may update

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It’s been awhile (again). Random blogging in list form because it’s easier…

1. Last Friday I stayed up until about 3:30am watching Royal Wedding coverage. Hee. I managed to stay awake long enough to watch all the arrivals – Princes William & Harry (*swoon*) & Kate (awww, she looked so beautiful). I ended up recording CNN’s coverage of the ceremony and carriage procession and watched it a few days later. LOVED IT. Total Royal fangirl here. I adored the pomp and circumstance of it all. And I especially loved catching the small glimpses into William & Kate’s relationship. From their whispers at the altar to their extra kiss on the balcony — they looked so happy and in love!

Anyway, maybe it’s just me but who else thinks it’s awesome that the British Monarchy has their own Flickr?

2. Spent the rest of the weekend in Palm Springs at my best friend Robyn’s bachelorette weekend. Had a wonderfully relaxing time in the sun reading.

3. I’ve been itching to watch a movie. I don’t really know why. I definitely want to see Thor in the theatre. Also intrigued by Fast & Furious Five, Scream 4, and Something Borrowed. Random, I know.

4. Rob was in Minneapolis last week at Target’s corporate office for work. And he came home with a mini shopping cart and a Bullseye collection. We’re not keeping them all, LOL.



5. Lakers 🙁

Happy Cinco de Mayo Everyone!

happy things, spring edition

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It’s about time for a Happy Things entry! Spring Edition this time.

1. An unexpected Friday off… giving me an awesome 3-day Easter weekend. To make it PC, my company officially called it a special “Spring Friday.” So awesome!

2. Making chocolate chip cookies for a friend’s barbecue. Rob & I have most of the ingredients on-hand so we make these whenever there’s an opportunity. 😀 No pictures because we ate them all. Hee.

3. Darren Criss. He plays Blaine on Glee. I completely realize that sometimes he is absolutely shoe-horned into episodes but I adore him so I just don’t care. (Hey, at least I admit it!). Anyway, he’s been doing talk show appearances recently (probably to promote the new Warblers album) and I’ve really enjoyed catching his performances and interviews. He’s not so great live… but whatevs. 😉



4. Spring flowers, especially ranunculus and daffodils.



5. Food trucks at our local Farmers’ Market. It’s actually less of a Farmers’ Market and more of a mini-food truck meet-up. That’s ok with us, though. We pick up our fruit then grab lunch before heading home. This past weekend we indulged in various tacos and chimichurri fries. YUM.



Now, if only the weather around here would fully commit to Spring, then I’d definitely be a happy camper.

Hope everyone is doing well! 🙂

diesel’s 4th birthday

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Damn. Where did April go?!

It’s been a little crazy here lately. Rob was traveling the first 2 weeks of the month then I was in San Francisco last week for 4 days. I’m so happy that both of us are finally home together this week. Except that I have a ton of laundry and cleaning to do around the house. UGH.

Anyway, we celebrated a big milestone this month — Diesel’s birthday! 🙂 We got him a carob cupcake treat that he devoured.



I can’t believe he’s already 4! My little doggie is growing up. *sniff*

dexter

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I’ve heard so many good things about Dexter. But to be honest, I couldn’t imagine liking a show about a serial killer. Well, I was wrong! The show is so good that Rob and I watched the first 4 seasons over a few months and now I’m anxious for the 5th to be released on DVD.



The opening credits are AMAZING. Visually stunning. Usually we’ll fast forward through the credits of most shows but Dexter’s are so unique (and the theme song so catchy!) that it’s a great way to set the tone for each episode.

Each season is only 12 episodes long, which is just enough time to introduce, develop and close out the main storyline of the season. That doesn’t leave much room for filler episodes or superfluous storylines (though there are a few of those — Angel & Maria comes to mind).

Brief overall season comments (no specific spoilers here)…

Season 1
SO GOOD. This is my favorite of the 4 seasons I’ve seen so far. You’re thrown right into the season’s main storyline while learning about Dexter, his life, and the people in it.

Season 2
OK. Still a very good season but there were a couple of things that bothered me. First, a new character, Lila, was introduced who develops a relationship with Dexter. I HATED HER. I understand why someone like Lila was needed to show another side of Dexter but I just couldn’t stand her. Maybe it was the actress? Also, I was disappointed in the closure for this season because there was doubt raised heading into the finale but everything was resolved without those questions ever being addressed (not even in seasons 3 or 4).

Season 3
So much better! I didn’t like Jimmy Smits’s character at first but he grew on me and found his friendship with Dexter intriguing.

Season 4
WOW. Very close second to season 1 for me. The Trinity Killer storyline was set up and executed at a great pace (with unexpected twists!) and culminated in one of the best season finales I’ve ever seen.

Highly recommended! You can easily catch up via instant Netflix or DVD. Now, what show to marathon next?

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30 Days of TV Meme: Day 15

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Day 15 – Favorite female character
Another easy one…

BUFFY! aka The Vampire Slayer.



She’s just a girl who happens to be the “Chosen One.” Despite her extraordinary strength and skill, she’s still completely relatable. She goes to school, has friends, falls in love — all while questioning her destiny, struggling with the responsibility of her powers, and at times, wishing she could go back to being “normal.”

The definitive Buffy moment for me comes in the season 5 finale when she gives her own life to protect her family and friends…

“Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles… tell Giles I figured it out. And I’m okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world… is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.”
– Episode 522, The Gift

*sniff* This scene always has me in tears.

The rest of the prompts…

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weekend recap

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Had a really mellow weekend. I took some random snaps so thought I’d post them here…



Wicked on Friday! (I know you hate it, Ricardo. :P) I loved it but overall I don’t think the singing voices of this touring cast (save for David Nathan Perlow as Fiyero) are as strong as the LA cast I saw a few years back at the Pantages. That’s ok, though. I totally have the original Broadway soundtrack on repeat right now anyway.

Rob got really sick on Saturday morning so he pretty much slept the entire day. I hung out with Diesel and watched The Romantics (it wasn’t very good – Katie Holmes was miscast; her role needed a more subtle and nuanced actress — she and Anna Paquin probably should have switched).



I recently downloaded the Instagram app for my iPhone and LOVE playing around with it. Diesel is my favorite subject. Of course.



Another Diesel pic from last week for good measure. He can be such a lazy bum sometimes.



Rob felt much better today so we ran some errands (Target, I love you!) and picked up frozen treats at Pinkberry.



To close out the weekend, we made a really yummy gumbo for dinner. My friend Jason used to cook this on cold, rainy nights in the Bay Area and while it was neither cold nor rainy here in SoCal today, this gumbo really brought me back to those days. Love that food can evoke good memories.

And that was my low-key weekend. How was yours? 🙂

30 Days of TV Meme: Day 14

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I’m exhausted. The combination of real life and work has been overwhelming recently. I’m so looking forward to the weekend when hopefully I can play a little personal catch-up.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue on with this TV meme because gosh darnit, I started it and want to finish it even if it takes years. Which I hope it won’t. 😛

Day 14 – Favorite male character

SO EASY!



PACEY. From Dawson’s Creek, of course. 🙂

I love Pacey so, so much. His journey from the sarcastic and insecure boy in season 1 to the witty and romantic man he became in the later seasons involves some of the most compelling storylines of the show. The push/pull with his dad, his courage in the face of Andie’s mental illness, falling in love with Joey and dealing with the fallout — in many ways he was the true heart of the show. <3

The rest of the prompts…

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adjustment bureau

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My heart goes out to the people of Japan. It deeply saddens me to see the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami. But I know that actions speak louder than words so I’m going to make a donation to the American Red Cross to aid in the relief efforts and I hope you’ll consider doing the same (if not to the Red Cross, maybe to the humanitarian organization of your choice).

So Rob and I watched a matinee showing of The Adjustment Bureau today (thanks for the gift card Jason! :))…



I’d say it’s a solid movie. A little light in terms of the story but saved by the tremendous acting. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are so charming and radiant together that you can’t help but root for them to be together. John Slattery and Anthony Mackie round out an amazing cast.

ALSO. Very important. This movie is essentially a romance. It’s being marketed as an action thriller but it’s not. It’s definitely a love story — just with action elements.

The story revolves around the ideas of free will versus destiny. These central concepts ground the movie but there’s not enough detail to make it substantial. Even the ending came together too easily. Fortunately, the actors do such a fantastic job at selling the story that the happy ending feels satisfying nonetheless.

Recommended!

30 Days of TV Meme: Day 13

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Day 13 – Favorite Childhood Show
I’m stumped. I didn’t watch a lot of TV as a kid. Maybe Sesame Street or Reading Rainbow?

The first show I remember watching regularly was Beverly Hills Teens when I would get home from school. That was when I was about 7 or 8, I think.

Around the same time, we got cable in our house and my go-to show became The All New Mickey Mouse Club. The first few seasons with the members of The Party not the later seasons with Britney, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.

I loved the TGIF sitcom block on ABC too. Full House, Family Matters, Just the Ten of Us, etc. It’s interesting that I watched more sitcoms growing up than I do now. Huh.

The rest of the prompts…

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30 Days of TV Meme: Day 12

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So as I was reading through my blog archives, I noticed that I have a tendency to start a series of posts or memes and never finish. I end up abandoning them after a few weeks. Oops? 🙂

I started the 30 Days of TV Meme right around the time that we moved last summer and I inevitably got caught up with unpacking that I didn’t even get halfway. Let’s see if I can pick up where I left off and actually finish it this time.

Day 12 – An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
I could take the easy way out and name a Dawson’s Creek episode since there are many that I’ve seen at least 5 times. But I thought I’d go with the series finale of another one of my beloved shows, The OC.



Thanks RAWR Caps!

The End’s Not Near, It’s Here isn’t a perfect episode but it’s hopeful. Which is exactly what I wanted for these characters I loved so much. The episode featured a mix of closure (Cohens moving to Berkeley, Julie choosing herself, Ryan and Seth heading to college, and Summer joining GEORGE) with flashes to the future (Julie graduating from college, Seth and Summer getting married, Ryan becoming an architect) and hints of what might be next for the characters (Ryan and Taylor!!!). When I feel nostalgic for the show, this is the episode I tend to watch — it’s such a satisfying goodbye.

The rest of the prompts…

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