TV Land

Summer has started to settle in at our house and it's made for some lazy days devoid of structure. We are having lots of fun though and we're enjoying everything that comes along with summer. The kids are missing school (they don't really get the "summer vacation" concept), but I try and keep them distracted from that by trips to the Y and the occasional craft thrown in (you know, just to keep that preschool feel - What's a day at preschool without a craft?).

Speaking of summer, I am going through serious withdrawal with the lack of regular TV programming out there. We're not TV-aholics, but we like to watch some shows (all on DVR - I don't think I've watched a commercial in months). We were pretty devastated when the last episode of Lost aired a while ago, and the realization that Glee is over as well is enough to make me want to crawl into bed and read the entire Twilight series again just for the entertainment value. Add into the mix that The Office and 30 Rock are gone and you have just majorly stunted all of my TV options for the next 3 months.

So I've had to start searching for some shows to fill the gaps. These are all shows that I have liked before, they just don't get watched as often when regular TV programming is on. Now they've become the headlining shows in my summer repertoire of TV.

Wonder Pets
C'mon, you knew at least ONE kid show had to be on the list. That's all I watch before 8pm every day anyway. Wonder Pets is the hands down winner in the kid category for oh so many reasons. The episodes are only 10 minutes long! Well, there are 2 episodes per show, but my kids don't know that. I just have a quick trigger finger with the remote and am sure to turn the TV off right as the first episode is ending and before the next one starts! Cruel, I know. Also, there is definitely a lot of adult humor thrown into the show, something I appreciate. If I have to watch a show about a guinea pig, turtle, and duck saving other animals, I'd better get some friggin' comedy relief. And finally, I just love Ming-Ming, she kills me (If you watch this show, you know what I'm talking about).

Dateline / 48 Hours Mystery
I constantly have to fight for my right to watch these two programs. I love these kind of shows, especially the 2 hour long ones on murder mysteries and such. My husband mercilessly makes fun of me for watching them and I always see him rolling his eyes when I turn them on. It didn't help that I recently read an article that documented the target audience for these shows was people in their 50's and 60's. Oh well, I'm just preparing him for what our TV lives will look like in 20-30 years.

I Shouldn't Be Alive
Ok, this is a great show. I've seen it air on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and places like that. It's also not a regularly scheduled show, it just kind of pops up here and there every once and a while. It's basically a reenactment of a true life near death story. I tend to like all those doom and gloom we're-never-gonna-get-out-of-here type shows (case in point: Lost), so this one fits me to a tee. I really like that it's based on true life accounts ... makes me feel empowered or something.

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
Love, love, love this show (and most everything on the Food Network, for that matter). I currently have a list going of all the cool restaurants I've seen on this show that we want to try out. I'm thinking we should do a road trip across the country focused solely on seeking out all the great restaurants Guy finds on this show. Sure I would gain 20 or 30 pounds just eating and sitting in a car all day, but it would be worth it!

House Hunters
I think I like this show because I've never bought a house of my own. The process of buying a house fascinates me because I haven't had to do it yet. It's kind of like when you watch all those baby/birth shows before you have kids and then never think about them again once you've been through the process yourself. It's amazing to see what your money can (and can't) buy in different parts of the country. I'm just hoping we don't live in California when we have to buy our first house because we would be squeezing all 6 of us and a dog into a 2 bedroom condo for sure!

Oh TV gods, please make this summer go quickly so I can have my normal doses of comedy, mocumentaries, drama, and musicals back in my life soon! My hope is that my new line-up will tide me over for the next few months, but don't be surprised if you catch me on the computer watching the season finales of my favorite shows 7 or 8 times until September rolls around again. Please be kind and bless me with a couple of good TNT movies (that will air back to back to back) or a surprising new show to pass the time. For now, I'll just watch the Wonder Pets save the baby dolphin and try to be as optimistic as possible when it comes to the big flat box that hangs above our mantle.