This Winter is Lasting Forever, At Least for Tonight

Brrrrr!  Man oh man has it gotten chilly down here within the past few weeks!  It makes for a refreshing time standing on the train platform at 6:45 each morning.  Even after 7.5 years here, it still seems crazy to be this cold in July.  Everyone from back home is posting about beach days and their 4th of July plans and it makes me crazy jealous, but life around here is going well.

MOTH and I have been having some fairly mellow weekends.  We have become obsessed with this tv show, Sons of Anarchy.  We got through the first two seasons in two weekends so I told him we needed to take a break from it or we'd be all caught up to season 5, the current one, in no time.  We now have said we'll watch one season in July, one in August, then save one for the honeymoon in October. Have you guys seen this show?  It's about a fictional motorcycle club in Northern California.  I love the characters and the plotlines are always super intense.  My sister said she's been hooked on it since the beginning but I don't remember ever hearing about it before.  Anyway, it's one I'd definitely recommend.

We're lucky because our little house has a combustion stove heater and we've got a firewood connection by way of Steve's great uncle so nights when we are home early enough and on weekends we get it going and it makes the house so warm and cozy.  We pull out camping mattresses and eat dinner and watch Sons on my laptop in front of it.  I was home sick today from work-had the worst headache all weekend and thought I was getting a cold-and MOTH will be home early so I'm hoping he'll get the fire going for us because my nose is freezing right now.

We're back to eating low carb through the week as it's the only thing that really seems to help us shed the weight.  Dieting through winter sucks as all I want to do is eat comfort food!  But hopefully it'll pay off with a couple less pounds on the both of us in time for the wedding at the end of September.  If anyone has any low carb sites to recommend or any recipes to share, I'd appreciate it!

Friday was the 3 month to go mark....eeeee!!!  We're both really nervous but comfortable enough to say that to each other and we're both really, really excited.  The budget is a hot mess.  It's about 3x more than I had originally hoped to spend, BUT we can afford it, nothing is going on credit or anything.  It's just we were hoping to keep things low key and cheap.  The day will still be low key and no one will be able to tell we spent as much as we have because it's all going in to boring infrastructure type stuff...bringing in fancy portapotties, heating, lighting, hiring a shuttle since there's no parking, etc, etc.  Oh well, on the day I think we'll feel it was all worth it to have a really fun party with a lot of the people who mean the world to us.

We've sent out the invites over the past two weeks and it's been super exciting to get RSVPs back already.  So far there's only been yeses and I can't wait to get the full picture of who can make it and who can't. It's been a good mixture of people who have responded- my old surf coach and his wife, an old family friend, a neighbor, a bridesmaid, some people who live within 20 minutes drive of the venue, some who will have to drive 6 hours, some who will have to fly 15.  Let me tell you, there is probably nothing more flattering in life than having these wonderful people willing to give their time and their money to come share our special day with us.

The whole registry thing is really throwing us.  I've always thought doing the whole scanner gun thing that you see in movies looks fun but most people here do wishing wells where they straight up ask for money.  It's just a different cultural thing and I've told my friends here that that would go over like a lead balloon in the States, although in our situation money really would be easiest.  Because wishing wells are so popular here, no home stores or department stores have really set up registry systems and because we will have limit luggage space, we can't exactly register for a bunch of stuff back in California.  We finally found that a large department store called David Jones does do registries, but the system is a bit clunky- our guests can check our list and then they email DJ's their top 3 gift preferences (wtf?  I guess it doesn't get updated daily so their first pick might've already been bought) and then someone will email them back to tell them what gift they can buy and then they email back their credit card details.  And for the luxury of having this clunky system, they also have to pay $14 for registry upkeep and shipping and whatnot I guess.  I hope, if people want to give us a gift, they skip the hassle of this system and give us money as we will then go buy homegoods with them or put it towards our trip to visit Nae in South Africa next year, but Mom says some people just really, really like to give tangible gifts.  We'll be pleased with anything we do get.

Work has slowed down and gone in to this kind of groove that I'm getting the hang of.  In other words, I didn't sink!  Now that I'm in the groove though, it's nearly time for the whole process to start again and for us to start gearing up for the next intake of students.  Luckily this next semester will only be 70 students from two different schools as compared to the 160 students from 8 different programs we had in this round.  Because I know what to expect as far as work flow leading up to the next groups' arrivals, I feel much better prepared to handle it.  I think I'm doing a decent job and I like the women I work with.  Tomorrow I have my 3 month review and I think it will go well.  I have a list of things I feel I could've improved on from the last intake and a list of things I think I did well in.

With all that being said, MOTH is now home and it's time for me to warm my fingers and toes in front of the fire.  Good night!

The Sound of Animals Fighting

Have you guys been watching that new show, based on the 1980s movie, Parenthood? It's been on twice now and I love it.

The episode last night had me rolling from the first 5 minutes because in it the main character, Adam, hears a noise as he is laying in bed and jumps up in his underwear to fight this possum. I swear, this has been my life for the last two weeks! I'll be laying in bed reading when all of a sudden I'll hear the trash can lids thunk. So I race upstairs in my underwear or pajamas with a jacket quickly thrown over them, grab a flashlight and some rotting lemons that we always have in our fruit bowl, and head out on to our balcony where I then begin my assault on the raccoons that are scrounging in our or our neighbor's trash cans. They aren't even phased by the light or me making hissing noises at them and they really only leave when the lemons get super close to them. I realize that I am/probably look like a crazy person doing this, but I guess that's why it's a good thing we live in a fairly remote spot-there isn't too much traffic driving by at night to see my outside in all my glory fighting the raccoons!

If you haven't checked out Parenthood, I'd recommend it. It's got the mom from the Gilmore Girls (this would be a reason Boyfriend would be hesitant to watch it so if you don't like GG, disregard the fact that she's on the show) and Peter Krause who was on Six Feet Under and a ton of other people that you have seen on other shows. It's set in Berkeley and is all about this big family's dynamics. It's like Brothers and Sisters with a lot less gushy stuff. It's a good show for guys and girls both, I think.

Put Down Your Sword and Crown. Come Lay With Me On the Ground

I liked the second episode of Big Love so much better! The last scene had me tearing up as much as Nicki was almost and a big part of that was because I thought the song that they had playing in the background was so lovely. Here is the music video for it, I haven't watched it yet, just been listening to the song in the background as I type:

I hope you like it as much as I do and Yay! for Big Love being back on track.

God Only Knows What I'd Be Without You

In an attempt to lighten things up around here, I thought I'd write about the new season of Big Love, which premiered last night.

How are you guys feeling about the new intro song and video? I get that their lives are disrupted and all is not well in the Henrickson family, but I'm not sure I'm feeling it!

Also because the seasons are fairly short and there are huge gaps between seasons, I feel like I need to rewatch last season in order to figure out what is going on now. The only thing I remembered is that they are opening a casino and everyone is mad at Nicki for lying about her job and falling for that other guy.

I didn't remember at all that Sarah had moved out and we only see her character for about 1 minute of screen time for the entire episode. I also forgot the big upset from last season, that Roman had died.

All-in-all I thought this episode was just "Meh", which is disappointing because I love Big Love. I thought the whole thing seemed pretty rushed and disjointed. When did Ben start a band? Why do we care? And he looks really awkward and seizure-y in front of a mic. What was the big deal with the salmon and Mormon's not eating salmon? Why wasn't Sarah there for the opening of the casino? Who cares if they did find Roman's hat? Why was that left as the cliff-hanger to the end of the episode? Did they DNA test it already to know it was his, they don't have a body, so what is the big deal? Why do we really care about Bill's parents anymore? That story line of them going back and forth and trying to kill each other and the mom being so eccentric has run it's course for me.

If I was in charge we'd kill off the grandparents, no more Wanda or Bill's brother, no more Don, and please don't bring back Ana. Also, if you had to replace "Teenie", don't bother trying to bring in a new actress to play her. Nicki's daughter can stay and also bring back Rhonda.

I'm really hoping this season will pick up some steam because I wasn't left wishing that today was Sunday/Big Love night again like I have been with most episodes in the past.

What were your thoughts on the episode?

I Miss You, I Miss You

I just got off the phone with Mom and we realized there are only 6 weeks until I am back home in CA now! The time between now and then will just fly by and I can't wait to see my family again. It'll have been nearly 9 months since I was last with them and that is about my limit of away time. When I leave, I'll be conflicted because it means nearly 2 months without Boyfriend and I'll miss him that whole time, too. That's really the life of an expat, no matter where you are, you are always missing someone you love, and because home is in two places, you are always missing one version of home, too. Here's a list of the things I am looking forward to once back in CA and a few things I'll miss when I'm there:

Getting to be in the same room with my family and hanging out and not just being on the phone with them while they are preparing Sunday dinner.

Getting to see family and old friends.

Getting to see Mom and Dad's new San Francisco apartment.

Hanging out at the beach house.

Feeling like a real family again.

Feeling normal again-not the weird American girl who says things funny and has interesting ideas on how life should work

Free refills and non-sweetened ice tea anywhere I go

Coupons for grocery shopping

Decently priced food and clothing

Old Navy, Target, H&M, American Eagle, Ann Taylor Loft, the Gilroy Outlet Malls, Trader Joe's, Safeway

Clothes that actually fit me, ditto for bras/sizes I understand

Cool Whip

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Sourdough Bread

Bisquick Mix

Real Mexican food

Sand dollars, sea otters, and sea lions

Costco

Beach walks with my Mom

Hanging out with my Sister

Treasure hunting with my Dad

Exploring the coast when Boyfriend comes

Chopping down our own Christmas tree

Hanging out in the living room watching the ocean while it rains and having a nice fire burning

Lots of variety at the grocery store

Being able to go to the grocery store or any store past 6pm

Cheap books

Watching trashy tv in real time, rather than downloading it or getting a series 3 years late (ala Gossip Girl being on Season 1 here right now)

Stocking up on all the things I need/miss through the year like clothes, makeup, and food

Getting a job and making some money

Celebrating my first Halloween in 5 years, even if they don't get trick-or-treaters way out at the beach house

Cheap manicures, pedicures, and eyebrow waxes

Pedicures where they can mess with your cuticles (they aren't allowed to trim them here, it's against the law or something...cuticle cutting is one of the best parts of the whole thing, too!)

Things I will miss about Australia:

Boyfriend

Beach walks with Boyfriend

Waking up to Boyfriend's bright and smiley face everyday

Boyfriend's family and bbq's with all the cousins and aunts and uncles

Seeing LC and Lo and their dog Bas a few times a week

Not getting to go to the Hairdresser's baby shower/see her when her baby is first born

All of our friends, especially our adventures with Croc and the Teacher

Getting to see what happens in our garden that Boyfriend's Dad is going to give us seedlings for

Wedding Song

Oh, can't you see that you were born to stand by my side
And I was born to be with you, you were born to be my bride,
You're the other half of what I am, you're the missing piece
And I love you more than ever with that love that doesn't cease.

You turn the tide on me each day and teach my eyes to see,
Just bein' next to you is a natural thing for me
And I could never let you go, no matter what goes on,
'Cause I love you more than ever now that the past is gone.
-Bob Dylan

Don't get too excited, this post has nothing to do with me getting engaged (you'll be some of the first to know if it ever does happen), but it does have to do with people's right to get married.
You guys know me by now- I love tv, I love cooking, so I love tv cooking shows and this last week on Top Chef they had a wedding challenge and some of the gay contestants were upset by it. On one hand I thought the one girl was being a bit melodramatic about the whole thing as she, herself, even said she knew there would probably be a wedding challenge. On the other hand I thought she had a right to be upset and offended to have to participate in a wedding challenge when she doesn't have to option of getting married to the person she loves right now.

I'm all for gay marriage. I don't think you choose who you fall in love with and I don't think by letting gay people be equal before the law that that takes away from the so called "sanctity" of marriage (give me a break, by the way). I just don't see any kind of love between two consenting adults as ever being something wrong or bad or evil or whatever. As for the people who somehow justify their stance as "If we let gay people get married...what next, people and animals?" I don't see your logic. As far as I can tell this discussion is still about two adult HUMANS wanting to be married. I would love to see if this kind of argument was used back in the day when mixed race marriages were illegal...i.e. "If you want to marry outside your race, what next marrying outside your species?!?" BULLSHIT!

But back to Top Chef, their headchef Tom Colicchio responded to the contestants' frustration by releasing this statement, which says how I feel about the whole thing much more elegantly than I could ever put it:

"I’m going to go out on a limb and say a few words about same-sex marriage: First of all, part of the problem with the issue is that it is framed by opponents as a discussion of whether gay people should get special rights. This is specious – yes, special legislation or court decisions grant them the right to wed in a particular state, however this is done to ensure that they share equal protection under the law by finally being able to avail themselves of the same rights as everyone else. They are not seeking special treatment, just equitable treatment. Second, religion has no business being part of the discussion. When a couple is wed in a house of worship, the officiant may be performing a religious rite, but as far as the law is concerned, that officiant has been authorized to perform a civil function, plain and simple. And even were same-sex marriage to be legalized by the state, no one would be holding a gun to the heads of the clergy to require them to perform a ceremony that their faith or personal creed does not condone. Just as some rabbis would not perform my marriage to my wife because I wasn’t Jewish, clergy can decline performing same-sex marriages; gay couples can either find clergy willing to officiate or can be wed in a civil setting. The idea that religious leaders are continuing to shape state law is just wrong. The institution of marriage should be available to all. The idea that you can have a life-long partner and not make decisions for them in a hospital, not share in insurance benefits, not automatically have parental rights unless you are the birth parent, is just flat-out wrong."

(http://www.towleroad.com/2009/08/top-chef-host-colicchio-speaks-out-on-marriage-equality-after-contestants-are-asked-to-cook-at-a-het.html where I got the quote and the video of the upset Top Chef contestant if you haven't seen it)

Old MacDonald Had a Farm....

Have any of you Aussies or expats in Aus been watching the newest series of "The Farmer Wants a Wife"? I just finished watching the 3rd episode and all I can think are "Geez, those are the goofiest looking guys ever. No wonder they are in their 30s-40s and single, yikes!" And the girls for the most part, aren't any better. There's one kinda cute shy guy (he went on the aquarium/shark dive group date if you watched) and he's into a cute kinda shy blonde girl and other than that, they are all white trash, goofy, or awkward. Of course I'm still going to watch it, but it'd be nice if there was more than one person's story I was interested in. Also, "The Farmer" is immediately followed by some lame American show "Drop Dead Diva", if I have to hear "See that aspiring model over there...." (the opening lines to the show each week) one more time, I might punch someone. I can't even sit through 10 minutes of it to tell you what it's about other than the aspiring model nearly dies and ends up in a chubby girls body and life is horrible, except that she now gets to eat donuts and drink regular milk instead of skim-that's it, that's all I've learned so far....sounds like an award winner though, right?

Comfortably Numb

I've been writing about babies, movies, recipes, and TV shows lately because there aren't a lot of adventures going on at the moment in my life so bare with me. I hope it gets exciting, in a positive way(do not want or need drama, so please karma/fate/God/whatever, don't thinkI'm asking for that at all), sometime soon because A) I'm bored out of my fucking mind at the moment and B) Then I might have something of interest to write about again.

Anyway, until then here's another recommendation for a TV show: Nurse Jackie. Have you guys been watching it? I downloaded the first episode on Tuesday on a whim and the next night downloaded the next 7 episodes because I had liked the first one so well. To me it seems like real life in a hospital; it's not pretty, it's gritty. They've made Edie Falco look so rough and manly, it's hard for me to imagine her as Carmela Soprano like this (which is probably a good thing and probably what they are going for). It's like House in that the lead character works in a hospital and is addicted to pain pills, but there's none of the misdiagnosis then good diagnosis cycle that has become a bit tedious on House. It's people coming in and living or dying from stab wounds, falling off of skateboards, heart failure, etc. Nurse Jackie also cares about her patients way more than Dr. House ever has. If you do end up watching it, which I highly recommend that you do(This is how good it is: Boyfriend was in the other room working today and listening to me yelling at the laptop "No, no, no" and laughing so he had to pop his head in to see what was going on. I can't help it, I am so sucked in!) look out for Jackie's nurse-in-training, Zoey. Her awkwardness in new situations is me spot on. I'm cuter and can be a bitch and I'm not that way 24/7 so I'd like to think I'm not AS annoying as the other characters seem to find her at first, but just thought I should tell you all that that's what I'm really like. I'm only cool on the internet ;D I mean I even get that awkward around Boyfriend and the people in our group sometimes and I know them well...My name is Lil D and I am a social retard! So yeah, check out Nurse Jackie if you get a chance, it's way better than anything we are getting on Aussie TV at the moment!

You're Hot then You're Cold

I love to cook, I love to bake, I love to watch cooking shows, and I love Top Chef so it was no surprise to anyone when I immediately became hooked on Master Chef. I wondered what Channel 10 would put out because this time of year was usually reserved for Big Brother. Master Chef is so much better! For those back in the States, it is pretty much like Top Chef except they use amateur chefs and the show is on every night except for Saturdays. Sorry for those of you in other countries, I don't know what your equivalents would be.

Anyway, this Sunday will mark the finale (called a grand final here, whatever, finale is better) and the person I wanted to win, Justine (the blonde in the picture above), got eliminated last night. It was really nice for her though because the judges were sad to see her go and she had all these celebrity chefs wanting her to work for them. Matt Moran even came to her house and asked her if he could be her mentor!

The first person on the right is Julie. I swear they want her to win because they said her cake wasn't that good last night, but she did do the full presentation of it, and she was in the top two. She has a face like a smacked ass in my opinion. Make a little "O" with your mouth, where your lips are pursed up right under your nose and talk like that; you are now talking like Julie. She gets all nervous and shakey and sweaty whenever there is a challenge. She just doesn't seem like a head chef to me and she is pretty hit or miss with her dishes so I don't see why she is still on. I hope she doesn't win, but if she does, she's from near me and I'll go check out her restaurant since I do like homey style food like she tends to make.

Next to her is Sam. I had to look up his name and he's only been off a week if that tells you anything. He seemed kinda sleazy to me and it was weird because he had no idea what kind of restaurant he'd want to open if he won and that was coming out at the end of the competition.

Next is Chris. I'm surprised he's not wearing his hat. He's always got it on with his greasy hair poking out from underneath it. I think he'll win. I don't really like him as a character, but he does make some good and interesting food.

Next is Justine, who I already talked about.

Then Andre, he got the boot last week. He was the hottest on the show. I saw an interview of Sacha Baron Cohen on David Letterman last week done as himself and not Bruno and it was freaky how much Andre looks like him!

There's one more person, besides Julie and Chris in the top three who is not pictured: Poh. Boyfriend really likes her, but then again he has a thing for Asian women (when you read this Babe, you totally do!) so I think that's the reasoning behind that. She seems flakey and also she has been giving major bitch face to other competitors this week like when Justine made top 2 on the Malaysian challenge...ugh, I did not like that at all! She must not like Justine in general because when Justine was in a challenge against a celebrity chef, the other contestants (who aren't competing) normally helped their fellow competitor to try and beat the celeb, but Poh noticed Justine had missed something and didn't try and help her with it. She should play nicer and I hope she doesn't win, though she does have really cute dress style!

Oh how I wish we had Tivo! It's finally made it to Aus but it is waaaay too expensive for us for now. We will be at a family bbq for Boyfriend's grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary Sunday night so I'm totally going to miss the finale!

Neighbours, Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

So there's another ridiculous show that I'm addicted to. It's Australian and it's on every week night for a half hour. It's called Neighbours and it's been on TV here for a good 20 years. It's a soap opera and the acting is pretty horrible. The likes of Kylie Minogue have come from this show to give you an idea of the quality of "talent" they have on. The above cast photo was taken maybe a year ago and all the crossed off people have left the show since then. It is a revolving door on Ramsey Street (where the show is based).

Just from the last week the problems that have presented themselves include: a mom wanting to be a surrogate mother for her own daughter, the hospital denying the surrogacy, the local paper picking up on the surrogacy and ridiculing the family, the brother of the husband of the woman who's mother would be her surrogate all of a sudden has a huge gambling problem that he is hiding from his live-in girlfriend, while also coveting the motor-cycle riding, mechanic chick that works for him. The woman who would be the surrogate has a step son, who's father and mother have died, sister has moved to London, and half sister is running from the law, and not only is he hiding post traumatic stress, he is also in love with a girl he's known for about 2 months. The chick he is in love with is a Korean exchange student, but she has a full Australian accent and only jabbers (not racist, that's what they make it seem like) in Korean when she is flustered. She is supposed to be naive to all things Aussie, but she seems naive to all things in general, like what love feels like and I swear to God she is so awkward and doesn't know how to act at all around people her age (as a character) and (as a real person) she doesn't know how to act at all. That's her in the picture below. The live-in girlfriend of the gambler/cheater has some cousins who are all of a sudden living on the street after her Dad went to visit their Mom (his half sister) and she fell in to some traffic and died and now the kids are parentless. There is also a couple that is 17/18 and married and she just gave birth to their first kid in a tent at a music festival. They are living with her Mom and Dad, his Mom, her little cousin, and some random guy who works at the corner store in a house that looks like it has 2 bedrooms and they are all happy and loving it...The baby screams all night? No problem! And why is the creepster old guy from the store living with them anyway?

Did you follow along with all that? If I lived on this street and all that started going on around me I'd sell my house as soon as possible! No one there is happy or has a very nice life. There are also rapes and plane crashes that have happen, people have died from burns suffered in a forest fire, and babies have gotten mixed up at birth and gone to the wrong family. They go on and on about how awesome Ramsey Street is, but I think everyone there is batshit crazy.

Nothing gives me more pleasure than sitting with Boyfriend at 6:30 on Friday nights (the only night he's home in time for it) and yelling about how bad the acting is and how dumb the story lines are.

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby

Have you guys ever watched this show? The acting is horrible, the story line is horrible, the messages it portrays are horrible...but I can't stop watching this train wreck! Basically, the story goes that the chick in the picture has sex one time (at band camp, no less) and gets knocked up. She's, also, only 15. She decides to keep the baby and along the way gets married to some dorky boy (still at age 15) from her class who she's dated for all of about 3 weeks. I guess on the season finale, she had the baby.

I was out of the loop, having only seen this show once at Nae's house with her, Boyfriend, and the Camp Counselor, and then a few more times at Mom and Dad's with Nae. I saw that the show was coming back last week and decided to start watching it again. On the first episode of the season some ultra-Christian girl decides to lose her V-card to her college boyfriend. She tells her parents of her plans and they are unhappy. She isn't on speaking terms with her Dad in the episode because of her sex plans and she doesn't speak to him before he's off on a week long business trip. She ends up having sex that night and of course her Dad's plane ends up crashing and he is killed without her speaking to him. Her Mom comes home crying and the girl says, "Don't worry Mom, I just had sex." And then her brother with Down Syndrome yells at her that she's killed their father by having sex.

Ummmmm, awesome! Hahaha, so basically the message of this whole entire tv show is anytime you have premarital sex you are going to F* up your life in a big way....you're either going to get pregnant or kill your Dad. How did her having sex bring that plane down I wonder? I had to stop watching the second episode of the season to post this because they are still going on about how she killed her Dad by having sex. And now they are also blaming her friend who is sexually active for making "sex look like fun so Grace would want to do it, too." Really, Secret Life, really?!? This show makes my blood boil because of it's stupidity and the messages it sends to teenagers and yet I still can't stop watching it. Yes, I think you should be in a committed relationship and use birth control before you start having sex, but everytime you do "it" someone's not going to die and you wouldn't get knocked up if you had proper education about birth control. As an adult, I can laugh about this dumb show and the hysteria it perpuates about teen sex, but if I was watching this as a teenager, I'd be really scared about having sex (even more scared than I already was from my Catholic religious education on sex) and I guess that's their goal?

But hey, here's an idea....more education, less hysteria!!! Abstinence Only Education is not working and has not worked. Let's empower kids with knowledge. Kids are horny, they are going to have sex for the most part anyway, so let's give them the education where they know how to do it safely and so that they know where to get help and what kind of help is available to them if they do get in to trouble along the way.

I've got my fingers crossed (but won't hold my breath) that one of the adults on the show finds some sense and tells this chick that having sex does not bring down planes. How would the mile high club exist if it did?

You'll be the Prince and I'll be the Princess

I started downloading "The Tudors" about a month ago and me and Boyfriend are so into it now. If you can get your hands on seasons 1 and 2, I'd definitely recommend checking it out. They are probably available to rent in the States and in the UK. I've had to download all the episodes from online because I don't think the series has shown in Australia and it took 2 weeks to download each season. The third season just ended last Sunday so I hope it'll be quicker to download those episodes.

It basically covers King Henry the 8th rule over England. For those of you who don't know any of the history behind Henry the 8th, he's the one who decided he wanted to divorce his first wife to take a new one, thus causing England's split with the Catholic Church when the Church would not allow him to divorce his first wife. He soon tires of the next wife, and the next wife, and the next wife, etc, always finding ways to justify getting rid of them in some way.

Girls will like it because there are lots of hot guys, hot naked guy bums, and the costumes are amazing. Guys will like it cause there are lots of naked boobs and bums and lots of beheadings. The whole thing revolves around sex, ambition, and betrayal.

We were both blown away by King Henry's ego and Jonathon Rhys Meyer does a great job of playing the character. After seeing this series and reading all the stuff by Phillipa Gregory, like The Other Boleyn Girl, life at this court seems even more interesting than history books made it out to be!