Big Upgrade

On Friday, May 17th, this is what our living room TV setup looked like.  Our TV was old and outdated.  We got it in 2007 and it was used when we got it.  M bought it from one of his friends. It was HD ready but since we really don't have cable, only a few channels for reception, we couldn't take advantage of it.  It was 50 inches of big and clunky and ugly.

The next day, this is what it looked like.  Bring in 65 inches of HD beauty, a home theater system, new receiver and a TV stand for it all.  Love. 

The pictures aren't great but you get the idea.  We've been talking about getting a new TV since before the Superbowl and we finally took the plunge.  We also majorly upgraded our cable package so we are now in full HD with some premium channels for free so we're getting caught up with Dexter season 7 before it starts again in June. The quality is unbelievable for us.  We've been so outdated for so long that we will be happy with this TV for a long time.  

We got rid of the old one on Monday so no more big and ugly in the house. 

Thank you to M's brother Ray for helping us get the equipment from the store and spending the day putting everything together with M.  

Super Bowl Ads

Did you watch the Super Bowl?  Did you at least watch the commercials?  After watching last night, I didn't think there were that many great commercials but after thinking about it today and remembering some of the ones I forgot already, there were some good ones.  Here are my favorites:

This was a serious one but I liked the Paul Harvey message/story and the photography of this one.

This one was one of the funniest to me.  

This one didn't start out that funny but ended up getting funnier and funnier.

Outrunning a cheetah is funny.

I typically like anything with animals in it.  

I'm not really an Amy Poehler fan but I thought this one was entertaining.

I like to look at The Rock so I liked this commercial but I'm pretty sure I had seen it before.  Maybe before a movie in the theater?

This one was cute.  (It was rated as one of the worst commercials on the site I found it on.)

I think that's all of the ones that stick out in my mind.  What commercials did you enjoy?  Am I missing any big ones?  

Finally, I think we can all agree that this one was definitely the grossest!  It wasn't fun to look at and the smacking sound was unbearable!

Mad Men

On the day that we buried my dad, that evening, I started to watch the TV series, Mad Men.  If you've seen the first episode, it was quite ironic that I decided to watch the series on that day. Mad Men would be a comfort to me during the next six weeks that it would take me to watch the entire series spanning five seasons.

I have wanted to watch the series for quite some time but from February through July this year, we watched the series, Lost.  From there we had to catch up with Breaking Bad's latest season and then Dexter was released on DVD so there was no additional time for Mad Men.

If you don't know what Mad Men is, it's about advertising executives in the 1960's on Madison Avenue in New York City.  How accurate it is?  I don't know, but there's a lot of drinking on the job, cheating on wives, men putting women "in their place", politics and current events and women trying to make their mark in the world.  

Then there's Don Draper, Jon Hamm's character.  I never thought Jon Hamm was attractive.  After watching the series, I no longer can make that statement.  Don Draper is sexy, an asshole, sensitive, a drunk and charming all wrapped into one.  

A lot of critics and people say it is the best show ever.  I think the story lines are decent and there are several great actors in the show which I enjoy but I can't say it's the best show ever.  What do you think?  Have you watched an episode or the entire series?

Via

I watched more television than I thought I would in 2012.  I enjoyed it but I don't think 2013 will be a repeat, however I say that on the heels of season three of Downton Abbey, which starts this Sunday.  Mamamouse, are you going to watch?

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey...I'm obsessed.  There's only two seasons so far but another is in the works but won't be aired on PBS as part of Masterpiece Classics until January 2013.  I don't know if I can wait.  I finished both seasons in a little over a week and I want more. 

It's a period piece, set between 1912 and 1920 so far and follows the lives of the Crawley family as well as their servants.  You'll learn about Lord Grantham and his history with the castle and his American wife, Lady Cora Grantham. You'll fall in love with the characters and hate some of them just as much but they all captivate your attention.  You might have a crush on Matthew like I do or hate Mrs. O'Brien and Thomas with a passion.  

And who cares about the media saying that Downton Abbey is not historically accurate or that some of the grammar wasn't used in that time period.  It's a fictional TV show and I highly recommend it.

Tell me...have you seen it or heard of it?  What do YOU think?  

Season One:

Season Two: