Weeds and Wedding Showers

Like I need a new vice. Wednesday, I was in the mood to "chill out" in the freakin' "heat emergency oh-my-gob-it's-so-hot-my-head-might-fall-off" heat and watch rented DVDs. I wanted something fun and funny. So, like the uneducated dumbass I am, I rented the first 6 episodes of season 1 of Weeds. After all, Elizabeth Perkins was just nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. A comedy. A summary: Mary Louise Parker plays a woman whose husband dropped dead while jogging with his 10-year-old son. They live in a scary-looking Mom-bot/Stepford wife community and she wants to "maintain her lifestyle," so she becomes the neighborhood pot dealer. The writing is brilliant and the soundtrack makes me realize how little I actually know about music. However. A widow and two boys without a father. Widow and older brother are in serious denial and the 10 year old is asking to be put on Prozac or Zoloft or whatever. Elizabeth Perkins' younger daughter is overweight and she torments her poor daughter (Her daughter's name is Isabelle, but she calls her "Isabelly") every day. Death. Drugs. Drive-by shootings in the 'hood. Infidelity. Eating disorders. Financial troubles. Hahaha, hahahahahaha! Oh, the hilarity! Good times.

Yes, there are some killer funny lines and there are absolutely no sacred cows in it. I liked it so much that I totally binged on it (healthier than bingeing on a bag of potato chips - I'll take dark circles under my eyes over cellulite on my ass any day) and ran back the next day to the video store to rent the second half of season 1. Lest you remain unclear about how much I love this show, let me elucidate: I watched the special features. I even watched the episodes with the commentary on. I never do that. I've tried to do that and I find it annoying and pointless. I will ask for the soundtrack for my birthday, which is coming up. (Yippee. No mothers say, "Your child is 36? That's a fun age!") But it is not a "comedy." I don't know if I would even call it a "dark comedy." Because I cried while watching it, more than a few times. I don't think I ever cried while watching a Seinfeld episode (that I remember. Maybe, this one time, when I had too much wine) - although Seinfeld wasn't a dark comedy, apples to apples and all that, I get it. Have you ever watched Weeds? What do you think? Is it a "comedy"? Personally, I think it's a really sharp soap opera with great acting and super-cool "I can too still be hip after the age of 35 because now I know of obscure bands" music.

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Okay, I know the correct term is probably "Bridal" shower, but I likes me some alliteration. I didn't take Mr. J.'s last name. Before we got married, we discussed that probably over the years, there would be times when people would call me Mrs. J., or people might call him Mr. Teacher Lady, and we'd just laugh and be cool with it.

However. When you send me an invitation to a bridal shower, which is basically a "gimme some stuff" request in a nice envelope, you might want to be cognizant of the fact that I didn't take my husband's last name. After all, if you know me well enough to ask me for a cappuccino maker and some fluffy new towels, you know me well enough to know this. But, sometimes with extended families, the word doesn't always get around, so call me Mrs. J. - I get it, it's cool.

But, let's say for illustration's sake that Mr. J.'s last name is Smith. The invitation was addressed to Mrs. Smithington. I hate: families, bridal showers and stupid people. Not in that order.