From Saturday night to Tuesday evening, my sister and I had watched thirteen episodes of the ABC show Revenge. Here’s how it started:

It comes on after Modern Family and Happy Endings, so we always end up seeing the recap from the last week and the first few minutes. For a long time, we’d been saying we would start watching, as a sort of guilty pleasure. So Saturday, we watched the first two episodes, and ever since…we haven’t been able to stop. Every episode is eventful, and it is literally what we look forward to all day. So sad, and yet we refuse to call it a “guilty pleasure,” because we don’t feel guilty at all.

{photo via}

The episode began with the groups recreating “Summer Nights” about Mercedes and Sam’s summer romance. Mercedes’ necklace says, “Foxy,” and as my sister would say, “I don’t hate that.”

Sidenote: Why is Puck kissing/smelling/holding Sam’s hand? Please explain in the comments below.

Emma, meanwhile, is wondering why Will doesn’t want to marry her. Normally my sister and I despise when the adults are featured too often, but I liked this version of “Wedding Bell Blues” enough to accept it. Also, Will looks so preciously excited.

The assignment of the week is, of course, to come up with a really cool way for Will to propose to Emma. Please forget the fact that Will called the class his “family” and asked Finn to be his best man. Glee is not known for its respect of  student/teacher boundaries. The boys did a boring version of “Moves Like Jagger” (maybe I didn’t like it because I am so incredibly sick of that stupid song), but the girls put together a cover of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” that I have already listened to maybe a hundred times. You can watch the performance below. It’s worth it.

Dear Rachel/Lea Michele,

Why do you feel like you have to cry EVERY TIME YOU PERFORM to make us feel something?? That single teardrop running down your face at all times is just distracting. Please take notes from Santana/Naya Rivera, who, despite having had some sorts of plastic surgery/injections in her face, can still express emotion without tears. Thank you.

Becky also had a pretty serious story arc this episode, with an inner monologue voiced by none other than Queen Helen Mirren.

Artie gives a pretty righteous speech to the Glee Club after they accuse him of leading Becky on:

“You guys talk a good game how it’s okay to be different, how it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but I think you’re just as narrow minded as the rest of this school. I like spending time with Becky. She knows what it’s like to be trapped by a disability, she doesn’t care what people think about her, she’s really optimistic about life, which is really amazing considering what life has handed her.”

I have to say, I sometimes hate on Glee for not getting things right. Artie is right – the Glee Club (and the writers of Glee) talk so much about being open minded, but their characters end up being so stereotypical it’s almost sad. I was glad that this episode made so many of the characters more real. One in particular was Finn, who, quite realistically, is struggling with what to do in the future. (We all go through this!) He is considering joining the Army, to serve like his father, who he believes died while serving overseas. He is dealt a heartbreaking blow when his mother reveals to him that his father died not as a hero, but as an addict. She tells him his father was so much more than those last few months of his life, but Finn is understandably angry and shaken.

I also appreciated Emma and Will’s conversation about her OCD. Will is questioning whether or not she will be able to handle the future stresses of life and says that her situation sometimes seems “hopeless.” Emma’s honest and vulnerable response broke my heart.

“Can I promise you that I’m gonna get better? No. This is what you get, you know, this incomplete person with toothbrushes and with rubber gloves and with so much love for you. But if that’s not what you want, then you need to be honest with me, and with yourself. And the sooner the better.”

Whoa, this is getting heavy.

Did I mention NeNe Leakes of Real Housewives of Atlanta ”fame” guest stars as Sam’s new synchronized swimming coach and gives a speech that starts with, “I have never seen lips like that on a white child,” and ends with, “You pee in my pool, I will kill you.”

My sister and I were so determined to not enjoy Lea Michele’s version of “Without You,” but we can’t help it. It’s so good. I’m not a huge Finn and Rachel fan, but there is serious chemistry here. I mean, even Santana smiled! (Although Brittany…??) And sorry, I couldn’t not include a picture of Blaine. And Kurt’s hat.

Once again, you can watch the video below. It is also worth watching.

And I liked Rachel’s outfit.

Okay, I’m almost done, I swear. The last bit of the episode was devoted to Will’s proposal, which was cheesy and ridiculous enough to make it good. The sheer joy on everyone’s face made the awkwardness worth it.

Watch the video below. SPOILER ALERT: She says yes.

Oh and at the very end, this happened:

But I’m mostly trying to forget about it because I’m not sure how to feel. If you watched, how do you feel about the episode (ESPECIALLY THE ENDING)???

Penny: Playing “Celebrity” with sisters suuuucks.

Jane: Well, why Al and I may differ on a few bajillion things, we’ve always had the sister connection. I mean, even as kids we would finish each other’s…

Alex: …pizzas.

Jane:  …was gonna say sentences, but that works too, because I was not much of a crust girl.

1.   The last thing I ate was chips and salsa.

2.   The last song I listened to was “Try A Little Tenderness,” the version Amber Riley did for Glee. I’ve had it on repeat for the last couple of weeks, and the bridge blows my mind.

3.  Using the letters in my name I can spell Megan…name, an, game, gem, mane, nag, me, mean, man, amen…I’m sure there are more, but that’s all I can come up with at the moment.

4.  If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick blue, because then I could still wear jeans.

5.  If you were to look in my bag right now you’d find my wallet; a 2011-2012 monthly calendar; a small makeup case with gum, lotion, hand sanitizer, and too many bobby pins; my sunglasses (in a case); my phone; whatever book I’m reading; and, if you dig enough, some loose change.

6.  When I finish filling in the blanks I’m going to watch some TV and get some good sleep.

7.  My all time favorite song to dance to is “Jump (For My Love)” by The Pointer Sisters, just like Hugh Grant in Love Actually.

{questions via the little things we do; painting by Leonid Afremov and via}

{image via}

{Advent wreath}

{makes me think of a New York Christmas}

{and a London Christmas}

{makes me feel festive}

{I will never get tired of this}

Maybe I like it so much because we have similar dance moves.

{originally spotted here}

There always comes that time around Christmas for me when I start to get too stressed. Those last few gifts I forgot about need to be bought and wrapped. I need to clean the apartment before any guests arrive. I need to find something to wear to my graduation party (okay, this only happens once, ever).

I made the mistake of going to Target today after school to pick up a couple of things, and it was so crazy there I started to get a headache. I had a moment, like I do each year, where I thought, “Why the HECK does everyone buy gifts for one another, what a colossal waste of money, let’s just boycott next year.” It reminded me of that part of God Grew Tired Of Us where John, an African refugee, asks what Santa and trees have to do with Jesus’ birth. Good question, John.

Sorry for getting so personal, I think I have a combination of sadness about my leaving my students tomorrow (after my student teaching), and stress over getting the to-do list done. I need some perspective. Anyone else feel like this??

{photo via}

This year our 3rd graders made handprint snowmen ornaments to give to their parents for Christmas. It’s a cute and personalized gift, and the kids absolutely loved making them. It took some time to work with each individual student (painting their hands, printing the handprint on the ornament), but it was well worth it.

{photo via; directions for the project}