REVIEWS! ... eventually, this post. Bear with me.

So, I managed to get fully unpacked and all my laundry put away (thanks, unnamed upstairs neighbor friend, until you give me permission to post your name and likeness!), and I'm somewhat back in A "swing of things".

I was on the waitlist for the VO workshop I really wanted to attend, and had booked a solo booth session following it. Twice I received email notifications that there were seats available, and Twice, I didn't act quickly enough. I have the dude listed as a "priority sender" so that I'll GET notifications in my phone, but I ... just didn't ... in a timely manner, at least. #Dammit #TechnologyIsABitch

So I shopped at Trader Joe's instead, and then went to my solo booth session and recorded some audiobook copy, and cancelled the spot I actually had reserved for the evening VO "talk"... jetlag or something else, I was just too tired to stay on that side of the hill into darkness. #IGottaGetHome. But, I did do some solo work, so that's good.

The rest of this week has been an attempt to reacclimate. Yes, I'm calling Daddy daily, to make sure he's doing something. Most days, he does at least make it to hit a few balls. The day he went to the chipping green (?), he told me he hit 15 happy balls. Yay! He's been feeling a bit puny for the past two days, so he hasn't really gotten "out", beyond a Publix run or similar. But the dude who's staying in bff neighbors' house while they're back in Canada, Tom, is a nice fella who has invited Daddy to join him on the front nine tomorrow at 4. The weather should be cooperative, so if Daddy's feeling well enough, it'll be good for him to go. I'm looking forward to that update.

He hasn't been to the pool lately (his weather turned rainy/cold, so I don't blame him), nor has he yet made it to the gym for light weight-lifting. But it's on his agenda! As well as taking apart the porch swing that essentially rusted out on his back "lanai" from the sprinkler over-spray. He's got plenty of time (no deadline, seriously) to make that happen, unless he orders some kind of replacement furniture online and it gets delivered before he's scrapped the rusted swing.

He's mostly kept up in his binge-watch of Doctor Who, but the fact that Amazon did not include any of Matt Smith's Christmas Specials in his seasons made it a little difficult to watch them in order. He finished Season 6 with me, and then finished Season 701 alone, and then watched "Season 1" of the "Doctor Who Christmas Specials", which were three episodes that should have been placed between S5-6, S6-701, and S701-702. Those are three pretty depressing episodes, and when viewed piggybacked on "Angels Take Manhattan", I can see why Daddy wanted at least a day's reprieve from any DW at all. Thankfully, I watched ahead after catching up, because YES, we are "bingeing" this "together", so I was able to recommend S702 E1 (The Bells of St. John) as being not depressing at all, and pretty "actiony", as we've come to expect. So he's now watched that one and the one that follows it, and now I'm behind. It's okay, I'll catch up tomorrow.

And Now For Those Reviews!

Stephen and I re-watched Guardians of the Galaxy, knowing we'd be seeing the second installment in a theater today. GotG (1) is/was? my favorite installment in the entire MCU. I am only a "fringe" comic reader, having acquired all of my knowledge of the best comic superheroes 20+ years ago, when we were dating in college and Stephen was a weekly collector/reader. I do love a good comic/superhero tale, though, and I ain't afraid to spend good money to watch a good flick. I adore Iron Man and Thor, and all of the rest of the SHIELD gang are pretty cool, too, but Guardians (1) just hit ALL of my buttons. So the rewatch was worth our time, and we were both immensely pleased with what we were shown in the Laemmle Theater today (Guardians 2).

IF you are a fan of superheroes/comics/humour/action/aliens/Stan Lee, then you will probably enjoy GotG2. Even though Kurt Russell plays the long-lost father-figure with all the flaws you would get in a "long-lost" character, this is still a fulfillingly funny, fighty, bittersweet tale of ... well, just people who happen to exist in a world where they can "jump" from one world to another without too much damage. It's sci-fi! It's good guys and bad guys! It's a comic book! It's fun!

We ate buttered popcorn for the first (in a long time) and last (probably, yeah, more than likely last) time, and we laughed our asses off. I sang along with the soundtrack, except for those two songs I just didn't recognize (I know, SHOCKING, right?). We each cried a little bit (or maybe a lot, I'm not sayin'). It was an enjoyable experience, all around.

Oh. And for my birthday coming up, I have asked for a completely non-useful item, something that can be just mine, just because... I want a "Baby Groot". Daddy's got a stuffed Minion, why shouldn't I have a Baby Groot? I dunno if it's gonna be one of those little "dancing flower" deals (which seem overpriced on Amazon) or possibly a 6-10" stuffed doll or what, but every time... Every Time... someone onscreen held Baby Groot or perched him on their shoulder or strapped him into a seat or whatever, my heart just melted. He is SO KEWT... and So Fierce... and my absolute favorite Guardian, I need a Baby Groot of my own.

Ennyhoo. Guardians of the Galaxy (both 1 and 2): Highly Recommended

We came home from that and didn't really know what to watch yet. I'd started Kimmy Schmidt (3 episodes) once I'd wrapped up watching Grace and Frankie, and I had Stephen take KS outta our personal "queue"... it just didn't grab me. Whatever. But what should we watch together? What hadn't we touched yet in that queue?

Santa Clarita Diet. OMG, y'all. This show is Too Damn Funny. Just be sure to not watch at dinnertime. There are only ten episodes in the first season, so we're likely to watch the whole thing in five days or less. But seriously. So funny. Just don't be eating while you watch.

And then, we'd also saved The Secret Life of Pets. For tonight? Eh, what the hell. We'd seen the trailers; we're not afraid of animated animals, as long as they are cartoony enough (and not cgi but speaking English real-looking domesticated pets); this will either be really cute or really stupid. If we hate it, we'll likely hate it right away, and we'll shut it off.

We did not shut it off. There was one bizarre acid-trip sequence in a sausage factory that had us looking at each other and asking #WTF?, but beyond that, overall cute and bittersweet and funny and notATallREALISTIC, which was good enough for us. So, if you're in the mood for #JustStupidEnoughToBeGood, this one also comes Highly Recommended.

So there ya have it. Three Good Things to add to your own watchlist (or four, if you haven't seen GotG1), in case you're looking for things to add to your watchlist. Stephen's gone to bed, and while I have no real deadlines for tomorrow (on another VO waitlist in the evening), I'm probably not up too much longer. I've been clearing-my-throat coughing All Damn Day. It sucks.