A little golf, a little lax, some dance and even some Beef

Last week was the Regions bank Charity Golf Classic. Tons and tons of fun! I don't know thing one about golf (I even stink at mini-golf!) but I still managed to have a great time. Thanks to my dad when I was little and to my hubby, I know enough about each sport and can hold my own (and recognize names from various sports, too). Actually (or unfortunately, however you want to look at it), I probably know more about sports than most women (except for maybe Erin Andrews and Suzy Kolber). So last week during the Pro/Am I got the watch the following tee off (photos are on my facebook; just too many to post here): Cory Reamer (Hoover HS alumni, AL alumni and just signed as a free agent w/ the NY Jets!!), Brody Croyle (AL QB, KC Chiefs QB), John Parker Wilson (Hoover HS alumni, AL QB and is now w/ the Atlanta Falcons), Cornelius Bennett (Birmingham native, AL alumni, played for the Colts, the Bills and Falcons), Jay Barker (AL alumni, now married to country music singer Sarah Evans....not much of a country fan so I'm not very familiar w/ her music or her; just know she went thru a bad divorce and so did Mr. Barker and our friend Tim lived near him and his first wife in Highland Lakes). I missed Charles Barkley by a few minutes but did get to see Bo Jackson, American Idol Winners Ruben Studdard AND Taylor Hicks (he played the harmonica before teeing off) and I also got to see the man himself, Mr. Nick Saban. I enjoyed golf legends Fuzzy Zoeller and Ben Crenshaw (never did see Fred Couples) and Bubba from the Rick & Bubba show (super friendly guy; shook a lot of hands). Um, let's see.....I also saw Phil Niekro (baseball hall of famer), the FSU football coach (Jimbo?? Jembo?? Honestly, it's FSU so who really cares??) and the football coach from South Alabama. I'm sure there were a bunch of other folks I'm forgetting. But anyway, it was a lot of fun and I got to eat lunch each day out on the course in the tents.

T had her dance recital Saturday. Whew was it long. She did great, don't get me wrong, but it was very, very long. I luv, luv, luv her "No rest for the Wicked" jazz routine, the hip-hop dance was a million times better than it was in rehearsals, her "Miss Otis Regrets" tap was awesome and I loved seeing her on Pointe. Devon and his mom came to watch her and he bought her the most magnificent bouquet of roses (2 dozen to be more precise). The roses are the most unusual color I have ever seen....they're not a traditional blood red rose but they're not a pink either. Kind of an antique looking red rose; hard to explain. Maybe more a soft, gentler red??? Almost a rust kind of color. Afterward we went to dinner @ Kobe's on 280 and then took the kids to the country club for a friend's sweet 16.

Last week we went to a new local restaurant, Beef O'Brady's. We couldn't make the "friends & family" night they had but decided to go on a Tuesday or Wednesday (can't remember which; the days are running together). I had never been to a Beefs before but Cosmo & Tbone had been to several different ones in FL while at various lax tournaments and have always like it (it's a family friendly sports bar/grill). George, the owner, is a wonderful guy and was so happy to have fulfilled his dream (he was in the corporate rat race for years and years). Lori, good friend and neighbor of the owners, is helping w/ their marketing and community relations. She couldn't be more perfect for the job. She is crazy friendly and made it a point to personally welcome us and visited our table several times throughout our visit. She's asked Cosmo a couple of times for some lax memorabilia and I'll have to keep reminding him. I had the asian chicken salad (delish!) and KJ had a friend shrimp (she reported it was also delish!). Cosmo had a sampler appetizer for his entree and was also very happy w/ his selection. Ran into lots of folks we knew so that was fun and it will be a nice place to watch the games.

Now on to the lax portion of this post.....after winning state championship #2 last year and #3 this year, the boys have asked Cosmo several times about having a championship ring made. One of the mom's volunteered to have the ring company come out to a local restaurant one night, get input from the boys and design a ring. Cosmo sent out a memo clearly stating, "the boys have shown an interest in having championship rings made" and he even made a comment about "keeping costs low." He finished his memo off with something along the lines of "even if you have no interest in purchasing a ring, please join us for a bite to eat." Well, don't you know, one crazy-ass parent IMMEDIATELY responded with some obnoxious comment about how he would "love" to participate but can not afford to." Dude, are you serious? #1, don't need to know your financial status. Times are tough for everyone. We got it. #2, I don't know if this putz thinks Cosmo is making money off these rings or what but that it so not the case. I don't think this yahoo realizes that Cosmo is strictly a volunteer. He does not have a son on the team (never has, never will). He does not get paid for his services. He does not get paid for his time. He doesn't even get reimbursed for gas for away games (Louisiana was a bus trip this year but this and in year's past he's traveled to Memphis, a couple of times, Atlanta, Greenville, SC, etc.). I don't think yahoo realizes either that most of the time the paint to line the field and the game balls come out of our pocket. I know Cosmo truly loves coaching but I also know he can truly do w/out some of the parents. There are some parents that will do anything they can and are the first to volunteer, some parents are the first the bitch and complain about something and some parents we've never even met. Same goes with the kids, some are great on and off the field, some we only see the first day of practice and never see again after the last game of the season.