RHOC & RHNYC

Orange County ladies

There was so much action/drama on last night's episode that I could barely keep up. Because of more urgent business, I joined the RHOC finale half way through, so I don't have a full picture of what happened before 10:35pm. I will scour the network this weekend for a re-run because it just doesn't seem right that I didn't see the entire episode.

Tamra and Simon

The last 25 minutes showed that Simon and Tamra were so disconnected in terms of their views of their marriage. At one point I wondered whether they were in the same relationship! How in the world could Tamra be bawling her eyes out on one side of the room, while Simon is on the other side of the room saying that things were great. Did Simon really believe that things were great or did he just want to maintain his privacy and put on a good face? Not sure... Notwithstanding, there is definitely more than just a turbulent marriage at issue. Last night's episode really had me wondering why Tamra was so scared of Simon. The twitterverse was on fire with the same question. Did you have the same thought? Have you heard anything more about their relationship?

Tamra and Vicki

With caveat noted above, I don't understand how Tamra was so duplicitous. Just a couple weeks ago Tamra was hanging Vicki out to dry and then last night's episode she's leaning on Vicki's shoulder explaining that she's always had Vicki's back. Tamra...don't you realize that Vicki is going to see all the private interviews and things that were said behind her back? Also, did you get the feeling that Vicki was eager to help Tamra because it was her way of telling her "I told you so!"? That was my impression but I could be totally wrong.

Aside from a few fashion faux pas (read Gretchen) there's not much more that I can comment on based on 25 minutes of air time.



New York City ladies

I enjoyed seeing these ladies again. We played catch-up most of the episode, but I must lament on a couple points:

Ramona's secret

Romana's mantra last night was "I'm renewing myself" - she cut her hair and had some work done (although she vehemently denied it). I don't believe that she suddenly looked 7 years younger because of the sun!!! I think she wants folks to comment on how good she looked so that she could stretch the truth and say it was her cosmetic line. In my opinion, she just needs to own the plastic surgery.

Luann's bitterness

In my opinion, Luann is a stunning older lady. I've always admired her clothes and her look, but I could do without her obnoxious attitude. As you may already know the Countess got a divorce (we'll see it sometime this season) and I would conclude that she's bitter. She had the funkiest little attitude with everyone last night. It was a combination of being the victim, while still riding on her high horse, yet feeling shame and (maybe) regret that her life is a mess. I hope she gets it together; but if she doesn't, I hope she doesn't maintain this attitude throughout the season because she will not be a likable person at all at this rate.

Bethenny's in love

The Skinny Girl got herself a cutie pie boyfriend. She's pretty caught up with her new beau, Jason, and if you watched the aftershow you would know that she's now 6 months preggars. Congratulations are in order for them both. I don't quite know whether I like Jason or for that matter, whether I like Bethenny+Jason, but we'll see.

Can't wait for next week.

RHOC Recap

Most times RHOC makes me think about deeper, more serious issues regarding motherhood, marriage, friendship - but last night was just funny. Here’s a quick recap:

Simon and Tamra
As you may know by now, Simon and Tamra are in fact getting a divorce after 12 years of marriage. The tension between these two has been quite thick this season and as I’ve expressed before, I hope they can work it out amicably for the kids. But, my impression has always been that Simon is just too controlling and last night’s episode proved it. Unapologetically Simon said “I’m not the type of person to control somebody. And if I didn’t control my wife, could you imagine how she would be?” and he also said “I let her get away with a lot of things.” News flash Simon, she’s your wife, not your child.

Gretchen’s business venture
Go Gretchen for trying to start your own business, but I felt so sorry for her at her debut. How much did she spend? Who swindled her into believing that there would be 10,000 people there? She needs a manager, whose name isn’t Slade.

Alexis and mom
Alexis brought her mom into town to get plastic surgery. I think her mom looks pretty good for almost 60 and I think Alexis should have left her alone. Clearly Alexis’ obsession with beauty (as Lynne’s) has clouded her ability to reason. I was disappointed that her mom wasn’t there to see her grandkids, but I guess that’s irrelevant in Alexis’ world. Above all other things, what irked me throughout the entire plastic surgery process was that Alexis took her mom from the surgeon’s office to an after care facility. She should have taken her home to recover; sometimes having too much money makes you forget the human side of things.

Lynn and Frank
I’m soooo over them!


Here are a couple sound bites that had me ROTFL!

Vicki ~ If you call me in the middle of a weekday what do you think I’m doing? Working!!!

Tamra ~ “What better way to celebrate my birthday than gettings together with my hos and mos”

Lynne ~ In response to whether Frank has ever cheated on her “He is germaphobic, he would never cheat on me”

Simon ~ “Hitler had a good side!”

Next Thursday is the season finale at 10pm and then the season premiere for RHONY at 11. See you then!

RHOC Recap - Take control of your own destiny

Tonight's episode was steaming hot. There were so many issues: Lynne's eviction, Brianna's cancer scare, Alexis' psychotic dependent marriage, which one do I focus on??? Since we've shared our thoughts about Alexis and let's pray that Brianna's situation is only a scare, I want to share a few thoughts about Lynne's eviction and shear mismanagement of money and lack of being in touch with reality.

My first question is how could she not know what was going on with the family's finances? There's no way that I would not know what's going on with the financial situation in my household, but I understand that there are some women that do not play an active role in the management of the family's finances. I totally accept and understand that. However, wake up Lynne! Have you read the paper or watched the news in 2008 or 2009? Regardless of how much money you have, we're all suffering in this recession - for some, that means downgrading from a Maserati to a Benz, while for others it means more dramatic curtailing of spending. My point is that it's affected everyone. Lynne, you are not immune from the recession. You already "downsized" this season because things were tough, so wouldn't that have been the signal that money was tight.

Second, Frank mentioned that Lynne couldn't handle the truth and was living in a bubble. I agree with him 100%. How selfish, inconsiderate, irresponsible and plain ol' ignorant of your actions could she have acted? Why would you proceed to go on a shopping trip to another city after just getting an eviction notice? Did she believe that everything would be okay when she returned? To further exacerbate the situation, she actually purchased items while on the trip - a $1200 jacket, was that really necessary?

Last, I feel like she neglected her kids in this situation. They are almost grown women, but if she was as concerned about them as she professed, she should have stayed with them to make sure they were okay.

Lynne has totally lost her mind and is too caught up with living in the OC. She needs to look at Gina and Laurie and back away from the show to care care of her family. Her daughters are crying out for help, her marriage is on the rocks and now her finances are in a mess. Get it together Lynne - take better charge of your destiny.

I think the take-away from this episode is that women have to get more involved in their family's financial destiny. Even if you're not the accountant in the relationship, be at least aware of what's going on - are you a few dollars away from becoming a millionaire or being homeless.

RHOC - Who do you talk to about your marriage

Vicki and Simon’s conflict was the focus of this week’s episode and it is an important and pressing issue that I often struggle with. Who do I talk to about issues in my marriage and how much should I share? I have found that the line between support and intrusion/judgment is very fine and extremely risky.

During Tamra’s conversation with Vicki, Tamra said that she was “venting in confidence as a girlfriend” and didn’t expect Vicki to throw it back in Simon’s face. That statement hit the nail on the head because I think we quite often feel the need to talk with our friends or family members about our marriage’s downs, but what we miss is that we never talk about the ups. We all go through hills and valleys in our relationships and when you vent only during your time in the valley that (mis)shapes other people’s opinions of your partner and your relationship. What amplifies the situation is that by the time you and your partner are back on a high, your friends and family are still judging your relationship based on the information shared while you weren’t doing so well. Sometimes it’s easy to mend what’s going on within the relationship, but those negative feelings will linger for your family and friends. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way suggesting not to lean on friends and family for support, but just remember that you’ve got to bring them along as you climb out of the rut as well otherwise you’ll have a Vicki-Simon situation.

Tamra made this mistake and I can’t fault Vicki for trying to support her friend. All the drama is really because there is little spoken of the good things that have occurred in Tamra’s life and her marriage and all Vicki sees in Simon is that he’s the “bad guy”. In the same manner that Tamra spoke to Vicki about her marriage woes, she should have also shared with her that she and Simon were trying to mend their issues. Does Tamra owe Vicki that conversation – I think not! But I think Tamra owes her marriage that conversation.

Thoughts?

RHOC - WTH Recap

Thursday nights aren't Thursday nights without The Real Housewives. I watch RHOC because it is entertaining and I love those gals because they're always up to something. I'm also particularly amused by the OC ladies as opposed to any of the other seasons (okay, well maybe NYC) because I find them a little more grounded; if that's possible!

Last night's episode was funny and sad at the same time because Lynne was a crazy horse. We've always known that she's a little ditsy and she has self image issues, but she's losing her mind with her kids. Her breakdown was probably alcohol-induced, but she does need help. She's so terribly out of touch with her girls and I think it's because she's trying to be their friend, rather than their parent.

My mom and I are extremely close, but during my teen years, she wasn't a "friend" she was a "mother." She put her foot down early and that eliminated the need for her to do it often. There were expectations, and limits, and consequences.

There is no way on this green earth that I would be able to talk to my mom with such disrespect, and I definitely couldn't be rude to her in public; far less with cameras rolling. The fact that Alexa (1) feels comfortable swearing in front of her mother, (2) swearing at her mother, and (3) walking out on her mother was totally unacceptable.

What are your thoughts?

BTW...it was extremely scary watching Lynn cry. Her face didn't move an inch. Please stop the plastic surgery Lynne - please stop!

RHOC Sunday

I spent most of Sunday glued to the television catching up on RHOC. I've seen all of the episodes this season, but there's always something that you miss when you go to the bathroom or talk with hubby; so I was able to sit in front of the tv and I devote my time to watching a few episodes again. Amongst all the things going on in their lives there are a few story lines that struck a cord with me.


Donn and Vicki renew their vows

I love Donn. I do. He seems like such a sweetheart. He’s understanding and loving and he seems to wear his heart on his sleeve. The trip to Turks and Caicos was beautiful and Donn was so emotional that it was refreshing to see a man express his feelings. Vicki is another story though – she was mechanical and superficial and I was not at all impressed. But, I “fell in love” with Donn all over again. In his vows he alluded to trying times in their relationship and I wondered whether he had always been a loving man or whether his disposition is due to the struggles that they’ve encountered in the past. If it's the latter, I am hopeful for my own relationship.



Alexis fights for Jim

I don’t get their relationship. He seems uber-controlling and my personality would never fit with someone who is that “in charge”. But, it seems to work for them, so more power to Alexis. I was intrigued by her (re)action at the tupperware party because I don’t think I would ever be able to be so confrontational. She is as possessive of Jim as he is of her and I was impressed that she was confident enough to confront the girl immediately and in such a public setting. It appears like she is not permitted to do a lot of things (e.g. show her goodies on the yacht, talk too loudly in the restaurant, express her viewpoint at the races) so I wondered why Jim didn’t stop her earlier in the confrontation. Was it because it was about him? Regardless, I admired her guts to get it over and done with right there and then rather than waiting until she got home to be angry at Jim (BTW...that's typically my approach).


Tamra and Simon are getting divorced

I empathize with what they are going through right now and I hope the kids are protected through it all.

Hiatus

We've been on a bit of a hiatus this week as we approach the homestretch in prepping for Blogalicious (just in case you didn't know ... we are hosting a conference for women of color bloggers next month in Atlanta; more info here); so none of us have been able to update you on the regular and not so regular happenings around our homes.

But, it is Thursday and you know what that means? RHOA. Our weekly source of entertainment is on at 10pm tonight - can't wait! In the meantime, if you're a RHOA addict, check out the happenings from earlier today at the taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show - the cat fighting has not stopped!!!

MamaLaw Weekly: Celeb News

First, I must start off with a RHOA update. Have you all heard Kim Z.'s first single "Tardy for the Party"? I love Kim, I really do. But this song is not hittin'. I would have thought with high-powered producers behind her, she would have come out with a chart topper. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Tardy For The Party (Mix) - Kim Zolciak


Kim and NeNe had it out on the Ryan Seacrest Show about the altercation they got into recently. I'm kind of sad because after all, I thought they were going to rekindle their friendship when all was said and done.

So I'm thinking of adding chunky blonde highlights to my hair. My inspiration is the lovely Eva Marcille in last month's issue of Essence. I'm not a radical hair kind of gal, so this would be major for me. Do you think it's a good look?

And finally, today marks the eighth anniversary of Aaliyah's death. Can you believe it? Eight years. I still remember when I heard the tragic news on the radio. Hubby (then my BF) and I were headed out to party with some friends who were in town visiting. We were in the car and were all shocked by the announcement on the music station we were listening to. Needless to say our mood was dampened and we spent the evening subdued, in disbelief that young, beautiful Aaliyah was suddenly gone. R.I.P. pretty lady.

Real Housewives D.C. - Get Your 15 Minutes of Fame!

It's all over the news media here: Bravo TV is planning for the next spinoff of its Real Housewives series to be set in...Washington, D.C. It was just a matter of time, really. Now that the Obamas are in the White House, D.C. is "hot" again. According to the reports Bravo Media executive VP and GM Frances Berwick said:

"We're tapping personalities who are among Washington D.C.'s influential players, cultural connoisseurs, fashion sophisticates and philanthropic leaders - the people who rub elbows with the most prominent people in the country and easily move in the city's diverse political and social circles."

Hmmm, so I guess I'm out of the running. Heh heh.

Far be it from me to block anyone else's chance at reality TV fame, though. If you're interested, here are the details for the casting call:

EMMY AWARD-WINNING LOS ANGELES BASED PRODUCTION COMPANY is NOW CASTING for a new docu-reality series set in Washington DC! We are currently looking for a range of women in DC, from young up-and-comers (determined staffers, aspiring
politicians, fearless journalists, and fledgling socialites) to the real
powerbrokers on the Hill (commanding congresswomen, sassy socialites and dymanic divas in charge) We want the wonder women of Washington who know the ins and outs of both the political and social scene. The show will follow the lives of these high-octane women as they tackle the daily dramas that only DC can dish out. Our company currently has nine series on the air and would like to feature you in one of our next series!

If you and your circle of friends are interested and worthy of having your own show, please submit an email to: Weingradcasting@gmail.com

Please include: Name, age, occupation, give a brief bio of who you are,
tell us why you think you should have your own show. Don’t forget to add
recent photos, and a contact number where you can be reached.

MUST LIVE IN THE DC AREA

And there you have it. Glad to do my part in perpetuating the trashy goodness that is reality TV. So far, powerplayers like Edwina Rogers have been tapped for the show. Though according to early critics, the D.C. season may be a snooze.

Racy!