The Office Recap Friday

I did laugh out loud a few times during this episode, but overall it was so-so for me. On a scale from one to Gisele, it was about a 5.

The costume portion didn't last long enough for me. We barely got a glance at costumes! But Michael's costume was perfect.

I loved Andy and Pam's bit. The fake couple was pretty funny. I don't see enough of Andy, I think. I can't wait to see if he hooks up with Erin. That would be fun. Plus, Andy had some great lines: "Adam Sandler and Jelly sandwich"? Plus, he was never going to get that sale.

The koi pond puns were pretty good. I like the "They're mocking you with wordplay." And Michael's "I'm usually the face of the joke."

What did y'all think?


P.S. If you want a good time, you should go to nbc.com and watch Subtle Sexuality's video. Kelly, Erin, Ryan, and Andy? Yes, please.

Happy Birthday Captain!


It's my husband's birthday today. This is one of my favorite pictures of him. It's from almost 4 years ago, on our wedding day. I love it because (a) he looks hot; (b) he has this half-smile on his face, like "I hate having my picture taken, so here's a half-hearted smile for you"; and (c) it's the day I got to marry my best friend.

P.S. My husband's not actually a ranked captain, but it's a funny joke about one of his nicknames. I might even tell you what it is if you ask.

P.P.S. Becky Pomp, of the fabulous Bee Tree Photography, took this photo and I'll always be grateful. Did I mention she was pregnant at the time and yet still running around, capturing beautiful photos? Yup, she was.

The Office Recap Friday

Here we are again and here I am again: a little disappointed with my favorite tv show.

Last night's episode had a great premise. Michael is sleeping with Pam's mom. Ouch. I totally agree with Pam--she's not overreacting. If I had heard that news, I probably would have thrown up. And after they brought Michael rum from Puerto Rico! It's always kind of funny to me when people call Michael out too. That meeting? Way to go, Pam.

Other good thing? The mallard. I thought the whole thing was pretty funny, but mostly the part when Jim calls Andy into his office and blasts opera. But please tell me, what exactly is Dwight going to do with 8 hours of paper talk?

While I think this could have been a great episode, it fell kind of flat for me. I don't really have anything else that got me all excited, except...

The Facial Expressions. Everyone had great reactions last night. Here they are, in reverse favorite order:

5. Stanley reacting to Pam's "No More Meetings!"
4. Pam pouting outside behind the warehouse.
3. Michael's face when Pam's brain is slowly realizing what's going on.
2. Jim reacting to Michael's new love interest.
1. Creed reacting to the opera music.

What did you guys thing? Strong episode? Not so great?

Apple-Sass Saturday

My friend Megan is the best. Because not only is she my friend, she invites me to be her family too. On Saturday, I got to tag along as an unofficial Gormley and join in on applesauce day!

Megan's cousin Kirsten's family owns an orchard, so she brings the apples, everybody brings jars, and they make TONS of applesauce. This year, I got to join in!

Lisa and Megan Lisa and Megan peeling apples for chunky sauce

Jake (highchair) and Kirsten cutting apples (Sara's in the background)

Applesauce!

Judy, Sara, and Angie (and lots and lots of applesauce)

The kiddos

Sara, Angie, and Kirsten brought (some) of their kids along and Megan and I spent the day teasing them by calling applesauce "apple-sass." It's amazing how a little mispronunciation can entertain 3 kids for so long.

I had such a great time. It was fun to make applesauce in a whole new way. I have made applesauce before, but it involved about 10 apples and one pot. The Gormleys way involves about 10 CRATES of apples, about 6 pots, two strainers, and a canner. I wish I had taken a picture of the strainers because it was just cool.

Welcome to the country, city mouse.

The Office Recap Friday, by Sarah Braar

Yes! This week was one of my favorite episodes of The Office in a while. I thought the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline was good, but I really like the "classic" episodes that are just situational comedy.

This week's MVP? Michael! Favorite lines? "Come into the conference room and I will show you a finished sausage." And: "He also vaguely threatened me with testicular cancer."

Runner-up? Kevin. Lol. I love why he borrowed Jim's office and I love it that Jim's office is even better than Kevin's home. Then when he cancels Jim's card? Nice.

And poor, poor Oscar. "The Coalition for Reason is extremely weak."

"R is among the most menacing of sounds. That's why it's called murder and not mukduk."

I'm quite menacing.

What did y'all think? Favorite lines? Favorite characters this episode? I do miss Jim and Pam a little bit. I think Jim would have had a little bit of fun with this one. Maybe he can teach Oscar to relax and prank a little bit.

My Pants Might Be A Little Tight

A couple weeks ago, Hudsonville Ice Cream had its first ever factory sale. The general public was invited to their warehouse to buy 3-gallon tubs (not for sale in stores), 1-gallon tubs (only sold in some flavors) and 1/2-gallon tubs. They were specially priced, so if you bought a 3-gallon tub, it came out to $2 per 1/2-gallon. This is a steal of a deal.

Since ice cream is my second favorite thing in the whole wide world, of course I went and bought some. The other day, I took a picture of my freezer for my sister.

This is what six gallons of ice cream looks like in a regular sized freezer:

And oh, man, is it good. I shoved the rest of our freezer stuff in the bottom section and the door and we slid these bad boys on the shelf (which I'm pretty sure is going to fall down under the weight).

I might have eaten (at least) one bowl of this stuff every single night since October 3. And I feel as though we haven't even made a dent in it. But there is a dent in my stomach where by pants button is straining.

More than you needed to know, I know. Too bad.

My Advocate

Two years ago, when my mom was re-diagnosed with cancer, she named me as her medical advocate. That means that if she is ever in a state where she cannot make medical decisions for herself, I get to do it (with discussion with my sister, of course). But because I'm here, and not in South Africa, it's me.

The last couple days have been a bit frustrating, because my mom is being discharged from the hospital (probably today). I've been running around, feeling like I'm missing out on my life because I'm trying to be there for my mom (and yet, never really feeling like I'm being of any help).

Through it all, I'm so glad that I have an advocate. It's not signed legally in papers (actually, I can think of one, very important paper), and it's not necessarily for medical reasons.

My husband has been my best advocate.

On Friday, when I was upset with one of the medical personnel for being inconsiderate, he was ready to hunt her down and give her the what-for (luckily, I didn't tell him about this until he was safely in a seat belt in the car, unable to run this person down and bodily injure them). When I cry, he tells me "good job, let it out." When everyone else tells me I need to be there for my mom, he says, "You are there for your mom. Don't forget to take care of yourself."

He has offered countless ways of being there for me, including just leaving me alone when I need it. I am so thankful. So. Thankful.

Here's to Waiting.

Viewers of The Office have been waiting for 5 seasons for Jim and Pam to be together. While we got our wish two seasons ago, it's still wonderful to see them get married. And with a baby on the way! (Sorry, MeeMaw.)

Here we go:

1. There must be some really talented female writers on this show. And John Krasinski is an acting dream. Because I don't think you can get much more perfect than Jim Halpert. Okay, he has his idiot moments. (Um, even I could have come up with a save for accidentally saying Pam can't drink.) But all in all, he is the sweetest thing ever. When he snipped his tie off, I actually gasped a little. And every single movement, glance, and voice-over for their wedding on the boat was priceless.

2. Pam. She was a dream. And when she reacted to Jim's toast at the rehearsal dinner, I thought that might be the moment I would cry. Until they cut to Andy crying, which cracked me up. And speaking of Andy, I totally would have aimed for every single pothole. Nice job, Pam. (I had no idea why they made Pam do it until Kent helpfully noted, "Everyone else is drunk." Oh, yeah.)

3. Michael was the perfect father of the groom. I even felt a little bit bad for him that he had to sleep next to the vending machine. But the whole Pam's mom thing was not a surprise. Doesn't he have a history of consoling divorcees?

4. Dwight. Ew, ew, ew! I would love to forget everything about Dwight for this episode, except the turtle scene and the kicking the poor girl in the face scene. Everything else was just EW!

5. Ensemble: Well done. Well done. Everyone played their part very well, being seen and heard but not necessarily taking the focus off the bride and groom. The dance down the aisle was superb (even though it was a YouTube ripoff). Kevin was as good as we thought he would be. Oscar is continually one of my favorites. And I love that Erin and Kelly are the new buddies.

All in all, I was very pleased. Congratulations Jim and Pam.

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Having a close family member in the hospital is bizarre. My mom was admitted to Holland Hospital Wednesday night and transferred to GR on Sunday. Surgery was yesterday and she'll be here for at least 3 days. It's been almost a week and, well, my life feels weird.

Work is wonderfully accepting. But depending on how things go over the coming week, I wonder if I'll have to take some extended time off (i.e. Family Medical Leave). Plus, I am doing my best, but I hate that I'm not 100% when I'm on the job.

Sleep is mysterious. Last night, I "slept" for 9 hours. Yet I don't feel rested at all. All I think about is napping, but then I worry that if I nap, my nighttime sleep will be even worse.

Family and friends are wonderful. I've never had so many people do so many things for me. And I almost rarely feel more than the average amount of guilt for it. :-)

Mom is okay. I have no idea what will happen. I feel like we're truly at a point where she could either go home and be okay for an indefinite period of time or she could go straight to Hopsice and leave this earth before her 58th birthday. To feel both ways at once might actually be the definition of hell.

But I want to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If nothing else, I just feel incredibly loved. And I love you back.

The Office Recap Friday

The episode this week was just "meh" for me. Here's why:

1. Everything was "predictable." Each character really reacted exactly the way you'd expect. Except Jim was a little dumber than I expected. Seriously. Just giving raises to the sales team? Bad move, Big Tuna.

2. I'm a little bit annoyed that Jim gets the promotion storyline and Pam gets the...wedding crap storyline. Seriously. Can we get a little more gender bias going here? I understand that the promotion storyline works for Jim, but it still irks me. Pam can do a lot more than just check things off her wedding to-do list.

3. Dwight didn't do anything ridiculous. All his moves seemed calculated and well-planned. Getting the office all riled up against Jim? Seems to be working, but there's nothing particularly Dwight-y about the way he's doing it.


All-in-all, I would agree with a review I read online this morning. It just seems like they're doing some place-holding before the big wedding episode next week. Which, I am beyond geeked for. I already warned my husband that I would probably cry. :-)

Peace out, Dunder Mifflinites.