Mr & Mrs Sicky Sickson of Sicktown

By meerasapra | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

We have spent the last week sick here at the McKeon home.  Both Mark and I are still fighting off whatever this current crud is.  And therefore have spent a lot of time doing little else but sleeping and watching television.  But I've learned a few things.  Like when you rewatch half of the Harry Potter movies (5, 6, 7.1) it just makes you want to rewatch 7.2 and reread all the books.  But then you realize that you don't own 1-3 only 4-7, because years ago before 4 came out someone loaned you 1-3 so now you must go buy them because when you reread them you want to start from the beginning.  When your sister-in-law tells you about this show that's in the Netflix instant queue and how it's strangely addicting - believe her.  Cause you will definitely spend the next two days watching nothing but Storage Wars, resulting in very weird drug induced storage-locker-swap-meet-horders-type dreams.  Not to mention experiencing crazy-drug-induced-sick dreams in general.  You decide that you now pretty much know what hot-flashes feel like because you have spent days switching from completely freezing to dripping in sweat in such rapid succession that you don't know how to dress anymore.  You learn that you can survive on nothing but chicken ramen, chicken noodle soup, and chili for every meal (and when I say every meal, I mostly just mean one, cause let's face it you're not very hungry) - because for some reason that's all you want to eat.  Oh and maybe a little chocolate ice cream when the 'hot-flashes' are really bad.

So that's what we've been learning here.  What have you learned lately?

It's a Mad, Mad World

So I've been watching a lot of Mad Men lately.  For some reason or another I didn't watch it when it first aired, so I just never bothered to start watching it once I heard how great it was.  (I'm the kind of girl that likes to watch her shows from the beginning.)  So when I saw it in the Netflix instant queue I decided that I should find out what all the fuss was about.  And I have to say that I love it.  It is an amazing show - and I am especially in love with all the marvelous clothes.  (Oh how I covet Joan's wardrobe!)  Now that I have told you how much I love it, I must tell you how much I hate it!  You see when you watch a single episode it is fantastic.  Addicting, wonderful, a perfect period piece.  But you see when you have Netflix, you get to watch one episode right after the other while you're folding laundry, cutting fabric, or just vegging out.  As a weekly show, I absolutely believe that it does not get into your head and mess with your mind.  But watching 3 (or sometimes even 4) episodes in a row, you realize that you are watching the most depressing show on television.  It is not a show for marathon watching. 

I must admit that before watching Mad Men I considered myself a bit old fashioned.  But let me tell you, I am a radical feminist.  All the men are complete misogynists and I can't handle it!  I would have had a really hard time tolerating the way the men treated the women in the 1960s.  Let alone the way most of the men treat their wives.  And not only that they are also all self-centered, lying, cheating, bigots to boot.  It is weird and kind of hard to believe that the majority of the people in this country were racist and chauvinistic only 50 years ago.

My parents were in town last week and I was telling my mom about it, because as a graphic designer I knew she would love the opening sequence.  It is very cool.  I told her she had to see the opening credits but that I was pretty sure she would despise the show.  Since it is all about all the things she hated about the 60s.  I told her a little about it and she was practically shivering with disgust.  She agreed that she did not want to watch it because just talking about it was bringing back too many bad memories.  Several of which she shared.  Terrible is all I can say.  It is so strange to think that the fictional plots in the show are more than likely coming from someone's actual experiences.  Weird and sad.  But good too, because it just shows what a long way we've come.  And secretly I must admit that the men I previously thought were chauvinistic pigs are looking just a teensy bit better now.  I mean I'm not going to throw them a parade or anything - but let me tell you, they've got nothing on the men from Mad Men.

But I also really wanted to comment on the JFK assassination episodes.  I'd been anxiously awaiting these episodes since I first started watching, wondering how they would handle it.  And I actually think they were some of my favorite episodes.  I never thought I'd cry watching the news coverage about a President dying in 1963, I mean I had seen it before and never cried.  But watching it through these characters' eyes, it was a different experience for me.  Sitting there safely in my living room watching them wonder what is happening to their world teleported me straight back to where I was on 9/11/01.  I think that's what these major events in history do - they make you think of the major events in your own history.  They are the horrifying days in our lives that we always remember - I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing on 9/11/01.  And I will never forget.

A Wedding in NYC

We just got back from New York City for Mark's brother John's wedding.  It was a hectic long weekend - but we had a ton of fun with family and friends.

Before all the wedding hubbub started Mark and I got to do the 30 Rock/SNL tourist thing-

Friday night the rehearsal dinner was in Battery Park - so we got to eat delicious food with a recognizable view-

John & Meaghan's wedding was on Sunday afternoon and it was beautiful!  They got married at the Church of Our Lady of Peace-

Then they took photos in Washington Square Park-

The reception was at the Bryant Park Grill - right next to the NYC Library - where Mark and his younger brother Matt practiced their co-best man speech, and lots of fun was had by all.  (I can't remember the last time I danced to Outkast or heard a more amazing rendition of Purple Rain.)

If It Weren't For These Allergies....

So this Spring my allergies have been out of control! I don't know what's different but I am dying. I sit here today with almost no voice, coughing as I type, because of these blasted allergies. And because I can't breathe, I'm having a hard time sleeping. The other night I was laying in bed next to Mark, listening to him snore for over 2 hours, wide awake and frustrated before I finally just got up and watched TV, only better - because we have Netflix. Oh Netflix instant queue, you are the best friend of the insomniac. No more are the days of channel surfing through infomercials. Now are the days of reading a book by Portia de Rossi, thinking of Ally McBeal, adding it to my instant queue and voila - a sleepless night can be spent watching hours of good old 90s iconic television. I guess I have to thank you Netflix, for making me have a love-hate relationship with these allergies, instead of just a hate-hate one.

And in other news (and most importantly when I'm not having allergy attacks) I have been spending large amounts of my free time sewing. I made a cute little shirt and skirt for my niece Abby for her 2nd birthday. ( I am super in love with the little frogs in mason jars on the accent fabric!)

















Matching bubble skirts for my nieces Lily and Claire, for Claire's 1st birthday.

















And a retro apron for Catherine as a housewarming present (she bought her 1st house - congrats Cat!)

Time for an Intervention?

Hi my name is Heather and I am an alien-aholic. There I've taken the 1st step towards recovering. I am admitting my problem. You see there are you ladies out there with your vampires and werewolves... But I'll take an alien any day of the week. Growing up with my sci-fi fan of a dad - we watched a lot of Star Trek and Star Wars, etc.... The first movie I remember seeing in the theater is E.T. But really this little obsession for me, I think, all started with the tv show Starman. Oh how I loved that Starman! And then of course there were the great shows like X-Files and The Next Generation that kept aliens alive and well in my mind. Roswell made me fall in madly in love with Max Evans and wish that a beautiful, tortured alien with a healing touch would come and save me from my pathetic 23-year-old existence. But now - now I have found the end all and be all of my alien-addictedness. The Doctor.

Oh, Doctor Who where have you been all my life? What's that? You've been there in England since 1963 - even before I was born - just waiting for me! I'm sure my dad tried to introduce you to me, but I was such a silly little girl then that I did not listen. But, thanks to my brothers, I now finally have you in my life. In fact, Michael and John should really be given medals of honor for introducing me to the two loves of my life - Mark and The Doctor.

So it is with great excitement that I present to you my one and only Doctor Who Bathroom (or Doctor Who Loo - if you like the rhyming and the British-ness of it all):




































The photos are a little dark (it is the bathroom after all), so to clarify the rug and soap dispenser are TARDIS blue and the towels are blue and black.



















The TARDIS in Starry Night - love it! Especially after the Van Gogh episode...
















This picture is really where the idea for the bathroom all started. So thanks to The Gorgonist on etsy for creating the most amazingly adorable and hilarious piece of art! Heather Winters and I decided it was me and her. And Mark unknowingly said he thinks the Dalek girl is the cutest one - so basically even in the sort-of cartoon version of myself he thinks I'm hot! (Now Heather you will have to test Greg and see if he passes.)





















A little collage of some of my favorite Doctor Who moments and monsters.





















And of course a TARDIS on the back of the toilet tank...





















Filled with potpourri, naturally.

Went To Ohio And It Was Pretty Cool

My parents with 10 of the 11 grandchildren. (Oh how we missed Abby! And John and Amanda too, of course)

We went to Ohio for Alice & Penny's baby blessings and had a fab time. We told lots of jokes, watched silly stuff online, went to Amish country, only got a little bit sick (a nice 24 hour stomach flu made it's way through the family), and learned a lot.

Sophia taught us about getting a man:

Sophia (talking to me while I put my make-up on before church): Girls love to wear make-up. Especially on Sundays.
Me: True we do like to look nice on Sundays.
Sophia: Yes, on Sundays girls put on their prettiest dresses and their make-up and go to church in the Singles Ward so they can meet boys. My mom told me.
Me: Oh really?!
Sophia: Oh yes, my mom told me that girls love to go to the Singles Ward and when they see a handsome boy they flip their hair like this (she flips her hair) and say "Well hello there." That's what they do.

Holly and Lucy taught us some jokes:

Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: orange
Laura: orange who?
Holly: I said banana too many times!

Lucy: (this joke is told entirely by Lucy all in one go, really fast - she made it up herself, can you tell?) knock, knock. who dere? tato. tato who? tato in my eyes! (at the last line, she always covers her eyes and dies laughing)

I made some bubble skirts for Laura's girls and they had a great time modeling them for us - what a bunch of divas!
























































And the twins, of course. Seeing a new baby is always cute, but seeing twins is sooo much more adorable! I can't get over it. And just so you know which is which, Alice has darker hair and Penny has lighter hair.

















Laura introduced us to hashtags on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Hilarious! We especially enjoyed the worst pickup lines and worst dates... (kiss it, with a midnight voice)

And lucky for Laura we introduced her to the Miley Cyrus show on SNL - the show with the most epic theme song that gets stuck in you head, but only forever. It's pretty cool!

I Heart David Tennant

So I've been watching a lot of Doctor Who lately. Specifically David Tennant as the Doctor. And I'm pretty much in love with him. (Sorry Mark, it has to be said.) Doctor Who has been on since 1963, but I started with Season 1 from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. I've always really liked Christopher Eccleston. In fact secretly I always pictured him as Professor Lupin in Harry Potter and have to admit that I was quite annoyed with who they actually cast. And while we're on the subject of Harry Potter many of you may recognize David Tennant as Barty Crouch Jr from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But that's another story.

So if you don't know anything about Doctor Who let me quickly explain that the Doctor is a Time Lord (alien) that travels through time and space in his TARDIS (a spaceship disguised as an old British Police Call Box). Being a Time Lord he is pretty hard to kill. Things that would kill a human, like getting shot in the heart for example, don't kill the Doctor (because incidentally he has two hearts). If something happens that could kill him he is able to regenerate. The only thing is when he regenerates, though he keeps all his memories and is still the Doctor, he looks completely different and has a different personality. (Pretty convenient for recasting and keeping a show airing from the 60s.) Anyway Christopher Eccleston was a great way to start off Doctor Who for me and I was really getting sad the closer I got to the end of his episodes. Even though my brothers kept telling me how amazing David Tennant was, I was certain that I would miss my first Doctor and that no one could ever compare.... But then there was David Tennant! And oh how he won our hearts! (And I do not say "our hearts" lightly - I promise that he has won many a heart as the Doctor- just look him up.)

But I am saddened once again (even more so this time) because alas David Tennant is done and a new Doctor is coming in the next episode. It airs this Saturday on BBC America and I am excited and distressed all at once. So the countdown to Saturday has begun... (As a side note is it completely terrible that we just had Christmas and this week is New Years and my 4th Anniversary and all I can think about is Doctor Who?? What does this say about me...?)