Teen Mom 2: Small Talk

[CaliforniaLove]

I wouldn't do what Hanks, or Bale did, but I'm not gonna lie...I'd do what Renee Zellweger did for Bridget Jones!...in fact I think I already am...

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, christie said:

Yes he has as has Meryl Streep for "Sophie's Choice." I think that some of the things that actors do to their bodies so that they can play a role are just insane.

 

Not fair; my browser shows me the first post :(

Hit the tab to the right, and you’ll get the last post!

[Tatum]

11 hours ago, CaliforniaLove said:

I wouldn't do what Hanks, or Bale did, but I'm not gonna lie...I'd do what Renee Zellweger did for Bridget Jones!...in fact I think I already am...

I remember an episode of Saved by the Bell: the College Years, where Slater wanted to move up a weight class for wrestling (which from what little I understand, never happens) and had to eat everything in sight in order to gain weight. He's slamming cupcakes and all the girls are glaring at him.

 

I read in the mid 90s that Kirsten Dunst was offered a part in Now & Then (one of my favorite kids 90s movies!) as the chubbier character, with the caveat that she'd have to gain weight ( I suspect , unlike some people, KD is naturally a very skinny person :)-) and even though KD wasn't that famous at the time and it would have been a good role for her, she refused because she didn't want to gain the weight.

[guilfoyleatpp]

My most vivid memory of late 90s clothing is track pants that barely cover the pubic area and low rise jeans with 1.5 inch zippers.

It was just too much. 

Also, the lower back tattoos and platform shoes and...delia's!

[Tatum]

I had SO MANY platform sandals, that caused many a twisted ankle. Such an impractical shoe. Remember the platform sneakers? To this day, I must admit I still think they are a little bit cute.

 

I was born in 1983, so I am allowed to have a fondness for the truly terrible styles of the mid/late 90s.

 

OMG, remember skorts? Or those dresses with the denim upper half and the cotton/floral skirt? I owned both.

[LBS]

42 minutes ago, guilfoyleatpp said:

Also, the lower back tattoos and platform shoes and...delia's!

Delia's!!!  I loved their catalog.  Can't say I ever bought anything from them but man did I want to.   My college roommate lived in their Janco pants and baby tees.   

Also late 90's.  Body Glitter.   Every time we'd go out, we apply our roll on glitter.  We were going to University of Iowa bars, not LA clubs but the glitter game was strong. 

[Tatum]

7 minutes ago, LBS said:

Delia's!!!  I loved their catalog.  Can't say I ever bought anything from them but man did I want to.   My college roommate lived in their Janco pants and baby tees.   

Also late 90's.  Body Glitter.   Every time we'd go out, we apply our roll on glitter.  We were going to University of Iowa bars, not LA clubs but the glitter game was strong. 

The reference to body glitter reminds me of that douche from one of the early True Life episodes, I'm getting plastic surgery, where this dipshit complained that he worked out all day and couldn't get his calves to bulge out (if you find this absolutely inexplicable that anyone would focus on this, I am with you). Anyways, he got calf implants, using the same material as mid 90s breast implants. Anyways, he was a fan of going to local clubs doused in body glitter and would generally end up shirtless by the end of the night. He was fond of saying, real men wear body glitter.

[guilfoyleatpp]

39 minutes ago, LBS said:

Delia's!!!  I loved their catalog.  Can't say I ever bought anything from them but man did I want to.   My college roommate lived in their Janco pants and baby tees.   

Also late 90's.  Body Glitter.   Every time we'd go out, we apply our roll on glitter.  We were going to University of Iowa bars, not LA clubs but the glitter game was strong. 

OMG you went to Iowa? MA or BA? I am an admirer of their writers workshop. 

I also loved Delia's style but never bought anything. The 90s were my 20s year so by the time of the Janco pants and baby tees I was getting a bit long in the tooth for that shit. I was hermetically sealed to a flannel shirt worn around the waist. I wore that with everything. Dresses even. I can't even describe what I was thinking. Thank god smart phones and cameras weren't a thing then.

[CaliforniaLove]

30 minutes ago, Tatum said:

The reference to body glitter reminds me of that douche from one of the early True Life episodes, I'm getting plastic surgery, where this dipshit complained that he worked out all day and couldn't get his calves to bulge out (if you find this absolutely inexplicable that anyone would focus on this, I am with you). Anyways, he got calf implants, using the same material as mid 90s breast implants. Anyways, he was a fan of going to local clubs doused in body glitter and would generally end up shirtless by the end of the night. He was fond of saying, real men wear body glitter.

OMG, I totally remember calf-implant guy! I don't remember the body glitter part, just that he couldn't beef up his chicken legs. That sounds damn painful...well, any plastic surgery does, but you don't put all your body weight on your boobs, or face. 

I miss early True Life. Alyssa 4-eva. "GRANDMA!!!!! 1-2-3! Can you count?!"

[Tatum]

40 minutes ago, CaliforniaLove said:

OMG, I totally remember calf-implant guy! I don't remember the body glitter part, just that he couldn't beef up his chicken legs. That sounds damn painful...well, any plastic surgery does, but you don't put all your body weight on your boobs, or face. 

I miss early True Life. Alyssa 4-eva. "GRANDMA!!!!! 1-2-3! Can you count?!"

After his implants, he hit the clubs expecting all the ladies to fall at his feet, and they were like, ew, he got BOOBS in his LEGS!

 

Who ever is like, "yeah that guy is kind of foxy, but his calves, oh my god, so flat. I can't even!". Probably not many. 

 

Loved how his mom tried to talk him out of it and said if was worried about self improvement, he should focus on what's inside, because there was certainly some room for improvement there, or something like that.

[Mkay]

2 hours ago, Tatum said:

I remember an episode of Saved by the Bell: the College Years, where Slater wanted to move up a weight class for wrestling (which from what little I understand, never happens) and had to eat everything in sight in order to gain weight. He's slamming cupcakes and all the girls are glaring at him.

 

I read in the mid 90s that Kirsten Dunst was offered a part in Now & Then (one of my favorite kids 90s movies!) as the chubbier character, with the caveat that she'd have to gain weight ( I suspect , unlike some people, KD is naturally a very skinny person :)-) and even though KD wasn't that famous at the time and it would have been a good role for her, she refused because she didn't want to gain the weight.

Now and Then is still one of my favorites.  I didn’t know that about KD though. 

[LBS]

22 minutes ago, guilfoyleatpp said:

OMG you went to Iowa? MA or BA? I am an admirer of their writers workshop. 

I also loved Delia's style but never bought anything. The 90s were my 20s year so by the time of the Janco pants and baby tees I was getting a bit long in the tooth for that shit. I was hermetically sealed to a flannel shirt worn around the waist. I wore that with everything. Dresses even. I can't even describe what I was thinking. Thank god smart phones and cameras weren't a thing then.

BA in psychology and minors in literature/religion - class of 2000! Their writing workshop was amazing!  I took a lot of writing classes when I was there.   One of my short stories actually got selected to go to a national panel for young adult writers but I didn't go any further than that.  Holiday Reinhorn (married to Rainn Wilson) taught several of my classes.  Dare Clubb was my professor for playwriting the same year he won an Obie.  Now I look back and think how lucky I was to have such amazing people critiquing my work but then I just took it for granted.  Man, I miss the luxury of learning.  Kids - take naps when you can and appreciate the opportunity of education!

AMEN to no smart phones/cameras/Facebook back in the late 90s/00s.   I did and wore a lot of dumb things that were documented via disposable cameras* but that evidence is now safely stored in a plastic box in storage.  I had a double life in college.  One set of friends were the pot-smoking hippies/grunge and the other (my roommate/her friends) were the raver/club type.  I was partial to body glitter, butterfly clips, and these god-awful jeans (my friend ripped the seams and sewed in patches/fabric to make bell-bottoms.  I wore them everywhere).  Shudder.... 

*always paid for double prints so I could share the 20 blurry photos of my friends and I smoking cigs while holding red solo cups of warm beer with everyone.

[guilfoyleatpp]

22 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Loved how his mom tried to talk him out of it and said if was worried about self improvement, he should focus on what's inside, because there was certainly some room for improvement there, or something like that.

WOW #MomTruths

9 minutes ago, LBS said:

  I was partial to body glitter, butterfly clips, and these god-awful jeans (my friend ripped the seams and sewed in patches/fabric to make bell-bottoms.  I wore them everywhere).  Shudder.... 

*always paid for double prints so I could share the 20 blurry photos of my friends and I smoking cigs while holding red solo cups of warm beer with everyone.

BUTTERFLY CLIPS! And those weird stretchy plastic chokers...which seem to be having a resurgence. Also totally agree with you about appreciating your education while it's happening. You get out of it what you put into it...I like to say that. I didn't make it up myself, obviously. :)

[Tatum]

1 minute ago, guilfoyleatpp said:

WOW #MomTruths

 

To be fair, she was absolutely right. The guy was a jerk.

23 minutes ago, Mkay said:

Now and Then is still one of my favorites.  I didn’t know that about KD though. 

Haha, read that tidbit in Teen Beat magazine. I had a subscription and it was the best day when the mag came in the mail.

[CaliforniaLove]

7 hours ago, Tatum said:

To be fair, she was absolutely right. The guy was a jerk.

Haha, read that tidbit in Teen Beat magazine. I had a subscription and it was the best day when the mag came in the mail.

Omg, I hate you!! You had a SUBSCRIPTION?! I died the every now & again my mom would let me buy a Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, or 16! You must've been one of them rich kids. ?

[christie]

On 8/10/2018 at 6:08 AM, Scarlett45 said:

Hit the tab to the right, and you’ll get the last post!

thank you :)

[Maharincess]

On 8/10/2018 at 10:11 AM, Tatum said:

To be fair, she was absolutely right. The guy was a jerk.

Haha, read that tidbit in Teen Beat magazine. I had a subscription and it was the best day when the mag came in the mail.

I had subscriptions to all of them. Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, 16 etc. Every birthday and Xmas I would ask for subscription renewals. Then I moved on to the rock magazines like Cream and Circus. I also bought a lot of my own magazines. We lived in a huge condo complex and starting at 12-13, I was the queen babysitter in that place. I made so much money that my older brothers were always trying to borrow money from me. A lot of the moms were friends and I'd watch a group of kids so the moms could all go out. One New Year's Eve I watched 4 kids overnight and made $450. If I may say so, I was a kick ass babysitter, the kids loved me.  My parents also hit me up for money to buy more alcohol, so at a young age I learned to hide my shit. 

I turned 15 in 1980 so my clothes were the torn sweatshirts over a couple of tank tops, the tightest jeans you could find and boots.  My kids laugh at my old pictures. I'm sure every kid does that though. 

One more thing I must say, I am so damn sick of this hot, sunny weather bullshit. This weather makes me so sluggish. I'm looking longingly at my big, fuzzy purple bathrobe hanging in the closet. I hate this time of year, I am soo ready for some cold, rainy, stormy days. 

I'm painting my laundry room.  The room itself is really big and we use it mainly for storage. When I say storage I mean we toss stuff in there when we don't know where else to put it. We had floor to ceiling shelves and cabinets put in and had some of the walls re-dry walled. Now comes my favorite part, the painting. The shelves are raw wood so I have to do some sanding and priming before I paint. I have a special kind of shelf in there I can sit on to do the upper parts I can't reach. I went with a dark gray called stormy sky and I love it so far. I love it so much I want to use this color in my kitchen.  I have the drawers and the cabinet doors all painted. I'm starting on the cabinets and shelves tomorrow.  I really love to paint. I don't even mind the prep and the cleanup. I love talking something that looks crappy and making it look good.  There are so many things I can't do anymore but things like this I can still do and that makes it better.  

Lol, and I'm rambling again. Can you tell that my old man is back on the road? Which one of you can I pay to come and visit me?  I'll pay for all transportation. I'm a lot of fun, my pets are cute and I'm a good cook. Any takers?  

Edited August 12, 2018 by Maharincess

[DudeLeaveMeAlone]

I'm watching an older series from netflix and catching up on its forum. It used to have the episode topics grouped by season, but now they're all on the same landing page. Has anyone else noticed this? It looks like it happened for this show topic as well. Is this a setting I can control, or is it handled by the forum mods? 

I am on season 3 of 5 seasons, so it's kind of annoying having to scroll through 13 episodes for each season on one page to find my topic. First world problems, I know...

[Guest]

@DudeLeaveMeAlone You might find this topic in the Announcement forum helpful.

If you (or anyone else) have any other questions, please PM the mod team as site business and mod action is considered OT across all forum threads, including the Small Talk ones. 

[Tatum]

Well, I’ve discussed it here before, but my dad just called me. My parents are officially divorced just 6 days after their 39th wedding anniversary. We got through the anniversary weekend pretty well, but next year will be very rough as a 40 year would have been considerable cause for celebration. I’m alreasy brainstorming plans for next year because I think my mom will need the distraction. 

[Calm81]

5 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Well, I’ve discussed it here before, but my dad just called me. My parents are officially divorced just 6 days after their 39th wedding anniversary. We got through the anniversary weekend pretty well, but next year will be very rough as a 40 year would have been considerable cause for celebration. I’m alreasy brainstorming plans for next year because I think my mom will need the distraction. 

That’s so disheartening. I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s heartbreaking to see a marriage end after such a loooooong time. It would be like losing a limb. I hope everything works out for the best for all parties.

[FairyDusted]

Well shit @Tatum! That really sucks no matter how old you are. I'm sorry! Mine got divorced back in the stone ages when there church was none too happy about it and THEY still go at it given a chance.  Sending you a huge HUG!

[mamadrama]

Hey guys. Haven't been on here much this summer. Just kind of having a hard time in general. 

Today (well, yesterday) was the 8th anniversary of my son's death. Some years are easier than others. This one was extra hard. I don't know why. Here's a picture of him with my mom. (No, he didn't sleep in the bed with us. She would watch him for me in the mornings while I got me and my other child dressed. This was part of their morning snuggles.) I can't believe how much I still miss him 8 years later. I created a YT video of me talking about the day he died and the days leading up to his funeral. I talk about finding his body, yelling at the organ donor people, choosing songs for his service, how my BFF got me through the burial as I heard the clods of dirt hitting his casket, the long ride home, etc. It's the first time I have publicly spoken about his death and everything that happened. I am hoping that it might help someone else out there who has lost a child (or help someone who hasn't lost a child understand what we go through in those initial days). If you're interested, I will shoot you the link. Don't really want to post it publicly. 

Anyway, can't sleep. Thought I'd pop over. 

[Scarlett45]

@mamadrama I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. Much love to you. 

[druzy]

@mamadrama this must be such a difficult time for you. Sending you comforting hugs and love. 

[Tatum]

@mamadrama I read your last post and cried a little. I'm so sorry for your loss. Do you think making the video was cathartic for you?

[guilfoyleatpp]

@mamadrama...still so sorry for your loss. So much loss. Big hugs.

[christie]

@mamadrama I can't even begin to imagine the pain you're going through (I don't believe this "time heals all wounds" thing; I think the pain is always there, you just learn how to deal with it). Big, big hugs to you.

[mamadrama]

Thanks guys. Sometimes I feel like talking about it really helps. I've spoken a lot about his life and the aftermath (like, the months and years after) but except for a chapter in the child loss book that I wrote, I've never really talked about his actual death: finding him, calling the ambulance, waiting for our coroner to come down off the mountain where he was hunting, praying with random people in the hospital, planning his funeral, etc. It DOES help. 

 

When they got him to the hospital, he'd clearly been dead for several hours by then. It took the coroner 4 hours to make it to the hospital and during that time they allowed us to be in the room with him. After about the second hour, his body started going through lividity. I won't describe it but, suffice to say, it was awful. However, as bad as he looked, I knew that one day I'd look back on that day and my mind would play tricks on me and make it even worse. I had grabbed my bag as I ran after the ambulance and my camera was in my bag. I took a picture of his body. I know it sounds weird, but I wanted to remember EXACTLY what he looked like. That way, in the years to come, if I found myself envisioning him and letting my imagination run wild, I could take it out and remind myself of the facts. And it does happen, sure enough. I'll start envisioning his body as horrible, but then I'll look at the picture and be like, "Okay, it WAS bad, but not that bad. And he was still beautiful." That's one of the reasons I made the video. There were some really terrible parts of that week (they were short on paramedics so I could to go with them and help-they intubated him in the ambulance but I was so upset that I couldn't hold the tube straight and it kept falling to the floor) but there were also some wonderful parts (like the random woman in the waiting room who just came up and wrapped her arms around me) and even some funny parts (like how, when I got home, my friends wanted to cook me dinner and I cried because we didn't have a potato peeler). The more I talk about the reality of the situation, the easier it becomes to process. 

[Mkay]

I try not to say too much on here personal because this is my happy place.  Today, I’m close to tears.  If I have seemed snappy, I’m sorry. 

On March 7th my stepmother found out she had stage 4 lung cancer. She was very anti dr and medication and had never went to the dr until she couldn’t breathe.  That’s when it was discovered.  She passed away on April 18.   On April 24 we buried her.  3 days later my Dad was trying to stay busy outside and broke his hip. He had to have immediate emergency surgery that night.  The following week his two dogs he had (seniors dogs) passed away a day apart. After surgery he confided in us he thought he had skin cancer.  We daughters had no clue.  We made him an appointment with dermatogist   . After a biopsy we were told it’s melanoma and sent to a surgeon.  During that wait he was in a wreck.  A woman not paying attention t boned him. ??‍♀️ Surgery was scheduled and he had it a week ago today.  He had a pet scan that showed his lymph nodes lit up.  They removed the appt on his abdomen and a lymph node under each arm.  His incision on his stomach is about 8 inches long.  The surgeon told us it was bad.  Today is his oncologist appointment. Today we find out a stage or if they are able to remove it all.  I’ve already taken my Xanax but I’m still shaking so bad.  He’s lost so much weight since the loss of his wife.  He is diabetic but is skin and bones.  He has no appetite. He continues to lose weight because he can’t eat. (He has numbness in his hand and half of his mouth which makes good taste awful which makes it hard for him to eat because he can’t taste the food. No one can figure out how to fix this) I’m scared.  He can hardly eat now.   If he has to do chemo, it will kill him.  Knowing him he will turn down chemo. I’m scared to death and near tears but then tell myself what if I get to the appointment today and say “we removed it all.”  I just needed to tell someone because I’m so, so scared.  

[LBS]

@Mkay  Huge, huge, huge virtual hugs to you!!!   These hugs are so big that they make Kail's ass look like Leah's ass.  Lots of love and good vibes/prayers going out your way!

[DudeLeaveMeAlone]

@Mkay I'm so sorry to hear all of this. Lots of love and hugs to you and your family during this difficult time.

[druzy]

@Mkay I'm so sorry you are going through this. Sending you love and hugs.

[Mkay]

1 hour ago, LBS said:

@Mkay  Huge, huge, huge virtual hugs to you!!!   These hugs are so big that they make Kail's ass look like Leah's ass.  Lots of love and good vibes/prayers going out your way!

I needed that laugh.   Thank you!! 

Thank you all for your messages.  We will have answers in a few hours.  ??

[TexasGal]

@Mkay - wow, that's a lot!  Sending good vibes your way!!

[badhaggis]

@Mkay I'm so sorry. It really does seem like so many horrible things happen at the same time to good people. Take Care and good thoughts heading your way!

[guilfoyleatpp]

@Mkay, giant virtual hugs. Thoughts for strength and love and everything.

xoxox

[Mkay]

Thank you all!! 

The Dr said he would call Dad in remission.  (I don’t know a lot about cancer so I asked if he has the all clear. The Dr replied no, but right now he doesn’t think chemo is necessary and that he’s waiting on some blood work so he would call it remission.  Thank goodness. Now we can all finally sleep well. Thank you all for the well wishes.  

[teapot]

6 minutes ago, Mkay said:

Thank you all!! 

The Dr said he would call Dad in remission.  (I don’t know a lot about cancer so I asked if he has the all clear. The Dr replied no, but right now he doesn’t think chemo is necessary and that he’s waiting on some blood work so he would call it remission.  Thank goodness. Now we can all finally sleep well. Thank you all for the well wishes.  

some good news!  oh thank God for that!!  Thinking of you, girl!!

[Mkay]

1 hour ago, teapot said:

some good news!  oh thank God for that!!  Thinking of you, girl!!

Thank you!!!

[MargeGunderson]

Oh, that’s terrific news, @Mkay. I hope things continue to improve for your dad - and you!

[guilfoyleatpp]

3 hours ago, Mkay said:

Thank you all!! 

The Dr said he would call Dad in remission.  (I don’t know a lot about cancer so I asked if he has the all clear. The Dr replied no, but right now he doesn’t think chemo is necessary and that he’s waiting on some blood work so he would call it remission.  Thank goodness. Now we can all finally sleep well. Thank you all for the well wishes.  

Hooray!

Remission is HUGE, though! Some people wait years to hear those words. 

I hope you have a good, well deserved sleep.

[Mkay]

1 hour ago, guilfoyleatpp said:

Hooray!

Remission is HUGE, though! Some people wait years to hear those words. 

I hope you have a good, well deserved sleep.

Thank you!  I’m positive he and my sisters will sleep much better tonight.  Yay!! ☺️

[FairyDusted]

So glad you got some bright news after all that. Huge hugs and healing vibes your way. I hope you slept all day! Much love!

[Mkay]

4 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

So glad you got some bright news after all that. Huge hugs and healing vibes your way. I hope you slept all day! Much love!

Thank you.  I napped most of today and I’m still exhausted.  I can’t wait for bedtime. Hahaha

[FairyDusted]

Turn on Bravo!

[Scarlett45]

Please join me in watching Pretty Little Mamas!! I got a topic started. 

 

@Mkay much love to you. 

[FairyDusted]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Please join me in watching Pretty Little Mamas!! I got a topic started. 

 

@Mkay much love to you. 

I've seen the AD but it looks more like The Hills plus babies. I'm scared to try another one. LOL Unexpected is AWFUL!

[CaliforniaLove]

I'm steering clear of Pretty Mamas. I'm gonna maybe try weaning off the MTV shows. I'm 41 now. It's time to devote my energies to Bravo & scripted network dramas. 

[mamadrama]

I feel like a lot of my "small talk" posts have been so negative in the past year. Ugh. Well, this is my 13th wedding anniversary with my husband. He is notoriously social media shy (except for Twitter, where he runs a fantasy football thing, and has actual "fans" which is kind of weird) but today he took to FB and he made this very nice post about me. He doesn't talk much, I am the loud one, so it was rare for him to do something like this. Since it's ultimately positive, I wanted to share.

***

 

I'm not great at social media or expressing feelings, so this should go well. I'm also late to the window here so…I'm off to a good start.

This is (MamaDrama) and my wedding anniversary weekend…and she's too short. Sorry, but it had to be said. Or I'm way too tall? Either way, if we’re both standing up it’s hard to get both of our faces in a picture.

I'm also way too boring.

We've never really had any money.

Support has been hard to find, outside of her mom.

I think I’ve made a 100 bad decisions.

Sometimes we didn't even know "that show" existed, let alone have an opinion about that thing that one character did.

But we spend all our time together. You can count the number of nights our kids have spent away from both of us on an abacus (I’m assuming no one knows how to count on an abacus?) I’ll take that over easy. Over how we may look to some and knowing for sure what's going to happen next.

When I daydream, it’s of a girl on a beach at sunset. There are little people we helped make somewhere, safe and happy and tired from playing all day. When I get to her she smiles and then tells me we probably can’t afford to eat out tonight. Because my dreams aren’t really that great if we’re being honest. Things mostly don’t work out how I want them to. But I have this memory of us on a beach. The sunset is beautiful. The girl is happy and that filled me in a way I can’t describe, all the way to the brim. And while life might not be that great all the time, I think we have always been great together. Better than I could ever be alone.

I don’t remember deciding to marry the person who showed up in my dorm, drenched in rain, angry and temporarily homeless. I remember it being hard to build up the courage to talk and being nervous to see her again. But marrying her? I only remember worrying about when.

She’s my favorite. And my friend.

I love my wife, the family she has given me. I love the life we’ve planned and the one we’ve gone ahead and lived instead. Even the worst parts had her in them, and that's been everything.

It’s the only thing I know I got right for sure.

 

And then he shared this really blurry photo of me and our daughter on the beach. We were pretending to be birds. 

We've had a really hard go of it: parental loss, job loss, child loss, transatlantic moves, identity theft, house flooding, animal burying, child sickness...but I've sure been glad that he was along for the ride.