"For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside, that it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive. I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me, I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these Badlands. You gotta live it every day. Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay. Well, keep pushin' 'til it's understood and these badlands start treating us good." ~bruce springsteen

It was a long weekend, so yesterday (Sunday) I headed home to New Jersey (because NJ will always be my home) and stayed with my friend Kim's family. It was nice to be back in my hometown and to drive past my old house (it looks the same) and hang out in my friend's house, where I've spent so much time over the past 20 years. Her mom made a fabulous dinner. Today we went to see Couples Retreat. Even though it didn't get the best reviews, I will not pass up an opportunity to see Kristen Bell on the big screen. She's such a talented actress, and I wish she would start getting better material so more people can see what she can do. She keeps talking about trying to get the Veronica Mars movie made, and I soooo wish that would happen. I'm afraid she'll never get as good a part as Veronica Mars again. I love that she's still holding on to that. Even thought she wasn't able to showcase all her talent, she was good in Couples Retreat, and I loved seeing her and Jason Bateman interact, because I think they're both great actors. It was a fun afternoon at the movies. Now I'm back in New York, dreading going back to school tomorrow.

I'm loving Brothers and Sisters this season. I wasn't sure that I liked Kitty's storyline when I first heard about it over the summer, but I have to admit that it's bringing some good drama. Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe, and Sally Field have some great material because of it, and I love seeing them dig into it. The last minute of last night's episode really got to me. I missed Sarah. A lot. She's my favorite character. And I know Kitty missed her, too. I'm so glad she's back. That hug, with that music playing in the background...*tear*.

I don't think I mentioned how happy I am that Lauren Graham was cast in Parenthood. So I will now. I'm absolutely thrilled. That show has such an awesome cast (Peter Krause! Mae Whitman! Monica Potter!), and I can't wait to see Lauren act with them. I'm very sorry that Maura Tierney had to drop out, and I hope she's okay, but I can't think of anyone better to replace her. I can't wait to see my favorite actress back on TV.

Here's one of Bill's photos from Thursday's Bruce Springsteen concert. I was standing directly to his left, so this shows you how lucky we got.