Memorial Day

I have been blessed to have men in my family who have served their country. My dad, my brother, my brother-in-law, my uncle, my cousins, my grandpas, my great-grandpa, way the hang back to the Revolutionary War. I am extremely thankful for all they have done.

I am also extremely thankful that, at least from my great-grandpa on, they have all come home in one piece. Not everyone can say that. And so, today, I want those who have lost loved ones to know that we appreciate their sacrifice - both the sacrifice the loved one made, and the sacrifice they themselves made, watching their husband, son, daughter, mother, friend go off to war. Thank you to you all, and God bless.

Food Review: DiGiorno 200 Calorie Portions Chicken With Peppers and Onions Pizza

Yummy.

I had no idea what I wanted for supper when I went to the grocery store. Deciding to be lazy, I started walking through the frozen pizza section. I didn't feel like having leftovers, though, so was about to give up (a party pizza wasn't really what I wanted), when I stumbled across this. With only 200 calories, chicken instead of pepperoni (pepperoni was sounding too greasy and unhealthy to me), and being on sale, it sounded just about right.

And oh my goodness it was. It was delicious. I think I could eat 84 more of them. The sauce is good, the cheese is good, the amount of garlic is good. The only bad part is that they're small, but we all know that that is what 200 calories actually means. There are two in the box, though, so if you're up for 400 calories it's all good.

This might be my new favorite frozen food (as long as we're not counting ice cream as a food - if that's a food, sorry pizza, you lose). I highly recommend it.

Why I'm Okay With the Ending of Lost

*Spoiler alert!*

Though I'm seriously doubting you managed to get through the day without coming across a spoiler. And if you didn't watch Lost but don't want spoilers because you want to watch it someday and it gets spoiled for you, it's your own fault.

When I first started watching Lost, I was drawn in by the movie scope of the show, the mysteries of the Island, and most of all, the characters. Sayid, Charlie, Claire, Jin, Sun, Hurley, Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Michael, Walt, Locke, Boone, Shannon, and eventually Turniphead - they became part of my, perhaps not everyday, but weekly life. I liked finding out about them little by little. I liked watching them interact. I liked watching them try to figure out how to survive in this crazy place.

Come the second season, they added new characters. I became quite disenchanted with it, due in part to the characters they introduced (though I did like Eko, and had nothing against Bernard), and in part because the episodes were all so similar.

The third season was too focused on the Others. I wanted my Survivors back. I didn't know who the Others were, why they were there, or what they were doing, and they were just plain evil.

Seasons four and five were more focused on the Island. There were more mysteries, more questions, and the search for answers kept me interested. I had to know what was going on. I wanted them to quit leaving me hanging and tell me something for once!

And then came season six. Promising to give me answers, the writers kept me coming back, in spite of the fact that they were frustrating me to no end and making me at times want to give up. It had gotten to be too much. As the finale approached I gave up hope that they would answer everything, and after the third to the last episode (the Jacob one), I gave up hope that they would give me more than a hokey, SyFy-worthy, Black Smoke-filled extravaganza.

But that's not the direction they went. Sure there was some battling on the Island and some 'protect the light' crap. Sure it was predictable enough that I had already figured out who was going to protect the Island in the end and what the last shot would be.

What surprised me was how completely not focused on answering the questions it was. Hardly any of the big questions were answered. And about 3/4 of the way through, I realized I didn't care. They brought my Survivors back.

I liked the way they did it. The flashbacks didn't seem forced, but instead served as a reminder as to why I loved the show in the first place. Charlie and Claire and the peanut butter. Jin and Sun re-falling in love. Kate delivering Aaron. And Hurley and Charlie being best friends. Sadly, they got the Jack/Kate/Sawyer thing wrong, but there was bound to be some major disappointment somewhere.

There was no way the writers were going to please everyone. And from the sound of it they didn't please most people. So I just want to say, that while yes, it could have been better, I'm okay with the way it ended. It ended with what I cared about the most.

Is. 30:18-21

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for Him.
Yea, O people in Zion who dwell at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

Jason Kubel is Again Freakin' Awesome

Mr. Two-out-grand-slam-off-Rivera-to-beat-the-Yankees-in-the-Bronx-and-finally-shut-the-sports-writers-up

Happy Reading is Fun Week?

On Tuesday we had a meeting after work. I brought all my stuff with me to the meeting; my hoodie, my lunchbag, and, unfortunately, my book. Immediately upon my sitting next to one of the girls from the activities department, she noticed it. She always asks me what I'm reading, but when I'm reading things like "Les Miserables" (at work they just roll their eyes at that one: 'again?'), "Quiet Strength," or "Watership Down" (stupid Lost-recommended bunny book), she just says, "Oh, that sounds interesting." But this time, my book was "The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way." She perked up. "Oh! Bill Bryson! I like him! Is it any good?" I said, "Yes. I'm enjoying it immensely. But then, I'm a huge language geek. The history interests me. I guess I don't know what other people would think."
So yes, reading was very fun this past week.
At least for the first part of it.
I had three books checked out from the library this time, and this was the third one. It was due on Friday, but I was only half-way through. So on Thursday I went to the library website to renew it. And couldn't. Because someone had it on hold. I was very much surprised and disappointed. I was so enjoying this book! But it's kind of geeky. Why would anyone think to put it on hold? Oh! Crap.

Happy Reading is Fun Week!