Hello??? Is this thing on?

If I still have any followers out there, would you please go over here and follow me there?  I can't seem to manage two blogs and, since photography has become my obsession, I spend more time over there.  I won't be posting over here any more.  Thanks for following me!

Breaking News!!!

Did I call it or what?!?!?  

It's like a train wreck...

I know I have said it in the past, "I will not watch the Bachelor(ette) ever again," but....it's like a train wreck.  I can't look away.  Why does this show hold me so captive?  Is it the promise that THIS season may just be the one that is different, that works, that leaves all the drama at the door and shows that love really does conquer all, including bad ratings?  I don't know, but...   I . CAN'T . STOP . WATCHING!!!

Now, I have become an addict.  Watching only when Bubba and BoyBoy aren't home.  Hiding it so that they don't ridicule me.  I TiVo and wait patiently until the coast is clear to get my fix.  I situate myself on the sofa, iced tea on one side, telephone on the other, remote in hand so that I can rewind the good parts.  I savor every second from the silly things the guys do to get Ali's attention, to the amount of bourbon these men consume in one night, to the number of guys she kisses in each episode.  If something is particularly juicy, rewind!  If I don't hear the sweet nothings being whispered, rewind!  If there is an especially nice set of abs, rewind and pause!  Is there a 12-step program for this?

I am taking this season with a grain of salt, for what it is:  A fame hungry woman thrown into fantastical scenarios with 25 fame hungry men.  Most are there for their 15 minutes of fame while some are there to satisfy their stalkerish tendencies.  I sometimes find it creepy that most of the men know everything about her before they meet her and she knows nothing about them.  Favorite color - yellow, check.  Originally from Massachusetts, check.  Left last season to go back to her job at Facebook, check.  Afraid of flying, check.  Kind of creepy...

I am a little surprised at the level of male drama this season so far (two episodes in? wow!)  The Weatherman "little Napoleon" and the Canadian Craig were just going at it and I think they both need to go.  Ali got rid of the Canadian and now she needs to get rid of Napoleon.  My early favorite is Roberto although I think her attraction at this point is purely physical.

So, take it for what it's worth...pure, brainless, empty entertainment.  I'll be watching...on TiVo, of course.

Never Say Never Again

New post up over at my photography blog...check it out!

Shutter Girl Photography

LOST ? ?

I am a diehard Lost fan and have been watching since the beginning.  I have needed a few days to process the finale and have scoured the message boards for answers to questions and never found the one that left me completely satisfied until I found this one:





It seems some people are having a hard time abiding by Lost's final message: Let go and move on.
And by "some people," I mean not only diehard fans—like, ahem, moi—but also casual viewers and people who tuned in for the very first time on Sunday night to see what Lost was all about. (Bat-poop crazy, but yes, they really did!)
I'm still getting bombarded by questions about the Lost finale, so if you, or any of your non-Lost-worshipping friends are still struggling to comprehend, here is a stripped-down guide to what Lost is all about (according to this here idiot)...
There is an island. It really exists, and the people on it do too.
At the heart of this island is a "Light."
This Light is the good place you go to after you die where you get to reconnect with your loved ones in the afterlife. You can call it heaven, Nirvana, or whatever you like. It's the most beautiful place you will ever see.
If the Light on the island goes out, you don't get to be with your loved ones when you die. They simply "cease to exist." And that is a very bad thing.
The Light on the island is so beautiful and powerful, that men will always try to get at it, study it and harness it--including most recently, a group of scientists called the Dharma Initiative who inhabited the island for many decades. They could never fully understand the island because they were men of science, not men of faith.
To make sure the Light isn't destroyed by men like these, the island needs a Protector. (The Egyptians tried to build a giant Protector statue on the island, but it was reduced to a four-toed foot when a giant slave ship called the Black Rock hit it.)

ABC/MARIO PEREZ

The first Protector we met, Jacob, was sweet but a total dumbass who did exactly what his mother told him not to, and threw his brother Samuel (also called the Man in Black) into the Light. Samuel faced a fate "worse than death" (as his mother foretold), and became what Lost fans call "the Smoke Monster." If this evil entity were to leave or destroy the island, all the evil would escape out into the world, and the Light/heaven would be no more.
Jacob needed to make sure that he had a successor, to prevent this from ever happening. There were no pure souls or babies on the island (because of  electromagnetic fallout from the "incident" in 1977 that caused fertility issues). So Jacob selected "candidates" away from the island, went out into the world to meet them, touched them (so the Monster couldn't kill them), and then brought them to the island by way of plane crash. (The Protector can also change the weather, sometimes subconciously, to make stuff like that happen--which is probably why the Dharma initiative also studied weather there--but Jacob didn't do so in this case.)
Jack Shephard was on that plane that came to the island. Oceanic 815. So were a lot of other really cool people who happened to look like TV stars: Sawyer, Kate, Sun, Jin, Sayid and Hurley. They crashed on the island, and they were alive.
They were Jacob's "candidates." It was their destiny to come to the island.
It was Jack's destiny to kill the Smoke Monster and save the island. And he spent six seasons trying to figure it out.
In the meantime, the Smoke Monster was running around terrorizing/killing everyone, taking the form of dead people (he can do that) and manipulating a longtime island dweller, Ben, into doing his bidding. The Monster ultimately tricked Ben into killing Locke (a "candidate") and Jacob. The Monster took the form of Locke.
And the island needed a new Protector.

ABC/Mario Perez

In the final season, we saw what appeared to be an alternate reality in which the passengers of Oceanic 815—including Jack Shephard—landed safely in Los Angeles, as if the plane had never crashed on the island. They basically spent the entire sixth season in this place trying to "let go" of their life's biggest regrets/issues. (Ben's guilt over killing his daughter Alex, Locke's crippling problems with his father, Jin and Sun's guilt over abandoning their daughter and not knowing if she's OK, Hurley's guilt over his money doing evil things, Sayid's desire to save Shannon/Nadia, Claire's guilt over planning to give away her baby, Jack's desire to forgive his father and break the cycle by becoming a good father himself, etc...)
In the finale, we learned that this place (in which the flight landed safely) was a passageway from death into the Light/heaven. The characters we saw there had all died in different times in different places, and they met up in this place (where time is irrelevant) to work out their remaining regrets, reconnect with their loved ones, and move on to the Light together.
After Jack sacrificed himself to save the island,  they all crossed over to the Light and lived blissfully ever after.
They lived together. And they did not die alone.

Here is the link to her site:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b183078_idiots_guide_lost.html


She is a great source of all things Lost.  


Ok, Losties, what did you think of the finale?  Satisfied?  Confused more?  Angry?  Did you cry like a baby like I did?  Throw the remote at the TV?

Chicks Cruisin' for a Cause

This past weekend, my three best friends and I went on a 3-night Bahamian Cruise.  We have been planning this since the fall and have needed the girl time for a while.  We haven't been all together, just the girls, since we were all in Germany together back in 2007.  We are a diverse bunch...there is 10 years age span between us - the youngest is 35 and the oldest is 45.  We have a nurse practitioner, an Army Community Service Soldier Support professional, a photographer, and a NICU nurse.  We are originally from Boston, Chicago, Albany, Georgia and Hampton Roads, Virginia and we now live in Alabama, Florida and Virginia.  Three of our husbands are in the same Army branch and the other is a stay-at-home dad.  Our children range in age from 22 to 5 years old.  And yet we have formed a bond that transcends all these differences.  We know that at the drop of a hat, any one of us would come to the aid of a sister in need, without question and without hesitation.  We came together last Thursday night and it was as if we just saw each other yesterday.  We picked up with out a breath and we didn't stop laughing, crying, drinking, and smiling until we pulled into port on Monday.  We also contributed to a great cause and raised money for a deserving charity in Florida as well as an orphanage in Nassau.  Can't wait for the next one~!

Here are the tamer photos that I can share...you know, what happens on the ship, stays on the ship!

The Fearsome Foursome

Parasailing!!!

Oprah's House!!!

I was all about conquering fears on this cruise!

Do I Make You Proud?

I am always fascinated by the immense learning power of animals.  Service dogs in particular.  I know my Melly is smart and with the proper training she has learned to stay off of the furniture, not beg at the table, and stay inside her invisible fence.  I have failed at training her not to be afraid of thunderstorms, not to bark at a random leaf floating down the sidewalk and not to always establish her dominance when around other dogs.  I know that someone with experience who knows what they are doing could probably do wonders with her.  

My sister, Aunt S, forwarded this video to me.  While I am amazed at what this special dog has accomplished, I am also comforted by the fact that even experienced dog trainers have to admit defeat and succumb to the animals instinct.  Maybe I didn't fail.  Maybe Melly's barking has kept away an intruder, maybe her dominance has thwarted another dog from attacking BoyBoy, maybe she has warned me of a coming storm so that I can roll the windows up in my car.  She is special and unique and I love her...so what if she can't surf!

Pass the kleenex

Last night while watching The Biggest Loser, which is normally a very uplifting and inspiring show, I broke down.  You see, a man on the show had a bad week, some might say an awful, terrible, sucky week.  First, he fell during a challenge and re injured his knee which had hindered his progress in the past.  Then, because he fell, he came in last and was given a disadvantage at the weigh-in.  Finally, when he didn't think his week could get any worse, he was notified that his brother had passed away from cancer.  His pain and grief were substantial and he went after his workouts as if he were possessed.  At the end of a particularly strenuous exercise, he lost his sh*t.  He started beating the machine, yelling and crying.  Jillian comforted him and they took a walk outside for him to clear his head and get out his rage.  I broke down.  Lost it...went straight to the ugly cry.

Seven years ago, Bubba lost his brother.  Way before his time.  Thirty three years old.  Married six months.  Getting ready to start his family.  Just gotten on his feet after years of wandering and wondering.  Found his place in the world.  Then he died.  Suddenly.  Of appendicitis.  I know.  No one dies of appendicitis, right?  But he did.  After fighting for his life for 30 days, finally his body just gave out.  It was devastating.  He was full of life, loved to laugh, cook, tease, create, had an immense imagination and a thousand crazy ideas.  He was the best man at our wedding and he painted stars on the ceiling of the nursery for BoyBoy.  He was the brother I never had.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him.  Bubba and I have often talked about how we truly believe that J's soul has found a home in BoyBoy.  They share the same imagination, the same inventiveness, the same love of all things Star Wars.  They have the same sense of humor, quick wit, and flair for the dramatic.  It seems to be J's little way of telling us that he is sharing BoyBoy with us, watching over him, watching him grow.  He loved BoyBoy as if he were his own and he knew that they had a connection from the beginning.

It made it painfully obvious to me last night that there are some changes that I need to make in my life.  Forgiveness, acceptance, honesty, redemption all need to come front and center.  No regrets.  When something bothers me, I will speak up.  When someone hurts me, I will tell them.  When I love someone, they will know it.  I will listen more, talk less (ha ha ha).  I will make a bucket list and try to cross off everything on it.  We are not promised tomorrow and should live everyday as if it were our last because,one day, we will be right.

An epiphany of sorts?  Maybe.  Midlife crisis?  I hope not.  A new beginning?  Definitely.

How to recharge...beach version

This past weekend, the Cheeze's took a little trip to recharge our batteries after this long and crazy winter.

Ahh....bring on the Spring!

The Final Rose

To recap the finale of this season's Bachelor one must first put on their dunce caps...

Because, ladies and gentlemen, that is what Jake is...a dummy, an idiot, a moron, a dimwit, a fool.

He chose Vienna and with that choice he enters into the running for the soon to be shortest bachelor courtship/breakup/media circus to date.

Why do I say that?

He's going to be on Dancing with the Stars.

Wha?

From the start, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  He wasn't one of those fame whoring wanna-bees.  He really was a nice guy who wanted to find his soulmate in this unconventional way.   He was going to chose based on character and morals and prove to the world once and for all that the Bachelor is the best way to find true love!  But, Dancing with the Stars?

Give me a break.

Its all for the publicity and notoriety.  And I fell for it.

He chose Vienna, the spoiled rotten, can't get along with the other girls, hot tamale who makes his little Jake sit up and take notice but has more air between her ears than the Grand Canyon.  

He kicked sweet as sugar, perfect in every way, Tenley to the curb, because something just didn't feel right.  Poor girl...she showed more class, poise and maturity in the two minutes after he dumped her than Vienna would be able to show in 72 lifetimes!

Whatever, Jake.  Best of luck with your "relationship."  I predict that she will dump you shortly after you are kicked off DWTS and she will empty your bank account to pay for her nose job.

Oh, and Ali as the next Bachelorette?  I thought she left the Bachelor because she couldn't get time off work.  Whatever, they are all fame whores.

Sorry, ABC, you've lost me.