No More Cable Ties...

I have been living without cable for almost two months now and guess what?!? I know that you probably want me to say “nothing happened,” but in reality a LOT happened!

I am getting SO MUCH MORE done! Because I have to plan and seek out the shows that I want to watch, it is no longer a mindless ease, it becomes a chore. And we all know what chores are… difficult. My channels are limited and the choices are too because of apple tv, netflix, or free channels from our antenna.

Which is EXACTLY what I needed. Limitations.

Be honest… you get home from work and are procrastinating on some stuff you don’t want to do but should. You are hungry so you make dinner and just will sit down for a *minute* to eat, and before you know it – it is time for bed. This happened to me constantly, and why shouldn’t it? I am tired, I have worked all day, and this is just what I “needed.”

Until my days and nights started to all blend together. I felt like I was only accomplishing things at work and doing nothing at home… and this was all a slippery slope of eating and TV watching and then nothing else.  I used to have hobbies I thought. I used to do stuff, whatever it was, and now all I do is come home and watch TV during the week.

Well, no more!

Here is what has changed in my life since cutting the cord.

1.  I watch the shows I want to watch because I have planned to watch them. Whether it is The Walking Dead, The Bachelor, Modern Family, or even watching Vampire Diaries on my iPad… I seek it out because I want to watch it. Which is very different from vegging out in front of the TV with a billion channels and a full DVR.
2. I am getting to bed on time. I don’t know what it is, but when I plan something, it works out so much better. Before, I was just getting caught up in watching something, some dumb show, and I would look up at the clock and be all like, crap.
3. Eating dinner at the table happens.  Because eating dinner at the table happens…
4. Cleaning up after dinner happens because I am not engrossed in a show. I don’t know when this started because my parents had a strict rule while I was growing up about not watching TV while dinner was being eaten.
5. I can think of about 7 extra shows that I used to watch regularly just because they were backed up on the DVR per week… that adds up to about 4-5 hours of extra time, and that night time after work is precious!
6. And finally, because I am not tied to the TV, it is easier to say no to it. I don’t know if I was addicted before, but now I am enjoying the sunsets on my back deck, cooking better meals, planning my next day which leads to a better morning, etc.

Things are just better. I didn’t expect them to be, and I may have even thrown a tantrum fit when we didn’t have the DVR any longer, but it is worth it. Oh, and the extra money is great too.

Sincerely, 

cold-turkey-cable-cutting-survivor

Best & Worst?

In my news feed this morning, I saw that Margot Robbie is on two red carpet lists from the Oscars last night - a best AND a worst! The articles popped up right in a row... more evidence that supports that there is just no pleasing the masses. In my opinion, lose the dress, but then she would just be even hotter. Life is so unfair sometimes! :)

#Reckless in Charleston

Being that Charleston is on the opposite side of the country from Los Angeles, it is kind of a big deal when we get to see or hear of a movie or show being filmed here. There is a new show called Reckless that has been on for a few weeks and I thought I would share my view on their take of Charleston below!

• The accent that they portray Charlestonians to have is a bit too southern. The people that I have met who were actually born and raised in the Charleston area (including my husband) don’t really have a southern accent at all! …except for a few phrases and using “y’all.”
• In one of the first scenes of one of the first episodes, a girl is using a handheld fan on herself while in the courthouse as if the AC was broke. Let me tell you, if there is one thing that places in Charleston know how to do, it is to blast you with air conditioning! She would not need that fan, but she may need a sweater!
• The police station is actually on the other side of the peninsula from where they are filming. The building that they are using as the station is actually for shops and bars and boat tours leave from there… still looks great in the show though!
• One of the lines from the most recent episodes was to “go drink some beer and count the fireflies”…  I wonder what number they would get to if they actually counted? My bet is on 0.
• The route that Cam Gigandet (Roy Rader) takes to get to downtown from his home on John’s Island by boat is kind of funny. I borrowed this map from Charleston City Paper (below) and it shows the route that he would take based on the scenery that you get from his boat ride. Seems like he got a little lost!

I really am enjoying the show though! I have been trying to see if it is because I am living here or if it is because it is actually good. I will tell you one thing... Cam Gigandet is easy on the eyes either way!

HIMYM - series finale

The How I Met Your Mother series just ended and in my opinion, the finale was fantastic. I don’t understand why people are saying that the show left them with more questions than answers…  such is life! I love how they kept it real with the issues of growing older/apart, it helps me realize that other people go through those times and struggles as well!

SPOILER ALERT!

Barney Stinson

Something never felt right to me about his marriage to Robin. In the “show time” the marriage really only lasted about 10 minutes, but they explain that it lasted about 3 years. That seems about right to me. He isn’t fit to be an old married man, with one woman, for the rest of his life, and I think that is OK. The fact that he eventually had a daughter was the perfect retribution for leading his life the way he did – as a womanizer.  I was really moved when he fake- told the girl in the bar something like “all that he is, was, or ever will be, and everything he has is hers,” then was like “yeah right, get moving,” but then repeated the same quote to his daughter - his REAL one true love. I think being a dad will change him for the better, especially since it is to a little girl, and this will be the one woman (besides his mom) that he can never leave.

Marshall & Lily

I will talk about these as a package of one because that is what they are. This duo has what it appears everyone wants to have, when maybe it really isn’t for everyone. Robin tried the whole married thing, Ted couldn’t find love, Barney’s only one true love is his daughter… is getting married and having three kids perfection for everyone? It seems that their life took the most “normal” approach. They were lucky to have met the right one early in life and were able to set an example for their friends as the way to have a healthy relationship. Everyone knows a couple like them, seemingly perfect in every way. We know that they move to the suburbs and that Marshall gets to be a judge, but I wish we would have gotten to see more of what Lily was doing. They followed her dream and did go to Italy, but was that it for her? Now she just gets to be a mom to 3? If it is what she wants, I am good, we just don’t know that.

Robin Scherbatsky

I never felt right about Robin and Barney getting married, especially when her “sign” was provided by Ted (the locket). The fact that she and Barney had an amicable divorce about three years after is REAL to me. I always had a little inkling in the back of my mind that she would end up being the mother somehow, but I gave up on that theory when we met the actual mother and when “grown Ted” would refer to her as Aunt Robin to the kids. Robin and Ted ending up together, later in life, is actually perfect. They both got exactly what they wanted; Ted a family and Robin her career, for the bulk of their middle aged years, and now they can grow old together since Ted’s wife passed away. It is sad, but a beautiful gesture to not leave Robin hanging all alone for eternity as far as the viewers could tell. I think she always felt torn about what she wanted from life, and not being able to have her own (or generally liking) little kids was something she wasn’t prepared to commit to, but now she can I think since they are older. Sometimes having it all just takes a little time.

Ted Mosby

Ted had a rollercoaster of relationships and we got to see every single one. I think his love stories tell more about the different types of girls that are out there than how he changes as he pretty much stayed true to who he is the entire time, which I love. I really like that he didn’t settle for anyone, but also that the women were smart enough to be the one to go sometimes (Stella) when he tried to force it. I thought for a long while that Victoria was going to be the mother, and although the show revisited their relationship, it proves that the potential of something can actually be built up in your head to be greater than the actuality of it. As we were nearing the end of the series, his unresolved issues towards Robin left me thinking. Through all the differences of what Robin and Ted wanted from life, were they meant to be together? How could Robin be the mother if she couldn’t have kids, and would she give up her career? That doesn’t sound like her. The show answered that for me when I saw the mother lying in the hospital bed through tear filled eyes. Everything that Ted had ever wanted and had waited for was gone. The lesson this teaches is that sometimes it is better to have something amazing for a short time than a lifetime of mediocre love and disappointment and that life is short! When his kids jokingly say that through all these stories and time he spent telling them how he met their mother, it was really about how he was “totally into Robin,” and then they gave her their stamp of approval. Ted shows up to Robin’s window with a blue french horn. That was a perfect ending.

Also, here is a much better recap than I provided... without my opinions strung on everything. :)

British Invasion

This is the kind of invasion I don't mind... but I can't help but wonder why all the hot young actors, in my opinion, are British!?! Maybe casting directors are just as mesmerized as I am by not only their looks, but their accents as well.

Top to bottom, left to right, we have:

1. Joshua Bowman
2. Robert Pattinson
3. Theo James
4. Henry Cavill
5. Andrew Garfield
6. Alex Pettyfer

This is in no way an order of how I would list them on hotness scale, Henry Cavill will probably be my #1 for a while... but Theo James is giving him a run for his money! I think he is about to blow up the screens with his lead role in Divergent. I am so excited to see it as I loved the books.

This is just pictures of their faces... wait until you hear them talk! I have been intrigued by the British accent since I was a little girl and I don't think that I have seen any film or TV show where any of these guys use their accents, for that reason I google interview videos of them. :)

Whatever you have in the water, Brits, keep it up!

UPDATED:
Here are three more...

Ryan Kwanten

Charlie Hunnam

Andrew Lincoln

Bachelor: and then there was one

UGH. Worst.finale.ever. I know that you can't expect much from this show, but that is kind of why I like it. If you didn't see it, I am not even going to give you the spoil alert, because it was just that bad. Nikki ended up "winning" the final rose, not even an engagement ring, which seems fine by her, but I give them two weeks based on the After The Final Rose show last night.

Juan Pablo won't say he loves her, he won't talk about commitment, and he won't give concrete evidence that they will even continue dating. In fact, he tells America that they are starting their journey now. In all seriousness, that is kind of what happens with every relationship on that show, but they definitely begin it with a little enthusiasm at least.

Juan Pablo sounded like he was angry at The Bachelor show for something, but he did not say what it was. He wants out of the limelight and he definitely does not want to be interrupted by Chris Harrison. There is no love lost between these two now that the show is over it seems. This finale definitely left me feeling like we were hanging... now what?!?

The best part of the whole finale show was when Clare admitted that Juan Pablo whispered the words "I love f#$%ing you." on their last date. WOW! Could this be the first admittance to sex occurring on the show? Regarding that whole thing, why she even went to the final rose ceremony is a mystery to me. I don't understand why women insist on acting like it is OK to get treated like that. Yet, I keep watching.

New Bachelorette is Andi! I really liked her throughout this whole thing, but I HATED her exit. It seemed like she wanted to fight with Juan Pablo over something that didn't matter... and she kept pushing like a typical lawyer. I think she will do well on the show though, actually having a brain. I just want her to use it and not play into the typical male/female BS.

Good luck Andi! Until next time...

Theo James Franco

I have to admit, when I saw the trailer for the movie Divergent I thought a couple of things... One, that the movie looks awesome! And two, that maybe James Franco a little too old to be the love interest of Shailene Woodley? James is about 15 years older in real life, but damn, he looks good in this trailer!

Well... it wasn't James Franco after all! It is a new face in Hollywood, Theo James. He hasn't been in anything quite notable until now, and I think he is about to get REALLY famous. Take a look below... I am not crazy, they look so similar, right?!? (Theo is on the left). Sort of the way Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt look alike. Like maybe they can play brothers some day?

After close inspection... I think Theo James is a little bit cuter, but I wouldn't kick either of them out of bed for eating crackers. This is just one of the reasons I cannot wait to see this movie! It is being posed as a sort of Hunger Games plot without the whole children killing children thing. I wonder if I could hold out to read the book before I see it... I may have to check into that!

UPDATE:

I read the book! Amazing.

Opinion: Amy Adams

Let's get real, my whole blog is just one big opinion.

This is something that has been bothering me for a while...

Can we all just agree to ban Amy Adams from big movies? Something about her just irks me - I think it was her role in The Wedding Date. American Hustle going 0 for 10 at the Academy Awards only supports my theory. And she better keep her damn hands off of Henry Cavill! ;)

Seriously though, I can't believe they cast her as Lois Lane in Superman. I could see her as the "April" character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or something (red hair), but Lois Freaking Lane?!? Who is her manager and what is he paying for her to get these roles? I don't get her.

Does anyone else see this as a mismatch?!?

Here are three actresses that would have made MUCH better Lois Lanes, in my opinion.

Kate Mara

Jessica Biel

Alexis Bledel

Kate would be my number one choice, I have loved her since her roles in Broke Back Mountain and The Shooter. I would have thrown Emma Stone into the mix, but she was already the love interest for Spiderman. One super hero per girl! And I didn't even think too hard about this either, I just thought of women who would be old enough to have a good career in news publications, not too hot that they could appear unrealistic as the character, and not too old that it would be weird if they were single. Amy is 40 years old... you think Henry Cavill, as a 30 year old, would choose her? Especially since he is Superman?

The actress who played his MOTHER is even hotter (albeit again, in my opinion) than Amy Adams, and her last name is freaking Lane! Oh well. Too late to change it now I guess.

Diane Lane

Homosexual Bachelor/ette Show

The hot topic on The Bachelor, Women Tell All episode last night was if there could be a gay bachelor(ette) or not. To me, I think they are focusing on the wrong issue here when Juan Pablo said that the homosexual population is too "pervert" for the show.

Personally, I believe in equal liberties for all so I am hoping that for his sake he was telling the truth when he said that he backs the GLBT community. I don't agree with him because of what he said, but I do agree that I don't think a gay contestant would work in their current format. Let me explain below:

 

There is a big difference in the pictures above. It would lessen the attractiveness of the main bachelor if there were 25 other - just - as - hot - men there to steal away some of the attention. In the current set up, they ALL want ONE person. If they had a homosexual on the show, there is a potential for multiple hook ups and I don't think that is what they are getting at with the current show.

All this being said, I would probably watch it. :)

The Bachelor - Update

I am doing pretty well in my The Bachelor predictions noted here. Only one girl gone from my original guesses, and she got kicked off this week! Pretty good for making them the second week in! I wasn't a huge Kat fan after that week anyways. She is better suited for someone else.

I also think that Andi and Nikki are also better suited for someone else, but their personality might make their interest in Juan more about the win or maybe even becoming the next Bachelorette. For me, there is no one better for Juan Pablo than Clare! Wonder if he feels the same way? Only 6 girls left...

 

The Walking Dead Premier!

I love mid-season premiers... especially when my favorite show is back on! YAY!

Bachelor Wedding

So, I may or may not have REALLY wanted to watch The Bachelor Sean Lowe's wedding... I put the date in my phone... probably 3 months ago. :)

The Bachelor | Juanuary

I love The Bachelor show. It is one of my guilty - I don't have to think - pleasures. I am not a huge Juan Pablo fan, but he is growing on me. I think he is a genuinely nice and sweet person and a good dad.

Here are my top four picks for him for this season... I wonder how I'll do in this guessing game? I put them in order of my current favorites, Clare being #1 right now.

 

 

One of their dates was a photoshoot for Models and Mutts and one of the dogs was a Frenchie! So adorable. :)

Fantasy Champion!

Dreams were made Monday night as #5 Luck Be A Lady defeated #2 Here's My Number Call Me Brady in the championship. Before the championship, "Brady" officially changed his team name to "The Bad Guy" in effort to scare away his opponent... it didn't work. :)

Championship Bound!!!

I cannot believe it. I (Luck Be A Lady) beat out the #1 team (and my best friend) in our fantasy division to score a spot in the championship! Being that I was in 5th place (I had a string of near misses in the win department), it was quite a surprise. My player Jamaal Charles set a record on Sunday and helped me get the win. And for that, I thank him!

And guess who I am playing against?!? None other than my husband (Here's My Number - Call Me Brady)! He snagged the second Championship spot by 1 point. Lucky guy! Funny thing was that it was against my best friend's husband! May the best Rogers win. :)