The Good, the Bad, and the Not So Attractive

 The Good. I got a camera. I am the proud owner of a new Nikon D3100 that I have only dropped once so far. (Collective gasp from all the photographers.) Not only do I have this wonderful new camera that is taking really good pictures of my currently uninteresting life as evidenced here, but it was given to me by my amazing Grandma who is two years in heaven and still managing to buy me the coolest presents. You may ponder this if you wish. I finally decided to buy an expensive camera because if I had asked her what I should get, a camera would have been one of her first answers. Grandma loved taking pictures of people she loved. I think she was always trying to capture the moments of fun and togetherness and hold on to them forever. I am mournful in spirit that Grandma never knew the endless wonder of digital photography.

Good thing number 2: Season finales. I'm just going to be honest here and say that around this time of year, I get a little obsessed with my "stories." I try to keep this to myself for the most part, after all, no one likes to admit that they have a tendency to go overboard on something. But no one that reads this blog will think any less of me. Or if they do I can live with it. I've kind of lost interest in almost all the shows I was watching, but there are two I won't miss for the world. Fringe, on fox, and Castle, on abc. First of all, give me a story that's headed somewhere specific and that will stop when it gets to the end. And please please please give me characters that make me care about them and capture my interest. And there you have the fun that is Fringe. Fringe also keeps me on my proverbial toes. Generally, I can predict where a television show is headed in the first five minutes or so. I'm not trying to praise my highly intellectual television viewing ability, I'm sure everyone can do the same. But the difference is I like to be surprised. Fringe makes me crazy by throwing me for continual loops. Ask MacGyver, I've tried to predict it. I've tried to be just as completely out in space as they get. I'm almost always wrong. But what's more unusual, is that when I'm wrong, I end up liking their trail better. Anything that can surprise me AND satisfy the story-lover in me has my utmost respect. I look forward to every last juicy, scientific, mind-blowing bit of the next and final 15 episodes.

Castle may be a bit more predictable as far as plots go, but they're at the sweet spot. If they were the standard and quite unimaginative mystery/cop show that is on every other channel they wouldn't have caught my attention in the first place. But it's about a writer, after all. And they've come to the turning point of the story, after four patiently developed years. I've always loved Castle's wit and character interaction. They've slow-cooked a zesty blend of homicidal detectivism and literary interplay and placed on top a healthy dollop of comedic icing. And how can one resist a story when two people start out at opposite ends of the spectrum and gradually their variances and contentions become respect and love? They've played the romance old-school and precious few take this route anymore. So they have my attention for at least another episode, the last of their fourth season.

The Bad. I realize no one wants to read a blog that is authored by a whiny complainy-mcplainerton. But life has been a little challenging lately, and it helps to put it here on the proverbial page. A tangled string of dr appointments has plagued three members of our family, and I'm a little overwhelmed. My baby boy has had two seizure-like episodes and will be seeing a neurologist next month. I have a prescription in hand for an anti-seizure medicine that is supposedly going to help tame my migraines, but it is with dread I contemplate taking it and discovering what long list of side effects it will cause. And it is with even more dread that I will have an MRI. There are few things I find more terrifying then tightly enclosed spaces.


Also challenging at the moment is trying to finish homeschool. We are in the home stretch. But neither Spirit or I have any interest in furthering our grasp of 3rd grade mathematical principles. Battles are erupting. Students and teachers go missing when the time comes to reduce our fractions or solve our equations. It seems like the last 5 or 6 lessons stretch on to infinity. I have great respect for the teachers out there that manage to accomplish this part of the year with not one but as many as 30 completely un-self motivated 8 year olds.


The Not So Attractive. Yeah. It's time to get serious about diet and exercise again. I put it somewhat out of my mind for a month. Time's up.


Check out not-so-unattractive Screech and Sarge. And if you Twitter, find me. It's my new adventure, and it's actually pretty fun!