My favorite new sitcom is called Modern Family and it plays on Wednesdays at 9:00 on ABC. This show had both me and my husband laughing out loud! It’s a great premise and the characters are awesome. Basically the show follows 3 families. Al Bundy from Married with Children is married to a much younger woman and has a step son. Then there is the husband and wife family with three kids, and finally there is a gay couple who just adopted a baby. Al Bundy is the father of the wife of the married couple, and the red headed man of the gay couple. Each family is hysterical. I highly recommend giving this show a try if you want a good laugh.

Another sitcom I watched last week was Courtney Cox’s Cougar Town. This follows Modern Family on Wednesday. I think this show has some good potential. I loved Courtney Cox on Friends, and I think her character on here is funny and lovable. The show is about a 40 year old divorcee, who is trying to find her place in the dating world. She finds that older men have it much easier in the dating world and get judged a lot less than the women do. She has a son who she embarrasses often. I think this show deserves a chance.

Finally the last new sitcom to hit my DVR last week was the show Community. Community right now has been following the office on Thursday nights at 9:30 on NBC, and I am hoping it moves to a different time slot so that I don’t have to battle with my desire to DVR Fringe as well as Grey’s Anatomy. (I’ll keep my fingers crossed) This show has a very funny premise that I feel hasn’t fully been done before. It’s about a group of people in community college and boy did they create a bunch of funny characters. The main character is that guy who used to host Talk Soup, and he is a lawyer who never went to law school. It turns out that he faked his transcripts, and can talk his way through anything. Once they found out they said he had to go back to college…FUNNY!

Sitcoms used to run the prime time TV schedule…what happened? The lineups are all filled with reality shows and hour long drama’s now. So I’m going back to the TV roots and watching 30 minutes of television that leaves me laughing and always wanting more.

I believe the tradition started out back when I graduated college and my husband still had one more year. Since then it has morphed and changed to what it is today. Back in the day, Thursday nights were a big college night out. Being that I was no longer an undergrad, I felt it wasn’t my place to be going out to the same old places, not to mention the fact that the 3 am bedtime does not fit well when I had work the next day. Therefore, I was left on my own on Thursday nights. It turned out to be wonderful. I’d watch my favorite shows, and relax. It was wonderful “me” time.

Over the years it continued. When my husband was in law school he would normally be studying Thursday nights (among others) and for those 3 years I still had my time. When we moved into our town house my husband started Krav Maga classes. This still kept him busy on Thursday nights, and at this point  Martooni Thursdays came to be! I never really thought about it, but now that I look back I can see that it was a great opportunity to have a date night with myself.

Me Time – The Birth of the Martooni

The name “Martooni” came from my dad who invented the little word for martini. It is a little joke in my family because it seems that when any of us indulge in martinis the night gets a little more exciting. Martooni Thursdays don’t always have to be with martinis. Wine is a wonderful substitute, or anything else that helps with much needed relaxation.

Me Time – The Martooni Tradition Interrupted

Now here is where the dilemma begins. Before our wedding my husband stopped taking his classes due to the utter violence it forced him to face week after week. I could not have my groom standing at the alter with a black eye. And after the wedding he never returned. This alas left me with his company on Thursday nights, not to mention his constant nagging about how “awful” he thinks my shows are. Also, he has felt the need to invite his friends over so that I cannot concentrate due to their loud conversations. When this happens I am left to be thankful for my DVR. Now, I love my husband, and I love to hang out with him as much as possible, but I personally feel that being a wife does not make it ok to lose my sacred night of television and adult beverages.

Me Time – The Martooni Tradition Reborn

Now is the time that  I must mention the small ray of hope I have to regain my 7 year tradition. And that ray can be explained in one word….POKER! Yes, someone must have smiled down on me and taken pity on me. My husband has recently been playing poker with his friends on Thursday nights. Personally, I think my husband should be grateful to have such an understanding wife, who allows him to attend his weekly poker game. Who am I to stand in his way??? I’ll tell you who…a woman who whether right, wrong or indifferent gets overly excited for Thursday night TV.

Now let me leave you with this little piece of information. I have found the perfect and easy Apple martini. I don’t have the patience to make one from scratch so I buy Mancini’s pre made apple martinis.

It is the perfect amount of alcohol and gives you that martini kick. I have tried others and have been left disappointed. So this will be my recommendation.

So to all of you ladies out there who are looking for an excuse to have a night to yourself….why not start your own Martooni Thursday?!

If it’s not your thing then please share your personal “individual date night” stories! I am always open to suggestions!