Rules of the Road

I have lived in several different states.  I have driven in several different cities each with their own particular brand of commuter hell.  I have driven under different and often severe conditions -- heavy, heavy traffic, construction, extreme weather (rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, limited visibility, etc.).

My current situation has me on the road anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour each way to the office.  So, on a bad day, I've been in my car 2+ hours.  I think I'm a pretty damn good driver.  I'm considerate of my fellow Road Warriors.  I follow the minimum speed limit, I only use the left lane for passing and I follow the rules of merging.  And I don't use my phone while driving (which is Primary Offense in the state of Maryland:  http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2013/12/18/4099575/)

During my daily drive I see all sorts of crazy, crazy stuff.  I see vehicles in the left lane doing anywhere from 10 to 15 mph UNDER the posted speed limit.  I see people texting.  I see people blatantly talking on their cell phones.  I see horribly aggressive drivers.  I see people who haven't secured the crap in the back of their pick-up trucks and now that stuff is flying all over the highway.

My daily commute has me merging onto several different major highways, minor highways and secondary roads.  Merging is probably one of the most common causes of driving accidents and I've seen the stupidity first hand.  People, let's follow a couple of basic rules and we can all merge together into one big, happy road trippin' family:

• don't merge too early (you know who you are -- you're the driver who thinks he's cool and guns it and jerks the wheel to the left to get in the lane before everyone else.  Don't merge on the single white line; you should never cross a solid white line -- Driver 101).  
• don't merge too late (you know who you are -- you're the driver who guns it and tries to get ahead of your fellow mergers; almost as if to say "haha!  look at all you suckers who did the right thing and merged properly!  I'm too cool for that!  I don't have to wait to merge!  I drive a big ass Suburban and can make my own rules!).  
• if you have the opportunity to move over a lane and allow merging cars easier entry to the highway, please be a pal!  
• remember the Zipper rule when in a merging situation -- it's every other car.  

• don't be an ass.  If someone doesn't follow the Zipper rule, say a little prayer for them.  They are stupid and don't know any better.  Don't ride their ass the rest of your commute, don't honk at them, don't give them the finger.  

While we're at it, let's just remember a couple of safe driving tips that will help you get to your destination in one piece:  

• No cell phones!
• Use your blinkers / directionals, whatever you want to call it.  Just use it for God's sake.  Most of us are not mind readers.
• Stay the hell out of the left lane if you are incapable of driving the Minimum speed.  This particularly applies to drivers who:
• are over the age of 70
• can't see over the steering wheel
• are driving a Smart Car or any one of those other Clown Cars
• are hauling shit -- a camper, a boat, a horse trailer, landscaping equipment, etc.  
• who are intimidated by the 18-wheeler in the right lane next to them and are afraid to pass

Thank you and have a nice day!  Happy Driving!!!

Lax Season is Upon Us !!!

Excited for lacrosse season to officially begin!  Tomorrow KJ has her first scrimmage as a Damascus Hornet.  It's supposed to rain but that's OK.  Between Cosmo coaching and the both girls, I've sat through hundreds of rainy games -- lax, soccer, softball and even half-time at football game.when T danced.

The lax team had a fundraiser the other night at one of the local restaurants we had never been to before.  Cosmo was out of town but I went and had a great sandwich and then took her to volleyball practice.  The poor thing is just exhausted this week but she's been a trooper.  She's had lax practice every day this week after school until 5 PM and she's had volleyball practice from 8 to 10 PM three nights this week.  The nights she's had volleyball we don't walk in the door until 10:30 PM or so but she's gotten up pretty good every morning this week.  She takes after me -- the girl needs her sleep and likes her naps!

T had a successful Spring Break despite not leaving Oxford.  At the last minute she decided to forgo a trip to the beach so she could work with the local Boys & Girls club.  She said she had a lot of fun and the kids were pretty great!  One day she had little kids (pre-schoolers), the next was a little older (maybe 1st or 2nd grade) and they made cards to be delivered to the local veterans.  A couple of the kids made cards for T instead and they were so sweet!  The last day the kids were a little older (10-12).  Yesterday she spent the day in Amory with her pageant director and this weekend she and Pony Boy are heading to his hometown and then to the beach for a few days.

AC

Had a nice quick weekend get-away in Atlantic City for a v-ball tournament.  The last time I was in Atlantic City, I was pregnant with T-bone.  We were there for a security industry conference and I remember being bored out of my gourd because I couldn't really be in the casinos -- at that time they weren't smoke free and the secondhand smoke was horrendous!  Being pregnant I couldn't drink either so I remember we went to a female impersonator show at Bally's Park Place one night and I went to bed early while everyone else hit the casino.  We had a great room overlooking the ocean and the bathroom was spectacular.

This past weekend we stayed at the Sheraton which was incredibly convenient to the Convention Center.  We valet parked on Friday and didn't use the car again until the tournament was over on Sunday afternoon.  We literally just walked across the street at game time.  The Sheraton was a beautiful, art-deco hotel with Miss America memorabilia on display -- some previous winner's gowns, and crowns and they had an awesome display on the second floor from the "Show Us Your Shoes" Parades.  And of course, we were dorks and had our picture taken under the Bert Parks statue!

Margaret Gorman, 1922

Lee Meriwether, 1955

We had an easy drive Friday night and her Saturday wave was done by 1 PM.  We went to lunch with a couple of her teammates and their families and then KJ and I walked up and down the boardwalk while Cosmo hit the casino.  It was a beautiful, bright sun-shiny day and we even walked on the snow-covered beach for a bit.  We watched a group of high school boys and their wrestling coaches do a polar plunge in the ocean which was pretty funny.  The coach said they did it every year as a group right before states.  There's always something going on in AC ... NJ High School State Wrestling championships were going on and there was a HUGE dance competition at our hotel (think along the lines of Dance Moms -- big stage, massive lighting set-up, audio/visual, etc.).  Cosmo won about $100 playing slots and promptly spent his winnings on his girls at the Under Armour outlet!  Such a great dad!

Guess What Day It Is!!!

It's Hump Day Y'all!!!  I'm so off schedule, yesterday was only Tuesday and I thought tomorrow (today) was Thursday.  Long week.  Very long week.  Fortunately, we have no major plans this weekend (other than hitting the Hopkins season opener).  I'd like to clean-out my closet and re-organize a bit.  It's supposed to be in the low- to mid-50's today; hope the weather holds out for the weekend!  

Southern Living magazine just published a list of bloggers to follow in 2015 (see link below): 
http://www.southernliving.com/travel/bloggers-to-follow-2015  Some of them I had already been following (I love when that happens!  makes me feel like "ha!"  I knew something before you did!!!), some I'm looking forward to following, some I won't be following at all  (sorry folks, but the gardening blogs just don't do much for me.  I do not have a green thumb at all.  I can keep a houseplant alive but that's about it).  

Yesterday T-bone had head shots taken for Miss Amory 2015 with the ever talented Mr. Blake McCollum.  Blake did her Miss Metro Jackson head shots last year but this year the session was part of her Miss Amory prize package.  She's been a busy pageant girl the last couple of days . . . last week she and her director Bo finalized her evening gown, head shots yesterday and this weekend she'll be crowning the new Miss Metro Jackson!  Her new evening gown is spectacular and I was so, so sad that I couldn't be there to help her shop but I'll be in Oxford in a few weeks to spend some time with my girl!  

KJ is continuing to be spectacular  -- she's still playing club volleyball two nights a week with tournaments on the weekends and she's luv, luv, luving high school lacrosse practice the other 3 nights.  She's exhausted but loving it.  And, she made the honor roll again!  She's taking all honors classes and is officially a two-sport Varsity athlete.  I am SO proud of this girl!  

The other night Cosmo & I saw "Whiplash" with the incredibly talented JK Simmons.  
Cosmo wasn't sure what to expect and I knew only a little bit about the movie.  It was great and JK Simmons was phenomenal.  He's a very underrated actor (who didn't love him as Juno's dad??  And what about those Farmers Insurance commercials??)  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/?ref_=nv_sr_1  I love awards season and always keep a list of movies, particularly independent movies, that sound interesting.  I do the same with books, too.  If I see a book review in a magazine or someone mentions a book, I write it down.  

Speaking of books, here's some info regarding the soon-to-be-published book by Harper Lee: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31127009  Still not sure how I feel about this.  Listen, I love a great book just as much as the next person but do feel that some things should just be left alone (that 3D Jaws movie always comes to mind!).  "To Kill a Mockingbird" is beloved and I just don't want the second book to be panned and torn to shreds by critics.  

Snowmaggedon 2015?

Woke up this morning to a light snow fall.  And I do mean light.  We are to get some accumulation but nothing compared to our northern friends.  KJ had school as usual, no delay or anything.  Which is good.  They haven't had to use a snow day yet!

This weekend was #LaxCon in Baltimore.  Cosmo attended this year as a "civvie" and not in an official capacity.  Which is just fine with me.  He was able to catch some of Coach Danowski's presentation which is always a highlight and he met up with some college friends.  So funny how once lax gets under your skin, you're a laxer for life.  All of Cosmo's college buddies, high school buddies, still play or coach in some capacity.

KJ had a v-ball tourney on Saturday.  I did not go because I had a hair appointment.  I know that sounds so incredibly lame but I had an appointment last week but had to cancel to drive to NY for the funeral.  So I rescheduled for Saturday not realizing she had a tournament.  I've been in MD since September 2013 and have not had my hair highlighted since leaving B'ham.  I was in desperate need of a cut, too.  I was starting to look Amish or like one of this Morman sister wives.  Ick.

Saturday night we watched the Interview on Netflix.  It was better than I thought . . . typical Franco/Rogen set-up -- lots of F-bombs, completely over the top, but I still chuckled.  After Bagel Boy took care of us on Sunday morning I caught up on Black Sails which premiered season 2 Saturday night.  I like the series a lot and this season looks like they'll be filling in some blanks with flashbacks.  Plus, they had a quick little preview of what to expect when Outlander returns in April. Squee!!!

The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell 

THE snow had begun in the gloaming, 
 And busily all the night 
 Had been heaping field and highway 
 With a silence deep and white. 

 Every pine and fir and hemlock 
 Wore ermine too dear for an earl, 
 And the poorest twig on the elm-tree 
 Was ridged inch deep with pearl. 

 From sheds new-roofed with Carrara 
 Came Chanticleer's muffled crow, 
 The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down, 
 And still fluttered down the snow. 

 I stood and watched by the window 
 The noiseless work of the sky, 
 And the sudden flurries of snow-birds, 
 Like brown leaves whirling by. 

 I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn 
 Where a little headstone stood; 
 How the flakes were folding it gently, 
 As did robins the babes in the wood. 

 Up spoke our own little Mabel, 
 Saying, 'Father, who makes it snow?' 
 And I told of the good All-father 
 Who cares for us here below. 

 Again I looked at the snowfall, 
 And thought of the leaden sky 
 That arched o'er our first great sorrow, 
 When that mound was heaped so high. 

 I remembered the gradual patience 
 That fell from that cloud like snow, 
 Flake by flake, healing and hiding 
 The scar of our deep-plunged woe. 

 And again to the child I whispered, '
The snow that husheth all, 
 Darling, the merciful Father Alone can make it fall! ' 

 Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her; 
 And she, kissing back, could not know 
 That my kiss was given to her sister, 
 Folded close under deepening snow.

Yesterday was our first official snow of the 2015 Season! We ended up getting a bit more accumulation than originally anticipated and the roads were a disaster. KJ had a 2 hour delay and then, moments before the bus was to arrive, they cancelled school all together. T-bone was happy to have seen some snow while she was home and the girls shoveled the driveway so Cosmo wouldn't have to do it when he came home. KJ, however, was a bit miffed. She had received a Keurig Mini as a Christmas gift but it was recalled so we returned it to Macy's last week. She was so mad becasue she really wanted to make hot chocolate with her Keurig!

Drag Queens are our Friends

Despite being a little gloomy and gray all weekend, we had such a fun time at brunch on Sunday!  The girls and I met my aunt and cousin and took the Metro to the Adams Morgan neighborhood in DC.  It was KJ's first time on the train (she really, really wanted to ride the subway in NYC but we really didn't need to) and, obviously, her first time at a Drag Queen Brunch!  The food was very good, the mimosas were flowing and the entertainment was great!
http://perrysam.com/brunch/sunday/

While we were gone Cosmo packed up the rest of the Christmas decorations, I just have my Christmas china to properly pack up.  It will be nice to have the house back to normal (whatever that is!).  Saturday the girls cleaned their closets and also organized the guest room closet for me.  New Year's was pretty quiet.  KJ had a couple of neighborhood friends over.  Nice group of kids who made a point of coming upstairs and saying hello to us.  Of course, one of KJ's friends told her "your sister's pretty hot" and they're all intimidated by Cosmo.  Which is so funny to all of us.