Hillbilly Television

Gotta vent, gotta vent before I burst.  Just walked in the house and the television was on so as I am cleaning up I am listening to an Entertainment News show discussing the string of Hillbilly reality shows popping up.  First let me state for the record, my opinion on "reality shows".  The networks and society in general are doing a great disservice to the people they put on these shows labeled "reality". Shows such as Top Chef or Project Runway even American Idol are at least competitions looking to showcase and possibly exploit an individuals talents. TALENT. BUT the housewives,teen moms,dance moms, Jersey people,etc., they are being enabled and really given a false sense of importance with the attention they receive for doing nothing more than being idots,douchebags,bad parents,and sometimes just good people who have made poor choices.  Not only do we do these people no favors by lifting them up to celebrity status we create a new generation of people who think this is the way to live and behave.  I have felt this way from day one and that is my opinion I am aware I live in a country where it may not be the majority opinion.  Now the next wave of shows out there labeled Hillbilly T.V.  One person was complaining that these people are being made fun of for their crude and unsofisticated ways and only have shows so they can be mocked.  Now wait a minute as opposed to who?  Snookie,Bethany, any of the other reality goofballs that should be banned from any type of media until they can display an actual talent or skill.  Don't tell me anyone out there is actually taking cues from anyone on these shows and using them as a moral compass to live their life by.  It's all entertainment and a joke and I feel like if the Basketball Wives can have a show well then so can the Gator Boys or the Wildman.  At least it seems there is a little more authenticity with these characters.  The exception (and I have never watched an episode of this show I only know what I have seen in promos or heard around the watercooler) but the Honey Boo Boos need to stop.  In a moral society it would NEVER be right to glamourize stupidity but again we are what we are.  BUT pulling an innocent child into this circus should be off limits and as much as the blame lies on a mother who would exploit her child as this woman does it also lies with the network who is handing over a paycheck and televising this car crash.   Then we are not just mocking knowing willing adults in this game we are laughing at a little girl who is growing up to be a joke and nothing more.  What does that say about us, really.  

First day of school

Today was such an wonderful, peaceful, almost theraputic day.  Today was the first day of school for kids in our area who did not start last week or yesterday and I am lovin it.  As any typical mom I was worried but my son was in good hands with my mom waking him up and getting him off to school since I had to work.  We had everything prepared last night so I wasn't scrambling in the morning to get anything done.  Work was even better though just for the fact that I was able to begin the after school shopping clean up and start getting my departments back in shape.  A lot of tedious tasks today but things that were long overdue.  I am looking at a stack of papers all with MY name on them because we know the biggest joke is that first day of school homework is for parents not the kids.  I am trying to determine if  I go to bed now will I get up in time to fill out all of these papers.  I know in all honesty NO i will be too tired in the morning but I am so tired I really dont care.  I really was in total disbelief to find out my little angel who worked his butt off this summer to make up his failed geography class will get to spend another year with the teacher who failed him.  She moved up a grade along with him.  Laugh Out Loud funny.  I told him it's a test of if he learned any lessons from last year.  I also told him I expect him to be the ideal student so if there are any problems I will be able to have his back completely.  So many moms out there (and some dads) shedding a tear or two over there babies starting their first day of school.  I remember it so clearly.  As a seasoned veteran of back to schools I can say I did savor every moment of it.  I was always accutely aware of how quickly it all passes by and from the first day I walked my kids across the street to the school for kindergarten and second grade to today with my baby boy going into 8th grade I wouldn't trade any of those days.  Before I know it my daughter will be sending her own baby girl off to school for the first time and the cycle continues.  So many memories of doing crafts together in the fall on Sundays during football time.  Trips to the library to pick out books for reports.  Saturday night movie night with homemade pizza and popcorn.  Shopping for winter coats in September.  As I worked on the salesfloor today I saw so many parents rushing,snapping,yelling ,trying to talk on their phones about trivial things as their children fought for their attention.  Parents in such a hurry to get things done they never really looked up and just soaked it all in.  Last night after getting my son's hair cut he and I stopped at Subway for him to have dinner.  After paying for his sandwich we started to head out but I asked him if he wanted to sit in Subway and eat.  So much quieter than home with no t.v. to distract him and much better than eating in the car on the way home.  It was nice just the two of us relaxing.   Now that I have yawned for the fifth time in 5 minutes I have just answered my question.  Sleep now papers later.  Oh yes fall is the season of procrastination.

Am I Setting Myself Up?

I will admit I have my girly girl moments.  Sometimes more than others.  The past few days I have been excessively affectionate with my hubby and it wasn't till today that I realized it was a result of having good hair days the past few days.  So stupid how something so trivial can change the direction my day takes but it does.  As a woman when I feel sexier I dress the part and pay a little more attention to my appearance...don't we all?  Here is my worry.  As I sit here typing with my nails painted a fresh shade of Sonic Boom pink and looking so nice it occurs to me what makes me revert to my old ways of showing up for work with no makeup on,chipped nail polish, not quite right ponytail...WORK.  And I had forgotten the golden rule of Sunday (tomorrow) that I am one of the few members of any kind of management at work.  So where I might normally spend my day working on reports,counting merchandise,sitting in meetings,even prettying up my department, tomorrow I will be doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING including processing and working freight. So when I leave the building at 4pm half of my nail polish will be left behind and my eyeliner will have me looking like an outcast from KISS and my hair...well lets just say they don't make enough product to keep my hair from looking like Tippi Hedren after the birds got ahold of her.  A little voice is telling me to just take the nail polish off now and hide the make-up so I am not tempted in the morning but I want my girly girl moment.  I want to look pretty for even just a little bit.  Feels so superficial but then we are all a little I think.  I just know the day I wear long sleeves the a/c goes out.  If I bring an umbrella it won't rain if I forget my umbrella it surely will rain and if I dress up I am gonna be working my ass off tomorrow.  On a totally other subject here after forcing husband to watch Hunger Games with me this afternoon I was informed I am no longer allowed to complain about the "depressing" subject matter that he spends his nights watching.  Pretty much anything on history or military channel.  So he gets a one week free pass then I am nagging away again.  Depressing fiction still not as bad as actual sad horrible stuff.  Eight people in this house and five have been stricken with cold/flu.  I am pretty much walking around wrapped in bubble wrap and spraying lysol on anything I touch.  There is a symphony of coughing going on between three of the stricken and it is a little spooky to hear.  I do not wish to join this chorus.  So off to bed I have a day of fun ahead of me with school starting in a few days.  YAY back to school. 

Are you kidding me?

Last night I believe I expressed a few concerns about the public school system down here and it's affect on my son....Hahaha I have to share this.  My son spent the majority of last school year butting heads with one of his teachers.  It was Geography and that is a subject that he has never gotten less than an A in.  So when he started bringing home reports that he was on the verge of failing the class I asked him about it.  His reply was the teacher didn't like him and was giving him a hard time.  In the past I would have been making an appointment for a conference and sorting this out but last year we decided to something new and let my son work out his differences with the adults around him as well as his peers.  I know my son is no angel and knew he was probably equally to blame for whatever the problem was between him and the teacher.  Let me say our experiment failed and he failed the first semester of Geography.  I wasn't too worried it's only middle school...no high school credits involved...and all of his other classes he excelled in.  How surprised was I this June when along with a final report card for the year which was A's B's and one C I also received  a notice my son was being held back in 7th grade for the year. SERIOUSLY!?  So we spent the summer doing online classes to get the credit for Geography.  It took about 2 weeks from date of letter to actually get him in an online class.  So he got started late.  As much as I would love to say he breezed through this class he made me want to rip out every hair on my head.  Did I mention my son also has the attention span of a gnat and likes to think of himself as a class clown only he was the only one in this particular class room of our dining room.  I had the deadline of getting his paperwork into his school by August 17th so he could be placed in an 8th grade class.  When I received his class assignment a week ago (before he finished his summer school) I panicked a little.  Time was running out and he had to finish this.  Monday the 13th was the day he had to study all day and call his teacher to take his final exam.  When I walked in the door Monday he was on YOU TUBE and had studied but forgot to call teacher.  After my head exploded and I pieced it all back together again he got his teacher on the phone and proceeded to pace through the house for 20 minutes as he did his final oral exam.  COMPLETE...passed he was through. I could breath.  I called the school yesterday to speak with a counselor about his being placed in an 8th grade class was told to call back today.  Yesterday evening my fatther brings in the mail and in it is a letter from the school.  Oh boy.  Here is where the ARE YOU KIDDING ME? moment comes in.  I open it up and it states how my son was being retained to 7th grade for failing the semester of Geography then is a second paragraph stating that after a review of his case he was going to be promoted to 8th grade anyway. HUH? This letter which I just received August15th was dated August 7th.  I guess I should be happy it now stands that he did pass World Geography first semester 7th grade and with a B no less.... I'm still having a hard time grasping this that this decision could not have been reached earlier.  I feel cheated out of a summer.  I know this was a valuable life lesson and all for him and myself but with the new school year only 5 days away I am a little bummed now.  Have I mentioned how much I dislike the public school systems down here.

As beautiful as the morning began the night is filled with thunder and flashes of lightning and the sound of rain is lulling everyone into a cozy sleep.  The dog is hiding under the table at my feet(big chicken) and I am sure as soon as my son walks in the door he will be glued to the window looking for the lightning to strike.  Today was all about getting stuff done and I was on fire today but ready to curl up under the cool sheets myself now.  I have discovered the yumminess of roasting red and orange peppers(we always have plenty on hand) and tonight made a thai inspired red pepper sauce with whole wheat pasta.  Not bad for first attempt.  School starts in another week here and I am not so sure I am excited about it as I have been in the past.  My feelings on public schools are so conflicted.  I grew up the "black sheep" in the family and followed my own drummer as far as my appearance and music and overall beliefs. My parents though not immediately but eventually were amazing in letting my express myself and search for myself.  Not trying to fit me into any mold of what they wanted for a daughter.  I am that way with my son but it seems the schools are so narrow minded and unaccepting of anyone somewhat different I am afraid he is having that creativity squashed by the people he ends up spending more time with during the week anyway.  I remember George Carlin in one of his later shows talking about how the whole school system trys to force our kids to conform and comply and turns them into drones and I do really believe a lot of that.  It really just comes down to wanting your kids to be happy and thrive and wanting to support them no matter what and when so many people think they need to have a hand in others lives you just have to stop and yell BACK OFF I'm the parent I will handle this.  Funny thing is I swore my child would grown up surrounded by art and culture and I would not try to put him into a cookie cutter mold but of course that didn't quite work out that way.  I have managed to instill a love of all music in him and just today he surprised me when a song by Steve Miller Band came on the radio he not only recognized the sound and could name the band he named several of their songs.  This is his last year of middle school I feel I really need to step it up as a parent and be better than I have been in past. 

Good morning World,
Just watched the sunrise and it doesnt get any more relaxing than this.  Don't get me wrong there are a billion things racing through my head right now but I am holding it all back behind a velvet rope and all I see is the perfect mixture of baby blues and peach in the sky.  The curtain of humidity has not yet fallen on us so it is one of those mornings anything is possible.  Today hopefully we find out if we will be able to get some kind of medical coverage for my husband and then some help...real help.  If ever I was holding onto him with two hands trying to keep him off the proverbial ledge it is now.  He hit that serious low after losing his father that I expected would blindside him.  Of course to compensate he overmedicated a little and now with over a week until he can refill prescriptions the idea of him being on no meds that long scares the hell out of me.  He needs psychiatric help...period...end of story but I am afraid if we get the run around much longer he will not make it.  For the first time in my life I understand (not saying condone) but understand the "nutjobs" out there who feel like they have nothing to lose.  If those people don't have someone fighting for them trying to keep their head above water they can be lost so easily.  We had a rocky night the other night and we didn't speak for most of yesterday then something big happened at work for me and I found myself in the ladies room letting the tears flow because I realized for a few moments I forgot about what we are dealing with at home and now I am in charge of this HUGE project and how am I going to do this.  I REALLY hate self doubt.  It is so defeating and I follow the yoda philosophy of fear leading to all other bad things.   I am trying to work through fears.  Then I wanted to share this news with someone when I came home but I wasn't talking to hubby so had to wait for my sis.  She is my lifeline but not in that holding me up way...more like when I was six and she taught me to swim by pushing me in the deep end of the pool and saying,"paddle dummy!".  She lives by the SUCK IT UP code and acts as if she is hard as nails.  I'm her sis I know the truth but there is no sympathy from her about anything.  So before I face any obstacles today I am enjoying these few moments of peace when I can pretend things are all good and everybody is happy and well.  Don is always telling me I have such a positive sunny outlook on things but sometimes I wonder if I really do or if I am forced to be that way.  When you live with someone who sees nothing but dark clouds you have to become the one who sees nothing but the silver linings.  Just every now and then it would be nice to be with someone who wakes up happy.  Who enjoys the mornings...the sunrise the way I do.  Time to quit dreaming and get some things done around here today.  Keeping my fingers crossed all goes well but if not we just have to try another route I guess.