Thursday, August 28, 2008

Succcckkkkkaaaaa

So, it is no secret that I like tv shows. I was practically raised on tv and I mean that in the least latch-key kid sense. But, in a way its true. I grew up on Nick at Nite, and Nickelodeon. I was that girl who was glued to the WB during its heyday. Must See TV, there I was. It's New to You, that was where I could be found in the summer (with my parents as well).

I fall for most TV shows that I watch. I can get sucked into basically anything. Well I take that back, there are shows that I can't watch. Dr. Quinn? No, thanks. Drangonball Z? I'll pass. There are also shows that I can watch while there are on, but not get sucked in. Two and half men? I watch when on. The Family Guy? Funny, but I can live without watching every episode (just realized these are shows that my roommate has continually sucked me into).

And it is a rarity that I give up on a show. I still watch "Grey's Anatomy" - granted its online and in marathon format, but still I can't give up on Meredith. Though, I did stop watching Desperate Housewives and, shocker, I am not feeling "Degrassi" anymore (I feel it has jumped the shark).

So, where is this long tangent going? Well I seem to now get sucked into shows that have already ended by the time I get to them or are on their way out. "Veronica Mars," a witty and intelligent show, I did not discover (well, I had heard about it, but I in this thing called college and had a thing called a job) it until it was all on DVD. I became very angry with the "ending." Not to give anything away, but it just end, I get no closure. And now I am into "Friday Night Lights." And what is it's fate? I have to wait until Jan. to watch it and it is only going to be around for 13 more episodes. Though, if I had Direct TV, it is showing on some channel in Oct.

I didn't think that I would get into FNL either, I just had it on hold at the library and I got sucked into it. I wanted them to go to State, I wanted Jason to become more independent. I love Matt's stutter/nervousness. Mrs. Coach? Yep, she is just fantastic. Who would have thought Kyle Chandler would have worked after Early Edition and those 2 guest spots on Grey's? But he is and is doing a phenomenal job as Coach.

But even with the 5 months in between then and now and the questionable story arch, I STILL MUST WATCH. I still have to know how it ends. It is like a disease. Now, here I find myself, yet again, falling into the obsessive cycle of new tv show love. I know, so soon after FNL, what can I say, I move on quick (yeah ... right)

Anyway, now my new love is "Bones." Thank goodness for Hulu so I can get caught up on Season 1. But what is the deal with no Season 2 online, anywhere? And Season 3 is not even out on DVD yet (yeah, I know it is already in season 4... where have we been?). But despite that I might not even remember to watch it all the time in live time and that I'll eventually have to watch it all on DVD. That is not stopping me from watching Season 1 at warped speed and trying to figure out the timing of my Netflix queue to start on Season 2. Plus, who doesn't love David Borenaz* and Emily Deschanel does a fabulous dead pan. Though I find it hard to believe that her character doesn't even at least least the attractiveness of Agent Booth, because, hello ... hottie alert. But we all know that this building sexual tension will lead to something. I just have to be patient




*I tried to find at least some sort of clip of when he gets turned into a puppet in Season 5 of Angel. Though I don't suppose that really shows off his acting ability, but sure is funny.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Friday "I'm on Sugar High" Five*

1. Got out of the house for the first time in a few weeks. Well, I mean besides going to work, running and McPherson's. It was for the Hey Marseilles CD release show. That band is always high energy and entertaining. Hanging out with super cool friends and eating super good hamburgers, it made for a good night. Helped start easing me out of my hermit like slump. Don't know if the funk is totally gone, but working on it. Can't help, still stressin' about money (more so then usual).

2. I have been on a movie kick for this past week. Mainly because I checked out a bazillion of them from the library and all the ones I had put on hold, came all at once. So far since Saturday I have watched:
Meet Bill - I liked this a lot. I liked that for once the male lead is an emotional eater. Plus who doesn't love Aaron Eckhart
Fifty Pills - not really worth it, Kristen Bell is hardly in it.
Enchanted - love. it.
Annie Hall - for the very first time
We Were the Mulvanys - A pretty good representation of the book. Halmark: 1 Lifetime:0
No Reservations - cute. Gotta love a romantic comedy with food and Aaron Eckhart

3. Still to watch:
Cashback (well, finish it), Smart People, In the Mood for Love, Nobody Knows, CQ, Le Divorce, Mysterious Skin (maybe - not sure if I am in mood of this one -still), Once (for the millionth time, love.it.), Dirty Pretty Things, Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason (best fight scene), D.E.B.S. and December Boys

Geez ... that's a lot (and not even counting the many I could be watching on Instant Watch)- maybe its a good thing I am still in hermit mood ;)

4. So I recently got into the show "Friday Night Lights." My ability to get sucked into great TV shows that are cut before their time (I know, that this isn't technically cut yet, but how many Hail Mary passes do you get in a game?). Long story short, Tony Lucca (yes, that Tony Lucca, from the MMC) did a cover of the Daniel Johnston song "Devil Town." And ever since Indie 103 had been playing the OG version, I've had it stuck in my head. But I like Tony's cover of it better and so I was considering buying the single (a decision that I do not take lightly - plus the library doesn't have it). However, the only way to get the song is if you buy the whole soundtrack. I don't want the whole soundtrack, I just want that song. So now I am on a fruitless search to at least find a website that will stream the song, so I can listen to it on repeat for a bit and get it out of my head.





5. I baked ... again. Crazy, I know. So many baking attempts in a matter of days. This time I wanted to make Red Velvet cupcakes. I found a recipe, and made the batter ... FROM SCRATCH. And while they turned out tasting fine, they taste like cupcakes, they didn't, however, taste like Red Velvet. There is something about the consistency that I didn't quite master. Oh well, I can always try a new recipe and give it another go

Look at what a fantastic job Rubi and I did decorating them



*The concept of the Friday Five courtesy of the wonderful Sarah Dessen

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I'll call it My Friends Bought Me Sushi So I Made A Pie

I made a pie. Can you believe it, me, baking? Well, baking something besides my great chocolate chip cookies. But anyway, I did, I made a pie. I made that pie (see the picture of the pie to the left of this sentence). And you know what else? It actually tasted pretty damn good. I didn't burn anything (well minus my arm on the stove) and it wasn't overcooked or undercooked. I successfully baked a pie.

Too bad I live with people who are apparently anti-pie and so besides myself and Omar were the only ones to taste my first pie making adventure. Oh well, their loss right? It is also unfortunate because since I can't eat a pie in one sitting - or even in 3-4 days, parts of it started to get moldy. I think it was caused by the moisture in the plastic bag that was protecting my pie from the fruit flies that have taken over our kitchen. So alas, I had to get rid of the last 2 pieces last night.

Oh, yeah, because you can't really tell from the picture, it was a peach blackberry pie. It was pretty simple recipe, just the fruit, some sugar and corn starch. Mix the ingredients and pour into already made pie crust. Presto, Change-o, pie!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Don't Believe the Hype


I don't get the whole "Twilight"phenomenon. I knew that the books were a big thing- the Harry Potter for the religious folk. Then I head that they were making it into a movie and all of a sudden it was this BFD. So I figured, okay -I'll read them. I always like to read the book before the movie. To at least be my elitist self and say "well the book is so much better. I don't understand how they could get 'x, y, and z' so wrong." I got the first book finally from the library. I gave it my requisite 50 page rule and wasn't impressed - but one to want to see what the hype is about I finished the book. Man, what a disappointment.

(WARNING SPOILERS)

But there were just so many major points of the plot that I could not get into. Putting aside the terrible writing of Stephanie Meyer. It is an insult to the YA genre almost. It is something that i would have read in middle school -maybe late 5th grade (whatever year it was I started reading Sweet Valley High). It is just such simple writing, i had to force myself to get into the certain moments which are supposed to be high sexual tension and emotional.

The points that really bother me:

1) Who is Meyer to discount hundreds of years of vampire lore and legend. I mean it is common knowledge that Vampires cannot be outside during the day because they will get burned by the sun. They can't be around crucifixes, holy water, etc. But no, according to Meyer, she just takes it upon herself to change all of this.

2) How overly dramatic/emo Bella is. I know that she is 17 and every thing is be all and end all. But even when I was 17 I didn't fall for the "oh, I love you," after a few days of knowing someone. And I definitely don't believe it now at 23. Plus she is just an idiot -I mean really, how do you know at 17 you want to be with someone for the REST of life. especially when that person is a vampire and now you are saying -no begging- to become a vampire too. Give me a break. Even Buffy and Angel which are (for at least this generation) are the quintessential human/vampire love story and Buffy didn't beg to become a vampire. Talk about your forbidden love, but they worked with it until it didn't work anymore and both moved on (eventually). And might I point out, Buffy was also a teenager when this happened.


3) I can do unrealistic. I can do vampire/human love. I did love love with Buffy was with Angel and even when she was with Spike. I read YA (Sarah Dessen, favorite author). But yet, somehow that combination does not work for me when it comes to Twilight.

So I can understand, that as a 23-year-old, I might not be on the same level as a 13-year-old and not be as emo as them. But two of my really good friends have read it (one read the entire series) and both loved it. I mean, use of exclamation points when describing it, loved it. I know I am a tad cynical, a little jaded when it comes to most things, but really I don't see what the big deal is. I guess I. Just. Don't. Get. It.
I am holding out on Riz, for when/if she finally reads it and at least feels the same way I do.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My Absolute Favorite Thing About Summer:


This past weekend I did one of my favorite things to do during the summer: read an entire book in one day. While I am not talking about something long and in depth (like, say A Prayer for Owen Meany, that I am still 2oo pages into). It was in fact, the book, that you see to the left (more on that in a moment), The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched.

Of course, now that I am not in school anymore, I can read books in one day any time of year, but there was just something about sitting on my couch curled up with a good book all afternoon and night that made it really feel like summer. Perhaps it is from the many, many summers in which I did just that. I had a stack of books that I would try to plow through knowing, once September came along I would not be able to read any more books for fun until December. How many hours passed sitting at the Riz's house each of us reading a book, at times when we no longer played Barbies or paper dolls? Even during those years, we would still spend so many hours of our week at each other's house reading.

So this past Saturday as I was reading my book and the Bex was reading hers, I just felt a wave of nostalgia and what I love about summer.

But, back to the book that I read, now don't get me wrong, I still love Meg Cabot. I love that her novels are somewhat predictable and really not realistic (duh, its fiction). While I was upset that she turned Queen of Babble into a series, i was pretty satisfied with this latest book. Though let's just hope she doesn't jump the shark like she did with The Princess Diaries (really? Mia using sex as a way to keep Michael, what happened to our strong female character). With any luck, this is is the last one, leaving us with good memories of the characters and feeling comfortable knowing that they are where they are supposed to be.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Money can buy happiness

Why is it when you are young people are always telling you that money can't buy you happiness? Because that is a bunch of bull. I suppose we don't want our children growing up so materialistic and jaded right off the bat. We want them to have as good as a childhood as possible and don't need them to have to worry about what they have compared to other kids. But let me tell you as you get older that mindset changes completely

After reading two different blogs today that dealt with money (million vs. ScarJo's body and what you would do if you woke up with a "plush" bank account) and let me tell you I would take that million over ScarJo's body hands down. The stress that builds every time a bill comes, a loan payment is due and rent comes around is not fun and to not have those worries would definitely make me happy. If I wanted ScarJo's body, I would then have the money to pay for it (and pay off all my loans). I would not have to stress about the costs of moving the Big Apple next year. I could finally live a little. While a million dollars would not last forever, if invested correctly, it could last me a long time.

I could do the things that I wanted to do and truly enjoy them and not have the constant nagging voice in the back of my head telling me "you can't afford this; you shouldn't be doing this."

Maybe we should be teaching our kids -that when they are younger, money does not mean as much - but as soon as you become an adult it seems to mean everything.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

What Makes Me Smile:

So in an effort to change my perspective on my life, I decided to compile a list of what makes me happy. Things are in no particular order and are what are making me smile at the moment. This list could and probably will change as time goes on - perhaps I'll create an updated one every once and a while.


1) Good Friends (old and new)


2) The Seattle Public Library constantly providing me with tons of CDs and books
3) Netlfix and the 150+ movies/tv shows on my queue
4) The sun -whether it is 100 degrees or 30, as long as the sun is out- I am a happy gal
5) Making a good batch of mojitos
6) Laying out by the lake
8) Listening to happy music like The Submarines, Phantom Planet (w/ j. schwartzman ...okay and maybe this w/o him), Ben Kweller, etc
9) Going to shows
10) Watching a good movie
11) Discovering new televisions shows (well new to me, anyway)
12) Laughing

Monday, August 4, 2008

These times they are a changin'

Well, so said good-bye to the BFF this morning has she will soon embark on her journey to China. Though technically she will still be stateside for 2.5 weeks, she has left the PNW (for the most part). It is somewhat comforting to know that, if need to can still call and not have to worry about the 15 hour time difference (and whether or not she is on Skype).

But I have decided to use this time frame to make some changes in my life because of late I have been feeling continually out of sorts with most everything. And, while, yes that all could have been because two of my good friends were leaving and I feel like I am right back to junior year of college (and we all remember how that went). But I think this time will be good time for me to stop being a SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY.

I suppose then the biggest hurdle to over come is believing that I can stick with something longer than a month or two. That it is okay to put the extra time and effort into bettering myself for the long run.

The second thing I need to get over is making excuses, as I have become the Queen of Excuses when it comes to diet and exercise. But here's the thing, there will always be friends visiting, people close to me will die, there will bad days, there will be good days, it get cold outside and rain (a lot), I will sometimes (ok-probably a lot of the time) be tired after working long days and then there will be all the other days in between.

But somehow, despite all of those (and the many more I could think of) excuses, I just need to really believe that I Am Worth It. Maybe then I will stop selling myself short in many aspects of my life, stop being so hard on myself and start believing in myself.

Whoa ... pretty big goals there. Maybe I should just start with my small one of trying to become a runner. See how far that gets me