Rolfe is the worst! #SoundofMusic

Right now I'm watching Fraulein Maria and Captain Von Trapp sing 'Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something gooooooood!' in the gazebo outside his Austrian mansion. It's one of the least familiar scenes to me, since my siblings and I would always fast forward through it. Same goes for 'Climb Every Mountain' (sorry, Reverend Mother!).

But the worst part of the movie really has to be Rolfe. I DESPISE him. I've probably seen the movie 200 times, but I could see it 200 more times and would still feel the sting of betrayal when Rolfe blows his whistle after discovering the Von Trapps in the Abbey. What a JERK. Poor Leisl.

Well, I suppose I buried the lead a bit, but yes - I am indeed sitting at home on New Year's Eve watching The Sound of Music on TV. Let's set the scene a bit more. New bathrobe on, hot water bottle on lap, one full ChicagoTown cheese pizza in stomach, toes flexing away and cracking with each movement... Heaven on earth!

It's nice to be back in Edinburgh, but after having such a fantastic Christmas at home, I already miss Seatown. Ferry rides, walks along the waterfront, a big fat Christmas tree and bowl after bowl of my Mom's b-nut squash soup really hit the spot. Thanks to a lot of help from rkaytboy, Andy and I managed to release our Christmas single and music video at the very last minute. We also made it down to the 'Couve for a day and were greeted with the utmost hospitality that I've come to expect from those 'Couve Rats (a term of endearment). Another highlight - seeing Louis CK live at the Paramount with Andy, Max and Natalie. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I met my nephew Ollie for the first time! We became fast friends. Only 5 months old and he already has a signature dance move - the Ollie shimmy.

Why can't every day be a holiday? How long would I have to be on holiday before I got bored? I think I could last at least 14 months before getting restless. You?

Cheerio,
Margaret

Pod-a-Doodle-Doo Episode 7 - Igor fills in for Andy!

Another Sunday, another episode of Pod-a-doodle-do for you! This week, my friend Igor fills in for Andy and we have some riveting chat about the latest celeb gossip. Rihanna, TaySwift and, of course, Lohan all make it into our Celeb New Roundup. Plus, I talk about what has my goat this week - and it has to do with the Australian DJ prank scandal.

Enjoy!

Pod-a-Doodle-Doo Episode 6 - Welcome to the world, Hashtag Jameson!

Howdy!

Please enjoy the latest installment of Pod-a-Doodle-Doo, the podcast everyone's been raving about.

In this episode you'll learn the origin of Andy's 'Good Morning' greeting, and get our take on the newborn baby named Hashtag. We also discuss our favourite ever Christmas presents - mine was a horse head stick (or as Andy corrected me, a 'hobby horse'. The English are just so good at knowing the words for things!!).

And the answer to last week's trivia? Yep, we reveal that too.

So, what's stopping you? Grab a cup of tea, kick back and open those ears up wide (ew). Enjoy!




Love,
Margaret

Pod-a-Doodle-Do Episode 5 - Hashtags don't belong on Facebook

Episode 5 already! Andy and I chat about Justin Bieber's latest wardrobe disaster and try to think of a word for this new type of Bruno Mars/Olly Murs person. Also, I ran out of Soundcloud hours! Must buy a real account after Pay Day (and I should really figure out iTunes too). In the meantime, you can just click 'share' on this DivShare thing and then it give you the download option.

Merry Almost Christmas,
Margaret

Pod-a-doodle-do Ep 4 - Justin Bieber's horrendous outfit and much much more!

Howdy folks! Here's yet another quality episode of Pod-a-doodle-do for your listening pleasure! We discuss the latest from Biebs breakupgate, a familiar face on Parks&Rec and what has gotten Andy's goat recently.

Make sure to send in the answers to the trivia question! Also, if you have any topic ideas or news stories you'd like us to talk about, let us know!


 Pod-a-doodle-do Ep 4 - Justin Bieber's horrendous outfit and much much more! by grassyllama

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Margaret

Pod-a-doodle-do Episode 3 - Get it together Oprah, my flat feet, Darwin for president

Apologies for the delay with this episode - we lead busy lives! Hehaw.


 Pod-a-Doodle-Do Episode 3 - Get it together Oprah, my flat feet, Darwin for president by grassyllama

 Enjoy it!

Love,
Grassy

Diane Sawyer, Vocal Fry and much much more - Pod-a-doodle-do Episode 2

Woo hoo - time for your mid-week installment of Pod-a-doodle-do! It's like a Snickers for the ears (really good).

 

Click below to listen, or else click on the down arrow to download!

 Pod-a-doodle-do Ep 2: Diane Sawyer, Vocal Fry and much much more by grassyllama

Photo of the Week - Americans in Edinburgh

Jeans and tennis shoes, the American uniform.

RHOBH is BACK!

If you listened to my first podcast, then you know that I have good taste in TV. OK, so I don't 'get' the Homeland praise, but I'm right there with the rest of the world in loving Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and all those other HBO/Showtime greats.

Clearly, my TV palate is refined enough to enjoy those wonderfully scripted, brilliantly acted shows - so why is it that I enjoy the Real Housewives franchise just as much (if not a bit more)?

Image via Realitytea.com

I watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because I genuinely love it. It's not a guilty pleasure. I am not watching it ironically. Honestly, nothing beats sitting up in bed with a mug of tea, a toasted bagel, and the latest installment of RHOBH.

My theory is that reality TV actually really helps me switch off my manic brain. When you stare at a computer all day pretending and then eventually convincing yourself that the work you're doing matters, it's hard to stop caring at the stroke of 5:10 (yes, my job bizarrely ends at 5:10). But the Real Housewives, their odd lives and (probably fake) drama is like a vacation for my brain. I don't get that from more 'serious' shows, like The Wire or Mad Men. Those shows are great, but their characters' lives stress me out. Not true of RHOBH, RuPaul's Drag Race and Geordie Shore.

Season 3 airs TONIGHT, which means I'll be able to watch it tomorrow (time difference). Cannae wait.

Do you watch any Housewives? Which ones? I watch New York, Beverly Hills and occasionally Orange County. I also watched Washington D.C. for the one season it was on.

Cheers,
Margaret

Pod-a-Doodle-Doo - Episode 1 !

Get ready for the ride of your life. I've started a podcast.

Why? Well, for the following reasons:

1. To add meaning to my life
2. To work on my speaking voice (Andy has diagnosed me with 'vocal fry')
3. To expand the grassyllama brand

Click below to listen, or else click on the down arrow to download!


 
 Pod-a-doodle-doo Ep 1 by grassyllama 

3 Kelly Clarkson Songs Sound the Same | P.S. I'm back.

OK, poopnuggets - I'm back.

This has probably been my longest blogging absence ever. Truth is, I have to blog for work (I mean, I 'get to') and therefore it is the last thing I want to do when I come home.

Also, I really love TV. I love it so much. It takes priority and probably always will.

Oh, before I get too ahead of myself, was 'poopnugget' a childhood insult everywhere or just at Arrowhead Elementary? IknowIknowIknow, people in the UK don't say 'poop' (honestly, don't get me started), but for those of you still living in God's country, was 'poopnugget' ever in your vernacular? What about poopchunk or buttmunch? Let me know.

Seriously, please get back to me on that.

Anyway, thought I'd devote this post to the original American Idol, everybody's favourite (oh yeah, I do UK English spelling now btw) high-heel-hatin' Texan, Miss Kelly Clarkson.

Image by: sebastianmichelke via Wikimedia Commons

Last Saturday Andy had just settled down for a long springtime nap when I decided to make a playlist for that evening's bbq in the Meadows.

Knowing that Kelly had to make it on the playlist, but only having room for one of her songs, I decided to sample a few tracks to determine which one was most bbq-in-the-Meadows appropriate.

To my astonishment, THREE of Kelly Clarkson's song sound nearly identical (at least for the first few bars). They are: Since You've Been Gone, My Life Would Suck Without You and We Belong Together. 

So taken aback by this discovery, I shook Andy awake and shouted: "You have to listen to the beginning of these three Kelly Clarkson songs!!!"

Turns out, his opinion of wake-up-worthy news differs from mine.

But later that evening (when I told him again about the three songs and played them for him), he told me he did not find the information surprising. Not quite the reaction I was going for, but to each their own.

In other news, I have toothpaste on a side-nose-crease zit and I am craving something sweet so bad that I am actually contemplating eating an Irish cream flavoured Lindt chocolate ball even though I HATE alcoholic tasting sweets (Tiramisu, brandy cream, etc. YUCK YUCK YUCK).

I might just have a yoghurt (YAH-gurt, if you're English) instead.

Catch ya on the flip side!