The Big Bang Theory 9.3

Denied their manly tradition of a bachelor party by the elopement, Howard and Raj spring a surprise party on Leonard and whisk him willingly and Sheldon forcibly off to a secret location for the weekend in Richard Feynman's old van. This impresses Sheldon though he continues to annoy his companions, as usual. But the guys hit a little hitch in their plan when they get a flat tire and can't get the last lug nut off. Putting all their science skills and knowledge to the test, along with a hilarious round of We Will Rock You, the guys try to salvage their adventure.

Meanwhile, the girls get together for a little girl time {and some interestingly shaped cookies made by Amy}, and discover that Penny never told her parents she got married and Amy didn't tell her mom that she broke up with Sheldon. When the tricky phone calls are made, we see that one family has some easily solved issues while the other might need a good dose of therapy in the future. But despite the relationship changes, the girls all still get along which is nice. And this episode was even funnier than the last one!

Doctor Who 9.3

Leaving the Daleks behind, the Doctor and a rather whiny Clara land in an underwater base in 2119. Clara wants another adventure, more excitement. The Doctor thinks she should pick up a hobby or start another relationship. His concern for Clara is concerning. But what they encounter on the base is quite intriguing and very distracting from Clara's needs. When the team pulls in a crashed alien spaceship, their leader is killed and becomes a ghost {along with presumably the alien pilot} and these ghosts who appear only at night try to kill all the members on the base, whispering mysterious coordinates the entire time. The Doctor doesn't have enough clues to solve his little mystery so he goes back in time to the beginning, leaving Clara staring at a new ghostly figure in the water.

This episode, while having some fun quotes that I conveniently or inconveniently misplaced, was really stupid. Going back in time to solve the mystery would create a paradox of some sort. And Clara is so whiny. I kinda started to like her again in the previous two episodes {new hair cut and all} but now she's back to annoying Clara. The writers of this show are getting extremely frustrating and keep crossing their own paths and breaking their own rules. It makes it very hard to concentrate on the plot when it's so full of holes. I'm kinda liking the current Doctor - he's no Tennent but he's way better than Smith. We'll see how this season progresses. I do wish the episodes weren't all two-parters.

Mind of Her Own Book Review

Title: Mind of Her Own

Author: Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Genre: Christian, Fiction, Modern, Memory Loss, Marriage Problems.

Plot: Louisa Copeland is your average housewife with three children and a husband who somehow feels distant compared to the enchanting memories in her mind. While preparing dinner as usual, Louisa mulls over her marriage and decides to make a great meal as step one in her new plan to entice her husband to stay home more. But when {with the dog's help} Louisa takes a nasty spill and the George Foreman grill gives her a bump on the head, Louisa wakes up as Jazz Sweet the romance writer and can't figure out who this Louisa Copeland is or where she came from and why there are three hungry kids calling her "mom" and a handsome man who thinks he's her husband.

As Jazz/Louisa begins to piece together the mess of her life, she stumbles onto some long-buried memories that were better off in the dark and almost doesn't remember in time to save her daughter.

Likes/Dislikes: This year I've been trying to be very picky about the review books I request so I'll actually read them, but I still have one or two that will look great up until I get them and actually start reading them. Sadly, Mind of Her Own fell into the latter category. I started reading it three or four times and skipped around a lot in the story just to see if I'd be motivated to finish it, so I know what the big twist at the end is and while it's not something I like reading about, it was handled in a "Yay, go dad!!!" way that was very exciting. The writing is very upbeat and happy but I have the nagging feeling that Jazz/Louisa would probably whine and complain a lot as she tries to get her memory back. I could be wrong though. As a humorous side-note, when my husband and I were first married, we spent an evening pretending we had lost our memories {one at a time} to see how we'd handle such an event. He handled it way better than I did. *smiles* I like the book cover.

Rating: PG-17 and up, mainly for reading level and content {brief talk/memory/attempted child abuse scene, nothing graphic, just unexpected in a book like this}.

Date Review Written: September 29th, 2015.

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of Tyndale Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Leaves

"How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow." 

-   Elsie N. Brady

The Big bang Theory 9.2

In a hilarious second episode, we are greeted with an astonishing scene of Sheldon and Penny kissing passionately to punish Leonard. This turns out to be a nightmare Leonard is having. Spurred on by the horrifying mental picture, Leonard looks into marriage counseling which turns out to be much more expensive than he thought.

Meanwhile, the little group of friends is still tip-toeing around the news of Leonard and Penny's latest issue. It turns out that Howard and Bernadette have known for two years, infuriating Raj. Sheldon is still wrapped up in his own imploding drama and uses Fun With Flags to express his new emotions, giving him unrealistic hope when Amy blows up and demands he take down the video. This episode was even funnier than the first one and breaking up Sheldon and Amy was probably the best thing for this show, as long as they don't do the back and forth thing like Leonard and Penny.

Doctor Who 9.2

Clara awakens to find herself tied upside, hanging from her feet in a tree, while Missy is nearby ominously sharpening a stick and telling a story about the Doctor and how he once escaped a horde of androids. This story has a point and explains how Clara and Missy survived the Daleks' weapons and how Missy is still alive. When Missy is convinced that Clara won't be sandwiches, she unties her and they survey Skaro, sizing up the challenge before them. On one side is the might of the Dalek empire, on the other is two women with a pointy stick and trust issues. "Can I have a stick too" Clara asks. "Make your own stick." Missy barks and they set off.

While they're climbing around the Dalek sewers trying to sneak inside, the Doctor is being all clever and attempting to escape. While this proves hilarious, he fails and Davros continues to interrogate him, hiding his true motives till the last possible second. When Missy tries to manipulate the Doctor into unknowingly killing Clara, she earns his wrath and she flees, threatening to get up to more mischief. We also learn that on the Time Lords' home world, Missy/the Master had a daughter.

While the first episode had one high point and several unanswered questions, this one had lots of laughs, a few answers and an interesting twist that could spell doom for the Doctor further down the road. I still hate the Daleks though. Why can't we have new fresh enemies for once?