Twenty Random Things About Mrs Geek

1. In high school, I thought I was being called to the religious life.  I felt a yearning to do something that made the world a better place, a call to be a teacher, and a desire to travel the world.  This led me to the conclusion that I should become a nun and live in Africa and teach at a school for girls.  (It didn't hurt that the daughter of my parents' friends did that exact thing and then came and talked to our parish about it.)  I also assumed I would be a terrible mother and felt no real call towards motherhood, leading me to believe that I shouldn't get married.  Basically my logic worked like this- women who were good mom material became wives and mothers, and women who were not became nuns.  Ergo, I was destined for the habit.  I don't think my parents ever wanted that for me, though, because they continuously pointed out that I was a little boy-crazy and constantly in need of a boyfriend, which I couldn't have if I was cloistered away somewhere (or, you know, in Africa, but I think they were in denial about that bit).  But then a nun pointed out to my mom that being a nun doesn't mean you can't like boys, so that line of reasoning dried up after a while.  It doesn't mean I didn't really struggle with my discernment to a vocation, especially as my senior year boyfriend and I got ever more serious and I realized the benefits of a potential marriage and a lifelong partner.  Sometime in my freshman year of college, even as I was realizing that this boyfriend was not the right match for me, I all of a sudden felt an overwhelming call to motherhood- I needed to (one day) give birth to my own children, no question.  I still thought I'd be pretty bad at it and struggled with the idea that my potential future children would hate me, but I inexplicably knew that it was what I was supposed to do.

2. I've always wanted to be a redhead.  In middle school and high school, I pestered my mom to let me dye my hair or at least get highlights, but she never let me- she always said it wasn't a good idea to damage my hair when I was still so young, and I think secretly she was afraid the color would turn out awful and I didn't exactly need any help in the awkward department.  First I wanted a dark chestnut brown, then goth black, then strawberry blonde, then cobalt blue, then real ginger red...basically anything but my mousy, dirty blonde.  By the time I got to college, I still had an itch for red hair, and the ability to do something about it, but I never pulled the trigger.  After we got married, I did the whole post-wedding chop thing, and I promised myself that when it grew back out, the next extreme hair-makeover I did would be to finally dye it.  Buuuut then I got pregnant.  And then, you know, the baby was born.  And now I just don't have time to get my hair done (though if I did, I'd want more of a maroonish red with dark undertones).  But I feel like if I dye my hair red now people will just think I'm copying my (beautiful) daughter...

3. My drink of choice is a whiskey and Sprite.  Maker's Mark, to be specific.

4. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my favorite candy ever.

5. If I had to pick one city to live in for the rest of my life, I'd choose Blacksburg, VA.  It's a beautiful town and is consistently rated one of the best places to raise a family- it's not your typical college town.

6. I've performed with the Moscow Ballet.  It's really not as impressive as it sounds- when I was in middle school, they were touring their Nutcracker and auditioning for the children's parts in each town.  I auditioned and landed a role as a mouse for both the matinee and evening performance.  I know, I know, it's silly, but it was one of the only children's roles that had a part in both acts of the show, so I had considerable stage time compared to some of the other kids.  I brought my old pointe shoes and had some of the professional ballerinas sign them.

7. I secretly love Taylor Swift's music, even though I can't stand her as a person.

8. Hallowe'en is my favorite holiday because costumes!  Also candy!

9. If you're wondering what to get me for a gift-giving occasion, kitchen supplies are a safe bet.  Mr. Geek and I have a shared Google Document with a list of things I'd like for the kitchen in case he's ever stumped on what to get me.

10. Saint Augustine is my favorite saint.  Seven-year-old me had always seen saints as perfect, untouchable beings who I could never hope to live up to, but Saint Augustine was just a normal boy who became a very bad boy who completely turned his life around and made it to Heaven after all.  Of course, the more I studied the saints, the more I found stories of extreme conversion (which is kind of the point of saints), but Saint Augustine was the first to give me hope that holiness is truly achievable for all of us.

11. I hate snow.

12. Belle is my favorite Disney princess but Leia is a very close second.

13. Disney Imagineering has always been my dream job.  I'm still holding out hope that I'll get there one day.

14. Mr Geek and I recently discovered Archer and we LOVE it.

15. While I loved the Song of Ice and Fire book series, I'm not a huge fan of the TV show.  I only watched maaaaaybe half of season 1 of Game of Thrones and was just not impressed.  Part of what I like about the books is the pace- which, yes, is slow, because there is so much detail.  And not like Jules Verne details- it's not hundreds of pages describing the colors of the fish swimming by- but character-building details, so that when people do things that seem completely out of left field, it's at least not out of character.  The TV show, by nature of the medium, just feels so rushed by contrast.  Also I keep hearing about all the plot changes and I just have no desire to watch that, so.  Here's hoping he finishes the books...

16. I love the Disney show Gravity Falls.  Mr. Geek always asks me how old I am when he catches me watching it, and I tell him to shut up because it's super clever and funny.

17. I have a serious baby clothing habit.  I just can't help it.  Little Miss Chief has a completely full closet and I can't. stop. buying. it.

18. Iron Man is my favorite super hero because his super power is his BRAIN.  He's an engineer!  I mean seriously.

19. I'm not a beer drinker.  I'm not intentionally trying to be annoying or anything, I just prefer cider.

20. I'm very particular about the way I sort laundry.  I sort by color- like, individual colors- and then group like colors together so that in the end I do a load of whites, a load of darks, and a load of brights.  I could just sort them that way to begin with, but I have to have my process.

All right, there we go- 20 things!  What are some random things about you?

Much love,
The Geeks

10 Reasons Why Top Gear is Awesome

Have you ever watched Top Gear?  It's an awesome show on the BBC where 3 hilarious guys review the latest cars and...get up to some other crazy antics.  Here are 10 reasons, in no particular order, why you should watch it!

1. They redesigned the motorhome:

 
2. They get creative when there's no air conditioning:

3. They made gin and tonics while driving around the North Pole:

 

4. They figured out how to better drive the Porsche 911 GT3 (you know, in case it catches fire):

5. Mr. Bean was once the Star in the Reasonably-Priced Car:

6. They drive around in amazing supercars, like the McLaren P1, for our entertainment:

7. They go on safaris and make miraculous discoveries:

 

8. They sent a Mini off a ski jump:

 

 9. They are the kings of "don't try this at home":

10. The Stig:

So what about you- do you watch Top Gear?  What's your favorite part?

Much love,
The Geeks

all images via Top Gear on Tumblr

Guilty Pleasure

I'd like to say I have pretty discerning tastes when it comes to the television I watch.  You can divide pretty much everything I watch into three categories: Educational, Skills Competitions, and Shows That Make You Think.

On the Educational front, I watch a lot of cooking shows and home renovation shows- mainly cooking shows, though.  I've been obsessed with Food Network since I discovered my love for cooking right before I left for college.  I've memorized Food Network's weekday schedule, and I've watched enough Restaurant: Impossible to have given up any thoughts of opening a restaurant.  On any given day, I'm watching Giada or Ina or Ree or Trisha while nursing Chief and getting ready to make dinner myself.  Aside from Food Network and HGTV, Mr. Geek and I love Mythbusters and Top Gear (and yes, I'm lumping this under the Educational umbrella because at the end of the episode, you have, in fact, learned something about the feature car, even if it's just how fast The Stig could take it around the track).

When it comes to Skills Competitions, I'm a huge fan of So You Think You Can Dance for obvious reasons (namely, my former life as a dancer) and also Project Runway (including the All-Stars and Under the Gunn spin-offs, though neither is as entertaining as the original).  With my aforementioned love of cooking shows, I'm a huge fan of the competitions on Food Network- mainly Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games, and Cutthroat Kitchen.

But I do watch fictional TV shows, too- it's just the minority of my TV-watching, and it tends to be in the drama or sci-fi category and less in the sitcom category (and they are Shows that Make You Think).  If there's nothing good on Food Network and if Top Gear is all re-runs, we're definitely watching Law and Order on any given day.  I used to love Special Victims Unit, but now that I have a daughter, I find it hard to watch stories of sexual assault and child abuse.  We like crime shows in this house- we both wish Criminal Intent were still on the air, as it's the best of the Law and Order spinoffs; we love older episodes of Criminal Minds, though that show has jumped the shark lately; and we'll gladly watch reruns from the first few seasons of the original CSI.  I think we both agree that LOST was the best show to ever be on television ever, and we're planning to re-watch it (again) soon since we own the super-extra-special edition.  We started watching Once Upon a Time on our most recent snow day, and the storytelling format reminds me of LOST (though obviously it's nowhere near as good).  I'm a sucker for British television, too- Downton Abbey, Sherlock, and Doctor Who are all favorites.  We do watch pure comedy on occasion, but it's generally just South Park and Futurama which are really quite smart shows, once you get passed the poop jokes.

All of this is to say- I don't really watch what is traditionally meant by "reality TV".  I can't stomach a full episode of The Real Housewives of any city, I couldn't care less about the Kardashian clan (they're only famous because of a sex tape, right?), and I don't understand how The Bachelor still has enough viewership to be on the air.  Stupid, shallow people being stupid and shallow are not my idea of entertaining subjects.

But there is one exception to this rule.

via E!

I once fell asleep on the couch with Chief while watching a movie and when we woke up, this show was on.  And it is hilarious.  Whomever is writing the script for this show deserves an Emmy because seriously, this is some funny stuff!  All reality TV is scripted in some way, be it contrived situations, creative editing, or outright written lines, and this show definitely falls into the latter category.  This show is infinitely quotable because it's written that way- there's no way these people are that witty and clever on their own, spontaneously.  Someone please- give these writers an award!

So yes, I admit it- while I don't watch it regularly and I don't DVR it, if #RichKids of Beverly Hills happens to be on, I'm all over it. 

What kind of TV do you watch?  Do you have any television guilty pleasures?

Much love,
The Geeks