A Little Snow and the Power of the Internet

We woke up Thursday to an absolutely beautiful winter wonderland.  I know most people hate the snow, but honestly, I love it.  I love the snow as much as I love the rain.  Anyone can love a perfect, blue sky, cloudless day.  I think it takes something special to appreciate the subtle nuances of an inclement weather day. I love how weather can stop us in our tracks and make us slow down and enjoy  the day.

We knew in advance that KJ's school was closed, Cosmo closed his office and we all had a wonderfully relaxing day at home in the snow.  We shoveled the driveway, played with the dog in the snow and met several neighbors.  KJ walked over to her friend Connor's house and a bunch of the neighborhood kids walked over to the park to go snowboarding.  The plow hadn't been down our street yet and the snow was up over our knees.  Cosmo had to make a path for her so she could get to Connor's.  On the way, they met the new neighbors on the corner.  KJ said they just moved here from North?  South?  Carolina (she couldn't remember) and they had a little girl.  KJ thought the little girl was about 2 and said she was having so much fun in the snow.  Cosmo uncovered our sidewalk and cleared it over to the neighbor's on our left.  He finally got to meet Mr. W who graduated from Alabama, went on to TN for his Master's and New Mexico for his PhD.  Naturally, the conversation turned to Alabama football and the SEC.  Since the plow still hadn't come through, we didn't bother shoveling the end of the driveway.  Once the plow finally came down our street, it made a huge mountain of snow near the mailbox.  So in the late afternoon Cosmo went out to tackle the glacier.  By this time the snow had gotten quite heavy and wet so another neighbor came over to help him out with a small plow on the end of his lawn mower.  And then it snowed again overnight.  So, Friday morning Cosmo was shoveling out again.  The Pastor from next door came over and gave him a hand.  See!  Snow days can be fun!!!

This weekend is the Capital Hill Classic volleyball tournament at the DC Convention center.  Holy moly.  The largest tournament I had attended was the Regional's in Atlanta.  This is probably 5 times that.  Almost 900 volleyball teams from all over the country (girls from ages 12 to 18).  Our friend from Hoover, Amanda, had mentioned several times that she'd like to see KJ play so when she saw my post on FB about the tournament, she texted me and said she was on her way.  She got to the convention center in time to watch KJ's 7 and 8 PM games.  Amanda played volleyball in youth leagues like KJ and also played in high school.  I think she'd be a good coach!  After the games we all grabbed a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and had a good time catching up!  KJ played well but they lost a couple of games they shouldn't have.  She's an incredibly consistent server and is enjoying her first season as setter.  Unfortunately, we don't have much of a defense.

KJ's team was in the afternoon wave today and has some very late games so I did not go to the tournament today (we got home last night around 1 AM, of course I was wired and couldn't settled down.  I finally fell asleep around 5 AM but woke up at 9 AM.  So yeah, I'm operating on less than 4 hours of sleep).  I was on FB and noticed a friend of our's from high school posted about watching his daughter play at a tournament in DC!  So, I quick wrote on Zap's wall (his nickname in high school), texted Cosmo and voila!  The two of them met up and got to visit for a while.  I think they saw each other last year at the alumni lax game but still!  I love the power of the Internet!

The Invention of Wings

I recently finished reading Sue Monk Kidd's "Invention of Wings" and I have to say, I was so underwhelmed.  "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of my Top 10 favorite books and I really enjoyed "The Mermaid Chair" so I was pretty excited when her latest book came out.  Historical fiction is my favorite genre but this book just left me with an overwhelming feeling of disappointment.   Kidd's characters are usually so deep and intricate but this was not the case with this book and I felt absolutely no empathy towards any of them.

I just started reading "The Fault in our Stars" and did not realize it was kind of YA (young adult).  It's been on a lot of "must read" lists this year and I know the movie is to be released soon.  I'm only twenty or thirty pages in so we'll see how this one pans out.

Don't touch the hair

"The hair is the richest ornament of women."  ~ Martin Luther

Like most women, I have a love / hate relationship with my hair.  I have some good days, some not so good days.  Some days I'm intent on growing it long, other days I'd love to chop it all off.  I've gotten my hair cut twice so far since moving here and yesterday I brought KJ with me so she could get her eyebrows done.  Breaking in a new stylist is tough!  

I like the salon I've been going to but definitely miss the salon in Hoover I went to for the last 15 years.  I started going to Jeffrey when I was pregnant with KJ and my last appointment was August right before I moved here.  Jeffrey's place was beautiful and upscale but very friendly and welcoming at the same time.  The new salon is very swanky, very "oooontz."  Everyone looks like a supermodel, the staff wear all black and everyone wears skinny jeans (yes, even the guys).  I love the two haircuts I've had there but definitely miss the camaraderie I had w/ Jeffrey.  We knew a lot of the same people and had the same sense of humor so we always had something to talk about.  I rarely, if ever, told Jeffrey what I wanted to do with my hair.  I just let him do whatever he thought was best and was always happy with the results.  And I loved when he colored my hair.  It was always perfect!  

I had a lot cut off yesterday and went back to some bangs but for now, my hair is the longest it's ever been in my life and is much closer to my natural hair color than it's been in a long, long time.  

Swarming Hornets

So glad it's Friday!  What a crazy week!  We woke up Wednesday morning to a beautiful ice storm.  It looked like a winter wonderland!  Everything was white and icy and it was so pretty!  Unfortunately, it was also a little dangerous and some of the power lines were down as well as several trees and branches.  We were fine but the school KJ's volleyball team practices at hasn't had power since then and last night's practice was cancelled.  KJ's school was cancelled Wednesday and, of course, she was thrilled.  I don't think she realizes that she'll have to make up days over the allotted amount.  At this rate, she may be going to school until July!

Tuesday night was Parent Night at the high school for rising 9th graders.  Eek!!!  Let's just say one parental unit is excited for KJ, the other parental unit is not ready for his little girl to be in high school.  He was not a happy camper and just kept saying, "I don't want to talk about this!  I'm not ready for this!"  I was very impressed with the principal and the counselors at the high school and am pretty confident they will help get KJ to where she needs to be.  One of the things I love about this school district in the tech ed program.  I've always said "not every student is college material" and think it's important for students to be introduced to HVAC repair, automotive technology, cosmetology, plumbing/electrical, etc.  Our high school in NY participated in a program called "BOCES" (Board of Cooperative Education Services or something like that).  Junior and senior year of high school you attended classes for half a day and then the other half you went to BOCES and took introductory nursing classes, cosmetology, auto tech, etc.  Unfortunately, the girls school in Alabama did not offer such a program and it's unfortunate.  I can think of several kids that would have benefited from it.

Soupa Bowl

I read somewhere that a bottle of beer at tonight's Super Bowl was $12, mac and cheese was $8, hot chocolate cost $11 and a souvenir mug of soup was $20.  Who goes to the Super Bowl and orders soup??  I guess they were preparing for Polar Vortex weather


We had a wonderfully relaxing weekend and still managed to get a few things done!  KJ had a friend over Friday night, I booked my flights to visit T the end of this month, did a bunch of laundry, Cosmo and KJ worked on their flights for DALC, KJ and I did some shopping on Sunday and I totally re-organized my closet.  When I we moved, I just unpacked and put stuff in the my closet with no rhyme or reason.  This weekend I pretty much emptied my entire closet and started over.  Everything is nice and neat and I now have tons of room . . . summer clothes are all together, work-out clothes are in one spot, sweaters have been re-folded and shoes are in pretty plastic boxes.  I live in Old Navy and Gap t-shirts and they are now organized by short sleeve and long sleeve and by color.  I threw away some stuff and dropped a bag off at a donation center. 


I can't believe KJ's last year of middle school is quickly coming to an end.  She has selected her classes for freshman year (WTH???) and I had to sign off on everything.  She was recommended for honors English, Science and Social Studies and made the honor roll again this semester.  She has done so incredibly well transitioning to a new school and I am super proud of her.  She really, really loves her new school and her teachers.  And I am so thankful!!


Have to brag on Daughter #1 for a bit, too.  She auditioned to be a DJ on Rebel Radio and has been given a slot.  We didn't even know she was auditioning!  So if you're in Oxford, MS anytime soon, tune in!!