I Can No Speak Good English

Hello, my gangsters. How is it hanging? I, Coty the Gorgeous, have returned for what is turning into “Coty Fridays” on Jessica’s blog. Basically every Thursday a conversation along the lines of this takes place:

Jessica: I’m tired.

Me: Want me to write a blog for tomorrow so you can have a break?

Jessica: No.

Me: :’(

Jessica: FINE GO AWAY.

So here I am again. If you know me, you know I have a thing for correct grammar. It’s why I teach English. I like to correct people when they are wrong. Sometimes they don’t like it. I wasn’t always a Grammar Nazi. In fact, I used to be a 15-year-old with access to the internet. This 15-year-old had an imagination that he used to create fanfiction. Harry Potter fanfiction. Bad Harry Potter fanfiction. This 15-year-old used to write an angsty 15-year-old blog. I recently discovered some of these writings again (the beauty/horror of the internet is that what happens on the internet stays on the internet). So I thought I’d share with you a collection of some of the best (read: worst) things I wrote as a 15-year-old along with some comments from a much more mature and wise 21 year old. I will also be grading myself.

1. The First Thing

“Ah, today is the first day of LiveJournaling. Thought I may as well get updated on something. I’m so old fashioned *Big Dramatic Sigh*! Anywho-what-were-when-how-why, I’m not sure how long this’ll go on before i get bored.”

Ah, look at me. This is literally the earliest piece of writing I can find online. Notice my “anywho” bit, like I was witty or something. And also isn’t the lowercase “i” an attractive quality in me? Also, why am I old-fashioned for being lazy?

Grade: B-

2. The Matrix

“Well, I figured I should give an update to thejournal anyway.”

In a later post, I referred to my Livejournal as “thejournal.” One word. Honestly I still feel pretty clever about that one.

Grade: A

3. “Life sucks. Went to the doctor yesterday. Got 102 dang needles poked in my arm”.

This makes me laugh. Do you appreciate my theatrical entrance as much as I do? I also enjoy the fact that I said “dang.” I don’t remember the last time I said “dang.” I was probably 15. Note: I remember the needle event. It was an allergy test. It did feel like 102 needles.

Grade: C

4. “I will be posting more later, but I need to show some excitment here! After nearly two months of having no audio privacy on my computer I found a pair of two dollar headphones at the local Dollar General! Unfortuanetly the gay 4 ft cord doesn’t reach from the jack to my head (sexual pun intended)”

This one makes me laugh because I don’t know what I needed “audio privacy” for as a 15 year old. To this day I still can’t correctly spell unfortunately without spell check. Kudos to me on the sexual pun. Shame on me for pointing it out. I also like my use of the word “gay” as an adjective for a cord.

Grade: D

5. “Draco, this Hermione, Harry’s bad, really bad, he’s asking for you hon. Can you come?”

This is my personal favorite because it’s from a fanfiction I wrote about Harry dying. Yes, Draco and Harry were lovers. No, I did not intend for Hermione be a caveman.

Grade: F for funny.

So that’s a list of some of the best stuff I wrote as a 15- year-old. There’s loads more out there. Good luck finding it. Since today is Friday I have a little game for you to play. I posted this on my angsty blog like 5 times because it was fun to do. It’s called “Your Life: The Soundtrack” and I’ll post my answers in the comments!

- – - – - – - Your Life: The Soundtrack – - – - – - – -
So, here’s how it works:
Open your music player (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
Put it on shuffle.
Press play.
For every question, type the song that’s playing.
When you go to a new question press the next button.
Some songs fit perfectly.
– - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

Opening Credits:

Waking Up:

Falling in Love:

Fight scene:

Breaking up:

Getting back together:

Secret Love:

Life’s okay:

Mental breakdown:

Driving Flashback:

Partying:

Happy dance:

Regretting:

Long night alone:

Final Battle:

Death Scene:

Credits:

‘The Hunger Games’ Archery Lesson Part 2

Join me in Part 2 of the video series I did through Hypable.com looking at archery and how it relates to The Hunger Games. In this video I look more at the recurve bow and the different parts of the arrow.

http://www.hypable.com/2012/03/19/video-part-2-of-the-hunger-games-archery-lesson-with-hypables-jessica-oneal/

My Top 4 Displays of Klutziness – Part 2

Last week I opened up about the challenges I face when putting one foot in front of the other. For whatever reason, I posses a real talent for running into things, tripping, and falling. I decided to share my Top 4 falling stories. I gave you my #4 and #3 stories last week and today I will be finishing off the list. Let’s get to it!

#2 – A few years ago, that wonderful husband of mine that I am so fond of mentioning managed to procure tickets (a funny story that involves a gay bar and a man in drag) for my mother and I to go see an advanced screening of Twilight. She and I were very excited to see this movie. We got there early and settled down with plenty of popcorn and Diet Coke, perhaps a little too much Diet Coke. About 15 minutes before the movie was supposed to start I realized that I needed to use the bathroom. I hate getting up in the middle of a movie to use the bathroom, but I also love to watch the previews and was worried that I would miss something since it was so close to starting time. In the end I decided that the needs of my bladder were too great, so I got up and flew to the bathroom.

Before I go on, I need to fill you in on something that happened just before my mad dash to the bathroom. The person sitting in the seat directly behind me spilled their drink all over the ground making a huge mess. As I left, an usher came and was getting ready to go down the aisle and mop up the mess. What I didn’t know though, was that some of the spilled beverage had also spilled onto the floor beneath my seat. The usher, being the kind worker that he was, also mopped up my row under and around my seat. I think you see where this is going.

Back to me. I got in and out of the bathroom in record time and walked (I wasn’t dumb enough to try to run; I didn’t want to fall after all) as fast as I could back to the theater. I was relieved to see that the lights were still on, but worried that they would go off any second. I dashed up the stairs to my row and turned to navigate through all the people to get back to my seat. My mom still had an expression of horror and started to say something about how she had been sure I was going to fall on my ill-advised dash up the stairs as I got near her. I started to laugh at her unnecessary worry just as I went around her knees and stepped on the freshly mopped area of floor in front of my seat.

My foot slipped completely out in front of me causing me to do a sort of split. I went down, landing hard on my other knee and falling into the occupied chair in front of me. As quickly as I could, I apologized to the woman I had accosted and slid into my chair. A few seconds later the lights went out.

#1 – Right after I graduated college I spent close to 3 years working as a 1:1 teacher/therapist at a school for children with autism. Since I never really knew what I would face at work I typically wore comfortable clothes that I could move around in and it wouldn’t be a big deal if they got dirty. I was never grungy or anything, just comfortable. But every once in a while I wanted to dress a little nicer. On one of those days I decided to wear this cute little gray skirt that had a layer of crinoline underneath that hung below the hemline of the top fabric a few inches with a black tank-top. Nothing too fancy, but nicer than what I normally wore.

I got to work that morning and was complimented by several co-workers on my outfit before we all retreated to the separate work stations of our morning students. I got everything set up and waited for my student to arrive. When he got there he came in all smiles and gave me a big hug. As soon as I released him he turned to go hang up his backpack and proceeded to projectile vomit all over the floor. His mom and I just looked at each other in shock at what had just happened. She rushed to take him to the bathroom to clean him up while I began to clean up the mess.

I had kind of pushed everything together so that it did not cover such a large area of the floor and went to throw away the paper towels I had used and get some more. I made sure to walk around the still large pile of vomit,,,or so I thought. Apparently the area of floor that I had wiped up was still rather slick. When I walked though it, BOTH of my feet slipped out from under me and I went airborne. I quite literally flew through the air and landed on my hip in, yep, you guessed it, the pile of vomit that I had so nicely pushed together.

Not only was I in pain, I was completely covered in vomit. What did I do? I got up and finished cleaning it up. Once that was finished, I got a garbage bag out of the kitchen, covered the seat of my car with it, drove home (my student had already left to go home for the day), and changed clothes. I guess I wasn’t meant to wear skirts to work.

Well, there you have it – my Top 4 Displays of Klutziness. There are, of course, countless other stories, but these are the most memorable. I hope you enjoyed them and that you got a good laugh from them, I know I did!

Some of you were brave enough to share your own stories last week, but what about the rest of you? Any funny stories about falling or any other act of clumsiness? Or are you always graceful when you walk? If you don’t have your own story, you could always share someone else’s. I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

 

A New Television Musical Smash

I would normally be starting a new series this week, but since I didn’t do the post I intended last week, I am pushing everything back a week.

Several months ago when I heard that NBC was getting ready to come out with a musical television show as an answer to Glee I was outraged and swore that I would never watch it. I started to hear bits and pieces of news about this show they were dubbing Smash and, darn it, it sounded interesting. And Debra Messing, whom I love, was going to play a role in it. I stubbornly clung to a bizarre sense of loyalty and told myself that none of that mattered, I was NOT going to watch it. Then I went to see a movie and the little preview thing that plays before the movie starts gave a first look at the show. Crap. It looked amazing. Once again I was going to have to eat my words as I changed my tune.

Once I made the decision that I would not be betraying Glee by watching this show that looked like it was going to be very different anyway, I felt a weight lifted. Suddenly I was beyond excited for the premiere of Smash. So excited in fact, that I, along with two of my pals from Glee Chat, decided to begin a podcast about the show before it had even aired. It has now been on for three weeks (the forth episode airs tonight at 10PM EST) and I am completely hooked.

Smash takes a behind the scenes look at what goes into creating and producing a Broadway musical as songwriting team, Julia (Debra Messing) and Tom, come up with the idea of writing a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. From the songwriting and storyboarding trials to the search for funding to casting and directing, we are taken on this journey with all the players involved as they work through these things on top of their own personal lives and situations. The show also stars Katharine McPhee (from American Idol) and Broadway star Megan Hilty as two young actresses, Karen and Ivy, who compete against each other for a chance to finally be a star.

I can not give enough praise to this show. The cast and characters that they play are all incredible. What’s nice is that, even though they all represent a different stereotype (naive smalltown girl, sleazy director, actress willing to do whatever it takes, etc) they are still complex, layered characters who manage to avoid falling into the caricature trap. It is clear that there are many underlying motivations within each person that we are not yet aware of. I can’t wait to see what is revealed about each and every one of them.

It should come as no surprise that I adore Debra Messing’s character, Julia, and the relationship she has with her writing partner Tom, who is very much gay. Their characters are completely different from those of Will & Grace, but I still get a nice feeling of nostalgia every time I see them together. But the character that grabbed the spot of my favorite from her very first scene, much to my surprise, was musical producer, Eileen (played by Anjelica Huston). Compared to the rest of the cast, Eileen does not have as much screen time, but what time she does have is always memorable and exciting. Whether she is tossing a Manhattan in her soon to be ex-husband’s face or simply walking down the street, she has a presence about her that takes over the scene and completely draws you in. I love her. So much.

My favorite part about this show, however, is the music. There are only 3-4 songs each episode and usually one of those is an original song with the rest being covers. What I love about Smash is that, so far at least, the music is integrated into the show in a way that makes sense within the narrative. It’s not like in Glee where someone just randomly breaks into song while walking down a hallway, instead, all of the songs are done in what are real life situations – auditions, demo recordings, karaoke bars, etc. There will still be some fantasy sequences, especially during the original numbers written for the Broadway show, but those sequences are usually to show what the number would actually look like on the stage and just add to the excitement and thrill of the song.

I can’t wait to see where this show goes over the course of the season. I love the characters, I love the stories, I love the music, I love the choreography, I love the sets, I love the costumes…I pretty much love everything. It is so much fun to see the world of Broadway brought to life on my TV screen and I hope that it continues for some time to come.

Have you watched Smash? What do you think of it? What do you like? Not like? Let me know in the comments.

Be sure to check out new episodes every Monday at 10PM EST on NBC and check out the podcast I host, Hypable’s Smash Chat, where we rehash each episode and the latest Smash news.

Robin Hood: Journey to the Screen

Over the past several weeks I have been taking a look at one of my favorite legends – Robin Hood – and today I will be bringing this series to a close. So far we have looked at the possibility that he was a real man, how his legend has changed over time, and the place he has found in contemporary literature. Today we are going to travel with him to the screen.

Journey to the Screen

The story and legend of Robin Hood is full of action, love, heroism, morality, and, in some instances, tragedy. It is no wonder then that he is a frequent figure of the silver screen. For many people, all they know of this legendary outlaw comes from what they have learned from these films. For others, like me, one of the many films served as merely an introduction to what would turn into a wonderful love affair. Whatever category you may fall into, I doubt there is anyone who hasn’t seen at least one incarnation of the legend brought to film.

My introduction to Robin Hood came at an early age through the Disney animated classic. I absolutely loved this movie as a child. Who am I kidding – I still love this movie. It is full of fun songs (sing-a-long in the comments?), tons of laughs, some rather tense moments, and some iconic moments from the legend. When I was a little girl I would put a blanket over my head and pretend I was Maid Marian, usually acting out her scenes along with the movie. While not the most authentic telling of the story, this movie was a perfect introduction and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Two of the most well known Robin Hood films are the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn and the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner. I love both of these movies. Neither one of them is a perfect representation of the legend, but they are both great films that tell a moving and entertaining story that captures the heart of what Robin Hood is about. One of my favorite Robin Hood films is actually a parody of these two more serious films. I am of course talking about the 1993 Mel Brooks film Robin Hood: Men in Tights starring Cary Elwes. This movie never fails to make me laugh no matter what age I am when viewing it.

My absolute, hands down favorite film version of Robin Hood, however, is not a big screen movie, but a television series. I am referring to the BBC series that ran from 2006-2009 and starred Jonas Armstrong as Robin. I had always loved the story of Robin Hood, but it was not until I experienced this series that that love turned to a passion that rivaled my passion for the Arthurian legend. The show pulled from the more modern take on the legend that places Robin as the Earl of Huntingdon who is outlawed when he takes a stand against the corruption that has overtaken England upon his return from the crusades.

Accompanied by his ever faithful sidekick Much, Robin takes to the forest of Sherwood where he eventually joins with Little John, Will Scarlett, and Allan a Dale among others. One of my favorite things about this show are the relationships between the characters, good and bad. From the friendships between Robin and his men, to the interactions between Robin and the Sheriff or Robin and Guy of Gisborne, to the incredible chemistry between Robin and Marian, this show is firmly based in its characters and their stories. The show is full of lighthearted humor as well as very powerful dramatic moments (The season 2 finale and season 3 series finale left me sobbing for hours after they had finished. I am not exaggerating.) This is one of those series that I want to watch over and over, and thanks to a certain Christmas gift I can.

There are many, many more Robin Hood films than the ones that I have mentioned, including the more recent version starring Russell Crowe, but these are the ones that had the biggest impact on me and my love for the legend. I look forward to whatever incarnations come out in the future and hope that some of them wow me as much as these have. The story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men is one that will always hold sway over my heart and call to me when I need an escape.

What are your favorite Robin Hood films? Do any of the ones I listed make your list? Are there any you love that I failed to mention? Let me know in the comments.

Hair Therapy

Before I get into today’s post I wanted to give a little follow up on last week’s post. This past weekend Son of a Bad Man had their CD release weekend with not one, but TWO sold out shows. I got to go to the main show on Saturday night and it was absolutely incredible. They played for about two and half hours, yet it still felt too short. On Monday, their CD release took up nearly the entire front page of the Lifestyle section in the Florida Times Union. If you would like to check out their album – which I haven’t been able to stop listening to ever since it went on my iPod – you can download it from iTunes and Amazon or you can order a hard copy from their website. Now, on to today’s post.

Hair Therapy

My newest doo

I can’t speak for men, but we women tend to attach a large part of our identity to our hair. I have no idea why this is, it just is. Our entire mood is altered by whether we are having a good hair day or a bad hair day. When we begin to feel bored with life and need a change, we go to the hair salon. We look at other women and make assumptions about their personality based on their hair style. We define and redefine ourselves constantly by our hair and the changes we make to it. I have certainly done a lot of this, especially in the past year.

From this...

For some reason, I have always been a bit adventurous when it comes to my hair. Perhaps it is simply because both of my sisters-in-law are hair stylists, so I am able to try new things without completely breaking the bank. Whatever the reason, I love changing up my hair. I have had hair that reached to the middle of my back, no bangs, long bangs, short bangs, blonde hair, brown hair, blonde and brown hair at the same time, red streaks, highlights, lowlights, and – more recently – varying degrees of short hair. Whenever I start to feel blah, I change my hair. And the affect is instantaneous. I immediately feel better about myself, more confident.

And I always wonder: Why?

What is it with the bond between a woman and her hair? Why are we so affected by it? Because, I must say, when I made that initial cut of over twelve inches I felt liberated. For several years I had loved my long hair, but it eventually lost its luster. It began to feel like a burden. Chopping it off was freeing. Why?

...to this...

Perhaps it is a control thing. In our lives, so many of the things that impact us are beyond our control. There are things in our day that we have to do, not from choice, but from obligation or responsibility. Work, cleaning, cooking, errands, nurturing relationships…the list goes on and on. Not all of the things we have to do are bad things, such as spending time with spouses and children, but they are still things that we have to do if we want to maintain good, healthy relationships. We get to choose the activities we do, but even with that we have to take into consideration the desires of others. There are very few things that we have complete and total control over. Our hair is one of those things.

...to this.

When we sit down in that chair it is our choice what we ask the stylist to do to our hair. No one else’s. It is one way that we can express ourselves, be creative, and have complete control. Maybe this is the real reason bad hair days make us so grumpy – our control is taken away.

I have no idea if this is the real reason we tend to be so attached to our hair or not, but it is the best one I have come up with and I think that, for me at least, it certainly plays a part. Whatever the reason, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Knowing the “why” won’t add to or take away from the enjoyment I get from sitting in that chair and waiting for that magical moment when my sister-in-law is finished and I get to look in the mirror and see my new identity.

What about you? Do you have this same bond with your hair? Where do you think this attachment comes from? What prompts you to try something new, no matter how big or small the change? Let me know in the comments.

Robin Hood: A Story Transcribed

Today it is time for another installment in my series looking at Robin Hood. We have already looked at the possibility that the legend was inspired by a real person as well as the way the legend has evolved over the years, which has brought us to the half-way point of my series. These last two posts are going to look at the more modern incarnations of the legend beginning with those in written form. Let’s get to it.

A Story Transcribed

The past two centuries have seen the story of Robin Hood written and rewritten many times. Sometimes he gets a tale all his own and other times he is a background character in someone else’s story. He makes an appearance to young Wart in T.H. White’s Once and Future King and the characterization given to him by Walter Scott in Ivanhoe is often attributed as the basis for our current interpretation of his character. It is always fun to see our favorite outlaw make an unexpected appearance in another’s book, but it is even more fun to read a book that is his story to tell.

One of the most classic books of Robin Hood is Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Pyle took many of the traditional stories and adventures of the famous outlaw and compiled them into cohesive narrative that is meant for children. This is one of the books that I actually own, though I haven’t exactly read all the way through it. Pyle uses a style of writing that I find very tedious to read for long periods of time, but it is great to pick up when I need a quick fix.

As can be inferred from the title, this story of Robin and his Merry Men focuses on their heroic adventures as they seek to resist corrupt authority and help those who are less fortunate. Pyle’s book came at a time when the image of Robin as a hero who steals from the rich to give to the poor was growing in popularity and it helped solidify that image into the modern canon.

Another trend that has cropped up in more recent times is to take a deeper look into the character of Maid Marian, often with the author focusing on her more than Robin. The first book I ever read that did this was Maid Marian by Elsa Watson. This was one of those books I stumbled upon at the library and decided to take a chance on. While it was certainly nothing groundbreaking, it was enjoyable and stayed true to many of the classic elements of the Robin Hood legend. The story was told from the perspective of Marian, who was not simply a passive damsel in distress. Even though she went to Robin for help, she was still a woman of action.

Robin McKinley took this idea of a strong Marian further in her book, The Outlaws of Sherwood. Once again McKinley took a much loved and well known story and flipped it on its head. In her version of Robin Hood he is actually the worst archer of the group and Marian proves to be an invaluable asset to him and his men. She is the ones who procures a longbow for him when he must flee to the forest, she provides the green cloth for their camouflaged clothing, she saves the lives of Robin and his men through her quick thinking and negotiation, and it is she, not Robin, who shoots to win the golden arrow.

My favorite version of the Robin Hood story that I have read to date is also the one that makes some of the most severe changes. In Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven Trilogy, Robin is not an outlaw living in the Sherwood Forest fighting against the evil Prince John who is trying to usurp his brother’s throne. Instead, Bran ap Brychan is a Welsh Prince who is forced to live in the Greenwood when Norman invaders steal his land and home. Even with the very different time and location, though, the heart of the story is true to the modern day legend we have grown to love and there are many familiar faces that crop up throughout.

There are many more books out there that tell the story of our heroic outlaw than I could ever read, but I will never stop trying. There is just something about Robin Hood that speaks to me – strikes a chord within me – and I will never tire of visiting him within the pages of a book.

What books about Robin Hood have you read? Which are your favorites? Least favorites? Let me know in the comments.

GUEST POST: Debra Kristi – The Tree Takes a Backseat

I am incredibly excited for my guest blogger today, the fabulous Debra Kristi.

The first time I visited Debra’s blog it was love at first read. Whether it is her “Immortal Monday” series, which is right up my fantasy nerd heart’s ally, or one of her many inspirational posts, I always know that I am going to find something enjoyable. I was absolutely thrilled when she agreed to write something up for me and, let me tell you, it is a good one. Take it away Debra!

* * *

It’s a real pleasure to be here at the home of the sexy nerd, Jessica O’Neal. I want to be cool like her – shooting arrows with deadly accuracy. But that’s not why I accepted this gig. Anyone who knows Jessica knows what a fabulous, kind and true individual she is. That’s why I am here today!

Jessica has left the door wide open for me to discuss anything as long as it fits with her blog. That could be very dangerous, but I think I can keep myself in check.

Today, as I stood on the mid-way up the stairs, staring off into my living room at the splendor of my big beautiful Christmas tree –– YES, I know. It’s nearly the end of January and it’s still standing. Shame on me! But before any of you start looking at me funny, this leads me to my topic for today’s guest post – priorities.

The Tree Takes a Backseat

I held my coffee cup in hand and placed the box neatly beside the tree ready to collect all the ornaments so that the tree may be put away and stored until we do it all over again next year. My husband walks by and raises a brow, “Really, I thought we were just going to leave it up until next year and save ourselves the hassle?”

The man is a gem. He puts up with so much when it comes to our house. I’m a Type A personality. Translation — I go a little crazy when things are out of order or get a little messy. Well… I have had to do a little readjusting to that way of thinking or I would never get anything written – like EVER! I could seriously spend my entire day picking up after my kids, but where’s the fun in that?

Before the WIP I was always cleaning, organizing and spritzing. That was my typical day. But since I have made a full commitment to my manuscript, all hell has broken loose in the homestead. It has become a year of adjustment, as we all learned as a family what worked and what didn’t. The key lesson? That I needed to prioritize differently than I used to. And high on the list needed to be the really important things. The things that we sometimes take for granted – like time out with the kids or the husband. It seems obvious when you read or hear it, but living it is a different story. Life is funny that way. And so, when I started removing the ornaments that night and was then asked by my husband to join him for some television time, you can bet I did. The tree still stands.

Can I work on the tree while the kids are at school? You bet I can. But is that really more important than my workout or my writing? Again, it’s all a matter of priorities. I don’t care if the neighborhood thinks we’re crazy because our tree is still up. They probably think we’re a little crazy anyway. I am taking care of my most important needs first. My family and my (mental and physical) health come before the décor of my home. The holiday decorations… well, they are relegated to the back – the backseat, as my father always said.

I’m very capable of having the tree and all other Christmas decorations neatly put away by now. But I think you’re getting the picture. It hasn’t been the priority yet. Since joining the world of social media, I have opened myself up to many new things that fill my plate. And I am eternally grateful for all of it! I LOVE all the people I have met and the conversations we have. Sure, it cuts into my already short days, but that just means I need to keep my priorities in line even more. This is a good thing.

It’s been months since this weird pressure cooker living started in my home. My brain is feeling a little like a slurpee. Everything could be easily stiffened out with a straw, if you could only get that straw through my thick skull. Trying to do everything contributed to its rapid deterioration. But setting my sights on the most important things to me and dealing with the other items in small doses have helped me get back in control. So far, so good.

I used to be a serious list person. I made a list for everything. Somewhere along the line I lost my way. I didn’t want to take the time to make the list, so I chanced it and started going without. As a result I’d go shopping and forget small items. What does that get me – another trip to the store – more time wasted than it would have taken to make a list in the first place. Lesson learned – prioritize! Make lists.

Now I make a daily reminder list. I’ll remind myself that I am not my protagonist and I can not take on the world in the same manner. I will be forced to check off that my bra is on underneath my shirt and not over it. I’ll make sure I put the milk away in the refrigerator and not the pantry. These are all good places to start.

And when Christmas rolls around next year, I will likely have started a new tradition of celebrating all holidays in December because none of the decorations were put away throughout the year. That’s right. We’ll be trendsetters. And when Christmas rolls around, the tree will already be up!

How about you? How are you prioritizing? How have your priorities affected the home and family?

Big thanks to Jessica for having me over. I hope everyone enjoyed my post. (Waving) Bye all!

* * *

I want to say a huge thank you to Debra for writing this post. This is something that I for one need to be reminded of constantly. I am not always the best at sticking to the priorities I set for myself.

Debra Kristi lives with her two kids, husband, and a Green Tree Frog names Darth. She is currently working on her first upper young adult fantasy trilogy. You can connect with her through her blog and twitter.

Being Human in England and America

As you may have figured out from some of my other posts, I have a thing for British television. It all started when I went to my dad’s and he showed me an episode of the British sitcom Coupling. I thought it was one of the funniest shows I had ever seen and rushed home to check onDemand to see if it was there. It was and I watched the entire series.

During this period of marathoning Coupling I saw the first advertisements for Robin Hood. I, of course, had to check it out and instantly fell in love. From that point on I began to randomly check the BBC America folder in onDemand to see if there were any shows that sounded interesting. One day I saw a new folder for a show called Being Human. I looked to see what it was and it said that it was about a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf who all lived in the same house and helped each other in their endeavor to live like humans.

That sounded like something right up my ally. I watched all the preview clips, looked it up to see what I could learn about it online, and set my DVR for a series recording. I couldn’t wait to watch the premiere. When it was over I sat staring at the TV and just smiled. I knew that I had found another hidden gem of British television.

Three seasons of the show have been completed with the forth getting ready to start on February 25, and I am just as hooked as I was from the first episode. So much has happened on the show that it is hard to believe that the seasons are only 6-8 episodes long. The past three seasons have been full of twists and surprises that seemed impossible. It always keeps me guessing, perched on the edge of my seat and, on more than one occasion, has brought me to tears.

Imagine my surprise last year when I discovered that a copycat show was being made for SyFy, like what NBC did with The Office (as a side note, I found out about this during the commercial breaks for Merlin, yet another BBC show I adore). At first I was completely indignant. How could they possibly think to do an American remake of this incredible show? I swore that I would in no way be tuning in to this abomination.

Well, as time went by and I kept seeing commercial after commercial, I began to get curious. How close to the original would it stick? Could it be good? For a while I continued to stubbornly say that I would never watch it, but eventually my curiosity got the better of me. I set my DVR to record the pilot, not the whole season, just the pilot.

It was with great trepidation that I sat down to watch it – I literally had no idea how I would react. Much to my surprise, I loved it. So much so that I bit the bullet and set up a series recording. The thing that sold me was that, even though it lifted the main plots directly from the original, this new version was distinctly its own show while still being respectful of where it came from.

There were a lot of added plots and elements to the SyFy version, which was to be expected since it was taking a six episode season and turning it into twelve. Those additions were enough to keep me engaged and curious about what was going to happen since I already knew most of the major plot points (although they did make some pretty significant changes to the way the end of the season went down). Another little touch that I thought was nice, was that they named the main vampire Aidan in honor of the actor, Aidan Turner, who played the British vampire.

Season 2 of the America version, which airs on SyFy, has just started and I am very excited to see where they go with it and how much they deviate from the original. Just from the premiere it seems as though there are going to be some pretty drastic differences and I am okay with that.

I never would have believed that I could love two versions of the same television show, yet that is exactly what has happened. The original BBC version will always hold a special place for me as the one that started it all, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find equal enjoyment from the SyFy copy. I can’t really say if I like one version more than the other – they both had parts that I loved and parts that I could have done without. I don’t think it really matters, though. I now have two shows that are able to whisk me away to the world of the supernatural and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

Have you watched Being Human? Which version? What do you think about it? Is there one that you like more than the other? Let me know in the comments.

MASH-UP: Berttie Bott’s, Man Movies, and More

It’s been a while since I posted a mash-up, but I have one for you today! Make sure you take the time to check at least some of these out – they are all fabulous.

Did I Eat All the Bertie Bott’s Beans Flavors? by Marcy Kennedy: This post is from about a month ago, but this is the first mash-up I’ve done since then and I don’t care. It is hilarious and one that I related to from experience.

The Opposite of Chick Flick by Fabio Bueno: Ever wonder what the male equivalent of a chick flick is? Fabio answers that question in this fun post.

A Pitfall of Creativity by Lisa Hall-Wilson: As a fellow person who is “not clumsy – just distracted”, this post had me rolling with laughter.

Are You Suffering from Information Overload Syndrome? by Debra Kristi: This is a post I think EVERYONE can relate to. Who hasn’t felt overwhelmed with all that needs to be done at some point in time and suffered from the resultant sluggishness?

My New Time-Saving Social Media BFF: Triberr by Jenny Hansen: If you are like me you have been seeing this weird word, Triberr, all over the placewith no idea what it meant. Jenny takes the time to explain it and there is even a Part 2.