What You Doin?

Ahhh, I miss Friends.

That was like one of my top 5 shows in 2001.

I actually cried tears of joy during the labor of my first child when my epidural kicked in and I was able to enjoy my Italian Ice (which, incidentally, I no longer eat due to the copious amount I regurgitated during and immediately following the labor and delivery of aforementioned child), Survivor, and Friends (obviously, this all went down on a Thursday).

But, as one of the arguably best shows ever produced for TV is no longer with us (except in reruns which are good to catch when it's raining, and the kids are staying at Mimi's house, and Hubby is away on travel, and, when is this scenario going to present itself again already?), I have moved on to various new diversions.

I can name something worth watching for nearly every night of the week.

For example, tonight is Sunday, and if you are like me and you'd rather spend your evening puking your dinner into the toilet (which I'm gonna have to seriously consider if I don't start losing some weight around here) than watch football, you would be watching The Amazing Race (which premiers next Sunday).

Or, let's talk about Tuesday. Tuesday is 90210 night.

Or, Wednesday. Wednesday is almost like my new Thursday. I'm looking into a new show called Cougar Town (since, were it not for the little issue of me being married, I'm certain I would easily fall into the life of a Cougar). Looks like a winner in my book, Courtney Cox (Friends, of course) as a cougar, can't possibly be wrong.

Wednesday is also America's Next Top Model night on the CW (which is quickly becoming my favorite channel even though I distinctly recall a point in my life when I vowed to NEVER tune in to anything airing on it. Old age=lower standards apparently).

Anyway, thank goodness for Tivo because competing for AMT's 8 o'clock spot in my heart is So You Think You Can Dance on Fox, which is followed by another one of my new high school set faves, Glee.

Please tell me you've watched this show. It's SO worth it if for no other reason than the Acafellas. Awe. Some.

And then Thursday. The night notoriously labeled as the best night for TV (see, more evidence that Friends was dope, it aired on Thursdays).

Thursday is Survivor, The Office, and Vampire Diaries (give it up for high school and the CW!).

But, Mondays for me are slow, at least until the Bachelor comes back.

Dancing with the Stars sucks.

I missed the boat on Gossip Girl, which is too bad because it seems like my kinda gig.

So, I'm in the market for something new on Mondays and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Accidentally on Purpose, starring my girl, Jenna Elfman, will work out for me.

I know I talked about this show previously, but now that I've read the book the show is based on (very nice coming of age/self revelation memoir written by Mary Pols), and had the opportunity to talk to Mary (the author), Jenna (the star), and Claudia Lonow (the writer), on the phone I am 100% gonna watch this show.

I loved getting the opportunity to talk to the three ladies because I'm a celebrity stalking freak to get some valuable insight into the development of the show.

I'm a huge fan of books made into shows/movies anyway (Harry Potter, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, could go on since it's sorta my thing, but I'll stop since it's probably not yours), so for me it was natural to seek out the book behind the show when I heard there was one for Accidentally on Purpose.

I really enjoyed it. It was touching, honest, witty, and charming. I felt connected to both of the main characters, alternating from being pissed at Matt one moment, to defending him against Mary the next.

The book, though, is nothing like the show.

There's no way Mary's story could truly be made into a sitcom, so Claudia took the premise (older chick gets knocked up by young, nearly unemployed, hot guy) and focused on the comical aspects of that (and there are quite a few).

And it looks like a hit to me!

I realize that I'm no trained critic here (I mean I picked Lipstick Jungle and Privileged as bigger winners), but trust me on this one. If you are looking for a new, witty, funny show about love and family and friendship then Accidentally on Purpose is really worth a try.

If nothing else, Jenna Elfman is cute,



Jon Foster is cute (sorta in that dorky-quirky-he's-sweet-and-he-totally-makes-me-laugh kinda way),



and Dancing with the Stars is so NOT cute, that you might as well try to find something else to fill your I-hate-Monday-Night-football blues.


*Here to win the Zhu Zhu Pets? Click here!

A GNO for Dumb Mom!

Don't know what this acronym-GNO-stands for?

Don't feel bad. I was in the dark on this one until about 4 months ago, but I'm kinda slow like that.

GNO stands for Girls' Night Out.

You know, a fun night out for you and your bestes gal pals only without the stress or pressures of the kids and husband (possibly so long ago that you can barely recall what one of these may be like).

GNO's are the new (Twitter friendly) way of saying GNTGWADOB (Girls Night To Get Wasted And Dance On Bars). Least that's what I've always called them.

But, this GNO was much more tame-wine-and-sweets-lets-share-and-relax, and less freaks-come-out-at-night-puking-in-the-bathroom. But, still fun.

I was in desperate need of a GNO (and a panel of ladies to give me their thoughts on some upcoming fall shows CBS was kind enough to share with me), so I thought, perfect opportunity to kill two desperately-in-need-of-wine birds with one stone.

So, this is my panel of critics.

We combined awesome people:



With awesome accommodations (thanks BFF for all of your party planning awesomeness), and by accommodations I mean sweets and alcohol:



To watch two possibly awesome shows premiering this fall on CBS.

The Good Wife: Starring Julianna Margulies as the scorned wife of a politician who winds up in the clink because of some type of political corruption and sex scandal. Naughty! SAHM turned high powered defense attorney has to juggle family life and backstabbing-recent-grad-hotties-in-pricey-suits as she attempts to fill in all the blanks left by her cheating-man-whore of a husband. Seemed like an interesting drama that gives off a vibe similar to that of other court based shows that capture your attention with interesting cases while following an underlying story line of some sort. Not really my cup of tea, but the smarter chics in attendance were intrigued by it and felt that it had a lot of potential. Am I gonna watch it in the fall, probably not. But, that is solely because I require most of my entertainment to be of the fast-paced-one-liner-laugh-track sort that doesn't require my undivided attention as it is rarely, if ever, available.

Which leads nicely into the second show we previewed.

Accidentally on Purpose: Now, this show can expect me to be front and center, lap top on lap (where it belongs, right?), kids wrestling on floor, Tivo remote in hand (as I never watch any show live these days since I require the ability to rewind and pause at key moments since the kids invariably always chose the joke punch line delivery as their moment to erupt into tears). It's a pretty straightforward comedy about getting knocked up, featuring Jenna Elfman (member her from Dharman and Greg?) as a cougar and Jon Foster (from a show I was probably the only huge fan of, Life as We Know It) as the nerdily-cute-but-annoyingly-childish boy toy who does the deed (and plants the seed!). She has a couple of chicks (1 wild friend/1 conventional sister) as sidekicks who had us all chuckling a bit. I'm sold on this one, but the peanut gallery (BFF, WU-30, & Working Mom) are not as convinced. They are eager to see how the characters develop, if the plot twists will be sturdy enough, and whether it has the staying power once baby is born. I'm not smart enough to come up with so many questions. Here is my "this show is good" barometer: Did I laugh? Yep. Can I identify with the characters (me as a promiscuous hottie trapped in the body of a conservative mom)? Definitely. Am I cougar at heart whose only obstacle is the fact that I'm married? You betcha. So basically, the show is right up my alley.

Here is a clip so you can see what you think.

Accidentally on Purpose:



Will you watch this fall?

What else do you have lined up, because I'm in desperate need of some new programming as it seems many of my favorites aren't coming back: Lipstick Jungle, Privileged, Pushing Daisies, all canceled (I sure know how to pick, ya know?!).