appearances in Hung so I may have to find that later.  Either way, very pretty.

Sexy Friday

I could have sworn Idris Elba was already a recipient of Sexy Friday, but I've checked my notes and he has not. I watched him (on and off) in The Wire and started watching him in Luther. I think he's great, and I love that he can do drama and comedy. Plus, come on, he's all sexy and British.

More Fall TV

Last week, I caught Elementary and Last Resort. 

I thought both had strong enough pilots. Elementary had some accurate reviews. The show is mostly a procedural. Yes, Sherlock is a familiar character - both the actual Sherlock character and by being represented by characters who have been inspired by him. Still, I liked Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock enough. I wish Dr. Watson wasn't so dull. I realize she's the straight man, but I didn't feel Lucy Liu gave was as captivating. 

The Husband and I also caught Last Resort. I liked the pilot. It was very interesting and full of intrigue. It had a lot of actors I like in it. I do worry because the ratings weren't, and continued to not be, strong. 

The Husband watched on his own Vegas and liked it quite a bit. The series is still on our DVR so I may try to catch up, but we'll see. Line has to be drawn somewhere. 

The last remaining show I have on the DVR is Nashville. I've heard nothing but good things, but I'm still wary because it's not my usual type of show. I haven't cut many, just a comedy here and there, but it is a definite fact that not all of the Fall shows will last - either by my choice or the networks.

Fall TV

So, this Fall, between Husband and me, we tried a lot of new tv shows. 

During the Olympics, we gave Go On and Animal Practice a shot. Husband did not give Animal Practice a go because he does not have the same sense of loyalty to Justin Kirk as I do. 

 This Fall, we tried Guys with Kids, The Mob Doctor, Revolution, The New Normal, The Mindy Project, and Ben and Kate. Husband did not watch Guys with Kids or Revolution. 

Also, thanks to Netflix, I have watched past episodes of Parks and Recreation and Doctor Who and am all caught up for this season. 

Currently, I am watching Scandal and recorded tonight's episode for after I watch all 7 episodes from last year's mini season. 

So far, so good. I know many who enjoy the show so I thought I'd check it out. Anyway, here are my reviews so far: 

1. We still enjoy Go On.
2. I could barely get through the first episode of Animal Practice.  The same with both of us with The Mob Doctor.
3. I thought Guys with Kids was mediocre.  I would watch it again if my plate wasn't so full, I think.  The same with The New Normal.  I liked it, but Ryan Murphy has burned me before with a strong start before going over the top and inconsistent.  I decided to pull the plug before it let me down, but maybe I'll go back periodically.
4. I'm still into Revolution, but we'll see.  It's not my standard fare.
5. We somewhat enjoyed The Mindy Project and Ben and Kate.  We'll see.  I wasn't totally invested, but I'm curious to see if they get stronger or develop characters over the next couple of episodes.

I have three more shows I'm going to try to watch this season so I'll report back later once I've watched them all.  I'm actually proud that I'm staying up-to-date with everything.  Once it becomes overwhelmed, I'll have to break up with something and comedies are always the first to go. 

Sexy Friday

Joe Manganiello totally deserves this. I think the whole Sexy Friday should be just because he exists. He's a bit too tall for me (but almost like 2 feet), but I'd have fun climbing up him, I think. Between his growling on True Blood and his turn in Magic Mike, he's pretty much been responsible for getting me through summer.

Conversation with Little Miss

Little Miss was cuddling with me on the couch last night.  Under her breath I can hear the following:

"Anyway you want it, that's the way you need it.  Anyway you want it."

I sit up and look at her and asked, "Did you just have a Journey moment?"

"What?"

"I heard you.  You were singing.  'Anyway you want it, that's the way you need it.  Anyway you want it.'"

She started laughing.  "Oh, yeah.  You just had a Journey moment, too."

So, thanks, Journey and State Farm for contributing to our silly couch moments.  Little Miss dove right into "We Built This City" afterwards.