Lots of Changes

Lots of changes going on around here and it's all good!  Change is good.  It's hard to adapt sometimes but in the end, it's usually for the best.  I've been in a rut lately and definitely needed some change in my life.  So, starting small, I got a new phone this weekend! 

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” ― Maya Angelou

I've had my Blackberry forever and have resisted the urge to go to the dark side (i.e., iPhone).  I ended up getting a Samsung Optimus G and have been super happy so far (OK, it's only been one full day but I love the screen, the brightness, the sharpness, the weight, the size.  I love everything about my phone!  And the name.  Especially the name!!!).  It's got a great big screen and my myopic self loves it!

 

And I recently got a new boss.  I enjoyed working with the old boss but he was offered a wonderful opportunity.  It's not easy uprooting a family but they've been through this before and they'll do just fine. 

 

Cosmo was home this weekend and it was great having him home for a change!  Poor guy was busy though and had stuff on his "honey-do" list.  He painted our master bath, painted the ceiling in the Men Den and sealed the deck.  We had a great family night Friday and saw "Grown Ups 2" after dinner.  He had a crazy early morning flight Friday (and he's on Eastern time, too!) and this morning he stopped by the studio and got to see Colonel Midfield in action before heading out to the airport.  I don't know how he does it.   I love to travel but it throws me for a loop!

 





“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ― Eckhart Tolle

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!

The Letter B

The "b" on my keyboard is sticking and it's super annoying!  You don't realize how much you use the letter B until you have to type Happy Birthday to a friend whose name starts with the letter B!

Having a great Saturday so far despite the weird weather / barometer changes giving me a bit of a migraine and a bloody nose.  So embarassing when that happens.  I feel like I'm having a seizure or some type of brain aneurysm. 

KJ's been keeping busy the last couple of days.  Wednesday she spent the night at GW's, Thursday her friend M invited her to the pool and she spent the night at her house and Friday she went to a b-day party and KandK spent the night at our house.  I took them home around noon today and then dropped  KJ off at another swim party.  I don't know what the going rate is for b-day parties anymore but we usually put a $20 in the card.  Is this appropriate for a 13 year old??

T and I had a nice night last night.  Poor thing was EXHAUSTED.  Getting up at 4 AM is tough but she does it with a smile on her face.  Who am I kidding?  I have no idea if she has a smile on her face.  I'm not up at 4 AM to check on her.  She really loves her internship and loves being a part of the Rick and Bubba show.  She's likes being in the studio and working the phones.  She says she feels so bad when people call up and ask for a shout-out and she has to tell them that Rick and Bubba just get too many requests for that kind of thing.  She's also been doing some work with the Sports Czars.  She went out with friends Wednesday night, worked at the lax store on Thursday, went to a concert with friends that night and had to be up at the studio by 5:20 AM on Friday.  She did a few things with the Czars after Rick and Bubba and then worked at the lax store helping with BamaLax orders.  She came home, took KJ to the twins house to get ready for the party and came home a took a nap.  We went out for Mexican and ended up staying in and watching a movie.  She picked up KJ and the girls and brought them all back to the house and is back up at the lax store today.  The kid is making bank and getting some wonderful experience to boot!  Next weekend she's got plans to visit some friends in Oxford. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dEJC28lf-g&feature=share&list=UUTIcArcyyUota03AUK06waA

Earlier this week Cosmo booked KJ's flights to Baltimore.  She'll be gone almost 3 full weeks this summer.  She will spend some time with him in Baltimore, some time with my parents and brother in PA and she'll also attend Penn State Volleyball camp this summer.  When she comes home from PSU camp, she'll attend UAB Volleyball camp with her 8th grade middle school team.  Just need to keep that kid busy and out of trouble and we'll be just fine. 

It's OK Thursday

Link up with http://www.brunchwithamber.com/ for the very last It's OK Thursday. 
I have had so much fun posting "It's OK" and I thank Amber and Neely for this wonderful opportunity!

It's OK . . .

...that I have absolutely zero plans for the weekend other than laying at the pool with an adult bevvie and my Nook.

...to be extremely proud of the sweet high school kids I work with.  Congratulations on your graduation!

...to be extremely proud of my girls.  T is really enjoying her internship with Rick and Bubba and KJ is just so happy to be a rising 8th grader and is looking forward to volleyball season.
...that the 13 year old has a better social life than me and is breaking the bank. 
...that I really like Mariah Carey's new song "Beautiful."
...that I've been walking around with a Flat Stanley in my purse for over a week now. 

Boo?? Yay!!

Just a bunch of random stuff in no particular order:

-probably not a good idea watching the senior class DVD today.  I'm PMS'ing, very stressed and emotional and I should never watched that damn DVD.  Cried like a baby.   I starting bawling 10-15 photos into it.  Didn't even have the soundtrack playing.  So wonderful seeing all the fun, silly photos of the kids over the years.  I was emotional over kids I didn't even know. (I'm not sure if this is a Boo or a Yay!)

Senior Night 2011

-Tbone had a great time at the party last night.  She said the band was absolutely awesome (Fly by Radio) and everyone had a lot of fun. She said a lot of kids that normally wouldn't dance were out on the floor.  One of the mom's made the most amazing cake.  She had a little mishap setting up but if they hadn't said anything, I don't think anyone would have noticed. T thought her phone had been stolen during the party but she called the hotel this morning and they had it.  Someone must have turned it in.  Thank you kind, random stranger!  (Yay!)

-so apparently one of the local radio programs here in town has been talking about my husband.  A lot.  And I'm not really sure how I feel about it.  I don't listen to this particular radio station but plenty of folks we know do and crack up over the fact that they talk lax and mention Champ.  Couple of friends last week told me they referred to him as "The Guru."  This week he was "The Legend."  Too funny.  I think it's wonderful for the sport but this week someone told me they actually referred to Champ by his name.  That bothers me a bit.  I kind of feel violated. Like maybe our family privacy has been compromised (I know that must sound very ironic coming from me -- I have a blog, FB, twitter, Pinterest, etc. but I think it's different when I can control what I put out there, not have our family name put out there by someone else.  Make sense??).  Oh and this radio program is syndicated.  So folks all over the country (?) can hear it.  And it's also available on XM radio.  (maybe a little Boo?  a little Yay! for the sport). 

-in unrelated radio news, the radio station I do listen to in the mornings mentioned that plastic surgery among 13-18 year olds has increased over 500% in the last couple of years.  That's amazing.  Nose jobs?  Lipo?  What in the world does a 13 year old need to have "done??"  Botox?  Injectables??  I'm going with a (Boo) on this one. 

-in other awesome family news, KJ made the 7th grade volleyball team last night!  Whoop!  Whoop!  Very, very proud of her and her teammates! We left the party a few minutes early last night so she could check the list posted at the school and then took her to a celebratory dinner @ Johnny Rockets. (Yay!)

-Rangers lost (Boo).  I saw the word "ass-hat" used a lot last night when describing the officiating.  But next game is back at the Garden.  (Yay!)

-in Ole Miss Miscellaneous, I was behind the Ole Miss baseball team bus yesterday afternoon which was fun.  Then, T received her ID card in yesterday's mail.  That was weird.  The thought of her heading off to college makes my heart hurt sometimes.