The shows Good Omens (Amazon Prime) and Lucifer (formerly of Fox, now on Netflix*) have quite a bit in common on the surface. Both are about angels and devils who decide to come hang out on earth with we mortals, and find us surprisingly compelling. Both shows are...
How to Turn a Ten Bedroom House Into A Four Bedroom House
Renovations are well underway at the new old house. It's amazing to see it start to come together after playing around with it on paper and on the computer for so many weeks. My friend Christy keeps pestering me for before and after photos, which don't exist because...
A Very Netflix Christmas 2015: Win it!
Last year, I wrote about all our favorite Christmas movies, but I had to update it for this year because -- you guys -- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is no longer available on Netflix. If you missed it, all I can say is I'm so, so sorry. But there ARE still some...
A Show About the Depth of Male Friendship . . . and farting trolls
The husband is reading The Lord of the Rings aloud to the kids, and I find myself struck again by the beauty of the friendship between Frodo and Sam. Sam's constant selfless devotion, Frodo's (eventual) trust and reliance . . . it's just all so touching. And a deep...
Answer Me This: the Superhero Edition
Hiya, and welcome to another edition of Answer Me This, the internet's favorite virtual cocktail party, where we all answer the same six random questions and get to know each other a little better. And now for THIS WEEK'S questions, to answer THIS WEEK . . . 1....
Netflix Summer School: our favorite educational kids’ shows
Here in the San Fernando Valley part of LA, it's been in the nineties pretty much every day for a month. I am a big fan of shutting kids outside to play (A BIG fan. Seriously.) but the blazing heat of the afternoons can melt even MY mean mommy heart. After all, people...
Daredevil is Catholic (so far)
Superman (although born pagan and raised Methodist) has a very Calvinist ethos. Dude is SAVED, right? Once and for all.* Superman's heroism is predestined. But not Daredevil. His friends, and even he himself, aren't always sure whether he is doing the right thing. He...
The Very Best Shows on Netflix . . . according to my kids
So, this whole Netflix sponsored post thing is really supposed to be a LOT more kid-focused than mine are. Mostly, I prefer to hide from my children and watch Netflix streaming on my own. So I've been writing about what I watch when the kids aren't looking, or what we...
Bless Me Father, for I'm a Catholic on a TV Show
I have mentioned that I have watched quite a bit of Netflix streaming during this blah part of my current pregnancy. I didn't set out to find Catholic characters on TV shows or anything. My very scientific method of selecting series to watch is to just click on shows...
Quotable Frankie, Printable Prayers, Peaky Blinders . . .
My friend Kelly is hosting Seven Quick Takes today, so I'm back on the link-up wagon. -one- The Quotable Cranky Frankie Frankie (3): a mornin mama Me: mornin Frank Frankie: No! I'm Frankie! Me: <whispering> Good morning Frankie. Frankie: No! Not like...
There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Fracture a Fairy Tale . . .
I am so, so late to jump aboard the Once Upon a Time train. Not as late as I was for Doctor Who, I guess. But still, Once Upon a Time has been on the air since 2011, and I only started watching it last month. I had heard of it. I knew Haley liked it, but . ....
Pumpkin Picking, Pumpkin Carving, and the Anarchy and Socialist Anti-Religion Agenda of Curious George Boo Fest
-- 1. Pumpkin Picking -- We had Frankie's birthday party last weekend and the husband has been out of town this week, so our first chance to get pumpkins was Thursday. I suppose it's just as well, because I've learned the hard way what happens when you carve pumpkins...
Halloween for Kids on Netflix Streaming: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
For my inaugural Netflix Stream Team sponsored post, we're going to look at the kids' Halloween-type movies streaming has available. I'm going to tell you about a few I really like, a bunch that are kinda meh, and a few that you should NOT SHOW TO YOUR CHILDREN. This...
Good News Guys, I’m Selling Out
And I want you to come with me. The good folks at Netflix Streaming invited me to join their team and write monthly about Netflix shows. So, since I was already doing that for free, I said okay. Once a month, I'll be regaling you with thoughts about movies and TV...
In Which My Groove is Temporarily Thrown Off
First things first, can you spare a moment to say a prayer for Bonnie's son and Micaela's friend? And now for the quick takes . . . --- 1 --- Heather sent me a link to an article that claims that the eldest children in big families are exploited by their...
The Cuckoldry of a New Era: TV husbands and abortion
On the surface, two shows that I have recently watched (and reviewed on this blog) wouldn't seem to have much in common. The Walking Dead is a modern fictional dystopia about a rugged band of travelers trying to outlast a zombie apocalypse. Call the Midwife is the...
You Like Me, You Really Like Me!: 7 Quick Takes XXXIV
--- 1 --- So it was kind of a big week, blog-wise. Between guest posting for Haley at Carrots for Michaelmas, impressing Heather from Mama Knows, Honeychild with my (admittedly hilarious) moustache party food tags, and my wildly popular (for me) handmade Jesse Tree...
I’m Not Going to Let Call the Midwife Scam Me Anymore
Call the Midwife should have been perfect for me. It has everything I like about shows going for it: it's old-timey, British, and on Netflix streaming. Plus THIS show has nuns (Anglican not Catholic, but in full habit!) and people having babies. I love nuns. I have...
Halloween Movies to Spook the Whole Family
I've already posted about some of the spooky books we like to read/listen to around Halloween, but there are also some shorts and movies we like. Here are five of our favorites, then I need YOUR advice for where we go from here! 1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The...
How a Show about Zombies Helped Me Recover from Having Watched That Show about Meth Dealers
My opinion about Breaking Bad is well known. But I'd hate for you to think it was just a delicate constitution that kept me from enjoying Walter White's descent. The three episodes of that show that I watched were gruesome in parts, for sure. But that wasn't the...
It’s ALL YOUR FAULT Miley Cyrus
Why, oh why, won't this Miley Cyrus thing just go away from my Facebook? the reaction of Will Smith and his family seems about right And I tried, I really did try, to just not say anything about it. But I kept having thoughts. And I have a blog. So . . . ...
The Duke of Whales: 7 Quick Takes XXII
--- 1 --- Me: Hey, remember when we watched the Royal Wedding? The Duke and Duchess are having a baby today! Bobby: What's he the Duke of? Me: Wales, I think. Bobby: The Duke of WHALES? How does that work? well, something like this, I'd imagine As it turns out he's...
I Am Mr. Darcy: 7 Quick Takes XVII
New and Improved: now with awesome updates! --- 1 --- I set out to begin my quick takes this week with a zippy little analysis of Season 2 of Sherlock . . . but it really got away from me, quickness-wise. So it got to be it's own post. Check it out, if you're so...
Sherlock Gets Its Celibacy Right and Its Irene Adler All Wrong
I'm pretty sure I read a quote somewhere to the effect that you shouldn't read a book that promotes immoral behavior no matter how well it's written, since that would basically be the mental equivalent of drinking poison just because it was in a particularly beautiful...