Saturday morning daydream {tv boyfriend edition}

Dreaming of spending some time on the LOST island with this man, and a mix-tape...

Is your imaginary boyfriend as adorable as my Sawyer is? I doubt it.

But hey, Happy Saturday anyway.

swoony photo via here

Confession

It's true. I've been falling for the handsome {and sometimes unlikely} heroes of books, tv and film for a long, long time. Here are a few who've stolen my heart over the years.

One of my first fictional loves was Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. He was lovely in the books {it always baffled me, how Anne took years to realize she was in love with him!}, and completely dreamy in the miniseries. I think all good Canadian girls had a thing for Gilbert.

Oh, Mr Darcy! So proud. So prejudiced. And played to perfection by Colin Firth.

Do you remember Northern Exposure? It was my favourite show in the early 90s. Sure, the main character was New Yorker Joel, but the man I loved in Cicely, Alaska, was radio DJ "Chris in the Morning" {played by the adorable John Corbett}.

Who knew how much I'd love Doctor Who? Alan convinced me to give the BBC sci-fi hit a go, and I quickly fell in love with David Tennant and his portrayal of the Tenth Doctor. He's just so fun, and joyous, and  clever. And he looks super-cute in his pin-striped suit and Converse sneakers. I wept when he left the show.

Finally... my Sawyer. You know how much I love him! LOST will always be my favourite show, and James "Sawyer" Ford will always be my TV boyfriend. Those dimples! That southern accent! Those abs! Sigh... Con-man, bookworm, lovable rogue, hero. He is my "constant." {and Alan is oh-so-jealous!}

Who are the fictional characters you've fallen in love with?

LOST Valentine love

Umm, these are awesome. And there are more where they came from!

via fylost

I love it when my tv boyfriend calls me Freckles...

Just because I love him...

swoon...

And because I miss my weekly LOST fix. Of course I am mostly thinking about the mysteries, the complex storylines, the surprising plot twists... But I'd be lying if I didn't mention those dimples too.

Don't go getting any ideas. He's my tv boyfriend. Not yours.

We have to go back!

via here

This is the time of year when I usually start to get really excited about the upcoming season of LOST. Sigh... Not this year. LOST is over, and it's not coming back. Sob! Thank god for dvds. I can go back to the island any time I like. I think I might head there tonight...

Do you miss LOST as much as I do? And do you have any fantastic shows that you think I simply must see, in an attempt to fill the void? I want to hear all about them!

A picture for Mum

Dylan created this masterpiece for me after school a few days ago. He is so proud of it, and was just beaming when he handed it to me. "It's for you, Mum!" he said. "And can you guess what it is? It's your most very favourite thing." Yay! It's the LOST plane before, and just after, it crashed on the island! Look at that happy little pilot. He's got no idea what's about to happen, does he? Guess the smoke monster is hiding behind the palm tree ;~)

I love LOST. But I love my sweet boy more.

Finding LOST in my mailbox

Do you remember when I stacked all my LOST books on my head and tried to take some timer photos? Well, all that effort paid off! I won Nikki's contest and yesterday, my autographed copy of Finding LOST Season 6 arrived! Hurrah!

Look! Isn't it awesome? The inside, and all of Nikki's insight, is even better...

Unable to part with it, I took it to work with me. Here I am in my office, gleefully reading my fab new book. Oh, um... what I mean is... here I am, working really hard! Yeah, that's it...

Yay! How cool is that?

Awesome

So I've made it onto Nikki Stafford's blog a few times before. Once with my amazing LOST-themed birthday cake, and again when I was missed from the acknowledgements in Finding LOST Season 5 (because you know, I am a regular contributor over there, waxing poetic about my love of Sawyer and all the island's mysteries, and the things I have to say are oh-so-important! tee hee...) Anyway, today I'm back on Nik at Nite, and I couldn't be more thrilled! Nikki is a goddess when it comes to all things LOST, and I just think it's so cool to join in all the fun she has loving (and analyzing the hell out of) that show. The idea behind this photo (and all the others in her Finding Erin post) was based on a contest in which readers had to take a photo of themselves with their Finding LOST books, a photo that would make Nikki laugh, and then send it to her. The winner gets a signed copy of her new book (coming out this fall!) and at least 15 seconds of fame. Of course I wanted in, and so I got out my camera, gathered up all my LOST goodies and started snapping. Come take a look... And then go pre-order your copy of Finding LOST Season 6!

Happy Lost-iversary!

September 22, 2004.

6 years ago today, Oceanic 815 went down, and the pilot episode of the world's greatest show first aired. We met Jack and Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Chah-lie, Hurley, Sayid, Locke, Sun and Jin, and we even got a sneak peek (well, listen) to the smoke monster! Now I must confess that I didn't watch that first season (I was nervous that I'd find the plane crash stuff too upsetting), but by the end of season 2, after catching bits and pieces here and there, I decided I needed to be brave and give it a try. It looked so intriguing... And oh was it ever! Alan and I rented season 1 and 2, and after just one episode, I was HOOKED. It fast became my favourite show. I watched it religiously and I talked about it pretty much all the time (not much changes, huh?)

6 years later, it is still my favourite show. I'm pretty sure it will always be my favourite show. After all, I did name my second child after one of the characters, didn't I? (still can't believe Alan agreed to go along with that, letting me name our baby after my tv boyfriend... isn't he a great guy?)

September 22nd, 2010.

Alas, there are no new episodes of LOST to look forward to. But there's still a lot of discussing to be done! All sorts of unanswered questions to theorize over and favourite episodes to talk about. September 22nd is, and always will be, an important date in LOST history. And, oh-so perfectly, today my season 5 and 6 boxed sets arrived in the mail! How fantastic is that? It was totally meant to be.

This calls for a LOST celebration, don't you think? Time to crack open a Dharma beer, pop in a dvd and spend some time with my tv boyfriend (swoon!) and all the other lovely (and not so lovely) Losties. How soon will these boys be in bed? Because I just can't wait to get comfy on the couch!

Oh, yes, I am a happy girl... And now a proud member of Lostaholics Anonymous too! No, really. Go take a look.

Jackpot!, support, school days

Three beautiful things on a lovely rainy night...

1. I discovered some forgotten Amazon gift certificates while tidying up my email inbox tonight. And so, I've just ordered seasons 5 and 6 of LOST on dvd! They'll be here in a week! I can't wait!!! Now I'll have every single episode, and hours upon hours of bonus material to keep me entertained all fall and winter (and for years to come, really...) Yay! Just think of all those lovely Sawyer scenes I have to look forward to...

{swoon!}

2. Since creating my profile page on the Run for the Cure site last night, I've already received $95 (plus the $20 that complete stranger gave me last week!) What a lovely, and generous, bunch of friends I have...

3. The boys couldn't get to sleep tonight. They are both way too excited about tomorrow. Dylan is keen to get back to kindergarten, and Sawyer has his very first day of preschool. "I am a really big boy now, Mum!" he said to me as I kissed him good-night for the third time. "THIS BIG!" And then he reached his hands up as high they could go.

It's been a great weekend. A nice combination of productive and relaxed. I made up the meal plans for the week, organized another box of stuff, enjoyed a few lovely long-distance phone calls (hi Wendy and Barbara!), did some housework and a few loads of laundry, and hopefully found us a new tenant. The rain brought a lot of green back to our garden, and we had the most delicious homemade pizza for dinner tonight, with fresh tomatoes and herbs that Alan brought in. We all made it together, which was so nice.

Now it's dark and the house is quiet (all three boys are asleep now!) and I can just hear the rain outside the window. I think I'm ready to relax in the bath for a bit with a cup of tea. Then it's off to bed! It's going to be a busy week of work and school, cooking and cleaning, meetings and workouts (as god as my witness, there will be workouts!) What about you? What will you be getting up to this (almost) third week of September? Do tell! I love to hear from you.

xo

Longing for LOST

I miss LOST. Tuesday nights lack the excitement they once had. There's no time travel, no mystery, no Sawyer giving everyone sarcastic nicknames (whilst looking dreamy), no Ben being creepy, no smoke monster trashing the place... SIGH. I'm lost without it.

However. I found this poster online the other day (thanks, Cassie) and I love it! You know how I like to keep calm, right? Well how about this for a great idea?

via it's your imagination

Excellent. If the finale didn't happen, then it's not over! (yep, total denial over here) I think I'll start watching again from the beginning. With six whole seasons to watch, I won't have to go through this mourning again for quite some time! I might just start tonight. At 9 o'clock.

In lieu of LOST

No LOST tonight. Sigh. So instead, I offer you this fab photo of Jack and Hurley from way back in season 2. Isn't it great? It makes me happy just looking at it! Look at them, the protectors of the island, all happy and carefree and clowning around on the Pala Ferry Dock. Don't you love it? I think it might be time to break out the dvds... It has been over a week now, after all!

photo via Nik at Nite

"LOST wasn't about what I learned, it was about what I felt"

{Consider yourself warned... I am about to ramble on quite a bit, and this post is full of spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the finale yet...}

I am feeling a bit lost at the moment. I'm missing my favourite show, and am bereft at the thought of it not being on tonight, or any other Tuesday night, ever again. It has been such a huge part of my life for the past 5 years (confession: I didn't start watching until season 2, at which point I was hooked and quickly caught up on the first 23 or so episodes I'd missed) No show has ever made me think so hard, or care so much. I can't help but feel genuinely sad that it's over. Not that it will ever be truly over, not as long as there are people out there who will talk about it, discuss what they think happened, and what were the reasons for things to play out the way they did. LOST wasn't just about a plane crash, nor was it about the island, really. It was about love and relationships, second chances and redemption. It was a great mystery, but it was a really beautiful set of love stories, too. I adore that show, and I wanted to give it a proper send-off (knowing full well that I'll never really say good-bye to it, thanks to my dvd collection and huge collection of books, especially the fantastic Finding LOST series written by Nikki Stafford). A reader of Nik at Nite (the lovely Fred) said:

"But in the first Monday after the LOST’s ending, something different starts to happen as we begin to filter our understanding of the show in its entirety, and not just in terms of the last episode. Over six years we have invested a part of our lives examining and re-examining this serial narrative, and what we have found is that LOST has proven to be a greater challenge than we had at first imagined. If LOST were to be understood only in terms of its ending, then we might find no need to continue the debate over the larger drama that unfolded over six seasons; closure is necessary for the rounding out of fictional narratives, but closure does not imply the ending of audience reaction to the story. We are now allowed to draw on knowledge we never had before; the final episode provides only another reference point from which to respond to the entire story."

I love that, don't you? It makes me feel better about the show being over. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the send-off... and I promised photos, too, didn't I? Here they are!

Sunday afternoon I got ready for my little LOST finale party. It was a little party, but an epic event of great importance. It called for treats.

I baked cupcakes. Polar bear cupcakes of course.

I stocked up on Dharma Initiative beverages and snacks (oh, and those must be veggies from Sun's garden!)

Yum. Dharma tortilla chips! With a hint of lime, for a tropical flair...

I invited my friend Dr Marvin Candle, um... I mean Dr Pierre Chang... oops, I mean Chrissy, to join us in the festivities.

Sadly, my jumpsuit costume fell through at the last minute, so I donned some grubby jeans and a tank top, made my hair kinda curly, smudged some dirt on my face, and pretended I was Kate. I don't know who that guy is (but he's drinking my Dharma beer!)

"Mmm, cake..." (did you ever see those promos? they were weird)

So we had our treats and we watched the show, just the three of us, savouring every second. We cried our eyes out, Chrissy and I throughout much of it (and even Alan got teary a couple of times). The way it all came together, and came full circle, was just so satisfying. Not every question was answered, but in the end I didn't mind too much. In the end, the characters and what they meant to one another was what really mattered most (and the questions will keep us talking for years to come!) The highlights for me were:

- the moment in the sideways world when Aaron was born, when Charlie and Claire were reunited and remembered each other (I went through most of the box of kleenex right then)

- Sun and Jin in the hospital, suddenly remembering everything

- Rose and Bernard (I always get excited when those two turn up)

- when Jack told MiB he disrespected John Locke by wearing his face (go, Jack!) and the bit where we realize MiB is mortal once more (and how about that bit where Jack leaped through the air, all ninja-like?!)

- Desmond was just awesome, wasn't he? I love Desmond

- Sawyer's relief and joy when he remembered Juliet (even though I always, always wanted Sawyer to be with Kate, and I never really felt the whole LaFleur/Blondie relationship and I still maintain that it wasn't given enough time to be truly believable, I can appreciate now how lovely that scene was for his character... I love Sawyer, and I just want him to be happy)

- Hurley asking Ben to help him, and the look on Ben's face... it's what he always wanted and I wept for him (Michael Emerson is such a gifted actor)

- Ben apologizing to Locke and Locke forgiving him

- Kate telling Jack how much she'd missed him, and looking so calm and peaceful and happy (not all conflicted like she has for so many years)

- Everyone coming together at the end... it was just so good to see them all together again, it made my heart feel full

- Jack lying down in the bamboo forest, Vincent at his side, and smiling as the Ajira plane flew overhead, just before his eyes closed (poetic and oh-so-perfect and oh my god it made me weep like a baby)

I can't wait to watch the finale again. And then to go back to the beginning, with new eyes, and experience it (in a new way) all over again. I have a feeling I'm going to love it even more. And I'm definitely going to need more kleenex!

* The title of this post comes from a quote by Guardian newspaper writer Jon Weisman and it sort of sums up how I feel about the lack of answers to some of the show's big questions... even though I would have liked to have those answers, it was more important to me to experience the emotions I did, and to connect with the characters in a way I never had with any other show. In the end, LOST was about love. And I loved it.

** I highly recommend the blog Nik at Nite. Go read all of these posts for thoughtful, insightful, in-depth discussions about LOST's epic finale and all that came before it, and tell Nikki I said hi!

LOST

I have so much to say about the finale of LOST. But no time right now to say it. For now I'll just let you know that I loved it. It made me cry. It broke my heart and it lifted me up. It was infuriating and it was glorious and it was beautiful. And I loved it (well, except for that one bit...)

I'll be back later, with Dharma goodies, I promise! In the meantime, tell me what you thought?

image via here

Saying good-bye really sucks

{You can go ahead and watch, there aren't any spoilers here, I promise!}

Well, here we are. May 23rd. Tonight is the night. Are you ready? I suppose I am. Sort of. I have lots of Dharma snacks and beverages, polar bear cupcakes in the making, and copious amounts of kleenex. It's going to be an emotional roller coaster, there's no doubt about it. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I feel anxious and sick to my stomach and am a little bit weepy already! Saying good-bye to LOST is going to be so hard (ugh, I have never been good at saying good-bye, believe me...) But I'm hopeful it's going to be fantastic, too!

So, let's all raise our Dharma beers together and say cheers, to the greatest show ever made. We're going to miss you. But we're going to enjoy every last second of your epic finale. It's not time to say good-bye just yet...

What I'm doing on Wednesday

I'm tired today, and I have such a sore throat. That lingering headache is back too (seriously! what is up with that?) I think we'll stay close to home today. I've got some great scrapbook paper they were giving away at school, so I'll get the boys all set up to do some crafting. And then...

I'll do the laundry and water the garden.

I'll get the dishes washed and put away.

I'll pour myself many a cup of tea.

I'll think about LOST and see if I can't figure out what the hell is going on.

Hopefully I can do all of this in a slow, relaxing way, and will be feeling much better by the end of the day. Because tonight I have a three-hour preschool meeting to attend (I'm sensing a trip to the Starbucks drive-thru in my future...)

What will you do today?

all images via j'adore

I dream of a happy ending

Things are not looking good on LOST lately. Mysteries continue to abound, despite repeated promises of answers. The smoke monster is trashing the place. Beloved characters are dropping like flies. Sawyer is laying on the beach with a head wound, and Kate just got shot. Oh dear. I really hope things turn around soon. Like tonight. Tonight things need to get better and fast! I'm not sure I can cope with any more terrible loss or heartbreak. With just 4 1/2 hours to go, I am seriously worried about the outcome of it all. It's going to be okay, isn't it? It has to be. After investing six years in this amazing, perplexing, visually stunning, epic, confusing, and wonderful show, I want a happy ending. I want the characters to make peace with their pasts (so many daddy issues!) and be happy. I want Desmond to kick Widmore's ass. I want Jacob to bloody well explain himself. I want Sawyer and Kate to be together, like they're meant to be.

via never felt better

And really... Is that so much to ask?

Bountiful birthday

I got spoiled rotten (or "pampered" as my Dad would say) on my birthday. Here are just a few of my favourite gifts...

Super cute apron and matching pot holders from my parents. I may not be a domestic goddess, but I'll look like one in this!

Sparkly Eiffel Tower charm. Isn't it lovely? I may not have got to spend my birthday in Paris, but a little bit of Paris looks good on me, non?

Eeeeeeeee! Amanda made me my very own Sawyer-themed travel mug! Isn't it genius? I luuuuurve it! Have to be careful not to pour tea all down myself as I gaze at his loveliness... (okay, so obviously there's no way I am 36... my behaviour here is far more in keeping with that of a teenage girl!)

Cheers!

I got so many wonderful presents the morning of my birthday. Alan and the boys got me a gift card to get my hair done, and while I'm doing that, there'll be a housekeeper cleaning my house for three whole hours! It's like a dream come true! Just think of how great this place is going to look when I get home (not to mention how great I'll look... I'm thinking highlights and a relaxer, so I don't have to spend so much time with my straightening iron!)- I can't wait! They also got me some really cute and comfy new pjs, bubble bath, planters for the front steps, New Moon on dvd (don't you wish we could have a movie night, Micaela?) and some very cool vintage postcards.

There were loads of other lovely gifts and cards, and I have more parcels on the way too. Aren't I just the luckiest girl? I'm definitely feeling the love...

Swoon

James "Sawyer" Ford. Bookworm. Con-man. Lovable rogue. My TV-boyfriend.

Sigh. I love him.

Tuesday plans and things I love

Good morning! It's Tuesday, and time to share two more things I love around my home. This week I've picked one thing indoors and another thing outside. I'd like to say I planned it that way, but it's mainly because I had about 3 minutes this morning to choose my two things before dashing out the door to playschool and work. The house was a complete disaster, and not looking nice enough to photograph so I decided to take my camera outside for picture number 2 (my excuse for the total disarray? a run last night after the boys were asleep, followed by the latest episode of 24, then making lunches, packing bags for today, loading the dishwasher and collapsing into bed at midnight!)

Still, I did manage to choose two lovely things (without showing off any of the mess!). Here they are...

This watercolour of some beautiful blue hydrangeas was a birthday gift from my mom a few years ago. I love it. It reminds me of my wedding bouquet, and summertime. It hangs on the wall in our living room, and goes quite nicely with our couch and its blue throw pillows.

This is one of the cherry trees in our front yard. I love it. The bright splash of pink that I can see as I come up the street towards our house makes me oh-so-happy! When the cherry tree is in bloom spring is most definitely on its way.

Thanks to Kassi at BacWoods Fern for this Tuesday tradition. You should do it too! Go over to Kassi's blog and add a link to your post. Then let me know, won't you please? I love to take a look around everyone's homes each Tuesday!

Now speaking of Tuesday, any fun plans for the first one in March? At work today, I've got the district reading tournament at the public library with the winning team of girls from our school (go, Book Worms, go!), as well as planning my new Science unit (volcanoes! awesome! who doesn't love learning about lava?) This afternoon I'll do a quick run to the grocery store and the post office before I pick up the boys. We'll go home, have a hot beverage (tea for me, hot chocolate and mini-marshmallows for them), get a fire going, and then head to my mom & dad's. Are you tired yet? I am. But there's more! After I drop them off, I'll go to my running group. Tonight it's run for 4 min/walk for 1 min, ten times!!! Oh my. Wish me luck with that. I'll run my little heart out, pick up the boys, take them home where we'll arrive around the same time as Alan, and together we'll get them tucked into bed (after reading several stories and discussing the events of the day). Then... then... it will be time for LOST!!! I wonder what madness will happen tonight? Will Hurley see more dead people? Will Jacob say something cryptic? Will Claire find Kate in the jungle and freak out? Will Jin and Sun finally, finally be reunited? And will there be lots of scenes featuring my lovely Sawyer? Ooh, I hope so!

Tuesdays. They're crazy busy. But I just can't help but love them. How about you?