Grown-up Stuff

Tomorrow I'm going to a pendente lite hearing for child custody and support. I've been going through documents and receipts all morning, to prepare. It seems sort of unreal, as though I'm preparing for a hearing scene in a movie or a play - I need to be ready, but it doesn't seem like it's happening in the real world.

By the way, my boyfriend and my ex met each other this past Saturday at my girls' birthday party. It was weird, to say the least. My BF didn't like my ex at all, called him scum and drug addict, though not to his face. He's an overreactor, quick to anger; thumbs up. But, the party went very well and my girls had a lot of fun.

Father's Day

Yesterday, my dad came over to my house while my girls were at their paternal grandparents' house. He came over bearing tools and the capability to help me tear out my kitchen cabinets. I saw him at the front door and I was sort of shocked at how little my dad looked. Short, slim, old. Briefly, I felt sad, but brushed that feeling away like a cobweb in my face. It was the first father-daughter time we've had in decades, probably. We worked in silence, me taking out the cooktop stove, him taking out the garbage disposal and sink plumbing. He liked my supply of tools in my Bucket Boss organizer. He also said that I do good work on this sort of thing for a girl; these are both great complements from my dad, so inside I felt all shiny.

When my girls came home, Char had made a card for her dad, who she did not see. I don't know what he was doing, but he didn't visit with the girls. Maybe there was an emergency in the dog food aisle. She also took $1.00 of her allowance, made her granddad take her to the store, and bought her dad one of those chocolate-covered cherries wrapped in red foil, the kind you can buy just one of, near the cash registers ("Because Daddy LOVES those!"). I can't bear to look at the card, because I know what's in there. Every year, Char makes a card for her dad, and on the inside is a drawing of her holding hands with him. There are birds flying all around, the sun is happily shining, and bees are buzzing around. My heart breaks for her every year.

9 consecutive rainy days make me grumpy

You know what? If I hear or see one more thing about Jenna Bush's wedding, I swear I'm going to go crazy like Michael Douglas in the movie "Falling Down". WHO CARES ABOUT JENNA BUSH GETTING MARRIED?! Christ. I love the jackasses in Texas who made souvenirs to sell to tourists. Look at these gems:










And this photo just screams, "Thank you, may I have another?"

No hat

I'm not buying a hat for Preakness - a hat which I'd wear once, so I can mingle with people who buy and sell horses (which they call "ponies") and own BMW's that retail for twice as much as my first house in Hampden. Maybe I should do as the natives do and drink about 12 Black-Eyed Susans and stumble around in my 3 1/2 inch heels. And I have this fantasy about Marilyn Manson and his creepy entourage crashing the clubhouse like in the Tainted Love video.

Horses and Hats

Merriam-Webster defines "yuppie" as a young college-educated adult who is employed in a well-paying profession and who lives and works in or near a large city. One website describes yuppies in this manner:

Dispensing of the social causes of their more passionate parents, yuppies tend
to be 9-5 professional workers. Because of this, some people see them as sellouts. Yuppies tend to value material goods (especially trendy new things). ... Unfortunately, the fast paced pursuit of these material goods has unintended consequences. Usually in a hurry, they seek convenience goods as services. Being "time poor", their family relations can become difficult to sustain. Maintaining their way of life is mentally exhausting.

Wow. Well, that being said, I think I'm going to Preakness next weekend and I need a fancy hat and sundress. Let me know if anyone has either I can borrow, because, while I am not a yuppie because I am poor, I like to play one on tv. I liken myself to the hooker Julia Roberts played in Pretty Woman, who used Richard Gere's credit card to go on a fabulous shopping spree and then went to a polo match in that cute brown polka-dotted dress and brown hat. Except for the hooker part.

My New Haircut

Oh yeah, baby! I busted out laughing at work because of these:


Check this out first - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JMOh-cul6M


Then this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNfyBqrAaPk&feature=related