"She is my HEARTSONG!"

When one thinks of T.V. shows of the 90’s, things like Seinfield, Friends, 90210, and even 21 Jump Street (Very young Johnny Depp? Watch it.), come to mind.
But one of the greatest and most underrated television shows to come from the decade of boy bands and ugly clothing was Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman.

Just a few weeks ago, my roommate Susie and I were discussing some of the things we love, even going so far as to discuss our guilty pleasures. Susie suddenly became very serious and turned to me. She bit her lip and giggled a little. “Erin,” she said looking ashamed, “I have always loved the T.V. show Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman…” I immediately shot up out of my reclined position in bed and yelled “ME TOO!” We both grinned and giggled, proceeding to talk about how much Dr. Quinn absolutely inspired us both to find a man like Sully and to be our own woman.

This blog is, you guessed it, entirely about the gloriousness of Dr. Quinn.

The main character is Michaela Quinn, the female doctor from Boston that rocks my world. How can a female doctor who adopts 3 random children, moves to the Wild West, and manages to woo a beautiful but rugged mountain man NOT be awesome? She is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women on the planet. And her dresses always seem to be very floofy and girly even though she always gets splattered with blood and guts. She also has a very strong moral compass. She’s always fighting about soe kind of moral dilemma going on in the little town of Colorado Springs. But there is one serious flaw she possesses: the woman does NOT know how to kiss. Every time she and Sully share a kiss, she ends up looking like a dead fish with her lips all puckered out. It’s just no good.

Dr. Mike adopted three random children when their mother unexpectedly died: Matthew, the brooding older brother who ends up being very good looking and kind of a rebel (and gay in real life…dern), Colleen, the girl initially following in Dr. Quinn’s footsteps to be a doctor but instead marrying the marvelous Andrew, and Brian, the goober of a little brother that is just a flat out idiot with a good heart.
In the first season, Matthew and Brian have utterly horrendous girly haircuts that resemble mullets or perhaps something a pilgrim might have had at the first Thanksgiving. Pretty unfortunate if you ask me. But luckily, they got haircuts at the same time and looked just fine. I thought all was well on Dr. Quinn. Oh no. Colleen randomly switched actresses! She was this obnoxious, sort of urgly blonde haired little girl (who happens to be really hot now. I think she was a Bond girl) to a foxy redhead who ends up wooing the handsome Andrew, another town doctor. Apparently, from what I’ve learned on imdb.com, the first Colleen didn’t want to stay on. I’m not complaining about the swap though.

One thing about Matthew that I think is funny. He loves this immigrant girl (can’t remember where on earth she is from) named Ingrid. Ingrid is nice and great for Matthew and they decide to get married. Happy right? False. The writers of the show decided Ingrid needed to DIE. So she gets bitten by some wild animal and dies of rabies. RABIES? Really, Old Yeller?

The other residents of Colorado Springs are what make this show great. Horace, the awkward and weird looking telegraph operator who is in love with Myra, the woman working as a…lady of the night in Hank’s bar. Loren, the nasty old general store owner. Jake the…what does he do? He’s lame. Hank, the bar and brothel/hotel owner. Dorothy (or Theadorthy as we like to call her) the woman the runs the town newspaper and is Dr. Mike’s bestest friend. Robert E. and his wife, Grace (I think), the adorable black couple that make the townies bearable as well as being the owners of a café and horse stable. And the Reverend, who isn’t very reverend-ish because he pursues every unmarried woman in town.

I will finish with my favorite part of the show. Sully…he is my heartsong. His first name is Byron, which is definitely grounds to go by the last name. Only old English poets should go by the name Byron. Sully is a white man that is secretly an Indian. His best friend is named Cloud Dancing (But we call him Dancing Cloud because it rolls off the tongue a little easier) and whenever they see each other they say “Ah-ho!” in greeting. We of Wellington 33 have adopted this method as well. Just don’t yell it across the way or people might think you are pointing out a particularly trashy woman. Back to Sully: he owns the most beautiful dog (a Husky…I want it) and he carries a tomahawk to hurl at people that threaten Michaela. It’s drama all the time with Sully. The only downside to him is that his hair is sick. It’s all long and matted. I mean, he is a mountain man and all, but if you are going to be that beautiful, at least get a haircut, brother.

Sheesh...Mer...Sheeshmer? Hersheys?

My old roommate (wanted to say ex-roommate, but that would imply a falling out. There has been no such occurrence.) tagged me to fill one of these out. Might as well, right?

8 Favorite TV Shows:
The Office- I wrote a blog about it already. Read down below why I love it.
Alias- Butt kicking action, hot men with great tattoos, and Marshall the tech guy. Watch it. You know you want to.
Lost- Pretend that Lost doesn't rock for about five seconds.....done. Not realistic. A show full of great character development and slightly out of this world story lines. Let's remember and acknowledge that J.J. Abrams is basically awesome.
Chuck- So much love in my heart for this show. An extremely dorky but good looking guy and some hot chick that happens to be a CIA agent fall for each other...what more could you want? And I would like to be the mother of Zachary Levi's (the actor playing Chuck, the title character)children. I would do it for free too.
The O.C.- My guiltiest pleasure. When I feel sad or a little out of sorts, I plop down on the couch to watch Seth, Summer, and Ryan. But not Marissa. She's obnoxious and whiny. I am still very glad she died almost 2 years after the show ended.
Pushing Daisies- NED! He is the major draw for me. He makes pies and has that adorable little part! What a great guy. You know, minus the whole touching people that he loves and killing them...no good.
Friday Night Lights- I have NEVER been so stressed out in the pilot of a television show IN MY LIFE. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact it is all about football.
Smallville- Don't ask my why or how, but anything about a superhero just makes me want to watch. It's automatic.

8 Favorite Restaurants
Happy Sumo- A little piece of sushi heaven. I could eat sushi all day long on every day of the week. Mmmm!
J-Dawgs- Okay, so not technically a restaurant, but still. Provides the only hot dogs I actually like.
PF Changs- Chinese...Once I tasted that Great Wall of Chocolate desert they had, I was done for.
Pizza Hut- Pizza always seems to hit the spot for me. Pizza makes me feel like a little kid again.
Cafe Rio- Two words: Pork Burrito. Delightful.
California Pizza Kitchen- Reminds me of being with the roomies. I seem to celebrate most major occasions here. Even though it was the first meal I ate after BYU lost to Utah in 2005, I still have a special place for it in my heart.
Zupas- BUPAS! Fresh salads (Nuts About Berries= personal favorite) and a chocolate dipped strawberry (so Troy Bolton of them). That's all I need to make me happy.
Arby's- Roast Beef sandwich to go...that's all a girl needs in life. For REALS.

8 Things that happened yesterday
1. Watched High School Musical 3 illegally...heh!
2. Went to Sacrament meeting
3. Hung out with Garrett and Kimbre in a marriage prep class that isn't even in my ward
4. Made corkscrew pasta macaroni and cheese
5. Wrote a very creative story about Brian the Fat but Happy Rabbit
6. Sort of watched Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride on t.v.
7. Thought about taking a nap
8. Read a little for Chemistry

8 Things to look forward to
1. Thanksgiving
2. Harry Potter
3. The Office
4. Twilight Movie
5. A Great Night of Sleep
6. Christmas
7. The end of the semester
8. Playing in Idaho Falls

8 Things I love about Fall
1. Leaves
2. My mom making spider web sugar cookies and sending them to me
3. Football season!
4. I can wear a sweater
5. I can wear a jacket!
7. It always seems to smell amazing outside
8. It's going to SNOW! Snow makes my world a very joyful place

8 Things on my Wish list
1. Kayak
2. Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman complete DVD set (all 6 seasons and both movies)
3. A new iPod...Harrison is dying
4. Edward Cullen
5. Enough money to get involved with Doctors Without Borders
6. To get into Medical School
7. To see my sister Kate sometime soon
8. To go home and SLEEP!

Saddest of All the Days...

I was originally going to write a blog entitled “BYU: Legitimate Threat.” It detailed why BYU deserved to be placed in a BCS bowl game in the post-season. It is obvious and extremely unfortunate that I cannot post that. Thursday night, BYU played TCU in a game that recalled back to the days of Gary Crowton and Matt Berry. I have not been so annoyed with a football game since Boise State beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl (and I’m an Idahoan, so I feel fine about being a BSU hater). But more specifically, I haven’t been so frustrated watching a BYU game since BYU lost to Utah in 2005.

My analysis of the game won’t be kind. But, after I will definitely try to uplift and possibly inspire. I hope I can offer some optimism to the Cougar Nation and prove to the doubters that the team can rebound and take their place as a legitimate team in the national scheme of things.

Coach Mendenhall seems to be a soft spoken but stern man. He has high expectations for his team as evidenced by his motto for the year: The Quest for Perfection. Ever since Gary Crowton left in a maelstrom of the football team’s various BYU honor code violations, Mendenhall has emphasized discipline, spirituality, tradition, and honor. He expects only the best from his boys on and off the field. And I can’t even imagine what it would be like for those young men to walk into the locker room after that virtual failure at TCU and look into the face of Bronco Mendenhall. I doubt that he would yell at them. I can imagine he would wear a look something like that of a disappointed father and proceed to say something about how much they had let themselves down.

The BYU Campus newspaper, The Daily Universe, has weekly ratings for the various teams after the games. They are on a grading scale similar to what one would expect in school; an A for an exceptional performance and all the way down to an E (because BYU doesn’t give F’s for failing, just E’s) for a poor showing. Friday’s paper gave the defense an E. I credit the two defenses for TCU’s win. TCU was practically flawless. They are known for their ability to completely shut down the run. But the most impressive part of their defense was the fact that they stopped Max Hall and his receivers. BYU’s offensive line was unaccustomed to the speed of the defensive line and linebackers, giving up more sacks than they had all season. The defensive backs were fast and skilled. Their coverage was exceptional at forcing Max Hall into throws he didn’t want to make, intercepting the ball twice and not allowing any touchdowns through the air.

The BYU defense was utterly deplorable. They were outstripped, outrun, and just flat out outplayed. Run defense? None. Pass defense? Ha! This week, if Bronco doesn’t put the fear of God into those boys, UNLV might find a way to trample them. UNLV has talent and if they watch that tape closely enough, this week might be another nightmare week. But I have the feeling BYU won’t let another game like TCU happen again.

One thing is for sure: the Cougars didn’t come to play. TCU was prepared. BYU was not. They let their previous great play get to their heads. I know, along with everyone else that was at the UCLA game, how dominantly they can play. In other words, it’s up to BYU to rebound. This game should give them the heavy dose of humility they need. Cross your fingers they can show UNLV what they are REALLY made of. Think on the bright side! At least now those people will stop throwing tortillas on the field when the Cougars score.