Some girls...

...buy shoes or make-up with their hard-earned money.  Not me.  I buy t.v.  

In bulk.

Some girls...buy all their jeans from The Gap*.  I just bought my very first pair of Gap jeans (yeah, ever).  

They are pink.  Scott gave me a weird look.  No one else did though.  I was prepared for an onslaught.  

Sweater/Pants:  Gap // Boots: Steve Madden // Scarf:  Target

And, some girls actually go to Pilates on a Tuesday night.  I ate a bag of peach rings instead.  

I don't want to show you a picture of that one *hangs head in shame*

*Or Citizens of Humanity.  If you like spending $200 on jeans.

What I Wore Wednesday @The Pleated Poppy
Wednesday Walkabout
Random Wednesday

It's still January?

Awesome.  I love January.  I love winter.  The cold weather makes me so happy.  It's where I find my true bliss.  Just like how I enjoy watching Twilight movies and curling up with a 50 Shades book.

Uh, no.  Not at all.

Source: memegenerator.net via Kristin on Pinterest

I know a lot of you get excited at the prospect of snow, and rightly so.  Nothing wrong with that.  When I see peaceful winter scenes in Christmas movies, I think it looks appealing too.  Then I remember that snow comes with cold.  In order for snow to be maintained enough to stay looking pretty, it needs to be cold.  No one really wants to be cold.  They may want to live in that Christmas card scene for the month of December, but no one really wants to be cold, packed into snow and ice, for 5 months out of the year.

Actually...let's not count my husband when we're making that statement.

That's my hat.

He packs up his snowmobile and his survival gear and heads out into the woods for a day or two almost every week.  Because I allow this (and because I certainly am not going along), he tells me to go shopping.  We have a strange (but fair) relationship.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of this post is.  I think I'm depressed.  Like, truly.  I'm not sure how to pull myself out of this "funk".  You'd think, "Now, Kristin, rock bottom had to have been LAST year.  You know, when you had to spend the entire winter in Alaska by yourself while your husband was off (potentially) getting shot at."
Sure, I'll give you that.  Last year sucked.  Thank God for blogging.  It pulled me through.
But, it gave me some great expectations for this year.  However, it's still winter.  Not much has changed.  My 4th gosh-darn winter in tundra-land, and the 3rd gosh-darn winter I refuse to go outside.  The first year, I tried.  No more of that nonsense.

Anyway, I went to Target while he was fishing.  I knew it wouldn't make me truly happy.  I knew it wouldn't solve any problems.  But I went.  Because it's probably a good idea to leave the house at least once during the day, right?  Sure.

1. A brown sweater.  I wear stuff like this every day.  I can't wear non-sweater material in the winter.  Too cold here.  (I actually keep "second coat" in my classroom.  You know, like how Pam has "second drink" on The Office? It's the lighter coat I put on when I take my heavy coat off each day.)  Plus, this sweater was $8.  I'd be foolish not to buy it.

2.  Weeds. We are currently on Season 3 from Netflix.  Netflix doesn't work fast enough for this household.  Seasons 5 and 6 were $13 and $15, respectively.  Again, it'd be foolish not to.  If it contributes to my greater happiness (and it really does), I'm gonna do it.

3.  I was going to make a dip.  Haven't gotten around to it yet.

4.  I actually did need this tea.  We go through a lot of green tea.

5.  And, really, after listening to children of every age (birth through 18) act like miscreants*, running and shrieking and swearing through the aisles of Target, I needed this shot of caffeine.

*I understand that children are supposed to act like children.  However, I suppose that high school girls should not be running through the store, shouting and swearing at each other, though.

Did I need any of that stuff?  Not really.  Did it force me to leave the house and make eye contact with other human beings?  Sure did.

I suppose that's a win.  

Also a win?  I walked right by the Valentine's Day candy without even picking anything up.

What do you do when wintertime depression sets in?  I know I harp on this a lot, but they say to "write what you know".  I look around, and this is what I write.

New T.V. in my world

When I find a new t.v. show, I have to talk about it.  And then I have to make sure everyone else is watching it too.  I've waxed poetic about so many in the last year; my favorites probably being True Blood and Dexter.

Last weekend, we spent 4-5 hours watching most of Season 2 of Weeds.  Then I popped into Wal-Mart where I bought Season 3 of Justified.  Season 4 is on FX right now.  As soon as I catch up, I can bust into the DVR.  (Scott saw bootlegged Justified in Afghanistan an entire year ago.  Same as he saw The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. Oh, America, why must you make us wait?)

This is what I've been watching lately:

Breaking Bad

Source: Uploaded by user via Michael on Pinterest

AMC is the network that can do no wrong.  Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad are some of the best t.v. shows out there.
After hearing many, many bloggers talk about Breaking Bad, I gave it a whirl in October via Netflix.  I thought, "This will be a way to pass the time until deployment ends."  I had promised Scott we'd watch it together but I was getting desperate.  I watched Seasons 1, 2, 3, and the beginning of 4 while I blogged, cooked dinner, cleaned, etc.  I didn't pay that much attention to it so I was, understandably, lost much of the time.
When Scott came home, we gave it another try.  We started watching a couple episodes a night (as fast as those dvds would arrive), and then I found Seasons 2, 3 and 4 in Target for $15 each one day.  The decision wasn't a hard one.
We ended up taking Seasons 2 and 3 with us on our cruise last month.

This was a God-sent-lifesaver if I've ever seen one.  During our "time of illness", we watched Breaking Bad.  It was the only thing I had to live for on that particularly horrible day.  I had to find out what would happen to poor Jesse and Walt.  I couldn't let the Carnival infirmary kill me off before I knew the ending!  (Dramatic? A bit.)

Anyway, we love this show.  We're caught up through Season 4 and will get Season 5 as soon as it's available.
If you like a smart, complicated drama, you'll love Breaking Bad.

Downton Abbey

Source: mylusciouslife.com via Sarah on Pinterest

This isn't really a "new" show to me.  I started, last March, on Season 1.  I, per the usual, wasn't really paying attention.  I got really bored and didn't finish more than two episodes.

Fast forward to June, I kept hearing about it.  So I went to the library and rented Season 1 again.  I stayed up until 3am finishing it.  Now, this may seem like some great obsessive accomplishment, but it was June, so the sun never actually set.  Therefore my neighbors were mowing their grass at 1am and the sunlight streaming in kept me awake anyway.

That was a lonely, boring time.

Anyway, Downton Abbey is everything a drama should be.  I picked up Seasons 1 and 2 for $12 each on Black Friday and now I'm obsessively DVR-ing Season 3.
This show transports you to another time and era.  I can hardly wrap my head around the idea that people lived like that.  I honestly think that if you think you won't like it, just give it a fair shot.  Even Scott is getting into it.

Weeds

Source: bing.com via Lynda on Pinterest

I'd always known Mary Louise Parker was off winning awards for this show, but I never gave it much of a second thought.  In the summer, I bought my brother Season 7 for his birthday because he said it was amazing and, though I'd tried to force him onto Dexter and it didn't quite work (he doesn't have that same obsessive personality I do), we more or less have common taste.

Scott and I started Weeds right after Christmas and to say we love it is an understatement.  If you are offended by language, I don't know how you'll feel about it, but we just find it amusing.  I recommend it for someone who loves a great story to follow and I've discovered that Showtime rarely lets me down (Season 1 of Homeland is pending...).  There's 7 seasons on DVD, so it'll keep us busy for awhile.  I love it when that happens.

1600 Penn

Source: m.imdb.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I'm snobby about my t.v. and my movies the way some are picky about wine or eating organic.  While I never wash my apples and I enjoy a good $5 bottle of vino, I only want to see the good stuff on my t.v. screen.  None of this Guys with Kids, basic cable, laugh track garbage.  And, good God, no reality t.v. shall ever grace my LG screen.  Don't insult my intelligence, CBS/NBC/ABC is what I often feel like saying. (I realize this could be a major character flaw.)

However, last week, we got sucked into the first two episodes of 1600 Penn.  It was amusing.  It was clever.  Jenna Elfman was fun to watch, as was that little boy, Xander.  The college-age daughter is a favorite of ours.  Not only does she play a Becca in this show, she played Becca in Superbad, one of the greatest films of all time (maybe my snobbiness does have a cut off...).

While it's too early to tell if this will be a hit every week, I definitely recommend giving it a try. Oh, and there's no laugh track.  (Scott just told me it's not getting the best ratings as of now, but I think that's a mid-season release factor.)

Anything good on your t.v. lately?  I think I've exhausted just about every show anyone has ever told me to watch.  I need more ideas.