Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Random Tuesdays 05/31/2016


Sunset on Lake Maschsee in Hannover, Germany in 2009

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Random Tuesdays 05/24/2016


Vianden Castle in Luxembourg, 2008

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Random Tuesdays 5/17/2016


Lake Champlain waterfront in Burlington, Vermont in 2008

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Season finales 2016

Back in September I posted my yearly list of tv shows I plan to watch . I usually plan on watching all kinds of stuff, but end up not watching a bunch of it. So here's what I actually ended up watching and what I lost interest in. I'll also add some maybes and some surprises that I didn't even consider watching, but ended up watching anyways :)

Watched:

Castle on ABC
So I totally watched every single episode. Most the episodes I watched through on demand the next morning, but watched anyways. No big ups or downs, Castle is his usual self. But with Stana Katic leaving the show, Castle was cancelled :(

Once Upon a Time on ABC
Again, watched religiously every single Sunday night :D I really liked this season, lots of twists and turns. Next season, season 6, should be interesting as well.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on ABC
Still loving the Agents, lots of new stuff going on and I was bit sad to say goodbye to some of the old characters. It's been a great season though, lots of unexpected stuff! Can't wait for the next season, season 4!

Sleepy Hollow on Fox
What can I say, I loved the season, hated the season finale. 
With Nicole Beharie leaving the show, I was sure Sleepy Hollow would be cancelled. 
But, what do you know, it was renewed for season 4!

iZombie on CW
What an awesome season in zombie infested Seattle! Absolutely loved it and the season finale was stellar! iZombie already got renewed for season 3, yay!

Elementary on CBS
Watched this on on demand as well, and it was pretty much the usual stuff. I love Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. I read somewhere that Elementary is returning next fall for season 5, so looking forward to that!

Agent Carter on ABC
Absolutely loved Agent Carter and watched every single episode love. This season was even better than the last! I loved the season finale too, exciting stuff! I'm crying big tears, since ABC ended up cancelling Agent Carter :(

Scream Queens on FOX
So this was one crazy weird show and I liked it. Watched every episode :D I hear there will be a second season, so looking forward to that.

Blindspot  on NBC
This was on my maybe list, but I liked it a lot and watched every episode on-demand. 
The storylines were interesting, lots of stuff going on! Blindspot has been renewed for season two.

The surprises:

Jane the Virgin on CW
Didn't even give this show a thought until I accidentally tuned on one Monday and loved it! I could so relate to Abuela getting her green card ;)
I might have to binge watch the previous seasons in the summer :)

Mom on CBS
I haven't been watching a lot of sitcoms, but this one I really liked. My health hasn't been it's best this year, so I watched season one a while back and really liked it. Been watching the current season ever since. Mom has been renewed for its 3rd season. I also usually watch 2 Broke Girls after Mom, funny stuff!

Scorpion on CBS
Didn't even know this show existed until I accidentally tuned in and watched the episode "White Out" and was hooked :D Binge-watched season one after that and I watched the rest of the season 2 live. I can't quite pinpoint why I watch this, it's just funny and has somewhat exciting story lines. I like their team dynamic, it's complicated, but it works. I believe Scorpion is renewed for season 3.
Galavant on ABC
Another show I had no idea existed, until I accidentally tuned on and loved it! It was just hilarious and I really liked the songs they performed :) Unfortunately Galavant was not picked up for a 3rd season.

Telenovela on NBC
I decided to check this one out, because Eva Longoria was in it and I thought it was pretty darn funny. But clearly lots of people didn't think so and Telenovela was cancelled.
source: all promotional photos from the shows fb pages

The maybes:

NCIS: New Orleans 
I never watched this one live, since it airs at the same time as Agents of Shield, so I ended up of sporadically watching this on-demand. Like I wrote earlier, it's kind of a hit or miss, some episodes were better than others. I ended up watching NCIS almost every time though, since it was right before Agents of Shield. Both shows are renewed, the New Orleans one for the 3rd and NCIS for its 15th (!) season.

Quantico on ABC
I don't know why, but I never got that into this and have kept watching it now and then. I end up reading the recaps online more than watching the actual show. I didn't find it fun enough to watch I guess. Quantico is renewed for a second season.

Lost interest/didn't watch:

Minority Report on FOX. I liked the movie, so I had high hopes for this one. But it got boring, so I stopped watching. And I guess so did a lot of others, since they cancelled this one pretty soon.

Supergirl on  CBS. I don't know why I lost interest, because the random episodes I've watched seem okay. Maybe it's just targeted to a younger audience, I don't know. I hear the show is moving to CW, which makes sense.

Rosewood on Fox. Again, no idea why I didn't really watch this. It's on Wednesdays, so it's not like there were other shows that I wanted to watch more. Morris Chestnut is nice to look at for sure, but the story lines didn't work for me.

Limitless on CBS. I think my problem with this one was that it was on right after the Agents of SHIELD/Agent Carter. It's hard to top those shows, so I ended up losing interest.

What did you think about these shows? Any good ones that I missed? There were lots of cancellations this spring and I'm going to miss Castle and especially Agent Carter.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week! :)

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Target Beauty Box May 2016

Tilasin kokeeksi taman kuun Targetin Beauty Boxin ja kirjoittelin siita sivublogiini.

Joten jos boxin sisalto tai sellaisen tilaaminen kiinnostaa, lisaa juttua loytyypi taalta :)


Mukavaa viikonloppua kaikille!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Random Tuesdays 05/10/2016


Beaufort Castle, Luxembourg in 2008

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Kaverisynttareita Marylandissa

Koulun aloittaminen laajensi meidan minimiehen ystavapiiria ymmarrettavista syista huomattavasti.
Ensimmainen kutsu koulukaverin synttareille tuli heti syyskuussa pari viikkoa koulun alkamisen jalkeen.

Periaatteesta haluan, etta meidan minimies menee jokaisiin synttareihin, joihin hanet on kutsuttu, jos se vaan aikatauluihimme sopii. Kyseessa on kuitenkin 6-vuotiaat, joille (ja varmasti muunkin ikaisille lapsille) on kova pettymys, jos kutsuttuja ei tulekaan heidan synttareilleen. Tama on tarkoittanut myos sita, etta menimme esimerkiksi luokan ykkoshairikon synttareille. Minimiehella on aina on ollut kivaa synttareilla, vaikkei hyvia ystavia ollakaan. Jos on ollut oikein hyva ystava (kuulemma siis BFF :D) niin silloin ollaan muokattu myos aikatauluja. Esimerkiksi jalkapallopeli jai valista kun oli BFF:n synttarit. 

Useimmat synttarit jarjestettiin jossain muualla kuin kotona. Olemme olleet vain kaksilla kotisynttareilla ja ekalla kerralla oli kyseessa perhe, jonka kanssa ollaan lomailtukin yhdessa. Toisella kerralla taas oli kyseessa perhe, jotka eivat halunneet lapsille synttarilahjoja, eika siella tarjoiltu esim kakkua, joten synttarit olivat enemmankin kuin leikkitreffit. Kummallakin kotisynttarikerralla perhe oli jarjestanyt lapsille tosi paljon leikkeja ja meidan minimies tykkasi kovasti tallaisistakin synttareista. Ekoissa kotisynttareissa oli ohjelmanumerona myos pinata, joten minimies paasi ekan kerran matkimaan sellaistakin heh. Yhdet synttarit, joihin emme valitettavasti paasseet, jarjestettiin meidan community poolilla.

Tassapa muutamia synttareita, joilla ollaan kayty:

Kaverisynttarit Karate-dojolla, teemana oli PAW Patrol

Kaverisynttarit sisaleikkipuistossa, muistaakseni prinsessateemalla.

Kaverisynttarit kaverin kotona, teemana Transformers

Synttarit ovat meidan alueella suht hintavia Suomeen verrattuna ja niihin panostetaan paljon. Meidan minimiehen synttarit sisaleikkipuistossa jarjestettiin halvempaan aikaan eli viikolla ja silloinkin hinnaksi tuli yli $300 ja siihen paalle tarjoilut. Aika usein synttaritpaketit maksavat sen $500. Eipa meilla ollut muuta vaihtoehtoa kun ostaa tallainen paketti, kun ei meidan asuntoonkaan 20 lasta mahdu. Halusin nimittain kutsua koko minimiehen luokan, ettei kellekaan tule paha mieli ja pelkastaan luokkakavereita on tuo 20. Sen lisaksi kutsuimme pari kaveria jalkapallo- ja koripallojoukkueista, seka muutaman MOMS clubissa tapaamamme lapsen.

Ja tassa kuva omista synttareista sisaleikkipuistossa, teemana super heroes eli vauhtia riitti.

Kaverisynttarit kirkolla, teemana Lentsikat

Kaverisynttarit keilahallilla, nailla ei nayttanyt olleen mitaan erikoista teemaa, paitsi tietenkin keilailu.

Kaverisynttarit rullaluistelupaikassa.
Nailla My little pony teemasynttareille meidan minimies oli muuten ainoa poika. Siella oli samaan aikaan kolmet muutkin synttarit, synttarisankareina myos pelkastaan tyttoja, joilla muutama poikavieras. Ei haitannut minimiehen menoa :)

Naiden lisaksi jouduimme harmittavasti kieltaytymaan muutamasta kutsusta, koska olimme Suomessa. Taalla nayttaa olevan niin, etta jos ei olla tulossa, ei vastata mitaan. Itse kylla laitoin viestia lasten vanhemmille, jos emme paasseet mukaan ja pahoittelin asiaa. Bussipysakilla asiasta keskusteltuamme yksi muu aiti kertoi myos aina ilmoittavansa, ettei paase, muut jattavat kuulemma ilmoittamatta. Toki ainakin meidan synttarijuhliin tuli myos sellaisia lapsia, joiden vanhemmat eivat ilmoitelleet mitaan, mutta siihen oltiin etukateen varauduttu. Yhden lapsen vanhempi soitti myos pari tuntia ennen synttareita, etta voiko tuoda mukanaan kaksi naapurin lasta, koska heidan aitinsa oli yhtakkia joutunut sairaalaan. Tottakai toivotimme lapset mukaan, saivat jotain muuta ajateltavaa. Muutama ilmoittautunut taas ei tullut, mutta yksi aiti kirjoitti seuraavana paivana sahkopostia, etta oli unohtanut synttarit ja lapset olivat hanelle tosi vihaisia. Kutsuimme aidin lapsineen meille leikkimaan lohdutukseksi seuraavana viikonloppuna.

Synttareiden tarjoilut olivat melkein kaikissa paikoissa samat eli pizzaa ja kakkua/cup cakes :) Tarjoiluja riitti myos aina vanhemmillekin. Syominkien jalkeen suurimmassa osassa juhlia avattiin lahjat porukalla eli synttarisankari (vanhempineen) ihasteli yksitellen avaamiaan lahjoja ja kiitteli antajaa. Tuli mieleen omat babyshowerit, jossa oli sama kuvio. Onneksi kaikki eivat lahjojen avausta harrastaneet, joten jatimme sen meidan kohdalla tekematta. Meidan minimies on kylla tosi hyva ihastelemaan ja kiittelemaan kaikesta, mutta itse en niin valita tasta tavasta. Sen sijaan kirjoitimme kaikille lahjanantajille kiitoskortit jalkikateen. Kiitoskortit tulivat myos yksilta toisilta synttareilta ja yhden synttarisankarin aiti lahetti sahkopostitse kiitoksen lahjasta lapsensa puolesta. 
Synttareiden lopuksi vieraat saivat kaikissa kaymissamme synttareissa party favor pussit, kuten Suomessakin. Pussien sisalto vaihteli jonkin verran, yhdessa juhlissa pussista paljastui jopa legosetti, mutta yleensa kyseessa oli pikkukraasaa muun muassa pilleja, tarroja, naamareita, jojoja, pikkuautoja ja karkkeja. 

En tieda ovatko kaverisynttarit taalla niin erilaisia kuin Suomessa, tosin kokemusta suomalaisista kouluikaisten synttareilta ei ole :) Itseani yllatti se, kuinka vahan kutsuttuja tuli joillekin synttareille lopulta mukaan. Ainakin yksilla synttareilla oli kutsuttu koko luokka, mutta laskin, etta luokkakavereita oli mukana tasan kuusi. Yksilla synttareilla taas minimies oli yllatyksekseen ainut mukaan kutsuttu luokkakaveri. Mutta oikein kivoilla synttarijuhlilla on tullut kaytya ja syotya aivan liikaa pizzaa :D

Mukavaa loppuviikkoa kaikille!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Random Tuesdays 05/03/2016


Sunset on Lake Champlain, Vermont in 2008