A Pink Pixie Princess - Complete!

[Ariel484]

It does help a lot. thank you for taking the time to send such an honest reply. I used to swim then had to stop over 2 years ago and then had surgery on my shoulder in January 2015. That's when I lost my fitness and I've found it hard to get it back alongside getting older (47). I am going to WDW next week for 16 days and try to go out for an early morning run to help burn off some of the excessive calories from vacation so I will persevere until then and re-evaluate how I feel when I get home.

Good luck to you!! I hope you figure it out and have a great trip!

Wow, you're racking up those miles girl! I can't wait to see what outfits you plan for the races! Crazy that it is coming up so fast!

Gah, I know! Less than 3 weeks until taper...crazy!!

Also, hubby and I finally started Luke Cage last week and we LOVE it! I'm seriously obsessed with the music that is always in Cottonmouth's club. We only have a few episodes left, and then I'm going to be ready for more Jessica Jones . . whenever that will be!

YES, the club music is super cool. For us, Luke Cage started off great and then sort of lost steam as it went on, so I'll be curious to hear what you think.

I had no idea you were posting regularly again...damn notifications, so I'll be following on from here. Training sounds like it's going super well!

Yeah, I just changed my mind, I guess. Overall training is definitely going well, but I'm nervous for the SUPER long runs I have coming up and am just really hoping the weather will cooperate for a few more weeks!

 

[Ariel484]

Dopey Challenge Training
Week 12 (11/21) - 29 miles planned, 17 completed
MO: rest
TU: 4 miles
WE: yoga
TH: 8 miles
FR: 12 miles (rest day)
SA: 5 miles
SU: rest

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I felt VERY sore on Monday when I woke up, but by the time I got to work I felt much better than I expected, almost totally normal - pretty good for having run 16 miles the previous day! Guess the shorter run interval helped a lot. But I decided to completely take the day off just to make sure I was fully recovered.

Tuesday’s run was mostly good...I could feel that my legs were still struggling a bit after Sunday, but overall this was a decent run. Really the bigger struggle was that the treadmill is boooooring!

My 8-miler on Thursday was pretty good...nothing noteworthy about that one, or about yoga the previous day.

I thought these two pieces would *go* better than they actually did...I feel like the blues are off.

My 12-miler, unfortunately, didn’t happen. Apparently I was more stressed out about Thanksgiving than I realized (for various reasons) and by the time I actually sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, my back was killing me. I guess I’d been holding tension there all day without realizing it...I knew it wasn’t injured or anything, just very sore (like, I couldn’t sit in the chair at dinner sore). So I decided to play things super safe and skip my planned 12-miler for the week. And of course, Thanksgiving was fine - I ended up being stressed over potential drama that never happened and I made a decently tasty apple pie (my contribution to family events is always some kind of dessert). Need to remember this for Christmas!

Pie progress pic...just needed to add the crumble topping and bake! I forgot to take an "after" picture.

I woke up feeling okay on Friday - definitely better than the previous day, but again, I wanted to play it super safe, so I took this as a rest day. I had a GREAT 5-miler the next morning, so I think I made the right call. We left Saturday to spend a night with the inlaws (2.5 hours away) and got back home Sunday around dinner time. So not an ideal week with the missed run, but overall it was pretty good!

Also...I managed to completely binge the new Gilmore Girls episodes in less time than I’d like to admit. My thoughts are in the spoiler tag below...apparently I have a lot of thoughts because this thing is practically a novel! It's funny because Mr. A ended up watching more of the series with me when I was re-watching to get ready for the new episodes, and we watched all of the new episodes together. So for the 2.5-hour drive down to visit my MIL and FIL, we talked Gilmore Girls the entire way. Made the drive fly by!

Spoiler: Gilmore Girls

Overall, I have to say that I’m disappointed in the new episodes. The “feel” was not the same - which I sort of expected, but it still was a bummer. It’s hard to explain, but it just seemed “shinier” and less charming than the original series. Like how when your favorite TV show is made into a movie and it’s just a little off. The beginning of “Winter” was downright awkward to me, like people were still getting their bearings. And I felt like a couple of the scenes were weirdly close to crossing over into fantasy territory (the Life & Death Bridge and Luke/Lorelei wedding scenes), so that was strange.

I apologize for how scattered this is...

There were so many things I found odd about the show - who were those boys at the pool with Lorelei and Rory? Why were they “working” for them or whatever? Stars Hollow has a pool? Luke is wearing a lifeguard shirt???

And Lorelei decided to “do Wild”...what? So out of character for her! And what was up with bringing up the birthday letter when she and Emily were in therapy...what ever happened to that? Are we supposed to assume Lorelei wrote it, and if not, why even bring it up? To prove Emily always blames her for stuff? Very clunky.

My favorite characters on the original series were Emily and Paris - I wish Paris has been around more, but I loved when she was there. I’ve watched that actress in How to Get Away With Murder and I thought she slipped back into the Paris character flawlessly (sidenote: speaking of Paris, I thought it was hilarious that she ran the fertility clinic Luke and Lorelei visited...but then that storyline just went away, which I thought was weird. I thought it - surrogacy - would be a big thing and then it was just gone). The ending they wrote for Emily threw me at first, but the more I think about it, the more I think that it was really satisfying, like now that Richard was gone, she didn’t need the big house and the fancy clothes and the DAR anymore (another sidenote: DAR scene was HILARIOUS!! My jaw dropped when Emily said *that word* - and I’m not talking about “bullsh!t”) so she could just go chill in Nantucket and get a job scaring small children daily. Perfect. I also thought it was funny that she finally found a maid she liked (am I the only one who was thinking throughout the entire series that the maid was going to take advantage of her somehow?!) but the time spent on the maid’s family and her ENTIRE family living with Emily struck me as a little much.

Lorelei’s storyline was about what I expected - business is still successful and she and Luke are married. Fine. I do feel like I was waiting for some larger moment of closure between Lorelei and Emily that never really came - like, Lorelei told the good story about Richard and Emily gave her the Dragonfly expansion money, but I don’t feel like all of the deep-seated issues between the two of them were really worked out. I thought the therapy storyline would get more into that, but they just sort of dropped that after the therapist auditioned for the musical.

I thought the pop-up chef thing was dumb with the celebrity chefs coming into the Inn...super gimmick-y. The scene with Sookie was weird to me...I feel like Melissa McCarthy forgot how to play Sookie or something. Just didn’t *sound* like her, but I did like all of the cakes.

The musical, I thought, was funny. I’ve never seen Sutton Foster in anything but I am a Christian Borle fan (RIP Smash, most terrible show ever!), and I thought that the musical was just so ridiculous and totally something Taylor would come up with - perfectly Stars Hollow. I agree it was too long though. The town meeting where they were talking about the pride parade was all kinds of wrong to me...the jokes didn’t land right, I thought, and it didn’t sit well. One other scene that really bothered me: the fat-shaming at the pool. That was awful (really, “Summer” was just not good all around, except that Jess finally came back!!).

Richard was missed. There were moments when I definitely got emotional during these episodes (the opening of the first one, with the quotes from the original series, to name one)...when they showed the past Friday Night Dinner scene and Richard sitting in his study and Lorelei telling the story about him, that was rough.

I thought it was cool how many of the original actors came back - shocked to see Digger at Richard’s funeral. The Tristan re-casting was bizarre. Ms. Patty was unrecognizable. Minimal April, so that was appreciated. They should have had Lane in it more, with a meaningful storyline. I thought it was hilarious that Francie came back.

And lastly...Rory. AWFUL!!

Seriously, she is the friggin worst. I have always felt like I could sort of relate to her because we were the same age in the original series and are the same age now, but I did not like her AT ALL in this revival.

I don’t understand how the same character from the original series has no credit - someone who was planning to go to Harvard from childhood and always made lists and carried maps on a spontaneous roadtrip has NO CREDIT?! How does this make sense? And I thought we were getting heavy foreshadowing that she’d teach a Chilton, but nope - she had an offer and wouldn’t take it. Someone who loved learning so much in the original series shot down this great offer to teach...?! The interviews she had in the revival were cringe-worthy (and she did no prep - hello, you need a job!! Prepare for these interviews!), and the lady she was supposed to write the book with was SO annoying, so I wasn’t sad when that storyline abruptly stopped...and her reaction when Lorelei said she didn’t want her life story written was crazy. She said no, Rory!! That is her right! And she has no underwear and no job and no home and it's like she's not doing anything to try to change that, she just expects it all to be handed to her...so entitled.

And then there’s her love life - the Paul storyline was awful, and once again, Rory is a mistress - this time with engaged Logan. And so much friggin Logan in these episodes!! Can’t stand him, and can’t stand the Life and Death Brigade - why was that scene SO long, and why was it such a rip-off of Across the Universe?! And it was SO dumb - they were acting like pretentious idiots, and they're in their 30s?! And suddently Rory is totally cool with breaking into Taylor's store?? What?

Not enough Jess, since I am Team Jess. I thought they wrapped up Dean’s storyline nicely.

And of course, the final 4 words...maybe I am naive but I could not believe that this was the ending. My first thought was that this guaranteed more episodes, but upon further reflection, I think we’re supposed to assume that the whole story we’ve already seen is starting over…”full freaking circle” as Lorelei said. But now Rory is Lorelei, Logan is Christoper (Rory’s conversation with Christopher makes a lot more sense though, struck me as random at first), and Jess is Luke. So if that’s right, then there’s no need for more episodes, I guess. Not a very satisfying ending, in my opinion.

I just feel like they totally ruined the Rory character...someone who was so smart, driven, hard-working, careful, etc. is now sleeping around with no job and no home and is pregnant with the baby of a man who is engaged to someone else. I don’t know what big point team Palladino is trying to make with this, but it’s nuts.

Overall I feel like they almost chose to pretend like the big time gap didn't happen...Lorelei and Luke were together all that time and pretty much didn't talk about kids? Rory acting the way she is at 32 - more like a 22-year-old? And I read that they (Team Palladino) didn't watch the 7th season of the original series at all, so there was a weird disconnect in some areas in regards to that.

So yeah, as I write this out more...not a fan of the revival!! Disappointing.

Continued in Next Post

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

haha I loved your GG thoughts! I don't have time at the moment to write out mine (nor do I know how to do a fancy tag to hide spoilers haha), but I saw this article yesterday, and I agree with almost ALL of these criticisms -- many of them are what you pointed out http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/arts/television/gilmore-girls-netflix-revival-recap.html?_r=0

 

[ZellyB]

I cannot comment on GG since I've never watched it.

I can, however, say that your pie (even unfinished) looks delicious. YUMMY!!!

 

[Ariel484]

haha I loved your GG thoughts! I don't have time at the moment to write out mine (nor do I know how to do a fancy tag to hide spoilers haha), but I saw this article yesterday, and I agree with almost ALL of these criticisms -- many of them are what you pointed out http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/arts/television/gilmore-girls-netflix-revival-recap.html?_r=0

GAHHH I agree with that entire article! I thought about that freaking show so much in the days after that I had a headache. I need to get a life.

I cannot comment on GG since I've never watched it.

I can, however, say that your pie (even unfinished) looks delicious. YUMMY!!!

Why thank you!! It had a crumbly topping made of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and regular sugar, and then it had icing! Sooooo much sugar! And so good!

 

[roxymama]

Not-really-a-spoiler....


I think it may be too soon for me to fully process my GG thoughts. I think this revival maybe would have worked better in half hour or hour chunks. Maybe it would have been cleaner, or the odd story-line shifts would have been less noticeable. Ariel hit it on the head that she was viewing the original seasons through Rory since she is about the ame age (me too) and now she is still the same age as Rory, but in a much more mature/stable/happier place than that character (well, I think you are at least from my brief internet knowledge of you!) And now we are closer to original Lorelai's age from the early seasons....and looking at the show kind of through her eyes makes it seem all a bit different. And I used to "be a rory" (I like books, I like small town stuff, I like over-planning everything, I like lists) but I'm definitely not how Rory is now. Hmmmmm....It's very complicated.
So I'm gonna have another coffee and process my thoughts more and then I'll come back and brain dump But I have to say I AGREE with so much of what you said and I enjoyed that article @disneydaydreamer33 linked to.

Oh - AND AWESOME JOB on the training! Listening to yourself with your needs for rest is important.

And please give me that pie...thanks

 

[CherieFran]

I think your blues work well together, actually!

Your unbaked pie minus the crumble looks almost exactly like my unbaked pie minus the crumble. Maybe we are using the same recipe?

Also, much agreement on GG!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I'm glad you had some good runs last week, even though you missed one of the long ones. It's hard to believe how close you're getting to Dopey. It will be here in no time.

I also binged all of the Gilmore Girls episodes right away on Friday. You made some really good points, some of which I'm going to respond to in a spoiler tag, but overall I am definitely in the minority since I was not disappointed in it. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but it makes me so sad that so many people seemed to hate it. Sure, there were some things I'd have liked to have been a bit different as well, but I enjoyed watching it.

Spoiler: My GG thoughts

I think one of the main reasons I liked the revival was because of Lorelai/Luke's ending. I thought their wedding scene was beautifully done (I definitely think the Life and Death Brigade scene was bordering on fantasy, especially the beginning, but not really this part), and it is what I waited 9 years to see. I always felt cheated after the series ended that although it was assumed that they were back together after Rory's graduation, we never got to see them get their wedding. Luke's kitchen speech/rant was perfect. Summed up the whole relationship and the fans' thoughts since the beginning so well. In terms of their whole relationship though, I do agree with you that it's strange that all that time went by and they never really discussed kids or anything like that. While I liked the wedding, I wish it had been a bit earlier in the revival, and that maybe the surrogate storyline came up after rather than in Winter.

I have no problems with the fact that Rory's life wasn't perfect and she was having some job struggles (a bit more realistic in my opinion) but I do wish they'd have made her character more likeable. The relationship with Logan was not a good portrayal for either of them. The one thing I absolutely did hate was that Rory made her reveal right after the wedding, and before they were supposed to have their actual wedding and party. Way to steal the thunder and ruin the day. That's why I wish they'd have had the wedding earlier, and then had the "last four words" in a different season.

I liked basically everything with Emily. I feel that her story of struggling with the grief of losing Richard and then giving up everything to move to Nantucket gave her storyline some good closure.

I did not care for the musical. Parts of it were funny, but it was too long and could have been dropped for some expansion of some of the other storylines.

Overall, I don't think there will be more episodes, since I agree with the idea of the ending needing to be taken as the story "coming full circle," but I wouldn't oppose it and I'd definitely watch more. I love these characters so much that even if it does feel a bit different than the original series, I want to see more! One more "year in the life" would be good with me.

 

[SarahDisney]

Great job getting in a few runs this week! Thanksgiving is a rough one for a lot of people, and I totally understand the stress - sometimes things just hit you too hard. It happens. At least you were smart enough to not run when your back was sore!

That pie looks delicious!

Okay. Now on to Gilmore Girls.

Spoiler: Sarah's Gilmore Girls Thoughts

Some of this is in response to what you wrote, some is just disjointed thoughts...

There were several times during the Life & Death Brigade sequence when I turned to my sister and said, "I don't know if this is real!" I think it was meant to be that way. I actually really loved it, though. But I've also always liked Logan and his crew.
Overall ... I thought there was some good and some bad. I liked Winter & Fall, was kinda eh on Spring, and hated Summer.

The boys at the pool definitely made no sense at all. They were totally out of nowhere, and the lack of explanation was just weird. I didn't like any of the pool stuff. It just seemed completely pointless and irrelevant.

Throughout the show, I was remembering Richard's heart attack in season 1, when Emily insisted that Richard allow her to die first. Obviously that couldn't happen (well, it could have, but then they wouldn't have been able to have her as part of the revival), but her feeling of being lost made a lot of sense. But I really like that she eventually figured out what works for her - now that she's no longer Mrs. Richard Gilmore, she has a chance to make a life for herself, and by getting away from the house where she lived with Richard, it gave her a chance to discover who she was ... and I really liked how they showed it.
And yeah, I agree that there was too much of the maid's entire family going on there. What was the point of that?

Lorelai's storyline didn't have much of an impact for me. The Wild thing was a little weird, but other than that ... she's still at the Dragonfly, and she and Luke are living together (and eventually get married). I feel like it would have made more sense had this been done 5 years ago ... we don't need to wait 10 years to find out that Lorelai is successful and in a happy relationship. I feel like more should have happened to them in 10 years. But whatever.

I think Melissa McCarthy has changed a lot as an actress since she played Sookie, and it was probably difficult for her to slip back into that character.
Agreed about the chefs - it seemed like it was just "let's see how many random people we can get to make cameos in this!"

I actually didn't like the musical. I thought it was just really bizarre. Wasn't the museum at the dead guy's house (I can't remember his name...) enough bizarre town history to last a lifetime? There actually wasn't really much of the town stuff that I liked at all, which was kinda sad.

Ms. Patty looked terrible. The Tristan recasting was kinda weird, but he had such a minimal part that it wasn't a big deal.

In terms of Rory ... I do understand why it would seem "off," but as someone who is pretty much living Rory's life right now (minus the engaged transatlantic boyfriend), I appreciated her struggle she was going through. I wasn't sure if I'd like watching someone going through something similar to what I'm going through, but I actually enjoyed watching her journey and seeing how she tried (and generally failed) to cope with a situation she never expected to be in. So I actually liked Rory.

The last 4 words kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Isn't Rory supposed to learn from Lorelai's life? Ending the show "full circle" seems like it's erasing any possibility of Rory learning from what her mother experienced.

So anyway ... those are some of my thoughts.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Ah, will also have to avoid this thread until I finish GG, appreciate all the hidden spoilers! Until then, just wanted to say I loved your TR and outfits. Got to wear the InB sweater vest at the turkey trot and it was a hit!

 

[cavepig]

I think the outfit looks great! All my winter gear is drab so I think it looks fantastic. Are the Inkburn tights still warm for say 20 degrees and wind? Good tights I have a hard time finding as I can't have any seams around my knees either.

 

[ZellyB]

I think the outfit looks great! All my winter gear is drab so I think it looks fantastic. Are the Inkburn tights still warm for say 20 degrees and wind? Good tights I have a hard time finding as I can't have any seams around my knees either.

I know you were asking Shannon, but my experience with the tights is that they aren't great in really colder weather. They aren't that thick and they aren't lined. They'd be good to layer under something heavier, but on their own, I don't think they do great for warmth once down in the low 20s. I have some Nike tights that are fleece lined that I usually wear when it gets that cold. I wore them this morning at 32 degrees and they were fine, but much colder and I'd want more.

 

[roxymama]

I know you were asking Shannon, but my experience with the tights is that they aren't great in really colder weather. They aren't that thick and they aren't lined. They'd be good to layer under something heavier, but on their own, I don't think they do great for warmth once down in the low 20s. I have some Nike tights that are fleece lined that I usually wear when it gets that cold. I wore them this morning at 32 degrees and they were fine, but much colder and I'd want more.

Ugh, that actually makes me want to try them more. I run indoors for most of the winter and I find the thick winter tights that I currently own are all too hot for the gym. So a thin tight sounds nice.

 

[Ariel484]

Not-really-a-spoiler....


I think it may be too soon for me to fully process my GG thoughts. I think this revival maybe would have worked better in half hour or hour chunks. Maybe it would have been cleaner, or the odd story-line shifts would have been less noticeable. Ariel hit it on the head that she was viewing the original seasons through Rory since she is about the ame age (me too) and now she is still the same age as Rory, but in a much more mature/stable/happier place than that character (well, I think you are at least from my brief internet knowledge of you!)

Why thank you!

And now we are closer to original Lorelai's age from the early seasons....and looking at the show kind of through her eyes makes it seem all a bit different.

YES, the same thought struck me when I was re-watching the early seasons! That was a crazy realization.

And I used to "be a rory" (I like books, I like small town stuff, I like over-planning everything, I like lists) but I'm definitely not how Rory is now. Hmmmmm....It's very complicated.

Also same.

So I'm gonna have another coffee and process my thoughts more and then I'll come back and brain dump But I have to say I AGREE with so much of what you said and I enjoyed that article @disneydaydreamer33 linked to.

Yeah, I was just really surprised with how things went for her character. Makes me wonder if Team Palladino was trying to make a bigger overall point or something...

Oh - AND AWESOME JOB on the training! Listening to yourself with your needs for rest is important.

Thanks! At this point I only have 10 runs left until taper...crazy!!

And please give me that pie...thanks

This is the best I can do...the recipe: http://inspiredbycharm.com/2014/11/year-pie-cinnamon-roll-apple-pie.html

See how there are beautiful "cinnamon rolls" on the crust? Mine did NOT look like that. It was like when you see people posting their Pinterest Fails... #NailedIt My aunt actually asked me to make this pie again for Christmas so I'll have a second chance! Doing the crust was the biggest pain, everything else was pretty easy once I got a hang of peeling the apples.

I think your blues work well together, actually!

Thanks! Funny I'm calling out the blues when the thing that really does not match is the hat!

Your unbaked pie minus the crumble looks almost exactly like my unbaked pie minus the crumble. Maybe we are using the same recipe?

See recipe above!! Is that the one you were using??

Also, much agreement on GG!

Right?! Sigh.

I'm glad you had some good runs last week, even though you missed one of the long ones. It's hard to believe how close you're getting to Dopey. It will be here in no time.

I know! Especially with the holidays being in full swing, time is going to fly by!

I also binged all of the Gilmore Girls episodes right away on Friday. You made some really good points, some of which I'm going to respond to in a spoiler tag, but overall I am definitely in the minority since I was not disappointed in it. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but it makes me so sad that so many people seemed to hate it. Sure, there were some things I'd have liked to have been a bit different as well, but I enjoyed watching it.

Spoiler: My GG thoughts

I think one of the main reasons I liked the revival was because of Lorelai/Luke's ending. I thought their wedding scene was beautifully done (I definitely think the Life and Death Brigade scene was bordering on fantasy, especially the beginning, but not really this part), and it is what I waited 9 years to see. I always felt cheated after the series ended that although it was assumed that they were back together after Rory's graduation, we never got to see them get their wedding. Luke's kitchen speech/rant was perfect. Summed up the whole relationship and the fans' thoughts since the beginning so well. In terms of their whole relationship though, I do agree with you that it's strange that all that time went by and they never really discussed kids or anything like that. While I liked the wedding, I wish it had been a bit earlier in the revival, and that maybe the surrogate storyline came up after rather than in Winter.

I have no problems with the fact that Rory's life wasn't perfect and she was having some job struggles (a bit more realistic in my opinion) but I do wish they'd have made her character more likeable. The relationship with Logan was not a good portrayal for either of them. The one thing I absolutely did hate was that Rory made her reveal right after the wedding, and before they were supposed to have their actual wedding and party. Way to steal the thunder and ruin the day. That's why I wish they'd have had the wedding earlier, and then had the "last four words" in a different season.

I liked basically everything with Emily. I feel that her story of struggling with the grief of losing Richard and then giving up everything to move to Nantucket gave her storyline some good closure.

I did not care for the musical. Parts of it were funny, but it was too long and could have been dropped for some expansion of some of the other storylines.

Overall, I don't think there will be more episodes, since I agree with the idea of the ending needing to be taken as the story "coming full circle," but I wouldn't oppose it and I'd definitely watch more. I love these characters so much that even if it does feel a bit different than the original series, I want to see more! One more "year in the life" would be good with me.

I wouldn't say that I hated it, but I definitely was disappointed.

Spoiler: GG

I totally agree that Rory wasn't likable at all. I felt like through the original seasons we were supposed to be rooting for her - and I did - but now I just wanted to smack her! I sort of felt like everyone was super okay with her being a mistress (where in the original series it was a way bigger deal) so I didn't like that at all. And yes, she TOTALLY stole the thunder on the wedding day!! She couldn't have waited just one more day?!

I think Team Palladino did not account for the huge time jump. Ultimately if this all had happened maybe 6 months after Rory graduated from Yale (which I feel like must be what they originally intended), it would have made more sense to me.

I totally agree that the timing of the wedding vs. surrogacy seemed odd - what you're saying makes more sense than what actually happened as far as wedding first, surrogacy second.

Despite my being disappointed in the new episodes, I would 100% watch if they did more. My husband seems to think more are guaranteed if Netflix ponies up the cash, but I am just not sure.

Great job getting in a few runs this week! Thanksgiving is a rough one for a lot of people, and I totally understand the stress - sometimes things just hit you too hard. It happens. At least you were smart enough to not run when your back was sore!

Yeah, I ended up worrying about things that didn't even end up happening, so I was being a little dramatic, I think.

That pie looks delicious!

It WAS!! I highly recommend that recipe!

Okay. Now on to Gilmore Girls.

Spoiler: Sarah's Gilmore Girls Thoughts

Some of this is in response to what you wrote, some is just disjointed thoughts...

There were several times during the Life & Death Brigade sequence when I turned to my sister and said, "I don't know if this is real!" I think it was meant to be that way. I actually really loved it, though. But I've also always liked Logan and his crew.
Overall ... I thought there was some good and some bad. I liked Winter & Fall, was kinda eh on Spring, and hated Summer.

The boys at the pool definitely made no sense at all. They were totally out of nowhere, and the lack of explanation was just weird. I didn't like any of the pool stuff. It just seemed completely pointless and irrelevant.

Throughout the show, I was remembering Richard's heart attack in season 1, when Emily insisted that Richard allow her to die first. Obviously that couldn't happen (well, it could have, but then they wouldn't have been able to have her as part of the revival), but her feeling of being lost made a lot of sense. But I really like that she eventually figured out what works for her - now that she's no longer Mrs. Richard Gilmore, she has a chance to make a life for herself, and by getting away from the house where she lived with Richard, it gave her a chance to discover who she was ... and I really liked how they showed it.
And yeah, I agree that there was too much of the maid's entire family going on there. What was the point of that?

Lorelai's storyline didn't have much of an impact for me. The Wild thing was a little weird, but other than that ... she's still at the Dragonfly, and she and Luke are living together (and eventually get married). I feel like it would have made more sense had this been done 5 years ago ... we don't need to wait 10 years to find out that Lorelai is successful and in a happy relationship. I feel like more should have happened to them in 10 years. But whatever.

I think Melissa McCarthy has changed a lot as an actress since she played Sookie, and it was probably difficult for her to slip back into that character.
Agreed about the chefs - it seemed like it was just "let's see how many random people we can get to make cameos in this!"

I actually didn't like the musical. I thought it was just really bizarre. Wasn't the museum at the dead guy's house (I can't remember his name...) enough bizarre town history to last a lifetime? There actually wasn't really much of the town stuff that I liked at all, which was kinda sad.

Ms. Patty looked terrible. The Tristan recasting was kinda weird, but he had such a minimal part that it wasn't a big deal.

In terms of Rory ... I do understand why it would seem "off," but as someone who is pretty much living Rory's life right now (minus the engaged transatlantic boyfriend), I appreciated her struggle she was going through. I wasn't sure if I'd like watching someone going through something similar to what I'm going through, but I actually enjoyed watching her journey and seeing how she tried (and generally failed) to cope with a situation she never expected to be in. So I actually liked Rory.

The last 4 words kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Isn't Rory supposed to learn from Lorelai's life? Ending the show "full circle" seems like it's erasing any possibility of Rory learning from what her mother experienced.

So anyway ... those are some of my thoughts.

Spoiler: GG

That's funny that you said you like Winter & Fall, and not Spring and Summer as much. Apparently Winter & Fall were written/directed by A-SP, while Summer and Spring were written/directed by Dan Palladino. And I think a lot of people feel the same way you do (myself included), that Winter and Fall were better.

Also funny what you said about the L&DB sequence, whether or not it was real - at one point my husband was like, "is Rory hallucinating or something?!" That scene was trippy!

I loved Emily's storyline. I still don't get the maid/family being in it so much, but whatever. Overall I was very satisfied with how they ended things for Emily.

I agree that Lorelei's storyline wasn't very impactful - it was pretty much exactly what I expected to happen to her, so I'm glad she got her happy ending, but it was obvious at the same time. I COMPLETELY agree that the 10-year jump was too long, I think that was a big issue for me with the whole revival. Which...I realize they can't go back in time, but maybe it shouldn't have been happening "in real time"? Maybe that wouldn't have worked either.

I can appreciate the struggle Rory had, but I am wondering if the Palladinos were trying to make some bigger point - like, Lorelei was 32 when the show started (how old Rory is now). Lorelei raised rory herself, worked her way up from being a maid to the manager at the Independence Inn and then owned her own Inn. Whereas Rory has been given everything - private school education and Yale paid for - and yet she still seems to just expect things to happen for her - like she didn't even prepare for that job interview because she just assumed the position would be handed to her. I think that was my bigger issue with her situation - she was given all of the tools to be the next Christiane Amanpour like she wanted but lost the drive to get there somewhere along the way. So is that something we're supposed to get out of this? That it's better to work your way up (Lorelei) than to be handed everything (Rory)? And I felt like we were hit over the head with how brilliant/special she is throughout the series, so it was jarring in a way to see her acting so childish as a 32-year-old (I don't mean not having a job, I mean not actively really trying to get one). I feel like I'm not wording this very well...

Agree with your thoughts on the final 4 words. Curious to see if we'll get more episodes, I feel like the story seems finished but if Netflix pays, who knows...

Ah, will also have to avoid this thread until I finish GG, appreciate all the hidden spoilers! Until then, just wanted to say I loved your TR and outfits. Got to wear the InB sweater vest at the turkey trot and it was a hit!

Thanks!! I like the sweater vest cut, I wish they would make more.

I think the outfit looks great! All my winter gear is drab so I think it looks fantastic. Are the Inkburn tights still warm for say 20 degrees and wind? Good tights I have a hard time finding as I can't have any seams around my knees either.

I know you were asking Shannon, but my experience with the tights is that they aren't great in really colder weather. They aren't that thick and they aren't lined. They'd be good to layer under something heavier, but on their own, I don't think they do great for warmth once down in the low 20s. I have some Nike tights that are fleece lined that I usually wear when it gets that cold. I wore them this morning at 32 degrees and they were fine, but much colder and I'd want more.

I agree with @ZellyB that they aren't thick tights - they aren't lined - but I do wear them in that kind of weather...I got hot when I run so they work for me! I think it greatly depends on what kind of conditions your comfortable running in. I'll wear them out in colder weather until I decide it's TOO cold to actually run outside, if that makes sense. For me it's more important to be wearing the warmer tops.

Ugh, that actually makes me want to try them more. I run indoors for most of the winter and I find the thick winter tights that I currently own are all too hot for the gym. So a thin tight sounds nice.

They're just like regular tech fabric...not super thick at all. For me they would be too warm for the gym, but like I said above, I get hot when I run.

 

[BigEeyore]

Can I ask you whether you like running? I know that's a weird question but I took it up about 5 years ago (only 5k runs) and it took ALOT of willpower to go out for each run and I didn't really enjoy it that much, but I can't say why. I couldn't decide if I was rubbish at it because I hated it or I hated it because I was rubbish at it. (Best was 27.06 for 5k but wanted to vomit once it was over I worked so hard). Recently I've tried again (for weight management and cardio-vascular health) but again I really have to push myself to go out. I've been going three times a week and keep wondering if one day I will finally say 'wow - I love this'. What's your story?

I think a lot of us would admit to having a love-hate relationship with running. How does running make you feel AFTER it's over? That's the main reason I run - I just feel better when I'm running regularly - physically and mentally. Plus I love the things that running allows me to do - the Disney races of course, but also big bucket list races like the NYC marathon.
Ariel484 - love the dragon top with the butterfly tights! Having beautiful running clothes is a big motivation to get out there and run!

 

[cavepig]

I know you were asking Shannon, but my experience with the tights is that they aren't great in really colder weather. They aren't that thick and they aren't lined. They'd be good to layer under something heavier, but on their own, I don't think they do great for warmth once down in the low 20s. I have some Nike tights that are fleece lined that I usually wear when it gets that cold. I wore them this morning at 32 degrees and they were fine, but much colder and I'd want more.

agree with @ZellyB that they aren't thick tights - they aren't lined - but I do wear them in that kind of weather...I got hot when I run so they work for me! I think it greatly depends on what kind of conditions your comfortable running in. I'll wear them out in colder weather until I decide it's TOO cold to actually run outside, if that makes sense. For me it's more important to be wearing the warmer tops.

Thanks to you both, I was just curious as they have such neat designs, I would hate to always be covering them up! I get cold very easily, tights and wind pants today at like 30ish and very little wind. My top half warms up pretty good it seems, but my thighs and butt need all the extra layers it seems. thanks!

 

[RnbwSktles]

Edit: Shoot the spoiler tag didn't work! Don't read this is you don't want to know! Lol
I will try to fix it in the meantime. Ok someone who knows what they're doing please help me!

I want to add my thoughts on GG as well. I actually saw your Instagram post about the last 4 words while I was still watching it (Stalker much? Sheesh )


<div class="ToggleTriggerAnchor bbCodeSpoilerContainer">
<button class="button bbCodeSpoilerButton ToggleTrigger Tooltip JsOnly"
title="Click to reveal or hide spoiler"
data-target="> .SpoilerTarget"><span>Spoiler: <span class="SpoilerTitle">My Thoughts</span></span></button>
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I don't think I loved or hated it. I was glad to watch it and have a new story-line to follow, but I have long since gotten over the fact that this show is done with, so I wasn't looking for any kind of closure.

With that said, the ending was annoying. I can't stand being left hanging like that. I agree that it's supposed to parallel Lorelai's life and the whole "full circle" thing, but Rory's life is not going to play out exactly like her mother's for a million different reasons. I need to know what happens now!

I agree with you about the randomness of a lot of things. I think the writers tried to cram multiple seasons worth of quirky Gilmore Girls stuff into one "season" so that no one could go "hey, but what about this character and that character and what ever happened with XX?" Then again, the pool stuff was just unnecessary. Maybe they needed an excuse to have more interaction with the town folk?

I have mixed feelings about the new Rory. I think they tried to make her more "real" and less of the sheltered girl that grew up in a small town. She's traveled the world, lived in different cities, etc. As a 32 year old who just had to temporarily move back in with her Dad, I can relate to not having your **** together at this age. It also sounds like she never settled into a steady job, which I can see being common with writers, so her financial situation is not too hard to believe. Not to mention how expensive living in NYC and London is. I'm not sure what the point of her being with Paul was though. If they wanted us to know that she's been dating in the last 10 years, but is too busy to really keep up with relationships, why couldn't they just say that? Why make her look like such a careless you-know-what. If she was a male, that situation would come off so much worse. I actually sort of get the Logan thing so I won't complain too much about that. The only thing I found weird was Lorelai's reaction. She flipped out when Rory slept with Dean, but this kind of had a "you go girl" vibe to it. Maybe because she never liked Logan.

Overall, it wasn't bad. It wasn't the same show from 10 years ago, but I don't think it really could be. A part of me wants them to do another season (maybe jump 5 years?) and try to really wrap up their lives. The other part of me knows it will probably be terrible.</div>
</div>

 

[CherieFran]

See recipe above!! Is that the one you were using??

Oh, not at all. But icing on top of the crumble? I like it!

This is mine: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cinnamon-crumble-apple-pie

 

[Ariel484]

I think a lot of us would admit to having a love-hate relationship with running. How does running make you feel AFTER it's over? That's the main reason I run - I just feel better when I'm running regularly - physically and mentally. Plus I love the things that running allows me to do - the Disney races of course, but also big bucket list races like the NYC marathon.
Ariel484 - love the dragon top with the butterfly tights! Having beautiful running clothes is a big motivation to get out there and run!

Thanks!! I totally agree about the clothes being motivators...as silly as it sounds, it makes me more excited to run if I have an outfit that I love. Sometimes I need all the motivation I can get!!

Thanks to you both, I was just curious as they have such neat designs, I would hate to always be covering them up! I get cold very easily, tights and wind pants today at like 30ish and very little wind. My top half warms up pretty good it seems, but my thighs and butt need all the extra layers it seems. thanks!

No prob!!

Edit: Shoot the spoiler tag didn't work! Don't read this is you don't want to know! Lol
I will try to fix it in the meantime. Ok someone who knows what they're doing please help me!

I want to add my thoughts on GG as well. I actually saw your Instagram post about the last 4 words while I was still watching it (Stalker much? Sheesh )


<div class="ToggleTriggerAnchor bbCodeSpoilerContainer">
<button class="button bbCodeSpoilerButton ToggleTrigger Tooltip JsOnly"
title="Click to reveal or hide spoiler"
data-target="> .SpoilerTarget"><span>Spoiler: <span class="SpoilerTitle">My Thoughts</span></span></button>
<div class="SpoilerTarget bbCodeSpoilerText">
I don't think I loved or hated it. I was glad to watch it and have a new story-line to follow, but I have long since gotten over the fact that this show is done with, so I wasn't looking for any kind of closure.

With that said, the ending was annoying. I can't stand being left hanging like that. I agree that it's supposed to parallel Lorelai's life and the whole "full circle" thing, but Rory's life is not going to play out exactly like her mother's for a million different reasons. I need to know what happens now!

I agree with you about the randomness of a lot of things. I think the writers tried to cram multiple seasons worth of quirky Gilmore Girls stuff into one "season" so that no one could go "hey, but what about this character and that character and what ever happened with XX?" Then again, the pool stuff was just unnecessary. Maybe they needed an excuse to have more interaction with the town folk?

Completely agree about the randomness of the pool scene...I actually think that may be the biggest head scratcher of the entire revival for me. Where did this pool come from? Why were they there? For the love of god, why were those little boys their slaves for the day? Why the fat shaming? etc.

I do think some of the quirkiness came off as forced at times, too. There were good and bad moments!

I have mixed feelings about the new Rory. I think they tried to make her more "real" and less of the sheltered girl that grew up in a small town. She's traveled the world, lived in different cities, etc. As a 32 year old who just had to temporarily move back in with her Dad, I can relate to not having your **** together at this age. It also sounds like she never settled into a steady job, which I can see being common with writers, so her financial situation is not too hard to believe. Not to mention how expensive living in NYC and London is. I'm not sure what the point of her being with Paul was though. If they wanted us to know that she's been dating in the last 10 years, but is too busy to really keep up with relationships, why couldn't they just say that? Why make her look like such a careless you-know-what. If she was a male, that situation would come off so much worse. I actually sort of get the Logan thing so I won't complain too much about that. The only thing I found weird was Lorelai's reaction. She flipped out when Rory slept with Dean, but this kind of had a "you go girl" vibe to it. Maybe because she never liked Logan.

Yeah, Lorelai's reaction was so weird! "I'm sleeping with Logan and hooked up with a Wookiee." "Oh." Really, that's it?

I've seen this question asked before too with regards to Rory being broke - where is her trust fund from Trix/Lorelei the first? Did Richard not leave her anything? Etc. Mostly I just don't get how they took a character that was so responsible and now she suddenly can't find her underwear. I get that people change, but it seemed like a stretch.

Overall, it wasn't bad. It wasn't the same show from 10 years ago, but I don't think it really could be. A part of me wants them to do another season (maybe jump 5 years?) and try to really wrap up their lives. The other part of me knows it will probably be terrible.</div>
</div>

I'm not sure what I want from them at this point. It wasn't totally terrible, but I'm not rushing to re-watch it.

Oh, not at all. But icing on top of the crumble? I like it!

This is mine: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cinnamon-crumble-apple-pie

YUMMMM. That one looks so good!! I love pie.

 

[Ariel484]

Dopey Challenge Training
Week 13 (11/28) - 36 miles completed

MO: 4 miles
TU: 5 miles
WE: yoga
TH: rest
FR: 9 miles
SA: 18 miles
SU: rest

Alright! Almost to taper!

We had another weird week here, weather-wise - driving into work on Monday I was planning on getting my 5-miler of the week over with. 5 miles on the treadmill, blech! Then the radio weather guy informed me that Tuesday’s forecasted high was 60 degrees, so I immediately shifted gears - did 4 that morning (which went well) and decided to take advantage of that 60-degree forecast and shift my 5-mile to the next day.

Not quite 60 when I got home, but still pretty good!

The 5-miler was okay...I tried :60/:30 intervals, something I have been curious about doing (not thinking I would use these intervals for the rest of training or for the race weekend - I was just curious to try them out once), and those went well for 3.75 miles, until I had the tiniest of back spasms. I don’t know if I changed my form up or what, but it was most unwelcome! That was enough to make me stop the watch and change my intervals back to 3:00/1:00 to finish out the 5 miles. Thankfully I felt totally fine after a minute or two, but the grand "shorter interval" experiment is on hold indefinitely - curiosity satisfied! It did take almost 1:00/mile off of my overall average pace, and I felt like I recovered well during the shorter walk breaks, but apparently my body isn’t ready for running at a faster pace for the 1-minute intervals yet. I think after-work runs outdoors are also over for awhile...the first 1.5 miles were okay but after that it got to be way too dark. I don't have any gear for running in the dark, so it freaked me out a bit and actually had me missing the treadmill (??!).

Yoga was tough on Wednesday. This particular teacher is a total @$$-kicker and I sort of forgot that. My back was sore by the end!

Friday's run was not great. I'm not sure what I did, but my back was sore by the end. I went back to my 3/1 intervals and got rained on during miles 2 and 3.

Ran by a neighbor who said I looked like Spider-Man! Also, this is basically the only way I know how to pose for pictures...I am so awkward.

And then, the next day...a big test - 18 miles! This distance is significant to me because when I was training for the 2012 marathon, this was the furthest I got in training (I had a 20-miler planned but weather prevented me from getting that in). So I felt like if I could do 9- and 18-milers back-to-back and feel okay, that this would give me a lot of confidence for Dopey.

I changed to 2/1 intervals for this run...at the halfway point I started alternating the 2/1 intervals with 1/1 intervals, just to give my back a break. So it took a long time, but I DID finish the 18 miles!! It wasn't perfect, and it was slow, and I didn't feel perfect when I was done...but I finished and it did give me a confidence boost.

That feeling when taper is just 2 weeks away...

I had originally planned on yoga today, but I ended up canceling and taking a rest day instead. My back was SUPER stiff when I woke up, but now that I have walked around and done some errands (including getting a VERY badly needed haircut), I feel pretty good! I think yoga would have been a little too much for my back after such a long run, so I'm glad I canceled for today. I'll be back at it on Tuesday!

Unrelated to running: bath time! He HATES getting baths!

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

Happy Sunday!

Continued in Next Post