Some Thoughts On PBS And My Favorite Brenda

Yesterday was one of those kinds of days where I receive a great, and life changing epiphany while watching a PBS special.

Speaking of PBS specials, is it just me, or do they save all of their best material for the Christmastime pledge drives? Maybe I should preface that question with, does anyone watch PBS as much as I do? See, I've told you before, we don't have cable. We have a most beautiful antennae that sticks out of both sides of behind our TV, and so we're able to get the channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, all three (3!!!) PBS channels, and sometimes, if the planets are aligned properly and we all breath simultaneously, we can watch "Big Bang Theory" reruns and new episodes of "The Simpsons" on Fox. It better be working tonight, because the Simpsons are celebrating Christmas!!
ANYWAYS, I don't have a big variety of things to watch, and I tend to enjoy things of the cultural and informative kind, so I watch a lot, a LOT, of PBS.
I love how on their pledge drives, they show the best stuff, and then the rest of the time, when they're not trying to get money, it's always, I don't know, Tavis Smiley or "This Old House." BOR-ING.
So pledge drives are my favorite, because that's when I get to see musicals and concerts and RERUNS OF DOWNTON ABBEY!!!!! (new episodes, NEXT MONTH, this is really happening everyone, let's get prepared) 
There is one thing that I don't like about pledge drives though:
10 minutes of the show smooshed between 20 minutes of annoying people trying to get your money.
My mom and I were pretty much obsessed, OBSESSED, with "Celtic Thunder Christmas" when we discovered it last year. We watched it every time it came on. Except, there was this one woman, who was trying to make you buy something with it, and she was the most annoying person ever. Also, it looks like she's had ridiculous amounts of botox, on her cheeks, right around her nose. Truly awful. Well guess what? They've APPARENTLY assigned her to promote all of my favorite shows to watch. Celtic Woman, BAM! There she is. Andrea Bocelli, HELLO! "Are you happy to see me?!" she says to my face, with a botox-infested sneer. David Foster (the genius behind such songs as "Man In Motion," very possibly one of the best/worst movie songs ever written) with friends, APPARENTLY SHE'S A FRIEND TOO! Boo, I say.

Anyways, back to my epiphany. So I'm watching this documentary about the top 10 photos from National Geographic in 2010 (shouldn't they have been talking about THIS year's? I don't know, I don't decide these things, I just watch) and I sit up all of a sudden and say to myself "I need a subscription to National Geographic! Yes I do!"
People, they put things in there that I die over, just DIE. Pictures of owls and tribes in Africa and chapels in Europe, and my eyes just drink it all in. And then I thought "Yeah, if I get a bunch of National Geographics, then, in 20 years after acquiring a bunch of pictures from the magazine, I can copy the mother-in-law's trunk!"
(Side note, I was all about cutting pictures out of magazines in high school. Making collages was my calling in life, at least I was sure it was. It was my form of emotional expression, except looking back on them, I'm really not sure what my 17 year old brain was trying to feel or say. They made no sense. Okay now I'm seeing a connection. 10 years ago, I made collages that made no sense, and now I'm writing blog posts that make no sense. Oh, this is a full circle moment.)

Y'all, can we please take a minute to talk about the fantastic trunk in my in-law's living room? It's a seaman's trunk (tee hee, seaman....), okay I don't know if it really is, I just wanted to type seaman.
Moving on, my mother-in-law has collected all of these beautiful postcards and pictures of places and animals and covered, COVERED, this trunk with them. It's AWESOME. The first time, ever I saw it, I think I dropped to my knees and ran my hand over it and said "Pretty..." or something deep and thought provoking like that. And then I probably asked for it in her will or something. I still haven't looked at all of the pictures on it, there's so many. And I have such a bizarre and random appetite for decor and design (really I can't afford it right now, but for an example of what my home WOULD be decorated like, you should go hang out at my friend Rachel's house. Rachel I don't think your house is bizarre and random, I just love what you have going on there. ANYWAYS), that trunk is just the epitome of what I love.
She's so crafty and handy dandy, that mother-in-law of mine. I'm pretty lucky to have her around (I just lucked out all around in the Mom department). Also, the first time I ever had a pie with cheese in the crust (CHEESE!) she made it. And, it. was. delicious.

Speaking of the in-laws, y'all I didn't make one meal yesterday. Not one! I looked at my kitchen sink last night, before going to bed, and I thought "Oh my gosh, I didn't cook anything today!" I had a Christmas breakfast at church, friends fed us dinner, and my in-laws took me out to lunch. Just me and them! (Mike has been playing Army this weekend) I told them "It's so nice to spend time with you, without all of those people you gave birth to."
I think they like me? I'm kind of loud compared to the family I married into, and it's a good thing because I need to be around quiet people every so often. They buy me presents for my birthday and Christmas, so I'm pretty sure they like me.

In closing, I wish I had a picture of her trunk to show you. How about their Christmas tree instead? I'm in love with this tree. And my father-in-law would take a MUCH better picture of the set up than I can.


It's two smaller trees that sit on the hearth, by the fireplace. There's a third, even smaller one, but it's been banished to the other side of the hearth for some reason? Anyways, the ornaments are all animals, because my mother-in-law is basically the female Dr. Doolittle. They love her and she loves them. In fact, there were two cats (of, I don't know, 8?) sleeping under the tree when I was taking the picture.



Also, there's a good chance I'm slightly famous. 
http://www.breakingdawnfitness.com/membership.html
Please ignore the fact that I look like I'm about to throw up all over the step thing. And please, make note of the fact that the hot mess I'm married to put that whole website together (he never ceases to amaze me). And also, if you live in this area, YOU SHOULD SIGN UP! Because Ben is a great coach!