How I Met Your Mother- The Magician’s Code Review

I. Am. So. CONFUSED.

Yeah. What just happened here. So… my god, I am so very confused.

OKAY. RECAP TIME.

So, Marshall and Barney were stuck in Atlantic City, which is bad, because Lily went into labor! So they tried everything to get back, finally hopping on a bus full of seniors, only whoops! It was headed to Buffalo! So Barney tried to talk the driver into dropping Marshall at the hospital, because Marshall is the best guy ever. Sorry, driver said no. But wait! All the seniors stand up, one by one, and claim to be having heart attacks. And oh, by the way, their doctor works at the same hospital where Lily is giving birth! CUTE. Seriously, I did like that moment, it was very sweet.

Elsewhere! Lily is in labor, and Robin and Ted are distracting her with stories. Some funny ones, like Barney picking up girls as the Terminator, and some iffy ones. But onward! Lily’s dad is terrible at comfort, and it looks like he will be with her for the birth, but ta da! MARSHALL! Also, the baby is named Marvin Wait-For-It Eriksen. I… can’t decide if this is funny or not.

Back to Barney! He thinks he ruined things with Quinn due to a fight they had. But they are on their way to Hawaii! Oops, he had a box of magic stuff, so airport security got twitchy. Blah de blah, eventually it turns out Quinn quit stripping for Barney, and the magic box was so he could propose to Quinn.

Back to the gang! Ted, at Robin’s urging, has called Victoria. They agree to meet up. Only crapola, it’s her wedding day! Uhhhhh. NO TED, NO! But yeah. So she ditches out on her wedding because both of them are still hung up on their relationship from six years ago, my god, GET OVER IT, YOU TWO. Gahhhhhh.

And then, fast forward! Barney’s wedding! And we finally learn THE BRIDE IS ROBIN. Thank god! But… whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

So yeah, let’s sum up. Lily and Marshall have a baby. Yay! There’s a fantastic moment when they run down to the bar to help with the Victoria situation and Robin takes a pic, only for them to realize baby’s first outing was to a bar. Oops.

Barney is engaged to Quinn. Blargh. If Barney/Robin is the endgame, which tonight seems to imply, then I’m getting sick of dragging it out. Yeesh. Again, we aren’t seeing much of Quinn. Come on, show, at least give me reasons to like her!

Ted is moving in on Victoria as they drive off into the sunset. Um. Wat. I am confused, guys. I don’t even. I don’t understand.

Ok, so. Baby storyline was good. A nice take on bringing in a baby into the group. Loved the flashback of “wait, THIS guy who stapled his arm is now a dad? Yikes!”

I’m frustrated by the Barney/Quinn storyline because, well. They’re stalling. Just commit to one damn ship and build it properly, stop trying to be clever with the bait and switch. Doing it once with Nora? Okay, understandable, if annoying. But TWICE? I’m actually half-wishing he ended up with Quinn, just so we didn’t get this damn routine again!

Ted/Victoria- same thing. Unless we end with some great revelation that all those run ins with the mother WERE VICTORIA, then I’m calling this as more obnoxious backsliding and coy “ooh, is it Victoria, is it someone else” jackassery. Seriously, writers, would you MAKE UP YOUR GODDAMN MINDS.

So yeah. I am not a fan of this finale. There were some great bits, but also a lot of frustration. And confusion.

How I Met Your Mother- Good Crazy Review

…well. Um.

First off, sorry for the delay in posts. Work has been hectic, as has been everything else. I am SO looking forward to the series finale of HIMYM. And we are well on our way!

So, Barney’s stripper-issues have gotten worse. Not a surprise. Ted is really missing Robin after they deliberately avoided each other at the baby shower- she by arriving three hours early, he by arriving three hours late. Meanwhile, Marshall is going absolutely nuts about the impending baby, and Lily is fed up.

We start out focusing on poor Ted. He is trying to cleanse his palate using online dating, and is quickly caught by Barney. Barney then throws several women at Ted. Woman 1 is named Robyn. Oops. Ted can’t imagine anything but Robin’s face, and that date goes BOOM! Woman 2 is an angry tattooed type, but she still reminds him of Robin. Woman 3 is also trying to cleanse her palate, and they end up having very nice, palate cleansing sex. Huzzah! So why is Ted seeing Robin’s face everywhere?

Back to Barney! Random fans of Karma keep seeing Quinn in the street, and it is driving Barney nuts. He tries to get her to work for GnB, but it doesn’t work, and she is offended and storms off to think.

And Lily and Marshall! Marshall has been waking up every three hours, rock-a-bye babying a watermelon, and practicing swaddling on Lily. Sick of his panicking, Lily tells him they are going to a baby boot camp. But surprise! Turns out Lily ditched him with Barney, and they are on their way to Atlantic City!

Things quickly spiral downward. Barney puts back on the ducky tie so Marshall will agree to relax and get drunk. Lily goes into labor as soon as Marshall turns off his phone- oops! Ted runs into Robin, only for her to say that this is NOT the time for this conversation. Because… well, duh. Lily is in labor!

There were some great jokes in this episode. Ted’s weird trains of thought running back to Robin were very amusing, as was drunk Marshall (BEERCULES!!!!). Lily nomming on cookies and enjoying Marshall’s absence was also fun.

In other news, I watched all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender. HOLY CRAP WAS IT GOOD. I’m also watching Legend of Korra as it airs now.

How I Met Your Mother- Now We’re Even Review

So, this is a short post tonight, because I went to look at a new place with Dave and his brother, and… eurgh. Not good. But I missed the live HIMYM episode, and had to catch it on the internet, hence the delay.

So, we finally got payoff on the green dress. I thought it was a decent wrap up, and Ted’s perfume bit was funny, and in character. Ditto the incident with the soup at the beginning. Heh.

So, our three storylines! Item 1, Lily and Marshall! Lily had a naughty sex dream, Marshall got jealous because he figured it was someone they knew, and it turned out to be Ranjit (Hellooooo!) Gotta say, love having Ranjit turn up, and the turn around with Marshall deciding to let it go was nice.

Storyline 2, Barney’s dating a stripper! Not surprising. Of course he is jealous and unhappy. Once Barney decides he wants something, he doesn’t share. So he tries to distract himself by coming up with legendary nights for him and Ted. Loved the mariachi band, liked the horse.

Storyline 3, Robin! Work is still not respecting her, but eventually, after landing a helicoptor, she gets her recognition. Yay, household name! Go Robin. Wish we were seeing more of her though.

All in all, a good episode, some nice character development, and we’re trotting along towards the finale in good order. See you guys next week!

How I Met Your Mother- Trilogy Time Review

Ok, this episode is rocking. my. WORLD.

So, it’s the first break. So far we’ve had flashbacks, inside jokes, BRILLIANT timing… and Quinn/Barney going horribly. YAY!

Love, love, loved the fact that after the girls told Barney off, and he went off to the guys, THEY told him off even louder. Respect women, Barney! Just… can you respectfully ditch Quinn? No? Well, I’ll keep my mouth shut then.

All of the flash forward imaginings were very, very amusing. Hippie Ted/Marshall? Brilliant. Snooty Ted/Marshall? Epic. Barney’s string of “you’ll be seeing a lot of her… and she was never seen again”? Awesome. I also liked the little funny touches- if you notice, there’s a newspaper in each flashforward. 2003 mentions President Gore, 2006 mentions President Dean, and 2009 mentions President Kucinich. I’m sure there were other details I will notice in future viewings.

Almost the entire episode was scenes from 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012, with flash forwards to what the guys *expected*, and then to what actually happened. Sorry Ted, you didn’t build the new metropolitan opera. And Robin isn’t french. Oops. Frankly, I’d like to see this episode again already, even though I don’t have time.

As for what really happened in 2009? Barney and Robin going to a “decoupage class” to cover up their over the summer hookups? Hilarious. Robin hiding out as a stormtrooper? CLASSIC. Robin smashing something after Barney made his recurring reference to having a new random floozy in three years? WONDERFUL.

2012… well. Barney ends up changing his mind about “staking his territory” and decides to let Quinn move some of her stuff into his apartment. Why? Because he wants to be with her in three years.

*Groan*

Here’s the problem. I am pretty damn sure Barney/Quinn is not the end game. If it is, then why did they spend so much time over the past seven seasons building up Barney/Robin? Why have they given Quinn so little actual development? Why did they choose to introduce her by building her up as such a bitch?

If the end game is Barney/Robin, then why in the name of god do they keep building up Barney with random other women? Nora was ok for a while, but the longer it dragged, the less sincere Barney looked when going back to Robin. Now? Barney says he wants to be with Quinn in three years. If he marries Robin in the next year, how are we supposed to see his current behavior? Is he lying? Deluding himself? Desperate to commit to someone who reminds him of Robin? Neil Patrick Harris is pretty awesome, but this will be tough for him to pull off, either way.

And in conclusion, IN 2015 TED HAS A BABY GIRL OMG OMG SO CUTE. Hope is returned! Ted HAS to meet the mother soon! WOOT!

How I Met Your Mother- The Broath Review

…

I am so, so very confused. And traumatized.

So, only one major storyline for tonight’s episode: Barney disappeared for a few weeks, then called Ted and asked him to come to Barney’s apartment, where he forced Ted to swear a “Broath” of silence (complete with Bro Code in place of bible, lots of candles, and actual monk robes).

A Broath is a serious thing, dude.

So it turns out that Barney is *nuts* about Quinn, and he doesn’t want Ted to spill the beans about what she does for a living. Okay, makes sense. This intro was actually quite funny, what with the ridiculous decorations and the recurring Ted Evelyn Mosby jokes. Never gets old, especially when Ted repeats it as “Ted Why-the-hell-did-I-tell-you-my-middle-name- Mosby” and later, Barney repeats it as “Ted Middle-Name-Omitted” Mosby. Snicker.

BUT Ted is Ted, and so, cut scene…

“BARNEY IS DATING A STRIPPER!”

One, two, three, four! Ba, da ba ba baaaa, ba ba ba baaaa, ba da, da da da da da da da da da.

And cut to The apartment (which is now redecorated Marshall/Lily style, and I already miss that red couch). Ted has made them swear to keep the secret, but be on the lookout for signs that Quinn is using Barney.

Three hours later… man oh man, they CANNOT let him keep Quinn. Why?

Well, it turns out that while they were visiting her place, she bossed Barney constantly, called him an idiot, and Lily found a brochure in her bedroom indicating that Barney was buying Quinn a VERY expensive trip to Hawaii. Oh dear. Looks like they need to intervene subtly and tastefully.

Cut to INTERVENTION sign over the fireplace. Marshall runs in and puts a sign that says QUIN over the I part of the sign. It now reads QUINNTERVENTION. I approve, Marshall, I approve. The gang tells Barney their concerns, and he appears a little hesitant, but then angry at their meddling and disapproval.

Cue Quinn! She comes in, gets offended at the gang, then even MORE offended at Barney for wanting to hide what her job is. Slap! She dumps him. “Don’t call me”

I was so, SO confused at this point. On the one hand, I HATE Quinn. Already hated her, and this episode so far made me hate her more. So, so much more. But on the other hand… poor, poor, poor Barney! Yikes

BUT WAIT. We still have episode left. Barney gets mad at Ted and tells him EXACTLY what happens when a Broath has been broken. It involves Brotus(Ted), Julius Caesar(Barney), and a large number of ninja assassins. Who fail to kill Caesar, who then uses one of their ninja stars to kill Brotus.

“And then he went on to nail hundreds of chicks, and invented a salad”

Barney, your grasp of history never ceases to amaze me. Also, I am slightly disappointed- this picture was so much better before I had context.

Julius Caesar, right before he survived the Ides of March and the resulting ninjas

Darn it, show! Y u ruin ninjas vs. Barney? Dangit. Anyway, the gang offers to do anything to make it up to Barney, which results in a group Broath to never meddle in his love life ever again. The scene was hilarious, given that Barney made them ALL put on monk’s robes, then made Lily and Robin kiss to seal the deal (with awkward over-enthusiasm from Lily). Then he asked Ted and Marshall to… -the guys hesitate, awkwardly try to figure out who leans which way, then peck. Barney raises his eyebrows and finishes- …fist bump. Oops.

And then, applause! Quinn was watching the whole time. She and Barney rigged the whole thing to mess with the gang. This is supposed to establish her as Barney’s perfect woman. I… yeah, I am NOT buying this. Also, during tonight’s episode there was a running gag of “so I was with this chick…” stories. Marshall starts telling them, to Lily’s dismay. She is only slightly mollified by his claim that “you’re equal to like twenty slutty girls!” Some of the jokes were funny, some awkward, but the wrap up was sweet. 

Another thread was that Ted and Robin both need a new place. Ted is living in University housing, which sucks (and has a hallway full of loud Marshall/Ted/Lily dopplegangers), while Robin is stuck living with Patrice. Yikes. I wish Robin would learn to be nicer to Patrice, who really seems to be quite sweet. Since Quinn is moving in with Barney, her sweet, rent-controlled apartment will be up for sublet. Cue Ted and Robin both running over to sweet talk Quinn. This is resolved eventually by Ted caving, since Robin has had a very rough couple of months. Then Ted mentions he didn’t see Robin for a while. Wait, what? Are we talking like when Lily disappeared for two episodes in season 4, or do you mean a while? WHAT IS THE BOMBSHELL WHERE IS ROBIN GOING?

That being said, Robin has been kinda nuts this season. Girl needs her groove back. I’d like our old Robin, not crazy, screams at Patrice for ironing her pants wrong Robin. Sadface.

And then we get back to Quinn and Barney.  Turns out they were kidding about moving in, but now are seriously considering it. DO NOT WANT, GODDAMMIT. DO NOT WANT. Gah. Oh, and then we get Barney trying to be cool with Quinn stripping, and asking what might make her give it up. “Oh, if I got married.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Pineapple Stir Fry

So, for dinner tonight I decided I wanted stir fry. Tasty and filling, it sounded perfect after a long day at work.

This is a “man-style” recipe. I did not measure anything for it, nor will you, should you choose to attempt it. All you need is:

• Chicken (roughly 4 breasts)
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Butter
• Soy sauce
• Can of pineapple (large)

So let’s get started! Chop up the chicken. You can use either large cubes, or wide strips. Next, cut up the broccoli into large florets- DO NOT cut them too small, or they will get soggy and overcooked. Cut the carrots into medium, thin pieces. I used a large head of broccoli and about eight carrots, but you can adjust to your taste.

Now we’re going to make the liquid part. Melt a chunk of butter in a LARGE pot, then add soy sauce and the can of pineapple. Once it starts bubbling, throw in the broccoli and carrots. Stir and simmer them, then add the chicken. Once the carrots are mostly soft, and the chicken is cooked through, you’re done!

 

Oil Painting Part II, and the Great Haircut Debacle

So, after letting the paint dry for more than a week, I went back to my oil painting. I had already revised the black outline/fill for my butterfly. The next step was to add the orange and white. It took quite a while- I had to be very careful, and use my tiniest paint brush.

Pretty!!!

If you notice, the outline is drastically different. Here’s what the painting looked like previously…

That... is not a very good looking butterfly outline. Yikes.

But with some careful scraping and smudging and re-painting…

Ta da! Isn't it pretty?

Much better Now, notice the right hand side of the big flower?

Hey, look, a stem!

See, I wanted to try and create depth by putting little flowers behind the big one. It, uh…

Awkward flower.

…it didn’t work so well. So I’m going to scrape off what I can of those background flowers, and then do another coat of sky. Probably a lighter shade of blue this time, then I’m going to retrace the flower to get rid of any sky or grass that has rubbed onto the petals. 

On a random side note, I got a haircut today. Halfway through work I realized that I haven’t worn my hair down very much in over a month, because the ends are raggedy and split. And so, being impulsive and dumb, I decided to get a haircut ASAP after work. And where did I choose? Why, a place where I could walk in and get a haircut for cheap! TO GREAT CLIPS! …bad idea.

The stylists were friendly, albeit busy. I sat in the waiting room for more than a half hour before they realized they hadn’t put me on the list. Then I waited another ten or so minutes before they noticed me again. But the stylist who took me was very nice- immediately said I had a lovely hair color, and was it dyed? No, never I replied. She said that was great, I shouldn’t dye it when I had such a nice color. She then proceeded to look at the magazine pictures I had grabbed- long layers framing the face, and ending at the shoulders. She said no problem, quite easy, and set to work.

With a spray bottle of water and a pair of scissors, she immediately started cutting. I was a bit confused- until now I always got my hair cut at a place down in Indy, where they shampooed, rinsed, etc, and THEN started cutting. I think maybe at Great Clips you have to specify if you want shampoo? But anyway. She seemed to know what she was doing, and trimmed my hair just fine, until we got to the end. She shook my hair with her fingers, making it get really crinkled and wavy, and then seemed to be done. I hate having wet hair, so I asked her to blow dry it. Again, I assumed that everyone blow dries before they let the customer leave. Huh. She did, but shook my hair more as she dried it. When she was done, she said “oh, honey, wow!” and, hopeful, I looked in the mirror. 

It looked like she had given me a perm. My hair was very crinkly, in many small, small locks, and floofing everywhere. I kept a smile on while internally panicking. I paid the nice stylist while other customers in line complimented my hair. I… I don’t know what they were thinking. I choose to believe it was pity or kindness, not actual belief that it looked good. I got in the car and, honest to god, cried for a few minutes while I drove home. I always get a little upset after a haircut- I like having long hair, and while I know that raggedy ends are bad, I still feel sad watching my hair fall to the floor. But on this occasion, I didn’t know if what she had done was going to stick.

When I arrived outside the apartment, I sat in the car and finger combed some of the floof out. Dave was kind enough not to laugh when I got home, and after a thorough brushing some more of the floof dispersed. But I still look a bit like a poodle. Now, there are NO PHOTOS of how it first looked. But it was rather like this, only with no bangs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Since there are no pictures of that monstrosity, I am posting the results of a fingercombing and three brushings. I…I still look like a poodle.

This is three brushings later...

 This is the shortest my hair has ever been as an adult. It… it’s weird. Dave was trying to cheer me up, so while I was taking photos, he snuck up behind me and started to moon me. The result?

Not working, Dave...

It is really strange to run my fingers through my hair, and then… WHERE DID THE LAST FIVE INCHES GO? AAAAAAH!  

This is my "this is so very weird" face

But at any rate, hopefully it will be decent once I’ve showered. Just as long as I can fix it by Monday. And speaking of Monday… IT’S FRIDAY!

Have an awesome weekend, and thanks for reading!