Not a real long one tonight. Had a great day, I did NOTHING. Which is the first for me in many, many moons. My husband and bro in law spent a backbreaking day putting new flooring in our dining room while my sister, her dog, my cat Hobbs and I were all lazy asses. My child did manage to have a fun day, she painted, entertained my sis and I with her excessive adorableness, and found a great deal of novelty playing with power tools and a crow bar.


Hubzies and bro in law do the kitchen tomorrow, so it may be another lazy day for us girls. I'll take it!


Until tomorrow!

I've lost that Gleefull feeling....

I'm sad to say that I'm now a Former Gleek.

I was one of the many who was over the moon for McKinnley High. The music was the initial draw of course, but the diverse character range and ridonk story lines gave it that little extra something that made it like no other show. (Who doesn't love a character who works at Sheets N' Things, pretends to be with child, then attempts to buy the unborn child of the knocked up teenager who is one of her husband's students in the hopes of passing it off as hers??? LOVE IT!)

While the first two seasons were great, and actually did a good job of discussing some tough topics, season 3 has fallen short and has provided a wake up call that I'd been hitting the snooze on since the beginning. I let the music and funny characters entertain me, without seeing what was actually really wrong with the picture. Glee is a singing, dancing, accepting and loving of everyone, wolf in sheeps clothing.

Too much adult content. I'm not a prude. I don't mind sex and adultery in tv/movies. I watch Grey's and Private Practice and yes I'll admit it....Californication. But in those shows the adult content is within context and viewer age appropriate. I get it. It's an issue they want to address because it does happen in real life. High schoolers do deal with sexual pressure and situations. I thought the Madonna "like a virgin," scene was risky and I was really disappointed by how they glorified teens making the choice to have sex in First Time. They negated the message they sent in the first season with Quinn's pregnancy, which was well done in my opinion. They all but throw that lesson out the window by saying, psh, go for it if you love the person. Which is all good and well and I don't disagree with completely. But whether they believe it or not, the demographic doesn't start at 18 for viewers of Glee, much younger kids, probably more girls, are watching and literally learning (but hopefully their smart parents have by now turned it off.) Glee could have done a, "I love myself and you enough to wait a little longer," ep and that would have been groundbreaking tv. Call me old fashioned, I just didn't agree with the episode and it made me wish they'd toned down the sexuality from the get go. Yes, it's ok for us adults to find it funny and even relate to it, (I did) but we're sending the wrong message to the younger crowd when we should be protecting them and teaching that sex can wait. Our culture is over sexed and so desensitized to it all, and the audience is getting younger and younger and that's not good. 

The unending gay story line has run its course. Do I hate gays? No. Do I feel that the world is going to change and get better one girl/girl or boy/boy kiss at a time? Sorry, no. I'm not bothered by gay characters (I rooted for Callie and Arizona and Will and Grace was one of my faves back in the day.) However, too much hard hitting of any one topic is never a good thing, especially when it's in something that is supposed to entertain us. Four characters in Glee are gay, one is bi. Ok. No problem. They broke the "teach acceptance," mold with Kurt in the first season I thought. But it wasn't enough apparently. Now they are branching out even more with all these other characters and their issues and it's getting too serious to enjoy anymore. There is a fine line between touching on tough real-life subject matter (remember Saved by The Bell? Full House? 7th Heaven?) and making a TV show that's nothing but agenda. For me it has become a musical PSA. Yes, the stuff that they portray does happen, yes the world should be made more aware. But for me TV is a way to escape reality for a while, live in something that is silly or fun or too good to be true (Hello X-Files?) You can still teach acceptance and have controversial subject matter in the hopes of raising awareness, but there's gotta be a way to do it without being so damn obnoxious. Which brings me to my next subject....

Glee touts acceptance. Tolerance. Individualism. Rising above hate. Rising above adversity and overcoming our insecurities. Equality. Being Kind. Being Supportive. That everyone is important and that everyone should be included despite their beliefs and backgrounds. Fabulous. If this is the case; why is the craziest character the daughter of staunch conservatives? Why isn't there a messed up kid who's parents are Democrats? Why hasn't there been a guest spot where someone like Robert Downey Jr. or Mel Gibson play's a crazy extreme liberal who comes to judge a competition? Why are there so many little "digs," at conservatism but never any towards liberalism? I recall cheap shots at Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. Kathy Griffin's character was a complete mockery of conservatism. How 'bout when Quinn went to vote, "Just like my dad always voted for the candidate that was least ethnic, I'm gonna vote for the candidate who's most girl." Riiiight, because conservatives are the only ones with questionable voting motivation. And while "Grilled Cheezus," was cute, they didn't try very hard to give Christianity a nice little shout out and that was the ONLY episode where they said anything about Christianity at all and it was underwhelming to say the least. Yes, making fun of extreme conservatism and religious zealots has it's place, I can appreciate it and can laugh at it, we all shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. But there comes a point where one side is the clear singled out target and it's not funny anymore. To me their message is blurred, accept everyone (except conservatives.) So yeah, basically, I can't stand to watch anymore because of the hypocrisy. There I said it. What's more is you read these interviews with the writers, producers and actors and they are all drinking the koolaid! Is there not one person in cast or crew who will speak up that maybe they aren't sending the right messages???? I guess all I can do is stop watching.   

I'm sorry. This was such a long rant but I had to get it off my shoulders. I've been pretty bummed about it. I'm over it now due to how angry it eventually made me. I will miss it tho, a bit. I will miss the music and the outrageous scenarios they got themselves into, I will miss Figgins and his hilarious way of speaking ("That is my final word..let it be written!"), I will miss Brittany and her precious child-like ways, and I will really miss Sue and I know I don't have to explain that one.

So this is my lemon of the day, ending my relationship with Glee. But the positive side is that I have found some new shows I will replace it with. Mobbed, a reality Flash-Mob show where people stage a flash mob for people they love. Finder, spin off of Bones. Alcatraz, which should be another brilliant piece of work from the marvelous mind of JJ Abrahms whom I love. And....Ink Master, a reality show on tattooing, I CAN'T WAIT for that one!

Have a good night everyone and thanks again for reading.

lame post, sorry

Hi. Sorry. Got nothing tonite. Why did I sign up to do this daily? The headache I had last night turned into a heinous migraine today and I get the cutaneous allodynia with mine, (fancy term for random sore spot) on my head that radiates to my eye. It's very uncomfortable to be on the computer so I'm writing this to get my post in for today and closing the computer. Sorry, I know this is a crappy entry! Again I have no complaints from today, it was a nice day it even made it to about 68 outside (crazy for Dec in KC!). I promise something with more meat tomorrow! 

Nite!

Day 4

It was a pretty unobtrusive day and I'm afraid I'm going to have to cheat on this post and keep it pretty dang short. I have no complaints except for the fact that I have a ridiculous headache that being on the computer isn't helping. Really, no lemons today. Well.....ok, there was one "incident," but this may be in the "TMI" we didn't need to know department OR it could be funny. Daughter had to go potty pretty bad this morning so she bolted up the stairs while I was cleaning up the kitchen. Suddenly the distant sound of liquid pouring onto a soft fabric stopped me in my tracks. Low and behold I found her squatting over a puddle on the bath mat, potty lid still down. I couldn't help laughing on the inside at this scene. We had a serious discussion about going when you need to go, not waiting and having an accident. Then, I threw the bath mat into the wash and she swiffer mopped the bathroom floor. Then while I made dinner I told her she would need to tell daddy about what happened. Here's how that went down: Daddy pulls in drive, gets out of car. She always greets him at the front door, usually hollers at him to get the mail or just screams, "HI DADDY!" Tonight, "DADDY! I PEEEEED ON THE BAFROOM FLOORRRRR!" So the whole neighborhood got to hear about it too. LOL! Ahh parenthood. I'm not complaining tho, we have had it so easy. Since she potty trained completely in May of last year (just over 3 years of age, it was a struggle getting there) I can count her accidents on one hand. So no biggie. Not bad enough to constitute lemon status by any means. The rest of the day passed quietly. I got some laundry done and repotted a couple plants (snooooooze fesssssssst). I did make an amazing dinner; chicken tikka masala and it was scrumptious. Now I'm waiting for hubby to put child down and we're gonna X-File it up and have leftover bday cake and ice cream!


Nite all! Thanks for reading!

First Tuesday

I'm going to start by talking about the dream I had last night. I don't understand dreams. People say they have deeper meanings, and while I think there is something to be said for that, I rarely find them in mine. I do however think that sometimes my dreams are real scenes from my life in a different world. (This is NOT a by-product of watching Fringe. I've always thought this, even as a kid.) I was driving along in my old car, a 99 Explorer Sport. Not sure where I was, it was a beautiful country side tho, and I was coming upon a bridge over a very vast body of water, a lake, I'm sure. As I advance onto the bridge I start to assess my situation for a possible water escape...checking to see that my sunroof and windows were open enough, to which they were because it was a nice day driving thru this country side. The only negative observation I make is that my phone, computer and camera will all be destroyed if I go in the water. I shrug and next thing I know I'm cranking the wheel and intentionally putting the ol' Exploder and myself into the water. Water fills the interior and the vehicle is submerged completely. I make a quick escape (natch, established swimmer here) and see papers and such floating to the surface. I take notice that my car didn't go far, I could have stood on the roof and only have been in waist deep. Next, I'm in an unfamiliar home, or a bed and breakfast? It's a cozy place but doesn't feel like a private residence. A lady is helping me sort thru my sodden effects. I start turning on all of my electronics, phone first to call my husband, and it kicks to life perfectly, as does my MacBook Pro and I find my Nikon bone dry within the confines of it's bag. I find this all very odd but glad for it nonetheless. Some more folks come in and tell me my car is being pulled out and dried up so that I can be back on my way. No losses. At the end both my mom and husband were there, but neither did much. So....did I just dream-adventure? Intentionally make the dream go the way I wanted to because I knew I was dreaming? I knew I'd get out of the car easily and I remember justifying the loss of the electronics by thinking to myself, "everyone is just going to think this was an accident, so I'll have those replaced in no time." Way to go me. I don't see the deeper meaning in this one, except maybe it was a "control," thing (something I love very much) but I do know it was fun. Dreams. Good times.


Anyway. It was back to the grind today. Joe went back to work after being on stay-cation since the Friday before Christmas. It was a bummer, I love when he is home with us for long stretches like that, as it doesn't happen often. Which is good because ultimately we'd all be sick of each other (I'm not entirely sure he didn't get in his car and shout, "I'm FREEEEEE!" on his way out of the driveway today, HAHA!). Tho I'm sad our break is over, I'm glad that it's the new year and that thus far it's already promising to be better than last year. This time last year the crap was already starting (little did I know it would be the very least of the issues we would endure). So I already have a fantastic outlook for this year. 


I'm at a loss as to what else to write. It was a very quiet day, not much went on. It was just a good ol' regular day. Leu and I did watch a cop, fire truck & ambulance arrive at a would-be scene of imminent drama across the street, but nothing really came of it. Ohhh our neighborhood. One day I will get the chance to tell you all about it, but not tonight. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to wrap this up and try to get to bed soon.


Cheers and talk to you tomorrow!

Not Just The Second Day of The Year

It was another beautifully solid day. Every year, this day is special to me in a way no other day or holiday is. It's one of my favorite days of the year. My husband's birthday. Without delving into a lot of very personal detail, my husband's birth and thus, life is, a direct result of the miracle of someone's "choice." Someone I may never meet or know, but someone I'm incredibly thankful for. Where ever she may be in the world or if she is in heaven, I always spare a moment this day to think of her. She impacted my life in a way that even the best thought out words cannot explain nor do justice. 


To mark the wondrous occasion of my husbands birth I got my mom on board to babysit, made a chocolate cake, and then I took him out for dinner and a movie. Our dinner reservations were at 430 (insert crass old folks joke) at a swanky place in our fabulous city's Power and Light District called, The Bristol. I'd never been but he had and said it would be good and, oh, incidentally he had a birthday coupon (WOOT!) and decided it was a great chance to use it. We arrive and he drops me off and goes to park. Place has valet but he has some issue about "paying to park." Psh. Bless him. It was bitter cold but he parked and walked the three blocks anyway. There is $10 we'll make better use of another day. God I love him. The Bristol, what a delightful place! (I'll spare the full review but look for it tomorrow on Yelp.) The food was fantastic and I ordered a lemon drop martini that was excellent. Our waiter looked like Toby Maguire, that was a treat. It was so quiet, there was hardly anyone else in the restaurant so we really enjoyed ourselves and Toby. After dinner we headed back up to our part of town to catch a 630 showing of Sherlock Holmes. Fantastic movie! It's also the first movie viewing experience I've had in a while where the back of my chair didn't get kicked excessively, teens weren't chattering in the back row and people weren't violently attacking their popcorn bags and/or candy wrappers every 2 minutes. Delightful! All the stars were aligned for us tonight it seemed. Fantastic early bird meal, celebrity waiter, great movie with a sensible audience AND I even came across a penny heads up when we got to the car. Had to be a good sign so I picked that baby up and we went and got our Leu. On the way home she told us that we weren't her best friend and that we mean nothing to her.....Aaaaaand.....cue reality. But hey, we disciplined her accordingly and laughed it off together after she went down, so it's all good.


I love you husband man. I hope this was a nice night for you, it was for me! Happy Birthday.


   Peace out.

All Is Quiet, On New Years Day

Hmmmm. Day one. I don't have squat to write about. We said goodbye to 2011 last night in style,(and by style I mean a $9 bottle of champagne, a brownie and some X-Files) It started raining at about 10pm which I felt was symbolic and actually made me really happy. Literally washing away 2011. It was a nice, uneventful quiet day today. I woke up feeling great and laughing in spite of myself at all the sorry sorts who probably woke up hungover feeling like crap from too much Ringing In. We went to church, where my pastor all but took the words right out of my head, "What a great way to start the new year, in Gods house surrounded by fellow believers." (Not his exact words but close.) I was literally thinking that when we were getting ready this morning. There was just something rejuvenating about going to church this first day of the year and it was nice. We came home and had our leftover Oklahoma Joe's for lunch and I washed mine down with what I call a fuzzy mimosa. A mimosa with a splash of peach schnapps. I don't usually enjoy adult bevies with lunch but I thought life is too short, especially on New Years day and dammit, I'm going to get my $9 worth from that champagne. We had a nice afternoon here in the house tinkering on our computers while daughter type person (we call her Leu) napped. When she got up she had her customary half chocolate granola bar and juice box (tho today she wanted some lemonade! HA!) and then we hopped in the car. We cruised around several Northland (a large suburban area of the northern section of KC that we call home, for those of you not in KC) subdivisions gawking at homes we'd love to live in and daydreaming about our future plans to own one while Leu watched a Thomas DVD quietly in her carseat. We got home and I whipped up a pot of my amazing taco soup. Husband had a beer and I made a champagne mojito ($9 people, it doesn't grow on trees and someone worked hard making that bubbly, I'll be damned if it's going to waste on my watch.) Husband and daughter did some homework together and then played in the living room while I did some Yelping. Star Wars was on and I'm amazed at how knowledgeable Leu is with Star Wars. She loves 3CPO (not a typo-- what she calls him). Leu went to bed and we topped off the evening with a season 1 X-Files double feature (we only recently finished the entire series and decided to start it back up again, obsessed is a generic term but will suffice) and a bowl of ice cream. I had the Breyers Chocolate Chip. It literally tastes like frozen chocolate chip cookie dough (without the anxiety of salmonella poisoning!)I swear Breyers is the best ice cream brand in the world. 


There you have it folks. Day one. Done. I feel like this is a tad boring but there just wasn't much downfall to the day. I'll take it! If only every day was as simple and easy (PSH!) My only complaint is that I had to toss two would-be perfect avocados because of severe bruising (really folks learn how to handle produce!) and I struggled a bit with the toothpaste cap tonight because 'someone' screws it back on too tight. :-) 


Talk to you all tomorrow!