Yeah, Michelle - you go girl!!

Did you all watch Michelle Obama last night? Did she not rock the house? What a wonderful speech!. I've been following and reading about her over the last few months, so what was said was of no surprise, but it was an affirmation of the brilliant, funny, supportive woman that we would be lucky enough to have in the White House. You go, girl!!!


If by any chance anyone wondered where I've been - well, it was computerless for a while - which was wonderful - I actually did stuff! Mom is still in the nursing home and we're broaching assisted living with her. It's tough because she can't think about anything but how it affects her. She isn't thinking about how the stress of her daily care affects all of us at home. Give us strength.

Laying Low, Enjoying A Little Piece and Quiet...

With Mom still in the nursing home and the kids off for their last trip of the summer, I've been laying low and enjoying a little time to myself.  I've still been going to the nursing home every day - I think you have to have a presence to make sure your loved ones get proper care (the squeaky wheel - albeit a polite one), but I've been spending most of my time researching a prepaid burial (isn't that a fun task?) and trying to file for Medicaid.  Oh my word, you could fill reams of paper discussing the maze of processes you need to work through - and I'm no closer to having a commitment than before.  Oh well, I'll keep plugging. 

In the meantime, I've been staying away from the computer, instead, I've been enjoying the Olympics, playing a little golf and NOT cooking a damn thing!  My dear friend Lauren and her girls have been keeping us busy with said golf, a couple of barbeques and a movie night where we all feel asleep on Gone With The Wind....You can't possibly start watching it at 10PM with a bottle wine and think you're gonna finish it - the wine or the movie! 

I've also been trying to get back on the exercise track - I lost two weeks to Mom's accident.  I'm looking for a good walking track for my iPod.  Any suggestions? 

When the Light Breaks Through....

It's been a really tough stay in rehab for Mom.  It's not new to her, she's done it before, but this time she's dealing with a lot of issues - mortality, feeling alone, physical hurt from from the injury, etc.   The net result of this is that she has been really clingy, crying when I leave, berating me for being "late" when I never said when I'd be there (mind you, I've been there just about every day) and getting really nasty when I told her I might not be available one night because I was picking up my daughter from the airport and wanted to spend the evening with her.  The staff of the place has been great, they all love her and can't do enough for her. For me, frankly, it's been a bitch. 

 

Yesterday, the light broke through the clouds.  During a contentious visit, I wheeled her out to the courtyard.  As we were chatting, I noticed an elderly woman standing a few feet away from us, tending to her husband.  She looked familiar - it turns out she was our neighborhood from my childhood home.  Her husband is staying in the same place recovering from a stroke.  Her daughter and I were very close friends all through elementary and high school.  We talked for a while and I wheeled Mom back.  Later that night, I picked up R from the airport and we headed back to the nursing home to see Mom. It was a different Mom - she reconnected with these neighbors and urged me back to the courtyard to talk with my old friend. I just missed her, but her sister (another friend) was there with the parents and we all sat and talked for a long time - it was like old home week.  It made Mom feel so much better to have a connection and it made me feel good to know Mom felt better about being there, and to reconnect with old friends.

The Car Crash Explained....

Everyone has a car crash....no, not a literal car crash, but something they cannot help but watch.  My bestest Devonshire's family and my family, have long had conversations about our "carscrashes" - a car crash is something that is not artistically appreciated, but you love it and have to watch or read.  Now, the important thing about a car crash is that it is a movie that takes itself totally seriously, but is so bloody awful that when you say that you like the movie everyone, and I do mean everyone, groans audibly.  Car crash can apply to the following: car crash movies, car crash tv shows, car crash books.

 

Example:  The all time classic is "Valley of the Dolls", as noted by this catfight:

Valley of the Dolls Catfight

 

By now you probably realize that Valley of the Dolls is my car crash movie - it is soooo bad, but I LOVE it.   If I had to name another one, it would be Dying Young with Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott

- it is so awful, but I just have to watch it every time its on. 

 

My car crash TV show (as of right now), is Gene Simmon's Family Jewels.

There is something about this show that I absolutely love - the fact that his public image is misogynistic, yet he is so absolutely devoted to his family and is so sentimental about them makes it dsyfunctionally charming to me.  If you were to view Simmons and Shannon Tweed back in their heyday (the 70's of my youth), you'd never believe that they have a committed relationship and would raise dynamite kids.  I hate to miss a show. 

I think I'll tag myself for the five car crash songs you absolutely love - but first, what is your car crash movie, and what is your car crash TV show?

Marketing Mailing Lists - No Se Habla Espanol.....

My surname is sorta Spanish, although when people take a look at my WASPY visage they always ask if it French. It is a Spanish surname, a Filipino one, yet no one believes it of me.....it's almost like they swear my name is Sutton Averell Townsend or something......

What amazes me is how marketing mailing lists classify someone based upon the assumed heritage of their last names.  I receive La Latina, Hispanic and Ole news letters without ever having requested them.  Seeing that I am a nice girl whose parentage is half Southern Gothic WASP and half Eastern European Jew, I always find it amusing; especially if you consider the fact that my ex, while a hippy, is one of the whitest guys I know.  

Has anyone else gotten on the wrong end of a mailing list?

Schizophrenic sense of style

Women that are my age (46....so anywhere in that generation), do you find that your sense of style is a little schizophrenic?  What I mean is do you have preferences that draw from many different interests or influences? Do you even have influences at this time in your life?

 

I have noticed that my style has increasingly become preppy/hippy/outdoorsy/shabby chic.  What the hell does that mean? My taste in clothes run from LL Bean preppy (which I have been since the 70's - just ask Devonshire Design) to hippy chic.  My jewelry is either as classic as classic can be (pearls - I love them) to tibetan silver, while my clothing is a cross between LL Bean and the Sundance Catalog (body by Spaghetti precludes Vicky's these days).  My home is decidedly eclectic.  I guess I wonder how some folks fall under the decorating by major chain (Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, et. al) and some fall into the accumulated along the way.  Is it generational or is it state of mind? What do you think?

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