That guy splattered in blood up there? He’s a serial killer, and he’s also kind of awesome.

Yesterday I finished up season 4 of “Dexter.” I’ve spent a year anticipating it, and I’ll spend another year anticipating season 5! “Dexter” airs on Showtime, and I don’t have Showtime. I could buy the DVDs but that’s money I’d rather not spend (although I would like to own the whole series eventually), so I put my name on the reserve list at the library and I wait. And I wait a little bit more. And then I wait a little bit more. Eventually patience prevails and it’s my turn to soak up the blood and intrigue.

If you don’t know the premise of Dexter, I’ll give you a quick summary. Dexter is a crime scene investigator (he specializes in blood spatter). He is also a serial killer. There’s a long history of what went into him being the way he is, but he learned to control his urges by murdering only other murderers and/or bad guys (and ladies). Because he works in law enforcement, he finds out about people who skirted the law and got away with killing people, and he then spends his free time tracking down these people and killing them.

Sounds morbid, huh? It kind of is, but “Dexter” is really good! Michael C. Hall, who portrays Dexter, is nothing short of amazing. I really can’t say enough good  things about him. The script is great and the supporting cast is awesome, but Hall makes “Dexter” worth watching.

I’ve said many times and will probably continue to say for years to come: HOW MANY MORE DEAD BODY SHOWS DO WE NEED ON TV? There are about 80 bajillion shows about cops, detectives, crime scenes, homicides, you name it. I don’t find them enjoyable, but Dexter – which is more violent than shows on network TV – is just better. The relationships between the characters and the sheer complexity of Dexter’s double life is compelling. It takes good vs. evil to a whole new and thought-provoking level when you find yourself rooting for the killer to finish his job so he can go home to his family.

If you like a good mystery and can stand the blood (and the boobs – it is Showtime after all), I definitely recommend checking out “Dexter.”

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It’s Saturday (today) and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  in Greenwood.

9241 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103

Exciting news! The entire “LOST” DVD collection comes out August 24. You can pre-order for $148.99 (regularly $229.99) at Amazon.

I’ve held off on buying any of the previous seasons because I knew I wanted to just buy the boxed set after the show ends in May (*tear*), so I’m very excited (and sad) to see that the end is in sight.

If you don’t want to save up, you can also try winning the lottery. There are some numbers you might be interested in….

Did you know that The Stranger keeps an event calendar for food? It includes lots of specially priced events and other fun things – like World Nutella Day! Who knew? Some of the events are more on the fancy end of the spectrum but there are some deals thrown in there too. The next time you feel like heading out for dinner, check the calendar first!

Feel like winding down after a weekend of eating and/or shopping? Here are Redbox codes that will supposedly get you a free rental. (Reminder: If you use a code, don’t reserve the DVD online. Instead, enter the code at the kiosk.) If you’re not familiar with Redbox, I talked about it here.

DLLNS26
5HY9V24

If the above codes don’t work, here are 3 older codes that are good for 1 use:

DVDATWAG (only at Walgreens)
DVDONME
BREAKROOM

(Thanks, Fabulessly Frugal)

This is so tempting, so very tempting…

From now until December 1, you buy a $5 subscription to Real Simple magazine from Amazon.com! It’s a great treat for yourself or as a gift. There are also a few other $5 deals, including Food & Wine, Cosmopolitan, and Southern Living.

This morning I flipped on the Hallmark Channel, hoping that “The Golden Girls” may be on, but really expecting to see another Hallmark family classic snooze-fest of a movie. But it was a Thanksgiving miracle: the Golden Girls appeared on screen. And not only did they appear, but they showed up in a very special episode: Dorothy’s wedding (to Leslie Nielsen – whom I LOVE and adore).

Watching it gave me something to be thankful for.

We no longer have to wear dresses like this:

You can’t see it in the photo, but the wedding dress has full-length lace sleeves, and those ribbon curl things are just …. there are no words.

Sure, there are a lot more serious things to be thankful, but let’s keep it real. The fact that white beasts of a dress like this are no longer in style – that is worth celebrating.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you haven’t tried Redbox, you are missing out.

That’s quite a statement, but it’s true. For only $1, you can rent DVDs that normally cost $5 at Blockbuster and the like. The rentals are for 24 hours only (due by 9 p.m.), but for a dollar, who’s complaining?

Here’s how it works:

Go to the Redbox web site and look up your closest location. Redbox is a kiosk, often found outside Walgreens stores. If there’s one in your area, you’re good to go.

There are 2 ways to rent. You can either create an account online and reserve your DVD and then go pick it up from the kiosk, or you can skip going online and just go to the kiosk. If you do that, there is a chance the DVD you want will not be available, since you didn’t reserve it.

The awesome thing about Redbox is that if you don’t even want to pay a dollar, you can still get a free movie every month. Go here to sign up for Redbox email and text alerts. If you sign up for email alerts, you’ll be sent a code for a free rental. If you sign up for SMS (text) alerts, they’ll send you a free code the first Monday of each month, so make sure you sign up before December rolls around.

Do keep in mind though that if you want to use a promo code for a free rental, you can’t reserve it online – you must go directly to the kiosk and enter the code. If you try to do it online, there’s no place to enter the promo code. (I got very confused by this and wound up accidentally paying $1 for my “free” rental, so don’t do what I did!)

I’ve only rented from Redbox once, but aside from the payment mistake, it went well. Fortunately, there’s a Redbox not too far from where I live, and there’s a Redbox a few blocks from my office, so I was able to return it there.

Now all you need is popcorn and you’re ready for a night in!

But this seems like a pretty good deal: 80% off gift certificates. Click here for more info. Has anyone done this before?

Visit the website first thing in the morning because free tickets will go fast!

(For Seattle people: here’s the website. It’s the week of Oct. 12-18. Tickets are available Oct. 5.)

(Thanks, Freebies 4 Mom)

Don’t forget - this Saturday you can go to a ton of museums for free.

Hundreds of museums are participating, and you can find your local museum by going here. To print your admission card, go here.

(Thanks to Money Saving Mom)