Happy Summer Vacation, TV Shows!

So, apparently you readers don't like reality TV! Two shows tied, and one came in a close third in my poll, which asked what shows you'd miss over the summer.

First up, Lost - which hasn't left us (yet). The two-hour finale is this week. The season was abbreviated by the writers strike, making it a little harder to wait until the season resumes next year (sob). I'm dying to find out why only six of them made it off the island! Did they choose to stay? Are they still alive? And why is Jack still The Decider off the island?

Next up, The Office. Is it just me, or does every season of this show seem to be too short? I have my DVR set to record all episodes of this show, not just the new ones because I still like to get my fix of the fine folks at Dunder Mifflin. I laugh at every episode (some more than others). I'm not sure I want to see Pam and Jim get married, though they are cute together. Will the new HR girl continue to think Kevin is, um, special? And will Michael still flirt with her, or will he help Jan through her pregnancy? Will Andy's rage be unleashed when he finds out about Angela and Dwight hooking up? I have until fall to think of more questions!

The third place finisher in the poll was How I Met Your Mother. If you only learned about this show because of all the hype surrounding Britney Spears appearance, you have missed out. Neil Patrick Harris is - wait for it - awesome as Barney (Julie, I chose that picture just for you). Everyone else is good, too. They have such chemistry, like they're real friends hanging out and figuring out life. Is Ted meant to be with Stella? Are Barney and Robin soul mates? Will Lily and Marshall move into that crazy apartment with the slanted floors? I don't know. But I know they'll make me laugh every Monday!

If you haven't watched any of those shows before, go out and rent them - or borrow them from someone you know. I recommend you start with Season 1 (mandatory for Lost newbies). Then, work your way through the following seasons all summer long!

Thanks for voting in the poll! Look for another one soon!

HIMYM - The Finale

I'm sad last night's episode was the last of the season. Ted was in an accident that changed his life. I won't tell you what I thought after seeing his friends drop everything and make the mad dash to the hospital only to find Ted sitting in a hospital room eating Jello. I will share my favorite lines:

Barney phrase of the episode: date time continuum. That means you never make plans with a girl further in the future that is longer than you've been going out.

Robin said Bruce Springsteen was like the American Bryan Adams!

Friends, and fellow fans of this show, I'm on the hunt for screen grabs of Ted's life flashing before his eyes. I'll update it here if/when I find it. I think it's very likely Stella is his kids mother. At least for another season.

I'm hoping Barney's blog will get updated over the summer so I can get a little dose of him!

What I really, REALLY Want!

So, suppose you have a few hundred dollars and you're thinking, "I would really love to buy Nicole something, but I'm just not sure what she wants or needs."

Consider this:
See that thing behind the catcher's mask? That's a chimpanzee head. Not real. It's animated.


It's a little creepy, but it's part of an auction one of my favorite shows is doing to raise money for a Childrens Hospital. I would love this to sit in my living room, greeting visitors. So, if you're feeling nice, bid, bid away.

If you're feeling really generous, you can bid to send me to the show so I can see my favorite TV friends in person!

HIMYM: The Bro Code

Oh, Barnabus Stinson! You made the Bro Code, you must abide by it!

Last night's show started with Barney & Robin in her bed after doing... you know. They agree on one plan: it never happened (because that ALWAYS works). Barney gives it a shot.

Barney: Robin! Guess who nailed the chick from Metro News One? (High Five)

There are many moments of awkwardness with Barney and the gang. Barney gets Marshall to work for him, so he can have that attorney-client privilege, then tells Marshall what happened. He wants Marshall to prove he didn't do anything wrong.

Barney: I didn't break any state or federal laws, but I think I broke a much higher law: the Bro Code.

Now, this "code" has all kinds of bro-centric rules. Here are a few:

• Bros before hos
• The mother of a bro is off-limits, the stepmother is fair game
• Bros cannot make eye contact in a devil's three-way
• Bros alert other bros to girl fights
• No sex with a bro's ex

Barney says the Code was written in 1776 when Ben Franklin and George Washington decided to establish some rules. Ben says he was cod-piece blocked. Along comes Barnabus Stinson and he writes the Code and the rest is history.

Lilly invites a farmer (who shows up drunk) with a goat to her classroom. He then tells her kindergartners that he's taking the goat to a butcher. Lilly winds up taking the goat home.

More awkward moments with Marshall trying to keep the secret, but Robin figures it out. She tells Ted. OH! Almost forgot - it's Ted's 30th birthday. Ooops!

This is why Barney picks him up in a limo and tells him he's taking him to Vegas instead of his surprise party. Barney says he wanted him to be happy, then told him he slept with Robin. Ted already knew that. He told Barney he wasn't mad, then said, "My mom is coming into town next week. MAYBE YOU'D LIKE TO NAIL HER, TOO!" Barney gives Ted a free hit, Ted punches him in the groin (that's MY style!)! Barney apologizes. Ted tells Barney he's been putting stuff in a box labeled "Things I Have No Use For," then tells Barney he belongs there. He says he doesn't think they should be friends anymore. Then, Ted goes on to his surprise party, leaving Barney alone in the limo. :(

The very last part of the show caught me. You see, they kept flashing to the goat in the bathroom eating something. Future Ted says, "The goat locked herself in the bathroom and was eating Robin's washcloth. Wait. Robin wasn't living in the apartment on my 30th birthday. That was my 31st!"

And black.

Why are they toying with me? If Robin isn't Ted's babymama, who is? I wish they knew when they were ending this show (a la Lost) so the writers could focus on us meeting the mother. That's the whole premise behind this show!

Word of the Day: Revirtigo

I learned this word from last night's episode of How I Met Your Mother (see, I watch educational stuff, too). There were a couple of times I nearly spit my shredded wheat out of my mouth this morning. Here's my recap.

Robin's first boyfriend is coming to town. His name is Simon (AKA Dawson from Dawson's Creek). She says he smelled like a car and had a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt collection. Barney: Tell me more, tell me more, like did he have a car? Robin wants to win when she sees him. She wants to show him what he missed out on. This becomes a big challenge for her.

They broke up after one week - he left her for a girl with a pool. He shows up and is balding, dressed like a teenager. Simon works at a water park. He still has his band, the Fourskins - don't be dirty - so named because there are four of them and they play without shirts. Robin swoons.

Barney asks if she met him at Degrassi. The gang learns Robin & Simon met while shooting her video. Barney says he's seen Let's Go To The Mall (see video) several times, but never saw Simon. Robin says it was in her second video. Barney vows not to eat or sleep until he finds it.

While all that is going on, Marshall says Robin has Revirtigo, when you meet someone from your past and behave like you used to. Robin proves the case when she says Simon showed up at her apartment, saying breaking up with her was the biggest mistake of his life, then he asks her out, to which she says yes. Marshall says Lily suffers revirtigo when she's with her high school friend, Michelle. When those two are together, it's like they're hoodrats - lots of ghetto speak.

So, Robin goes to see the Fourskins (they're actually wearing shirts - Simon's a liar). He gets Robin to play his music on the news - this is while pictures of cute dogs who are up for adoption play. Lily forbids Robin from seeing Simon. Robin says she's going to go all the way with Simon and storms off. She sees Simon and he tells her he's going back to the same girl he left Robin for last time. The reason: her parents got a jacuzzi.

There's a sweet moment between Robin and Barney. She's crying about the break up. She wants to be 16 again. Barney tells her she was lame 10 years ago. Robin invites Barney back to her place. It goes a little something like this:

Barney: Should I put it in?
Robin: Yeah. Why not?


That's what Barney puts in. Robin's video. She calls it her artistic follow up to LGTM. Cameos from Tiffany and Alan Thicke!

Barney: It's everything I want it to be and more!

Then...they kiss! Nothing good can come from that. I just hope Robin doesn't have revirtigo with Barney. That would make me sad!

Robin Sparkles Returns!!!

Yay! This is a preview to tomorrow's How I Met Your Mother. If you don't watch it, you're truly missing out on a funny show. Neil Patrick Harris' "Barney" is hilarious.

If you aren't familiar with her first single, which was HUGE in Canada, watch it here.