Tag Archives: life

Couch Potato Files Vol. 20

My vacation was awesome. Maybe it was more awesome than it really was, since I have had the shittest year, BUT I do believe it likely was one for the record books. My hubby and I had a great time in the Whale’s Vagina (a.k.a. San Diego) and we packed in as much fun as we could for a full week. The weather was glorious – even with their humidity, I could live with 70s temps for the rest of my life. When I win the lottery, we’re headed to buy whatever is available on Coronado.

Speaking of, I took my ma and pop to Coronado to swim with the fishes, not mob style. I found an old film container of my pop’s ashes recently in our kitchen junk drawer. He’s been “moving” with us across three houses. So it was only fitting that I discovered him so he could be with my ma. I honestly don’t remember if there’s more of his ashes at my ma’s house BUT will find out soon in September when we head out there. Not looking forward to it BUT making good progress on finding quick sale buyers to just be done with it. Anywho, you didn’t come here to read more about these woes – that’s what my therapist is for.

Here’s some interesting tidbits of shows and movies I’ve been digging since my last post.

And Just Like That… – HBO Max

I am really bummed that the masses, other than me and some really vocal influencers, basically shit on this show so bad that they didn’t want to make more than three seasons. Keeping the momentum of the OG SATC series was near impossible – plus, it was a different show all together. It’s funny how people can’t just separate them entirely and like them for different reasons. They came with pitchforks to destroy this one. I really enjoyed it and was just so happy that some piece of that world was back, all these years later. So, as we close in on the last episode ever dropping tonight, I thank Carrie and team for pulling off a Round 2 and doing it for us grateful fans.

The Naked Gun – at a theater near you

There’s a movement of hate for reboots and sequels of past favorites that’s also gaining momentum. I do think Hollywood has gotten a bit lazy, just remaking old things like new again, BUT there’s a time and place for some of the nostalgia to come back full circle. This movie is exactly that and as funny as ever. Liam and Pamela were fantastic AND that they’re dating in real life is the cutest Hollywood story since anything and everything Pedro Pascal. Pamela is having a moment, after getting drug for years as being nothing more than a slut. It’s nice to see that she’s actually really talented and showing all the haters that they can eat shit. She’s also laughing all the way to the bank. So I say good for her. Keep having your moment and ride it out! 

Wednesday – Netflix

The hype for this show coming back for Season 2 has been off the charts. Did you read about the stupid woman who sat in the Wendy’s drive-thru for FOUR hours to get the special chicken nuggies with the Wednesday purple sauce and skipped taking her kids to Universal Studios?! Influencers sure know how to influence – feels a bit excessive. I leave a drive-thru if there’s more than a car or two. No patience for that. Anyway, the new season is great – only four episodes in Part 1 with Part 2 dropping September 3.

Platonic – AppleTV

Back for Season 2, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as besties is what the show is all about. Seth’s wardrobe is if Adam Sandler gave a few more fucks and cared a little more about brands (and logos) BUT still dresses however he wants. Check it out – you’ll understand what I mean. It’s fun and hearing Seth laugh is always a treat. It’s like Eddie Murphy laughing – you want to laugh too since it’s contagious. Rose is just a comedic genius too – so, so funny. And, the two of them together really, really work. Her husband is an awesome actor too, big Hallmark hunk but has had other parts since rising to that fame. 

Smoke – AppleTV

Episode 9 is out now and wraps the series…and I haven’t watched it just yet but if it’s anything like the other eight previous episodes I’m gonna hold on to my butt. Taron Edgerton really is a special actor – his resume proves that. I think my favorite character though is played by John Leguizamo. Just a likeable fuck-up that’s crucial to the plot and that the writers gifted with a lot of great dialogue. He’s pretty great in most everything he’s ever been in.

Fill in the Blank Reality TV – streamers, cable, etc

I tend to turn the TV on when I’m on vacation and find some truly terrible shows just to have on in the background in my room. I did that again on our recent trip and watched some Botched, Real Housewives of Orange County and Storage Wars. I’ve either watched them some over the years, like Storage Wars, or know of them of course because of their popularity. Always highly entertaining but I still don’t think I can really commit to much with all the other TV I watch, however tempting it always is. Cheers to all of you that do religiously watch any of it. 

Alright, that’s a wrap for this installment of watch what I watch and give a shit about what I give a shit about. Hope you find something of interest and if not, thanks for reading anyway. 

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Couch Potato Files Vol. 19

Friday was my childhood best friend’s birthday. We’ve known each other since we were 8 and next year we’ll celebrate 40 years of friendship. Yes, girl math calculations mean we’re now 47. 

I only have a handful of close friends. Just how I roll and have pruned the list shorter and shorter the older I’ve gotten. Don’t we all do that? Some people just show up for you, for the good, bad and ugly and others come and go. Just human nature. 

As an only child, friends were more like siblings and I chose them wisely. She’s the only one I’ve stayed close with since, aside from the occasional check-ins with others on Facebook or at our high school reunions. She’s been a consistent champion for me and a sister I never had by blood. 

When my ma was sick, she was one of many who consistently checked in and offered to do whatever she could, along with offering to come help, living all the way in the Bay area. She’s a nurse, which comes with the territory of helping people and she’s really great at it. 

We’re counting down the days until early September when we’re tackling the big cleanout of my ma’s house to sell it and she was the first to offer to show up and be there for anything and everything. I’m looking forward to seeing her as it will be over a year since our last visit, even if it’s for shitty circumstances. We’ll make the most of it and the best part is we’ll do it together. My hubby has no idea what he’s in for but he’s a trooper and will roll along with whatever, too.

Aside from that, I’ve been keeping up with my usual Cruise Director calendar and I honestly feel fortunate that I’m always crazy active, packing in as much as I can into a given day/week/month because it’s now serving as a great distraction from constantly being upset about my ma. I still find plenty of time to be sad – driving bubbles up sadness more than anything when a familiar song comes on that we both loved or from a movie soundtrack that we watched and listened to a million times. So don’t get me wrong – I’m grieving plenty. It’s also a reminder that my ma is always with me and riding co-pilot. 

Part of that busy calendar included a night out to celebrate one of my favorite friends this week – another July birthday.  I got tickets to Moulin Rouge at ASU Gammage. O.M.G. It was so awesome! Talk about great music and although it’s based on the movie, which TBH, I wasn’t a huge fan of, they modernized it with even newer music. Major mash-ups and likely a huge expensive royalty list to boot! I mean they had Gaga, Beyonce, Whitney, Tina – all the divas and so much more. The set was incredible, especially for a touring Broadway show. It was like we were in the Moulin Rouge. The cast waa awesome. I just grinned like a Joker idiot the whole time AND I hadn’t looked up anything about it online or seen any clips so I could go in cold and get the full unbiased experience. I can’t recommend it enough. It runs through August 3 and then heads on to the next city. If you ever get a chance to see it on the road or on Broadway, do it!

Here’s what I also managed to squeeze in to watch too, with a heavy catch-up day on Saturday!

The Hunting Wives – Netflix 

I saw this pop-up as a new show and was intrigued because of some of the cast. It’s mildly Hallmark but with more drinking, more redneck vibes and more hunting riffles. It’s fun but I’ve only just started it so we’ll see!

Stick  – Apple TV

Season 1 is a wrap for 10 episodes. Season 2 was greenlit the same day as the finale dropped. Owen Wilson is just the most loveable goofball, as I’ve written about before. It’s super feelgood and still reminds me of my pop. Give it the late summer binge it needs.

Sam Rockwell on Hot Ones  – YouTube

He’s such a truly unique and fun actor and had a lot of great sound bites. He also looked like he was ready to explode, turning very red! This was the first episode I watched that the guest actually requested beer because duh, beer goes with wings, even if they’re ready to melt your face off and the beer doesn’t help put out the fire on your tongue – it’s always milk. Seeing him in anything always reminds me of my very favorite movie he starred in – The Way Way Back. A coming of age tale where he works at a waterpark. It’s great. He recites a favorite song of mine in one scene that to this day makes me laugh every time I’ve been at the top of a water slide, ready to go down. 

Fantastic Four – at a theater near you

Sure, there’s been many movies before that were perfectly fine. This one was a new take and I loved that it was set in the past. The mid-Century modern vibe of it too, along with the cast, was A+++. Maybe it’s because Pedro stars and he can cry on camera LIKE NO ONE CAN. It was all equal parts touching, action-packed, funny, charming and sad. Two-stretchy-thumbs up!  

Happy Gilmore 2 – Netflix

The Sandman is a genius with his empire of funny, always. I LOVE every time I see the list of top earning celebrities and he sits at the very top, wearing swim trunks and a shitty old shirt and doesn’t give a fuck. His production company and Netflix deal was super smart and he makes sure people walk away from his movies having laughed. Nowadays feeling like that goes a long way – they don’t have to be masterpieces or Oscar-worthy. Just entertaining and worth your time to watch. He knows that formula well. 

Part 2 is nearly 30 years after the original, falling into the trend of what’s old is new again and everyone that’s trying to bring the good times back. I saw something online that talked about how sometimes the popularity of a movie originally isn’t just about the movie and its content but the time period it was released in. Sometimes you can’t recreate that magic and draft off of that, especially THAT many years later. But I’ll tell you what: Sandler does a fun job of trying. It was silly and very much like the original and I loved it. Don’t read too much into the garbage that’s out there about it – just watch and enjoy!

Resident Alien – SyFy

The official cancellation just dropped that Season 4 will be it. Man, it was soooo fun! Alan T is a national comedic treasure. I wish more people watched it and maybe if it hadn’t been on SyFy it would have had a larger audience. But, 4 seasons is more than some shows get and I think they were able to wrap it up, knowing this season may be the last. Only two episodes remain. If you need a new show to binge this can be it, especially one that will make you laugh and isn’t heavy at all.

Sunday Scaries time but not really since I’m a week out from vacay! Honestly I am so happy it’s finally here. I’m ready to find sand weeks later in my clothes and body parts! 

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Couch Potato Files Vol. 16

It’s nearly July 4th and we’ve entered the half-way point of 2025. I really wish I was on our annual summer vacation right now but I’m happy I’ll be home to watch the Hot Dog Eating contest, Jaws, fireworks (on TV because it’s hot AF) and the new Jurassic movie – Summer Blockbuster Season is officially here! 

We pushed our annual Summer trip to early August. With everything with my ma, I’ve just wanted to hide out and run away from all of it so really looking forward to blowing this popstand soon(ish). I’m also really hoping for less tears, less deep sighs and less anxiety and more laughs, more fun and more calm for the second half of 2025. I’d also like to get off the Struggle Bus any time now. I’ve been a passenger for awhile, driving in circles with no real destination. So here’s to better – not the best but just better and trying to enjoy the journey as much I can. 

I’ve slowly but surely been turtling my way through the huge pile of shows and movies that have been waiting in the wings for me to care about again. I’m still really, REALLY bad about not finishing some shows, similar to my reading habits, as I’ve gotten older, but we’ll see if  I can cross a bunch off my list over the next few months. The NBA playoffs and season are over too, freeing up some more of my viewing time. BIG congrats to OKC. What a great group of dudes! Ok, all that being said, here’s some shows and movies that I have finished or are in the process of watching.

The Bear – Season 4- Hulu

I’ve attempted to get my hubby to watch this show with me since Season 1 Episode 1. He watched that debut episode and it was so chaotic, full of anger and anxiety that he couldn’t stick with it. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. It’s crazy. The filming and choices the creators have made are always fantastic, not to mention the cast and special guests that pop-up often. I don’t think I ever really cared about that sort of thing until seeing a show that pulls it off so well. It’s just a beautiful hurricane. I watched the last episode of Season 4 on Sunday. There are rumors this may be the final season and I’d be ok with that. It had a natural wrap to it, like they planned it to possibly be exactly that, but it could go on for more too. Still kills me, and I’m sure all its competition, they entered all the awards shows as a comedy. It’s way more drama than comedy and I don’t think they can even really claim it being a dramedy but good for them. Whatever works and gets you those very deserved trophies. 

Fun Fact: I see Jeremy Allen White posts on the Gram walking with big bundles of flowers all the time. Just this morning I reposted a set that had some context to them. He has a flower market near his home and he likes to get new flowers weekly so that he can arrange them around his home with his daughters. I mean, the Top Dad Award goes to Yes Chef!

The Gilded Age – Season 3 – HBO Max

In its third season and doling out the episodes weekly like old school days, this show is Bridgerton-like but not as many laughs and not as much smut. Awesome period piece show with society dramarama and trying to fit in, along with some historical elements peppered in that make it feel very legit. The consultants on set clearly made sure they made it as real as they could. There’s some really top-tier cast members too, including Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski. Talk about star-power with that trifecta. I’ve been following Carrie for a long time. One of my favorite short-lived shows was The Leftovers, another HBO Max show. It only lasted three seasons, based on a popular book, or maybe that was enough – I don’t know. I remember wanting more but that they did get to tie things up pretty well, knowing it may only last three seasons. I loved the cast so much and the show premise, as sad and fucked up as it was. Check it out if you haven’t already. I also think Carrie has a deep connection (and long-lasting contract) with HBO since she’s also in the latest season of White Lotus. I’ll write about that another time (since I need to really dig in on all the Mike White awesomeness and not feeling like diving deep today), while wearing my DIFF White Lotus colab sunnies.  I waited for MONTHS for them to arrive and they finally did! As my daughter jokes, I’m super extra, like guac. 

Smoke – Apple TV

Smoke is a brand new show starring Taron Egerton along with Jurnee Smollett that just dropped on AppleTV. If you’re familiar with Backdraft, one of Kurt Russell’s very best, this show has a similar premise but man, there’s two episodes so far and a MAJOR plot twist has already been introduced! There will be nine total episodes through August 15, dripping them out weekly, again, old school style. That’s what AppleTV does for all their shows. Unpopular opinion – I’m old and still kind of like that. With as much as I watch (and the rest of my social butterfly calendar that keeps me away from being a 24/7 couch potato) I appreciate a weekly show AND if I decide to let it ride and pile up some, I can binge a few episodes too. So best of both worlds. Can we also talk about how awesome Taron is for a sec? I’m always, ALWAYS impressed by actors who can change their accent for a role. I know it’s kind of part of the gig but it’s crazy to me, especially when some of them have very thick accents. How do they do that?!  It’s so cool. If you’re a Taron fan like me, check out his other AppleTV show Black Bird with the awesome and soooo talented Paul Walter Hauser. Do yourself another favor and follow Paul on the Gram. He’s a hoot and I love his posts. 

Stick – Apple TV

This new Owen Wilson feel-good comedy is a lot of Ted Lasso and a dash or two of Tin Cup. I watch it and cry mostly because I know it’s something my pop and ma would both have loved to see and Owen is just such a charming and genuine goofball. I watched him on Hot Ones and I’m convinced his character in all his roles is really his persona in real life or something pretty close. The show is excellent and so much fun to watch, in between my tears. 

F1 – at a theater near you

F1 is a movie to see on the big screen – it was made for it! And if you can, see it at IMAX! I tried and was a fucking idiot and bought the wrong tickets BUT I still saw it on a Harkins Ciné screen which is bigger. 

I’m pop culture obsessed, as is very apparent here and on all my social channels, and I read that Apple and the producers considered Tom Cruise for Brad Pitt’s role but decided to not cast him because it would have been too risky. Tom is always pushing the envelope of potential death (see Mission Impossible, Top Gun, etc) and the studio was like, nah, maybe not. Then, I watched/listened to Brad on Dax Shepard’s podcast and he said that it was the first racing movie where they allowed the stars to be insured and really drive the F1 cars…that on average race at 180 MPH. He said he told them that if they weren’t able to get behind the wheel of the real deal then he was out.  Brad also has an over-priced line of clothing. Aside from how pretentious that site looks and the prices are, he does seem like a cool and chill dude. I’m sure Angelina and his kids would say otherwise but George Clooney probably would still testify for him and that’s all that matters. 

Sinners – still at theaters but coming to streamers this week!

Sinners will be on streamers soon and we finally saw it over the weekend. Wow – crazy and bravo to Ryan Coogler and also Michael B. Jordan for playing twins! Again, I saw a post and article that they put him in some new camera gear to pull off the filming of that. Long way from side by side merged screens that looked super janky but we loved it anyway because move magic, duh. 

I think if Ryan was trying to channel some Jordan Peele and join him in the horror ranks of Hollywood, he achieved that, along with having some legit real-world messaging too, also another technique that Jordan has perfected. I always feel like Jordan gives me a “The More You Know” vibe with all his flicks but waaaayyyy deeper. So check, Ryan, I think you did it and all the love and support you’ve gotten from the world and box office about the movie is a testament to that too.  

Good Hang with Amy Poehler

So not a show or movie but a podcast that I like to watch and listen on YouTube. I’m trying to introduce more podcasts to my routine since there are so many good ones, like Good Hang with Amy Poehler. She’s got a great line-up of interviews and is so funny and genuine. It’s a good time and always great conversations. I watch/listen while working. It’s been a nice change and I highly recommend it! 

I recently got to see Amy with Tina Fey on their tour and it was a major bucket list moment. It had been a really rough day, the day I had to get everything set up with hospice for my ma and one of my best friends was with me and we managed to still make it to the show that night. I think I laughed harder than maybe their jokes and stories really were that funny, overcompensating for all that I’d been experiencing for months or maybe slightly unhindged, like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit. There’s a scene where he laughs so hard, physically and loudly, when a bathtub falls through the floor, like to the degree of choking himself – it’s just one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and I still laugh ’til I cry to this day when I rewatch it. I think I was close to that level of outward crazy laughing without irritating the fuck out of all our seatmates. Laughter truly is the best medicine or like Dolly Parton’s character Truvy in Steel Magnolias said “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.” Enjoy your 4th celebration and GO JOEY CHESTNUT!

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Couch Potato Files Vol. 15

Grief is a real motherfucker. As I texted one of my best friends the other day, some therapist is going to have a really great fucking time “unpacking” all my grief, whenever I get around to seeing someone. And, if they use the word “unpacking” when talking to me about what all I’ve gone through with my ma, I think I’ll deck them. But yes, I do still have my sense of humor – laughter is the best medicine after all and who cares if that’s cliché to say. Cliché can be fun.

Tomorrow, May 16, will be five months since I had an intervention with my ma at her home in Cherry Valley and started on this health and medical journey with her, with multiple hospital visits, moving her to Arizona, getting her lots of medical help includind a large list of doctors and specialists, rehab with physical and occupational therapists, an awesome new apartment at an assisted living community, the works…only to have her recently on May 1 decide to throw in the towel and be done. And by done I mean she decided to stop taking meds and receiving on-going treatment and just call it quits. Enter hospice and end of life arrangements. 

A huge part of me is mad as hell since I never wanted her to give up or thought she would but I’m also equal parts sad as hell that I have no idea how she really feels, how depressed she really is to think there’s no way out but to be done and that she’s likely relieved to have made the ultimate decision to stop trying and go back to not being a burden to me and our family.

Ironically her decision is a huge burden and everything we’ve gone through together has been a burden BUT as shitty as it’s been, I’ve been dealing with it all as best I can and I was really happy to see her progress and that she started getting healthier. Having her give up felt like a pretty big fuck you to the last five months but there’s no way but forward now. 

Aside from all the negative feelings that came rushing to me with her decision, there’s also a lot of positive feelings from it too. I’m relieved to not have to be the bad guy any more, barking reminders at her about all the things she needs to keep doing to get better and stronger. It was like having a three year old again, reminding her to eat more protein, brush her teeth, keep up with her exercises, ask for help to get to the bathroom before she had an accident and so much more. Now I can hangout with her and do my best to be there for her and enjoy her company in her final days. We can drink lots of Dr. Pepper, eat junk food and garbage, watch TV and just be together. 

It wasn’t exactly the way I pictured finally having my mom living in Arizona but it’s so much better than her not being here. There’s relief in knowing she’s ten minutes from my house. There’s relief in knowing she’s getting really great and over-priced care. There’s relief in knowing that I did everything I could to help her.  My only regret is that I didn’t sign her up to see a therapist that may have been able to help and give her a more positive outlook on her health…along with some happy pills that could have been the difference in her giving a shit again…or just more of the same and adding to the long list of meds she didn’t want to take. All the nurses and some of the doctors were good about helping keep her spirits up, along with me being a drill sergeant and hammering home that she’s doing great and improving. Because she truly was, even if she didn’t feel like it. There were physical signs of improvement – I just couldn’t see or help her mentally.

And, just when I think I can’t cry any more, more tears show up – that grief, like I said, is a real bitch. I was watching a movie last weekend and one of the characters who had lost her husband said there was no timeline on grief, that she just hadn’t been ready to take her wedding band off yet or allow herself to be open to finding someone new. That pretty much sums up how I’ve felt about my ma. Grief is here to stay for the foreseeable future and I’m mostly equal parts mad and sad with a lot of anxiety and stress sprinkled throughout. I’m trying my best to not dwell on the current situation and focus on remembering all the good. Remembering how great my ma was and that she was larger than life and not the shell of herself laying in a hospital bed.  So here’s to my ma and being the best there ever was to raise me into the take-no-shit-nearly-50-year-old that I am. I hope I’ve been able to return the favor by being the best caregiver and daughter to her. 

P.S. Sooner than later I swear I’ll start writing again about TV shows and movies and end all this depressing shit. BUT, thanks, all three of you, for continuing to read my rambles, no matter the content. 

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Couch Potato Files Vol. 14

Happy First Day of Spring. Crazy that we’ve already made it to late March and that our hotter temps are already trying to show up here in Arizona. Please stay away, triple digits, for as long as possible!

This past Sunday, March 16, was two months since I started on this wellness path with my ma. In all honesty, it feels more like six months. The old saying time flies when you’re having fun doesn’t apply in this case. It’s more like time stands still when you’re dealing with anything in the medical industry and you have no patience left or never had it in the first place. 

It reminds me of when my pop had cancer and the eternity it took for my mom and him to get help at the VA hospital, especially when he was literally dying and the clock was ticking away. Have I mentioned what a shitty healthcare system we have? 

The moral of the current trajectory I’m on with my ma is be careful what you wish for. I wished for my ma to get better and to take better care of herself, only to discover the list of what needed to be taken care of was a mile long. It all really adds up when you haven’t seen a doctor in three decades. So we try to laugh about it, that she’s making up for lost time, while every doctor, nurse, therapist and specialist we see has their head spin when they see her list of ailments. It’s pretty remarkable she’s survived, as morbid as that sounds and is. The story you see around the web about the 100+ year old woman who drinks a Dr. Pepper a day and is still kicking reminds me of my ma. I bought her a shirt that says “Save Water. Drink Dr. Pepper.” for a reason. I took her a mini can every day to the hospital and I knew the days she was really struggling were the days she wouldn’t drink much of it. Same goes for at home now. 

In all reality, this dumpster fire of an adventure has been a real learning experience, not just about how cocky I can get with acting like I’m a nurse or doctor, since I’ve now read and experienced enough to maybe give nursing school a go or even med school – not really, just like to act like it. But, it’s more a learning experience about myself, my family, friends, and the medical industry. 

I’ve found that many can be empathetic or sympathetic and many are just assholes. I’ve learned that some people can’t dig in and help or even know where to start and that’s ok – maybe some just literally can’t and it’s not in their make-up as a human. Although it’s frustrating, I keep reminding myself that on a daily basis.

I also have learned that I don’t post on social media or write here on my blog to seek sympathy from others – it’s a coping mechanism since I love to write and this whole experience has given me A LOT of material. When I do finally take the time to book my own therapist appointment, I plan to provide whoever the lucky contestant is with the link to this blog. It’s the cliffnotes’ version of what they’re in for BUT they might also find some interesting TV and movie recommendations as a nice bonus.

This whole experience is still a giant PSA to take better care of myself and my family. There’s just no excuse and if depression takes over, seek help. I just really, REALLY wish my ma would have let me help sooner but there’s no take-backsies, especially when it comes to this shitshow of a situation – I’m just still so grateful I got to her before it was too late. And let’s be honest, it may be too late anyway but I’m glad she’s trying. Even as small as the improvements are every day, they’re still improvements. 

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