My Lemons My Lemonade

It’s That Time Again – Talking Mama’s Boy

🏃‍♀️ Run, run as fast and
as far as you can 🏃‍♀️
Photo by Vie Studio on Pexels.com

I know that I am slowly converting you all to fans, Mwahahahaha….

This week was surprisingly quiet for I Love a Mama’s Boy but I think it’s a good set-up for the rest of the season. I am still stunned that these moms and sons see nothing wrong with their relationships 🤯.

And off we go…

Theous, Tia, and Carolyn (mom): It’s the last day of their Vegas vacation and it appears that Theous completely abandoned the entire trip Tia in order to gamble with mom. Theous and Tia finally sit down for a meal together where she tries to express how angry she is, but he thinks it’s all a big joke, which just fans the flames. It turns into a forest fire when he takes a call from his mom, after repeatedly ignoring her calls the entire trip. Tia is basically left feeling as if she imposed on Theous and Carolyn’s vacation. In an odd aside by Carolyn, she basically states that she will be moving in with them shortly after their return to Maryland. Carolyn has “many plans and many things up her sleeve.” I’m not sure what that exactly means, but I think she is ramping up her efforts to get rid of Tia. There is nooooo love lost between the two of them 😬. I don’t think this is going to end well and if Tia thinks she’ll win against Carolyn, she really needs to sit down and watch this show.

Matt, Kim, and Kelly (mom): I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – RUN KIM RUN! Kelly seemingly does a nice thing by throwing a going away party for Kim, but of course it’s all about Kelly because of course it is. While Kim realizes this, she is still appreciative of the effort, which is gracious on her part Kelly is on some weird kick about it being suspicious that Kim taking this out-of-town job. Apparently, Kim is not allowed to want more from her career 🙄. Kelly goes on to say “I don’t care if Kelly leaves.” Matt then calls her selfish again and I just want to punch his face 🤬. So of course, no one really supports her. Matt spends the last couple of days before Kim leaves moping around the house, so much so that Kelly is, shocker, worried! And then proceeds to baby him. This woman is a whole other level of crazy and I think Kim really needs out of this toxic situation so she can flourish. I therefore stand opening statement 😁.

Mike, Steph, and Liz (mom): This is just a train wreck of a situation. Liz is back home with Mike and wants to have an adult conversation about where things are going because she needs to make choices for her career (hmm sensing a theme here 🤔). While she is genuinely frustrated with him, she tries to have a civil conversation and he tells her to stop yelling at him (she wasn’t by the way) and storms off like a two-year old having a tantrum. Shortly after he leaves, Liz arrives and Steph she spills her guts to Liz, even calling her out for interfering in their relationship. The conversation is pretty civilized all things considered. Liz then calls Matt to see if he wants to talk and of course he won’t come home. So mom meets him at the park and gives his side. He’s not ready to get married for another three years, he doesn’t want to hold Steph back in her career, he saw his mom get hurt and he wants to be sure Steph is the right one (because three years together is not enough time to determine that apparently 🙄), blah blah blah. Here’s my take on it – The two need to come up with a timeline. He doesn’t want to get married for three years, fine but why not get engaged and ask for a long engagement. Steph will get the commitment she seeks and maybe then she will feel justified in staying. Do I think that will solve all their problems? Probably not, but maybe it will get them talking. Mike needs to stop relying on his mother for all his decision making.

Last on the list this week, Bryan, Tracy and Jayne (mom): Back from their honeymoon, Tracy is still pissed that Jayne relied heavily on the hotel sitting service to watch her children, instead of watching them herself, as was the agreement. Apparently, Jayne needed Jayne time, but Tracy and Bryan didn’t need their time. So ridiculous 🙄. Tracy should have stuck to her guns and left MIL and kids at home. She decides on a new tactic as a way to set natural boundaries, thus Operation Find Jayne a Man is hatched. Tracy knows that Bryan will be pissed because he needs his mom to be at his beck and call apparently and she’s mare than okay with this arrangement. But she agrees to try dating and Tracy helps set up her profile. I fear this will not end well 😳.

That’s my “not a recap” for the week. Sometimes you need a palate cleanser and this was a perfect week for it.

Note: If you want to catch up on all my past not recaps, search the tags for I Love a Mama’s Boy

My Say For Today

I’m a poet… you all know the rest 😁

Fall has finally come to my little town in the south. We still have a few more days coming up where the weather will be in the mid-80’s, but mostly it’s been cool mornings and lovely days.

It was so nice that yesterday I spent some time with my gorgeous horse who harassed me while grooming her because she could smell the carrots in my pockets. But she let me finish brushing her out before outright demanding a piece of carrot 😆. All this while the beautiful haflinger was nosing through my grooming supplies 🤦‍♀️ (bugger managed to grab hold of a glove 🤣)

Next on the fall bucket list – back on the bike! Yay and ugh all at the same time 🤪.

Another fall bucket list item: Seeing Karen White. I just discovered that one of my favorite authors, Karen White is coming to my town next month to promote her new book, so I have to trot over to the local bookstore to get my ticket! It’s the last in a series and I’m so happy she is finally coming back. Another “YAY” for me.

Last YAY – I finished binging Leverage: Redemption on Amazon. I was such a huge fan of the original series (which is also airing on Amazon) that I was so happy to see my favorite gang back together. If you have never watched it, I highly recommend the entire series, reboot included. The only downside is that Aldis Hodge (who has really come into his own as an actor since this show) has become incredibly in demand and he had a limited role in the reboot ☹️. I’ll take what I can get though.

As for the ear infection and subsequent illness (probably due to the new antibiotic 🤢), I still have a little bit of fluid left to drain, but I’ll take it. Still working on getting my energy back. One day I want to understand how lying around feeling sick takes forever to recover from. I was lying down for three days straight; shouldn’t that help or something? 😆😆😆

Last on my mind – I cannot believe I let it get this far into the month without acknowledging Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As a former DV advocate, I have seen the aftermath of some horrific violence perpetrated on women and although I don’t do the work anymore, I do support the cause. And I encourage you to look into your local resources because you never know when a victim might emerge from your friend group. Be a source of information for the victim, if you can safely do so, and please don’t get discouraged if they don’t leave on your timetable. Leaving is a process, and a dangerous one at that. If you check out my resource page, you will find the number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a great place to call for information. Or go to the National Network to End Domestic Violence page at nnedv.org. Just be mindful of the other person’s safety (and yours) when offering help.

That is my say for today. Be safe and be happy My Lovelies 💜

I Do Love I Love a Mama’s Boy

My apologies for the delay in this post. First, I was all 🤢, then I had to re-watch to remember my thoughts and take a few notes. I do not know how real recappers do it! But since this is not a recap, it’s not as bad (though hard not to take a ton of notes like a recapper does 🤪).

Anyway, todays not a recap is really about the regular people pulled into the drama of these couples. Their reactions are so worth the price of admission.

Matt, Kim, and Kelly (mom): as if this shit show couldn’t get anymore ridiculous. It’s Mother’s Day so Matt takes the three them to wine country for the day (I’m thoroughly convinced the Matt’s dad is like “I want no part of this nonsense” 🤣). First we meet the greeter, who remarks that their 3 way relationship (my word, not his) is “not really the relationship I would want to be in” and I’m dying. Next up is the tasting room manager, god bless her. She watches as Matt, who is firmly planted next to his mother and across from Kim, feeds his mother and you know she is thinking WTF am I watching?!? In her aside she states “That’s definitely a strange relationship between a mother and son”. When Kim asks if it’s weird that he feeds his mom, she takes a long pause then turns the conversation towards their other wines. Again dying, on the floor 🤣. Her lasting impression “Matt seems like a large man-child.” By the way, did I mention that this was also supposed to be a small send-off party for Kim? No? Well it is so there are gifts! Mom a bougies necklace (Kim’s words, not mine 😁) from LOTR because of course mom and son are fans, and a large decorative Key to represent the key Kelly will have to their new home, fifty feet from hers 🙄 If you think Kim is pissed, you would be correct. Kim’s gift – a mug. Need I say more? Well I do have to say one more thing – Kelly and Matt look deep in each other’s eyes to declare their love for each other (in the elvish language), mother to son of course. It was disturbing to watch 😱.

Mike, Steph, and Liz (mom): short and sweet – after the parental meeting went so badly (thanks to Liz) Steph fled CT for California for “a few weeks” (damn must be nice), declaring that Liz has torn them apart, just like she wanted. She is meeting with a friend and career mentor to get some perspective. Her friend’s perspective? Steph needs to be in CA if she wants her career to progress (she’s works in TV production). Her aside was “She needs to leave him if he’s holding her back”. Steph and Mike talk again about relocating and in Mike’s interview he says “I don’t know how to live on the West Coast without my mother”. I can’t with this guy…

Shekeb, Emily, and Leila (mom): first expendable crew members – Jessica and Onur, Skekeb’s close friends, where Emily chooses to air all their dirty laundry – not a good look. Best part of this scene is Jessica telling Emily that she has no problems with her MIL because she lives in Turkey and doesn’t speak English – problem solved 😆😆😆. Next victim – the jewelry store owner. It turns out the ring Shekeb and his mom are shopping for is a “promise ring” and I don’t think that’s going to fly. Shekeb’s mom talks him down from a nice $750 dollar ring (too expensive according to mom) to a $500 ring and you know the jewelry guy is just annoyed at this point – though his customer service was impeccable I will say 😁. In his aside he remarks that having a mom help with the ring isn’t uncommon but it’s odd to have so much say in the final decision. We also find out that this ring is really a test for Emily, to see if she accepts it graciously and if she doesn’t Laila says she needs to go. I have a whole mess of problems with this. First, I’m a little iffy about the whole “promise ring” concept. Second, if he is going to present this ring to her in a fashion that suggests he is proposing versus just giving her a gift, I don’t expect her to handle it graciously at all and I wouldn’t either. Lastly, you have bigger issues if you need to “test” your partner. I predict this ending badly 😬.

Last but not least – Theous, Tia and Carolyn (mom): This week they are celebrating Carolyn’s birthday in Vegas, where Carolyn and Theous love to gamble together. Since Tia has to work while she’s there, she starts early so she can finish by 1 pm and join them and then maybe some one on one time with Theous. It does not look good when Theous ignores her many calls in deference to his mom and gambling. The unlikely side character in this segment is another craps player, who first assumes they are engaged because they are very “touchy feely” with each other (and boy are they 😬). His face was doing sooooo much talking. He also remarked that it’s weird that they left the fiancé behind and that he would be in hot water if that were him. Another astute observation from a normal person dragged into this insanity 😆.

Then we have the “more to come this season” so it is a longer season than I expected, and I am here for it! I would embed it if I could find it because 🤯.

I’ll end on this thought today – Every time one of the men whines “I’m in the middle” I just want to smack them and say set some damn boundaries with mom, especially when she is disrespectful to your partner. Grow a pair for goddess sakes!

And I Was Down Again…

While I’m upright for the moment, I thought I would dash off a quick post followed by some food for thought.

You see, I had started feeling better Monday then I woke up Tuesday with the worst nausea and headache (weirdly only on the right side of my head 🧐) and I was down again for the next two days. I have moved between the couch, my bedroom and outdoors (dog’s gotta do what a dogs gotta do 🤷🏼‍♀️) that I’m sure there are permanent body shapes in the couch and bed. As for the outdoors, it’s amazing that I didn’t fall down the stairs.

It got so bad that I begged my friend to pick-up some anti-nausea medicine because I couldn’t stay up long enough to even think about going to the store. Thank the Goddess he came through, the nausea is under control, and I can eat and actually drink some water today. I think when I started getting water into my system, my head finally stopped hurting, because the meds were of no help whatsoever!

I can’t remember the last time I was this sick, for this long. But my ear is almost cleared up at least. The worst part is you feel like you should be able to push through this kind of illness, and your body says NOPE! I’m truly hopeful that I’m finally on the mend because I can’t take another day like the last few (although I did get through the first half of Leverage: Redemption so YAY).

Now on to my food for thought– it sucks being single, living alone and sick as hell. Not that my ex was much help when I was sick, but something as simple as taking care of the dogs or making sure I had food made a world of difference. So, I ask you to consider calling/checking in on your single ill friends every so often just to see if they could use some help, maybe a store run for soup (or just to make sure they are alive 😁). Just tuck that nugget into the back of your brain to pull out the next time you’re worried about your single, sick friend.

If all goes well tomorrow, I will not recap I Love a Mama’s Boy, one of the best yet 😆.

Note: I love that word flags gotta, how is that not an approved abbreviation by now 🤪.

Taken Down by an Ear Infection

Remember how in my last post I said I was going to organize my desk? Yeah, that didn’t happen. My ridiculous ear infection got worse instead of better. You see on Friday night my house was 80 degrees (yes, it’s comfortable to me 😁) and I was bundled up in a sweatshirt and blanket. And I still couldn’t get my ear to drain at all. So I spent Friday – Sunday either on the couch or in bed. Except for the repeat visit to the doctor and a quick grocery store/pharmacy run (because you just want chicken 🍜 when you’re sick and you need your meds 😆). Fortunately, with the change of medication, I’m finally feeling a little better. I still tire easily, but my ear is getting closer to normal after 2 weeks of this nonsense. I cannot believe an ear infection took me out of commission for 3 days. Of course, it also doesn’t help when you’re allergic to the usual antibiotics they prescribe 🙄.

While I plan on spending another day or two resting (Arsenic and Old Lace is on TMC tonight at 6, woo hoo) I am getting back to checking in on my favorite people or as I like to call you – My Lovelies. I am truly hoping you had a much better weekend than I did.

I also thought I would do a quick follow-up the Tabitha Brown event I attended with my friend Robb. I had considered a full post on the topic, but honestly, it was just an ok event for me. My friend is a huge fan of hers and I feel like I disappointed him for not being as enthusiastic as him. Then he felt he had to apologize because it had more religious overtones than he had expected and that is not my thing. And he didn’t need to apologize, I willingly chose to go with him to see what she was about. I found some of her points interesting and thought provoking and disagreed with her on others. Even though she was a mixed bag for me, that might be slightly tempered by the late start, I still found her energy infectious and light, which I can appreciate. And I still plan on reading her book at some point. I may even watch some of her videos.

Just because I had a mixed reaction, doesn’t mean I can’t support her efforts to make a positive difference in this world.

You can find her at A Taste with Tab: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_AXXiVoEIHbJrYQMsZK7g

And now I’m going to take a nap, again… 🤪

Note: For those who are wondering why I didn’t check her out before hand – I kept forgetting her name and then I kept forgetting to ask Robb her name and then when I would remember, I would forget just as quickly. Stupid broken brain…

An AHA Moment

Who knew that an ear infection could make you feel so crappy? I just want to sleep….

I had the funniest AHA moment the other day. I was looking at the mess on my desk and thought “My ex would hatehow it looks right now” then it hit me that I was probably leaving it such a mess for that exact reason. And I started to laugh at that realization.

You see my ex had undiagnosed type of OCD – symmetry and ordering to be exact. How can I be so sure it was OCD? Because I lived with him long enough to see the signs and feel the effects of his behavior. The first time I had noticed was when we were dating. I was waiting in his office for him to gather his stuff when I noticed him straightening his desk accessories to an exacting point. So, for fun (and before I knew how bad it was 😬), I put a finger on his stapler while his back was turned and when he started to turn around, he caught me removing my finger and came over to restraighten the stapler assuming I had moved it when I hadn’t. At the time I chalked it up to anal retentiveness.

But over the years, the behaviors became worse. If he noticed something his world order, needed changing or had to be fixed, it had to be done immediately, i.e a light needing changing or a loose handle needed tightening, despite the fact that dinner was ready or we were leaving the house to run errands, he would not let it go until he made whatever adjustment he deemed necessary. At first the behavior was just a source of aggravation and but over time it became abusive because only he was allowed to set patterns and place things in an order he saw fit. But if I did something counter intuitive to that, he would become upset. Also, if I set a simple pattern for things like rotating his dress shirts (he had like 30 of them at one time) so that he didn’t wear the same shirts over and over, he couldn’t, or most likely refused, to follow the established pattern. And when I would get frustrated with his lack of understanding how I ordered it, would get angry at me saying I was calling him stupid (so not the case!). What was the pattern you ask? Newly clean shirts would be put on the right side behind the ones already hanging that had previously been washed. So you would read it left to right – that simple.

And when it came to his car, yikes! There was no leaving the visors down and it killed him that I kept a small trash bag in his car because he wanted every ounce of trash removed upon exiting the car, which I refused to hold on to used tissues or wrappers until we stopped. One battle that I won.

His behavior was so pervasive that my sister adjusted her behaviors around him so as not to elicit a negative response from him. She’s gotten a lot better (like me, although I will have occasional PTSD moments) but every so often I have to remind her that it’s ok if my nephew leaves a mess or that things are perfect.

And then there was the fact that I wasn’t allowed to have my idiosyncrasies if they conflicted with his world order, though I had my rebellious streak. Like leaving the car radio on when I shut off the car (he tried to insist I turn it off), and my desk which is organized chaos for me, (although at this point my desk is more disorganized chaos and is starting to drive me crazy 😆). Hence my AHA moment the other night 🤯 (see – full circle 😁).

Look, we all have our little quirks but when the behavior is more than a quirk and adversely affects the other people in your life (or becomes abusive in nature) please consider seeking professional help. Better to address a problem than torment your loved ones.

Note: Not everyone with OCD behaviors projects them onto other people, but if you find yourself expecting others to adjust to your world order or else, you might need to take a long hard look at yourself. And now I need to organize my chaos 🤪.

It’s Time To Talk Mama’s Boy

I think this has become my Mama’s Boy Photo 😁Photo by Vie Studio on Pexels.com

Don’t worry, there are only a few episodes left for me not to recap 😆. Then, sadly, my favorite group of dysfunctional people will be gone and I have some thoughts on who won’t be back next season 🧐. But we’ll discuss that on finale not a recap (maybe that should be a separate blog – My Not a Recap Recap 🤪).

At the moment, I just hope my computer doesn’t act up until I’ve finished. Apple did an update recently and my programs kept freezing or refusing to open yesterday and has restarted itself multiple times in the last 24 hours or so 😡😡. My love hate relationship with all things computers continues….

On to I Love A Mama’s Boy 🥂!

Tia, Theous, and mom Carolyn: first, I have to say that Carolyn open shows her disdain for Theous girlfriend. Doesn’t try to hide it at all and Theous refuses to take a side or really set boundaries. Tonight’s episode shows Tia and Theous out on a date – WTHOUT mom 🤯! Which is impressive, especially since mom had been staying with them while rehabbing her injured knee (Theous takes her for her PT). However, it doesn’t stop mom from calling while they’re on their date and Theous answers (oh Theous, just no 🤦‍♀️) and has a full-blown conversation with him. Leave the two of them in peace Carolyn! Later in the episode, talk turns to an upcoming trip to Vegas, in which Carolyn snidely asks “is she coming?” while Tia is standing right there. You can’t make this s🤬🤬t up! Tia has decided that the Vegas trip will be a test to Theous ability to set boundaries with his mom and if not, she may decide enough is enough. I wonder if she will walk away – guess we’ll find out soon enough 🤷🏼‍♀️ . Oh and at this point Theous and Carolyn are the assholes 😁.

Tracy, Bryan, and mom Jayne: they only had one scene so this should be quick. Still on their honeymoon, Bryan is smart enough to arrange a romantic dinner for the two of them. It goes better than I expected given the face that Tracy called the trip a “hot mess” as she had predicted. Bryan is all “when you married me, you married my mom. You knew what you were getting into…” and Tracy just wants to know she is number one in his life. To which Bryan smartly responds of course. Smart, smart man 😆. No assholes here today.

Emily, Shekeb, and Laila: well this was a surprising turn of events, Shekeb’s ambush Emily plan didn’t go that badly. Laila seemed to bury the hatchet a little with Emily (like covered over but easy to access 😜) and Emily didn’t bury a hatchet in Shekeb’s head for setting up this little ruse. The only other things that stuck out to me is the fact that Shekeb is a very messy person and I hope Emily knows what to expect. Also, Shekeb asked his mom to go ring shopping and she agreed. Progress! Again, no assholes here today.

Steph, Mike, and mom Liz: oy the mother! She is definitely trying to sabotage this relationship 🙄. Mike and Steph have been together for 3 years and she has convinced him he needs to wait until they are closer to 30/31 to get engaged/married (which would be another 3-4 years). Liz wants him to be sure and now he has doubts, after convincing Steph to stay in CT! The waiting piece was news to Steph, and she finds this out while talking with her mom and Liz, who just met. The poor girl. I loved that her dad took Mike outside to say if you’re not sure don’t drag this out any longer than you have to so that she can build a life, and family, before it’s too late. Having a person close to me that stayed in a relationship for 10 years because of the promise of marriage only for it to fall apart, this resonated with me. So you go Dad! Liz is the bigger asshole in this situation with Mike a close second. Frankly, I don’t think he is mature enough and Steph needs to run her butt all the way to LA to work on her career!

Last, but not least – Kim, Matt, and mom Kelly: Kelly is just too much at this point. She has brow beaten Matt into submission and is trying to do the same with Kelly – so gross! Kelly has decided that when people enter Matt and Kim’s home it should reflect her! Like WTF?!? Who actually says that? There is so much wrong with Kelly, I’d love a therapist take on her 🤣🤣🤣. This mother/son relationship is by far the worst example on this show, with Theous and Carolyn’s relationship coming in a close second. I’m giving Laila a pass because she really made an effort this week. Anyway, I think it’s quite obvious who the assholes are in this f🤬🤬🤬ed up triangle.

I will end by saying what I’ve said just about every week since Kim announced her promotion – run as fast as you can to Houston and don’t look back! And Steph should do the same, only to LA, not Houston 🤪.