Shows You Should Be Watching: Once Upon A Time

I plan to make this a monthly post simply titled "Shows You Should Be Watching" where like the title suggests, I'm going to write about a TV show that you need to check out. Now I know that everyone has different tastes, but I promise to offer you more than "It's a good show and you should watch it now". 

My very first SYSBW is one of my favorites, Once Upon A Time. Now if you haven't checked it out yet, trust me when I say that it so much more than fairy tales. The show comes from the creators of LOST (which I still haven't gotten around to finishing myself) and they are known for very in depth stories with a lot of turns and confusion. The show is currently in the middle of its second season but if you have Netflix you can easily see the first season and the last time I checked ABC.com offered streaming of season two. Once Upon A Time airs on Sunday nights at 8 pm eastern on ABC. (It won't be on tonight cause of the Oscars though)

 OUAT takes place in the fictional town of Storybrook, Maine. Where story book characters have been cursed to live as we do, in a land without magic. Now the show flows seamlessly from what's going on in Storybrook to flashbacks of things that have already happened back in their kingdom. The main focus of the show revolves around Emma Swan, (Spoiler alert!) daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming who is said to be the savior and the only one who can break the curse that keeps the storybook characters from remembering who they really are. The curse as not only sent them to our universe, they have no idea who they really are or anything that happened to them before living in Storybrook. They've been stuck in time for 28 years with these false identities and away from the people they love. The beauty of the curse is that they are confined to the town. Whenever one of them decides that they want to leave, something bad happens to them and of course are forced to stay. An example of this is shown when a character tries to leave town but has car trouble at the town marker.

While you will see several of the prince and princesses that Disney had helped to make famous, you will see some other famous names that you might not have expected. So if you really thought this was just a bunch of princesses waiting around to be saved, you have the wrong show!

I'm really trying my best not to give anything away anything so you can be as surprised as I was the first time I watched the show. I convinced my husband to give this show a chance, and he's really come to enjoy it. There is so much action in the flashback scenes! Knights and princes slaying dragons and fighting "the dark one". I was a bit shocked when my husband actually told me that its one of the shows that he's really come to look forward to. He really enjoys the "fairy tale" side as he likes to call it. Without giving too much away, once you get into season two you'll meet Frankenstein! Which caused a bit of a commotion on the fan side, but as the creators have mentioned several times...this show is about storybook characters, not just fairy tales. Which makes me very hopeful for future episodes...it leaves the door wide open for so many new characters!

There is so much more that I could say about this show but like I said before I really don't want to give too much away or ruin any episodes for you so it's time that you stop reading and get to watching! OUAT was listed as the best new fall show for 2011 and has had a steady increase of viewership since it's start last year and its been up against some big competition like ball games and award shows! (LIke tonight...*sigh*) I mean really what more do you need dearies? Get out there and start watching!

http://www.netflix.com (Season 1)
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time (Season 2)
http://hulu.com
Season 1 is also available on DVD and Bluray

Here's something you can post to let people know that you are currently unavailable!

Before I go, I just want to mention the fan site Once Upon A Time Fans. They stay up to date on the newest cast members and upcoming episodes! (If you're into spoilers) They have to be the best fan site for the show. (Which also proves how great a show this really is!)

Hiatus

Originally, I was planning to make at least one blog entry a week. That was going to be my minimum goal. If I had time for more...that was just going to be a lovely plus. Sorry for the delay, but I'm back and ready to get back to blogging!

 I told myself that I wasn't going to make this blog completely about me and just tell the world my entire life, but after the last few weeks I've decided that I want to share a little with you in the hopes that I can give you some helpful advice without the pain.

On Monday (the 4th) I drove to my hometown to visit with my family. When I got to the house, I found out that my uncle had passed in his sleep while taking an afternoon nap. So I spent the week being there for my family. It isn't easy on anyone when a family member passes (or a close friend), and I saw a lot of pain. The loss of a father, husband, uncle, brother, grandfather, and for so many people... a friend. Watching people embrace and talk about how it had been too long since the last time they had talked. People talking about how they had planned to come by and visit with my uncle and sorry that they lost the chance to. One of my uncles hugged my dad so tightly that he seemed to come off the ground, and reminded him that they are brothers and they need to spend more time together. Listening to my dad talk about how he always says that he'll come visit but never does, that he's always working or fixing something and time just seems to slip past. My dad's words really got me thinking about how often we all rely on tomorrow...

 First off, I want to say that I'm going to try and not be depressing or on my soapbox but I hope that this really makes you think. To start, think about the day you just had. At any point did you think about someone that you haven't seen in a while? How about a friend that you haven't talked to since he/she started working, got in a relationship, had a kid, excreta?  Did that thought follow with a "I'll call him/her tomorrow"? How often do you make the statement "We need to get together soon" without really thinking of when soon is going to be? I know that life gets in the way...there's work, school, kids, you can pretty much fill in the blank with any of the important things that responsible people have. Is it really ok that you just let friends and family members slip through the cracks of time? Trust me, I'm as guilty as the next girl but after seeing family that I haven't seen in years...I've been reminded that I need to put more effort into my relationships with the people that mean the most to me.

 So here's a simple enough thing to do. Make a list of all the people that mean something to you (they don't have to be in any specific order) and simply go through your list in a two week period and send them a text, send them a message on facebook, email, call. The point is just to get back in touch, let him/her know what's going on in your life and hopefully you can lead up to making plans to meet up and spend some time together. You can always meet up for lunch/dinner/ brunch/drinks. Catch a movie (If you're close to a Carmike Cinemas, they offer a cheaper movie ticket if you go between 4-5). Maybe you can simply invite friends over for dinner. My main point is simple and something I'm sure you've heard most of your life (I know I have). Our time on this planet is short...so get out there and make the most of it! Don't take your friends for granted!

So I'm starting here with you dear reader. Thank you for spending this time with me and being here while I start this blog in the hopes of it leading me to something I could be decent at (or great...only time will really tell).  I'm going to work harder on making sure that my friends know that they mean a lot to me and in two weeks time I will post a follow up and let you know how this worked out for me. If I'm lucky, you'll let me know how this worked out for you!

Now I leave you with something to make you smile (it cracks me up at least!)

How are those resolutions coming along?

So it's the beginning of February, we have had time to get comfortable in 2013. Hopefully by now we have stopped doing this:

 The point that I'm getting to is simply this...how are you doing with your resolutions for this year that is still so full of promise? I've actually set goals for myself and so far I think I'm doing well on each of them. Now granted there is one that I hadn't really planned to start until this month, but it took a little bit of planning before hand (which I did) and I'm right on track with it! If you're still doing well, kudos..but if you find yourself already slacking off. Fear not, I think I have a few ways to help you get back on track!

1.) This is the start of a new month. Simply, if you've been slacking off after a couple of weeks...this is a great time to get back on the tracks and back to work! So make sure that this is something that you want to accomplish and get to it!

2.) Make a list. Write down what it is that you're wanting to do and place it somewhere as a reminder. Put it on a post-it and place it somewhere that you will see daily. Another suggestion would be to write about it in a small journal you keep by the bed (or in your purse, backpack, whatever). There's also online journals which I'm a fan of (LiveJournal)

3.) Get yourself a coach! Get yourself a friend or close family member that will check in on your progress from time to time. Usually this can benefit both if the friend or family member is also working on a goal!

I hope that this has been helpful. For now I shall leave you with an ecard. Have a very happy February and best of luck on the resolutions!

Someecards