Not Must 'See', Must 'Have' TV?

Goodbye Gilmores?

It seems that the networks like to rip my Thursday night carpet right out from under me.

This season they're totally ganging up on me with the farewell of Will & Grace and now rumors about Lorelai & Rory's departure.

Maybe I haven't earned my strong opinions about this beloved show. My deep love and interest is less than a year old. But how could I be dedicated when it was up against F*R*I*E*N*D*S? Let me assure you that after committing the whole summer to catching up on re-runs, these are very much MY Gilmore Girls.

I am less than thrilled with the mother-daughter dispute than went on three episodes too long, and I am quite annoyed with this Rory-replica imposter that's supposed to be Luke's daughter. Maybe the writers of Gilmore Girls spent too much of their summer watching Days of Our Lives.

Let's help the writers out:

1.) OBVIOUSLY more Rory/ Lorelai banter (isn't that a given?).

2.) More quirky Sukie (& family) and other familiar friends.

3.) The other obvious (and crowd pleasing) plot is for Lorelai to discover that Luke's daughter disaster is just a scam and let's have her quickly disappear.

Isn't planning a wedding enough drama to mix in with the single mother/college daughter/rich & manipulative parents/chip-on-the-shoulder boyfriend/hotel owner chaos?

Come on boys (and by boys I mean writers). Get your head in the (Gilmore) game!

Not Exactly a Band Aid

It's strange what can sometimes have a healing effect on us.

JP has recently experienced some long over-due healing that in a round about way was courtesy of the stars (in the sky, not celebrities).

I didn't realize that I was in need of healing. Why should I be with all that's going on?

David has been gone a lot lately, even more than usual.

My car is still sick, and the mechanic doesn't know what's wrong. Decision: do I get a new one? Car, not mechanic.

I've missed a lot of work because of sick kids.

I'm about to miss a lot more work because of Isaac's surgery.

Isaac's surgery.

The housework is a little overwhelming. Borderline out of control.

Our warm(40s) temperatures turned cold today and even brought (much needed) snow.

And the list goes on.

Okay, so maybe I needed a little healing. Hello, I didn't even touch on the fact that I'm 1,200 miles away from home.

So tonight when when we got home from work, school and daycare (we being me, Maddie and Isaac), a very cute, medium-sized brown bunny was visiting our front yard. As a matter of fact, he almost blended in with the (dead-winter) grass. Yes, he was wild. Reminder: I do live in Montana.

Though we did startle him, he wasn't in a huge hurry to leave, and even let Maddie get within just a couple of feet of him. This sweet little bunny brought some warmth to my heart, and if I really stretch, maybe a little healing. This unexpected friend made us all smile and almost forget the exhaustion of the day.

Now I'm five minutes into my next bit of healing: Will & Grace. Gotta catch up...

How Was Your Week?

Let’s kick things off with “Am I the Last to Know?” This question is more than 20 years over due, but am I the last to know that Van Halen’s song ‘Jump’ is a remake of a Paul Anka song? I just (just) got clued in (due to Sirius Satellite radio). Moving on to “I am Pathetic” The show is long over, re-runs are running rampant all over cable, but any old episode of F*R*I*E*N*D*S still holds some mysterious power over me. Tonight I caught the last 5 minutes of the episode with Rachel’s pregnancy test in the bathroom at Monica’s reception, and I am so pathetic that I cried. Not just a little welling up in the eyes, but big, pathetic, crocodile tears. Next is the “Warning” I am warning you now, 2 ½ months in advance, that the wrapping up of Will and Grace will be nearly as painful for me as the whole F*R*I*E*N*D*S dumping me drama. Don’t try to make plans with me on a Thursday night, don’t call, don’t expect much out of me. PS I love the whole Taye Diggs joining the show idea. Well done. Finally, my “Real World” Last year a doctor told me that the lump in Isaac’s lower abdomen was not a hernia. On Tuesday, after picking David up from the airport but before picking up my car from the mechanic (where the warranty company totally bailed on me, leaving me to pick up the $170 tab) I missed more work (after missing Monday and Tuesday because Maddie was home puking) to meet with the surgeon to schedule Isaac for surgery on February 21 to repair his hernia. It put a lot of my fears to rest, like “is it a tumor?” or “will he be able to pro-create?”, but awoke his fear of an operation. For the next couple of weeks I will try to convince our sweet boy that him having not one, but two abscessed teeth pulled was far worse than a hernia operation. This will be a piece of cake. And then I’ll convince him that being home with mom for a week will be fabulous. Then comes the fun of “restricting his activity” as instructed by the surgeon. It’s been quite the week. All together now: “T*G*I*F”. I didn’t even get to the whole “Stephanie from Full House on Meth” or the “Locklear – Sambora divorce”. What a week!

What are Your Primetime Guilty Pleasures?

I love TV. There is no way around it. I love to relax in front of the TV. I wish I didn't. I wish that I was more energetic, but after working all day, getting dinner on the table for my family, reading scriptures and (hopefully) playing a quick board game with the kids, I'm wiped out. As a matter of fact, the last couple of nights the table may or may not have been cleared. I'm just saying. My love for TV is long lasting, I still look fondly of the days of the Muppet Show, Webster, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, Gimme a Break and Mork & Mindy. So many more, Family Ties, the list is endless. But let's face it. So much out there is just crap. There are some really stupid things that people poor money into; some wretched show, then lo and behold, an audience appears in living rooms all over the country, encouraging the wretchedness to continue and flourish. Like the Dancing Celebrity show and the Ice Skating Celebrity show. Please! Oh, the hypocrite that I am now that American Idol's season has begun. I'm certain that I haven't missed one glass breaking, should-be embarrassing moment of the latest wannabes. It is an hour (or two on Tuesdays) of great big belly laughs. I've watched all of the American Idol seasons except for the first. I've been there through Ruben and Clay, Fantasia and Carrie. Am I that fanatical, or am I just plain lazy? I'm not even that 'in' to Simon, Paula and Randy (but no matter how much fun you poke at her, Paula is beautiful). My latest and guiltiest primetime 'pleasure' comes as a surprise to even me. Normally I would turn my nose up at such trash and immaturity and smut. Not so. Why am I so hooked on Beauty and the Geek? Is it the innocence of the Geeks? Is it the stupidity of the Beauties (which isn't so bad compared to last season, now we have some college students)? My wish is that these producers (in this case Ashton Kutcher) would let me decide who get eliminated. The good ones have been let go way too early. Chris would be the first one you might want to dump, but let's face it, his arrogance makes for good TV. We need to dump the blond with the bags under her eyes, the brunette with the high, squeaky voice, but let's hold on to all those sweet boys. They are bursting with potential to be not just social, but even cute. There will be no OC or One Tree Puke on my TV, but wannabe singers and don'twannabe geeks are welcome at our house.

No New Year's Resolutions

The new year has just begun and I'm already full of regret. We packed in just as much as we possibly could during my time at home last month, even with the torrential rain and with Aunt Sandy coming to town. Unfortunately there were some things we just didn't get to do. 1.) Watch Concert for George (Harrison) at mom and dad's house. 2.) Go to Marge's. I love being at Marge's house. 3.) Late night WalMart trip with mom and sisters. Though Jaye and I did have a pretty lengthy day trip on Christmas Eve Eve. 4.) Old Navy. But I did score on some good sales here last Saturday. 5.) Bowling with Jordan. 6.) More driving lessons with Jamesson. And I'm still alive for it. 7.) Drive around Sacramento. With so much rain any traveling was reduced to what was absolutely necessary and not much else. 8.) Galleria Mall. I did make it to Arden, but I should have had more mall time since the one in my town is a cave. 9.) Color my hair. Really should have worked that in, especially since this weekend I'll be covering the highlights that I put in last weekend. 10.) See more people. I didn't see Patty S. or Elena M. or Michelle H. or LaRue C. (just to name a few). 11.) Visit the VanW. family. Sorry, Maddie. Next time. 12.) Visit the ocean. Too much rain. But hello, there's no ocean in Montana.

Caught in the Cross Fire

My brother has a girlfriend we’ll call Judy. Judy is young, cute and thin. Some of us mature girls know that young and cute last about as long as the latest boy band-trend. And forget about thin! My brother is pretty fond of Judy and (I think) would love for Judy to be his wife someday. So while we were traveling together in the car together a couple of weeks ago with sister, Jaye, said sister must have been seeking some kind of reaction out of our younger brother. Jaye: “So, Judy’s sister has put on some weight now that she’s had kids. Aren’t you worried that that will happen to Judy?” Brother: “Don’t you think that your husband looked at Jess and said ‘Oh, crap’ after she had kids?” Thanks, brother.

No Offense to My Skinny Blond Friends

I already mentioned this to JP and Sarah but… Today I heard something on the radio that went something like this… “I don’t care how good she looks, somewhere some guy is sick of her”. While I am somewhat offended by this (and maybe should be even more offended), strangely enough I kinda liked it. Because no matter how skinny she is, how big her boobs are, how blond her hair is, no matter how hot she is, she’s on someone’s nerves.

This gives hope to a frumpy brunette like me. Move over you Pamela Anderpukes out there. And of course it works both ways. No matter how good HE looks…