Stuff and things. 7/10

1. I've been watching Weeds reruns (because why not?) and "little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same" is exactly how I would describe the nearest town to us.

2. Is anyone else annoyed with True Blood?  I'm not sure what happened to this show.  Seasons 1 through 3 left me holding my breath until the next episode.  In fact, Netflix DVDs couldn't arrive fast enough so I ran out to Wal-Mart at 10pm one night and bought the first 3 seasons.  That's passion for good t.v. Now, I'm just impatiently awaiting it to be over so I can find out what happens.  Also, I should really finish those books.  

3. We started watching The Leftovers.  It's interesting.  This is what I like about HBO.  They don't dumb it down.  They don't over explain.  You're left to your own critical thinking as you attempt to draw conclusions about what is happening.  So, while I'd love to tell you what The Leftovers is about, I have no idea.  I'm still figuring it out.  

Maybe HBO should reevaluate this "don't dumb it down" strategy and apply it to seasons 5-7 of True Blood.  

4.  I  found myself at Whole Foods last week, simply because it was there and that fact alone makes me happy.  I also went to a giant school supplies store and an Old Navy.  It was a big day.

I've heard things about brown rice sushi so I decided to grab some for me and took some home for Scott.  It was awful.  Sushi should never be covered in brown rice.  What a terrible $17 disappointment and a waste of crab, tuna, and avocado.  People who go on and on about brown rice sushi must have never had real sushi…or they don't have taste buds.  Either/or. 

On Monday, we got real sushi.  It wasn't the best we'd ever tried, but it was pretty good.  The service was also good (Sushi O Sushi = good customer service in the Springs).

However, the chicken teriyaki was so-so.

5.  Yesterday, I went to a new-teacher-insurance-sign-up.  I always opt out of the insurance because we have military coverage. I've been saving school districts money since 2010. There were lots of younger fresh-off-the-boat teachers.  I'm going to guess 22 or 23 years old?  They were opting out too….because they are still covered on their parents' plans.
I'd never felt so old before.

6.  I haven't done an outfit post since that nonsense back in May.  Say hello to my new deck.  I'm letting my hair grow, but it doesn't really show here.

Shirt: Target // Sandals: Old Navy // Pants:  JCPenney // Sunglasses: SimplyVera from Kohl's

7.  I feel like I haven't done any outfit posts because I feel completely uninspired.  I know that I need to start investing more in clothes that will last (i.e. not Old Navy), but I can't resist brands like Gap when they have clearance sales.  Sure, I could pay $52 for a pair of pants.  But it just feels better when I know I got them for much less.  I got a pair of amazing brown dress pants at the The Gap in Anchorage for $6 once.  Did I buy them when I weighed a few pounds more and they haven't really fit for the last couple of years?  Sure.  But they are beautiful.   

8.  Speaking of being old, I tweaked my lower back.  Scott said "from improper painting posture".  Yeah, okay.  When I go a few weeks without doing a lot of stretching, this sometimes happens because I like to sleep on my stomach and that's not good for you…or maybe I'm just old.

T.V. Talk *Spoilers ahead*

True Blood
Season 6 is over.  Blah.  The only good thing about this is that I can stop looking at Anna Paquin's perfect abs and I can cancel HBO.  I don't think I'll need it again until Game of Thrones comes back.

So what did you think of this?  It seemed a little too "simple".

Remember how half a season was devoted to killing off Godric?  I thought something like that would happen with Eric.  For what it's worth, Scott thinks he's not dead.  Something about "we saw him burn, we didn't see him crumble", or dissipate, or whatever.  I had heard a rumor that this was coming...I guess I won't believe it until next season.  Articles I've read online (because I've got the time on my hands to do so) say he'll be back for Season 7. Thoughts?

This is where it started to get weird for me.

We think Lettie Mae is infected, therefore Tara is a goner (not the worst thing, right?).

And I think the hats are pushing the southern charm a bit too far.  We haven't seen these people in church since Season 1...now they're in their Sunday best?  Well, I guess it was 6 months later.  I don't know.  By the end of the episode, I was rooting for Bill.  Also, something I haven't done since the first season.  Not sure how I feel about "Sookcide".

This was a little reminiscent of The Walking Dead, don't you think?

Dexter
This season is getting goooooood.  I'm impressed.  All that Dr. Vogel stuff was forcing me away from the t.v.  Scott and I love Hannah.  We were so darn excited to see her again.

Thoughts on Dexter?  For me, the season started slow.  Now that the Zack kid is gone...and Dr. Vogel's evilness is showing through...maybe we can get back to the greatness that was last season.  Go out with a bang and all that.

Breaking Bad
I was able to spend an hour on the elliptical the other day because I watched an episode of Breaking Bad on my phone.  I'm re-watching it from the beginning, you know, just for kicks.
This show is more complex than any I've ever watched.  I mean, did you read these theories on how the show could end?  It's a lot like Mad Men, in that there seems to be hidden meaning everywhere.

We chuckled the whole way through Walt's confession tape last night.  You are brilliant, Heisenberg.

And Jesse narrowly missed a brush with Alaska.  Whew.  Walt's world is about to implode.  I knew it'd only be a matter of time before Jesse found something out.  I'm really waiting for him to find out about Jane.

Also, we're watching The White Queen on Starz.  Have you seen it yet?  It's like Game of Thrones meets The Tudors (which I still haven't made my way through yet...).  I really like it.  Scott thinks it's a poor-man's-GoT.

Sharing at Mingle Monday

Friday Five (and I'm tired)

1.  Did this freak anyone else out on last week's True Blood?

I thought it was a nice twist.  I'm glad this season is getting interesting.  (I can't really say the same about Dexter right now.)

2.  Speaking of...I'm onto Definitely Dead, the 6th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I am LOVING these books.  The plot is so different from the show...I never really know what's going to happen next.

3.  I don't know why I mentioned yesterday that I'd do a yoga class if I could find one.  This is how I imagine I'd feel during yoga.  I'm not really flexible or graceful.

4.  This gif, that I artfully swiped from Lin, made my day.  

5.  My favorite Scout is a sleepy Scout.  When he's sleepy, he wants to be cuddled and held, and just looks so darn cute. I even hold him like a baby.  He likes it, promise.

When he's not sleepy, he's using my floors as his personal restroom and biting anything he can find.

And then I feel like this:

Which is why I'm tired

Happy Friday!

5 things friday

1.  After watching Forks Over Knives, and after talking it over, I think we're going to stop drinking cow's milk.  I have nothing against dairy products, because I don't generally eat them in large amounts. I just don't think drinking full glasses of milk is something we're going to be doing anymore.  (Is this weird? You'll tell me if it's completely illogical, right?)

2.  I watched Pitch Perfect last week.  It was okay.  The music was good. But...um, that's it?  I liked the "finish him like a cheesecake" bit.

3.  This is my exact reaction when Scott's friends show up at our house whenever they feel like it.

Just say I'm an awful person and get it over with.  It's okay.  I won't take offense.

4.  On Wednesday, Scott backed his (brand new) truck into another car. It made us both feel awful and stabby.  You know, like how Pete often feels.

But, this prompted me to wash (and actually take care of) my little Alaskan car.  While washing it, I noticed the registration sticker was outdated.  I knew that we had taken care of this before we left Alaska because we're not that irresponsible.  (Alright.  He's not that irresponsible.)  I had no idea if we ever got the new stickers, where they might be, where the registration was, etc.  I got out of bed at 6am Thursday to check the glove compartment and discovered I'd been carrying around an expired one for the last month.  Great.  I searched everywhere and it literally felt like I'd been glamoured or something because I couldn't remember anything.  Those last few weeks/days in Alaska were such a blur!  Finally, I realized if we had gotten the registration stickers in the mail, it would've been after the car was shipped to St. Louis, therefore that paperwork would be in the old truck we drove from Alaska.  I checked that glove compartment and there it was.  I thought my resourcefulness was nothing short of miraculous.  Scott never would've found it.  Like, never, ever, ever.

5.  Speaking of our friend Taylor, sometimes she's pretty cool.

I found this somewhere.  I don't follow her, as that "Following" button would lead you to believe.

Weekending

The Pulaski Regional County Fair.

I couldn't make this up if I tried.

At least it was free.

Unimpressed with the "fair", a friend and I went to the local cupcakery.

Sassy Sweets Cake Boutique.

The owners/employees were so nice, and the cupcakes were delicious; heavy-sugar frosting and moist cake.

On Saturday, Scott and I went to Springfield.  It's 90 minutes south-ish.  I went to Marshall's, which was refreshing, so I can see this becoming a once a month trip.  Springfield has pretty much all the shopping you could want, but it's just kind of far.  However,  it rained. A lot.

I really know how to pick a place to go, right? But it rained everywhere on Saturday, at least a little bit, and spending the day doing nothing at home would've been boring.

We went to a haunted castle.  I found this tourist attraction on TripAdvisor, and you can go here to look up the history of the Pythian Castle. 

The building next door where they kept WWII POWs. Really.  

You can read the history within that link up there.

"Haunted" tunnel in the basement leading to the building next door.

POW cell.  Complete with very accommodating air holes.

They let the POWs paint on the cell walls.

Can you spot the green orbs?  Totally a reflection of the lightbulbs, right?

Though, those were the interrogation rooms back in the day, so it'd make sense for them to be haunted.

I kept taking pictures of myself in random mirrors, hoping to see something pop up in the background of the picture.  No luck.  The bathroom was particularly creepy.

We also went to Bass Pro Shop (the flagship store).

And I thought the moose in Alaska were scary. 

(Those are random people. The line for photos was kinda long.)

Anyway, on Sunday night we went to a friend's house for dinner.  I wasn't necessarily pleased with this arrangment, because I was planning on having a True Blood premiere party.  The only problem being that I don't have any friends here who watch True Blood (in fact, I might be the only person I know in real life who does watch it...which is a crying shame). So it wouldn't be a party as much as just me, sitting on the couch, answering the millions of questions Scott would undoubtedly ask during the show.  But a good night, nonetheless, right?

It came down to...

Scott: So you'd rather watch t.v. than go out and socialize?

Me: I don't understand the question.  

Scott: We can watch it when we get home.

Me: It's not the same.

Scott:.......

So, we went. I legitimately like the people we hang out with here.  I really, really do and don't want there to be confusion about that.  However, I sat at a table with 7 other people who are all in the Army (wives included) and listened to them talk about the army for 3 hours.  Then, the 6-month-old baby went to bed and I officially had nothing in common with anyone else at the table.  

However, onto the important stuff:

True Blood was good.  I think it's going to be an action-packed season.  SPOILER: My heart broke just a little bit when Sookie rescinded Eric's invitation.  le sigh.

And Sally Draper is smarter than I gave her credit for.  Betty, deservingly, is going to have her hands full.

Your weekly television update

Were you underwhelmed with the Game of Thrones finale? I kinda was.

Though, unless they start bringing Starks back to life, I don't know how they could've topped the drama from the week before.

All I really have to say is...

APPARENTLY NOT, Ygritte.  APPARENTLY not.

Is this girl ever actually going to DO anything?  Like, anything at all?

Looks like a beauty pageant contestant for goodness sakes...

Tyrion is still my favorite.

Arya is a close second.

Here's to season 4!  

Next: Clearly, my Mad Men predictions didn't come true.  There's always tonight, right?

Maybe Ken will dance for us again.

Obviously, the end of Game of Thrones and the hysteria happening with Mad Men conspiracy theories are just opening acts leading up to the main event.

I'm so darn excited!

High 5

1.  Scott thinks that crane flies are good because they eat mosquitos, so when one gets in the house, he won't let me kill it.  There was one in the room when I was trying to sleep the other night.  I named him Harry Crane, the crane fly.

2.  I caught up on Mad Men and Game of Thrones this week.  I LOVE DIRECTV and that dang Genie.  I cannot say enough good things about DirecTV.  It's so much better than cable and, honestly, cheaper (I can explain if you're interested.)

3.  My favorite Game of Thrones moment in season 3:

I won't spoil it by saying what's awkward.  In case you haven't caught up yet.

4.  June is upon us!  Anyone want to button swap for June?  If you're already on my shamefully-put-together sidebar and want to continue the May swap for another month, just let me know!  I'm not using PassionFruit and don't really have a limit in mind.

..and, finally:

5.  2 more weeks.

In case you can't tell:

Happy weekend!

Happenings and funny stuff.

I ran a 5K.  Scott looked shocked and doubtful when I said I'd run it, but I finished in 32:50 and it was a trail-style run, so I've been told that's pretty good.  My goal was really "finish".  I took on the same mentality as I do with group fitness:  If there's people watching, I'm not going to give up, and there were an awful lot of people there.

Scott finished 3 minutes before me, and then there was a BBQ and I didn't have to wear a coat.  

God, I don't miss Alaska at all. 

I went into the gym on base and asked if they were hiring.  The lady at the desk snapped "No." and dashed away all my dreams.  Thanks, lady.  Maybe I'll try the library.

I bought classes at the gym.  Yeah, this is one of those gyms on a base where they make you pay for classes.  10 classes for $18.  Much cheaper than the $70 a month I was paying in good ol' Alaska though :)

I started watching True Blood again from the beginning because #1: my DVDs have been returned to me and, #2: I can.

Also, I started the books.

Maybe I should really get on that job hunt, huh?

Only a few more weeks til season 6...I know I watch a lot of t.v., but I think True Blood will always be my favorite.  Who else is rooting for Sookie and Eric?  I love them together.

And some funny stuff.

Also, that applies to Folgers.

I was getting Lucky Slots invites multiple times a day from one "friend".  Not anymore.

And finally, Happy Monday.  This better make you laugh.

Pins from my Pinterest page.