Tag Archives: American TV Drama

Feb17

For all the nosy blog readers – a life of BK update!

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For all the nosy blog readers – a life of BK update!

And by nosy, I mean curious and wondering just like I am about the bloggers whose blogs I follow! ;)

Tee hee.

Well, first of all. The builders. A few people have been asking why we have builders (having read some tweets or facebook statuses which have occurred – like when one of them came and started banging, I assume to demolish something at 7.15 a.m. when it was still pitch dark; or the day off I had where they were drilling all day long and I wished I’d been at work instead!). Actually our builders are pretty decent blokes, and we get on fine with them. They also think it’s funny that I teach sex ed classes in high schools and when they found that out would point to some of the younger guys and say ‘You need to tell him about all that stuff, aye, he needs those lessons. He needs some of your pregnancy counselling too!‘

They also tried to wind me up (after I pulled them up about the 7.15 a.m. start!) saying they were coming on a Saturday morning to get a delivery of cement at 5 a.m.

They just laughed when I raised my eyebrows and said ‘Aye right!‘ (which is a Scots sarcastic version of ‘Oh no you won’t!’ or ‘I don’t believe you’). Anyway, we’re almost a month in and this is the view from my old bedroom:

I’m now in the other attic bedroom (which used to be for my brothers). The room my brothers now stay in has our freezer, tumble dryer, and a shower door, sink and toilet waiting to be installed at some point during the build. The contents of our dining room and hall are in my old room, and our fridges are in the hall.

Confused? Me too.

I got a fringe. Already it’s doing strange things. I have a ‘cow’s lick’ which means my hair does part very well and curls on one side.

Work is crazy busy at the moment. At the beginning of the week I was feeling more stressed than I have done for a very long time. I wasn’t sleeping, I was waking up feeling panicked and I felt completely on edge 100% of the time. Despite having loads to do, I took the whole of yesterday off (having done my hours for the week) and feel much better for it. I’m also considering creating some kind of ‘Don’t drink and have sex‘ campaign for next Christmas. Seriously, alcohol really does up the chances of contraception failure.

Powerpoint was awesome. My new earphones worked a treat. I kept having to push my right ear back in so it wouldn’t fall out and get tangled in my hair though. I was most amused when I got tagged in this photo from the event…caught in the act! I also got asked to join the worship team at my new church this past weekend. It was very different from I was used to, and knew hardly any of the songs so it made it a bit challenging, but the folks in the band were really friendly. I’m finally getting to know people a bit better now, and it’s a lot more like my church in Aberdeen apart from Sunday services are very different from what I’m used to.

With Valentine’s Day having been this week, we’d been working on a fundraising project with the Guides called ‘Bake A Little Love‘ to raise funds for Scottish Love in Action. Our Guides have spent the last month making Valentine’s Cards, making yoghurt pots into baskets filled with chocolates and decorating jars to fill with sweets, decorating biscuits and us leaders made some Valentine cupcakes. We had a few stalls after the morning service at our local church (where we meet) and raised £100 in an hour. Amazing! We pretty much sold out all our stalls!

I can’t remember if I mentioned before but on 16th January, I received my application form to join the GirlGuiding Association as an official member so I can start my leadership training to become a qualified Guider. Thought that was quite funny given what the blog post I had written on that day. :)

I had a few social things planned this week and one by one they seemed to go to pot as people got sick. However, I’m glad that one social event was able to happen as my lovely friend Ruth was up in the beautiful burgh and so we had a wee tweet up with our friend Lynn. After a meal, we went to the Dome (a very posh venue in Edinburgh) for a drink, I tried to take a pic of us all on Lynn’s phone and this was the result:

Not showing the best of my photography skills there, but oh well. We had a lovely night catching up. The only sad thing was that we didn’t spot any celebrities this time. It is hard to top meeting Alf though.

And so there we have it. Attempt number 3 at going to see The Descendants shall be made next week. I also really want to see the Muppets Movie. I think sadly I’ve missed my chance to see J.Edgar.

I’m also happy that NCIS has FINALLY made a return to Channel 5, wondering where The Mentalist has gone (it was on for 4 weeks, and then disappeared) and while waiting for those bought the first season of White Collar on DVD after a recommendation by my friend Anthony. I’m now waiting for season 2 to make it on to DVD here (sigh).

So that my bloggy friends is what has been going on in the life of the brunette koala. :)

What has been going on in your life?

Jan24

The train is getting ready to leave the station

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The train is getting ready to leave the station

When I went back to work yesterday, it felt like going back for the first time in a new year. I think because my first few weeks have been so bitty, and really it’s all been very weird with the anticipation of funeral and building work.

Sunday I went back to church for the first time in about 2 months. In the afternoon, my Mum thought I looked ill (is this what church services do to me?!) so spent the afternoon snoozing and watching Without A Trace. Muffins and smoothie were made and I felt ready for the new week.

My alarm clock was the sound of a skip and builders arriving and knocking down the conservatory. Building work has indeed begun!

It has to be said that the difference drinking water, back on my fruit smoothies and back in the gym with my friend each week is huge! I feel so much better for it, and I’m pretty sure the days slowly getting longer is helping a lot too. It’s also nice to be in work with the knowledge that (God willing) I’m there every week for a while so I can get some momentum back into my work and planning. I feel like things are moving forward…it’s like I’ve been sitting on a train that isn’t moving out of the station for the last 4 years, and now…the train maybe finally leaving to reach it’s destination!

Here’s hoping anyway. :)

Meanwhile, I’ve learned that NCIS: Los Angeles is my American TV Drama of choice during periods of grief or high family drama. My life is so boring compared to the undercover special ops team in LA who get shot at about 50 times a week fighting terrorists all the time. And I doubt I’ll ever have a life so ornate or colourful as Henrietta Lange‘s… (I do love Hetty…!)

 

Nov4

Confessional

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Confessional

So I have something to confess. A couple of weeks ago, I had a free house which meant…I had a sofa and a TV to watch (yes, these are rare luxuries for me!) and I saw an advert for a new show coming to E4 while I was watching Friends (and eating my tea). The show looked super cheesy and teeny bopper, but the fact that it was based in the world of gymnastics drew me in…

…and so I went searching for Make It or Break It. Over a few weeks I’ve watched like every single episode. And I’m hooked.

A few reasons why it drew me in.

1) Emily Kmetko…she’s the underdog, the girl from the ‘dodgy’ background trying to prove her worth & that she deserves to belong. She comes from a single parent family, and her brother is her half brother. I can relate to that a little! When I got into my dancing, I also had to work (in a hairdresser & babysitting) to pay for my extra classes – my Mum paid for my main Modern class, my Dad paid for my Saturday ballet class & later my tap class. But my Tuesday, Friday & Sunday classes in Modern, Ballet & Pointe were all paid for by me.

2) The whole idea of being a team – that you can’t get far on your own, even in an ‘individual sport’. You need the support & encouragement of your teammates. It reminds me of life in general. I have my own journey, but as written on the wall of Seed of Hope: Alone we can do little, together we can do much.

3) I think I’ve fallen in love with the Keeler family. What an example of parenting and marriage – I like that they do argue or disagree, but find a way to work through it. Plus I did always like Ros in Frasier.

4) Leadership – there is so much about what it means to be a leader. Their coach so often challenges them about what this means, the responsibility that is involved. Humility. Leading by example. Encouraging one another. Trust.

5) Let’s face it. Who wouldn’t want a Damon Young? I wonder if the dude can surf?

6) I love gymnastics. I wish I had that talent and discipline. Wow.

 

Feb20

Mindless resting

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Mindless resting

**A wee update on Eva – She seems to be doing better rather than worse. From her posts, she is counting each morning she wakes up a gift, making sure she tells everyone how much she loves them before bed in case she doesn’t wake up. But I tentatively suggest our prayers for a miracle are perhaps being answered. She is still on the transplant list & I’m still hoping & praying for a 2nd miracle for Eva. **

So I have the day off today! Hurrah! It’s now a rare thing for me to have a Saturday off so I really really really appreciate them more than I ever have done before.

Realising that ‘the lurgy’ brought me down the other week (and according to my Mum I still look ill…thanks so much for that encouragement Mum…love you too :P ) my e-mails are not getting checked. I’m in my comfy clothes. I’m enjoying having my Mum’s cousin (my second cousin) up from Southampton for the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing friends tonight. Some of the HUGE pile of washing is currently soaping and spinning in the washing machine. My iPod is in its speakers (gotta love ‘hand me ups’ from my lil sis!) and I’m about to start an afternoon of baking cupcakes.

For my Mum, Alison and birthday girl, BringontheJoy

The sun is shining outside.

The frost is sparkling on the pavements and the grass. And thick on Cassie the Corsa.

I had a lovely night with my Mum, Auntie, Alison and my one maternal cousin, Mandie last night eating dinner at Room in the Town (another rare treat!!)

And I’m loving that some of my ‘new’ favourite American TV Dramas are back!

I’ve also discovered a new one which I’ve been watching on 4oD called The Good Wife. The main character, Alicia is played by Julianna Marguilies which was the main reason I checked it out. I think she’s a fab actress and I loved her as Nurse Carol Hathaway in ER! But watching it I discovered other familiar faces – Knox Overstreet from Dead Poet’s Society, Grams from Dawson’s Creek (aww, I loved Grams) Parminder Nagra’s ‘sister’ in Bend It Like Beckham, Logan Huntzburger from Gilmore Girls & Mary-Ann from Cybill.

Plus The Mentalist made it’s return last night for season 2. Took me ages to work out who the new agent is….Sara Johnson’s Dad in Save The Last Dance.

Anyway, I’m off to do a new cupcake experiment involving nutella. :)

Apr26

Follow

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Follow

HT: Sunday Scribblings

I seem to do a lot of following these days…

I mean there’s the obvious ‘following Jesus‘. Or maybe not so obvious, because to be honest I’m not very much like Jesus at all despite my attempts to love more like He does. It’s a learning process, and you know what they say, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. 

I know I’m a hypocrite when it comes to my faith and beliefs – my actions don’t always match up with my beliefs. I’m really sorry about that, but my aim is to love like Jesus loves. His love for people crossed so many boundaries and was just simply awe inspiring. Check out the gospels (bible books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) for more details!

And there is Bloglines. I follow about 80 blogs through Bloglines. Most of these you can find on my blogroll on the right…(that is the right, yeah? I’m not so good with right/left thing).

 Twitter has kept me sane in the last few months. I struggle not to hide from people or become introverted and Twitter has been great for sending out ‘emergency prayer requests’ (some more serious than others) but also there are a number of people whose blogs and twitter feeds I follow that I really do pray for.

I love to pray for people. 

You may think that is really strange, but I actually love praying. I do it either by writing in my journal, or on my hand. I pray for people in my car, which is probably my main prayer space. I love to set up rooms dedicated to prayer, there’s something so special and a peace and atmosphere that’s so very tangible when you walk into a room. In every place I lived in Aberdeen I had a ‘God wall’ that would have bible verses, names or photographs of people that would prompt me to pray for them.

And yes, I converse with people on Twitter, because I’m pretty isolated a lot of the time. And I do use it to vent. A lot. 

But there are other things I follow too…

I follow several American TV Drama programmes. I love entering a world that is not mine where things are more dramatic. It really does make me feel slightly less crazy! It’s also helped to build relationships with friends who share similar tastes in TV. One of my close friends in Aberdeen and I still text and call each other every week there’s a new episode of One Tree Hill. My friend Kathy is in the USA at the moment and she’s keeping a look out for some of the Gilmore Girls DVDs I can’t find in the UK. Kathy, Duncan and I try to catch NCIS on Friday nights (I’m a repeat offender at missing them usually because of youth work commitments). And my friend Doug, his Mum and I are mad on Bones and Grey’s Anatomy.

I also got into ER while I was trying to get over my fear of puke.

Ha!

One thing I’ve never really done though, is follow my friends. I’m kind of used to kicking it on my own. When I was in Brownies, most of my friends never made it up to Guides, but I stuck it out and ended up making new friends. When I did all my dancing, friends sometimes came with me, but would eventually get bored and quit. I stayed, and again made new friends. I never really had friends in school, because to be honest, I didn’t have a great deal in common with my classmates until we got older.

I’ve also realised that not only do I follow people, but people sort of follow me. My younger siblings certainly used to (can’t say if they still do) look up to me as a role model or example. They knew they could rely on big sister to sort things out, be really embarrassing so that they look cool in comparison or give them honest advice on things. What I think matters to them, and I know this because my sister would be nervous and always want to know what I thought about most of the important relationships (friends or otherwise) in her life. 

Similarly, I’m a mentor and i’m a leader in my workplace. People look to me as an example and in some ways, it’s down to me to set the tone.

Oh yeah, and some of you people actually follow me on Twitter, Facebook or my blog too. Hope that’s not too disappointing for you!

So there we are…the things I follow…

And yes, I follow the laws of the land too. Possibly the only exceptions being that I sometimes, uh, bend the rules of the highway code every now and again.

Shameful, I know. 

I’ll try and do better. :)