O's and Cards

Last week we started watching House of Cards on Netflix.  I am totally hooked!  It's so, so good!  House of Cards is everything I love about living in DC!  The power struggles, the intrigue.  I think Kevin Spacey is one of the greatest actors of our generation and his on-screen wife, Claire, is portrayed by Robin Wright who was in two of my most favorite movies ever -- The Princess Bride and Forest Gump (aka Princess Butter Cup, aka Jenny).  Robin Wright was also married to the other actor I consider one of the greatest of our generation . . . Mr. Sean Penn.  I couldn't sleep one night and kind of went on a marathon and finished Season 1.  Champ is only on episode 5 or 6 but that's the beauty of Netflix . . . you can watch at your own pace.  T and The Dew are watching it also so that's been kind of fun.

Friday KJ had her 8th grade formal.  Sniff, Sniff.  Can't believe she's graduating from 8th grade in a few days and will be a high school freshman in the fall!  She had a couple of girls come over for photos beforehand and said she had a really good time at the dance.  Today they cleaned out their lockers, tomorrow she has her 8th grade field trip to Mountainside for zip lining, swimming, rope course and lunch.  Friday morning is the graduation ceremony and she's done!  Next week she's going to volleyball camp with her friend Corrine and next weekend we have two sets of friends coming to town!

This past weekend Champ surprised us with tickets to the O's home game vs. the A's and he made hotel arrangements in the Inner Harbor so we didn't have to drive home late at night.  The weather was incredibly perfect, mid-80's, and we had a wonderful late lunch before heading to the game.  I had never been to Camden Yards and it was quite an experience!  The O's have a HUGE fan base.  EVERY person in that stadium was wearing orange.  It was a great game and we had an easy walk back to our hotel.

I thought we had a graduation party on Sunday but totally read the invitation wrong and missed the party!  It was on Saturday, not Sunday.  I swear, sometimes I think I'm dyslexic!

I Could Really Use That Hour Right About Now

Ugh. I can't stand Daylight Saving time. I hate everything about it. Starting with the name and how many people add an "s" to the end of the word Saving. It's Daylight Saving Time. Not Daylight Savings Time. And while I'm on a tear, who, exactly, is saving time? I'm certainly didn't save anything this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I had an awesome weekend! I didn't want it to end and I certainly could have used an extra couple of extra hours. KJ had a friend sleep-over Friday night. We were going to watch the latest Hunger Games installment but instead Cosmo and I started watching "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611224/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 I have to be honest with you. I had heard the book was really good but I wasn't expecting much from the movie. To my great surprise, the movie was quite good. Very well made, not a cheesy vampire at all and it had a great story line. And the actor who portrayed Lincoln did a great job. Saturday we went to the mall to look for a dress for KJ's 8th grade formal. A day I totally dreaded and just wanted to get it over with. We had a little tete-a-tete in the car and told her that ultimately, I'm paying for this dress and will not pay for something that is tacky/trashy/generally inappropriate for an 8th grader. She, in turn, let me know that she was not going to be talked into a dress that she doesn't really love (we have a history of me "gently persuading" her into something I like and then later she claims I "forced" her to buy it and refuses to wear the item. Hence, a closetful of clothes never worn). We actually ended up having a lovely, lovely day and no one cried! She found several dresses she (and I) liked and ended up buying the second dress she tried on. Very age appropriate dress, I love the cut and color and the silohuette is perfect on her. We bought shoes, a handbag and jewelry and she is done!!! We did some more shopping, bought some things at Lululemon and had a delicious lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. I also got to use a Victoria's Secret gift card from Christmas. Saturday we did finally watch Mockinjay. I had read all 3 books and KJ was so disappointed in the end. She looked at me and said, "Seriously??" Divergent, the hot new YA trilogy will be in the theaters soon. I read all three of those books as well but definately like the Hunger Games books better. My aunt and uncle were visitng my cousin and her husband for the weekend so Sunday we all went out to lunch together. I had never been to the Dogfish but Cosmo and the girls had been a couple of times. http://www.dogfishalehouse.com/ Last night was the finale of True Detectives on HBO. Holy cow. That stuff gave me nightmares last night. So creepy yet so good! Tonight Cosmo and KJ are going to the Caps vs. Penguins game @ the Verizon Center. KJ's 1st NHL game! She is super, duper excited and plans to wear her Sidney Crosby jersey. Cosmo has told her she's on her own if Caps fans boo or hiss at her.

Move it Along Folks

So crazy to think that at this time next week I'll be both homeless and unemployed! We've had a super busy week with parties, dinners and get-togethers saying good-by to friends. Cosmo came home last weekend and we had a huge blowout at the house. It was so good to see everyone -- neighborhood friends, lax friends, Hoover friends, volleyball friends, work friends, even friends from Cincinnati! All I wanted to do was clean-out the bar and get rid of our liquor. Somehow, I'm +6 bottles of wine which is amazing considering we threw away 4 huge trashbags of nothing but beer, wine, rum and tequila bottles. Say what you want about the Cos family but man! We can throw a party! Lots of toasts, lots of shots.

I had all the chicks in the nest last week which may not happen for a long time. T drove in Saturday morning and of course her daddy had to make her favorite macaroni for dinner and I had to make her favorite chilli cheese dip for the party. She had to be back in Oxford early Sunday morning so it was a quick, emotional trip for her. It hit her hard that she will never come home to this house ever again. We had a long talk Saturday night (morning???) and I told her it's just a house. It's just four walls. Memories are made any where and every where. It's what's you keep in your heart.

KJ had a ton of kids over Saturday night, too. Naturally it ended in a cake fight. Sunday she spent the day w/ her sweet friend Mo shopping and doing fun girly stuff (I think strawberry shortcake was dessert of the day). Monday KJ got her eyebrows waxed and we did some last minute stuff (shoe shopping), Tuesday we had a relaxing evening getting pedicures (hey! a girl's gotta look good for her first day of school!). Wednesday we met Jo and GW for dinner at the Mexican place and Thursday we had dinner w/ The W Women. Tonight KJ has a b-day party to go to, she'll probably have some friends sleep over and tomorrow she heads to BWI so she can start 8th grade on Monday! Whoop! Whoop!

When we lived in Madrid there was a group of gypsies that lived near our apartment complex.  I am too young to remember this of course but my mom and dad said they roamed across Europe.  I may have been secretly switched at birth and swear I have some gypsy blood in me.  I like to keep moving, I don't like to be stagnant or complacent.  I like to try new things.  I like to read about new places, different people.  I like a little chaos in my life.  It's fun to mix things up a bit. 

I am so absolutely awful at good-byes and totally dreaded my last day at the hotel.  I work(ed) with an amazing group of people and we always had fun no matter what.  Lots of laughs and a lot of silliness.  The girls and I had a nice quiet lunch, no fuss and I tried to sneak out as best as I could.  One of the ladies I work with said, "You and you're family always go on the best adventures!" and I kept that with me all day today.  This next chapter in our lives is definitely going to be an adventure and I'm really looking forward to it! 

"It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure." == Ernie Harwell