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!!!

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!

Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine

Interesting post title, huh?  Answer will be revealed at the end!

The weather has been absolutely positively fabulous the last couple of days!  The service opened our pool on Wednesday and we had a ton of rain basically all day Thursday and Friday morning.  Cosmo put the pool heater on and by 12 noon on Saturday KJ was swimming (it wouldn't matter if the heater was on or not; she'll swim in anything!  If there is a body of water nearby, that kid will be in it).  And she had the dog in the pool with her.  It's so funny to watch!  Trixie jumps in and can swim from one end of the pool to the other.  Her little legs go a mile a minute and she looks like a little wind-up bath toy.

First weekend we didn't have volleyball and we were able to get so much done around the house.  We cleaned all the patio furniture, Cosmo put some mulch down around the pool and the patio and surprised me with several hibiscus potted plants and gerbera daisy pots to put around the pool deck.  We're having company Memorial Day weekend so I got all of my pretty plastic plates and serving pieces out of storage and washed them to get ready for some al fresco dining!  I also put away my "Spring Shabby Chic Parisian Flea Market" tablescape and my dining room and entrance way are full-on "Summer Beach House" mode.

Saturday night we decided to drive to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis to see the Bayhawks play the new Florida Launch.  We got to see Coach's buddy PT play.  They met at a lax camp they did together and have been friends ever since.  Always great to see great players such as Queener, Kevin Crowley, Polanco, and Mikey Powell.  The weather was perfect, we had great seats and KJ had a lot of fun.  She forgot to bring a ball with her so she didn't get any autographs this time.  MLL games are so fun because the players are so accessible.  No egos.  Most, if not all, of the guys also have regular day jobs and several of them also coach youth leagues.

Looks like we're going to have a busy, fun summer!  My bro and his fam will be here for Memorial Day as well as some friends from Alabama.  June 6 is KJ's 8th grade formal and apparently everyone's coming to our house for photos.  June 13 is 8th grade graduation and there's a weekend at the end of June that we will get to see our friends from Cincy as well as some Bama friends.  My cousin's wedding reception is mid-June, too.  After that we transition to full-on pageant mode and will have some free time mid-July to mid-August.

Post Translation:  

(Manly Deeds, Womanly Words)

http://www.netstate.com/states/mottoes/md_motto.htm

Weekly Recap

Not much going on this past week. It was busy but nothing out of the ordinary. KJ had her usual vball practice and has a tournament in Northern Virginia tomorrow. I like the one-day tournaments; two-days are rough and that one we did at the Convention Center in DC over President's Weekend was mind-numbing.

Champ got to see one of his former BamaLax players this week at Georgetown. Justin plays at Furman for Coach Meade (Coach Meade was the coach from Navy who recruited Brye and is starting up the new Furman team).  Coincidentally, one of the boys from Damascus is playing with Justin on the Furman team and Champ said he was incredible.  Justin played well, just not enough (according to Champ).  In any event, I love the fact that even though we've moved on, these boys will always be a big part of Champ's life.  He will do anything for his boys and will always stay in touch with them.  And if one of them is playing within driving distance of wherever we are, Champ will be there to cheer them on.  I love when the boys text him to check-in, ask for advice, etc.  Once a Coach, always a Coach.  I know he misses the game and the kids but I always tell him he's definitely made an impact on these kid's lives (he does not miss the parent drama or the other crap that came with coaching, just the game.    He misses being on the field).  KJ is toying with the idea of picking up her stick again.  But she wants her daddy to coach.  Hmmmmmm......not sure how I feel about that.

Found out this week that Champ is flying T-bone home for an Easter surprise.  I was so happy to hear that!   I thought she would stay in MS or go to dinner with friend's but she's definitely coming to DC and I think she's bring a friend with her.  She's had a wonderful Spring Break and is heading back to Oxford today. She went with a really nice group of girls and there was zero to no drama.  She got to see some Hoover friends on the beach / Whale's Tail so she was happy.

Cosmo and KJ haven't seen T since Christmas.  If she doesn't come home for Easter, they won't see her again until May or July (she's got several commitments from now until the Miss Miss pageant and only has a week in May to possibly come home.  So as to maximize our time with her, we're in the beginning stages of planning a family vacay.  Just not sure where we want to go or what we want to do.  I think we may be taking a cruise out of Baltimore.  The only airfare we'd have would be getting T from MS to MD and we all just want to relax and spend time together.  KJ, of course, wants to go to Disney but I think we've talked her into the cruise.  We're probably going to go to the Bahamas and she's looking forward to being at Atlantis and doing the aquatics there -- big water slide, swim with the dolphins, etc.

Me & My Little Buddy

So I've been in Maryland since Labor Day weekend.  I guess that's what?  Like 9 weeks already?  We've assimilated well and have a nice little routine going.  KJ makes her lunch the night before (she hasn't bought school lunch once this year and doesn't even have a dime in her lunch account).  She gets up great every morning, hops on the bus, I do my thing during the day, she hops off the bus in the afternoon and we have a little snack together and relax for a bit before she does her homework.  She gets off the bus around 2:50 PM and the last couple of weeks we've been watching Ellen in the afternoon.  We absolutely love her show and have added "dance with Ellen" to our Bucket Lists.  Please enjoy the following photo galleries compliments of The Ellen Show: 

http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/bad_sports_photos 

http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/bad_wedding_photos

http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/bad_school_photos

Go Pack Go!

Attended our first football game of the season this weekend and I have to say Ravens fans are insane!  They were really, really, really into the game!  The tailgating was big and the fans were in crazy get-ups (everything purple and black -- boas, sunglasses, camo pants, Mardi Gras beads, jerseys, etc.).  The rain held off for the game but poured during our tailgating festivities.  Good thing we were parked under an overpass and were able to keep dry!  Very different from tailgating in the Grove or the Quad at Alabama but it was still fun.  Just a little more urban. 

Saturday, Cosmo's b-day, we met TT in Baltimore for dinner at Cheesecake Factory and had a really nice, relaxing dinner.  It was great to catch up w/ TT and hear about his job.  Can't believe he's been w/ the Packers 10 years already.  Before we met up w/ TT we walked around the Inner Harbor and watched a really good street performer.  It was a lovely afternoon and we had a great time people watching. 

Friday was our 21st wedding Anniversary and we had a low key night.  I made one of our favorite pasta dishes and we had chocolate fondue for dessert.  Cosmo sent me the most beautiful arrangement of roses and surprised me in the morning with a B&N gift card.  He has never, ever in 21 years of marriage forgotten to send me flowers on our anniversary.  Sometimes it's roses, sometimes it's a fall arrangement, sometimes it's cut flowers.  This year's arrangement is a beautiful mixture of red, yellow and coral colored roses in a pretty copper flower bucket. 

In other, super exciting news, T is coming "home" for Thanksgiving!  We originally thought she needed to be on her floor until late Sunday night and return by Friday afternoon but that's not the case!  So we got her on some great flights and can't wait to see her!  Whoop!  Whoop! 

It's In the Bag

Our week-long Annual Cos Family Extravaganza has begun!  Tomorrow is our 21st wedding Anniversary and our niece Britt's b-day, Saturday is Cosmo's b-day, Sunday is KJ's b-day, Monday is my Aunt's b-day and Tuesday is my mom's b-day.  Whew!  Cards, presents and fun galore! 

Sunday we have tickets to the Ravens vs. Packers game compliments of our friend who is part of the Packers front office.  We actually met him when we lived in Cincinnati and he played for the Bengals.  He then went on to play for the Seahawks and has been a part of the Packers program for several years now. 

Unfortunately, Clay Matthews, T's favorite player, has a bum thumb and we won't get to see him in action on Sunday but please enjoy the following:  http://youtu.be/NHfRR5c1yNo or http://youtu.be/NHfRR5c1yNo and on Ellen:  http://youtu.be/J77exWQX6vg

It is my understanding that if I'm to bring a bag into the stadium, it's got to be a clear bag.  Seriously??  I don't know if this is a NFL-wide thing or if this policy is specific to M&T Bank stadium.  In any event.  I'm not happy.  #1 I'm not thrilled about everyone being able to see everything I own -- my wallet, my car keys, personal items, etc.  In all honesty, I never have much cash in my purse and my wallet is actually worth more than the cash inside.  #2 if I decide not to bring a see-through bag then I'm forced to leave my belongings in the car.  Um, no.  #3 I can bring in a gallon-size Ziploc baggie.  Wow.  That's super classy.  #4, I have an expensive camera and some great lenses.  I'm not going to carry it around in a Ziploc baggie.  #5, I don't know about you but I always get stuck carrying everyone else's stuff.  It's not all going to fit in a stupid baggie.  #6, Ziploc baggies don't have handles.  What am I supposed to do with this Ziploc bag during the game?  Put it on the ground under my seat?  Is it just me or does this come across as not very female fan friendly? 
 http://www.nfl.com/qs/allclear/index.jsp

Just a Bill

Ed & Gins are coming for a quick visit this weekend.  The weather is supposed to be pretty good (unseasonable warm, in the high 80's) and I would have loved to go into DC but with the shut down and now with today's incident on Capital Hill (I always think of "I'm Just a Bill" from Schoolhouse Rock every time someone says "Capital Hill), that's not going to happen.  Maybe we'll go into Baltimore or Annapolis (I haven't been back to Annapolis since we left the first time!). 

There is a local Octoberfest on Saturday so we might be able to hit that depending on what time they get here.  I haven't done any of my Fall / Halloween decorating yet so maybe my mom can help me with that.  There's also a nice orchard nearby that is supposed to have a great pumpkin festival (as opposed to a Great Pumpkin festival a la The Peanuts).   http://www.butlersorchard.com/

I've had a touch of insomnia the last couple of days and end up watching mindless garbage on TV.  If I read, I can read all night and that's worse.  Mindless TV makes me drowsy and I end up falling asleep on the couch.  The last couple of nights I've watched a show called Life Below Zero on the National Geographic channel.  http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/life-below-zero/  This show is CRAZY!  I totally get folks wanting to living off the grid, etc. but I'm not a big red meat eater and don't think that I could survive.  Instead of seal meat or bear meat, I'd be craving a salad. 

Settling In Nicely

Still have a ton of boxes to go thru but for the most part we're settled in nicely.  I do have to open every box and look thru the contents in case anything is broken and need to place a claim w/ in 60 days of delivery so that's taking a while.  I did come across a box of Thanksgiving table décor which had a couple of broken items (which upset me greatly because it's my favorite holiday!) and my chocolate fondue ceramic pot was also broken.  :-( 

The weather has been wonderful.  It's nice to have some cooler days on tap.  The A/C has been off and the windows have been open for several days now.  KJ, of course, is loving the pool and goes swimming every chance she can.  God only knows what my electric bill is going to be like heating the pool!  She likes her volleyball team very much, likes her school, likes her teachers so that aspect is going great.  I attended a meeting on Ed-line (similar to the STI program we had in Alabama but a little more user friendly and ALL of KJ's teachers use the program).  After the Ed-line meeting was a PTA meeting and from there we walked our child's schedule and met w/ each teacher.  All of KJ's teachers were great and each and everyone of them asked how we were handling the move, how was KJ adjusting at home, etc.  One of her math teachers (her algebra class is co-taught which I totally love!) gave me #RollTide as well as one of KJ's PE teachers!  Pretty funny! 

Had such a fun, relaxing weekend with my family.  We drove up to my bro's Saturday morning and met everyone at Mr. B's football game.  So exciting to watch him play.  It was only their second game of the season and unfortunately they lost but it was still fun.  After the game the "girls" went shopping (I promised Sassypants I'd buy her some new earrings for her b-day) and the "guys" went home to watch more football (Alabama vs. Texas A&M, Penn State and then the Ole Miss vs. Texas game). 

T had a good weekend, too!  She and a bunch of friends drove out to Austin to attend the Ole Miss game.  She said it was hot and flat but they had a good time.  They spent the first half of the game at one of the Texas fraternity tents and then one of the dad's handling the smoker in the tent gave her and her friend Josh his two tickets so they went into the game for the second half.  They made a slight detour on the way home and stopped at LSU and had dinner.  She said LSU was not a pretty campus at all but Mike the Tiger being right on campus was pretty cool! 

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

The Cos Fam is On the Move !!!

This family doesn't sit still, I swear!  KJ barely unpacked from Cincinnati and turned around and flew out to Baltimore last night, hit DC running this morning and tomorrow she'll be nestled in Happy Valley at volleyball camp. 

She had a fairly non-eventful flight last night.  It was delayed about 20 minutes but no big deal. We sat at the gate and laughed because she said she felt like one of those kids from a divorced family who is visiting her dad for two weeks in the summer.  So weird to put watch her board the plane by herself.  She and Cosmo went to Annapolis last night for dinner at Buddy's.  We used to go there ALL the time with T-bone when she was little.  It's located right on Ego Alley and we used to watch the boats come in.  Today they went into DC and toured some monuments, went to the Museum of Natural History, had lunch in Georgetown and went to Georgetown Cupcake for dessert.  She can now cross it off her bucket list.  Cosmo said the line wasn't too bad, about 45 minutes. 

A little Cincy, a little Baltimore, a little Liberty

“Cincinnati is a beautiful city; cheerful, thriving, and animated. I have not often seen a place that commends itself so favourably and pleasantly to a stranger at the first glance as this does.” ― Charles Dickens, American Notes: For General Circulation

 

Been on the go, go, go the last couple of days!  The girls and I got back from our wonderful visit to Cincinnati on Monday and KJ flies out to Baltimore tomorrow to spend the weekend with Cosmo and then on up to volleyball camp at Penn State.  My parents will pick her up and she'll spend some time with them in good ole Liberty, PA. 

 

We had a wonderful, relaxing yet fun-filled couple of days in Cincinnati.  I love that city!  There is SO much to do and I've just always felt at home there.  We left Hoovs Thursday morning, picked Cosmo up at the Louisville airport on our way and the Martins met us in Newport for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  Just so happened there was Italian festival going on, too!  Friday we hit Kings Island running and did nothing but roller coasters all day.  And I do mean ALL day.  Diamondback, The Beast, Invertigo, Flight of Fear (my personal favorite), Vortex, The Racer.  You name it, we did it.  https://www.visitkingsisland.com/  We had a super fun day w/ our favorite Cincinnati family and also met up with a bunch of Bamalaxers throughout the day.  Rick and his family also joined us on a couple of roller coasters! 

Saturday we spent the day at the fields for a ton of lax games.  I hadn't been to a Bamalax tournament in quite a while and I loved seeing all the little little guys running around.  They are just so cute and their little heads wobble around in their helmets.  The weather was perfect, a the U15 team ended up winning the entire tournament and I think a good time was had by all! 

Saturday night we took LT out for dinner.  She's the older sister of one of T's dearest friends and she just moved to Cincinnati 2 weeks ago.  It was so nice to visit with her and I think she was happy to see some familiar Hoover faces.  Sunday morning two of T's sorority sisters met her for breakfast and then we headed to The Great American Ballpark for the Reds game.  After the girls ran the bases, we took the big guy to the Melting Pot to celebrate Father's Day and got chocolate wasted.  Monday we dropped Cosmo off at the Louisville airport and kept driving until we hit the Ham. 

 



LCM is such an awesome, thoughtful friend and took such good care of us.  She spoiled us rotten and we had such a wonderful time!  We had some much needed, quality family time and had a blast with the Martins!