Hey Teresa- is it a Hurricane or a Norwegian?

Well- I missed the Housewives of NJ this past Sunday and finally caught it today.  God bless Teresa- she will never let you down!  I think she said the best line since -Is Bitch Better? or even the table flip.  She was talking about the weather and she said a Norwegian was coming.  She meant Nor'easter. Now I grew up on the Jersey shore and I am well aware of the term.  We had at least one or two of these storms every year.  They usually aren't as bad as a hurricane-but they are sometimes bad enough to force evacuations from wind and flooding.  This just goes to show my fascination with the housewives of Jersey.  I mean, how these folks that are so not intelligent live in huge Mansions?  It is super puzzling and yet  fascinating! 

Some of my friends think that Melissa and Joe G. are the new heroes of Jersey.  I will not give up the title that hold for my favorite housewife- Teresa.  She raises 4 little brats and a super big bratty husband  and still has time to steal her moms recipes and sell them in a cookbook- BRAVO! 

My students are also fascinated with the whole Jersey mystique.  They ask me about the Jersey Shore crowd and I say- yes I did witness people like that growing up.  There were a lot of Italians at the shore. I even had a friend at college in Atlanta that probably was the original situation. But these housewives seem so familiar- I think I might have waited on a few of them and their families when I was young.

Hope all is well in Jersey after this hurricane blows through.  It has been a long time since we had a hurricane up there.  My angel sister picked up my mother for the weekend. Thanks god for her!

The Dilemma- hopefully NOT a lemmon!

This is a picture that is similar to my new car.  I worked all summer trying to find the perfect car.  Unfortunately this was the year of the high-priced used car deal.  I finally settled on leasing a new car.  It turns out I will spend less and actually pay less for the car when the lease is over than I would have paid for a used car that was three years old.  I definitely am worried that I made the wrong choice in leasing,but I have a car that I am giving to my daughter and no trade in so the options were limited.  By the way- what color is this?  I say beige-the dealer says pepper-white.  I guess when you charge so much money for something, you have to make up some fancy color to make it seem like it is really special.  I still say it is beige! 

Coyote Ugly

I live in the actual city of Atlanta. There is no farm land anywhere near us.  There is very little forest area.  There is a park nearby,but it is surrounded by neighborhoods.  So imagine my surprise when I found out that there was a coyote outside my door on Saturday.  The coyote chased a neighbors dog. I am very glad that I didn't go outside with my little dog.  He thinks he is a bad ass-but he is no match for a coyote!  That is like putting Mike Tyson up against Carson Kressley!

How do you get coyotes in a condo neighborhood in the middle of the city?  There must be some crazy lack of food and water out there. 

On a funny note- I watched Curb your Enthusiasm tonight and the Ricky Gervais episode was a classic!  I laughed so hard.  Way to go Larry!  I highly recommend the Hero episode!

Missing Oprah

I sat and watched a marathon of Oprah- Behind the Scenes today and I realized how much I miss my bud- the big O.  I have watched Oprah since the 80's.  She is my hero.  I love her spiritual energy.  I have always admired her because she is genuine. 

I was asked by someone on the yearbook staff in 1989- who is the person you most admire?  I replied Oprah Winfrey.  They were startled, because she was not quite as well- known at that time but I think I hit the nail on the head.  Oprah taught me how to forgive myself.  She taught me it is OK to be who I am even though I am a fa-thlete ( Fat Athlete).  She taught me to understand how it felt to be a child of abuse and how to live with it.  She taught me to be a better person!

Phil Donahue actually was the first person to help me to recognize that my family situation was not just unique to us.  He had shows on schizophrenia and coping with a family member with a mental disorder and he really helped me out of my teenage misery and isolation.

 I am also upset that the Oprah show reruns were not played this summer.  I never could get home in time to watch Oprah at 4 pm, so I was counting on catching up this summer.  No such luck!  I guess I could set my DVR to record but I can't even text so that is just out of the question.

Oprah I miss you!  Best wishes on your next endeavors.  Thanks for being my bud for the past 25 years! Momma T

Who is your favorite Botwin?

Who is your favorite Botwin? I love the whole Weed's cast.  Mary Louise Parker is an excellent actress. I mean who else could put their children in such danger and still be believable as a loving mother?  Uncle Andy is the eternal child.  He is so much fun and he is always falling for women that are kind of nuts.  He throws out his little gems of wisdom to the boys and yet he doesn't seem to be able to follow the path of wisdom for himself.  Shane is brooding,dark and super smart. He follows no moral code.  Silas is cute and a lot smarter than he thinks he is. Silas definitely knows right from wrong and tries to keep everyone from being arrested.  Little Stevie will probably get back into the family soon.  His crazy aunt has him for now-but you know that Nancy will get him back soon.  I guess my favorite is Andy- he is so lovable and yet a man-child.  He reminds me of someone I used to know that was always smoking pot and coming up with schemes to make money.  I am pretty sure that sucker is totally fried by now. That is the only unrealistic part of Andy's character. No one that smokes that much pot could possibly still be functioning at his age.

My Daughter and I watched the whole series again this past summer and laughed so much.  If you have never seen it you should give it a try. 

We are so hoping for a return of Conrad and Celia.  We also hope there are more episodes coming with Heylia.  She is one bad ass pot grower!

Emma Stone Shines!

I just saw "The Help" and it was really great. I loved the book and couldn't wait to see the movie.  I love Emma Stone.  She was great in "Easy A" and "Crazy, Stupid Love".  She has hit the big time in this movie.  She is the perfect actress to play Skeeter.  As a teacher- I wish that all of my students would see this movie.  I don't think very many kids have any idea what the south both pre and during the civil rights movement.  The little girl that plays May Mobley is just adorable.  Minnie and Abilene are show just the right mix of strength and obedience.  I highly recommend this movie.  I cried and laughed hysterically, while also being appalled at the hypocrisy of the aristocratic south.

who stole Brer Rabbit?

Today is a sad day in Eatonton, Georgia. Someone stole this statue of Brer Rabbit from the Uncle Remus museum.  I guess they thought they would melt it down and make some money on the scrap metal.  Guess what- it is made of iron and isn't worth anything.  The natives are very angry at the theft.  I kind of think it is about time to get rid of this remnant of the segregated south.  As a child this story always made me uncomfortable- so relax Eatontonians-maybe this loss is going to bring you out of the 50's and into the 60's and civil rights!