Two Down(ton), One to Go

My latest obsession is Downton Abbey. Again, I'm late to this party, but I'm making the most of it. There was a glitch in my plans on Wednesday though. I had only Season two's finale to watch and the power went out! Arrrggggh! Usually when our power goes out, it's just a surge and it pops right back on. Um, yeah, not the case on Wednesday. The power went out at 4:50 p.m. . . . and didn't come back until 3:40 a.m.!!! Can you say FRUSTRATING and ANNOYING and ARRRGGGH. It was also a night when my husband had a work dinner scheduled so I was home alone in the dark.

When dusk started to roll in, I grabbed a flashlight out of the closet and started lighting candles. I'm thankful for my slight hoarding tendencies since I had about 7 Yankee Candles to light and put around the house. The only problem with that is the smell. One candle is nice. Seven scents is just too much. Can you say headache?

The power outage did make me think of Downton Abbey though. In the first episodes, they did a lot by candlelight (it was 1912). Man, their eyesight must have been strained. I read for a little bit, but I just didn't want to read by flashlight. Of course, my iPhone was low on battery. And how could I charge it? Can't plug it in. Can't even charge it in the car unless the car is running. And since I have an electric garage door opener, I wasn't going to sit in a running car in a closed garage! The iPad had battery life, so I played about 8 games of Scrabble before my husband finally came home from the work dinner.

Poor guy, I was a total crab when he got home. The boredom, the darkness, the candle smells -- it all got to be too much!

But, I was back on track with Downton Abbey yesterday. I finished up Season two and started Season 3 yesterday. Hoping to cram in a couple of episodes this afternoon. What am I going to do with myself when I'm finished with Season three???? ;)

Leibster Award

What a surprise and an honor: Suse at LoonySuse has nominated me for a Liebster award. 

"The Liebster Award is an award given to Bloggers by other Bloggers! That makes it even more special!"

Here are the Rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

Let's see. I can do numbers 1 and 2. But, I don't think I can do number 3. The blogs I follow tend to have lots of followers. That bums me out -- it's only fair to give back. Well, when I have more time, I'll go in search of some more blogs to follow and will pass along the award. Meantime, on to numbers 1 and 2 . . . . 

11 Random Facts about Moi

1. I'm a Scorpio. And I live up to all the good and bad descriptions of Scorpios.
2. I hate the taste and smell of Sausage. I just can't eat it.
3. I'm a HUGE fan of Coconut. Coconut flavored anything gets two thumbs up from me.
4. I am NOT a cat person. No fear of me ever being a crazy cat lady. Crazy's a possibility. Just without cats.
5. I love playing Scrabble on my iPad. I hate to lose and I make sure it rarely happens.
6. I do not play any instruments. Never have, probably never will.
7. I don't really enjoy talking on the telephone. I'll take email, texting and Facebook over phone chats.
8. I LOVE to read. I am always in the middle of a book -- I finish one and start a new one right away.
9. I can't stand to hear other people chew. Even if they aren't particularly loud eaters, I hate the sound of it.
10. I love to travel. I've been lucky to have been to some great places already and have lots more on my list.
11. I like to color. I prefer markers to crayons and I find it soothing. I don't do it often, but I admit to owning a couple of coloring books.

My 11 Questions to Answer:

1. Do you grind your teeth? No, thankfully.
2. If you could live in a different country, where would you live? Well, I've been to Italy twice and I love it, so I'll start with Italy. It would be easier to live in an English-speaking country, but I am quite fond of Italy.
3. What's your biggest pet peeve today? Hearing the neighbors that live behind me right now. They are new and they are annoying. I guess they will realize how close we live when I start opening my windows and they hear how many times I drop the F bomb a day!
4. If you could change your first name, what would you pick? I would pick a name that has more than one syllable. Ann is too close to "and" so I often think I hear my name when people are just saying "and". I don't mind my name, but it is a little plain. I guess for now, I'd say Bridget -- that was my grandmother's name and it's not particularly common.
5. In middle school, what were you like? I was still pretty shy in middle school (painfully so when I was younger), but I had a good group of friends. I think it's around that time that I realized I had a good sense of humor and could make people laugh. I was a good student.
6. Can you play an instrument? Nope, see above (didn't read my questions ahead of time!).
7. Favorite food? As a category, I have to go with Italian food. It's hard to be specific. In general, I love desserts, and (see above, again), I love, love, love coconut and caramel flavored anything.
8. Favorite outdoor temp? Mid-70s with sunshine, maybe a light breeze.
9. What makes you happy? My husband, music, dessert, my funny friends, pizza . . . . 
10. Favorite TV show? Since I'm in the midst of a Downton Abbey marathon right now, I'll start with that. I also love Cougar Town and Modern Family. The Good Wife is a good one too.
11. What's the most important quality in a significant other? Kindness. 

Again, I feel pretty lame about not passing the award along. I really do want to but I have one more episode of Season 2 of Downton Abbey to watch before dinner. Okay, so my priorities are a little skewed. But, when I have more time to spend online, I really will start reading more blogs! Thanks again, Suse!

Down with Downton

I daresay I am hooked on "Downton Abbey." I know I'm late to the party, but better late than never! I just signed up for a free week of HuluPlus just to see DA. I have watched the first four episodes of Season 1. I doubt I can cram in the rest of Season 1 and all of Seasons 2 & 3 before my free week of HuluPlus is up, but I sure will try! After the free-week trial period is up, Hulu will cost $7.99 a month. If I have to pay just one month, it'll be worth it. NetFlix is about the same cost, but they only send out one DVD at a time -- and last time I was a member their streaming service wasn't so great (could be updated by now, but I'm really not into looking into it) -- and episodes on iTunes cost more than $7.99 for a Season, so I think I'm getting the best deal.

I love the way the women dress on the show. It's 1912. I was born waaaaay too late! I used to think I would have loved to be an adult in the 50s with all the full-skirted June Cleaver outfits, but now I'm thinking the early 1900s would have suited me well.

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

Trolling the few blogs I follow, I found this neat, little Fill-in-the-Blank questionnaire thingy. First, to give credit where it's due, I found it at: RED locks & BOLD frames (http://katerees711.blogspot.com/). And from there I found that it originated at: the little things we do (http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/). I am amazed at how many people have posted it on their blogs. Add me to the list! Here goes:

1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is being able to wear my new boots today! My husband bought me a most extravagant and totally fun pair of Jimmy Choo motorcycle boots in July (July!!) and I am finally getting to wear them today! I have trouble with boots -- my calves are too big for my size 6.5 feet. I can NEVER get boots to zip. Never. These fun little kicks only come up to mid-calf so I am finally, FINALLY, sportin' some boots. Kick ass ones, to boot (ha, to boot!).

2.   Colder weather makes me cold! But I do love a new sweater. In fact, in honor of my upcoming birthday, I treated myself to two new sweaters at the yearly Women's sale at Nordstrom on Wednesday. I never shop at Nordstrom, but I can't resist a good sale. The sweaters were both half off! Woo hoo. Bring on the nip in the air!

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are  no re-runs (I'm pretty much addicted to TV); money in our checking account (sigh of relief when there is money left over after paying the mortgage, with room to spare for above-mentioned sales and such); the thought of getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend when we turn the clocks back for daylight savings.

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose  flip flops. I also choose to live in a climate that allows for year-round flip-flop wearing. I know I just waxed poetic about my snazzy new boots, but put a gun to my head, and I am going with flippers.

5.  My personality type is a weird mix of introverted and extroverted. I was incredibly shy when I was little -- I wouldn't talk to men (probably should have hung on to that personality quirk in my 20s), wouldn't speak out loud in class (got over that around 3rd grade and quite made up for it by 6th grade when I drove my teacher, Mr. Anderson, CRAZY). And on the flip side, I have had extreme moments of being extroverted in high school, college and in present day. But, I still revert back to the shy girl sometimes. I don't like to go to a party where I only know the host but I'll talk to anybody in Target or at the gym. Go figure.

6.  I have a serious problem resisting  a sale! I can justify the purchase of most anything if it is bargain priced! 

 

7.  My favorite color to wear is  a toss up between grey and purple (for the record, my all time favorite color is orange, but it's not the top choice of most fashion designers -- I do own some fun orange clothes, but it doesn't make a regular appearance). Purple was my favorite color as a kid. So much that I would actually NOT use the purple crayon because I wanted to make it last. Grey can be kinda dull, but I have some really cute sweaters in various shades of grey, from light, oyster grey to warm, cozy, charcoal grey. 

Inappropriate Crushes

Have you heard about those couples that each have a list of celebrities that, if given the chance, they would be allowed to cheat with? You know, he's into Angelina, she's into Brad and should ever they have the opportunity to meet and actually sleep with those crushes, they are given the free pass? Well, my husband wants to us to have that kind of agreement. I'm all for it. I mean, do you really think Jay Z is going to let Beyonce sleep with my husband? I don't think so. So, he can go ahead and fantasize about her all he wants. The problem really is with me. My list is a little . . . um, gay? All of my celebrity crushes are either women (in cash my reference to having a husband didn't let on, I'm straight) or gay men. I just don't think this agreement is going to work for us!

Here's my list of inappropriate celebrity crushes:

1) Brooke Shields
Inappropriate factor: she's straight and so am I. But, I think I've been infatuated with her since I was 13 years old and she was in the "Nothing-gets-between-me-and-my-Calvins" Calvin Klein jean ads. And then there was the Blue Lagoon. And Christopher Atkins. Oh, boy! Granted, I had a crush on him then too. But, my love affair with Brooke has lasted through the years. She's beautiful, she's smart (listen to her in interviews: that Princeton education was not wasted on that Pretty Baby -- yes, an intentional bad reference!), and she's really funny. I think she's an under-rated actress. I'm actually contemplating talking my husband into a trip to NY so I can see her in The Addams Family on Broadway before her run is over on 12/31. Kinda stalker-ish maybe??

2) Neil Patrick Harris
Inappropriate factor: he's gay and I'm a straight woman. Sometimes, my crush is on Barney Stinson, the character he plays on How I Met Your Mother. Which is also wildly inappropriate since Barney is the BIGGEST womanizing dog on the planet. So, I guess that says a lot about Neil and his acting chops. He's convinced me that Barney is worthy of attraction and that so is the gay man who portrays him. Neil (notice I use first names, like we're friends!) is also extremely talented -- he acts, he sings, he dances, he hosts the awards shows with aplomb, he does magic tricks. And, most of all, he's very funny.

3) Anderson Cooper
Inappropriate factor: he's an unconfirmed gay and, again, I'm a straight woman. I wasn't fully aware of the Silver Fox's charms until I caught him filling in for Regis on Live with Regis and Kelly. I actually truly hoped his new daytime talk show wouldn't happen and he'd take over permanently for Regis when Reege leaves in November. Bummer, that's not happening. Well, would it be wrong to wish for his daytime show to flop so he could join Kelly in the co-host seat?? Anyway, the serious CNN newsman has a very funny side above and beyond the giggle fit he had about Gerard Depardieu on the air. He's also pretty humble about the fact that his mother comes from one of America's richest families. If he won't sleep with me, I'd really like us to be friends. Is that too much to ask??

4) Tim Gunn
Inappropriate factor: he's gay, and yet again, I'm a straight woman (see how this agreement is so not working out for me?!). How can you not like Tim Gunn? He's always nattily dressed and he has that way of looking over his glasses when you know he's just dying to diss those designs on Project Runway. But, he seems really kind and caring. I don't think I'd really ever want to sleep with him, but I would really love a big hug. And some fashion tips. Of course, I can never let on to him how many pairs of capri pants and capri jeans I own because he DESPISES them. Hmm, maybe we aren't meant to be . . . .

So, in the long run, I think my husband has the better hand in this deal. Should he ever get the chance, he's allowed to sleep with Beyonce or Drew Barrymore or Salma Hayeck. I, in turn, have got my work cut out for me!!

Oh, and I just watched the first episode of The Biggest Loser yesterday. Yeah, I think in a few weeks, Anna Kournakova is going to be added to this list. My list. Sigh. Big sigh.