Thoughts on a Thursday

 It always makes me laugh when I see a hipster-type in Leesburg. I want to give them a hug and say, "Dude. Don't try so hard."

It's currently 9:30. I thought it was later than that. Possibly because everyone else has been in bed for at least an hour. The house is dark and quiet. Yessssss...

I've been reading the Mary Russell series and loving it. It's basically well-written Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, which is TOTALLY me wheelhouse. It's also helping me pass the time while waiting for the newest Sherlock series from the BBC. WRITE FASTER, STEVEN MOFFAT!! I NEED MORE BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN MY LIFE!!

Mmmm...Benedict Cumberbatch

Or, who I like to call Bandicoot Cucumberslice.

Movies I Have Not Seen That I Would Like To See:
Breaking Dawn Part II
The Hobbit
Argo
Les Miserables
Lincoln

I upgraded my sleeping mask a few weeks ago. Best $10 I ever spent. I'm currently on the search for the perfect white noise app. I have two that I like, but I think I can do better. The energy I expend trying to get an optimal sleeping experience is astounding.

We subscribe to more than a few (but less than a dozen) magazines. The only one I read cover to cover within 24 hours of receiving it?

Entertainment Weekly.

And I don't even have the decency to be ashamed.

Summer Fun

Albany is a big-ish small town. We're big enough to have a Target and Old Navy and soon-to-be-two Publix's, but not big enough for an Olive Garden or Super Target. If I go to the grocery store, I'm bound to see at least a few people I know. Albany has a definite small town feel.

Not too long ago, we started noticing that for such a small town, Albany has an inordinate amount of places that serve *only* hot dogs. At last count, we've noticed at least five. It's kind of weird, actually. Why the great love for hot dogs in Albany? How do five hot dog stands survive in the cut-throat restaurant business? This doesn't even take into account all of the BBQ joints and fast food restaurants that have hot dogs on their menu.

I mean, hot dogs are okay, if you're in the mood for a hot dog. It's not something I seek out, and it's certainly not something I think about buying when I'm looking to buy a precooked meal.

But the girls like hot dogs, and Madeline came up with an idea for some summer fun. We are going to visit all of the hot dog restaurants in Albany, one a week, and rate them. We even have a grading system! Sure, we could be doing something else with our time, but why not? Look for our first review soon!

Shoes

When I was in Sixth Grade, my mom bought me a pair of electic blue high tops that were AWESOME in every way imaginable.



See? Awesome. They looked like Coverse All Stars (I wouldn't discover those lovelies until high school), but they were actually Keds. I loved those shoes. They were obnoxiously bright. This was a shade of blue not seen in nature. I was always being asked, "WHERE did you get those SHOES??!!??" (Sometimes with with shock, sometimes with awe. ;D I'm pretty sure my grandmother hated them.)

I remember they were only $5 or $10- some ridiculously cheap clearance price- which is probably the main reason why Mom bought them. I know it wasn't because I needed them. I know for a fact that I had other tennis shoes because I was *heavily* Tretorns at the time, and those babies weren't cheap! Anyway- I wore the heck out those shoes until I sadly outgrew them in 7th grade.

It's because of this that I didn't hesitate *too much* when Madeline told me a few weeks ago that she wanted a pair of these:


BRIGHT doesn't begin to describe these babies. The picture doesn't do them justice. Again, not a color found in nature. And my baby girl wears them with bright pink shoelaces. She knows the power of brightly colored shoes.

(And the fact that she needed a pair of green, brown or black tennis shoes for her OZ costume only helped justify the purchase. Why buy black or brown when you can have shocking electric lime?)

Oh, yes. Isabella will be sporting pink combat boots before, during and after her OZ performances. She wants some real Doc Martens, but she has to save her pennies for those.

What can I say?? These girlies know the power of awesome shoes.

Television Survey

I'm not ashamed that I like wathcing TV. After my Kitchen Aid, my DVR is my most treaured household appliance. I don't schedule my life around television shows, but I think people who act all superior because they don't do anything as plebian as watching television are gits and they can kiss my grits. ;D

Now for a fun TV survey, sent to me by my friend Kellie!

Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice:
Firefly (It helps that there are only 13 episodes. But what great episodes they are!)
Gavin and Stacey- a Brit com that is just brilliant. I can't wait for the final series to start showing on BBCA. (And when will they release the second series and Christmas special on DVD??)

Name a (current) show you can't miss:
The Big Bang Theory- It starts of my week with laughter and geekery.

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show:
Nathan Fillion- He's the reason I checked out (and love!) Castle.

Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show:
Sarah Michelle Gellar- She just grates on my nerves SO MUCH. I'd probably like Buffy if it weren't for her.

Name a show you can, and do, quote from.
Firefly, Top Gear, How I Met Your Mother, Gavin and Stacey

Name a show you like that no one else enjoys:
Hmmm...Maybe Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? Guy Fieri is a terrible host, and I don;t watch any of his other shows, but the places he visits on DDD usually are interesting and the food almost always looks good.

Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song:
The Big Bang Theory (It's Barenaked Ladies! It's catchy!)

Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch:
Castle- Nathan Fillion is sweet and chraming as a writer who shadows an NYPD Detective names Kate Beckett. She's the muse for his latest crime series. Their unresolved sexual tension is through the roof! The show is funny and charming and the mysteries are never too heavy.

Name a TV series you own:
Friday Night Lights

What is your favourite episode of your favourite series?
Urgh. So hard to pick!! Probably "State" from Season One of Friday Night Lights (I still cry every. single. time. I watch it) or "Out of Gas" from Firefly. And I love, love, love the Gavin and Stacey pilot.

A show you mean to watch, but you just haven't gotten around to yet:
Veronica Mars, Glee

Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad?
Grey's Anatomy. No one on the show is allowed to be happy, and I can't deal with that much dysfunction so late in the week.

Name a show you aren't interested in watching, not in the least:
24

Name a show that's made you cry multiple times:
Friday Night Lights. I've cried at some part during every episode. This show is amazing, amazing, amazing. I've also cried more than once at Doctor Who.

What was the first TV show you were obsessed with?
The Young Riders

How often do you watch TV?
Every day of the week.

Which do you think is the best TV series ever made?
Friday Night Lights is so good and it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. As far as comedies go, I think 30 Rock is as good as it gets. Tina Fey is a genius.

The Best of 2009

I know my "Best Of" series was popular last year, but I just didn't have as much time to get it together like I wanted to for 2009. Still, I can't just leave y'all hanging, so here's a "Best of Everything" list instead.

THE BEST MOVIE



While The Incredibles remains my favorite Disney/Pixar movie, Up almost nudged it out of the top spot on the strength of the first nine minutes of the movie. The montage of Carl and Ellie Fredrickson's life together had me laughing and crying and then laughing and crying even harder. The rest of the film is just as good, and if this movie doesn't win a Best Animation Oscar, then I will seriously be upset.

HONORBALE MENTION: Star Trek. Hello, Captain Kirk! ROWR. The story was tight, the action was exciting and J.J. Abrams has made it okay to be a public fan of Star Trek again.

THE BEST RECIPE

Once again The Pioneer Woman comes through with her Chicken Tikka Masala. Within a few days of this recipe going up on her website, I was diving into the world of Indian Cooking. Oh my! This recipe is SO GOOD, and it's like nothing our normal American palates have ever tasted. The recipe isn't hard or overly complicated, but there are a lot of steps involved. But I promise you it's totally worth it in the end! And the best part? This recipe can feed an Army and still have lots of leftovers, and it tastes even better the second day! Try it. You won't be sorry.

HONORABLE MENTION:PW's Steak Bites. It's a recipe which makes you say, "Why didn't *I* think of that??".

THE BEST WEBSITE

It's no lie when I say that my famiy spent thirty minutes looking at this website during my grandmother's 75th birthday party. Hysterical laughter ensued.

HONORABLE MENTION: Segullah

I've been inspired and uplifted by this blog so many times this year that I finally ordered a subscription to the magazine.

THE BEST SONG

"Breathe" by U2


The opening song of U2's 360* Tour was "Breathe" from their album No Line of the Horizon. It was the first song I ever heard U2 play live, so it most definitely has to be the best song of 2009.

HONORABLE MENTION:

"Starlight" by Muse


Love this song! Seeing Muse perform it live is even better.

THE BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK

A Couple of Boys Have The Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee


In all honesty, I laughed so hard at this book I just *might* have wet my pants a little. It has everything I love in a children's book- great illustrations, humor, good characters and most important of all, LAYERS. Kids will love it for one reason, and adults will love it for a whole 'nother reason. Most of all, I want Eamon and James to come and visit my house (even though I know I will be exhausted by the time they leave) and I want Bill and Pam to be *my* grandparents!!

HONORABLE MENTION

Hate That Cate by Sharon Creech


A sequel to my favorite children's book of 2005 Love That Dog. Creech continues with the same unusual (but 100% effective!!) storytelling style that was so charming and heart-wrenching in Love That Dog. It takes maybe 30 minutes to read this book aloud, which I think is the best way to read it for the first time.

THE BEST BOOK

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris


Honestly, this book right here is why I only read 98 new books this year. I re-read DaG at *least* ten times. What can I say? I'm a sucker for tall, blong former Viking Vampires! I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series Dead in the Family which will be released in May.

HONORABLE MENTION

Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom


Nordstrom was an editor for Harpers from the 1930's-1970's. She is considered a pioneer in the area of children's books. She edited many of the children's books we have come to regard as 'classics'. She worked with the likes of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Garth Williams, E.B. White, Maurice Sendak, Margaret Wise Brown, Shel Silverstein, Clement Hurd- the list goes on and on.

This book is full of letters she wrote to various people within the publishing industry (authors, illustrators, librarians, other publishers, etc). She was brilliant and enormously funny. I loved seeing just how committed she was to her authors and illustrators. I know a collection of letters (especially hundreds of letters) sounds like it will be enormously dry and boring, but I'm telling you IT'S NOT. I borrowed this book from the local library, but I'm *seriously* considering purchasing a copy for my own personal use.

In my opinion, this book is an education for anyone who 1) wants to be involved in any way with the creation and distribution of quality children's books or 2) anyone who simply loves children's books

SO THAT'S IT!! My picks for 2009! On to 2010!

A Year of Reading - In Review

With Goodreads making it so easy to keep track of my reading, I didn't keep a month-by-month word document like I have in the past. For five years, my only New Year's Resolution was to read 50 New-To-Me books over the course of the year.

If you check out my 2009 Goodreads Bookshelf you'll see that I read 98 new books! I'm satisfied that I exceeded my goal, but I think I probably could have done better. I really thought I would at least get to 100. Of course, this doesn't count all of the books I re-read or the hundreds of books I read at preschool over the course of the school year!

Jennifer's 50-in-2009 book montage

Jennifer's favorite books »

But in the spirit of the new decade, I've decided to up my goal to 100 New-To-Me books over the course of 2010. I think I can do it, even though it will be a bit of a challenge. But *this* is the type of challenge that one can look forward to, yes? ;)

Next up: A BEST OF post!