We’re finally home! We rolled in this morning around 9:30 am and have spent the rest of the day vegging and napping, preparing for our return back to work.
What was supposed to be a ten hour trip ended up taking eighteen hours. Not counting the three hours we stopped and slept at a rest stop, that’s a total of fifteen hours drive time.
Longest trip ever!
Now it’s time for December and Christmas! Oh Lord, help me please.
So this might be rather short as I’m posting from my Blackberry and the thought of typing a long entry on this tiny keyboard makes my fingers hurt.
We are currently sitting in traffic just outside of Alexandria, VA where all the beltways merge into I-95 South. We left PA at 2:30 this afternoon. It is now 8:30pm. We have gone 150 miles is 5.5 hours, people! We are technically supposed to be somewhere near the VA/NC state line. Instead we are stuck at the VA/DC line about four fucking hours behind. To say I’m a little short of perturbed is probably an understatement.
So to cheer myself up, I’m going to do a November Love post, an idea I stole from G (I will so totally link her when I’m not in the car) that basically talks about things I loved this month. Just as a little reminder that there’s still some good in my life.
1. Thanksgiving trip to PA – I always love going back home to visit friends and family.
2. Election Day – oh, what a great and exciting time that was, especially just seeing everyone come out to vote.
3. True Blood – lordy, I should’ve listened to ya’ll sooner. We watched the entire season in four days and I can’t wait for more.
4. Wawa – I’ve said it before and will say it again; it’s heaven on earth and I must’ve went six or seven times while home.
That’s it for now. Of course, November had it’s low points too (bronchitis, personal stuff happening with Steve and I, being super busy at work) but overall, it wasn’t too bad of month.
It’s a shame I’ll be ending it in the car instead of at home in my bed.
(Note: in the twenty minutes it’s taken me to post this, we’ve moved five miles! Yay for holiday travel)
I’ve never been ashamed of the fact that I’m a whore for television, be it actual decent programming or crappy reality TV. So I figured maybe if I posted my thoughts on the things on the TiVo, I might find some comrades seeing as it feels like there’s no one I can talk to about some of my shows.
- First off, I’m still pissed they moved Prison Break to the same time slot as Heroes. Now, I’ve got to wait to watch one of them. I’ve watched both shows from day one and am still hanging on. There is one reason that I will continue to watch Prison Break no matter how arbitrary or fantastical it gets: the acting. William Ficthner (Mahone) and Michael Knepper (T-Bag) are superb and they just light up the screen every time they’re on. The others should really take some tips from them (I’m looking at you, Dominic Purcell LINC SMASH!). Heroes, on the other hand, eh! I haven’t quite decided if I like this season. Love that Sylar is good, only because Zachary Quinto rocks that character. Still hate Mohinder. Still hate Peter. Kind of hate Claire this season. Still love Elle. Bored with Tracy (just because Ali Larter is boring) and Nathan. Even Hiro has lost his appeal. But I like where they’re going with the storyline and bringing you back to the beginning where you didn’t know who was good or bad. I’ll probably hang on at least until the end of the season and see how it goes.
- I picked up The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother as regulars this season. Should have picked up HIMYM earlier. The writing, the characters, the stories. Definitely a much better acted and written and appealing Friends. And who doesn’t love Barney? AndTBBT – one word – Sheldon! He carries that show and he is fabulous! I must laugh out loud for at least half of that show.
- I was a pretty loyal watched of The Shield the past few seasons but I just can’t get into now. I still hang on because it’s the last season but damn, if something doesn’t pick up soon, I’m gonna end up being more than happy when it’s over.
- After skipping a season, I started ANTM again. Don’t know. The girls are mediocre, Tyra is still full of herself, challenges are pretty much the same. I just like the pretty pictures. And Nigel Barker (rowr!). And Miss Jay’s antics crack me up. I call McKey as the winner. Annaleigh and Samantha are just too commercial to be fierce like Tyra wants.
- Parking Wars is awesome! Steve says I love it because it’s familar and maybe he’s right. I’ve lived and worked in Philly so I know all about the PPA. And I know all about the assholes that live there. So it’s almost gratifying to watch as people scream and cry and blame everybody else. It’s so so funny to watch!!
- I started watching The Office steadily this season. I’ve always liked it, just never picked it up. I’m glad I did though because I love watching Jim and Pam. And everyone else makes me laugh so hard. So many of those situations are relevant to my job that it’s scary.
- I’m still hanging on to Grey’s Anatomy. It’s a shame because I really hate Meredith. If she were gone, I’d be a happy happy person. Because there are so many better things about the cast behind her. Like Sloan and Torres’ friendship/relationship. Or Christina and McArmy (who is a hottie!) – thank god – she needed someone after the whole Burke thing. I am so pissed about them bringing Denny back (or whatever they’re doing with him). Can’t Izzie just be happy without him showing up? I like him and Alex together. And Lexipedia – love her, hate her going after George. Still think Bailey and the Chief are two of the shows strongest characters. So glad Hahn left. McDreamy can go too – he’s just blegh.
- Also still hanging onto ER. I love Angela Bassett and it’s a shame that it’s the last season because I’ve love to see her as a regular for a much longer time. Love Sam and Gates together, mainly because they both have been through a lot and deserve to be happy. Kind of glad Abby and Luka are gone because they were getting boring. Bored with Neela. Still love, love Frank. And I hate that they killed Pratt but thought the episode was so moving. I haven’t cried that hard in a long, long time.
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is definitely one of the funniest shows on TV in a long long time. That’s all I need to say about that.
- Still watching Wife Swap. I can’t stop. Seriously, somebody help. At least I got away from Supernanny.
- Rock of Love Charm School is the most satisfying craptastic reality TV. Seriously, these skanks are just hysterical to watch. Then again, I’m satisfied with almost any crappy reality they put on VH1. Most of the time. Excluding anything involving New York, Real or Chance (which amazingly enough I thought I would like) or The Pick Up Artist (I can’t watch his bullshit anymore – it’s almost pathetic how much he believes in this empire – like some kid who actually believes that WoW is real and brings it into his real life. He’d be lucky if that shit he feeds girls worked because he wouldn’t even get a hi out of me wearing that damn fur hat!). Celebrity Rehab? Actually almost too serious for me. Except for crazy Gary Busey. And even thought it’s already over – I Want to Work for Diddy was kind of the shit.
- Also been watching a lot of the Food Network these days. I love Ace of Cakes, Challenge, Good Eats, Iron Chef and The Cheff Jeff Project. I’ll also watch anything with Paula Deen. Still hate Sandra Lee and the Barefoot Contessa (so boring!) and I’m also beginning to hate Rachel Ray, which is a shame because she used to be my girl. Also, Bobby Flay – comes off as kind of a prick.
- Other notables: Chelsea Lately, The Soup, My Name is Earl, The Girls Next Door, The Hills
- Other hateables: Jon and Kate Plus 8, 17 Kids and Counting (can’t stand either one of these families for different reasons – mainly watch so I can hate on them)
And finally, I want to talk about two of my absolute favorite shows this season
- Sons of Anarchy in new on Wednesday on F/X and leave it to that channel to not disappoint. (Truthfully, I’m a fan of a majority of thier shows: Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me) Anyway, Sons is about a motorcycle club in a small town in California who basically keep the small time criminals in check and keep an eye on the town mostly so they can run their own arms business. The acting is superb (check out Katey Segal, formerly Peg Bundy, as the matriarch of the biker gang), the storyline is engaging and at least once a week, someone gets their ass handed to them. Like the time Katey Segal hit the chick from 8 Mile and Crossroads in the face with a skateboard. Or when Katey (whose name is Gemma) basically handed the heroin overdose over to Adriana of The Sopranos fame while she in the hospital after prematurely giving birth to her son after a drug overdose. Or when they burned the gang tattoo of the back of one of the former members with a blowtorch – while he was awake. Or when they cut some rapists balls of and let him bleed out. It’s just, kind of awesome!
- And oh lord, The Real Housewives of Atlanta! I can’t even tell you about this show. It’s drama, it’s glitz, it’s glamour, it gold diggers. NeNe cracks me the hell up and I’d hang out with her in a minute. Kim is such a trailer trash skank and you know her wig came off the clearance aisle at the drugstore. There is no way that bitch is 29! Sheree – wooooo lord! She’s always saying, “people are jealous of my success”. What success? Marrying and divorcing a football player? Puh-lease! And Lisa. I don’t know about her. She’s like an annoying little wind up doll. And you know she’s playing both sides of the group. Poor DeShawn – she’s so nice but so very clueless. But seriously, the drama in that show I can’t stay away from. And next week, when NeNe confronts Kim. Oh man, I salivate at the thought. And can I just say too, Dwight, NeNe’s fabulous gay friend – he cracks me up too. And he reminds me of The Lady Chablis from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
So that’s it. I just realized I watch way too much TV. But oh well, I work so hard during the day and that’s what TiVo is for. But it’s good to get off my chest!
What is your first name? Kristy
What is your favorite food? New York Strip
What high school did you go to? The Valley (Sun Valley High School)
What is your favorite color? Blue
Who is your celebrity crush? Sons of Anarchy (really, Jax, whose played by Charlie Hunnam)
What is your favorite drink? Cabernet
What is your dream vacation? Ireland
What is your favorite dessert? Cannoli
What do you want to do when you grow up? Drive Route 66
Who/what do you love most in life? Family (inc. the boyfriend and the dog)
Choose one word that describes you. Stubborn
What is your Flickr name? Kallure
I stole this game from Jennifer @ jayesel because I thought it was too good to pass up. It was hard finding photos that I liked and were a little bit more “arty” than just shots of the things above. Here are the rules:
- Go to Flickr.
- Open the Big Huge Labs’ mosaic-maker (possibly in a second tab or window for easy back-and-forth between the 2 sites)
- Answer each question and then search Flickr for each word or phrase.
- Choose one photo from the FIRST PAGE ONLY of your results that fits you best.
- Enter the photo url into the mosaic-maker.
- Once you’ve selected a photo for each question/answer, create the mosaic and upload it to Flickr. Ta-da!
Note: Just wanted to say two things. When I searched for Kallure, nothing came up. So I just grabbed a pic of me from my photostream. Also, I can’t tell you how much I love the picture of the pug in front of the lawnmower depicting stubborn!
Photo credits: 1. kristy., 2. New York Strip Steak, 3. Gates of the Valley Sunset, 4. Icarus undone, 5. Sons Of Anarchy, 6. I chose Cabernet for my flowers, 7. Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 8. Holy Cannoli, 9. Route 66, 10. Raccoon Family, 11. The Great Wall of China, 12. Early Morning
Since I haven’t actually been blogging much these past few months (*cough* years), I thought maybe a meme or two might help fill some space. Maybe you’ll learn something and maybe not but at least I’ll feel a little better about at least writing something.
So here we go (as seen at slackermama.com).
A is for age: I turned 27 this year. That was kind of hard. Because at 27, you are on the downward slope to thirty. You are on the back side of the twenties. At some point, I think I’m supposed to become a grownup.
B is for burger of choice: If I have to choose a fast food, it’s the BK Lounge. They have the best quality burgers, hands down. There’s also a good BBQ joint around here called Melvin’s that serves pretty awesome burgers. But I’d take Steve’s home cooked Bubba Burgers over those any day! 
C is for the car I drive: A 2004 Hyundai Elantra GT in Tidal Wave (i.e. bright blue). It’ll be paid off next June, which will be a big accomplishment for me. The Elantra wasn’t my first car not was it my first car with a payment. But it’s the car I’ve had the longest and it’s seen me through a lot of miles and milestones. And it’s been reliable (*knock on wood*) and a great deal with all the upgrades and features that I got.
D is for your dog’s name: Sammy. The shelter gave it to him and it just seemed fitting. It kind of worked because Steve wanted to name whatever dog we got Sampson. So we just tell everybody Sammy is short for that. Thank god I didn’t get to name him – it would’ve been something fruity probably. I once named a dog Legend in high school. And I would’ve name his sister Lyric if I could. See?
E is for essential item you use every day: The Blackberry, hands down. Since my work and personal email are set up on it, I’m kind of tethered to it. Plus, I live off text messaging (it’s how Steve and I communicate during the day and my preferred way of communicating all together) and having the Internet, GPS/maps and my to-do list on it kind of makes it precious.
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: I’m kind of disappointed with my regulars these days. The only one giving me sheer unstoppable entertainment is Real Housewives of Atlanta. Oh lord, I could go on and on about those gold diggers! I seriously can’t get enough.
G is for favorite game: I would’ve said Halo 3 a few weeks ago but after the upgrade, the gameplay just became total bullshit (I don’t know what happened but we were just getting our asses handed to us – it’s not fun to play when you ALWAYS lose by, like, a lot!). So Steve and I have been playing Gears of War 2 and it’s pretty dope. I’ve been playing a lot of the games over at Sporcle lately. And I’ll always be true to my Guiter Hero and Oblivion – I just haven’t had time to play them.
H is for home state: North Carolina. I’m a Tarheel through and through. Just didn’t stay due to the parents divorce and have never gone back because, well, there’s not much to offer there in central NC (at least, not much that we are interested in).
I is for instruments you play: Do the Rock Band instruments count? ‘Cause I play a mean drum solo. I used to play the violin. Years ago. I can play the keyboard if the keys light up.
J is for favorite juice: Grape. I love it! I just don’t drink it as often. Coming in a close second are apple and orange.
K is for whose bum you’d like to kick: I’m a lover, not a fighter, but if pushed I’m sure I’d have a list somewhere.
L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Alex’s, a local diner. We stopped there after my little brother’s football game one night. The food, which is normally mediocre, was actually pretty delicious. And we were in and out for under $20.
M is for your favorite Muppet: I never had a favorite really. I always liked Gonzo. And Kermit. Totally hated Miss Piggy.
N is for number of piercings: Four, two in each ear. I’d have more but I’m terrified of needles so I could never bring myself to do any of them.
O is for overnight hospital stays: I think only one, when I had my appendix out. And I don’t even remember if I stayed over night then.
P is for people you were with today: Just Steve and the dog. We are poor and trying to get things done so we didn’t go anywhere.
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read books or blogs, surf the net, work on my crafty projects. Sometimes I don’t get a lot of quiet time because we don’t actively make time to spend away from each other.
R is for biggest regret: I don’t really have any regrets because all of my actions have put me in the fairly happy spot I am today. Maybe not going to grad school right out of undergrad because then I could’ve had many more quality choices than what I have now.
S is for status: Winding down for the night. Watching some of the Fox animation (damn, I’ve fifteen minutes late for the Iron Chef showdown!). Steve’s already in bed (weird) so I’m just having some quiet time (huh, interesting!)
T is for time you woke up today: Not exact, but probably around 9am. My clock was unplugged and I didn’t look at Steve’s right away.
U is for what you consider unique about yourself: Dunno, honestly. Because I really think the qualities that I might consider unique are actually shared with other people. Maybe not people close to me but somewhere in the world.
V is for vegetable you love: Broccoli or corn. Usually with a touch of salt and a spray of the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (Weight Watchers habit). Those really are the only vegetables I eat.
W is for worst habit: I’m lazy with life overall, I think. When I set my mind to something, I usually get it or get it done. But when it comes to just generally maintaining and following through over a long period of time, I’m awful at it (examples: this blog, housework, my career, relationships).
X is for x-rays you’ve had: Aside from dental – ankle (many, many ankle x-rays), chest (just this past week actually and once before) and back, wrist and I’ve had an MRI as well.
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Steve’s burgers from the grill. That was dinner! And pretty much the only thing I ate today.
Z is for zodiac: Taurus. And you can tell (stubborn!).
