Happy New Year!

Ok, I know January is almost over, but blogging hasn't been quite as much of a priority lately (shocking, I know). Life has been busy, what with having a two month old that needs feeding, cleaning and interaction, both of us working (I went back earlier this month) and maintaining a household - or even just getting food cooked, putting dishes away and washing laundry. I seriously am amazed by single moms that are able to do it all, because with two adults we're still working on getting a system down that works.

Every once in a while it's nice to have some time to each do our own things, though. At the moment the baby is napping (I expect she'll wake up and eat some more before going to sleep for the night), the husband is playing video games and I'm spending time playing on the computer. I've found I have a lot of time to browse Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. on my phone, but finding time to sit down at the computer is a lot harder.

All in all, life with a baby is going well. Yes, I need to find time to work at odd hours throughout the week, but my boss is amazing with all the flexibility she's giving me. Our daughter is pretty awesome. She's got the smiling down and has started laughing once in a while. It's super cute! I know, I'm biased, but my baby is so incredible. You have no idea (and I'm sure I'm the only mother that feels that way about her kids - haha).

I have found that with nursing I have a lot more time to watch TV. This means I've gotten into many more shows. In addition to Castle and Bones, I've started watching Ellen and the Price is Right (although it's not the same without Bob Barker). I also went through a few shows on Netflix's Instant Queue (Sherlock, White Collar, Once Upon a Time and Parenthood), but sadly Netflix only goes so far and I don't want to just jump into the current seasons in the middle. Maybe I'll have a chance to catch up at some point...? I am excited I just borrowed the second season of Downton Abbey from a friend; I'm sure I'll enjoy that over the next few weeks.

In addition to watching TV, I've been trying to learn how to be semi-productive during the day. I decided it's a good day if I can get at least one full chore done while the husband is at work, such as folding the laundry or loading the dishwasher. I'm optimistic I'll be able to bump that up as time goes on, but I'm taking the small victories (a month ago, I couldn't even do one chore during the day).

Hmm...I can't really think of much else to write at this point. Obviously my life has become all about the child, which I think is appropriate for me, but probably not quite as fascinating for you. Plus she's starting to stir so she'll probably decided she wants to eat soon (at least, I hope she wakes up soon so we're not up too late tonight!). So on that note, have a good one!

Go Me

I just realized I completed one of my goals last year! I updated my blog at least once per month. Well yay! Go me. We'll see if I keep it up this year, too :)

I think this will probably be a short post. As much as I enjoy blogging, there just doesn't seem to be the time as more and more activities are added to my life. The good news is we're officially house hunting now! Tonight we got to spend some time actually looking in houses with our realtor, so that was fun.

I've also been trying to make it to crew more regularly. I did pretty well for a few weeks before things started getting busy again, but we're back on the water on Saturday - extra motivation to make it!

I still haven't gotten back into TV shows - I haven't really watched TV since before Christmas! It sounds much longer than it feels.

I think that's all the energy I have for tonight. I should probably go to bed (we'll see if that actually happens).

It's That Time...

It's that time of night again. That time when I want to stay awake, but I really know I should go to sleep. The result of which is usually me writing about random things.

We went to the Tacoma Rainiers game with the youth group tonight. It was a lot of fun! I totally forgot to take pictures, though...and my camera was sitting in my purse. Maybe next time? Regardless, we still had a great time hanging out, watching the game and seeing fireworks at the end.

I've started re-reading the Circle series by Ted Dekker. It's a fantastic trilogy. Well, technically there's a 4th book too, but I never got around to finishing that one. I just couldn't get into it...anyway, the original trilogy is so good! I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that it's worth your time to read. If you want to know more, read the description on Amazon (I don't think it gives away any spoilers).

I've been rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix recently, too. That's also been fun. I remember so much from childhood, but understand so much more now. It adds another level of depth to the characters I met as a young lass. Plus it takes me back to when a roommate from college and I watched them (although I don't think we made it through all 7 seasons).

I'm going to cut myself off from writing random thoughts and updates. It's time for bed. I have plans to be productive tomorrow and I want to see them come to fruition!

Movie / TV Reviews

I haven't had a chance to share much about what I've been watching recently, so I'm grouping everything into one post:

Tangled was fantastic. Definitely worth seeing. Yes it's predictable Disney in a few places, but isn't it supposed to be? The story was really good, the characters were easy to identify with and there were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I actually kind of want to see it again.

I feel like I need to let you know I never saw the first Tron. That being said, I thought the movie was okay. My brother filled me in on details I missed from the first one before we went, but even if he hadn't I think I would have been able to keep up. The graphics were the best part of this movie. I thought it was cool how part of it was 2D, but then the Tron world (if that's the name of it?) was in 3D. 

The second season of Dollhouse finally came to Netflix and it was great. I watched the whole season in a week. The first season mostly sets up the Dollhouse and shows the day-to-day operations where the second season is more about the company and people behind the Rossum Corporation. Definitely a fun show to watch. I love the random Battlestar Galactica reference from Topher partway through too :)

Lie to Me was recommended to me by my mother-in-law, and I love it! I just finished watching the first two seasons and can't wait to see the third. As most shows, it takes a little while for the actors to find their characters, but by the end of the first season this show is addicting. The other thing I appreciate about Lie to Me is that most of the episodes are self contained. Yes, some big things happen that change relationships between the characters, but it's actually a nice breath of fresh air to watch a good show that doesn't require me to remember every single little detail of what's happened so far (one of my complaints about Lost). As TV is one of my favorite ways to veg out, I like being able to just sit back and watch without trying to remember everything. 

With only 5 episodes, The Sing-Off is one of the shortest shows to get hooked on. Yes, it takes over your life for about two and a half weeks, but it's worth it. Think American Idol with a capella groups and a LOT less invented drama to draw out the show. The first episode starts with 10 groups and the judges eliminate 1 or 2 each episode so viewers can vote on the winner before the last episode. It looks like they took the full episodes off hulu, but you can still watch clips from this past season there.

Bones continues to be one of my favorite shows currently airing on TV. I love the dynamic between Booth and Bones. It's what drives the show. 

Speaking of dynamics that drive the show, Castle and Beckett are also two of my favorite characters currently on TV. This is another show that continues to be fantastic. I'm excited to see how everything unfolds over the course of the season as Castle's book becomes a movie, too.

I felt like I had to put this one in here too. Yes, I still watch Glee regularly, but that's really more for social reasons. And the songs. This past season has been a disappointment so far. There have only been two episodes I've actually liked; the rest have been dumb. I was really disappointed that they had a great guest star like Carol Burnett, for example, and her entire character was stupid and not funny. I hope the episodes begin getting better more regularly - and soon. I feel like they have such a talented cast they aren't using.

CBRC Regatta (plus a few random updates)

Today I had the pleasure of participating in my first regatta in 6 years. It was really fun! This was the first regatta I've been able to make it to since I started rowing again a few months ago. Matt was kind enough to come out, cheer us on and take a few pictures:

Approaching the finish line

Crossing the finish line

We're the boat you can barely see by the orange buoy

Needless to say, I had a lot of fun.

Another exciting part of today was the Giants beating the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLCS. It was torture to watch (of course) but had the sort of outcome I like :)

No other HUGE news around here, although I did finish Battlestar Galactica and really, really liked it. I'm also super excited about the Sound of Music Sing Along coming up later this month - we're planning to go on the 26th. It should be fun! We've been working on putting our Halloween costumes together, too...I'll post a few pictures once they're complete (as long as they turn out the way we expect them to). 

On that note, a couple of new pictures: 

The mountain looked gorgeous as I was driving to dinner, so I pulled out my camera and took a quick picture while at a stop sign.

The clouds looked so cool as we left the apartment on 10/14! This was taken around 6:15pm.

The oars lined up, waiting to be used.

BSG, Guests, Pictures

I have recently become obsessed with Battlestar Galactica. I'd never seen it before (although I've wanted to), so when one of my friends mentioned it and lent me the DVDs it completely took over all my free time. I'm really liking it. I'm almost done with the third season and am excited to see how the show and characters progress.

In other news, Matt's brother and his friend are visiting right now. It's fun to see them, and is providing a nice excuse to visit a few of my favorite restaurants - including Happy Teriyaki #3 and Brewery City Pizza. We've also been having fun with our toy shotguns.

And finally, here are a few new photos:

Feel free to follow my full 365 Project at http://365project.org/eksidley/365.

Why I Don't Like Naps...plus Fall TV I'm Excited About

I'm not a fan of naps. Most people love them, but I find they screw up my sleep schedule. I tend to be groggy for hours after I wake up from a nap, and once I recover I don't get tired by the time I should go to sleep again. Such is the case tonight. I actually took a nap this afternoon and now I'm just not ready for sleep yet. It's a little bit annoying.


I can say that I'm SUPER excited for TV shows to start again. The shows I'm especially excited about include Castle, Glee, Survivor and Bones. I've also been really excited about all the rain recently. Usually Fall through Spring weather is gray skies and a fairly regular drizzle, but over the past few days we've had real rain. I had so much fun playing in the rain Friday afternoon, evening and night. Here are a couple of pictures I took:

I do think it's kind of funny that, despite all the rain, I've seen a lot of sprinklers still being used. I even hear our apartment complex's sprinklers on right now. It seems like there would be plenty of water to go around at the moment...


Okay, I'm starting to get tired, so I'm going to try to sleep. Good night!

Recent Thoughts

In my last post I mentioned I decided to do a photo a day again this year. You can see all my pictures at http://365project.org/eksidley/365, but I'll post a few highlights here, too. Here are a couple:

September 2, 2010

September 5, 2010

So I've been converted to Google Chrome. It wasn't intentional, but last week Firefox randomly wouldn't work and, after complaining about it online, I was reminded of Chrome. After downloading it and trying it out for a few days, I have to say it's now my browser of choice (although I still like Firefox much better than Explorer). It has a lighter feel, probably because it doesn't have as many customization options. It also runs faster throughout my average workday. Firefox had a tendency to freeze up around 5pm (inconvenient and frustrating as I tend to work until 6pm). I thought it was simply the Internet since that was a time most of our neighbors were likely getting home from work and hopping online, but Chrome didn't freeze up at all, rendering me much less frustrated by the end of the day.

I've also been watching The West Wing again. Last year I talked Matt into watching it with me and we made it to the 5th season...and then lost all motivation. It's hard to power through the rough patch left when Aaron Sorkin left the show! Well, I ditched Matt, but I made it through and have thoroughly enjoyed watching seasons 6 and 7 (although I still have the last 2 discs of season 7 left). There are a lot of things that happen that I completely forgot about, and it's fun to see how much my understanding of the world has grown since it originally aired! 

On that note, I have laundry to fold.

Bill Cosby

"The networks say they don’t influence anybody. If that’s true, why do they have commercials? Why am I sitting there with Jell-O brand pudding?"

- Bill Cosby

That is my all-time favorite quote. Earlier today, Matt and I watched a previously recorded "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from February in which Bill Cosby was a guest. I have a lot of respect for Bill Cosby. He is a funny comedian that hasn't sunken to crude jokes to get people to laugh. Matt and I watched "Bill Cosby: Himself" on Netflix a while ago, and we were laughing so hard. Although it's over 25 years old, it's still hilarious.

The Cosby Show is probably my favorite sitcom, too. Some of the later shows aren't quite as funny, but the early ones are fantastic. I think what makes the show so great is that the content is something everyone can identify with and it doesn't sink to sex jokes/cheap shots. My favorite part is it shows a positive example of a husband and wife that love each other and their kids, and are more concerned with teaching them what they need to learn as opposed to giving into everything they want.

Five TV Shows Worth the DVR Space (even though I don't have a DVR)

I have to say, I cannot get over how awesome Castle is. Not only is the show well-written with great actors all around, but Nathan Fillion keeps making Firefly references! Those of you that saw last week's episode, Fool Me Once, did you catch the 'shout out' 6 minutes in? If you're on Twitter, I would recommend following both Nathan Fillion (@NathanFillion) and Castle (@WriteRCastle) as they both tweet about the show. Castle has a Facebook account, too, so add him as a friend if you prefer that to Twitter (don't worry - they don't ruin anything before the show airs).

Although Castle is probably my favorite show airing at the moment, there are quite a four others that have been holding my interest:

The Big Bang Theory: With a premise of 4 nerds and 1 hot girl, how could it not be amusing? I love all of the characters' quirks, and appreciate the nerd humor I understand (although they're good at keeping it from going over my head but, as I hear, still very accurate). Apparently Wil Wheaton is on this next episode, so there should be some fun Star Trek references!

NCIS: Honestly, it's the chemistry of the characters that keep me hooked on this show. I mean, I liked it when Kate was on it too, but I didn't need to watch every episode the same way. Ziva brings a lot to the group, and I like the way the actors portray their characters (especially Abby) now that they've had a few years to settle into their roles. PS - Gibbs is awesome.

Glee: Okay, this one is totally a guilty pleasure. The plot is a little too overly dramatic for me, but the songs are just so fun! They're what keep me hooked. My favorites so far were "Don't Stop Believing" in the pilot and the Bon Jovi/Usher Mashup in Vitamin D.

Survivor: As fun as this show is, I never got into it until my brother suggested Fantasy Survivor. This has turned Survivor into a game we can play together even though we don't live near each other. We each pick an MVP at the beginning of the show (go Brett!), and then each week we make picks for who's going to help win reward/immunity challenges, get voted off, be safe and then one mystery question that changes each week (i.e. whose vote will be shown on camera or who will be shown holding the immunity idol).

On that note, I haven't watched NCIS yet this week and really need to go watch it...so I will.

Castle

I became a fan of the show Castle fairly soon after ABC premiered it, largely due to my brother telling me it was good (he has good taste when it comes to TV shows). It's a fun, one-hour show about a writer, Richard Castle, who is writing a new novel and creating a new character based on Kate Beckett - a detective that he talks the mayor (a huge fan of his work) into letting him follow around for "research."

As a fan of the show, I think it's so cool how they're getting us excited for the premiere. They've made these characters feel like they're real through social media. Richard Castle's daughter, Alexis, set him up with a Twitter account so he is constantly tweeting...but it's not just mundane details of a made up life - it's a whole story told in 140 character snippets (he's helping solve a murder while on vacation in the Hamptons). How cool is that??

Because the show is created around the fact that he's a writer looking for his next story, ABC is releasing Richard Castle's book in one-chapter increments for fans to read. Richard Castle has a facebook account so his fans can ask questions and interact with him. I think the team that came up with the idea of using social media to build up to the premiere was brilliant in dreaming this up. All of the effort to create a character that feels more real is paying off - I can't wait for the season 2 premiere on Monday, September 21.