Confessions: Shadowhunters

Anyone who knows me knows that I have what's probably an unnecessary affinity for angsty teenagers battling some completely nonsensical and overly-creative apocalyptic war of somethingsomethingsomething... etc. 

The Hunger Games
Divergent
[and now] ... Shadowhunters

 

Am I ashamed of this vice, the way I probably should be?
Nah. 

Do I have any idea, really, what the book series is actually about, and do I have the urge to read them?
No, and actually.... no. 

Okay, so the superfandom has yet to hit me for this one, and truthfully the cast, aesthetically cast as they are, isn't JLaw & Co., but hey, it's a new book-based series that'll do for now. So while Rob was out with Chris at their weekly independent study, Sydni and I cuddled up for a night of coloring and books before she went to bed. Then it was time to watch this, which still baffles me that I'm legitimately watching multiple episodes of this show [on purpose], but whatev'. I'm good with this :). 

Also, I've always been a fan of Harry Shum Jr., but not because I'm Asian... 

Okay, maybe. But seriously not; he's hilarious. #asiansrepresent! 

Yeah, so it looks like I'll be needing another real-life grown-up TV vice, too, and since The Office really isn't going to make a reprise anytime soon - although if it dooooesss....... 

Anyway, thanks Harry Shum Jr., and Kat McNamara for making this easier to watch, and mildly entertaining. 

And uhhh yeah, that's Tuesday!
Hang in there folks: There'll be some substantial content to these suckers sometime soon, I'm nearly sure of it. 

Til then, g'nite blogbots! 

xo | cmd

DIVERGENT.

It seems like a developing tradition now that whenever Jesse comes to visit, it's always a Sunday breakfast [or in this case, brunch] outing before he leaves town. That being said, we were off to do that before he loaded up and headed back to Illinois.

After Jesse was on his way, Rob and I picked our recuperation spots on the couch and decided not to feel guilty about a day of relaxation. After all the activity and bustle of the weekend, it was nice to have nothing on either of our plates for a few hours.

And then, I somehow talked Rob into going with me to see Divergent!!

At work, Elisa and I have been counting down the days to the release of this thing, which actually happened on Friday. She was heading out of town for this weekend, and we had Jesse coming in, so neither of us went to see it on the Friday premier the way we'd planned for the past couple months. Sydni will be here all week, starting tomorrow, so by default that kiiiiind of boiled our options down to tonight... sooo yeah... hah.

It definitely wasn't the explosive release I was expecting, but it was definitely worth the trip & I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't go see it again in a theater before it's out to own. (: I didn't think I'd enjoy Shailene Woodley as much as I did in her role as Tris, but I have to admit she grew on me by the end and I'm a bit curious to see what the next movie in the series will give. I think my miniature lack of excitement comes from the fact that I've read all the books in the series and I know I'm not alone in my disappointment in how the series ended. The Hunger Games was, for the most part, and entirely different sentiment. Ehhhh...

I call that a perfect way to end a nonstop weekend (:

Time to unwind for tonight before we gear up for the whole next week.
Sydni's back tomorrow!!

xo | cmd

HBD Nikki, On This Ho-Hum Day :/

Nikki walked into work this morning with what we are all convinced to be the early stages of either strep throat or laryngitis. Neither of those are any good, but I do remember clearly when I had laryngitis a few years back at Chris' office and was rendered vocally useless for nearly two weeks. Not a good time. And... it's her birthday, TODAY.

So let's focus on that instead of the yucky part. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIKKI!!!!

yeah, november bdays!

It kind of seemed like today was bound and determined to drone on into next month. On a few separate occasions I found myself checking the time only to find that not even an hour or two had lapsed since the last time I bothered to look. And then, as is usually the case, I found myself in the midst of a task I hadn't planned on doing and racing the last hour of the clock before 5pm rolled around. Good thing, too. The "eventful" nature of the past week definitely took a hit on me and I was down for the count by the time I got home.

 

Plus, this came out today and I made a beeline to pick it up after work:  

third & final installment of the divergent series

^ Yep. Here I go again, embracing my inner teenage bookworm for the next couple of days, sucked back into the world of Tris Prior & Tobias Eaton... we at work have all agreed not to judge each other for our shared affinity for stuff like this [we'll include Hunger Games in there, too]. I'm not quite halfway through it, but that was quite a war in and of itself anyway: to devour the entire thing in one sitting? ... or.... pace myself because I've already decided it's going to be a relaxing week and what else do I really have to do? Yeah.. issues. :p

Oh, and I laughed when I saw this from Rob earlier today as he toted the meatballs back home to Illinois. [I already miss them all..... ]

car full of my favorites.. aww..

Anywho, I'm beat. It's not even 9pm and I'm at the finish line for the day.
Sleep is a poor man's remedy..... G'nite!

xo | cmd

YouTubeAholic

I've posted a couple of internet things this week... and in the spirit of that, I figured I'd continue on with some of my recent favorites.

Off of a few YouTube channels I follow....

Convos With My 2-Year-Old.
It's Baaaaaaaaack!

I.. love these. I am so happy they've struck up a season 2. If you have kiddos - more specifically if you have one [or more] like mine, then this makes perfect sense to you.

For you Bieber skeptics out there, I stumbled on this and had to share. I'm nowhere near enjoying any of his music, but I heard this and became intensely appreciative of young talent doing useful and beautiful things with their ability! THIS is the kind of application I want my daughter to look forward to: maybe with music, but no matter the avenue, I would love to see her develop into something that can inspire the next.


In the spirit of bittersweet inspiration, here's good old Miley, before she went celeb-rogue. Can you imagine if this image were what she would've pursued? I'm not discrediting Dolly at all here, but it goes without saying that Miley IS talented... perhaps we'll see more of this once the shine of the word TWERK wears off. [*note, that will be the only time you will ever see me use that word. Ever.]:

For some humor... and a PSA on the importance of not over-hashtagging everything in our lives:

#LOVETHEM. ;)

 

Jamie posted this little guy on my Facebook a couple days back.. If you've never seen any BLR's, I would suggest you do it.. especially if you need a good laugh [the NFL version is an excellent place to start, hah!]:

"Eat a waffle bug!" ;)

Lastly, the trailors for 2 novel-to-movies: 1] the second installation of the Hunger Games trilogy, and 2] the first installation of the Divergent trilogy. And before you ask, yes, Nikki, Elisa and I are going to both of these. Feel free to join. [*Disclaimer.. spoiler alerts! .. oh, and READ THE BOOKS first!]

and.....

And uhh.. I think that's about enough for now. I'm YouTube'd out.

xo | cmd

✿ Saturday With Sydni ✿

This is how today started:

not complaining one bit.

& Then...
SOCCER PRACTICE!

soccer monster!

-- I felt like I was back in my childhood, except on the other end of it now. I've only seen pictures of me then, but they were not unlike the scene today: Sydni in her pint-sized soccer gear - cleats and all - and a t-shirt that even in the smallest size available drooped off her tiny frame. As much as I tried for the pigtail today, it looked unusually disheveled by the time we got there, which in a way magically available only to little girls, made her look that much cuter.

so cute. so. stinkin'. cute.

soccer kiddies

And some short but fun action I captured [*note to self, take an actual camera next time.]
 

^ My little [future] left-wing (:

^ Red Light, Green Light!

I just.. can't get enough. (: (: (:

Soccer practice off the checklist, we made a break for iHOP.. because it's Saturday, pancakes sounded amazing, and we had no agenda. We were already in Mason, so once breakfast was out of the way, we made a stop at Half Price Books and came out with a couple of movies, a book for Sydni, and of course: Insurgent. I couldn't resist buying it, but didn't feel like paying retail for the thing [proud consumer moment]. It's the second of the Divergent series that I started last week.

insurgent by veronica roth

And ok.. I originally planned to start the thing today, while Sydni napped or snuggled up for a movie at the end of the evening or something. No. Instead, I devoured it cover-to-cover before tonight was over. I'm still blaming Nikki for getting me hooked. It's. So. Good.

Between chapters [& Sydni's nap), we got outside for bike riding, bubbles into the sunset, and some hiking around the area. She's my little trooper!

bubbles into the sunset: i could literally do this every day.

& again, because we're spoiling ourselves today, Graeter's!

hahaha.. graeters!!!

.. And that is how we do it on a Saturday. Tomorrow we'll be on the river for a bit, but for now it's time to call it a day.

xo | cmd

First World Village Problems & Things That Are Nikki's Fault

And by Village, I mean the Village of Fairfax, where I live.
And by problems, I mean this:

renovation time!

^ Anyone recognize that? If not, well, it's the Skyline on Wooster in Fairfax. I don't know how I didn't notice this yesterday, but apparently the thing is now closed facing renovation.. until mid-October. This doesn't phase me in a major way; it is after all a chili joint and I don't eat there often enough for it to bother me... but I do feel for all of my little village neighbors who I see pulling their distinct vehicles into that place 3+ times/weekly.  Womp womp...

The good news? I found a new book trilogy on which I'm quickly becoming obsessed.

I blame Nikki...haha.

divergent!

We were discussing books a couple of weeks back and I mentioned the fact that it's difficult for me to latch on to any series; I have a very limited window of interest that is either tamed or bored within the first 20 pages of the first installment. For this reason, coupled with the fact that I'm not into many of the bigger sci-fi franchises [Harry Potter, Twilight, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.], I've been sticking to non-series reads. Knowing I'm a fan of The Hunger Games, she suggested I try this out. I caved and bought it today.. and I haven't put it down yet. As much as I'm enjoying it though, it begs the question of why I'm so fascinated by novels revolving around steel-willed teenagers in apocolyptic landscapes...haha. Oh well. I'll have this finished by tomorrow.

So until thennnn.... g'nite (:

xo | cmd