Real Housewives of ... (Insert City Here)

I have a confession to make... I love love love anything and everything that comes on Bravo. It is an addiction that I am not sure if I could shake even if I wanted to. I can watch the same episodes of the same shows over, and over, and over (you get the point) again. Because of this I feel as though I have really gotten to know all of the women on these "Real Housewives.." shows. I admit that I haven't seen many of the earlier episodes, but I am very intrigued by the New Jersey, New York, and Orange County ladies. The apple does not fall far from the tree and my mother is just as addicted to these shows as I am (I guess this is something that I will likely not grow out of). I watch every week. I DVR the shows as they air the first time around. Whenever I turn on the tv I always flip to Bravo in hopes for a Housewives rerun. I don't watch these shows because I am necessarily fans of these women or aspire to be them. I find their stories, struggles, and lives to be interesting. Since I can't imagine living a life anything close to theirs I guess I consider my tv watching to be "research".

Today after work I got a massage and as I was sitting in the salon waiting for my appointment I overheard a conversation between 3 women who had very strong opinions of the Housewives, their behaviors, favorites, and least favorites. This led me to go to the Bravo website and read the Housewife blogs and ultimately saw the comments that viewers had posted on these women. It is mindblowing! People have very very strong opinions of these ladies. I couldn't believe it. Hundreds of comments were posted! Some of them were supportive, but most of the comments were very rude and had terrible things to say about the women. I couldn't believe it. While many of these women did some questionable things that I can't ever imagine doing myself, in no way do I feel as though I am entitled to give them advice on how to run their life, manage their relationships, or raise their children.

The awful things people said about the cast members of these shows brought tears to my eyes. I am not agreeing that flipping a table is the appropriate way to address a situation, calling someone a bad name, or shunning them in public, is right, but I am aware that I am watching a t.v. show that probably has the most dramatic and inappropriate moments to make the show more interesting. If the show was vanilla and the cast got along all the time, there would be no show. Additionally, I know these ladies have probably watched themselves and had the opportunity to assess their own actions and I am sure they have judged themselves. It is okay for us to have opinions, but lets not go on someone else's blog and say mean things about them.

On the topic of the Housewifes, many of you have probably seen the recent news of Theresa Giudice's bankruptcy (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20007142-10391698.html). The whole thing is very very sad and I hope for the best for her and her family. My mom called me on Sunday freaking out and told me to pull up the article for the New York Post. The way my mom told the story you would have thought that these were my second cousins. I guess she feels so connected because she is from New Jersey.

All grown up!

I guess at some point people my age became "grown ups". For some of us it was entering marriage, childbirth, buying a first home, graduating college, or a variety of other milestones. For me, though I am many of the above (not a parent), I don't feel as though there was a definitive moment where I suddenly became an "adult". Age wise I am older, but it isn't like I woke up on my 29th birthday with a bad back or poor vision. I always liked to think of myself as a perpetual kid. I am in denial about adulthood. I still ask my friends what they want to be when they "grow up", often they meet that question with an odd stare. When I inquire about a person's age I always ask, "how young are you?"

Not only do I consider myself "forever young" but I feel the same way about those people around me. I married a man who faithfully reads comic books every Wednesday and has probably seen "Star Wars" a thousand times. At my house we are big kids. Lately I have been having a lot of "grown up" moments.

It is the things that excite me. As an adult the funniest things make me really really happy. This week I was over the moon about a coupon I got in the mail for a discounted cleaning/x-ray/and examination at a local dentist office. I am giddy with joy when Pottery Barn has a sale on towels. I would much rather give an amazing gift to a friend or loved one than receive a present myself. The littlest things make me ridiculously happy: dinner with my husband, long phone conversations with great friends, funny jokes, saving money, clean sheets, a good book, dry cleaning. On the other hand, I used to love the buzz of crowds and hated when things were quiet (now quiet isn't so bad). I am so out of touch with today's music and movie culture (I don't live under a rock), but I can't I couldn't name a Jonas Brother song if you paid me nor have I seen any of the Twilight movies or read the books. In fact, I prefer non-fiction books to fiction (gasp... before long I will be listening to NPR and reading the Wall Street Journal).

While I have taken on some responsible adult tendencies, I don't think I will ever officially become a full-fledged grown up. I still love inappropriate jokes (if you want me to erupt into laughter say "doo-d00"), I will always love animal shaped foods, marshmallow guns, dressing up for halloween, coloring books, the circus, and pixar movies.


So get ready world...
It is official, I am a grown up! (sort of)