Stranded: Edition Netflix

Today's Stranded with Shay and Erika is going to be tough. I mean - how do I just pick THREE Netflix series?!?! GAH!

Who am I kidding, I would watch these shows on repeat... 

Friday Night Lights. 

Because clearly.

Source

Okay, so besides Tim Riggins - it is one of the best television shows of all time. I was super late in the game watching it, but I have successfully watched it twice on Netflix. Once in about 8 weeks. I don't know if that makes me awesome or just means I need a new hobby. 

Reasons to love FNL:

Texas

Football

Texas Football

Favorite characters:

Ummm... all of them. Reasons why in gif form:

Eric Taylor - Husband, father, coach. He's passionate, he's determined, he's committed, he's hard working, he's loyal. He is also dumb and makes lots of mistakes, but I do love how he says "I apologize" instead of "Sorry". Oh, and he has a killer wink. 

Source

Tami Taylor - Texas hair. Texas accent. Texas sass. 

Source

Tim Riggins - He just wants to play football. And he also wants to be loved. You would think that would be easy to do when you look like him, but for some reason, poor Tim is always picking up the pieces to something, which is clearly why we adore him so. 

Source

I can't really do this character by character. It would take forever. And ain't nobody got time for that. Every single character is awesome. Including Grandma. 

Source

Not including Julie Taylor, because... 

Source

Trust me - if I was on an island, this would be the show to watch. It's also a show your husband will watch and he will like it for more than just the plot line.... 

;)

Gilmore Girls

Source

I work with college students. Every day my prayer is that I teach them something. I hope that I leave a mark so when they go off to be the next great ::insert anything here:: part of me is with them. I believe in them. I think our world is better because of them. I am whole-heartedly in-love with my job. 

The reality is that they teach me so many wonderful things - including how to obsess over GG. 

Y'all. This show. THIS.SHOW! WHY DIDN'T I WATCH IT SOONER!??? My own MOM watched in real time. She kept telling me to watch it. Which is further proof that mothers are always right. (Well, mostly.) 

But it took one of my dearest young minds to convince me. And only because she LOVES it so. I can't give a better reason to watch this than Meg's post - so I'm stealing her words...

Also, how cute is she? 

From the words of Meg, the biggest GG fan I know:

Favorite Movie? Can't pick one for my life. 

One meal I could eat for the rest of my life? Yep, can't choose. 

Favorite Book? To Kil..Fahrenheit...Gone... Nope can't make me choose for a million dollars?

Favorite color? All of them? 

Any other ice breaker questions that are asked at functions that are meant to "help you get to know the other people" don't have answers, but I do have one that I can whole heartily answer with out wavering in the least. 

Favorite TV show? GILMORE GIRLS. 

My mom and I watched the show religiously. We cried during the last episode. I still quote the show on a daily basis (favorite being Coffee, Coffee, Coffee and Oy vey with the Poodles), and obscure references may have helped me on more than a few more tests than I would like to admit. Once I filled an entire wedding card with quotes from the show... from memory ("Congratulations are for the groom, best wishes are for the Bride"). Yes, I think I have a classic case of Fan Girl. 

Lorelei Gilmore is my spirit animal. Rory Gilmore is the reason I like a good cup of joe (and coincidentally may be on the verge of needed an intervention). Dean made me believe in love and have extremely high expectations of great boyfriends (Reese, i'm still waiting for my car!). Jess made me want to be with a boy who writes notes in the margins of a book, but walks away in a leather motorcycle jacket ("Cause if you're gonna throw your life away he'd better have a motorcycle!"). Logan made me want to steal a boat and plant an avocado tree. Lane made me want to hide things in my floor boards. Sookie made me want to be a chef (something I'm still kinda not over). Luke made me believe in the good guy. Ms. Patty made it ok to play with the line of what is considered "appropriate". Kirk made me feel second hand embarrassed in the best way possible and Paris made me want to simultaneously punch her in the face and give her a huge hug. 

Life in Starshollow was, and still is because it lives on on the interwebz and on my shelf (in the form of all 7 seasons I own on DVD), grand. 

Sidebar: Jared Padalecki's cousin was my senior Calculus teacher and pretty much the only reason I am not still in High School trying to pass math. With that said I am, and always will be TEAM LOGAN, but Dean/Jared is a REALLLLL close second. If you are Team Jess... I just can't go there. Call but doesn't speak? Runs off when he says I love you? I just can't.

And Lorelei's love life? If you are not Team Luke forever and always you can just move to Woodbridge. Although Christopher is still pretty swoon worthy . 

WATCH GILMORE. Repeat. 

(I'm watching it again in honor of the upcoming mini-movies.)

(Bonus - I have convinced Ryan to watch it with me).

Parenthood

(Source)

I watched Parenthood in "real time" and I have yet to rewatch in on Netflix, but it's coming. (It should also be noted that the same writer/producer of FNL also created Parenthood. SO MANY FUN CROSS OVERS!) 

This show caused ALL THE TEARS all the time. I mean, every single one of my tears came out of my eyes.

I cried watching it. I cried thinking about it. And then I cried over ice cream recapping it every week with Ryan. Who also cried sometimes. 

I really love the Bravermans. They were messy. They were honest. They were full of faults and crazy and loud and mistakes. They were imperfect.

They were us.

All of us. They didn't apologize. They didn't try to change each other (all the time). They just loved. They forgave. They had each other's backs. They were so good at the every day and made the inbetweens worth remembering too.

They celebrated life big and small. They learned from each other. They learned with each other. They listened. They yelled. They laughed. They cried.

I can honestly say that this show is my favorite of all time.

Before FRIENDS. Even before the original 90210. (And y'all. That's huge). (Because Dylan McKay).

Thank you, Bravermans. For letting us in. For teaching us about family. For loving each other. And for embracing the messy of life.

Because the thing about "parenthood" that you don't really think about (at least I didn't) is that it's just that ... messy. I have never once had a perfect day of parenting. And I never will. I have received more grace from my children and husband than I deserve for all the mistakes, overreactions, crazy moments, yelling for no reason, and mistakes that I've made.

I am messy.

But at the end of the day, when I making one more round of kissing the tops of sleeping heads and covering cold feet with a blanket, I am delighted to share in the mess of parenthood. I am eager for the next day, the next moments, the next 10 years of the messy that is it come.

And, if we were stranded, this isn't a bad song to have on repeat..

May god bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay, forever young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may you stay forever young

And now you can find me on my couch for the next three months re-watching all of these shows. 

:)

And don't forget... come share your best vacation planning tips next week with me and Shelly as part of our Spiel the Beans series!