XOXO... Farewell GG!

Like many of you in Blogland and on Twitter, I too got hooked on the CW show Gossip Girl. However, like a handful of you last year, I didn't get introduced to it until it came to Netflix Streaming.

I started it last summer, got a few episodes into the first season, thought it was okay, but kind of forgot about it and didn't get back into it until later in the summer.

And then I got hooked.

It was sort of my late-night escape from the stress I was dealing with at home and it became a guilty pleasure.

And you know a show is a good if hubby can get drawn into it just by watching an episode here and there when he gets home from work and I've got it on - he too got caught up in the Upper East Side drama and the Chuck and Blair saga, often asking me to catch him up on the episodes I watched while he was at work that night.

But of course, all shows I get hooked on often come to an end too soon. And so was the case with Gossip Girl, as by the time I got caught up to the current season, I learned that it was also the last season. And a shortened one at that!

Boob Tube Babble ended last year, but oh well, let's talk about the finale, shall we?

(And stop reading now if you don't want to read any spoilers!)

Awwww - Chuck and his mini-me!

Chair... Chuck and Blair... they finally got their happy ending! Yay!!! And I loved how in the 5 Years Later epilogue they're still happily married with a mini-Chuck! Too bad they saved the wedding for the end of the final episode though and a good chunk of the final season had them keeping that stupid "we can't be together yet" pact. I mean c'mon - we all knew they were going to end up together, they're perfect for each other (she brings out the good in him and is his center)... why not just let them be together the whole season, still have them accomplish their personal goals all while Blair is planning their wedding and have it go out with a blast the way only Chuck and Blair could? But that would make too much sense...

Speaking of things making sense...

Rufus and... Lisa Loeb? Wtf?

Clearly Lily never learns. I really hoped her and Rufus would reconcile and be together again in the epilogue. Granted, I like how Rufus was in the early seasons before he became a househusband but still... him and Lily had a bond that spanned decades. But no... she had to go and get back together with that slimeball William, yuck! Him and Ivy deserved each other, they were both gross! And Rufus and Lisa Loeb... that's one of those surprising but not really surprising ones, as she had guest starred as his band's opening act in season 1 for that Artists of the 90s gig and he mentioned her again in this season's Thanksgiving episode. Kinda funny though and amusing that the majority of the young folk watching/tweeting/commenting didn't know who she was, lol...

This GIF = giggles

Dan as Gossip Girl??? Say what?! It makes sense, but I really didn't think it was him, considering how he was a regular target. I read a comment posted on a Gossip Girl YouTube video that had a very convincing Nelly Yuki as GG theory - made a lot of sense as she became a journalist, had a crush on Dan in high school (which would explain Serena being targeted a lot) and was in Blair's posse but still a jealous minion. I also thought maybe it was Serena's brother Erik too, as that would kind of make sesne... kind of. Like many, I do wonder if the writers always intended Dan as being GG or if it was just a cop-out as they needed it to be someone well-known in the series with a viable motive...

I would have liked to have seen more of the aftermath of the reveal that GG was Dan the whole time - what happened in the days to follow? Did the UES give him an UES-style lynching or did they just let it roll off their backs like Serena, Chuck and Nate did?

Serena's dress was pretty and so her!

And Serena still ends up with Dan. At least their wedding happened 5 years later as anything in the present time would have just been too soon and not made any sense considering all he had recently put her through when they got back together. Honestly, I would have liked to have seen her end up with someone like that Steven guy she was with for the first half of the final season, being a socialite trophy wife like her mom, or even with Nate - her and Nate would have made a picture-perfect UES couple. And why just a small simple wedding... in what looked like the former Waldorf Penthouse??? I would have expected a Serena VDW wedding to be a bit more elegant and elaborate...

Speaking of Nate... kinda sad that he didn't end up with anyone significant. But his tabloid The Specatator did seem to take off and he became a successful businessman...

Gotta say though, the flashback scene was pretty cute! And glad Dan finally fixed his hair 5 years later... it was getting nasty looking! Oh and Georgina and Chuck's Uncle Jack together 5 years later... LOL! That was quite clever, and awesome!


If you got hooked on Gossip Girl and watched the finale, tell me your thoughts! Not gonna lie, I was a little bummed to come back to Blogland and see a lack of GG finale posts - I want to discuss!!! =D

A new year, a new post

Well, well, well...

My NIU Huskies in the Orange Bowl?
Heck yeah!

Long time, no see Blog Friends!

I know I took a bit of a break there, not blogging much the past few months, my last post being a Halloween recap in mid-November!

I have been busy though, as I took on a part-time management position at work that was originally supposed to just be seasonal but I decided to stay on it permanently as it's pretty easy, not much more work than what I was already doing, and with a slight increase in hours and pay. However with the holidays the past 2 months, you can imagine working retail gets a bit busy and crazy. But now that the holidays are over, work has slowed down incredibly.

I do have some GREAT news though! My father-in-law is officially out of my house and is staying with ASTA Care. He had a couple hospital trips in the past few months, one of which had us for quite a scare as he apparently took too much of his pain meds, in addition to having high potassium and nearly overdosed. And then he got real sick with whatever was going around and after his last hospital stay before Christmas they released him to a rehab center (as he is incredibly weak and needs physical therapy to regain his strength). He was there for about a week and then they were able to transfer him to the ASTA Care place. Hubby's uncle assured me the other day that he will be there indefinitely and will not be coming back to our house. Such a relief! He was really getting to be a handful there at night and it didn't help that both hubby and I were working like crazy and running on little sleep!

As far as 2012 goes in general... it was a pretty craptastic year. Aside from every parent's worst nightmare, I really don't see how 2013 could be any worse. I mean, 2012 started out okay, but ever since my mother-in-law up and left us all a little over 6 months ago, making my ill and weak father-in-law our responsibility, the year went downhill fast. Hubby losing his day job didn't help matters either.

But I guess some good things did happen...

Jay had his 1st birthday, I paid my car off, my sister got married and we pulled off a great wedding in 5 weeks, Hubby published his novel in various e-Reader formats along with several short stories, we took a family overnight trip to Madison and visited the zoo, Jay's urologist deemed him "cured" from his kidney/ureter/hydronephrosis issues, I had my 10 year high school reunion, attended my 5 year college homecoming and my alma mater went on to play in the BCS Orange Bowl last night despite nasty remarks from various sports commentators and ESPN. Jay was the cutest Little Link from Zelda for Halloween. And hubby found another day job, that while it doesn't pay as well as his previous day job (causing me to pick up more hours at work), he enjoys it much better. I also got hooked on Gossip Girl thanks to Netflix and many of you here in Blogland and on Twitter, only in time for the series to end!

So yeah... I'd say this year was probably as bad as 2009 was for me and I see 2013 as being nothing but better.

I'm not really making any resolutions this year, other than to blog a bit more than I have the past few months. I finally have some "free" time and time to myself at night now, so I should be able to get a post out here and there from time to time.