100% Natural Prego: It's In There

So, I assume everyone knows by now, but just in case you don't, I'm pregnant! Yay for making people! There, now everyone knows for sure. I have already decided that the fastest way to keep everyone up to date on all the fascinating details of my pregnant time, is to pass all the info onto Mom Laws and Mom Betts and sit back and relax as it trickles on down the chain. The second fastest way is to blog about it, therefore, I have settled on a mixture of the two. Therefore, here I am.

For the past week, I have been experiencing incredibly uncomfortable morning sickness all day long. Ugh. And it's especially hard because no one I've talked to really went through bad morning sickness when they were pregnant, so I'm feeling very picked on. Up until the day before yesterday, I'd only been able to eat saltines, very bland cereals, and soup. Finally, I found my cure for morning sickness, which Justin will buy for me on demand. It always sounds good, it always smells good, and it's nice to my tummy. This glorious invention is "Lay's Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips." (many tiny angels singing praises)

Thank goodness it wasn't hot dogs. Ew, just the thought of hot dogs...gag me...

In other news, I have my first doctor's appointment on Tuesday at 3:30, so there will be another update soon to come, whether you like it or not! ha ha! No, that wasn't evil laughter, what are you saying?

Lie To Me

I don't know if you all have heard of this show "Lie to Me" or not, staring Tim Roth. I do know that you're probably all sick of me telling you about all these T.V. shows that I watch and love and think are the best thing ever. Yes, I do get unusually enthusiastic about fictional shows on T.V. and yes, maybe it's wrong. But if it is, I don't want to be right!

If you all are going to listen to any of my T.V. recommendations, I would recommend listening to this one. The first season of "Lie to Me" was just released on DVD so you can get it on Netflix or at Hollywood Video if you're interested. Tim Roth plays a scientist who has spent years discovering and studying what he calls "microexpressions." These are tiny facial expressions that are universal in all human beings regardless of race, upbringing, culture, etc. He claims that when any person is about to commit an act of violence, they will all have the same expression on their faces. It's pretty interesting. He has a company called The Lightman Group and they are hired by the police, the Mayor, the FBI, etc. to help solve cases by interviewing the people involved and determining whether they are lying or not, only by studying their faces. It is fascinating.

He points out how he knows that someone is lying, and what's really fun is then it shows pictures of well-known people in the media (celebrities, politicians, etc.) doing the exact same behavior. There have been pictures of Pres. Obama, Michele Obama, Sarah Palin, John McCain, Pres. Clinton, Pres. Nixon, and Condoleezza Rice. That's only to name a few. I think we all know that politicains lie a lot, but it's kind of empowering to actually see the proof. Anyway, if this sounds interesting, please watch this show and let me know what you think.

Something that really bothers me

Do you know what just absolutely drives me insane? The word "hero." I am so tired of this word, that if I hear it again, I just might do something that could result in somebody else having to become a hero to save somebody else. Everybody is a hero. Do people know what a hero is? A plain will crash into the hudson river and people that survived will be called hero's. What?! Are you freaking kidding me?! Those people are victims, not hero's. They didn't do anything heroic. They crashed in their plane! Give me a break. And don't even get me started on fire fighters. It's a highly unpopular opinion, but these dudes are not hero's either. They get paid to do a job they signed themselves up to do. Brave, Yes. Courageous, Yes. Hero, butt freaking no. How? They are getting paid to their job! Now if somebody is just walking down the street and there is a house on fire and there is somebody inside, and this person runs into the burning building and saves everybody inside, and they had no formal training or equipment. Stupid, yeah probably. But hero? Yes. That person is a hero. Not somebody who crashed or somebody getting paid or somebody whose child won the spelling bee. Give me a break.

Great News

My sister, Amelia, and her husband, Brent, had their first little baby girl! Tylie Ann Duke was born August 20th at 12:21 a.m. She was 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Everyone's healthy. Congratulations Duke family, we're so excited for you!

Fun News

I thought this would be the fastest way to tell everyone that my best friend, Crystalle, had her first baby yesterday. They didn't know what it was going to be, they wanted it to be a surprise. They did a home birth, with a midwife, and Crystalle said she's tired and sore, but good. They had a girl and they named her Toryn Chenoa Ankiewicz. She was 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and 21 inches long. Congratulations Crystalle and husband Joe!

The Answers

A week ago, I asked all of you to name the shows that all my favorite T.V. characters come from. Good job, by the way! Here are all the answers: (The ones in red are the ones that nobody could name.)

1. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother
2. Bill Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks
3. Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords
4. Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
5. Burton Guster from Psych
6. Caroline "Echo" Farrell from Dollhouse
7. Chandler Bing from Friends
8. Charlie Pace from Lost
9. Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld
10. Dexter Morgan from Dexter
11. Gir from Invader Zim
12. Gob from Arrested Development
13. Grace Hanadarko from Saving Grace
14. Hiro Nakamura from Heroes
15. Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords
16. Jim Halpert from The Office
17. Kim Day from Kath and Kim
18. Leonard Hofstadter from The Big Bang Theory
19. Lex Luthor from Smallville
20. Lily Aldrin from How I Met Your Mother
21. Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls
22. Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls
23. Malcom Reynolds from Firefly
24. Marshall Erikson from How I Met Your Mother
25. Michael Scott from The Office
26. Michael Westen from Burn Notice
27. Nancy Botwin from Weeds
28. Pam Beesley from The Office
29. Peter Petrelli from Heroes
30. Seeley Booth from Bones
31. Shaun Spencer from Psych
32. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory
33. Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender
34. Temperance Brennan from Bones
35. Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars

There you go! Soon to come: My Least Favorite T.V. Characters, The Best T.V. Villains, and T.V. Characters You Love To Hate. (Maybe.)

Sharky Shark Shark

I am not one to get all excited by the majority of the crap that's on primetime television, because the majority of it is absolute crap. How all that junk even stays on tv is beyond my realm of comprehension. However, last night was the start of this new show called 'Shark Tank.' The premise is that there are five self made millionaires/billionaires that sit behind this desk and listen to pitches and investment opportunities from people. The pitch people come in with an offer already on the table. For example they are starting up a pie business and they offer these five people 10% equity in their company in exchange for $250,000. Make sense? Anyway, this show is awesome. I love the business talk, and the numbers. I love watching them talk about equity, and investments, and offers and counteroffers.....I love it. It's fantastic.

There was this guy last night that has built a successful pie shop all on his own. He has two locations, netted 20% of his $800,000 revenue (personally), and is on the verge of signing a contract to put his pies into McDonald's. He owns 100% of his company. Anyway, last night he walked in wanting to be able to build a factory so he can more efficiently send out pies. He wanted more ovens and better equipment and all of this other stuff. He was asking for 250,000 and in return would give one of them 10% share in his company. I watched this guy take an offer from the greedy retard judge. He got his 250,000, but he had to give him 50% of his company in return. And he did it!!! I almost hit the ceiling. I was thinking the dude should just walk, but now this greedy horrible man owns half of his company. Ugh. I love this show.

So You Think You Can Ride The Bus

(I think it's laughing at me.)

I don't know if everyone has heard, but our car finally won the war. We have been fighting it for months and months. Constant battle. I was benched quite awhile ago, unable to withstand the physical and mental damage caused by going up against this 2000 Oldsmobile Alero. Justin was bravely hanging in there for the both of us, but alas, it wore him down until the will to continue fighting wained under the pressure. We can no longer...go on this way.

Are we defeated? Yes! Are we beat? Yes! Are we bloody, pulpy versions of our former glorious selves? Yes, I cry, yes!

So, we had a dilemma today. Payday was yesterday, and we had no way to deposit the necessary money into our bank account. Bills are calling. Public transportation isn't anyone's first choice to get around but, desperate times! We have a bus stop very near our apartment, so we headed out this afternoon. So...you think maybe you can ride the bus? Let me just advise against it in Cedar City, especially if you get motion sick like I do. Here is why:

Cedar City is spread out.
Cedar City is bumpy.
Cedar City is boring.
Cedar City bus drivers are maniacs.

On our ride through spread-out Cedar City, we visited areas that we have never even heard of. We rode that bus for an hour, and that was including getting off earlier than our stop. Combine a long ride, with the bumpiness of Cedar City, and the bus driver driving very aggressively, and you have the perfect witch's brew for a motion sickness carnival in my stomach. ugh. I don't really need to elaborate on Cedar City being boring, right? I guess this is my very long-winded way of saying that I will never ride the Cedar City bus again. Our car is going down at Bradshaw Chevrolet on Monday. We will take no prisoners.

My Guiltiest Pleasure Ever

I have recently decided that "Big Brother" is my guiltiest pleasure ever. I'm a little embarrassed even writing this, to be honest. I take comfort in the fact that "Big Brother" is also Justin's guiltiest pleasure. Hmm...I hope he's okay with me blurting that out.

For those of you who don't know, "Big Brother" is on CBS 3 times a week. Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. I predict that one day it will be on every single day of the week. I have become so addicted to this show, in such a short period of time, that last night I missed the first hour of the "So You Think You Can Dance" finale because "Big Brother" was on, too. So I guess I shouldn't be complaining about how they drag "So You Think You Can Dance" out to 2 hours.

"Big Brother" is my guiltiest pleasure because I have this feeling deep down that I shouldn't enjoy it, but I do, and I can't exactly explain why. I don't like any of the people in the Big Brother house. Most of them are scumbags. You have the cocky people who think they are so much smarter than everyone else that they can control the entire game, manipulate everyone to do what they want, and lie to everyone and no one will know. You have the wussy people who connect themselves to strong players, who never have to exhert any energy or win any competitions. Sometimes there are nice, honest people. They usually get voted out within the first couple weeks.

I just found out what it is! The reason I like "Big Brother" is because you really dislike all the people in the house, and then you get to watch them do all these ridiculous things. They are forced to eat "Slop" and they are forced to wear these pink spandex jumpsuits and swing on ropes into a huge pile of mud... it's like watching everyone you hated in high school being submitted to weeks and weeks of extreme embarrassment. It's glorious.

Can You Guess?

As you all know, I love watching TV shows from beginning to end. I think it's because if there are characters that I love, or a story that's very intriguing, I like investing more time and I like seeing it play out in more detail. Sometimes, movies are too limiting for me. I know, I'm a nerd!

So, I was going to write a post called "My Top 5 Favorite TV Characters" but I couldn't narrow down my list! So, instead, I'm going to put up a HUGE list of my favorite TV characters (because there are a LOT) and I think it would be fun for everyone to try and guess what show they come from! So, if you know any of them, be the first one to put the answer in the comments! Some are pretty popular, and therefore easy, while others are slightly obscure and a bit harder. Oh! And, PLEASE PLEASE don't cheat by googling these characters, that ruins the fun! I think there is at least one person who reads this blog that knows all these characters.

If you think someone guessed wrong, you can correct them.
There can be multiple characters from one show.
Make sure to include what you're answering with your answer in your comment.

Without further ado, in alphabetical order:

1. Barney Stinson
2. Bill Haverchuck
3. Bret McKenzie
4. Buffy Summers
5. Burton Guster
6. Caroline "Echo" Farrell
7. Chandler Bing
8. Charlie Pace
9. Cosmo Kramer
10. Dexter Morgan
11. Gir
12. Gob
13. Grace Hanadarko
14. Hiro Nakamura
15. Jemaine Clement
16. Jim Halpert
17. Kim Day
18. Leonard Hofstadter
19. Lex Luthor
20. Lily Aldrin
21. Lorelai Gilmore
22. Luke Danes
23. Malcom Reynolds
24. Marshall Erikson
25. Michael Scott
26. Michael Westen
27. Nancy Botwin
28. Pam Beesley
29. Peter Petrelli
30. Seeley Booth
31. Shaun Spencer
32. Sheldon Cooper
33. Sokka
34. Temperance Brennan
35. Veronica Mars

There are probably more that I'm not thinking of, but I think this list is long enough. Guess away!

So You Think You Can Dance

So, as you've already heard, I love So You Think You Can Dance. I'm addicted, and will continue to watch it as long as it's on TV, probably. But, here are a couple things that just bug the crap out of me.

1. As already stated once before, Mary Murphey. This lady is annoying, I think most people would agree. Fellow judge Nigel Lithgoe would even agree with me, I think. But, there are two things that are especially bugging me lately. First, her Paula Abdul-esque judging style. Almost every single performance is just the best thing ever for her. She doesn't often have constructive criticism. Mostly, it's just which volume of screeching you get with her. (Loud=good, Louder=awesome, Loudest=freaking incredible). This brings me to the second thing. The screeching...I swear, sometimes, only dogs can hear her. It's like I'm watching her wide-open mouth, and I know something bad is happening to my eardrums, but I just can't hear what.

2. The editing team. The way this show is cut together is erratic at best, dizzying in the middle, and completely frustrating at worst. They show the routines in such a way that I KNOW they were not meant to be seen. There are so many camera angles. They're zooming in super close one minute, they're a mile away the next. Suddenly we're behind the stage, and then we're to the side of it. It's nuts! And I swear, tonight every single time a new routine started, we were seeing it from the middle of the audience. I watch it on TV so that I don't have to be squinting from the nosebleed seats.

3. The fact that they drag out every show for way longer than it should be. Like tonight, for example, dragging it out to 2 hours. They had one dance routine in between commercials. Ridiculous!

Now, originally, when I started watching this show, I would have included host Cat Deeley on this list. But, surprisingly enough, I've found that she's kinda grown on me. She seems pretty genuine, as far as hosts go. And, sometimes she says random, embarassing, funny things. It keeps it lively.

Missing Lunchable Awesomeness

What has happened to lunchables? Don't get me wrong, they are still incredibly awesome, but not nearly as great as they used to be. You used to get two kinds of crackers, two kinds of cheese, two kinds of meat, and andes mint and a sweet capri sun. Now you get only one of all of those things, and you still get a capri sun, but a lot of them now have little cups of jell-o. Who the heck wants that? Not me. And I feel like I am getting completely ripped off. I want two of everything back. You owe it to me lunchable people. I don't know why, but you do.