Fall TV!

    Well hello everyone!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I spent mine working, but in reality, that isn't so bad, considering I've spent the last three months not doing anything at all.  It's nice to have somewhere to go and something to do, however trivial or mundane at times.  I just got home from work, actually, and Tuesdays are typically very slow, so I spend most of my time reading and cleaning up the shop.  Even though I barely did anything, I'm still exhausted.  My chronic fatigue is rearing it's ugly head again, so I'm going to assume there's some sickness coming on.  I can't wait for that to manifest...  I also can't wait to crawl into bed with my book, but that's neither here nor there.

    Today I decided to talk about TV because I haven't in awhile.  In fact, some of my more successful or popular posts were TV re-caps, where I talk about what happened in a given episode and what my premonitions might be for future episodes.  Since fall officially starts this week, (especially with the weather finally cooling down to an acceptable temperature), we can expect our favorite TV programs to grace our televisions once more.  I'm going to list the TV shows I'm most excited to watch this season and shows that I might get into if I have the time.  We'll start with a few shows that I'm excited to see return to my weekly line-up.

(hypable.com)

    Once Upon a Time:  I've mentioned this show countless times here and there's no doubt it's my favorite anticipated series premiere on this list.  If you are unfamiliar with OUAT, fairy tale characters have been taken from their enchanted forests and castles and placed in a small Maine town due to a curse by the Evil Queen.  Obviously you'll have to start from season one to get the gist of it, but there's a lot of hidden mystery in this show.  I will be honest in the fact that I did lose a little momentum for this series last season when they introduced Frozen characters because I don't think they did any justice to the story.  HOWEVER, Emma is now The Dark One, (due to a series of unfortunate and unavoidable events), and her family has to deal with the repercussions of Emma's sacrifice.  There are a few new characters getting introduced this season that I'm excited about, including Merida, the Camelot crew, (I'm definitely calling them that from now on), which includes Merlin and King Arthur, and the return of Mulan!  I'm really excited about this season, so if you're new to this, just binge watch the first four seasons.  It should only take you two weeks, tops, and it's totally worth it.  GO DARK SWANN!  Also, LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUS POSTER!  Season five premieres this Sunday, September 27th at 8pm EST.

(seat42f.com)

    Arrow:  Arrow has had it's ups and downs for me, but I fell in love with this series after season two.  It's so complex for a CW show that I was initially surprised.  Who would have thought that the CW network, the same network responsible for the Vampire Diaries, would put out great programming like Arrow, The Flash, Reign and The 100?  The CW has become a formidable force when it comes to dramatic television and Arrow is no exception.  It is dark, gritty and very much a DC universe reminiscent of Batman in all his glory.  If you haven't started this series yet, I highly suggest you do so.  The first season is a little slow, but by season two you will be hooked.  We left off last season with Oliver Queen running away to his new, quiet life after faking his own death with the League of Assassins.  The Arrow is no more, but the GREEN Arrow will be born from the ashes.  This season we get the formal introduction of Speedy, Oliver's younger sister Thea Queen, and Laurel Lance as the Black Canary, taking over for her dead sister Sarah.  With so much that can happen to this new and complete team, there's so much to speculate.  Stephen Amell is still HAF though, amirite?  Season four promises to be just as great, if not better, than all it's previous seasons, premiering Wednesday, October 7th at 8pm EST.

(ign.com)

    Agents of Shield:  On the other side of the comic book spectrum, we have Marvel's Agents of Shield, who's last season finale led the way right into the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron.  I love the overlap of this series with the Marvel cinematic universe.  The show follows a team of individuals who are members of the S.H.I.E.L.D organization, (who we don't really know that much about, other than the fact that they're very much like secret agents and a task force to be reckoned with), as they investigate various happenings related to the MCU.  The first season set the ground work, although it started extremely slow.  It picked up quickly and now this show is an incredible testament for crossover potential.  Last season we were introduced to the Inhumans, Marvel's take on mutants, (because they can't legally say "mutants" because of copyright).  Skye, or Daisy, has discovered that's she's one of them and has to deal with her new role on the team as Quake.  I'm assuming we're going to dive deeper into the Inhumans story line this season with all the unanswered questions we received at the end of last season.  I literally can't wait to see what happens this season!  Season three premieres Tuesday, September 29th on ABC at 9pm EST.

(amazingracewikia.com)

    The Amazing Race:  This show is my guilty pleasure!  I watch this show with my dad and it's always nice to spend time with him watching a show we mutually love.  We get a kick out of all the different countries and places the racers visit on their way back to home base.  We also love watching the inevitable squabbles and annoying teams that make watching both laughable and painful at times.  It's one of the few reality shows that I watch religiously.  The 27th season, (WHOA), premieres this Friday, September 25th at 8pm on CBS.
    Dancing with the Stars:  Another guilty pleasure reality show I watch with my dad.  I loved last season, but this season looks ratchet, so I'm not sure if I'll watch or not.  That being said, I will most likely be drawn to the allure of Tom Bergeron's awesome personality at least.  It already premiered, so I'm behind at this point, but I can catch up on ABC.com.  Go Bindi!

   
    Those were shows I know I'll be watching the next few months.  These next shows are shows I'd like to make time for, if it's worth my while.  Still unsure whether or not I can commit to one or any of these, but we'll give it a try.
    Gotham:  I tried watching Gotham for awhile and I liked it a lot, but I missed a few episodes and never went back.  I enjoyed the dark, gritty world it portrayed, similar to Arrow, but still different.  Two very different cities, two different settings, two different groups of people, one old school Batman, another new school DCU.  This next season promises the beginnings of the Joker, whom we've all been dying to see come to life on this show.  Rumor has it the guy playing the Joker is really talented, so I'm curious to see how he brings the Joker to life.  That would be one of the only reasons I tune in.  Season two has already started on FOX.

(gamespot.com)

    Heroes Reborn:  I never watched the original Heroes, but I've heard nothing but good things about it from my friends who've seen it.  I would be doing myself a disservice if I watched this series without watching the original, but this new series looks so great!  I'd like to feel the nostalgia that comes from seeing an old character you love in a new show.  Zachary Levi seems to have somewhat of a presence on this reboot, so I'm willing to give it a go.  I'm not sure why I wasn't initially drawn to the original Heroes before, but I will have to find it on Netflix in the meantime and figure out why.  Heroes Reborn premiers Thursday, September 24th at 8pm EST on NBC.

    The Muppets:  I've always loved the muppets, so when I heard that they were trying to resurrect The Muppet Show, I almost fell out of my chair.  That being said, this is a lot different than what I was anticipating, although I think it could work for them.  The Office and Parks and Rec feel of this series makes me want to see the muppets in this environment.  I know it will not be what I am used to and I still crave the nostalgia that comes with the sing-song comedy that is the muppets, but I'm willing to give this thing a shot.  The Muppets premieres TONIGHT at 8pm EST on ABC.

    That's all I have for fall TV shows!  Hopefully I can get to all of them without cable at my disposal...  Which ones do you watch?  What are your favorites?  Are there any shows not on my list that you think I would like?  Leave me your recommendations and comments below.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Finale Week

    Hey there, hi there, ho there!  It's Thursday yet again and can I just say I'm RELIEVED to finally be rid of finals week?!  Not only did I manage to get an 11-page literary review on Tumblr done in about 9 hours, but I also managed to pass it in a day early!  Yay me!  Year one of grad school accomplished:)  Now that I don't have any more homework to do, I'm in that awkward in-between stage of Spring where I have no idea what to do with all the free time I now have at my disposal.  I made a promise to myself that I would leave the apartment and venture out into the outside world, so I will try to make as many plans with friends as possible.  We'll see how that goes...but with my husband pushing me out the door it might not be as difficult as I imagine.

    I will say, having spent so much time inside this winter has really made me reevaluate my health and wellness.  As someone who suffers from Lupus, I really should be taking better care of myself.  I don't want to say I've let myself go, but I could be putting a little more effort into eating correctly, making a conscious effort to get outside on those nice days and really taking control of my health.  Even if it's just a low-impact workout routine, I need something to get my butt off this couch every week.  I'll be looking for programs and workouts that peak my interests, so if anyone has any suggestions for exercises geared towards joint health, let me know in the comments below!  I'm looking forward to getting back out there, visiting some local farmer's markets and getting back on track.

    Another part of this reevaluation has been the cleanliness of our home.  Obviously we don't have a lot of space in this one-bedroom apartment, but on days where I'm bored and don't know what I should do with my time, I might try cleaning up a bit and maybe reorganizing some things around here.  There are some days when I come home and get really annoyed and overwhelmed with the state of some of the rooms in this apartment and even though not all of it is my fault, I know I could do at least a little more to help clean up.  This weekend I'm planning on doing a massive clean-out of my closet and drawers, so everything that doesn't fit or I don't wear anymore is out of here.  Hopefully I can find the time and money to go shopping for the things I do need, (apparently every year I have to buy new shorts...).  I also need to get more professional outfits for teaching next year, so that would be fun.  Eventually my house will be the way I want it, but until then, I'll make due with what I have.

    Alright, so for TV this week there were a lot of season finales.  Here come the SPOILERS...

  It was not The Amazing Race finale this week, but it was the second to last episode.  The teams traveled to England to play on the Liverpool football pitch, which was super cool!  It did make me feel like I could have definitely completed that task in less time than some of the other teams.  How do so many people NOT know how to kick a soccer ball?!?  Regardless, all the teams eventually made it to the most difficult challenge ever: reciting a poem in Welsh.  This is something I might have actually be able to do because I've taken an Old English class before and it seemed pretty similar, (although I could be wrong).  The one detour that surprised me was the Blonde's shooting techniques.  How they managed to pull off a spot in the final three is beyond me, but I'm still rooting for Dave and Connor.  I was actually sad to see the Afghanimals go this time around, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the last we'll see of those guys.

  The Once Upon a Time finale was EPIC!  I wasn't sure if I would like Emma and Hook traveling through time, but then Emma screwed up her parents meeting each other for the first time, so obviously they had to make it worse.  That's just how these things go.  Anyway, my favorite part was after they got back and Emma realized that she wanted to stay and love Hook forever and they made out together on the patio and it was AWESOME!  Oh, and everyone else was way too happy, so they had to ruin everyone's good vibes with Emma screwing everything up AGAIN for Regina by bringing back Maid Marion, who was supposed to die so that Robin and Regina could be together.  I found it ironic that Snow had managed to ruin Regina's love life by trying to do the right thing in the past and now her daughter managed to do it.  I think Regina is just destined for horrible luck, so we'll see what she does after Robin makes a decision.  Obviously we'd assume he'd pick Marion, but now he has a problem with fate and the prophesy and all that Tinkerbell jazz.  The best and most cliff-hanging part of the finale was the end, where an blue princess came up out of the ground and appeared to shoot ice from her hands...  It seems like the rumors of Frozen coming to Storybrooke were true after all.  From the way they introduced her, it seems like Elsa might start out evil, but who knows?  Let me know what you think of this addition to the cast of the next season.

  Clearly Game of Thrones has just begun.  The best part of this week's episode was Tyrion's speech before his verdict was said to be reached.  The way he went off on everyone was just amazing and his emotional delivery was flawless.  Shae better run and hide now, because she'll get nothing but ice from Tyrion now.  I am a little disappointed that he didn't trust his brother to let him live, but then again this is the way Tyrion would've handled the situation, and boy did he handle it.  I can't wait to see what happens with him because they're obviously not going to kill him.  Unfortunately I'm having trouble remembering anything else that happened in that episode because that speech just blew everything else out of the water.  Daenerys was basically just trying to help all her new people with their issues, which was sort of boring actually.  That whole situation with "Reek" and his sister trying to rescue him was sad too.  At this point, I hope someone can just put Theon out of his misery.  I was hoping that Ramsay would get what's coming to him by way of Yara, but alas she did not succeed in her mission.  I do think they will come back in greater numbers, but this wasn't the highlight of the episode by any means.

  Agents of Shield had their finale as well this week.  They finally brought in Nick Fury, after a long wait.  He wasn't even really an integral part of the episode; just a guy with some cool sunglasses on.  I think Fury came back partially to prove a point: that SHIELD isn't dead yet and there's always hope.  The action was lacking in this finale, but I don't think we needed it.  The exchange between Skye and Ward was awesome, especially when May came out of nowhere to exact her revenge.  The situation with Fitz and Simmons was heart-wrenching.  I wanted them to live so badly and I got my wish, but just barely.  We still don't know how Fitz is holding up, but we do know he put how he feels about Simmons out in the open, (FINALLY).  My favorite part was when Deathlok got the message from Ace through Skye and stomped Garrett's face in.  Sadly he didn't stay down for long, but Coulson fixed that with some alien technology blaster.  I like the looks of the new team and hope they are able to rebuild what they lost and more.  I'm eager to see how they fit this story line into the next few adaptations of the Marvel universe in film.  I'm also eager to see how they put Skye's supposed "father" in play and what role he'll have in the new season, especially if he's in league with Cybertek.
    That's all I have for TV reviews this week.  I'd say those finales were all pretty spectacular!  This weekend Godzilla comes out and I think I may want to go see it.  I usually don't do scary movies, (yes, Godzilla would count as a "scary" movie, at least per my standards), but this remake looks way too good to pass up.  Other than that, nothing special going on for me.  Possibly arranging some meet-ups with friends, but otherwise cleaning house.  I may start one of my books I got for Christmas, (GASP).  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

    *In accordance with Lupus Awareness Month, tomorrow is "Put on Purple" day to raise awareness for Lupus.  Everyone should wear something purple tomorrow to show your support!*

Good News All Around!

    I know, it's Friday, not Thursday...  I've been super busy again because I'm winding down from finals week.  As of right now, I've finished almost all of my projects save for the big one: the 10-15 page literary review, (which really isn't a review of literature as much as it is an essay regarding a 21st-century writing topic).  It's due Wednesday, so hopefully I can finish by then, but I'll have to be smart about time management.  Because of all of this, plus work, I've been super busy as well as super tired with no willpower to do anything but sit, let alone type a blog.
    Like the title suggests, I have plenty of good news to go around since my last post.  Not only did I get the summer day camp counselor position I wanted, but I also got placed for my internship!  Now that I have security, I can finally relax.  I'll be starting summer camp training in the middle of June and teaching Freshman English starting at the end of August.  I'm beyond excited about both of these opportunities so I can't wait to get started!  Things are looking up.

    This month is also Lupus Awareness Month, where people are encouraged to find out more about Lupus and do what they can to raise awareness.  The official Lupus website for the Lupus Foundation of America provides information on Lupus and various organizations to raise awareness and funds for Lupus research.  As someone who has Lupus, this month has always been important to me in order to educate my friends and family on the severity and complexity of this chronic illness.  I hope that you guys check it out and learn more about this disease.  "Put On Purple"Day is May 16th, so put on something purple to raise Lupus awareness!
    Now it's time for TV spoilers and reviews!

  The Amazing Race had it's ups and downs this week.  I was very sad to see the cowboys go home because they had played a loyal and fair race.  They just struck out on luck this week.  I was really hoping to see the Blondes go home, finally, but alas, they live to race another day...  Easily my favorite part of this episode was when Brenchel got pummeled by the "raging bulls" and Rachel kept whining about them being "too hard on them" just because she's a girl.  Sorry hun, just because you're a girl, doesn't mean they will give you a free pass.  In fact, strong women are very popular right now, so you feigning frailty isn't going to get you sympathy points.  If Dave and Connor win this, I will be perfectly fine with that.

  Once Upon a Time was awesome this week!  The way Regina embraced her light magic really let us see that she has changed.  Although I don't believe that Zelena is actually gone for good, I am impressed with Regina's resilience.  What's up with the green smoke and what will happen to the necklace now that it's in Regina's vault?  If Zelena regains her human form she can wreak some serious havoc in that chamber, so fingers crossed that that doesn't happen.  I really loved the way Rumple proposed to Belle with his dagger.  It showed her that he's literally willing to give up his life for her.  But that pride turned into confusion and hatred as soon as he revealed to Zelena that he tricked Belle with a duplicate dagger so he could stab Zelena with the real one.  Come on Rumple, you're FINALLY free!  Neal wouldn't have wanted this to happen...  I'm not sure if Emma will really end up going back to New York, but I say she stays with a last minute change of heart.  Partially because of her new baby brother!  No name yet, but I'm sure we'll find out this weekend.  I can't wait until they have their actual real-life baby!

  Game of Thrones was alright this week.  Not my favorite episode, but definitely suspenseful.  I was REALLY hoping that Bran would yell out to Jon, but I know why he didn't.  Jon will be kicking himself if he ever finds out that they were there that whole time and didn't say anything.  Jon was reunited with his long-lost dire wolf, which was very touching.  I want a Stark family reunion! (whoever is left I guess...).  Sansa looked downright terrified at Lisa's emotional rampage and who can blame her?  Now she has to bunk up with the crazies and I feel really bad for her right now.  I think the only truly innocent character right now is Tommen, the poor bastard.  I like the relationship he has with Margaery and I think they would work well together.  I also enjoyed watching Arya practice her swordsmanship while with the Hound.  She seems like she's gotten so much better and I can't wait to see her strike out on her own and kill everyone on her list.
    That's all I have for this week.  I saw Amazing Spider Man 2 last weekend and it was wicked good!  I would definitely recommend it.  There has also been an announcement that they are rebooting the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger movie!  It's still in the beginning stages and a lot is unknown as of now, but I'm still excited about it.  They will most likely not use the original cast, (for obvious reasons), but I would bet money on Jason David Frank making at least a cameo appearance.  This weekend is Mother's Day, so I will be spending time with my mom, cooking, baking and drinking lots of wine!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

It's Finally May!

    Happy Thursday!  This week is great because both of my classes end, (although I still have at least a couple assignments that aren't due until the 14th).  The point is that I can start working more at the after school program as well as the morning one.  Making more money will make me very happy, especially if I don't end up getting that summer job.  At this point I still don't know where I stand, but I'm hoping to find out by tomorrow.  Unfortunately I don't think I'll hold my breath on that one...I should probably start looking elsewhere.  Regardless, less class time will hopefully give me more opportunity to work on the papers I have to accomplish before their due dates.

    Internship news: so far nothing yet.  I was supposed to meet with the same cooperating teacher I met with before vacation today, but she had a last-minute substitute.  We might be meeting tomorrow, but at this point I wouldn't mind working with her next year.  I can't really afford to be picky in my situation anyway, but I can't see a downside so far, besides the obvious age gap between what I envisioned for myself and what she teaches.  I think I'll be able to make high school work, but we'll see what she thinks.  I can't make the decision by myself.  If that were the case, I would've had a teacher by now.
    As for reviews, I am actually a little behind.  With everything going on this week and my husband working late almost every night, we haven't watched any shows this week yet.  So, all I have for you is Sunday programs.  Sorry!  Luckily, that's the most exciting day for television anyway.  SPOILERS:

  Amazing Race was a bit disappointing this week, being a non-elimination round.  The Blondies escape elimination yet again, by sheer luck.  I would have much rather seen them or Brenchel go home, but at this point I don't even care.  The girls keep pulling this "helpless" act in front of everyone and I can't tell if they really are that useless or if it's a ruse.  I would think that if you didn't know how to navigate, read road signs or directions or understand any foreign language, you wouldn't even bother signing up for the race, unless you wanted the TV publicity.  We'll see how next week goes, but right now my vote is for either the Cowboys or Dave and Connor, who both definitely deserve the win.

  Once Upon a Time was great this week, solely because Henry got his memory back.  In fact, everyone did, which should make everything a lot easier.  I feel bad for Hook because Zelena put him in a bad spot with Emma because of her mini cursed lips scenario.  He was only trying to protect her by staying away from her and not making himself a distraction.  Needless to say I was heartbroken when she told him she couldn't trust him anymore, which I think is ridiculous.  Hopefully this all gets reconciled so they can FINALLY be together, (I'm desperate now, but it'll probably never happen at this rate).  As for the brief appearance of Neil, that created a lot more controversy than the curses.  I don't understand why, because what happened at the end of the episode happened in the past when everyone was back in the Enchanted Forest before the curse that sent them back to Storybrooke, so he's still very much dead, but is there a chance that he could be brought back with another sacrifice?  Only time will tell, but I'm excited about this weekend's episode with Dorothy.  Maybe she can give us some insight into the "light magic" phenomenon that seems to be able to beat Zelena.

  Game of Thrones was awesome as well this week.  I was glad to find out who actually killed Joffrey, but I had a feeling Baelish was behind it somehow.  As for his creepy infatuation with Sansa, I bet she caves and ends up being with him out of pure loneliness.  She seems like one of the perfect candidates to train to become his right-hand lady: emotionally drained/crippled, no family and a will for vengeance with little to no physical attributes to speak of.  I think she would make a great manipulator, but we'll see.  I cringed when Hodor gets stabbed and taunted by those douche bags at Krastor's Keep.  Also, hitting Bran and keeping him hostage will probably be the worst idea Karl will ever have, seeing as Jon is on his way to them right now.  I can't wait for that reunion!  It seems like it's been forever since we've seen more than one Stark on screen together.  I'm also looking forward to seeing how Daenerys handles the situation with all her newly-freed slaves.  I believe that eventually it'll become too much for her to handle, especially with her dragons getting bigger every day.  I know that the biggest upset over this week's episode was the very end, with the White Walkers.  I'm glad we finally found out what happened to all those poor bastard babies, but what exactly are they doing to them?  Are they growing their army?  What's happening?  Apparently it's not in the books, so everyone is at a loss.  We'll see where this goes, but I'm sure it'll be explained eventually.
    That's it for reviews.  Some very big news from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie happened yesterday when a new, longer TMNT trailer was released.  It is the second official trailer for the movie and includes a better, (although still really brief), look at all the turtles and their turtle faces.  It's basically the first trailer with an extended middle section, by like ten seconds.  It's nothing incredibly different, but it still got me even more excited for August.  I'm going to be a wreck the closer we get to the release, but I'm betting there will be more trailers to come in the next few months.  Getting excited!

    Now that that's finished, I can get back to work.  This weekend I may be going to see Spider Man 2, so I might talk about that next week.  I love getting to sleep in and spend time with family over the weekends.  It really makes you cherish and enjoy those moments you have to stay in bed and relax with the people you care about.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Home Stretch

    I hope everyone is having a good week so far.  Thursday happens to be one of my favorite days because it's that much closer to the weekend.  I definitely think next week should be just one giant weekend with all the work I have to complete.  The end of my semester is coming and I couldn't be more calm.  Usually I'd be extremely stressed thinking about all of the papers and projects I have to do before the beginning of May, but this year it's different.  I'm completely aware of the amount of work I have to do, but I'm not worried.  I have faith in myself to get everything done on time, or even early.  It's always nice to get a break for the summer.

    Three of my assignments are relatively large: a literature review, a unit plan and a multimedia narrative.  For the literature review I have to read an entire book and focus on a central issue regarding 21st century literacies.  I've created a unit plan surrounding one of my favorite movies, Harriet the Spy, using both the book and the film to draw conclusions around identity and character development.  For my multimedia narrative I'm supposed to reflect on my semester and make light of my experiences from the course using multimodal technologies.  I think I'm going to use Storify, which is a site dedicated to mashing up various aspects of social media to create a coherent story.  I'll be posting my thoughts and rough draft of this project tomorrow on my ENGL 889 page.  All of these projects are labor intensive and require a huge amount of reflection and organization.  I'm curious about what I'll discover while working on all of these simultaneously.  I've already found that some of the readings I've done in both classes have the potential for crossing over.  I'm looking forward to getting down to business and putting as much effort into these as I can muster.  I may even share one of these finished projects on here in my ENGL 889 page, so stay tuned for a finished product.

    On top of this school work, I've been working on finding a summer job.  So far I haven't had any bites yet, but I'm still waiting to hear back from two places that seemed promising at first.  Honestly, I don't know what will happen with either of them, but I'm still trying to keep my options open.  Hopefully I'll hear something from one of them by next week, but who knows.  Honestly, I didn't think I would be on the job hunt again so soon.  I've also never applied for summer jobs before, so most of the application deadlines for opportunities in my area have been closed since mid-March.  It's actually more stressful than my projects.  The good news is that the after school program goes until mid-June, so I have some time left, but not much.  I'm praying for some much-needed beach time, so fingers crossed.
    As for TV reviews, they're very similar to last week.  Heads up for some SPOILERS...

  The Amazing Race brought the laughs this weekend with the Globetrotters attempting to ride the smallest donkey's in Italy.  Or maybe they just looked tiny underneath Big Easy?  Needless to say it was another frustrating week for me, being a fan of the Globetrotters.  I didn't like that they went home, but I have to say I can't really defend them this week.  They've been having trouble reading the directions on their road block cards...or maybe just with common sense.  Besides screaming at my television every time the Globetrotters were on screen, it was a decent episode.  I didn't like that Brenchel won again, but I have to give Rachel props on her calligraphy skills.  Is it sad that that road block was one of my favorites?  I would've loved to have taken that one on, but alas, I don't think my dad and I will ever make it to the Amazing Race.  I can still dream though.

  Once Upon a Time answered some questions for us this time around.  We finally found out what Zelena is planning to do with all her body parts, why she wants to go back in time and who's brain she needs.  How she plans on getting it is a whole other story...and it's probably not pretty.  You know what else wasn't pretty?  Rumple and Zelena's make-out session...EW.  There was a time when I thought any romanticism with Rumple would've been gross, but I'd give anything for Brumple to be whole again, without Zelena.  She's becoming an annoying wicked thorn in everyone's side, so I hope her demise is quick and painful.  My favorite person from this week was definitely Regina.  With her acting brave and working hard to help everyone, it's obvious that she's turned over a new leaf.  Also, her kiss with Robin was AMAZING! (and so over due).  Needless to say I can't wait to see what next week has to offer.  Especially with Hook being so shady, now that he's pissed about the curse.  Still hoping for a Emma/Hook ship to happen!

  Game of Thrones was also great this week.  I don't think I'm the only one who loves the dynamic between Arya and The Hound.  It won't last, but I like that they hinted at Bravos as a potential ending point.  I would like to know what Baelish wants to do with Sansa, but honestly I think she's safer with him.  I wouldn't want to go back to King's Landing under any circumstances, even to save poor Tyrion.  I definitely don't think he'll die, but his dialogue with Podrick was so moving!  He really is the best squire ever.  We're still not sure who actually killed Joffrey, but at this point I'm just glad he's dead.  Obviously, if you've read the books, you do know who killed him, but I haven't gotten that far yet, so I think we'll find out soon.  Another one of my favorite relationships is the one between Daenarys and Daario, who proved he was as badass as he claimed to be this week.  From the look in her eyes at the end of that miserable excuse for a showdown, she likes what she sees.  I'd ship them.  There were a lot of things I didn't like about this episode though: Sam sending Gilly to that nasty brothel, Jaimie raping his sister near their dead son's body, (c'mon man, even Cersei wouldn't do that...), and those damn cannibals killing and eating everyone.  Poor Stanis doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore, so I don't know why they even bothered giving him a two minute scene.  Who knows what will happen next week, but from the looks of things it's going to be good.

    I'd like to take this opportunity to mention something I'd like to start for the summer.  I'll be reopening my book reviews page and starting a summer reading list.  Now that I'll have more time to read, I can keep you guys updated on my progress and what books I'm reading through my GoodReads page, which has become severely neglected since I started classes.  I'm not sure about how much time I will give myself to read each book, but I don't really believe anyone should put a limit on reading time, so I think we'll leave that up to chance.  I will be reviewing each book once I finish them, so be on the lookout for which book I will start reading first, starting as soon as I finish all my projects.
    That's all for reviews this week.  I think it would be good for me and all the work I have to do to take a break next week, so unless something ridiculous or miraculous happens, there won't be a blog.  Sometimes you need to take a break in order to get stuff done, so that's what I'll be doing.  I'll have my recaps and reviews of next week's shows and hopefully more interesting information regarding my life for May 8th.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Oh, and this...

Sorry Not Sorry

    Hey guys, I understand that it's Friday and I missed yesterday's post.  Just be thankful that I'm here because I was considering not posting at all after the week I've had...  Early mornings, long days and late nights coupled with papers, unit plans and watching elementary school children every day has made me hate the world at this point.  Let's just say I'm glad next week is April Vacation.

    With less than two weeks left until the end of the semester, things are looking pretty tight.  I finished my case study, but now have to revise it, on top of the already scheduled term paper due at the end of finals week.  I also have to finish leading the discussion we were supposed to have Wednesday, but because of case study work shopping, it got pushed back.  In my other class, I just finished up my gaming and literacy unit with my friend Jess, so that's one less thing I have to worry about.  We still have a multimodal reflection due by May 1st as well as a unit plan due by the end of the semester, so I have to get cracking on those.  I was supposed to revise and resubmit my interview research paper, but I really don't think that's going to happen.  With everything else I have on my plate, I may barely scrape by with what I have to do now.  As for my new job, I now have to create three lesson plans for them and have them in by Monday.  I've resigned myself to a few facts: I can't be great at everything I do, I have to make sacrifices to stay sane, and I can't keep stressing about everything.  Hopefully I'll get a good chunk of work done while I don't have to see my kids next week until Friday, but we'll see.
    As I've been pretty swamped, I managed to finish all the TV shows I usually watch that were on this week so far by last night, so I could talk about them today in my reviews.  SPOILERS AHEAD...

    The Amazing Race was great last weekend solely because of the change in scenery.  The only part I found difficult to watch was when the Globe Trotters were at the Spanish Steps and were trying to count them and write the number down, but they forgot to do it in Roman numerals.  He never thought to check the Road Block instructions to see if maybe he was doing something else wrong besides guessing the wrong number.  The other groups seemed to fare well in all of the challenges and no one really stood out to me as doing a brilliant job, mostly because everyone caved and got help from some locals, or even tourists, (which is sad really, when you think about it).  Even the team who went home weren't really that exciting to me, so I'm still waiting for Brenchel to disappear...  Hopefully next week will be more exciting because I just wasn't feeling the vibes this week.

    Once Upon a Time, however, turned up the volume on some stuff this weekend.  I loved seeing more of Hook because, let's face it, he's dreamy in an evil kind of way, (IE: the best kind).  His tangled past with Ariel was a good back story to add to the betrayal Zelena pulled at the end.  Now Hook can't have Emma or tell her the truth without hurting everyone she loves, which right now doesn't really include him.  Sure, she cares about him, but she doesn't love him...at least not yet.  So I'm thinking he's going to go back to keeping his distance from her so that he doesn't ruin her chances of beating Zelena.  He may even take Smee's offer to go back to pirating, just to get away.  Who knows, but I hope he doesn't just sulk in a lonely corner at Granny's blaming himself for everything that goes wrong from in on out.  I also loved seeing Snow and Charming trying to be "cool grandparents" to Henry, even though he doesn't remember them that way.  Driving the truck through town probably wasn't the best idea, but I don't think anyone really cared that much, (except Regina...oops).  Can't wait for Sunday's episode!  I'm hoping we finally found out what else Zelena needs for her spell.  There's also talk of a Frozen crossover involving Kristin Bell, so that might be interesting, (although it seems like Frozen is taking over every aspect of our lives as human beings at this point...).

    Game of Thrones was the big one this weekend with the Purple Wedding shenanigans.  Everyone was talking about it so much that the spoiler disputes made the news.  Luckily, now there's an app for that.  Needless to say we all really wanted that ending to happen, but Joffrey's death wasn't the only embarrassingly disgusting thing that happened.  Joffrey's treatment of Tyrion made me and my husband cringe through that entire scene, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt watching that humiliation unfold.  I felt bad for Tyrion, but I also knew what was coming, so I knew he would get retribution for his mistreatment.  The big question still remains: who really killed Joffrey?  I have only read the first book so far, (my funds and time are both severely limited), so those who read know the truth, but luckily I haven't heard any spoilers for that yet.  Everyone has their own theory and they all seem valid, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.  I think we'll find out sooner rather than later, but my money is on Cersei.  She who blames the imp must be guilty of foul play!

    Agents of Shield didn't really impress me this week.  I liked seeing Patton Oswalt in the cast, but the fake Ward act meshing with the "real" Ward is already starting to bug me.  The saddest part was when Coulson was giving up his badge, telling everyone that it "means something."  It's disheartening to know that they don't have anywhere else to really go at this point, and now Ward is on his way to them.  Hopefully everything works out, but as of right now everything is up in the air.  I am curious to see what Ms. Flowers ends up doing with all of that technology they gave her.  She could just as easily turn on Hydra and use the stuff to enact her revenge for their lies, but she could also genuinely be on their side now, so who knows?  Her character confuses me the most, so I'd like to see her become more developed.  I'm excited to see Cobie Smulders reprise her role as Agent Hill in an upcoming episode.  Also, can we just ship Fitzsimmons already?  This petty back-and-forth is getting old.
    Something cool that also happened this week occurred during the MTV Movie Awards, in which they showed a TV spot featuring the TMNT with none other than SPLINTER in some very brief new footage, added to the already released trailer.  There were flashes of Raphael pushing a guy out of his way with just a forearm and Splinter from behind, adding a new voice-over to the action.  Mikey also apparently has his rocket skateboard back, so that should be cool.  I CAN'T EVEN.  Let me know what you think of the spot below!

    Welp, that's all folks.  As I stated above, I'm extremely tired and severely drained from this week, so I didn't really enjoy anything I watched, besides maybe GOT.  Hopefully this weekend will give me the much-needed rest and recuperation I need to re-energize before next week starts.  I have some fun things planned for this weekend, including a Harry Potter night with one of my favorite Phi Mu's and some Easter family time.  I'll be baking my brownies for a second time in order to contribute to the dessert feast, so they should go over well if they come out like they did last time.  Easter for Italians is basically like the Spring equivalent of Christmas dinner, so it should be a good time!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Changes

    Hello all!  As you might have noticed, I didn't post on Tuesday this week.  This was slightly because of pure laziness, but as I was debating whether or not to post at 11:30pm I realized that maybe I shouldn't.  Maybe I should post once a week instead of twice.  So I've decided to limit my blog posts to just Thursdays because of my lack of interesting educational content and the fact that my semester is ending, so my work load will only increase.  Plus, by Thursday I would've watched all my important shows so I can talk more about them.  So basically what I'm saying is that I'm downgrading for now.  Hopefully this summer I can update and expand my book list to include more reviews.

    I haven't really been up to much lately, just getting caught up in my work and praying that this last month of school goes by quickly.  As I have mentioned before, I started my new job on Monday and even though the weather was a bit dreary it was still fun.  I can't wait to go back tomorrow and I can't wait until May when I can be promoted to Site Director at a different location.  More hours and more money would make me very happy!  I also have another interview next Tuesday with the summer camp in this area, so hopefully I will come out of it with a summer job as well.  I'm feeling really good about this opportunity and getting to work with children is a lot more fun than retail, so I'll take it!

    Speaking of working with children, I've been working one-on-one with one kid in particular for a case study I'm doing in one of my courses, of which I'm supposed to be working on right now.  She goes to my local school where I substitute and she's one of my favorite kids.  I've made a good impression on the eighth grade class and I'm glad they know me and think that I'm the coolest sub ever.  It makes me feel great to know that they look forward to seeing me.  The kids at my local school have made such an impact on me and my outlook on teaching, so I don't know where I would be without them.  The case study has been a complete success and I'm going to be really sad when I don't get to see them anymore next year when I'm doing my internship.

    As for television this week, (from Sunday onward), I have a lot to review, so SPOILERS ahead...  First up is The Amazing Race, in which after all that hard work pushing the blonde country singers down to last place, it was a non-elimination round, (DAMN you Phil!).  It seems as though every time there's a team that should obviously go home or really needs to go home they do not go home.  First they saved Team "Brenchel,"which was a travesty, and now this.  All I know is that I hope the Globetrotters make it to the end because they are literally the best part of this show so far.  I am happy about their upcoming trip to Italy though.  Finally, somewhere that's not a third-world country!

    Next is Once Upon a Time, and BOY was it a doozy...  I mean really?  Did you HAVE to kill off Neal?  I understand the concept of "a life for a life" but WHY does it always have to be Rumple or Neal?!?  I'm betting that they will bring him back somehow, (probably another death...), but where and when I cannot say.  I just know that without that event, this episode probably would've been pretty boring.  Although I do like the relationship between Regina and Robin now that she finally realized he's her OTP.  Again, not sure when that will end up actually happening, but I'm looking forward to it.  Next OTP should definitely be Emma and Hook, now that Neal is dead.  I'm predicting some vulnerable consoling to happen within the next two episodes.

    How I Met Your Mother finally ended on Monday and there were mixed reviews on the ending.  It was bittersweet to see it end and you could tell that at times the actors were not acting when addressing their feelings about leaving each other.  There were a lot of tears shed by me that night.  My opinion of the finale was that it was good.  It filled in the holes and closed all the gaps that we needed to see closed.  I think everyone hoped a little on the inside that Ted and Robin would end up together, but it just seemed impossible.  Looking back, I would have noticed that this whole story was about Robin, but it took until Ted's kids noticed it for me to really think about it.  Although the mother was an important character, (as in no one would've been where they are now without her), and she made Ted happy, Robin was really the main lady in his life.  I had a feeling it should end the way it did when she panicked about the locket, but like everyone else, I knew she would marry Barney and be "Aunt Robin," so I didn't think anything of it.  But in the back of my mind I thought, that's strange, it feels wrong for her to not be with Ted right now...  I guess I should have seen it from then on, but I wasn't disappointed with the finale at all.  Also, if you didn't cry when Barney held his daughter for the first time then YOU HAVE NO SOUL.  I'm just sad it's over and they're trying to do it again with different people.  We'll see how that goes.

    Lastly, Agents of Shield was very interesting this week as we see Agent May get caught up in some drama.  I also had a bad feeling about the other lady at The Hub with red bits in her hair, (her name escapes me, but it's bad news bears).  I think she'll play some sort of role with compromising S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America, but we'll have to wait and see.  I don't know how I feel about Skye and Ward either...maybe it's the age difference?  Ward and May looked even worse together, so I'll give it a shot, (if it even happens).  Deathlok's character is getting really intense too.  What did they do to him?  It doesn't sound like he's doing these things against his will anymore, so who knows who he's working for and what made him change.  Coulson went crazy in this episode and understandably so; he's paranoid about everyone knowing things that he doesn't.  I wish someone, (mainly May), would give the poor guy some answers!  The "clairvoyant" didn't help either, (can you say creepy?).  I'm curious to see how this episode will play into Winter Soldier and also next week after it happens.

    That's all I have for this week.  As for Winter Soldier, I'll be seeing it this weekend with some friends and I cannot be more excited!  I'm looking forward to expanding my knowledge of the Marvel cinematic universe and I'm also excited to potentially see another trailer for the TMNT.  To prepare ourselves, my husband and I are having a Marvel Movie Marathon, (say that five times fast), starting today to lead up to Saturday night.  Everything from Iron Man to The Hulk to The Avengers will be watched.  Another exciting thing happening this weekend is Game of Thrones is FINALLY BACK and I can't even watch it because I don't have HBO, but I will find a way!  Hopefully I haven't forgotten what happened last season already, but I don't feel like watching the Red Wedding again, so I'll deal with the recap that's bound to come before.  Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and I'll talk to you again next Thursday!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

The Dark Days Are Over

    Happy Tuesday everyone!  I'm very pleased to announce that after last week's depressing post I have good news!  Although I've still been sick and it's not all happy-fun-town over here, I'm really glad things are finally starting to look up and get better, (hopefully).

    The first big thing is that I FINALLY got a call back from the coordinator at the YMCA and they officially offered me the job as a Group Leader!  I will be employed as of Thursday after signing all the necessary paperwork.  I'm excited and glad to be starting a new chapter in my work life outside of retail and, even though the money is not terribly great, I know I'll be a lot happier and a lot less stressed here than I would be anywhere else.  I've always wanted to use my educational degree towards my job and now I get to do that.  It won't be a lot of time, just two days a week, which may or may not kill our finances and drive my husband crazy, but I'm hoping that I can grow with this company and next year move up to a higher paid position for more hours.  I'll just be glad to get out of the house and play with kids after school!  I'm super pumped and I can sort-of relax for now.
    Speaking of my husband, I do feel bad about not pulling my weight around here.  It's not that he minds, but I can see how much pressure he's under to provide for us while I've been out of work and I just wanted to take the time to let him know how much I appreciate all of the support he's given me during this difficult time and all the praise he's given me for sticking to it.  I have no idea what I would do without him pushing me and reassuring me that everything will be alright.  He has been the absolute best and I hope that someday I can repay him for all the kindness he's shown me, but for now I just love him unconditionally like any wife would.  I love you Bear:)

    Ok, so moving on out of Sapville, I also have some not-so-good news regarding my internship.  For the past two months I've been visiting and observing teachers in their natural habitat, looking for a classroom to call my own for next year.  It felt a lot like The Bachelor in the sense that I was seeing all these potential matches and looking for one to give my final rose to, not knowing how the other teachers felt about me.  Well, it looks like I won't be proposing to anyone yet...  Out of the three top teachers I chose to move forward with, NONE of them wanted to pursue a relationship with me.  So I'm back to square one, scratching my list and waiting to hear from the internship coordinator about my options.  I have no idea who is left to chose from, or if I'll be outsourced to a completely different school district, but I'm so over this process that I just want to be done with it.  I spent all that time for nothing and now I don't even know where I'll be.  I don't know if anyone will like me, but this time around I will probably do things a little differently.  Before I was focusing more on the relationship between me and the teacher and I should have been focusing on what age group I prefer and the area I'd like to be in.  I need to put more of an emphasis on the educational aspects and less on the personal aspects in order to get a match and I feel bad that I ruined my chances with mostly everyone already...  Hopefully they can find me someone I'll enjoy spending a year with.  We shall see, but now I have to wait even longer, until the end of April, to find a match.  Wish me luck, I'm going to need it...

    That being said, I do have some TV reviews to get to, so strap on your spoiler helmet and let's get cracking.  First up is The Amazing Race!  I can't say I was sad to see Luke and his mother go, but they did alright.  I felt like it was their time to go and better now than further down the road when it gets even more difficult.  I think that for someone who is deaf they had a really great communication system, (only flawed by Luke's inability to keep his cool during certain situations).  Overall I feel bad for them, but my new favorite team is still in it!  The Globetrotters have made this race so much fun for everyone and they just keep bringing the smiles, so I hope they make it to the finale.  I would also love to see them get out of the third-world countries sometime in the near future, so hopefully that happens soon.

    Once Upon a Time was also new Sunday night and boy am I lost.  Rapunzel, although an important fairytale character, just felt kind of shoved in there and the whole thing with Zelena is getting weirder.  I was talking with someone last week about how Rumple is back and that must mean someone has his dagger, but I wasn't entirely sure.  Now it turns out that Zelena has it, but how did she get it?  Why is he spinning gold for her?  Where the hell did he go at the end of the episode?  Why does Zelena need David's courage sword thingy?  Where are all the flying monkeys being held?  What does Zelena want with Snow's baby?  WHAT'S GOING ON?!?  I'm just really confused now and this episode wasn't one of my favorites, but I'm sure the next one will answer at least one of my questions.  The whole scene with Regina and Henry was adorable, so I hope he gets his memories back before the end of the season, although I think they might need Rumple for that.  Who knows?  God knows I don't anymore.  This is really an interesting development.

    Finally, we're down to I think ONE episode left of How I Met Your Mother and I'M DYING.  We FINALLY get to see Barney and Robin's wedding and for a second I really though she would run away with Ted, but now Ted is a wise one and he talked her out of it.  Did anyone else think Robin looked stunning in her dress?!  Marshmallow and Lily pad made me cry a little, thinking about my own husband and how much like them we really are.  I'm sad we won't get to see little Daisy grow up like Marvin, but I'm glad things are getting settled.  I love how "the mother" has helped everyone in the group, (except Ted, obviously), find some balance in their own lives.  Hopefully I can keep it together next week for the finale...  All of this closure has to be bad for you, doesn't it?
    One last thing: there is a new trailer for X-Men: Days of Future's Past out now, so if you haven't seen it yet, the video is below.  Enjoy!  I know I did!

    That's it for today.  Along with my internship anxiety I also have about half a book to read, a four-page reflection to write and a couple revisions to spit out before the end of the week, so I'll be pretty busy by Thursday.  I'll be happy to start my new job soon and get back into the swing of things.  I'm not sure if I have a break in April, but I'm kind of hoping I do at this point.  After the semester I've had already, I can safely say I'll need a vacation ASAP.  If you have thoughts about this weeks TV recap, let me know in the comments below.  I'm nearing the end of my March photo challenge with the North East Blogger's Network, so if you're not following me on Instagram yet, now is the time.  Also, if you ever want to see me live-tweet The Amazing Race, I do every Sunday, so you can follow me there too.  All my links are up at the top!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Still Feels Like Monday

    Here I am, all alone, sitting on the couch watching The Avengers.  This has been one of those days where you pretty much wanted it to end the moment it began, save for the one hour I got to spend with some of my favorite students.  Other than that one small event, I haven't wanted to do anything all day.

    I guess my health could possibly be to blame for my lethargy.  This isn't really anything new, but it has taken me for a bit of a loop lately.  With Lupus, it's hard to tell what's wrong and what's "normal."  Usually I have the typical joint pain coupled with some minor fatigue.  Today it's been more like having been hit by a vehicle and struggling to keep my burning eyes open...which has been slightly uncomfortable.  I have an idea about what's causing this to happen: I've been taking some antibiotics recently to combat a completely different ailment and those tend to weaken your immune system.  Add antibiotics to an already barren wasteland and you have a giant rave going on between your white blood cells and anything that moves, (ie: everything).  So, long story short, I feel like complete crap and I'm just waiting for all of this to go away and feel normal again.  I don't like not feeling like myself.
    With all of this going on, I'm still waiting to hear back from the YMCA about my job opportunity, however I have been informed that my references have been contacted and she's gotten a call back from at least one by now.  Hopefully, if all goes well, I should be employed by the end of this week.  Keep your fingers double crossed for me still because you never know what could happen.  Even though this job would only last until the end of the school year two days a week, I still feel like there's more of an opportunity for me to grow there and have fun at my job, so I'm holding out for it as long as I can!
    You hear some people say, everything happens for a reason.  I'm still not sure if I buy into that concept completely, but something tells me there's some sort of higher power at work here.  Although I've suffered a lot of setbacks recently, including my unemployment and health issues, I've realized that I am truly happy.  Some people feel incomplete or unhappy with the choices they've made thus far.  As for me, I can say with certainty that I am finally really happy.  I'm working towards my Masters degree, (which will be my last degree), I have a loving and devoted husband who supports me in everything I do and has for the last six years, plus we're lucky enough to have a mutual understanding of each other which means our fights are virtually non-existent, I no longer have to worry about the stressful retail environment I was subject to as of January, I have spent loads of time with my family lately and I've been loving every second of it, I'm an aunt to a wonderful little boy and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be right now.  I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be with who I'm supposed to be here with and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I have small moments of epiphanies every now and again and the one I had today only boosted my spirits even more.  Despite my shortcomings, I am happy nonetheless.

    That being said, let's talk about TV, shall we?  As you might know already, right now my shows are Once Upon a Time, The Amazing Race, and Agents of SHIELD.  We'll be focusing on the two from this past weekend.  Spoilers beyond this point, obviously.  First up is The Amazing Race, and let me tell you, disappointment takes on a whole new meaning after this weekend.  To say that Brendon and Rachel have overstayed their welcome is an understatement in my opinion.  They are possibly one of the most annoying couples that have ever been on reality television and I CAN'T STAND THEM.  I was so happy that they were going to be last because of that ridiculous challenge Phil made them do, but he pulled the "non-elimination" card out on them.  I was beside myself with rage.  Really Phil?  NOW you pull that out?  C'mon man...  They better screw themselves over next week or I'm going to be super pissed.  I hope she chokes on her stupid sequins...

    Once Upon a Time was also new this week and it was great!  I made a few predictions last week about the Wicked Witch and her relationship to the Evil Queen that ultimately came to fruition by the end of this week's episode, (thank you, thank you...).  The only thing I didn't count on was the Witch turning all the missing dwarfs and Little John, (poor bastard), into her personal flying monkeys.  That can't be comfortable.  What does the Witch want with Snow White's unborn child!?  If only Snow knew who was caressing her stomach, she would high-tail it out of there so fast.  By the way, where the heck is Neal?  Everyone else is wondering, but we probably won't find out until much later, knowing them.  Now we know that his father is still alive, so what's up with that?  Also, why is Rumple acting like such a sniveling little worm again?  It's almost as if he reverted back to his old self when the Witch, (?), brought him back from where ever he sent himself.  Who knows...with this show, anyone could be behind all this freaky stuff.  I just hope poor Belle doesn't have to spend half her lifetime trying to get Rumple back to loving her again.
    Well, that about does it.  I just finished the movie, so now it's time for some last-minute reading for homework I already know I won't finish by tomorrow.  If I wasn't so cold and unwilling to move I would totally go grab some McD's right now, but sadly, I'm still too lazy.  I have high hopes for the rest of the week, considering spring is almost, (FINALLY), here.  Hopefully I'll have a lot to talk about on Thursday.  Just a reminder, keep up with my progress on Instagram with my link up at the top of this page.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.