Farewell, Pine Valley

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Today is the end of an era! I started watching All My Children with my mom one summer when I was a kid. In college, I watched only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because I didn't have a 1:30 class those days. When I started my first job, I listened to it on the car radio during my lunch break. And after I started working from home, I always had it on in the background while I worked. Now I DVR it and have a marathon many Sunday afternoons.

And today, 20+ years of faithful viewing come to an end.

Farewell, Pine Valley.

It's OK

This is my first time linking up with the lovely Neely and Amber for "It's OK" Thursday.




It's OK that I haven't blogged consistently in nearly a year. I've been busy. Doing life. But I miss doing life with y'all. Take me back? Pretty please?

It's OK to finally admit that after many faithful seasons of watching, I am completely over Project Runway. I even deleted it off the DVR. Sorry, Heidi.

It's OK that I pluck out every single gray hair I find. I am OK with being 30. I am not OK with gray hair.

It's OK that I am already counting down to Christmas, even though it's not even technically fall yet. I can't help it.

It's OK that I'm cheating on my Starbucks caramel macchiatto. Darn you, salted caramel mocha!

State of Mind

Loving: my new job (work at home - YAY!)

Hating: being far from the ones I love

Craving: time alone

Wanting: a pair of patent gray booties

Reading: Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Watching: Giuliana & Bill on the Style Channel (Seriously, how cute are they?)

Listening to: Taylor Swift, Sparks Fly

Looking forward to: Jacksonville next weekend!

Worried about: nothing. And loving every minute of it.

Dear God, Please let this be true.....

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LOSTies rejoice!

It was reported last week that NBC is developing a new show by J.J. Abrams, creator of the epic series that we all knew and loved and lost (hee, hee, see how I did that? see?). And as if that was awesome enough, J.J. is creating the show for Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson!

Holy excitement, Batman! I might have just wet my pants a little.

The rivalry and love between Locke and Linus was one of the best parts about LOST. By the end of the series, it was clear that Terry and Michael had a bit of a bromance going on. When they dreamt aloud at several interviews of a vehicle all their own, I never dared to hope it would happen.

And now it's happening! On NBC! With J.J. Abrams!

I can't wait!

And we were afraid it was completely over...

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Do you know what this is?!

LOST: The Complete Collection - and it comes out TODAY!

Six glorious seasons of the best.show.ever. Plus two hours of never-before-seen content, including a 12 minute mini-epilogue about Hurley and Ben's time as keepers of the island.

I want it. I want it bad.

But as Nate so helpfully pointed out - I've already seen it all. I know how it ends.

Well, yes, this is technically true. But I don't have cast and creator interviews, a mini replica of the island, a box that comes complete with black-light hidden secrets or my own personal Senet game. And did I mention the 12 minute mini-epilogue? I need to know what happened, man!

If you need to know what to get me for Christmas - this is it. Just don't expect to see me for at least 96 hours afterwards.

Suddenly I've got a craving for bananas....

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The clothes!

The jewels!

The celebrities!

The meltdowns!

The medical drama!

The catchphrases!

OMG

I die.

Shut up, right now.

I'm coming undone.

It's going to be buh-na-nas.


Who else is ready for the Season 3 premiere of the Rachel Zoe Project tonight?

I've been over Tom Cruise for the better part of the last five years, basically ever since he lost his mind and his dignity with all that couch jumping and verbal sparring with Matt Lauer.

I've had no desire to see any of his recent movies. Valkyrie looked like a snooze fest. Knight and Day (or is it Day and Knight? I forget. Whatever.) looks like every other trying-too-hard-to-cover-a-crappy-script-by-hiring-two-overpaid-stars caper these days. Think I'll skip it.

Of course I had to give props where props were due - his portrayal of Les Grossman was just about the only good thing about Tropic Thunder. And possibly the best acting job old Tommy boy has ever done.

So I wasn't expecting much when I heard Mr. Cruise was making an appearance at the MTV Movie Awards. A little image rehab and an effort to make himself relevant to the current generation, perhaps.

Oh, how wrong I was.

This is freaking hilarious. Tom Cruise should do more comedy. Seriously. I almost hurt myself laughing last night.

I predict a movie starring Les Grossman very, very soon.

The End

So today is the day. The final 2.5 hours of The World's Greatest Television Epic, otherwise known as LOST.

I am officially in mourning already. Wearing my black bikini on the beach. Staring morosely at the waves while the piano theme from LOST plays on a loop in my head for sixteen years the entire day. Drowning my sorrows in circa 1970's Dharma beer a series of margaritas.

I have high hopes for tonight's episode. I am sure it will be the fastest 2.5 hours of television ever. Carlton and Cuse still have a heck of a lot of ground left to cover. In The End I just hope it's satisfying. Please, please, please let it be satisfying.

I wonder as I wander

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SPOILER alert - If you aren't up-to-date on LOST (um, why aren't you?! isn't the suspense killing you?), you may want to stop reading now.

I don't know about you, but last week's episode blew my mind! All the dead people seem to think Locke is still Locke, FLocke pushes Desmond down a well, alterna-Desmond hits Locke with his car, the Whispers turn out to be trapped souls! It was an hour chock full of ten kinds of crazy but I loved every single minute of it.

It's hard to believe that there are literally only a handful of hours of LOST left. As thrilling as every episode is, I am still completely and utterly lost as to where this is going. Someone please tell me that I am not the only one wandering through the morass of final episodes wondering what the heck is going on? Every single week I think 'This is it! This is the week I will finally figure it out!'

Um, yeah. Not so much.

Although we've been parcelled out an answer or two each week, I feel like I have more questions now than I did back in February! Which means my expectations are epically high for the next few weeks. Here's hoping Team Lindelof doesn't let me down!

What do you think of the season so far?

And the Oscar goes to.....

Who watched the Oscars last night?

I watch every year, and by 'watch' I mean I have the TV on while I am surfing the internet/reading/scrapbooking and tune in only when someone I like is on the screen. Clocking in at 3.5 hours last night, Oscar is a little on the overkill side.

But for the first time in history (well, my history at least), I watched the entire thing. Normally I watch until 10 or so and DVR the rest. Even the year Reese Witherspoon was nominated didn't keep me up til the end. I'm not sure if that is a function of the show being slightly more interesting this year (young stars! funny hosts! no singing!) or the fact that I didn't have to get up and go to work the next morning.

But considering I thought this commercial was actually the funniest part of the entire show, I'm going to guess it was the whole sleeping in thing. I died laughing when this commercial came on. And then I rewound it three times and watched it again.



If there was an Oscar for 'Coolest Wife in the World', Jennifer Garner would win hands down.

Guys, where who are we?

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ETA: If you aren't caught up on LOST, you may want to stop reading now! Spoilers ahead.

You remember a few weeks ago when I said Nate and his penchant for nicknames would be my island's Sawyer? Well, the lovely Cole, turned the question around and asked me who I would be. Hmmmm. Good question.

My first impulse is to say Kate because, heck, who doesn't want to be that beautiful (even after three years running around a jungle with nary a hairbrush in sight!), with two handsome fellas fighting over you? But upon closer introspection, I decided Kate is entirely too dependent on men and their opinions of her. Plus, she's wanted for murder and I'd never make it in the slammer.

So maybe Claire? I've always wanted a cute little accent and Aussie is about as cute as they come. Plus she got to make out with Charlie and who wouldn't want to get on board that Hunky Man Train? However, it seems that Baby Mama has gone a little loony tunes running around in the jungle the last few years, so maybe not.

Juliette? While heroine-ism seems appealing, it also got her killed, so I'm thinking no.

Sun? Married to Jin? No thanks.

Locke? I like my hair, thank you very much.

Jack? Too wishy-washy. 'Nuff said.

Sawyer? See reference to 'Hunky Man Train' above.

Richard? As much as I'd love to never need eyeliner again, the thought of living forever makes me tired just thinking about it.

With the list of castaways quickly dwindling, it finally came to me.

I would want to be Hurley. Except maybe slimmer, with less frizzy hair and, um, female. But other than that, dude has the best lines in the show. Who else gets to say stuff like this?

• You're just jealous my power's better than yours. [to Miles]
• I think 'Leslie' is a bitchin' name. [to the sensitive-about-his-girlie-name Arzt]
• So, Seoul? Is that in the good Korea or the bad Korea? [to Sun]
• You just totally Scooby Doo'ed me, didn't you? [to Kate]
• Dude, are you a zombie? [to Sayid]
• So, the hatch, like, blew off your underwear? [to Desmond]
• Dude, you've got some Arzt on you. [after Arzt blew himself up]
• Dogs can find pot and bombs, so maybe they can find water. [to Jack]
• It's not so bad [living on the island]. I mean, sure the Others are like coming to eat us and all and every once in awhile someone blows up all over you, but we do get to sleep in every morning. [to Jack]
• So Rose's husband is white. Didn't see that one coming.
  

So if we were on The Island, who would you be and why?

I know this to be true

If we were ever stranded on an island LOST-style, Nate would be our band's Sawyer....

Sawyer's nicknames - Season 1-3

IT'S TIME!

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OMG, ya'll! To steal a phrase from one of my favorite bloggy friends (and fellow LOST enthusiast!), Ally - I'm vibrating with excitement today!

And so it begins....the final season of LOST. As any good LOSTie knows, this is bittersweet. I'm both excited (to find out how it ends and what it all means!) and sad (what will I do when there's no LOST to talk about?). This is one of the absolute best shows on television right now - and possibly ever. Or at least in the 28 years that I've been watching television!

I love the spider web graphic showing all the connections between the castaways. After all, that's what the entire first season was based on, and I'm excited to read that the producers are bringing that idea back this season.

I have so many questions that I hope are answered before all is said and done, but here are my Top 10:

1. As Charlie so eloquently put it in the first season, "Guys, where are we?" Good question, C-Money. Where the heck are you guys?
2. Who is good and who is evil? Charles Widmore? Jacob? The Man in Black? Ben? Locke? Jack? I thought I knew, but season five proved that you can't know. Maybe that's the point? A person's inner good or evil isn't for us to know?
3. Who the heck is The Man in Black and why is he running around in Dead Locke's body?
4. Will Sun and Jin find their way back together?
5. What in the world is the smoke monster? Evil incarnate? Judgement Day? A manifestation of conscience?
6. What happened to the polar bear from Season 1? And why was it there in the first place?
7. Where is Claire and who will raise her baby, Aaron? They made such a big deal out of this in Season 1, I simply must have an answer. Also, what is the deal with Jack and Claire's dad? He seems important somehow.
8. Who will Kate end up with - Jack or Sawyer? I'm kind of torn on this one. I want the 'good guy' to win, but I'm not sure who that is anymore (See also Question #2)
9. Why these people? What was so special about Locke, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sun, Jin and Hurley? They were 'marked' by Jacob, some of them as early as childhood, but why?

And the biggest, most important question of all:

10. Why has Richard been middle-aged since well, the Middle Ages? Where is his fountain of youth and can I buy some of whatever he's drinking?

Will you be watching tonight? What are the questions you hope they finally answer this season?

All the pieces come together....

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One week, ya'll! I am beyond excited! Who's with me?

No More Mr. Nice Spy

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Chuck is back tonight on NBC! This is one of the few (read: two) shows that Nate and I agree on. I was so sad when I heard the show had been cancelled but it looks like the power of the people pulled it back from the Graveyard of Great Shows That Ended Too Soon.

Guilty Pleasures

I saw this little meme over at Gilding the Frilly (isn't that a fun blog name?!) and thought I'd steal borrow it. I'm ashamed to admit, but it took quite a bit of time to narrow my guilty pleasures down to just five!

1. High heels - I firmly believe that a girl can never have too many pairs of high heels. Unfortunately my husband doesn't hold the same belief. 'Yes, darling, I know have four pairs of black heels in my closet, but I don't have black patent leather peep-toe stilettos with a white stitched diamond pattern.' Well, at least I didn't until this afternoon....

2. MTV's Styled - Maybe it's just Rachel Zoe Project withdrawals, but I am a little bit obsessed with MTV's RZP knockoff. It's like a train wreck - you just can't look away. Seriously, where do they find these people?

3. Being a 'hairbrush singer and dashboard drummer' - You know, like the Carrie Underwood song? Okay, so I'm not a drummer, but I'm definitely a hairbrush singer. Well, not with an actual hairbrush but I love to belt some Carrie and Taylor Swift in the car. Seriously, I could alternate their two CD's for the rest of my life and be perfectly content listening to nothing else for the rest of my life.

4. Sonic commercials - There isn't a Sonic less than an hour's drive from here, but they still show the commercials non-stop. I laugh like a maniac at every one, even though I've seen them all a million times. Nate thinks I'm a nutcase. How can you not find this laugh-out-loud funny?



5. Massages - I've gotten a monthly massage for the past four or five years now and I look forward to that hour with eager anticipation every month. When we moved to Indy, I discovered Massage Envy and it's the best gift I've ever given myself. My massage therapist is a-MAH-zing and I don't know what I would do if she didn't knead my shoulder muscles into submission on a regular basis. This guilty pleasure is worth every single penny.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Double-edged sword

So ABC has announced the premiere date for the sixth and final season of LOST - three glorious hours on Tuesday, February 2 at 8:00pm. How does this make me both giddy and glum at the same time?

Anyone else out there thrilled to see it back and yet totally bummed to see it end?

What I wouldn't give to be that mouth guard

One good thing about living in Indianapolis? Plenty of commercials from good old #18. I love me some Peyton Manning.

Does anyone else laugh hysterically when this commercial comes on?

Just me? Oh, well. More Manning for me then, I guess.

Dear John All My Children

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Dear All My Children,

It was with great regret and a heavy remote that I removed you from my DVR line up this afternoon. As I fast-forwarded watched today's show, I realized that after 20 years of committed fan-dom, I'm just not that into you anymore. I didn't think it was possible to make a soap opera boring, but congratulations, AMC, you have done the impossible. I no longer give a flying leap who killed Stuart, why Emma won't speak, or whether Kendall will end up with Zach or Ryan.

Farewell, All My Children. Perhaps one day you'll find a way to bring yourself back from the dead.

Sincerely,
Sara

And suddenly, it's okay to laugh when people fall down

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Have you guys seen this show Wednesday nights on ABC? Freaking funniest thing you've ever seen!

I'm not usually into reality show competitions. Sure, I love me some Tori & Dean, but when it comes to stuff like Big Brother, Biggest Loser or The Bachelor, count me out. Just not interested.

That is, until one Thursday morning a few weeks ago when my friends the baristas at Starbucks were laughing their tails off as they talked about this show. Of course, I was intrigued, thinking it can't possibly be as funny as they claim it is, right?

Oh.so.very.wrong. It's 10 times funnier. In fact, words cannot do justice to just how freaking hilarious this show is. Do you laugh when other people fall down? Giggle behind your hand when you see someone trip in public? Baby, this is your show.

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And not only are people doing their pride some serious damage, but the ESPN commentators are egging them on with some of the funniest material I've heard in a long time. The first night we watched, I was laughing so hard I was crying. And I haven't missed a show since.

Trust me. Watch it. Tonight. 8pm. ABC.

Worth every tear.