Tori and Dean

I truly love this show. The relationship between them is just glorious at times. Tori is out there about a lot of things as is Dean. The episodes that feature dog poop are priceless. Sometimes I see Tori as a daughter. There are times I want to shake her and tell her that she needs to stop looking for her mother to validate her because it will never happen. It took me 38 years to get it myself. She has a jealous mother. I know because we have that in common. Dean is a great husband who treats Tori like a woman. She is a hands on mom that has made a name for herself in Hollywood and is not just someone's wife. I don't ever recalling hearing Candy Spelling's name until it was mentioned in correlation with Tori. Her book sales will only occur as a result of the feud with her daughter. As a stand alone Candy Spelling is pretty much nothing and resents Tori. Once Tori realizes that she will move on. I want to hold her at times and tell her that as long as she keeps in her mind that she wants to be different than her mom she will. It will be a struggle at times though to block out the negativity and darkness that she grew up with. Children learn what they live and she needs to realize that she has to undo some of the damage and learn to forgive herself when she finds herself slipping into Candylike habits. Perhaps her mom thought she was doing a good job? Another area I can relate to.
As a peer I see her a working mom who has a great sense of humor and lucky to have a wonderful man and cute kids. If I ran into her on the street I doubt I would even consider an autograph. I just don't see her as a celebrity for some reason. I am in no way knocking her achievements or success! I just see her as a mom to Stella and Liam because that is where we have so much in common. I would more be interested in hearing her views on my decorating and finding out what she reads!

"Vacation" the play

Vacation this summer ended up being much like a classic Shakespearean play. The colorful cast of characters explains it all.
Father-in-law: Oblivious to the rest of the world, avid TV watcher who has no clue that people like channels other than CNN and old movies, diabetic who eats total crap he shouldn't and really large quantities of...well just about anything, deaf as a door nob except to hear that dinner is ready, first to the food always and takes as much of everything before anyone else without regard to the fact that we need to feed 13 people,exceptionally hairy and gross in many ways.
Mother:the model martyr who loudly talks about things to annoy people("well I don't really watch that much TV" or "Grandma can help you as soon as I get some of everyone's laundry done", currently on break from her ongoing life long role as the Shrew in the play, "The Wimp and the Shrew"(also starring my dad), low carb wannabe who proclaims not to eat certain things but always seems to eat everything in front of her, the total hypochondriac who after a real brush with illness was ready to "end it all" if her health did not improve(oh please), self proclaimed vacation laundress and cook because I apparently can't manage to do those tasks myself, starts every sentence with, "Since I was sick last summer....", hypocrite who favors my youngest sister and literally RAN to answer the phone incase it was her(yes mom there is caller ID for missed calls), feels the need to interject her 2 unwanted cents into every situation possible, finds a way to refute or knock everything I manage to say b/c I have yet to learn that I will never get validation about ANYTHING, expert on many topics even if she has only done it/seen it/ been there once.
Father: currently on break from his role of the Wimp yet still managing to hang on to all the character traits, has acquired selective deafness to keep him from killing his wife, total cookie sneaker lest he get nagged about eating things her shouldn't(athough the nag constantly "tries" pieces of things as if they are new and she has never seen them before), horrible at family gatherings where he bitches about noise and chaos(don't go anywhere with me then), guilty of road rage often, oblivious of how to make his mate of 45 years happy( but then this may be one of life's mysteries up there with "what came first the chicken or the egg"), bithces 99% of the time behind my mother's back(hence the name wimp).
The kids: Normal every day kids who are guilty of things that most kids yet seem to be treated as if they aren't. Since when is pushing buttons, badgering, manipulation, and throwing fits not normal?
Husband:Kind and helpful, yet in denial about how horrible beach vacations are for the mother of an infant who hates the car, heat, and sun, insistent on packing up freakin golf clubs in a crowded van to play one lousy time because this is a BEACH vacation, not a GOLF vacation, has learned to cut down the MIL successfully since she won't fight with him.
Me: painfully short tempered at times with my kids and DH out of frustration, has yet to learn that her relationship with her mother will be much like Tori and Candy Spellings except that we see each other all the time, needs to let go of trying for the perfect family vacation as it will never happen, will never again vacation with parents on either side as the pain is not worth it AT ALL.

So that is the cast and you can guess how the week went just by the character descriptions. Sad.