Friends Marathon: Top 30 episodes

So it's been my goal to finally find the answer to the age old question, "What is YOUR favorite episode of Friends?" There are so many...I never know. It's been one of my goals this year to watch all 10 seasons, keep track of the best, and then continue to eliminate until I have a top 10, and hopefully in order. The first round is finally complete, with the final 30 listed below. In order to qualify for the top 30 the ENTIRE episode had to be good, with each character featured somehow. It was a tough cut, but I tried to stay consistent with that.
To come up with the top 20 I used the following grading scale:
Are all characters involved well in the storyline?
How does this episode stand alone?
Relevance to the main plot of Friends
How many funny lines?
Overall liking of the episode.
If it did well in all 5 categories, it got 5 stars. The episodes with the lowest amount of stars will be eliminated, and the highest will make the top 20. I still need to figure out a tougher grading scale for the next round. It's trickier than I thought. I have several already with 5 stars. Here are the results for the top 30.
Season 1
****1/2 The One with Two Parts Rachel sprains her ankle taking down the Christmas lights; Monika and Rachel run into Noah Wyle and George Clooney who are doctors. Joey dates Ursula, the girls from Mad About You make a short cameo. Ross takes a Lamaze class with Suzanne and Carol, and also freaks out about becoming a father. Chandler has to fire the cute girl at work.
***The One with All the Poker This one has a lot of funny one-liners. The girls are mad because the guys always play poker without them and convince them to let them play.
***The One where Rachel Finds Out Joey is part of a fertility study and can't move things further with his girlfriend. Ross goes to China. Rachel has a birthday and lets it slip that Ross loves her.
Season 2
*****The One where Ross Finds Out Monica helps Chandler lose weight. Phoebe's boyfriend won't sleep with her. Ross tries to get a cat with Julie. Rachel has a date, get's drunk and leaves Ross a message saying that she's over him. Ross and Rachel have their first kiss.
*****The One with the Prom Video Joey buys Chandler a bracelet. Monica has to ask her parents for money. Everyone watches the video from when they got ready for the prom (which is the first flashback episode). Ross and Rachel officially get together after the video.
Season 3
*****The One where No One's Ready Joey sits in Chandler's chair. Chandler then hides Joey's underwear so Joey puts on all of Chandler's clothes. Monica get's a message from Richard and can't figure out if it's old or new. Ross is in a hurry to leave and is freaking out that no one is ready.
***1/2 The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel Joey has the milk infomercial--Phoebe pretends to be Joey's agent. Ben plays with a Barbie and Ross hates it. Chandler goes over-committed and scares Janice--Rachel and Monica console Chandler now that he's on "their side of the tunnel".
****1/2 The One at the Beach Chandler tries to convince Monica to be her "backup." Phoebe wants to go to the beach to see her mom's friend to try and find her father. Joey gets everybody to play strip poker. Rachel and Ross are really flirty, but Bonnie ends up coming up after work and Rachel is really jealous.
Season 4
*****The One with the Jellyfish Phoebe is really Phoebe's mom; Rachel writes Ross an 18 page letter and they get back together, then break up. Monica gets stung by a jellyfish.
*****The One with the Embryos Phoebe gets Frank & Alice's embryos emplanted. Ross makes up a game between Rachel & Monica and Joey and Chandler to see who knows each other better. The girls end up losing the apartment.
****The One with All the Haste Monica and Rachel try to bribe Chandler and Joey with Knicks tickets to get their apartment back. They end up switching apartments while they're at the game and then kiss for 1 minute to keep it. Ross and Emily get engaged.
***The One with All the Wedding Dresses A snoring Joey is keeping Chandler awake, forcing Chandler to take him to a sleep clinic. Ross asks Monica to pick up Emily's wedding dress for him, and Monica decides to try it on for a bit.
Season 5
****1/2 The One with All the Kissing Ross continues to try and mend his marriage to Emily. When Chandler accidentally kisses Monica in front of everyone before leaving for work, he tries to recover by kissing everyone. Phoebe starts getting irritated by everyone's London stories. She ends up going into labor at the end of the episode. Rachel wants to tell Ross that she still loves him.
**1/2 The One with the Inappropriate Sister Ross makes Joey write a play. Chandler & Joey make up the game "fireball." Phoebe collects for the Salvation army. Rachel's date is very flirty with his sister and it makes Rachel uncomfortable.
****The One with All the Resolutions As 1999 approaches, the group all make resolutions, most of which will require a lot of willpower to accomplish. Rachel vows to stop gossiping, a resolution that is put to the test when she learns about Monica and Chandler's relationship. Ross gets stuck in the leather pants. Phoebe teaches Joey to play the guitar. Chandler isn't allowed to make fun of his friends and it's really hard for him.
*****The One where Everybody Finds Out Ross tries to get ugly naked guy's apartment, Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler and tries to mess with them and seduce Chandler to get them to admit it.
****1/2 The One with Ross's Sandwich Joey has to keep covering for Monika and Chandler. "I'm Joey...I'm discusting." Phoebe takes a class and brings Rachel who doesn't read the book. Someone eats Ross's sandwich at work.
*****The One In Vegas Chandler decides the only way to mend his friendship with Joey is to fly out to Vegas and visit him. Phoebe is determined not to be left out on another adventure, so everyone winds up going. Monica runs into Richard at lunch and Chandler finds out and they have a fight. Rachel and Ross come a day late and Ross thinks her naked time in her apartment is for him, this ends up starting a prank war on the plane. Joey finds his hand twin. Monica and Chandler decide to elope in Vegas but Rachel and Ross beat them there.
Season 6
*****The One when Ross Got High Monica's parents come for Thanksgiving, when Chandler learns that they don't like him and don't know he and Monica are dating or living together. Phoebe has a dream about Jack Gellar and has a huge crush on him. Joey and Ross are trying to hurry through dinner so they can hang out with Janine and her dancer friends. Rachel makes her trifle with beef.
***1/2 The One with the Routine Joey is beginning to like Janine more. She gets an invitation to dance on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" and invites Joey, Monica and Ross to join her. Monica and Ross are a little too happy about this, as it gives them a chance to finally use their "routine." While Monica is at the taping, Rachel, Phoebe and Chandler search for their Christmas presents.
****1/2 The One that Could Have Been Barry and Mindy's impending divorce prompts the gang to fantasize about what their lives might be like if they'd all taken different courses. Ross is still married to Carol, and Rachel is married to Barry, but fawning over famous soap star Joey Tribbiani. Monica is still fat and dating a doctor. Chandler is an aspiring writer and Phoebe is a Wall Street shark for Merrill Lynch. Carol and Ross decide to have a threesome to spice up their marriage. Rachel goes to Joey's and kisses him. Chandler and Monica have sex and end up together anyway. Susan meets Carol. Rachel catches Barry cheating.
*****The One with the Proposal Rachel takes Joey and Phoebe to her benefit. Phoebe gets really drunk and Joey buys a boat. Ross breaks up with Elizabeth. To make his eventual proposal a surprise, Chandler begins his campaign to convince Monica he never wants to get married. Richard shows up at Monica's restaurant and tells her he still loves her, leading Monica struggling with what she wants for her future. Joey hangs out in his new Captain's outfit. Phoebe has two backups and Rachel wants one of them. Chandler and Monica finally get engaged.
Season 7
***1/2 The One with the Engagement Picture While taking an engagement picture for himself and Monica, Chandler cannot make anything but a weird face. Rachel enlists Joey to take Tag out for a night on the town. Joey ends up teaching him his "ways" and now Tag keeps picking up chicks. Phoebe and Ross date a couple in the middle of a divorce.
****1/2 The One with the Nap Partners Rachel and Phoebe compete to be Monica's maid-of-honor. Joey and Ross find themselves in awkward positions after a nap. Monica insists that Chandler apologize to an ex-girlfriend for dumping her because of a weight gain.
****The One with the Truth About London Monica reveals the truth about her visit to Chandler's room while the group was in London. Meanwhile, Joey gets ordained as a minister through the Internet so he can officiate the wedding. Rachel teaches Ben a couple pranks while babysitting him.
Season 8
*****The One with the Rumor Monica invites an old friend from high school over for Thanksgiving dinner, unaware that Will started a "We Hate Rachel" club with Ross. (Will is Brad Pitt) Joey tries to eat an entire turkey by himself, and ends up having to change into Phoebe's maternity pants. Chandler and Phoebe pretend to watch football to avoid helping in the kitchen.
****The One where Joey Dates Rachel Phoebe gets Monica and Chandler a Ms. Pacman arcade game for a wedding present, which leads to some heavy competition between Monica, Phoebe, and, surprisingly, Chandler. Ross gets to teach an important class because of a retiring professor, but doesn't have enough time to get there. Joey takes Rachel to dinner on a pretend date to make her feel better since she can't have a normal relationship due to her pregnancy.
Season 9
****The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song Ross makes Emma laugh by singing Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Joey and Chandler, viewing Richard's old apartment, discover what they think is a tape of Richard having sex with Monica. Phoebe goes to dinner with Mike and his parents, where they encourage him to date somebody else. Mike admits that he loves Phoebe.
Season 10
****1/2 The One After Joey & Rachel Kiss Monica, Chandler and Phoebe discover that they can eavesdrop on Ross & Charlie and Joey & Rachel through the walls of the hotel. Both new couples decide to wait before proceeding with their relationships, until the men can talk to each other. Ross tells Joey on the plane ride back to New York, but Joey can't quite yet. Later, Ross walks in on Joey and Rachel kissing. Monica combats her poofy hair by getting corn rows put in, and Phoebe discovers that Mike has a girlfriend.
*****The One with Princess Consuela Monica and Chandler visit their house, which is in escrow, where Joey is comforted about losing his friends by the 8-year-old girl who presently lives there. Phoebe learns that she can change her name to whatever she wants, which turns out to be Princess Consuela Bananahammock. After Mike changes his name to Crap Bag, she decides to just be Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan. Ross gets tenure at his job. Rachel's boss is sitting next to her at an interview, and she loses her job. However, she runs into her old friend Mark, who offers her a job in Paris.

12 weeks pregnant

Today I had my first appointment at the Birth Center! It was fun. I was a little nervous all day; I'm not sure why. I got there and they showed me how to pee in a cup and then test my urine for sugar and protein. I have to do this every time I go and then I write it down in my chart.

Then I filled out tons of paperwork. When I got called they asked me about my medical history, etc. I had to get a pap smear and a pelvic exam. Then, I got to hear the baby's HEARTBEAT!!! At first I thought it was more swishy sounds from my belly but then I could hear one tiny fast heartbeat! (and my own, slower heartbeat.) It was really cute. I knew it would be cool, but I didn't quite expect to be so excited. They didn't order me an ultrasound, they didn't think I was high-risk, and they also didn't need to confirm the due date because I'm pretty normal for 12 weeks. She said I had a "nice roomy pelvis." She also didn't think there was a sign of twins, and even if I was pregnant with twins, I wouldn't look any bigger until 20 weeks. It's all uterus at this point. Maybe my baby likes space and wants a nice, big uterus? I guess it's still possible, but I won't know for sure until an ultrasound.

Also, this morning I called my regular doctor for the results of my breathing test. The tests were inconclusive and now I need to meet with a Pulmonologist to answer some questions. Kinda frustrating, but I'm hoping it just means that it could be pregnancy related, not an additional problem. That's all for now, I'm going to go work on my Friends marathon.

11 weeks pregnant

So, I had a few "growing pains" during my Pampered Chef meeting tonight. I came home, took a shower and noticed that I looked huge! Sure enough, I measured myself and I grew another inch today. (Yeah, I measured myself yesterday, too, and it was an entire inch less.)
My pain across the top of my rib cage is gone. Basically besides the occasional growing pain my only pregnancy symptom at all right now is that I'm STARVING! I can barely wait to cook anything so a lot of times I resort to ravioli or soup or something in a can that I can heat up in like 2 minutes. Even that seems like eternity. I know it's so bad for me. I'm going to have to cook a bunch of meals ahead of time that I can just reheat quickly. I'm even snacking lately. I hear that a huge appetite means signs of a boy, but I have a pretty good appetite usually anyway, so who knows. I don't believe in that food cravings=boy or girl. So far based on my cravings I'm having both a boy and a girl.
Side note, Josh is watching this crappy mini series and I just looked over and noticed that Ricky Schroeder is in it!!! And he didn't tell me, I'm so mad. (Ricky Schroeder was my first crush. Josh claims that he's all old and doesn't look good anymore, but I disagree.)
Time for bed! Wednesday is my early day, I'm going to have such a hard time waking up tomorrow!

Nursery Theme

Snickers

Every time I go to the grocery store I buy a snicker's candy bar. I decided to just go ahead and buy a bag, that way I could ease my craving without having to eat an entire candy bar. I just ate 7 snack size Snickers in a row...maybe I should stick to regular size?

Breathing Test

So today was my breathing test. When I filled out my paperwork the girl saw that I checked "yes" for eczema and said, "INTERESTING!" I asked her why that was so interesting and she said that often people who have allergies develop them on skin or internally, and basically eczema is asthma of the skin. Sometimes when you're pregnant and your hormones are going crazy you can develop asthma.
So we did the breathing test and she did see consistent "coving" which is how you compensate your breathing. It's like little blockages or something? I forget, but she said a lot of people who have untreated asthma have coving and that was what they were looking for.
SO...I might have asthma. There is another test they have to do which they can't do until I'm no longer pregnant. I don't know if they'll give me an inhaler or even if I'll still have it after I'm not pregnant?
She had a student in with her which was very imformative to me because she explained stuff to him and I got to learn, too. I heard them talking when the door was closed and it was something like, "Oh that reminds me I should find out her gestation. Can you imagine if she's having trouble now how bad it's going to be when she's further along?" Then she asked me and I told her 11 weeks and she looked at me, SHOCKED and asked if I was having twins. She said she's never seen anyone show at 11 weeks. I told her it started around 6 weeks, not quite as big but I really haven't grown too much since then.
So, I won't find out my results for about 5-7 days since a specialist has to read the results, but it was still really interesting. I'm not allowed to do any strenuous exercise, just really mild. (Not that I really can at this point, anyway. I have a hard time walking up my stairs to my apartment.)
So my first appointment with the Birth Center is July 7! I'm excited for that to see what they have to say.

10 weeks pregnant

So today was my breathing test, or what I thought was my breathing test. Not sure why I even went in. I basically just got a prescription for a breathing test. I'm going Friday to a hospital. I think she's trying to make sure I'm normal.

If I get a cough or a pain in my calf I might have a blood clot. She doesn't think that's what it is. She's just trying to rule stuff out.

By the way, Friday we went camping and my friend Nicole who is doing her residency confirmed that I am 10 weeks pregnant. We all got to feel my uterus.

My symptom of the week is a bruise-like pain under my bra, right across. It feels like someone hit me with a metal bar. Still having shortness of breath and also fatigue, but mostly I've had a really easy pregnancy. I have heard horror stories about people barfing all the time and feeling so horrible and I generally feel great! Sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant. Then in the middle of the night when I have to pee it reminds me.

Lackawanna State Park Camping Trip

Here's the whole group! This is our 4th year camping and our group keeps growing! Probably because we always have so much fun!

Eric came back with this huge pile of wood! I was impressed.

Eric & Josh standing with their wood they brought back. (this whole pile is one trip for each of them.)
A cute picture around the campfire.
Check out this HUGE pool! I think a crater crashed there and they decided to turn it into a pool. (that is my opinion; not fact.) The capacity is 1346!
The guys playing Bocce ball
The girls making dinner (kabobs, MMMMMMMMM)
Here they are. Aren't they gorgeous?
The girls (minus me) around the campfire
Our campsite
The guys doing dishes!!!!
Josh and Me
The hottest guy thereRolling up a tent...they kept getting closer and closer and when I went to take a picture they embraced.

30th Birthday!

I've been dreading turning 30 all year, but really, I had a great day! I don't feel any different, and I didn't lock myself in the bathroom and cry for two hours like my Mom did. (yup, mainly why I was traumatized to turn 30; we thought she was dying in there.) I even got to go to the zoo during the day with the kid I babysit. I love the zoo. Yay, 30! Not so evil and scary after all!

I came home from work on Wednesday planning to have Bible Study like usual and my apartment was all decorated. (very nicely, if you ask me!) I kinda guessed that Josh was throwing me a surprise party. Turns out Julie decorated everything. She did a great job, I especially love the HUGE paper balls. Josh got both of our Bible Studies to meet at our place to celebrate my birthday. It wasn't a huge party but it was really fun. He also planned "Bethany Trivia" and thought of a bunch of questions about me. My favorite part of the night was a karaoke competition. Everyone sang, despite their hesitation. That in itself was the best birthday present they could give me. It was so fun.

My 30th Birthday Cake!


Jordan, Jim, Melissa & Rob


Julie, Emily & Katie


Rob sang the best version of "Beat It" I've ever heard. He didn't score the best, but he won the karaoke competition in my eyes.


Jeff & Julie


Katie & Me


Melissa & Rob


Jeff & Emily


The girls (& Jeff?) all singing



Unchained Melody (Jordan, Josh & Eric)

30th Birthday Weekend!

Josh surprised me this weekend. The first stop was a hotel in Atlantic City...at Harrah's Casino. Josh got a free room, so all we had to pay was $11. We went out to dinner, played $5 in slots and watched a movie; I was too uncomfortable to really do anything else. It was fun!

The next morning we got up early to go to the next stop. I had no idea what we were doing, and then I realized we were almost to Philly. ANYTHING could be going on in Philly so I had no clue. Then we pull into the airport parking lot! I asked Josh, "Are we FLYING somewhere?!" I thought and was hoping we might be flying to Indiana and sure enough we were! I was so excited. He said he thought I'd want to spend my 30th birthday with family.

When we landed we were greeted with this adorable sign, homemade by my awesome neices, Mia & Marisa (with a little help from Andi). Notice the Cinderella stickers, Mia went through all her stickers and picked them out just for me because she remember that I love Cinderella. Isn't that cute?

Here's the cute little munchkins.

We got to see Andi & Marc's new house (actually they've lived there about a year, I just hadn't been there yet) and go through Andi's maternity clothes that I am borrowing. The girls thought it was a fun game to try them on and run around. Yes, these are maternity shorts, not potato sacks.

Trying on maternity bras. (the old fashined way)

Marisa with Grandma



Birthday Breakfast! Ever since we were kids we always have birthday breakfast. It started out with donuts, then we had birthday rolls (those pillsbury awesome ones) and this year we had Belly Stickers AND Birthday Rolls. Mmmmmmm. We also get to open presents.



I got the diaper bag I wanted!!! I've always wanted a Vera Bradley Diaper Bag. I actually called my mom to see when the sale was and I was too late; turns out it is in May, not June. I told her I was upset now because I wanted to get a Vera Bradly diaper bag at the sale and give somebody money. (cause they're like $100 normal price.) (By the way, Vera Bradley is from Fort Wayne and there's a huge sale every year, I think at least half price, maybe more.)
She said to maybe put it on my Christmas list and I was all bummed because I didn't want anybody to have to pay full price for it. Turns out, she REMEMBERED from like 3 years ago that I said I wanted one, and had a friend go to the sale and get one, this was even before she knew I was pregnant! I guess it was a "just in case" present because she knew we were trying. She is so sneaky! I also can't believe she remembered that I wanted one! It's exactly what I would have picked out, too. My Mom is the BEST!

My sisters and Mom put together a "This is your life" game. They blindfolded me and took me to different stops that were important while growing up.



This is Mrs. Boone, my piano teacher. This was a big surprise, I think it's been about 10 or 11 years since I've seen her!
They made me do little "challenges" at every stop in order to move on. I had to play something and she had to approve. I sightread this music that was on the piano. It was bad, but she said it was good because that meant I could still sightread.



This was my elementary school!



I had to climb over this in order to move on. I did better and hung from it. I did this every day during recess.



The Ashley girls



Walking to North Side Park where we had band practice.

I had to play a scale? Or Chief Mac? I forget. My clarinet was all nasty it tasted and smelled like mildew.



The Ashley girls at Highland Bethel Church.

The Beans came down and we all went out to dinner. This is all of us!



The Ashleys & The Beans



James, Josh & Adeline



Erin, Betsey & Charity



Adeline & Charity



All the Bean Kids



Adeline kissing us good-bye. It was precious.



Mia showing off all her lightning bugs.



Marisa catching herself?

I think Marisa was jealous of all the attention I was getting so she was pretending to be pregnant, too. I especially love the binky along with it.



Sisters!



Dad, Mom & Me

Thanks for a great weekend, everyone! It was so great to be back and get to spend my birthday with you!