Fit Spoonie

    Hello friends!  For today's post, I'm going to chat a little bit about my fitness and health journey so far, including what I've been doing and the motivations behind my decision to do this.  It's been fairly easy to adjust to this, especially for a newer lifestyle change.  This post is especially designed for my fellow Spoonies and anyone else who is struggling with weight, self confidence, eating habits, etc.

    I began my healthy eating towards the end of July, right before I went on my week-long vacation.  I jumped on board with my friend Katie, of Cookies N' Kale fame, to jump-start my healthy eating lifestyle with a little "accountabilabuddy."  This just means that we check in with each other and log our food to make sure each of us is staying on track.  So far I've been doing really well at logging and keeping in touch, so I hope that continues once we both start grad school again.  We keep each other accountable for the choices we make and we also help each other stick to our goals and share recipes.  The collaboration has been really great so far and I've found that I've been able to stick with it a lot better since I'm doing this with someone else.  Here's to the buddy system!

(grilled chicken thighs with local mixed greens, tomatoes and an Italian hemp dressing)

    The main reason I wanted to jump on the clean/healthy eating bandwagon was because of my health issues.  As most of you already know, I have Lupus, among other things, including Lupus nephritis, which has been wreaking havoc on my kidneys for about a year now, (has it really already been a year?!)  Needless to say it's been a whirlwind romance with my latest ailment and it definitely hasn't been easy adjusting to my new normal.  At this point in my life, I've been struggling and living with my Lupus for about 14 years now, so I'm pretty used to my body and how it works.  Unfortunately, this disease comes with a few nasty side effects.  Just the medication alone has been difficult to deal with, let alone my kidneys not functioning properly.  Unfortunately, I do need medication to combat this thing, otherwise I would totally be into the holistic method, but I'd rather not die sooner than I have to.  In order to help myself and keep myself healthy for as long as possible, changing my eating habits will be the first step on a long road to recovery.

    The one thing I can control is my eating habits, which have been abysmal for most of my adult life.  I'm Irish and Italian, which is a dangerous combination when it comes to consuming food at family gatherings.  My entire diet has been based on the potato and pasta as a base, so that needed to change before I could make any significant progress.  I totally still miss pasta sometimes, but I've found that I don't crave it as much any more.  It's fine in small amounts and in whole grain form, but not every week or every meal.  Same with potatoes.  We just had baked potatoes the other night for dinner, but before that I couldn't tell you the last time I ate one.  It's sad giving up some of my favorite foods, but that just means I have to find ways to eat them that are similar, but healthier.  Subbing sweet potatoes or root veggies instead of the standard white potato and whole-grain rice instead of pasta has proven to be just as tasty and effective.  This way, I don't have to relinquish my heritage by way of food.

(homemade white pizza with local kale, caramelized local onions and sunflower sprouts)

    So far it's been about a month since I started this thing and I think it's going well.  There are still some things I need to work on, (like my willpower and weaning off my cheat days/meals), but overall I think I've made some progress.  The more I eat clean and healthy, the less I'll want to eat the crappy foods I loved before.  Finding snack alternatives has been the trickiest part of this situation, but I've found that snacking on raw veggies and fruit and cheese has been just as satisfying, if not more so, than grabbing a box of Cheezits.  I've also been eager and willing to try new and interesting healthy recipes I've found on Pinterest, so you can follow me there to see what recipes I've pinned.  I've also started posting pictures of some of my meals on Instagram, so follow me there as well, (links to all my social media are on the right!)  I still have a long way to go before this lifestyle is embedded in my system, but it's a good start and I'm up for the challenge.  I'm hoping to at least lose some weight by this time next year.

    If you're curious and confused about where to start, check out some fitness and foodie blogs and YouTube channels.  I like the Muffin Topless blog because she has some great recipes as well as some great fitness tips and plans.  I really also like the Anti Beauty Queen on YouTube because she's funny and a real person you can relate to.  She usually posts food related stuff, but everything she makes looks really good!  Those are just my personal faves, but honestly I get most of my recipe ideas from Pinterest, so if you don't have an account already WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!  It's literally the best resource for finding recipes, so I'd give that a shot first!  You're actually likely to find a blogger whose recipes you really like through Pinterest as well.  If you have a chronic illness or you just want to adapt a healthier lifestyle, I definitely recommend eating clean and local foods and adding more produce to your diet, as a general guideline.

(marinated salmon over local mixed greens)

    If you have a chronic illness and have questions about clean eating, let me know in the comments!  Also, make sure to follow me on social media to follow me on my clean-eating journey and keep up with my health improvements.  If you have an awesome healthy recipe you want me to try, leave that in the comments as well!  I might try to post more about my healthy eating, including pictures and a detailed entry of what I ate during the week, but we'll see.  If you'd enjoy that, let me know!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Updates!

  I'm back!  Sorry that took so long, but I really needed a break.  A lot has happened since the holidays, so I'll try to catch you up to speed.  I have announcements, health updates and even a review of The Bachelor so far, which I've missed terribly!  I'm also going to be updating my "Book Reviews" tab with my most recent finished novel, The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon.  At this point, I'm going to try to get back into my regular blogging routine so I don't lose my luster, so we'll see how that goes, but I'm at least going to give it a shot.  Can't hurt, right?

  First things first: health.  Not that I really need to update you all on this, but I've been doing alright.  Over the holidays I did have a serious flare up situation, (just Christmas Eve and Day mostly, you know, the important days...), in which I could barely walk and that is not an exaggeration.  My husband had to carry me around at times, (which was less than stellar and incredibly degrading), but it was all due to a lack of drugs and once I got those back I went back to "normal."  Needless to say the holidays were a lot more stressful than I had originally anticipated, but I'm glad I survived.  More recently I've been battling the ever-present virus that keeps circulating around my profession.  Working with kids has its downsides and constant exposure to various illnesses is only one of them.  I ended up catching some sort of upper respiratory virus, which was actually the flu in disguise, and gave that to my mother, who has been miserable.  We currently have at least three boxes of Puffs Plus Vicks going downstairs as well as two boxes each of DayQuil and NyQuil, among other things.  Luckily I haven't been working because of back-to-back snow days, which have picked this week to drop at least two feet of snow on us.  So I've been spending most of my time inside, in comfy pants watching Netflix, reading and working on my colloquium for my internship.

  Nice segue, self!  Right now my internship is at a stand-still.  I recently made the decision, after the holidays, to forgo teaching at the high school level in favor of having the opportunity to teach at the middle school level.  Although I'm glad to be out of my high school nightmare, I'm currently in limbo regarding my middle school placement.  It's been about two weeks at this point since I officially left my freshman and although I miss some of them, I miss being in the classroom more.  I've been trying to be as patient as I can, but it's difficult when you aren't in control and there's literally nothing you can do to speed things up.  I've been trying to keep myself busy, but I feel like I'm slowly losing my sanity.  I don't want to lose anything I've built up over the last few months.  I feel like I haven't done anything meaningful with my life in awhile and that I need to do something productive to help reaffirm my passions.  That's partially why I've been trying to read more for leisure, just so I can become a more literate English teacher, (which should be a no-brainer).  I don't want to lose the connection I have to my subject matter and I don't want to lose my excitement over the prospect of teaching my preferred age group, but it's slowly getting less bearable.  I've been trying to come up with curriculum units I could do with an imaginary class, seeing as all my other intern friends are either planning or currently teaching their solo week plans.  I feel like I'm falling behind, but not by choice, and it's frustrating.  Hopefully I hear something about where I'm going by next week, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.  I'm just hoping something happens for me so that I can continue to improve and finish strong.  I didn't realize just how close we were to the end up until a few weeks ago, but by April I'll be expected to look for jobs for next year.  By May I'll hopefully have my Masters degree and register for graduation.  My final months of university are approaching.  YIKES.

  As I said before, I have a lot more free time on my hands at the moment, so I'd like to use it accordingly to improve on and rediscover my passions.  I got a lot of books for Christmas, so I plan on trying to get through as many of them as possible and add to my collection along the way.  I've been spending a lot more time on Goodreads, updating my profile and my lists so that I can get more accurate recommendations.  I've also been watching more BookTube YouTubers to get book recommendations and to see what's out there, what's popular and what other readers are most excited about.  I was seriously considering turning my YouTube channel into a BookTube channel, but I'm still working on that.  I've determined that I really don't like being on camera, especially now that I don't look my best when I'm sick and I'm very self conscious about my appearance.  I would, however, like to continue to blog and write about books, seeing as that's my area of expertise.  I will see if I can update my tabs to include a link to my Goodreads account, but until then you can find me here.  I will try my best to keep up with this and hopefully my love of books will continue to grow.

  Lastly, we have reviews.  I have been watching this latest season of The Bachelor with much enthusiasm.  Starting with over 30 women was exhausting, but now that we're already down to 11 it feels manageable.  The most important things I took away from the first three episodes are that Ashley's are still my least favorite kind of people, Canadians are awesome, there IS such a thing as too much country, (and whiskey), muscles and competition aren't everything, and there can be more than one virgin in the house at a time.  Needless to say it's been an interesting season so far, culminating into what I believe are the three top ladies at this point: Kaitlyn, Whitney and Jade.  It's obvious that Chris has a natural connection with Kaitlyn.  She's obnoxious, care-free and ridiculously funny.  She's not afraid to get down and dirty outside or open up about her feelings.  She seems like an all-around great girl and a great fit for Chris, who seeks normalcy above all else.  She's my front runner at the moment, so I'm rooting for her.

  Jade is my second favorite, solely because of her genuine nature and girl-next-door vibe.  She's quiet, but respectful and patient, and Chris notices her anyway.  I also think they would be great together, but we'll have to see if she stands out over Kaitlyn.  Jade totally deserved that Cinderella date!  Ashely I. was getting on my nerves, complaining about her lack of pampering.  The reason the sisters chose Jade is because she doesn't normally get this sort of treatment and deserved to get some, not because she would look good in the expensive, outlandish ballroom attire.  That wasn't the point and the fact that Ashley somehow missed that makes me think she's not long for this show.  Obviously she's not right for Chris.  Those Jersey girls can't be trusted around shiny objects...

  Whitney I'd rather not like, but I can't deny that her and Chris had a pretty rad date crashing that wedding.  Their connection is also obvious, so I'm curious to see if it will eventually outshine or succumb to Kaitlyn's or Jade's.  Next week's episode looks like we'll be seeing more drama unfold from unlikely sources, so anything is possible!  If you'd like another place to get recaps of The Bachelor, I particularly love Mel Got Served.  She's hilarious and has a unique approach to reviewing each episode.  She also does recaps of other popular reality television programs, so if you're into that, please go check her out!
  That's all I have for this week.  I think that's enough actually...  If I'm still not doing anything next week, I should be able to upload my blog on time, or at least at a decent time.  I'm thinking about adding one or two more shows to recap along with The Bachelor, but I'm having trouble narrowing it down.  I just started watching Agent Carter, in addition to Arrow, The Flash, Gotham and Agents of Shield, which are all returning from their mid-season finales.  I've gotten to the point where I have too many shows to watch that I've gotten behind, so I'm trying to catch up.  The Amazing Race is starting again soon, as is Vikings, which I'm very excited about, so maybe I'll leave it at that.  Let me know what you guys think and what shows you'd like recaps and/or reviews of.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

The Equivalent of Screaming Into a Pillow

    Good evening everyone!  It has certainly been an exciting and hectic week...  I had lab work to get done Monday, baking and other preparations for the last few days for both parties taking place this afternoon, (hopefully the one I couldn't be at went well, or else I may be in trouble...), a team meeting during a delayed opening, finishing my pedagogy, (FINALLY), AND, to top it all off, we're officially moving in six weeks, which means they're starting to show our apartment tomorrow.  That is a long and very stressful list of things that I have had to get done without a lot of time to do any of them.

    Firstly, I did get my kidney biopsy results back with not a lot of good news, (not that I was expecting any).  My Lupus has spread to my kidneys, as we had thought, so now it's time to devise a plan for treatment.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult, but I'm anticipating at least some mildly uncomfortable side effects and/or long term damage to some other organ in my body.  It has been great feeling relatively normal these last few weeks, but I know that eventually I'm going to have to face whatever is coming and it won't be good.  Needless to say I have so much support it's ridiculous, so I wanted to publicly thank my husband for his understanding and his unrelenting patience when it comes to dealing with me when I'm needy.  I'd also like to thank my parents, both of whom have provided me with enough support, advice and love to last even the longest lifetime.  I honestly don't know what I would do without my family.

    Speaking of family, my mother has graciously offered us a place to stay.  We'll be moving back to my childhood home very soon, but it's a very different place.  We will practically have our own private apartment upstairs, complete with a full bathroom, bedroom, common area and even an office, (in the foreseeable future).  There is a lot of stigma surrounding adults moving back in with their parents, but in my situation it's actually a positive thing.  Moving back home does not always have to symbolize failure or disappointment.  It can actually be a great opportunity to get back on track, save money, live a healthier lifestyle and get in touch with your goals and aspirations.  Both my husband and I are very excited about this opportunity and this arrangement and look forward to reaching our goals so we can live the life we want to live.  If you told me six years ago that I would be living with my husband at my mother's house, I would've told you that you were crazy.  I'm very excited about the prospect of happiness and look forward to moving into a better environment.  Although, I'm not a huge fan of the moving process in general...  Boxing everything up and storing it for years at a time isn't my idea of fun, nor is moving said boxes from Point A to Point B in various vehicles.  I'm not looking forward to the process, but I am definitely looking forward to the end result.  We've already got a head start on cleaning because of all the scheduled showings, so it'll be easier to pick through the debris.  We're hoping to be out of here by Thanksgiving break at the latest.

    In teaching news, I've been working on setting up teacher observations anywhere and everywhere: within my school and subject area, outside my district, outside the state, etc.  Every opportunity is precious, so I have to make them count.  I'm looking forward to seeing how other professional teachers teach and the strategies I can take away to use in my own future teaching practices.  In seminar we've been asked to think about what constitutes a "professional teacher" and I'm hoping to find out through these observations.  If I've learned anything from this process so far, it's that the preconceived notions you may have going in aren't necessarily going to ring true by the end of your journey.  In other teaching news, I created this great lesson plan for a Halloween-themed "hero's journey" activity that I would really like to do with the kids, but don't think it'll happen because of time commitment issues, (and the fact that the 30th and 31st has already been planned...).  I just wanted to do something fun with the kids and take a break from the monotony of The Odyssey, but it may not be in the cards I guess.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes if it really does come to fruition, but I'm not holding my breath on this one.

    TV this week has been sparse, but I did get some Once in.  It was crazy confusing this past weekend.  The best part of the entire episode was Hook, (or Killian), and Emma's date, which was almost as awkward as I thought it would be.  Still very sweet, but we definitely need a second date in the near future.  That should give Hook time to sort out what the hell is going on with his hand.  I have absolutely no clue what's going on with Rumple at this point.  He seemed to have changed last season with his marriage to Belle, especially after he gave her back the real dagger.  But now, he's being a complete asshole to everyone for what seems like no reason.  The sorcerer's hat has triggered so many memories and events so far, so it's importance is imminent.  I'm excited about the prospect of introducing more elements of Fantasia into the mix, but when the poor apprentice got sucked into the depths of that black hole inside the hat I got a little scared.  The hat seemed so innocent and unknowing in Fantasia and now it's this evil black hole weapon thing...  I don't know how I feel about all this, but I do know by now that when Rumple wants something he will stop at nothing to get it.  Who knows what's going on with him ever?  I do think it's cute that Henry is attempting to infiltrate Rumple's "lair."  We'll see how well that works out.

    There's one more thing I've stumbled upon this week that I thought was interesting.  There's a community of book-loving readers on YouTube called "Booktube."  This community regularly posts videos and vlogs regarding book reviews, suggestions, book hauls, and more.  Each Booktube vlogger brings there own personal flair to their channel and I'm intrigued enough to explore this new community that might actually interest me.  I've been looking back into vlogging again and this might be an avenue I travel down, considering my profession.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  I have everything I need to start, just need the time and the confidence to do it.

    That's all I got!  Even if I don't start my own Booktube channel, I will do my best to revamp my Book Reviews page on here and keep it updated as frequently as possible.  Now that I'm starting to read more for leisure it should be a lot easier.  Fingers crossed!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Back to the Grind

    Hello!  It has certainly been a nice week to come back to school.  I didn't realize that I would miss my students as much as I did, but it was terribly boring at home without them.  Unfortunately, it seems like they've been equally bored without me.  We're probably only a quarter through The Odyssey and they're already drowning in it.  Needless to say my cooperating teacher and I have our work cut out for us over the next few weeks.  But it is glad to be back.

    School has been a lot easier since we decided on co-teaching.  I've found that I'm able to get more work done, help out a little more around the room and get to know that kids a little better each day.  I already know them well enough, but just thinking about the rest of the year with them makes me feel great.  I'm looking forward to taking over come next Trimester, if I'm really ready.  I've already seen some massive improvements in some of the kids who were struggling before.  One in particular, one of my initial problem children, has proven to himself that reading isn't as bad as he thought it would be by actively seeking out books in a series he's loving right now.  Also, today actually, he was the only one in my class to get a 100% on our first grammar quiz!  I ran to catch up with him in the hallway outside my classroom after I graded all of them and he had the biggest smile!  It's stuff like this that makes me remember why I wanted to go into this profession and why I can't give up.  Right now I'm focusing on finishing my pedagogy statement that was supposed to be due last week, as well as other stuff for seminar a week from today.  Did I mention I'm hosting seminar next week too?  Time to decorate the classroom, bake a bunch of stuff to feed the masses and hope all goes well.

    As far as my health is concerned, nothing has really changed.  I feel that I've recovered better than expected from my biopsy and have had little to no complications.  That being said, I have noticed a few things I'm not happy about...like my hair falling out at a rapid rate and my feet and ankles swelling to abnormal sizes.  The fact that I now have cankles bothers me more than the fact that I'm slowly going bald.  The hair I can fix with a haircut, but when that might happen I have no idea.  I'm kind of looking forward to going back to short hair, as long as it looks like it did the last time I cut it.  I'm not sure how to fix the water retained in my lower extremities, but hopefully once we figure out what's wrong maybe it'll go away.  Now both doctors want me to get more blood work done by Monday, which is almost impossible considering I have NO time to run to both labs in one day, or even in two days really.  Plus it's not like the blood work will show anything different or anything that might help these side effects go away.  I'd rather not stay this way for longer than I have to...

    For TV this week, I'm going to focus on Once Upon a Time, Legend of Korra and Arrow, so put on your spoiler hats people.  So far Once has been juggling both the new Frozen storyline as well as the Regina plot to find her own happy ending.  I had a discussion today with a co-worker about possible angles and details that might give us viewers a clue as to what's really going on in Storybrooke, considering everyone apparently knows each other.  We know that Rumple is full of crap, the Snow Queen knows both Elsa and Emma, and Robin still has feelings for Regina.  Hook trying to blackmail Rumple was pretty cute, but I'm almost positive that Rumple will make him pay for that later on.  How is it Rumple is behind all of this stuff?  He knew that the house him and Belle spent their honeymoon in belonged to Merlin, (the hat from Fantasia gave it away), and he had contact with Anna, at least back in the Enchanted Forest, which he apparently doesn't remember, but I don't know if I buy that because he knows the Snow Queen, her relationship to Emma AND why she's here in the first place.  There's obviously something in it for him, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.  What really bugs me is the relationship between Emma and the Snow Queen.  I think that Elsa's family tree might go a little further than she knew, but whether the Snow Queen is really her aunt or maybe someone a little closer is still up for debate.  They tend to drag these things out, so we may not even get an answer until the end of this season.  Also, did anyone else scream when they realized WILL IS BACK?!?  This won't be the last we see of him, but he was oddly familiar with the Snow Queen's business, so that's interesting...  So many questions, so little time!

    In Legend of Korra, we get to see where Korra has been this whole time, leading up to the big reveal at the end of TOPH!!  I was so excited to see someone from the original Avatar series other than Katara I almost fell off my chair.  We had been teased about a potential Toph/Avatar reunion last season, but I didn't think they would do it so soon.  Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait a little longer for that conversation, considering that tomorrow's episode looks like it'll focus more on Mako and the new Earth kingdom.  I hate it when they do that...

    Arrow hasn't disappointed either as of late.  The murderous death of Sara came as a shock to me, honestly.  I didn't think they would kill her off at all.  We do know that she knew her attacker, so it's only a matter of time before Oliver connects the dots, probably with a little help from Laurel, who will most definitely take up a Canary alter-ego.  I hate the fact that Felicity was so close to bagging Oliver just to walk out on him to join The Atom, (unbeknownst to her, obviously).  I was really hoping for that connection, but I guess they just can't let it happen.  I am curious to see how they incorporate Thea back into the mix, now that she's been training heavily with her real father.  For what purpose still remains to be seen. but I sense a sibling cage match in our future at the very least.
    That's all from me for now.  I can't believe it's already the middle of October...  I feel like this month is moving by so fast and I don't have time to get everything done that I need to!  With everything I still have to do for school, work and my illness it's amazing I even find the energy to leave my bed every day.  Did I mention that my husband and I are crazy and we're thinking about moving soon?  When that'll be we have no idea, but hopefully it's before May.  We'd like to not freeze to death this winter or succumb to poverty, but who knows?  Everything in my life is still up in the air and it looks like it'll stay that way for awhile.  At this rate, I'm relieved to still have my sanity.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Health Update

    Hey everyone!  I'm currently on day two of my extra long weekend and I'm feeling much better.  I didn't want to post yesterday in order to give myself a little more time to recuperate after my operation, so I'm posting today instead.  Not a lot has happened in the last week or so, but I'll fill you in on the big things.

    My kidney biopsy went very well yesterday.  The staff at the hospital made me feel so much more comfortable about the whole situation that I would honestly do it again if I needed to.  I spent my entire day there, which was a bummer since it was the most perfect fall day outside.  Luckily I got to experience the outdoors today instead.  There were no immediate complications and I'm still a little sore and stuffed up, but otherwise I feel fine.  All my entry points are healing nicely without any discoloration and I've had almost no abdominal pain since I've been home.  The procedure, although initially very scary, wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be.  The worst part of it all was probably putting in the IV and the distribution of the numbing agent through my back.  Overall it went well and I'm hoping that they got a decent sample to give me some answers in a week or two.
    As for teaching, I've been taking more of a back seat lately.  Due to my health issues and frequent absences, my professor and cooperating teacher thought it would be a good idea to follow a co-teaching model up until the end of the first trimester, (which will end up being sometime in November).  I'm hoping that I have my Lupus under control by that point where I can take on more of a leadership role.  I'm relieved to have a little more time to get some observations in, work on my pedagogy statement and focus more on following directions in the classroom so I can make sure I'm doing everything right.  Come spring I'd like to feel a little more confident in my teaching abilities and earn my cooperating teacher's trust back so that I can substitute and lead my class properly, but right now I know I'm not in a good spot to do that.  Sometimes in situations like mine you have to learn to be humble and take what you're given, even if you don't want to.

    It's also been awkward dealing with what I've come to recognize as my "new normal."  I've had Lupus for about 14 years now and for most of that time I was in remission.  I hadn't had to deal with any serious health problems since 8th grade, which was the last time I was hospitalized.  Now it seems that my body is changing rapidly in a negative way and I've never had to deal with something of this magnitude.  Over the last month or so since I've started teaching I've talked to my professor and cooperating teacher a lot about "accommodations" related to my health and I've never really thought about it like that before.  I've never thought of myself as someone who needed to be accommodated for and that makes me feel sort of fragile, like I'm not able to do the things I've always been able to do.  My "new normal" situation is sometimes frustrating and aggravating to the point where I just want to shut it all off.  Since I've been on the steroids it's been a lot easier to move around and do simple tasks like opening a bottle of water, but I'm afraid of what will happen when I'm done with them.  Will I be prescribed something that actually works for my whole body or will we ache through another month or two of trial and error until we find a combination that works for now?  There's a lot still up in the air and not a whole lot of explanation, but I guess that's what I've been given.  If I've learned anything from this experience, it's that sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

    PREPARE FOR SPOILERS: As for TV for the last week, my husband and I ended up binge-watching everything we missed last week last Saturday so we're all caught up for now.  Bones made me cry and I really wish they didn't kill off Sweets...but it looks like it'll be a huge motivator for Booth and Brennan to catch whoever is behind it.  I also hope that Daisy doesn't name her child Seeley Sweets, but we'll see.  We watched the premier of Arrow last night and it was awesome for about two seconds.  I've wanted to see Oliver and Felicity together SO BADLY and then they're date was ruined and then he changed his mind and WHAT THE HELL OLIVER?!?  Also, killing off Sarah may or may not be a good move, but I guess we'll see how this plays out over the rest of the season.
    That's all I have for this week.  Monday is a holiday, hence the extra long weekend joyousness, so I'm back to school on Tuesday for an intern-friendly field trip.  Should be a nice, relaxing couple of days and I plan on taking full advantage of them:)  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Hulking Out and Parent/Teacher Conferences

    So far, so good!  Hope everyone's doing ok.  I'm glad I at least talked myself into typing this up tonight, even though it's been a really long day.  I literally JUST got home from my first round of parent/teacher conferences, (it's about 9:30pm), and I can honestly say it wasn't terrible.  Luckily the two kids who had signed up to see me who are failing my class didn't show, but I'll have to deal with them later.  Most of my kids are great, well-behaved and acing my class, so I'm not too worried.

    I was a little worried at the end of last week, on Friday, because I got some really negative and harsh criticism/feedback from my cooperating teacher about my progress so far:(  I guess I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped...  It really hurt to hear her honesty, but I appreciated that she had the heart to tell me.  I'm not connecting with the kids in the right way, I'm still too soft on them, they talk over me STILL, I have some trouble makers who think they're smart asses who test my patience, and I guess overall I'm still not delivering the curriculum correctly, (or at least adequately enough to help them comprehend what I'm talking about).  I know that her suggestions and opinions are only supposed to help me and make me better over time, so I hope I can improve to a point where I'm proud of myself again.  Just today I got over the "I don't think I want to be a teacher anymore" feeling, so here's to a new leaf turning.  We just started a new unit on The Odyssey and we're doing a research project about monsters and Greek gods, so this should be fun!

    On the health front, I'm feeling so much better!  I'm on my second day of steroids and I can safely say I can't remember the last time it was easy for me to get out of bed in the morning.  It's been nice feeling "normal" for awhile, even though it won't last forever.  I have a month to see what's going on, but for now I'm focusing mostly on my upcoming biopsy, which is Thursday.  I'll have a long weekend to recover, but I'm still really scared about the procedure and complications...  I have an ultrasound on Monday which isn't terrible, but I have to "fast" for it, which means I can't eat for 12 hours, (2am-2pm).  NOT fun.  I think I'm going to cheat a little and get some jello and/or pudding, (who WOULDN'T want pudding?!)  Getting through the day is hard enough as it is, but with no food and all these 'roids coursing through my veins it'll be hard to survive the day.  Until we get the results back from the kidney biopsy, they won't know how bad my Lupus Nephritis is, so we'll have to wait and see.  It's probably not that serious, but dialysis still scares me, so I hope it doesn't come to that.

    On TV this past week, I've started a new show called The Red Band Society, in which the series is narrated by a child in a coma as a part of a terminally ill or intensive care unit for kids and teens in a hospital in California.  The doctor/surgeon is wicked hot, the characters are snarky despite their conditions and Nurse Jackson is my new spirit animal.  I'm happy there's a show like this on Fox and I can't wait to see what they do with it.  Gotham is another show I've been loving recently that just started.  Obviously my husband and I had to watch this one solely based on the Batman references, but it's surprisingly engaging without the bat.  I'm also excited to see where they take this series because they have a lot to work with and many directions they could take this.  So far I like the guy playing Gordon and I've always liked Donal Logue, so there's a win-win team right there.  I'm still getting over him being a viking...  I love how they've portrayed Selena Kyle so far and I can't wait to see how Bruce and Selena become friends, (or enemies).

    Other shows that have started but I haven't been able to get caught up on are Castle, Bones, (I know who dies...I'm DEVASTATED), Face Off, Agents of Shield, Reign, and The Amazing Race.  I did catch the premiere of Once Upon a Time last Sunday and it was AMAZING!  I'm not turned off about the Frozen team being there, especially if it means that Scott Michael Foster is back in my life again.  I literally screamed when I saw the sorcerer's hat from Fantasia morph from that box at Belle and Rumple's house, but we'll see what he does/doesn't do with that.  Also, the kiss between Emma and Hook proves that Captain Swan is alive and well!  So excited for this season and what they have up their sleeves.
    Well, that's all I have for this week.  I really have to go to bed...  Even though I'm feeling better physically, I'm still suffering from fatigue and my kidney issues.  I've also been really itchy lately, all over, so I'm not sure if I'm allergic to my father's fabric softener or if it's a side effect from the steroids, but I'll figure it out this weekend I think.  I should have an update next week.  I may have to push back my post until Friday, depending on how I feel next Thursday after my procedure, but we'll play it by ear.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

PS: In other news, tomorrow is October 3rd.  I'm planning an impromptu Mean Girls Day celebration tomorrow in class.  You're welcome in advance kids:)

Break Time

    Hello everyone.  Sorry the blog's late again, but I'll be getting to that issue shortly.  I've realized that since starting camp while simultaneously trying to plan at least the first couple weeks of classes before school starts I've had a hard time keeping to my blogging schedule.  I know I've cut down to only one day, but I think it's time to take a little break, only until September.  I will be working nonstop almost with almost no breaks, save for when I take a week off at the end of this month.  Needless to say I'll be sad, but I'm hoping to start back up again in the fall with a new perspective.  There will be more TV on and I would've started my first teaching internship, which I plan on chronicling through here.  The entire year should be really interesting, eye-opening and beneficial to my future career.  To put more focus on making sure I'm prepared, I'm giving up blogging for the remainder of the summer.  Come September I will hopefully be better prepared to blog more often about different things, including things of an educational nature.  I hope this doesn't disappoint any of my frequent readers, (if any), but I'd rather just take a break straight away rather than be late or non-existent every week.  This is for the good of everyone involved and I'll be re-energized to hop back on the blogging bandwagon in September.
    That being said, this will be my last entry for awhile, so I will try to update as much as I can, (including my past couple recaps for The Bachelorette!)  Camp has been great so far, with only a few hardships.  I've been having trouble adjusting to the constant heat and humidity so my body is rebelling in every way possible.  Right now my left knee is killing me and my joints in general have been terrible.  Unfortunately I'm currently out of meds, so I'll have to wait until my next shipment arrives, but I'll be fine until then.  I'm just hoping my breathing gets easier after the fact this time...  Although it's been mentally and physically draining at times, I've enjoyed coming back to camp.  I missed interacting with the kids and having fun during the summer.  I couldn't have done that behind a desk at a retail store, that's for sure.

    As for The Bachelorette, (SPOILERS PEOPLE), I'm pretty comfortable with my predictions this season.  So sorry about Dylan, but he really wasn't the right fit for her anyway.  I'm sure he'll find a nice Boston lady.  Anyway, the rest of my Top 5 seemed to have made the cut, save for Brian and Marcus.  Nick is completely unnecessary at this point seeing as he's just playing this game instead of actually falling in love, but knowing this show Andi will probably end up picking the guy everyone doesn't like.  I'm still rooting for Chris overall now that poor Marcus is gone...he really was a great guy.  I don't particularly like Josh at all and I find him incredibly dull.  I've barely been watching because the dates have been kind of repetitive, but I'm keeping track of who's left and I'm not surprised.  Can't wait to see who she actually ends up with!  GO CHRIS, THE SEXY FARMER GUY!!

    Besides The Bachelorette, my husband and I have been watching the third season of Legend of Korra, which is a spin off cartoon series based on Avatar.  It takes place years after Aang, the last Avatar.  It has been great so far and we've seen some familiar faces from the Avatar series, so I'm looking forward to seeing where they take this season.  It's one of the best cartoon series I've ever seen!  Other than that, I'll be eagerly waiting the premier of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, coming out August 1st, and then the new TMNT movie on the 8th.  I will be getting midnight showing tickets and I could not be more excited!!
    Well that's it!  I hope everyone enjoys their summer and has time to get out and enjoy the sunshine!  I'll be counting the days until I can write back again.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

My Bad.

    Hey guys, so I'm sorry that I took an unforeseen week off, but it ended up working out in my favor anyway, seeing as there was literally nothing going on, including no Bachelorette.  I have been really busy clearing out my site for the summer while simultaneously preparing myself for the first day of camp training, which was today.  Even though I still wasn't prepared, (no food or water, which we had to bring ourselves), I had a great first day!  Met a lot of my coworkers, (good and obnoxious), played some team-building games and took a tour of camp, which I hadn't seen in about 16 years.  It was nice to see things that have lasted that long along side newer structures and attractions.  Luckily I avoided the swim test because of the issues I've been having with my heart...

    I always anticipated that my pericarditis would come back, but not so soon.  I came home Sunday night, tired and not feeling well after a long day out with both my father and my father-in-law.  Monday morning I woke up around 1:30am sweating, shivering and writhing in pain, my chest tight.  I couldn't breathe and I didn't know what was wrong or how it happened.  Luckily it hasn't happened again, but the chest pain has increased, along with the temperature, so unfortunately I think I might have to make an impromptu call to my rheumatologist.  I didn't like the older medication she had me on because of the side effects related to reproduction, but it did work quickly to stem the pain from my chest.  At least I could breathe, without taking steroids or pain killers, (which also work, but are more dangerous to take for extended periods).  Needless to say I'm torn, but I do know I haven't been able to do as much because I haven't been able to breathe correctly.  I'll update you guys as soon as I know what's going to happen, but it looks like I might have to cave for the sake of my heart.

    I did have a great last week of school though, before all this crappy stuff came out of nowhere.  I even got gifts from some of the parents, which blew my mind because I've only been there since March.  It was nice to see everyone getting excited for summer and next year, especially the 5th graders moving on to middle school.  I told them I may run into them someday, but honestly I hope I don't.  Some of them I'd rather never seen again!  But in all seriousness, it's nice to know your patience and hard work is appreciated by the parents, even if you've only been there a short time.  I was even more glad to see parents whose kids weren't in our program ask when it would be ok to sign them up.  I can't wait to see how many kids we have next year and I look forward to switching off between my Freshman and my elementary school kids.

    One child I will miss terribly is Caroline.  I was drawn to her initially because she was about my height, (which is tall for her and short for me, being 5 feet tall), with glasses and very studious and quiet, much like myself.  I thought I could be someone she could actually relate to, unlike all the other more immature students around her.  Then I found out she had been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.  I never thought I'd be a role model to anyone.  I remember a time when I was 11 years old, struggling with an uncommon diagnosis that is incurable and not knowing who to talk to except my mother.  I didn't have anybody I could relate to because I was the only one who had heard of what I had.  My friends didn't understand my illness, in fact, some were scared of me, thinking it might be contagious.  I had no one to talk to or vent to about any of my pain and I wish I had.  For me, being that person for another 11 year old girl struggling with a similar illness makes me the happiest person in the world.  I always wondered what it would be like to write my younger self a letter, explaining what was going to happen to me and how it will progress, how I'll feel and if I'll ever get a hold on it.  I've taken everything I would've told myself and gave that advice to Caroline, so that she might not feel so alone.  I wish I could meet more kids like Caroline and help them realize that they aren't alone, their pain is real and that they will overcome it someday, like I'm working on every day.

    Now that the sap story is done, let's get on to TV!  I've got Bachelorette and Game of Thrones finale SPOILERS for you today:

  First up is the Game of Thrones finale and, while it did not disappoint, left many fans disappointed.  I myself am guilty of this, but a lot of fans had expected the appearance of Lady Stoneheart, which never happened.  I thought the season ended on a very high note, so I'm even more excited now for the next season, which will most likely begin with Lady Stoneheart and her story, but we'll just have to wait and see.  I did enjoy the little funeral Jon had for his lady friend, the one who got ran through by an arrow-wielding child.  I don't know how Stanis' presence here at the Wall will effect comradery among the soldiers, but I can see the sorceress being a HUGE pain in the ass, as usual.  Jon seems to trust him for now, having found out Stanis supported his father, but I could see a look of unease about him, so I'm sure Stanis will screw everything up by being a crazy lunatic.  Is it sad that I cried too when Daenerys chained two of her dragons?  Those are not just dragons, they are her BABIES!  I'm also looking forward to Drogon's return and how devastating that will turn out to be.  Obviously I loved when Tyrion shot his father on the toilet, but that was clearly going to happen.  This episode had my favorite ending by far, which was when Arya, after watching the Hound get killed, (basically), by Brienne of Tarth, boarded a ship to Braavos to reunite with her assassin friends.  I'm so excited for her character to train with them more broadly and come back with a vengeance.  I'm starting to realize that a Stark reunion, although they came SO CLOSE this season, is inevitably not going to happen.  At least not any time soon.  I'll keep waiting, but next season should be awesome!

  The Bachelorette had it's ups and downs this week.  One "up" was that they were in the south of France, which is BEAUTIFUL!  I've wanted to travel to Europe for awhile now and France is definitely one of those places I'd love to visit, (even though I've heard from multiple sources that they are rude to Americans).  Marquel was SO GOOD at miming, I think he should do it full time, (especially now that he's been sent home...oops).  I'm still on the fence about Josh, but I think more of the truth will unfold between the next couple episodes.  I also didn't really like Brian's date either.  Both were rather boring with little to no sex appeal, so I kind of tuned out everything but the gorgeous scenery until the final rose ceremony.  I'm glad she got rid of Andrew and Patrick too because they were just taking up space for the other guys to breathe.  So far, I'm keep my Top 3 at Marcus, Chris and Brian, (only because Brian had a strong impression on Andi during their date), with Dylan and Josh taking up the rear as a close 4th and 5th pick.  We'll see how the lie detector pans out when they go to Venice next week.  I'm hoping for someone to have a girlfriend or a bad credit history.
    Well, that's about it.  Next week I should be posting, however it will probably not be up until later at night, considering I will have started camp and will not get home until close to 5pm.  I am excited to start my summer with a bunch of middle schoolers in my village and ready to have a great time.  I will also be attending my old Newmarket 8th graders' graduation ceremony this Thursday, which will be fun as well.  This may be the last time I might see any of them, so I'll have to make it count.  Hopefully I can find something to wear before then!  I've realized through cleaning out my closet that I have absolutely no cute sundresses or anything summer professional in my wardrobe, so there will have to be some sort of shopping trip in my future.  Summer vacation has officially started, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to spare!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

    Happy Thursday!  It's been a crazy week so far, so I haven't had a lot of time to myself.  It's been super hectic at work, going from site to site, preparing to close down for the summer.  It is a meticulous process that will probably take me longer than the few hours they're giving me, but I will have to get it done by the end of next week.  All paperwork has to be filed, each child accounted for and everything inventoried and stored for the next year.  I have a two-sided check list I have to go through and it doesn't look easy, but I have faith that I'll get it done.  That being said, I'm also simultaneously preparing myself for summer camp.  Coordinating around that at the same time will be difficult, but doable for sure.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I think I'm ready.

    My health has been steadily climbing and rebelling since joining the gym.  My Lupus is putting up one Hell of a fight, but I'm trying to take it in stride and work through it.  Despite my issues, I've been making obvious progress.  Between losing a little weight and building a little muscle, I'm getting there.  I enjoy going to the gym every week and look forward to my sessions with my personal trainer.  That's more than I ever could have hoped for in a gym membership.  I expect nothing but good things to come in the coming months as I continue my journey to a better self.

    I also learned a little more about my teaching internship next year.  My cooperating teacher got almost all Freshman classes for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year, so I will be taking on one of her English College Prep classes in tandem with her other one.  This means that she will teach one section of the class first, then I will follow.  I will also be helping her with her other classes, which are an American Lit. class as well as a reading specific course to help struggling students.  This looks like it's going to be a great upcoming year, so I'm super excited! (and extremely anxious, but that is to be expected)  I have another book to add to my summer reading list as well called, Book Love, by Penny Kittle, a well-known education author.  We will be using this book to help construct our English curriculum for next year, so I have to read it to get information regarding her teaching methods.  I was also thinking about reading Lord of the Flies, since we may be teaching that text as well, which I've never read.  Let me know in the comments what you thought of your experience with Lord of the Flies.
    TV this week was epic!  Game of Thrones didn't disappoint and the Bachelorette made it to New England FINALLY.  Here are my week recaps for those two shows, including SPOILERS:

    Game of Thrones really picked up this week.  I liked how they left Tyrion's trial by combat to the very end to build suspense.  I also loved Arya's laugh, which has been seriously lacking since the show started years ago.  It's nice to see the kids smile every once in awhile when they're not too busy killing everyone in sight.  I was mad that we didn't get to see Arya and the Hound make it inside the castle, but I'm sure we'll get a peek on Sunday.  It'll be interesting to see how Sansa feels about having her sister back in her life, but at this point I think she'd be ready to see any familiar face, even Arya's.  I'm desperate for a Stark reunion, so however it happens I hope it's soon.  I LOVED Sansa in this episode, the way she conned the council into believing she was a victim, (which she technically is, but lying for Baelish seems like a bad idea all around).  He was looking at her like he had taught her everything she knows, like a proud father, (even creepier...).  Then she kind of brushed him off when he went to thank her, proving she really has grown colder in the last few seasons.  She really looked like a grown woman and I'm actually beginning to like her now.  We'll see how long that lasts.  Obviously, everyone remembers the fight between the Viper and the Mountain being the most memorable, (and gruesome), part of this episode.  I had to walk away at the end because I couldn't take the gore, but the fight was spectacular.  I'm really sad to see Oberyn go like that, but at least he took the Mountain with him.  He finally got the revenge he wanted.  I'm looking forward to the last two episodes of this season to see if my predictions come true or if I'll be disappointed until next season comes around.  Praying for Lady Stoneheart!

    The Bachelorette had a two-parter this week and it definitely needed it.  The gang hung out in California for the Sunday night episode, alluding to drama between the guys and Andrew getting a waitress's number at a restaurant.  Nothing really exciting happened, besides singing a horrible rendition of a Boyz II Men song WITH Boyz II Men!  I was fan-girling wicked hard, but not for the guys and their terrible voices, (sorry Opera Guy, you still don't really get the R&B vibe).  Monday night saw the group enter New England territory by way of Mohegan Sun, an over-priced gambling hot-spot.  I'm glad Dylan got the first one-on-one date because it is his "hometown," (even though they're in Connecticut, not Massachusetts).  They went on a depressing train ride to talk about his siblings overdoses and it was difficult to watch, to be honest.  Luckily, he got a rose out of it so he's safe, for now.  Honestly, unless he starts showing some emotion, I don't see his stark, quiet persona lasting that much longer.  The date with Marcus was my favorite because you can tell she really likes him already.  If he's not in the final four, I'd be really surprised.  I also really liked Brian's chance to shine on the basketball court.  The nice, quiet, no-drama guys are winning this week!  The worst part of this episode was the fight between Eric and Andi.  It was really uncomfortable to watch, especially since we've only really seen good things from him so far.  It was sucky the way he left so quickly, but it was for the best.  I didn't stay to watch the memorial for him after the show, but I know Tasos went home.  So far, I've constructed a Top 5 based solely on what I've seen of the show so far, and they are: Marcus, Chris, Josh, Brian and Dylan.  Fingers crossed that most of them don't turn out to be assholes!
    That's it for TV.  For next week, and until further notice, in order to stay as relevant as possible with what's going on in my life at the moment, I've decided to move my blog entries back to just Tuesdays instead of Thursdays.  Thursdays are difficult for me because they're the end of the week and I don't want to do anything, so to stay on task with everything and be relevant to the shows I'm currently watching, we're moving to Tuesdays!  That being said, I hope everyone enjoys their weekends.  I'm planning on cooking dinner and dessert with my mother tomorrow night, spending the entirety of Saturday spoiling my husband for his birthday, (HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY BEAR!!), and Sunday I'm meeting up with a friend in town before hanging out with my dad.  This is why I look forward to the weekend!  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!*