Keepers: Fall Television Short List

Day 4 of NaBloPoMo has arrived and I'm already using the prompts they gave us. Ha! It's not that I've run out of things to say but more that I'm tired because I take care of Baby M during the day and am also trying to get the Etsy shop open and today starts my sugar detox and that's just too darn many things going on to have committed to posting EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR 30 DAYS. WTH was I thinking? AND, I said I'd do it on the Grits. too. Dumb.

Thankfully, my GERITOL has arrived. Very nice of Walmart to have it in stock. If they can't sell you on something new, they'll gladly sell you on something old. Hopefully, it's tried and true and I'm not headed down a blind alley to disaster. It's just GERITOL, after all.

Today's prompt is: Which fall shows should totally be canceled already?

Who knows? Who has the energy to stay up and watch any nighttime television? And, if they have the energy, who has the time???? Tell me, who! Because I want to ask them how they have the energy or the time.

Ok, calm down, it's not that bad. I do watch a little nighttime television but it's using via Netflix or Hulu because I'm not, in general, a fan of the shows they put out there for the world to see these days. This fall, I've tried a few new shows (on Hulu because, nighttime = sleep) and here's my take:

1. LETHAL WEAPON. I was skeptical. I really enjoyed the movies and I liked the characters and the way the actors interacted with one another. I assumed I would LOVE Damon Wayons because, Damon Wayons but who the heck is this, Clayne Crawford? AND WTH kind of name is, Clayne? No matter, I have totally enjoyed this show (which means FOX will probably cancel the hell out of it- if they do, NETFLIX, PLEASE pick it up!) It's funny and the relationship between Wayons and Crawford is working! There is not a single character on that show that I do not like. I also love that it's being shown on Hulu because I can pick it up whenever I want and rewatch any episodes at any time. 
2. THIS IS US: I happened upon this one on Hulu and tried it. I've watched all episodes, so far. I have no idea if the writers will be able to hold my attention but they have it up to this point. It depends on how they develop the characters. Y'all know how writers will make characters do things are just too stupid? Yeah, I don't like that. I'm referring to the path they often have female characters take. It's insulting. Warning, I have yet to watch this NBC show without tearing up. 
3. AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE: this ABC show drew me in becasue I love Katy Mixon. She's just adorable! I like the show ok so far. I like that she's coming to terms with herself and how she's adjusting to being in a community of people who aren't really 'her' people. I am probably giving it more of a chance just because of Mixon. We'll see. The jury is still out. 
4. BULL: I've seen all of 1 1/2 episodes because CBS is stingy and won't let Hulu show it. I thought it was ok but have no idea what I really think because, CBS is stingy. I'd love to give it a shot though  because Michael Weatherly. 
5. MAN WITH A PLAN: I just happened upon this and so far, MEH. But who knows? I've only seen one episode. I won't really be able to keep up with this one because, CBS is stingy. 

And that's it. The other shows I watch are not new this year and there aren't that many of them. 

If you'd like to see the few I've caught but didn't quite click with, check out the Grits! 

What's on your list of good shows to watch?

August Happiness Challenge: Television and Other Lovely Things

This post is going to cover 4 days of the August Happiness Challenge! If you want to join in, create an icon of something, anything, that makes you happy, post your 'happy', and head over to One Gal's Musing and let her know, in the comments, that you're on board! That's it!

Day 11: Television makes me happy. Not the news or politics but sitcoms. I do enjoy sitcoms. My current favorite is: LAST MAN STANDING. I've been crushing on Tim Allen for a long time. I find him hilarious. 

But why do I like his latest sitcom so much? I love that they look at both sides of the issues. So many people talk about how they love his conservative comments and how "that is stuff that needs to be said." I have no idea what the hell they are talking about and I'm not sure they're actually watching the show. Two of his three daughters are more liberal minded as is his wife. They are constantly giving attention to both sides of every issue I've seen aired on this delightful program. I find it refreshing to see a father of daughters allow his daughters to be who they are and not try to shove his own agenda down their throats. 

The other thing about television? Netflix and Hulu which offer so many detective shows that I love, such as LONGMIRE, and have introduced me to my latest craze- Brittish detective shows! 

Day 12: Football makes me happy! Preseason has begun and college ball is not that far behind. I am going to be a happy camper until February! WooHoo! And do not worry, I've been collecting football related clothing for Baby M for months! She's all set! 

Day 13:  Funny memes make me happy. And there are some funny ones out there. Like these:

Day 14: Learning words that are new to me makes me happy. Especially when those words are so soothing. 

What makes y'all happy?

Stupid Westerns and Food

I certainly haven't accomplished much in the last couple of days. We are still waiting on Knology to get up and running in our area- which should be only another month- so I'm still hating watching Netflix from time to time. I'd like to hook up Birdie's XBOX 360 and take advantage of Hulu but I don't know how and everyone else keeps forgetting about it. ANYWAY, I'm stuck with Netflix for now.

All that to say, I ran across the Lonesome Dove series (Comanche Moon, Return to Lonesome Dove, Lonesome Dove...) and decided that I would watch them. And that's just about all I've been doing. Shameful, I'm aware. But how I do love that series- especially Lonesome Dove. I mean- Rober Duvall AND Tommy Lee Jones?! Swoon.

Of course there is uncontrollable sobbing are tears that accompany the watching of these shows. It's that dang music. Cursed violins. And I really hate it when they kill off my favorite characters- like Deets (Danny Glover) and Gus (Robert Duvall)...I would NEVER have made it in the old west. Never.

Even with all that sobbing television watching going on, I did still manage to tear myself away to try a couple of new recipes-

This one started with a big pot of garden fresh veggies-

And ended up being Swiss Chard Rolls--

For dessert, a Rhubarb Crumble-this was my very first rhubarb anything. It turned out delish!

Swiss Chard Rolls
(a Gerson recipe for 2--I more than doubled it because we had the gang over)

4 leaves green chard
2 carrots
1/4 head broccoli
1/4 head cauliflower
2 small zucchini
1 cup corn
1/2 cup uncooked rice

Sauce:

1 1/2 tomatoes
2 cloves garlic

Directions: Put chard in hot water to soften. Cut other veggies in small pieces and simmer til done. Drain water. Make sauce in blender and pour over top of veggies and uncooked rice. Place some mixture in center of each leaf and roll up. Put in baking dish with a lid and bake at 250 degrees for 1- 1 1/2 hours.

Part of the Gerson plan is cooking food slowly. Sometimes I adhere to this standard, sometimes I don't. I didn't this time- I cooked it on 350 for about 30 minutes (everything was already cooked I just wanted to heat it through). I cooked my rice first and mixed it with the veggies and then rolled them up. When I realized I had forgotten the sauce, I just poured it on top of the rolls.

Rhubarb Crumble
(from Koko's Kitchen)

3 cups rhubarb, chopped
2 TBS orange juice
3/4 cup raw honey
1 TBS spelt flour (I was out of spelt so I just used gluten free all purpose flour)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS coconut oil

Topping
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup spelt flour (I was out of spelt so I just used gluten free all purpose flour)
2/3 cup oats (I used the gluten free ones)
14 cup coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish. In a bowl, stir the rhubarb, orange juice, honey, flour and cinnamon. Put mixture in dish and dot with the tablespoon of coconut oil. In a separate bowl, combine the honey, flour, oats and coconut oil and mix until it resembles a coarse mixture. Put on top of the rhubarb mixture. Cook at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with foil about halfway through cooking.

Happy cooking, y'all! And try to stay away from the TV! :)

I Quit You Pandora

I am NOT playing with Pandora any more. They suck.

Seriously. Frist, who comes up with the artists/songs related to the station you make? An idiot, that’s who. Do you really believe that Jimi Hendrix belongs on The Black Keys station? Really? Or that I want to hear RAP when I'm listening to the Maroon 5 station? Dumb asses.

And the music keeps skipping or hesitating or fading in and out---whatever the hell these things do these days. Back in the way day, records skipped. It sounds kind of like that. And it’s annoyingashell. Oh yeah, buffering. It buffers itself about 5 times every 10 seconds. Tell me that’s not annoyingashell. Go ahead. Tell me.

I don’t care about the ads. I just mute it or take my earbuds out. But that buffering crap has got to go.

And Netflix is just as annoying. It's like the morons who do the write ups on there never paid attention in fourth grade English. They cannot get their grammar correct to save their freaking lives. I’m sick of it. Not to mention (or maybe I will) that the dang thing is constantly interrupting itself to---what is it called---is this buffering also? Whatever.

I'm over it. 

Anyway, not playing around with Pandora was not an issue because I had my own music. Until my Zune died. Completely died. Wah!

I need my Zune because it has all my music on it and my running playlists (that's right playlists- PLURAL- why more than one? Because of my short attention span that causes me to get bored with the same one over and over and over and over...). 

But it died. Completely. 

And I was sad. VERY sad. Until Mother's Day rolled around. 

Have I ever told y'all how fantastically wonderful the lovelies are? They knew that my Zune died (completely) and this is what they got me for Mother's Day:

That's right! The lovelies gave me a brand spanking NEW white iPod touch baby! 8GB! (Whatever a GB is---I think it means I can have a really lot of music on there).

And so Pandora (you too, Netflix), I blow raspberries in your general direction! 

Hey, it could have been worse. I could have done this instead of the raspberries(if you don't want to see the whole clip, just start at 1:40):

 

I guess y'all can tell we've been playing around with my blog design. We might get one that I really like at some point. Sorry y'all have to see all the 'construction' but we can't figure out how to make the changes without them showing up when my helper is all the way in DC! Please bear with us!