Can You Get Seasick from a Computer Game? And is Don Draper dying?

As I predicted, yesterday (and today) I got far too caught up playing The Sims 3 Island Paradise. And hey, my first game crash took only a matter of about 10 minutes! That's always fun. I remember the days when I used to get stressed out that my game wouldn't work. Now I pretty much expect to fight it for the first few hours. Huh. That's actually quite sad. Anyways, here's a picture of my sim on her lovely new houseboat, making out with a co-worker:

I have spent most of my game time today building a resort for my sim to run. I'll show a picture tomorrow when it's done! I'm loving this new game so far, although, I have to say, the boat bobbing continuously is a little hard for me! I think I was getting seasick and dizzy by just watching it! I actually had to step away from the computer yesterday to feel better. I'm happy to say though that I had an easier time today!

I watched the Mad Men season finale last night... It was weird. I'm not really sure what happened exactly or why Don suddenly decided it was time to be honest - especially in the middle of a big meeting that was actually going well. It seemed a little too random. Although, I am curious if he now plans to tell his kids the details of his childhood. How would he break that to them? "Sally. Even though my last name is Draper, it's not really my last name. I stole it. That's right honey. You're not really a Draper." Awkward. And he thought she hated him before? She's a teenager and trying to figure out who she is. This news should really help with that. Not. I felt really bad for Megan when Don told her they weren't moving. He's been so against her career all season and then he tells her they're going to move. She was so happy because California is full of obvious possibilities for a rising actress. So, of course, she gets written off of her current soap opera in New York just in time for Don to come home and say he changed his mind. With her walking out the door, I have to wonder if that's the end of their marriage? Speaking of marriages, I found it funny that Ted decided to sleep with Peggy and then move to California to keep his family together. Sorry Ted but if you're unhappy at home, you're unhappy at home. Moving to California isn't going to change that. He's not like Don Draper, who's just unhappy being Don Draper. Ted actually has specific things in his life that he's not happy about. Why? I have no idea. I guess that's part of the beauty (or lackluster) writing of Mad Men. They don't give you the chance to feel for some of the characters dilemmas. It's one of the few shows where I truly do feel like an outsider looking in. I'm not attached to the characters at all, could care less what happens to them, and yet I am still curious to see what does happen to them.

The one thing I am getting increasingly curious about is Don. Particularly his shaking hands and terrible cough. Does anyone else think he might be dying? I'm not sure of what but he seems to be getting worse and worse; unless it's just the alcohol and cigarettes finally kicking in.

Have you played TS3 Island Paradise yet? Is anyone else getting seasick from it? And what did you think of the Mad Men finale? Or Mad Men in general? Is Don going to tell his kids the truth? Is his marriage over? And will Ted's problems magically go away because of a change in scenery?

My CD, The Sims 3, and Tons of TV Talk!

I am super excited to announce that my five song CD "Stepping Stone" will be released on iTunes July 15th! Currently, you can listen to the songs on Soundcloud.com.

My single, which shares the same name as the full CD, "Stepping Stone" is already on iTunes for purchase as the full version and in a ringtone version. A ringtone for "What Went Wrong" will also be available on July 15th!

In anticipation of the release, I will be blogging every Monday between now and the 15th about a different song on the CD. I am very excited and I hope for the day when I hear one of my songs blasting on someone's car radio! Please help support my dream and play my music for your friends!

Now, onto the usual.

I caught up on Mad Men last night and oh boy does it look like we're in for an interesting finale. I have never seen Don Draper looked so unprepared! Every time he's had an affair in the past, he walks around like it doesn't mean anything. He transitions into each role he has during the day, flawlessly. Until now. Sally catching him has really turned the tables and I hope to see this all come out and his world fall apart in tomorrow's finale! Is that mean? By the way, did anyone else love when Pete said to Ken, "any of us would gladly trade places with you." Yeah, right. I'm sure even Pete wouldn't be singing that same song and dance if he was shot in the face. It's crazy how self righteous these characters are. I feel bad for Ken. I'd want out too! I tell you though, Sally has become my favorite character on the show. I've always enjoyed watching her character grow up and develop on the show and I'm wondering if next season is going to have an even stronger focus on her? She's an interesting character, after all, she is the product of a very screwed up father and a very evil mother. I liked how she turned down that guy. Although, I think it was mostly because she wanted to see Glenn and him fight over her. She did seem pretty happy about it! It's weird though. Why did Glenn say she was like a sister to him? They had their first date recently and kissed! It's creepy how these Brandon Walsh type statements just pop up in other shows sometimes.

Hmm, what else? I watched The Bachelorette and thought that talent show was pretty funny. I could have done without the whole Hurricane Sandy date though. That was absolutely depressing and I don't understand why anyone would bring a date on something like that! It sucks that Bryden isn't really feeling it with Des. It sucks even more though that she didn't call him last and that he didn't reject the rose. Can you imagine if he did? That would have been, in ABC preview fashion, "The biggest twist ever!" on "The most exciting season yet!". Especially since then, Zac K would've stayed and then been all sad thinking he was supposed to go home!

For my gaming portion of this blog, I played The Sims 3 some more today and my sims bought a second home. Note to fellow simmers: When you build a home on the water, it will let you place the lot wherever, so be careful that you do actually have it on a nice portion of the sand...otherwise apparently your sims will not be able to get on the lot! I had to learn the hard way and move my sims new beach house to a different lot. Although, it worked out nicely. When I did that, it automatically sold the house, gave my sims back the $69,000, and then a weird glitch caused the new lot with the house to only cost $1,900. So actually simmers, don't take my advice. Learn the hard way like me! It may benefit your sims bank account! I think this new feature however is still not working exactly right because after I bought the house, my game gave me the usual "Error Code 12". I wish I could figure out a way to stop this error from happening! I've tried everything but nothing seems to work. If only EA was designing their games better for us Mac users. Grr.

So that's it for today. I have to go feed Willow dinner and watch more episodes of Party of Five with her. I grew up on the show and now that the seasons are finally being released on DVD quickly, I'm re-watching it! I don't remember much but I do know that Bailey should be getting into a bad drunk driving accident soon with Sarah in the car and that even though Julia currently doesn't want to go to Stamford, I'm pretty sure I remember her going and having a very abusive boyfriend, Ned, who threw a TV at her! Of course, what I'm most excited about is the fact that Tim DeKay, Christopher Gorham, and Maggie Lawson all appear in the upcoming seasons! Yay USA actors! Did anyone else find it weird by the way that Claudia dated a character played by Ryder Strong and then the next season, Ben Savage came on the show as a guy with a crush on her? It was like the invasion of Boy Meets World! Shawn and Cory must've had quite a fight over her. Poor Topanga!

What did you think of Mad Men? Is Don going to finally get what's coming to him? Was that Hurricane Sandy date the most depressing date you've ever seen? Should Bryden have called it a day and took off? What is the worst Sims 3 glitch or error you've ever had? And did you watch Party of Five?

Keep your eyes (and ears) opened for my CD release on July 15th!! Thanks everyone!

Willow cleaning her ears!

Do I Look 12 to You?

Today I woke up and when I looked in the mirror I thought, "Hey! I think I'm finally starting to look older! I feel like I finally look 16 instead of 14." Now, keep in mind that I'm clearly old enough to be married for almost two years now, so neither of those are anywhere near my age. I was feeling really proud of this! Then tonight after leaving dinner, my family was waiting for the car and we started talking to these people. We asked them how the food was, which they said was great, and my dad said (and pointed at me), "My daughter's husband is the sous chef here!" Their response: "Wow! You're married? Isn't 12 a little too young to be married?" Aw man. And here I was so proud that I thought I finally looked at least 16. I admit, I'm a little disappointed. But at least they thought I was the daughter... Which is better than when my older sister (at 18) was being told she looked 12 and then another person thought she was married to our dad! Ew. Gross.

I hate how some people treat me when they think I'm younger than I am! I went to Nordstroms at Topanga today to buy some new shoes and the saleswoman acted like I was a major burden. When I said I needed help, she tried passing me off to another salesman who denied me and passed me back. Clearly I'm a ping pong ball. I didn't know what shoe I wanted exactly and I just wanted her to bring out a selection in my size that had a slight heel. I used to do this all the time at the Nordstroms in Denver and everyone was always so helpful! Even when I didn't ask for a selection, they'd find some extras for me to try on. I really appreciated that service; especially since I have complicated feet! When I decided on the shoe I wanted, she asked, "can I take any of these other ones to the back?" I said "Yes, all of them." She responded with a gasp and snarky "All of them?!?" And by the way, there were maybe only 6 other pairs there that I tried on. I didn't realize trying on shoes was such a big problem with shoes salesman! If I didn't have such complex feet, I'd just order online after that service! And if Nordstroms wasn't my only option for my size 4.5-5 foot, I'd choose to go elsewhere after today's service. The funny thing is, this woman asked my sister if she needed help. Clearly she thought I was younger and a waste of time. Thanks Nordstroms for your outstanding customer service today! It made my day complete!

So that's my rant for today on ageism and Nordstroms.

On the agenda tonight: Now that we had an amazing dinner at The Local Peasant, with my husband's yummy special, we're going to catch up on the last two episodes of Mad Men so we're all ready for Sunday's finale! What do you think is going to happen in the finale? Is Megan going to die? I actually like her and think she's one of the few fun characters on the show so I'd be sad if that happens. Then again, anything that makes the show more interesting is fine by me. I think her death would create an interesting arc for Don!

Have you ever been treated badly at a store or judged for your age (whether or not it is your actual age)? Do you like Mad Men? Do you like Megan or want her to die?

And here's my weekly picture from dinner! My yummy strawberry salad special!