Friday Inspiration – Turning Me into We

September 30, 2011 By 19 Comments

There is a musical that I love by the name of “Urinetown”.

Yeah, that’s right.  Urine.

There are many reasons I love it, but one of the things I love most is the ending.  Partway through the show, two characters sing this lovely ballad “Follow Your Heart”, which they then do.  And in the end, everything falls apart.  As the narrator warns in the beginning, “this is not a happy musical”.  (It is, however, very funny.)

Why do I love this?

I’ve grown up in a time where it is encouraged more and more to focus on me.  Follow my heart, my dreams, do what it takes to get me where I want to go.

But how many people who only focus on themselves are truly happy?

Whether it be our relationships with friends, significant others, or entire communities, to build relationships that matter, we have to start thinking of more than “me”.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t take care of ourselves.  But would it hurt to factor others in to the choices that we make on a day to day basis?

Last week was the start of the #gowithout linkup.  The response has been lovely.  The blog posts are trickling in, and the buzz on Twitter is great.  There’s even been celebrity support!

So, today, I am posting what I’ve given up for the past week.

My daily coffee. Brewed at home on the cheap.

It’s autumn, but here in Florida the only thing that clues me in to the change in season is the appearance of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at my neighborhood Starbucks.  I do indulge in this luxury every year, but for the past week (and the week ahead) I am refraining. Instead, I’ll be sending my Latte money to:

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital:
Text KIDS to 27722 to give $10

Can you join in the #gowithout effort?  Even if your budget is super tight, we’ve had bloggers contribute posts about giving their time, a very valuable commodity, to help others.  Check the linky to see all the great bloggers who have contributed so far!

Then, join up.  I guarantee you’ll feel good about being a “we”.

 

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Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday – The Good Wife

September 28, 2011 By 29 Comments

This week on Why It’s Worth a Watch, Tiffany and I continue to give some love to CBS with reviews of The Good Wife and Criminal Minds.

I’m a big fan of legal drama, old and new.  Suits, Law and Order, Boston Legal, The Practice, The Guardian; be it serious or funny or something in between, I enjoy the various elements that go into trying a case.  A television one at least.

The Good Wife delivers not only interesting legal battles, but a great out of the courtroom drama.  The show focuses on Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), a woman who appears to be “standing by her man” as he becomes the center of a sex scandal and allegations of corruption in his role as State’s Attorney.  Sound familiar?  The creators were inspired by public figures like Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton, and John Edwards, to name a few.

In an effort to provide for her two teenage children while her husband Peter (Chris Noth) sits in prison, Alicia returns to work in a law firm as a junior litigator, after many years of being a stay at home mom.

A long way from Gilmore Girls...

Work brings its own challenges; Diane (Christine Baranski), a female partner who seems unsure of Alicia’s value to the firm, Will (Josh Charles), an old friend who she may or may not have feelings for, and Cary (Matt Czuchry), a young and ambitious associate who realizes that Alicia may be his biggest competition.

Despite the challenges, Alicia’s work brings her an opportunity to present herself as a strong woman dealing with the chaos of her husband’s public indiscretions, rather than a woman quietly wallowing or seeking out pity from others.

While the wider story is about Alicia’s life, the writers never phone in the legal battles.  In fact, the case prep brings us Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi), the firm’s private investigator who secures information, sometimes via unethical means.  The courtroom arguments deliver solid and satisfying dialogue, not to mention excellent guest appearances, like Michael J. Fox and Martha Plimpton.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Alan Cumming’s role, but to tell you who he plays might give something away if you don’t already watch, so just know that he is amazing in his delivery of the character Eli Gold.

In a show that houses so many actors I love (Julianna took home the Emmy this year, Alan Cumming is a genius in everything he does, and I’ve had a crush on Josh Charles since Sports Night) it should be no surprise that I give this show a GTV.  The writers manage to keep every character engaging, and every storyline crisp and entertaining, no small feat with everything this show has going on.

And I did mention Josh Charles, right?

Thank you, The Good Wife.

(N.B. According to online sources, the majority of the writers for this show are women. Another reason to love this show.)

If you’ve never watched, you can order Season 1 from Netflix (it currently is not a streaming option) or find episodes on iTunes.

If you aren’t watching this yet, why aren’t you?  Are you already a fan?  What makes you love or hate this show?  What is your favorite past legal drama?

Now head over to Tiffany’s blog to check out Criminal Minds, one of the few crime shows I haven’t seen! *gasp*

Come back next week when we click over to NBC and review two of the channel’s hit programs – Harry’s Law and Law & Order: SVU.  Can you guess which one you will find here?

Remember to stop by the #watchwed hashtag in Twitter to discuss any of today’s reviews, or to mention any television programs that you’d like to see on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in the future.  We’re currently working on our September schedule and would love to chat with you!

A Recap of The WatchWed Review System:
GTV (Gourmet TV): Everything we want and more
MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies
JFTV (Junk food TV): It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds
SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out
NIV (Nyquil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer
LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech

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Jonas and the Attack of the Hipstamatic

September 26, 2011 By 28 Comments

Despite the fact that I am very much a mom, I don’t do a lot of mommy/kid posts here. I don’t plan on making this into a mommy blog (there are plenty of people who do that well) BUT I will on occasion, share some posts revolving around the kid or mommying.

After all, it gives me an excuse to talk about poop.  Just not in this post.

Last weekend I went on a quick visit to North Carolina.  By train.

This may not be a big deal to many of you, but it was the first time in my thirty-something years that I’ve been on a train.  Orlando to Raleigh isn’t exactly a small start either.

I did mention that the kid was with me, right?  His first train ride, too.

Folks, he may never want to fly again.

Making sure he is appropriate carry on size.

Blanket, DVD player, and a pillow. Does traveling get any better?

Hello, dining car.

The movement of the train is perfect for sleeping.

Trees were never so exciting!

Drawing while we wait for some French Toast.

As if the train ride weren’t enough, running around a new place and spending time with awesome family (and new friends) who kept him entertained has possibly spoiled him for life.

Or maybe not. This is a kid who is, at this very moment, entertaining himself by placing letters on my feet and singing.  What follows are some of the highlights.

Walking up many stairs, a favorite of his, with his buddy Jeff.

Taking a break from wandering around the Duke campus.

Running around the campus.

Jumping time!

Shortly after this, Jonas filed his formal request for a dog the size of a horse.

Time for a little music education.

Taking time out to email Gigi (Grandma).

Learning to fist bump. Or as he calls it "fish pump".

High fives are also important to know.

In addition to the wandering and spending time with friends, we visited The Life and Science Museum in Durham.  While I won’t subject you to the entire photo tour of that experience, I will share this one shot.

We happened to show up at the butterfly pavilion just as they were going to release newly hatched butterflies.  Jonas volunteered his arm as a jumping off point for the smallest, youngest one in the bunch.

His very own baby butterfly.

~~~~

In other news, if you haven’t already, please take a look at last week’s Giving Back post and join the #gowithout trend and don’t forget to add yourself to the linky!

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A Special Friday Inspiration – Giving Back

September 23, 2011 By 60 Comments

I’ve mentioned on Twitter in the past week an effort among the bloggers in the community to give back .

A lot of bloggers get involved in link ups as a way to introduce themselves to others in the blogosphere. Wouldn’t it be great if we could channel that effort into helping others?

So, here is the idea.

This economy has put a lot of us in a position where we are living much tighter, maybe even paycheck to paycheck. Yet many of us, if we examine our expenses, could spare something in a given week to help someone who has a greater need.

For the next month, bloggers will get together to show what they are giving up to help someone who is need.

The idea is simple. Blog about what you are giving up and who you are giving your $5/$10 to. It can be an involved post, or simply a photo.

http://theantisocialmedia.com/anti-social-media/stop-whining-about-netflix/What can you give up for the week?

It’s up to you, but here are some ideas:

- Books (even those .99 ebooks add up)
- High priced coffee drinks (I know, it’s a lot to ask in Pumpkin Spice Latte season)
- Bottled water. Try using your tap.
- Tolls. Can you take a different way to work just this week?

What charity should you donate to?

I’ve put together a couple of charities that allow text donations to keep it super easy, but you are free to donate to the charity of your choice.

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital:
Text KIDS to 27722 to give $10

Susan G. Komen – Breast Cancer:
Text KOMEN to 90999 to give $10

Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation:
Text HIVFREE to 90999 to donate $5

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: Text NYSPCC to 50555 to donate $10

The link up will be active for a month, so every blogger who wishes to participate can join in. You may find one week of giving so easy that you choose to do it again!

Don’t have a blog but want to join in? Post a photo on Facebook or Twitter (#gowithout).

Be sure to comment with a link to your post so I can add you to the linkup page here.

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