Entertainment

Having a newborn is weird, in terms of time. One minute I'm pouring a cup of coffee at 8am and then I look at the clock and it's like 6:30 at night and I'm wondering where the day went. It's also confusing how I once worked out, worked a full day, and possibly did errands and made dinner in this time, and now I've just watched a lot of daytime TV and barely fit in a shower. But then I remind myself that I kept a tiny person alive using only my own body, and give myself a gold star and move on.

This outfit. I can't stand it.  

Similarly, even though a baby is all consuming in terms of time, he is not all consuming in terms of intellectual stimulation. Unlike caring for an older child, or really any other task on earth, your ass is glued to the couch like 82% of the day. Not complaining. I could watch him yawn, blink, stretch, and look around all day long. I even have an adorable video of him doing these things, but I'm not posting it, because generally only the parents are fascinated by this. The problem is, at this point, he's only awake to entertain me like 7% of the day. (The other 11% of time is accounted for by sleeping and feeding myself.)

When he's not eating, there's a lot of this going on.

My husband captioned this "you cut off your face because you know what people want to see now".

Cuddling with him while he naps is glorious. But it's not fascinating. I need a little extra entertainment.

I mentioned we started watching The Strain. Well, On Demand really screwed us there. We were like 45 minutes into an episode when Dalton woke up and needed our attention, so we stopped it. When we went back to it later that night, you apparently can't fast forward? We were forced to sit there and replay nearly the whole episode on mute like total chumps. I realize this is a major First World Pain, but it happened and it's real.

Just felt like it was time for a cute picture break.

Since then we've been gun shy with serious dramas, and focusing more on sitcoms. Partially because they are shorter, partially because they just require less brain power and attention. We even decided to start A-Z last night, and watched episode 2 followed by episode 1, because numbers are hard. It didn't really affect our enjoyment. We also watched Black-ish, and actually laughed out loud.

I also spend a lot of time reading on my kindle, particularly during middle of the night feeds. I'm obsessed with Kristin Hannah's books right now. She's in the same genre as Jodi Picoult, in my opinion, whatever you want to call that genre. It's a step above total garbage chick lit (which I do enjoy), but well below complicated, Game of Thrones level literature. Just the right level for me to read at 3am and still comprehend.

I guess food isn't technically entertainment, but it's important. As promised, we tried the Little Caesar's pretzel crust pizza.

Verdict - you probably can't do better for a $6 dinner for two, but it's nothing life changing. It falls into that odd category of combining two delicious things (pizza and pretzels) and the whole is less delicious than the parts. I think I would have been happier with just eating crazy bread for dinner. Next up on our pizza tasting: the Pizza Hut bacon crust.

 

 

In our numerous hours of television viewing, we saw a commercial for these.

Apparently I'm not as up on innovations in the taco world as I thought I was, because I was shocked and amazed, but Eric informed me these stand up tacos have existed for years. How did I not know about these? I was so upset. Eric made a taco bar using them for dinner for me to cheer me up, and they were all I hoped for and more.



He even cooked during Sunday football!

Anyone else who likes to read for entertainment, and also likes free stuff, here's something for you. I mentioned awhile ago that my aunt wrote a book, and she let me read it as her beta reader to offer her feedback. I said that I was kind of terrified of that responsibility, because it might be really awkward if I hated it, especially since I'm a terrible liar (the Carrie Bradshaw/Berger analogy) but luckily I actually loved it. It's being published on Amazon! I'm going to reread the final version (so now you know it's good, because I could easily just pull the new mother card and say I was too busy), and she's looking for others to read it and leave reviews when it is published on November 30. If anyone wants to read and review it, just email her at lmillerconnect@gmail.com and she can send you the e-book. And also let me know because I love discussing books!

Here's the description:

The Girl With the Half and Half Face

By Leslie Miller

Defying the Core Has Consequences . . .

Eighteen-year-old Kayli-el is part of a new, evolving species on her planet, with an internal guidance called the Core. After her teacher is murdered for its secrets, Kayli-el runs for her life, right into the arms of Tamber, a boy who’s crossed the ocean on a mysterious quest . . . to find her! When the killers capture her best friend Serene, Kayli-el faces a choice with potentially deadly consequences: follow her Core’s wisdom and flee across the ocean to safety with Tamber, or defy her own guidance to try and save Serene’s life.  

What's your main source of entertainment right now? Also, let's share opinions on new fall TV shows.