Title That Grabs Your Attention

Oh, hey guys!  Guess what.  I'm back.  No, I haven't been anywhere fun or different.  Nope, wasn't finding a cure for any diseases.  Wasn't cooking more for my family (snort).  Wasn't spending extra time working on my fitness (guffaw).

No caption is really
needed.  But, if I must, I
will point out that I think
it would be hard to pee
with all those belts,
straps and weapons.

Think of my absence along the same vein as the 6 month hiatus between parts 1 and 2 of the first season of Outlander.  Completely rude and unnecessary, but we'll try to overlook it because the show is awesome and we love Jamie and Claire.  Yes, I am well aware that nothing about me or my blog even come closes to anything Outlander related, but just try to work with me.

If you did not watch Outlander and/or have not read the books, you might want to get on that.  I already wrote a post about it, so I won't belabor the point, but get on it.  Luckily, you have plenty of time to catch up before Season 2 premieres.

What else needs to be addressed...

I'm not going to make the whole post about Gay Marriage because I think we would need a whole afternoon (or week or month) to discuss and try to understand why there are people in up in arms about gay people having the right to get married, but let's just give it a mention.  If you are not gay, it doesn't affect you.  You might not like it, but it doesn't actually affect you.  You are not being forced to see or live near any more or less gay people than before.    

Gay people just now have the legal right to do things like visit their spouses in the hospital or

Usually he's a
foreign-born Muslim
extremist, so this is
quite a step up.

make medical decisions for their spouses.  Gay people also now won't get thrown out of their houses or lose their money if their spouse happens to die without a will and not everything is in joint names.  These are just a couple of the reasons (besides a sense of fairness) why I think it's important gay people can get married and have their marriage acknowledged in all 50 states.

And honestly, don't gay people have just as much right as the rest of us to annoy their friends and family with their beliefs that their weddings are going to be the most special, unique and meaningful occasions to ever happen?

Other big topic that would take all day to really discuss but I feel compelled to mention is the whole kerfuffle over the Confederate flag.  This discussion has been brought to the forefront as a result of the tragic shooting at the church in South Carolina.  Obviously, the flag is not what caused a hateful person to do such an unthinkable and awful thing, but it certainly brought to light that people who think like this guy (I am not even using his name) use the Confederate Flag as one of their symbols.  It represents how they feel about black people (and minorities in general).  They don't wave it around as a symbol of sweet tea, hoop skirts, fried chicken, swooning and southern hospitality.

I'm trying to help Southerners
come up with a more
positive way to express
their Southern Pride. I think
this could work as a flag.

If you want to personally wave the Confederate Flag around, go right ahead, but don't act like it represents the Old South and all the lovely things people associate with the south (as mentioned above).  When I see a Confederate Flag I assume the person with said flag is saying "I liked it back when even a low class, trashy, uneducated white person was worth more than any black person.  And I don't see anything wrong with when black people were slaves."  That flag certainly doesn't belong on United States government buildings.

Our Country's flag is supposed to represent freedom and fair treatment for all.  When the Confederate flag flies alongside, it says "wink, wink."  There must be a better way for the people who are proud to be from the south to show their pride.

So then, we have touched on some important topics (because we are totally grown ups and that's how we roll).  Also, now everyone is aware that they have some Outlander homework to get to.  And, I don't want to make light of important topics (I think DTC's new motto might be "More Smart, Less Ass," although I'm not sure that says what I'm going for), but really, Outlander is a serious matter.  Your life if lacking if you are not reading and watching.

Just so you can prepare, our next topic will be Pinterest ridiculousness.  My current Pinterest issue involves grilled cheese.


Last Note:  In looking for images I found a rainbow flag with a swastika in the middle.  I don't think that is going to take off with either group.  You heard it here first.

Dinna Fash, He'll Be Back: Guide For Occupying Self Until April

If you don't know what the title means, you have a lot of catching up to do.  That's actually good, because it will take you until April to catch up, thus you will not need the rest of this post.

I dinna even have my
usual clever caption, just
go read and watch.

Those not in the know, who now have to catch up, we are talking about Outlander.  The book, the rest of the books and the TV series (it's on Starz, go sign up for Starz right now.  Go.  We'll wait for you).  The books are by Diana Gabaldon and they let her be a consultant on the show (we get lots of fun inside information/pictures as a result).  I really cannot say enough good things about the books.  Diana Gabaldon is a fabulous writer and storyteller.  How she came to be a writer and her background is pretty interesting.  Click here to check her out.  Click here to check out the show.

It is hard to fit the story into a category/genre, so I won't even try.  Just trust me, you want in.  Have I led you astray yet?  I even got The Party to start reading the books and watching the show (he's not a reader.  I mean he can read, but he has a bad attitude).  He is now mad at Diana (yes, that's right, we are on a first name basis) because he's sucked in. Ha Party!  I told you reading was awesome.  

Did I forget to mention that there is a lot of
naked in the series?  This isn't even the good scene.
Wait until you get to the wedding episode.

One final word on why should join in - Jamie Fraser.  Let me put it in perspective for you.  You know how Adam Levine is my secret boyfriend?  Well, the Jamie Fraser from my imagination would beat him if he was real.  BUT, the Jamie Fraser from the TV show, Sam Heughan, is real... Adam who?  Enough said.

Okay, I assume anyone who needs to has left to go take care of business.  Oh!!  BTW, newbies, you need to occupy yourselves until April because that's when the second half of season One will start.

For the rest of us... here are some things to occupy you while you wait for April:

This period of time is apparently being called Draughtlander, but we are not calling it that here because it makes us seem like desperate groupies, which we are, but we don't have to seem like it, it's not dignified.  Also, please do not ever use the term Heuligans because just no.

1.  Reread all 8 Outlander books.  At 800+ pages, that ought to keep you out of trouble for awhile.  Ye can also try reading them using a Scottish accent in yer heid.  Me personally, I canna keep from slipping back to Claire's English accent.

2.  Re-watch the first 8 episodes of Outlander.  That won't take verra much time, but every little bit helps, aye?

3.  Read all other Diana Gabaldon books, which include a bunch about Lord John as well as some short stories about some side story lines.

4.  Season 5 of Downton Abbey premieres January 4th.  It'll probably be wrapping up just as Outlander starts.  It's no Outlander, but it'll do.

It's like we were separated
at birth.  And she wears
super cool/fun clothes.

5.  What I really recommend highly is watching The Mindy Project.  I think Mindy and I could be friends.  I think she would find me fun and we would be instant best friends.  I also wish Diana and I could be friends.  She seems to have a good sense of humor, but I am not 100% sure she would find me fun to hang out with.  I think she would maybe be alarmed by me.  Until she got to know me better.  But anyway - The Mindy Project.  Very silly, but too funny!!

6.  Another fun series is New Girl.  Zooey Deschanel appears to be real life friends with Mindy Kaling (see above), so the three of us could have loads of fun if either knew I existed.  Regardless, you can download both this and Mindy's past seasons and kill a ton of time.

7.  You could read other books not related to Outlander at all.  I guess there are some good ones.

8.  You could spend quality time with your children.  I know, that will be just as non-quality as it was before Outlander, but every now and then they throw us a bone.  You could look into that.

9.  Speaking of throwing us a bone, you could hang out with your husband.  Bahahahaha!  The fun never stops around here.  Anyhoo, see if you can't get your husband to work on his Scottish accent and then you keep your eyes closed.  Don't tell him why; he won't find it sexy or charming if you come right out and tell him you are pretending he's someone else.

10.  You could cook, clean, organize, volunteer, exercise...  ha ha, just kidding.  No one wants to that.

I am sure some people will be having Outlander parties like they did Twilight parties.  I counsel against this.  Outlander is of course way cooler than Twilight (I could not bring myself to read the books or see the movies) but still, we're back to the desperate thing.  It's never becoming to seem desperate.  A caveat to this... if you can get anyone from the cast of Outlander, or Diana Gabaldon, to attend your party, you can turn your whole house into Castle Leoch for all I care and I will not let a single soul make fun of you at all.  But, you have to invite me.

Oh - I almost forgot.  If your life is busy (I guess that's a thing) and you don't have time to catch up completely, you can read these recaps of the TV series.  They are pretty entertaining and will get you up to speed (and fun even if you've watched the show).  This one is the link to a series of recaps that includes captioned pictures.  This one is the first of a series (you can link to the others from it) that is from the perspective of someone who hasn't read the books.  Be prepared to snort and laugh out loud, so make sure you're not at work or on the train or something.  Looking crazy isn't much better than looking desperate.

In the event you are not convinced that Outlander
is for you; this is Claire and Frank.  Claire is married
to Jamie.  But, she's also married to Frank.
It. just. got. interesting!