Thou shalt not wear makeup on Saturday or Sunday unless attending some fancy gala where it is absolutely necessary.
Thou shalt not shower on the weekend, instead thou shalt jump into a pool and splash for hours.
Thou shalt sleep in until at least 10 a.m., unless a certain child awakens before then, in which case the child should be brought into the big bed and forced to cuddle.
Thou shalt never touch a hair straightener on a summer weekend day, no matter how unruly ones hair may be.
Thou shalt have a flexible schedule and go to bed an hour earlier than normal, or an hour later, depending on how sunburned thou is.
Thou shalt forgive oneself when thou looks into their child’s room and finds them asleep on the floor wearing only a diaper.
Thou shalt covet every moment of warm sunshine and every rainy afternoon. At least it’s not snowing.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2008-06-16 07:10:382008-06-16 07:10:38The Rules of Summer: Weekend Edition
You all know I love me some Netflix. When we cancelled our cable television service due to insane-o pricing a few years ago, the deal was we’d get a Netflix membership to hold us over until the price for 400 channels fit a bit more snugly into our budget. And even though Netflix can screw over it’s best customers by being total punks, I still love them. Mainly because they can get me obscure DVDs that you can’t find in your local, Kansas Blockbuster.
In the last year I’ve become more and more underwhelmed with the US movies and television that are out there “entertaining” us. I rarely find a show I enjoy, and when I do, it’s usually on at some strange time and I miss it due to life obligations like Lu or work or sleeping (see: How I Met Your Mother or Eli Stone). I’ve gotten into a habit of renting entire television seasons on Netflix, and let me tell you, all this has done is reinforced my decision to move to London tomorrow.
Wait, have I mentioned that? I’d like to move to England, please. Donations for the flight and living costs are being accepted.
Even though I don’t enjoy fried fish or biscuits, I think I would fit well in the UK. Besides, if we moved there Lu would end up with some smashing British accent and automatically get into some prestigious university due to her charming interview. And I would settle into my flat during the evening and curl up with my telly to watch some amazing programmes.
[Did you see that? Telly? Programmes? Flat? Shit, I should just move tomorrow.]
Though I probably won’t be raising enough money to book my flight in the next weekmonthyear decade, I can still transport myself though my dear, old Netflix subscription. That is where I found my most recent obsession, Shameless.
Granted, I’m sure the strong pull toward this show was helped along a bit by the presence of one of it’s stars, my second husband, but when I added it to my Netflix cue I had no idea I’d be begging Lu to go to bed so I could watch another episode. This “dramedy” tells the story of a family living in the Manchester projects, led by a drunk father, a teenage sister taking care of the family with her car thief boyfriend, a gay 15-year-old brother, a brother who is a certified genius, a bi-polar little sister who thinks her baby doll is real and a whole host of other characters. This show has found the perfect combination of outright laughs and touching moments to keep me enthralled and, as I mentioned, mildly obsessed.
Because I’m feeling rather girly today, the clips I’m posting are the smooshy sweet ones depicting the main characters first meeting. I know, cheesy. But I don’t care, it’s effing adorable and I wanted to watch every season after seing the following scene.
Sidenote: These clips are a bit lengthy, so if it’s taking a long time to load, hit pause, wait a bit, then hit play again.
After this chance meeting, Steve confesses to Fiona that he has actually wanted to ask her out for months, but she doesn’t believe him. The following scene is when she calls bullshit and tells him to describe the first time her saw her. It’s also when she finds out that he is not the spoiled brat she had assumed, but actually a small time car thief. Oh, and also, he’s wicked good looking. Just in case I hadn’t mentioned that once or twice or thirty times.
Gah! So cute! “Finished?” “No, we’re working on it.” Trent needs to call James McAvoy and thank him for all the lovin’ he’s going to get after I finish this DVD. It’s like porn for sappy girls!
I swear, it all makes sense when you see the show. So rent it. Or buy it. Or at least watch the first episode of season 1 before you give up on it. And tell the boys in your life that they’ll like it too, as there is plenty of crime and fighting and exposed breasts (this show would never make it on US television unless it was on HBO). Just turn on the TV and settle down with a cigarette and strong drink. It’ll make it all seem more real.
[Crazybananas does not condone smoking, but she sure does miss it sometimes. However, she does condone strong drinks. It’s a necessity of life.]
As long as I’m rambling on and on about British TV (and knowing most of you have stopped reading and moved on by now anyway), I’m going to humor myself and introduce you to another show from the UK that you should be renting, my original favorite British show, Coupling. They tried to remake it in the US a few years ago, but the comedy just doesn’t translate. It is billed (here, at least) as the British version of Friends, but it’s so much more than that. Trent and I laugh out loud every single time we watch this show. It takes normal, everyday musings and happenings in relationships and plays them back, in all of their ridiculousness, for everyone to see. I think that’s why it’s so funny, because anyone in a relationship watches this show and says “EXACTLY!” But these guys make it much funnier.
The following is a clip where the main couple, Susan and Steve, go to a fertility specialist. I know it’s a bit long, but if you can make it to the three minute mark, you’ll be a fan for life. I swear.
Sorry, I was over here laughing so hard I almost peed a little bit. To the very few of you that have made it through this long post, I have two things to say. First, go rent these DVDs and watch them with friends. Second, what are you doing wasting your time reading huge blog posts? I mean, jeez, get a life already!
Update: Thanks to my lovely readers, I’ve found out you can watch Shameless on the Sundance Channel, Sundays at 9 p.m. You can find Coupling on BBC America. Now you have no excuses! Watch!
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2008-06-11 09:31:502008-06-12 20:53:33Another one where I wish I was in England
So, I had a really long post that I was going to write today all about my obsession with British television….but then I went to a certain movie last night with a few girlfriends and had a few dozen martinis. On a Monday. What was I thinking? Well, I’m not totally sure there was thinking involved, but lucky for you, there was a camera.
Behold! Mikayla and Megan do photographic interpretations of the characters from Sex and the City:
Carrie
Miranda
Charlotte
Samantha
Stanford Blatch
Charlotte’s Pissy Gay Friend Anthony
I’m sure your day will now be filled with sunshine and kittens. You are welcome.
When I was about 4 or 5 years old, my parents purchased a rickety, old cabin on a lake in rural Kansas. I basically grew up at this place, spending my summers swimming for hours on end, looking for fireflys and lizards to keep as pets, staring at the stars that were so brilliant on those dark nights in the country. This weekend I took my daughter there for the third time in her life, and it was the first time she really enjoyed herself. Watching her beg to stay in the water and play, look for bugs and sit on our boat all wrapped up in towels made me happier then I’ve been in ages. To think that someday she’ll have a head full of memories from that wonderful place…I can’t wait to go again.
First of all, thanks to the few of you that emailed or left gift advice for Lu’s birthday in the comments of yesterday’s post. I ended up getting a very fun gift, with some inspiration from all of you. I’ll post a picture on Monday, but for now, just know that my gift for Lu involves whales, monsters, bubbles and an airplane or two.
To say the last few weeks have been hectic would be a complete understatement. We haven’t really spent time at home in at least four weeks, and the small amount of time we have has been riddled with sickness or work or something else in life. After our big NYC visit this past weekend, Lu came down with a super-illness. Not only does she get to deal with a fever and stuffy nose, but, lucky her, a throat so sore she can barely talk. And how the hell is she supposed to catch an airplane if the pilot can’t hear her shouting at thirty thousand feet?!
To top it all off, and prove that timing really is everything, tonight Trent’s dad and stepmom come into town for a long awaited visit. They haven’t seen Lu since Christmas, and suffice to say, she’s changed. Just a bit. OK, maybe she’s an entirely different species now, but I don’t want to alarm anyone. I think she’s still human.
In order to make up for what I’m sure will be a snotty, runny, grumpy weekend for our guests, I spent most of the afternoon cleaning the crap out of our tiny house. Who knew it would take so long to clean four rooms? I think the ant infestation in the kitchen added at least an hour. I even went so far as to ask our very-nice-but-sometimes-a-bit-strange neighbor if she could cut me some of her roses to put in vases throughout the house. By the way, do you says vay-ses or vaaa-ses? I can’t decide which is correct and it’s driving me bananas.
Trent had the audacity to ask me why the heck I was scrubbing the whole house for a short visit from his dad when it dawned on me. My mother used to do the exact same thing. My parents house in general looks like a wannabe contestant on Clean House, but when company was coming, no matter who it was, my mom was on her hands and knees in the kitchen, scrubbing the crap out of the yellow linoleum. And I know that because she would repeatedly tell me, “I’m in here scrubbing the crap out of this floor and what are you doing?! Go be helpful!” And I would think, “Who the hell is going to care if our kitchen floors are spotless when you can’t close your closet door due to the amassing of junk that ends up there when company comes over.” But I wouldn’t say anything because I was a bit of a rule follower and nothing scared me more than my mother being mad while cleaning floors. Deadly combination.
But look at me now. Just twenty years later, and it’s official. I’m her. Pass the mu-mu and Diet Coke. I may as well go quietly.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.png00Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2008-05-29 21:56:252008-05-29 21:56:25The Circle of Life
