PUZZLES!

Jason and I completed our first puzzle together! We've both done them in the past, but never together. It was a 1500 piece Springbok called Shoes, Shoes, Shoes! It took us a total of about 12 hours to complete, or two evenings. Talk about serious eye strain! It ended up taking up my sister's entire coffee table which is about 3 feet wide by 2.5 feet long. We really enjoyed it, so we went on eBay and bought up a bunch of used ones. Now, we just have to wait for them to start arriving in the mail.

eBay is not the most economical way to buy used puzzles because of the weight associated with shipping them. So, Jason and I are planning on checking out garage/estate sales to see if we can get them for cheaper. It's also hard to find used puzzles that people know are complete and not missing a piece. So many people on eBay sell them without ever having done them.

Well, my hobbies are certainly developing with all this free time. I've settled on puzzles, reading, blogging, walking, meditating, and cooking (which can unfortunately get rather expensive and wasteful). I think that's a fairly good list for someone who said two months ago to her doctor that the only hobbies she knows is work and school!

What's (not) on TV

I just completed season 1 of The Riches on DVD. The Riches was canceled after only two seasons on the FX network. It's a pretty great show, but there are definitely some pros and cons.

First of all, the show too closely resembles both Weeds (Showtime) and Big Love (HBO), both of which came out first. All three shows are dark comedies and all three story lines develop around an "abnormal" family trying to fit into suburbia. With Weeds it's a rich wife turned drug dealer after her husband dies. With Big Love it's a Mormon family with three wives trying to fit in without anyone knowing they're all married to each other. Finally, in The Riches it is a family of gypsies trying to act like everyone else. All three families try hard not to be found out and what keeps you watching is the constant threat to their family secret being unraveled.

Another con is that every episode starts with an intro, or a recap, that lasts about 2 minutes. It recaps everything that has happened since the beginning of the season. So, as you can imagine it gets longer with every episode. Also, I like Minnie Driver, but her fake southern accent gets under my skin quickly. A lot of the story line is highly predictable and mostly unbelievable, but then again sometimes that's what makes good television.

One of the pros is that Eddie Izzard is the main star. Not only is he extremely handsome, but his acting is quite good. He pretty much makes the show and if it weren't for him I probably would have stopped watching it after the first episode, which by the way was the worst of the season. He helped to write the series, and as a comedian I think he did a decent job of adding humor to the show.

I also have to give it credit for communicating realistic life lessons. There isn't always a happy ending, and not all the family lessons end with a hug and milk with cookies. The characters are honest and the show touches on controversial subjects without coming on too strong, but also without ignoring the issues completely. Oh, and it gets major props for using sociological terms and for bringing up the Protestant Ethic!

Overall, it's worth watching, but only because it's two seasons long. I have a feeling the catch and release style of the show would get old if it were to last much longer then that. I'm willing to give season 2 a try. With that said...I can't wait for the new Weeds and Big Love seasons to come out on DVD.

Short Fiction gives The Riches 3.5 stars.

Adventures with Jinx

On Saturday a package arrived at our apartment. Little did we know that Jinx was inside. He escaped the winter snow prison commonly referred to as Michigan and arrived wearing a sarong. He explained to us that he had escaped and was attempting to hitch a ride to the beach for a little sunbathing. I had a hard time explaining to Jinx that it was one of the rainiest days of the year (I highly doubted he really wanted to go to the beach on that day). With a little convincing he accepted my advice, but still refused to remove his sarong.

We invited him in and offered him a place to stay, at least until we can get him to the beach! After thoroughly examining him we concur that he is extremely well made by loving hands. He arrived in one piece after traveling by air via the United States Postal Service and obviously needed some rest after traveling over 2000 miles to get to us. I question why we are so lucky to have received Jinx, but I am excited just thinking about the places he will go, the things he will see, and the many people he will meet.

Welcome Jinx and stay tuned!

Week in Review

Ahhh, the end of another great week. Started out the week with a little bit of stress about Zeus (my cat) and his health. Seems as though his bloody nose was caused by dried blade cat nip. So, for those of you who use it, beware it causes nose bleeds. His second blood test came back fine so he is back to normal.

It rained almost all week, which is a real treat for me. Normally it's so dry here and we're only at 60% of the necessary rain so we needed it. It makes walking the dog a little tiresome, but the sound and smell of rain puts my mind at ease.

I spent a lot of time this week cooking. I made brownies, profiteroles, and salmon from foodnetwork. I also made cupcakes for Valentine's Day, but made those with a box mix and canned frosting. Everything turned out amazing...well except for the salmon. I added cinnamon to the brownies which gave it a nice kick. The cupcakes were pink with red coconut (I used food coloring to make it red). Best of all, the profiteroles were so good (see picture). I posted the recipes below if anyone is interested:

Profiteroles
Brownies

Valentine's Day was really nice. Jason and I had the profiteroles for breakfast. We each made homemade cards, which were both personal and creative. We went to a late lunch together and then both worked for the rest of the evening. Not your traditional Vday, but we had fun nonetheless.

Best of all, I created this blog site. It's something I've wanted to do for several years now, but haven't got around to it. Not that I have that much important stuff to say, but I think I tend to write narratives that are both personal and sometimes captivating. I divulge a lot of myself in my blogs and I think my ability to get personal will allow readers to connect with me, my dreams, my life, and my experiences. I will also do book/movie reviews, recipe sharing, and other fun stuff to keep it entertaining, educational, and not too self-absorbed. Hopefully I'll pick up some regular visitors, but if not this will still be a good way for me to practice my writing and express myself. Now all I need to do is start my from home baking business and I'll be all set!

Here's to another great week!