What I’ve Been Watching

Photo by Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash

When it comes to my spare time, I typically choose to read a book rather than watch television at this point in my life. Back before I was married with a kiddo, I had all this extra tv time and I would watch cable from pretty much the moment I got home from work until bedtime.

Of course, nowadays we don’t even HAVE cable television. Instead, we have a few streaming services: Netflix, Amazon, Discovery + and Disney +. Without fail, I watch whatever new Marvel show is on Disney +, but other than that… it’s really sporadic.

All this to say, I’ve been watching a bunch of shows lately! Within the past month or so, I’ve actually binged FIVE different shows, so I thought I’d share my recommendations in case you’re looking for something new to watch.

Show #1: Wednesday, stream it on Netflix

Of course, you’ve heard of Wednesday – it’s currently the number one show streaming on Netflix. I watched the first episode this past Friday on my lunch break, which then turned into binging the entire series over the weekend. Jack joined in on episode three and we finished out the season together (with Travis joining in for the last few episodes too). The premise is that Wednesday from The Addams Family goes to a boarding school and has her adventures. I LOVED the entire show and can’t wait until they announce that they’ll be doing a season two. Jack also very much liked it, but a few parts were a little scary for him (so he hid his eyes behind my arm).

Show #2 Warrior Nun (season 2), stream it on Netflix

Here’s the synopsis: After waking up in a morgue, an orphaned teen discovers she now possesses superpowers as the chosen Halo-Bearer for a secret sect of demon-hunting nuns. Yes, it’s quite out there but if you like a female-led show with some badass fighting, this might be a good fit for you. I watched the first season with my friend Lindsey when it came out back in 2020. I was really excited to see that season two came out in November and I immediately watched the entire show. This is one that I watch alone, as the fighting and demon scenes would be too much for Jack to handle.

Show #3: Upload (season 2), stream it on Amazon

The premise of Upload is that in the future rather than dying, you can upload your consciousness into a virtual afterlife. The first season came out in 2020, the second season launched in March 2022 and it has been renewed for a third season. I really enjoyed the first season when I saw it, but then I totally forgot about the show and figured it hadn’t gotten renewed. I was very pleasantly surprised that the second season was out when I googled it, so I binged those seven episodes within a few days. This one is not appropriate for kids, as I realized a bit too late in the first episode. Oops.

Show #4: Julie & The Phantoms, stream it on Netflix

Yes, this is totally a kid appropriate show. It’s a musical-comedy about a trio of ghosts who come back into the world of the living to make a band with a teenage girl. I know, ridiculous. I watched it when it first came out in 2020 and then again with Jack a couple weeks later. When I had Covid over Thanksgiving, I needed a feel-good show that I could kind of pay half-attention to while I was sick and this one was perfect. And it totally reminded me to add some of the songs to my Spotify playlist. I don’t care if it’s corny, they’re dang catchy! Unfortunately, this show wasn’t renewed for a season 2.

Show #5: Grace & Frankie (season 7), stream it on Netflix

The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as Grace and Frankie, two aging women who form an unlikely friendship after their husbands reveal they are in love with each other and plan to get married. I’ve been watching this show since the beginning, but never got around to finishing the last season. And to be completely honest, as much as I enjoyed the show’s previous seasons, I did skip a few episodes in season 7. The last episode though – the finale – had me in tears. Such a great ending to a super awesome show.

Bonus Movie: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, stream it on Disney +

I love all things Marvel, so as soon as James Gunn posted on his Instagram account that he was making this holiday special, I made a note to hunt it down once it came out. It’s available for streaming on Disney + and it’s super adorable. And the soundtrack is really great too, in fact I added a few holiday songs to my Spotify Holiday Tunes playlist! Travis, myself and Jack all enjoyed this movie and we especially laughed at the random ‘swole’ Groot.

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Clutter Makes Me Feel Squirrely

Photo by Demi-Felicia Vares on Unsplash

I am not a clutter person. If I lived alone, I’d probably have fewer knick-knacks. But even sharing a home with Travis and Jack, I try to keep things mostly organized. Otherwise I get a little twitchy. Yes, things get messy when Jack is in creation mode… but mostly, the house is pretty neat and clean. Or at least we have ‘clutter corners’ where the crap goes to live – like Travis’ area where papers get piled, or Jack’s Lego/creation desk in the kitchen.

With that being said, I tend to get into a super purging mood this time of year. With a big gift-giving holiday coming up, it seems like the perfect time to get rid of some things we may no longer love.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve finally gotten around to filing a towering pile of papers that have been living on top my filing cabinet. Travis and I also tore into the basement, making a big pile to donate and an even bigger pile to go to the dump. I purged through my holiday crap section, finally donating our ragged Christmas tree. Which forced my hand in ordering one that will actually fit the space we have for it.

Next up is clothes. I keep a big bin of clothes in my office closet that I currently have listed on Poshmark. Well, I just finally went through and deleted items that haven’t sold over the past few months. Instead, I added them to a bin to take to a local consignment shop. If I can sell them and get some money back, fantastic. If I can’t… then it’s all getting donated. Either way, I have the space back in my house (and in my head). I also added a new round of things into my Poshmark closet, just to keep things moving around here.

If you needed a little nudge to do some pre-holiday purging, this is it! Some years, I wait until the week around Christmas when Jack and I are both home on a winter break to get my chores done. But this year, I decided I might as well do them early so I could (maybe, possibly) use that time to just relax!

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45

Each year on my birthday, I post an annual birthday picture. I’m a day late this year, but let’s just pretend it’s still September 19.

If you feel like doing a little clicking, here are my previous birthday posts: 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, and 36.

I actually quite like clicking through the previous years as I’m writing each year’s birthday post. It’s a nice look back at the last 9 years. And it’s a great reminder of what hair colors I should stay away from in the future…

And now, I’m 45.

Rather than setting up my tripod around my house to take an annual birthday photo… I just snapped a quick selfie in my car in between errands. So, rather than calling this year’s photo lazy, I’m just going with “authentic.”

Oh, and just for funsies here is my full birthday outfit (photo taken in a Nordstrom Rack dressing room before I got all sweaty trying on 8 pairs of jeans):

I think 45 is going to be a good year.

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