Happy Anniversary!

Today in History . . .

On this day, 2007, "Make Mine A Cosmo" was originally introduced as www.cos4.blogspot.com! 

The blog was similar to the Seinfeld show.  It was basically a blog about nothing.  With a little focus and the addition of a professional blog design, the little blog about nothing eventually evolved to the blog it is today:  www.makemineacosmo.com

Make Mine a Cosmo is still basically a blog about nothing.  Nothing specific, sometimes the blog is about travel, about make-up and skin care, new products, the weather.  Sometimes the blog is about sports.  Sometimes the blog is political, sometimes it's raw emotion.  Very rarely is the blog about food or recipes, however the posts are often about family.  Make Mine a Cosmo also reviews books and movies. 

Blog Statistics . . .
Since starting Make Mine a Cosmo, the author has:

• lived in three different states (Alabama, Maryland and Texas)
• has traveled to the following countries:  Italy (Rome twice, Florence twice, Pisa, Assisi, Pompei), Spain (Barcelona and Mallorca), England (London), France (Paris and Marseille), Mexico (Cabo and Playa del Carmen), Caymans, Jamaica
• viewed the Sistine Chapel twice
• climbed a Mayan ruin
• swam in a crystal clear cenote
• learned how to paddle board
• climbed Dunn's River Falls
• sipped champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower
• gazed upon the Mona Lisa
• climbed all 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe
• has had both daughters graduate high school
• has had one daughter graduate college
• has lost a gall bladder
• successfully recouperated from a hysterectomy
• celebrated her parent's 50th wedding anniversary
• celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary to her high school sweetheart
• celebrated her (and her husband's!) 50th birthday
• uncovered some interesting facts about her ancestry

If you've been reading Make Mine a Cosmo regularly, thank you!  Looking forward to another 11 years of blogging!

Commencing

Can't believe I haven't blogged about KJ's graduation!  She had a busy couple of days leading up to the actual ceremony . . . grad parties are a BIG thing here!  Friday night, Saturday and Sunday she went to several different parties with some really cute themes!  Marcus, Flower Mound, Lewisville and Hebron all had their graduations on Sunday and Monday so the kids were running around trying to hit all the parties. 

 

 

Kendall's sweet friend, a foreign exchange student, who leaves the end of June. 

Paige is attending Colorado School of Mines

 

 

 

This is her friend Emily who will be attending Ole Miss in the Fall! 

 

 

Sunday was KJ's grad party and we had such a great time!  She did an open house kind of thing because there were so many parties to go to and we had a steady stream of kids from 2 to 6 PM.  We had Fuzzy's cater everything and it was awesome!  They come in and set it all up . . . easy peasy!  They gave us a ton of food and we had leftovers for two days!  Coach and KJ totally over-ordered but I was happy not to have to cook!! 

 

 

There were 841 kids in her graduating class and that ceremony started promptly at 8 PM.  The speeches were kept very simple -- no political messages -- just nice sentiments about high school, making your mark in the world, get out there and do great things.  I think we were done by 10 PM, out of the parking lot by 10:15 PM.  

 

Recreating this tradition: 

 

Hoover High School; May 2012

Ole Miss; May 2016

 

 

Kendall and her friend Averie (one of the first friends KJ made when we moved to Texas; they were on the high school volleyball team together!)

 

 

And there you have it!  We are now the (extremely!) proud parents of a Marcus High School graduate / incoming Ole Miss Freshman!  #hottytoddy #RebelwithaCos

7 Days!

We are officially at the 1 week mark!  Seven (7) days until KJ walks across that stage, grabs her diploma and takes off running!  I'm so excited and proud of her!  It wasn't easy to move 756 miles in 8th grade to Maryland and then move 1,361 miles to Dallas in 10th grade!  She's made some great friends along the way and has learned a lot about herself which is most important!  She's had to put herself out there out of necessity and that is not always easy for a teenage girl. 

 

I'm looking forward to family coming in for the festivities.  My parents should arrive sometime Friday, T-bone and Pony Boy should get in very very late Friday night, my bro arrives Saturday, Sunday is her grad party with friends and Monday is the actual ceremony!  I'm not sure of the exact number of graduates walking but it should be close to 1,000. 

Spring into Summer Already???

Busy as a bee the next couple of weeks.  I think we're are booked until July and then August will be taken over with moving KJ to Ole Miss and all the good stuff that comes with that . . . shopping, packing, unpacking, etc. 

Tomorrow is Marcus' prom and I love KJ's dress.  It's very casual, very flowy and has a pretty print.  She is also going to Flo Mo's prom May 5 and I love that dress, too!  It's a V-neck, more streamlined silhouette, with tiers.  She's getting her hair and make-up professionally done again this year for her  prom, not sure what she's doing for Flo Mo's. 

Although she had senior photos done last year a couple of times last year (at the studio the yearbook uses for those dorky cap and gown pics) and with a local studio, we wanted some fun things for her graduation announcements.  Her friend Averie is really into hair and make-up and her sister Madison took the pics earlier this week at TWU and they came out awesome!  I kinda like them more than the expensive fancy professional portraits I paid an arm and a leg for! 

Next Friday she leaves for NYC for a few days and the week after that we're having our girls weekend in Ox with friends.  Coach has some traveling to do this month and next and we also have Freshman Orientation @ Ole Miss in May.  Graduation is mid-June so I've taken some vacation days to be with my family and then the girls leave for Iceland for 10 days.  KJ will be spending some time in B'ham with T again this summer.  Coach has already bought their Slossfest tixs.  She luvs, luvs, luvs having an older sister with her own apartment. 

T has been keeping busy this spring, too.  They've gone camping a few times, she had a bachlerette party in Nashville, she's getting ready to move into a house, etc. 

Ice Ice Baby!!!

My kids definitely inherited my gypsy gene.  Seriously.  When we lived in Madrid there really was a band of gypsies that lived near our apartment building.  My parents used to tell me they think I was switched with one of those gypsy babies. 

T-bone had always told her sister that she would take her anywhere in the world she wanted for a graduation gift.  They had kicked around a bunch of different locales but I had final say in the matter because I was not crazy about my two chickadees traveling during the height of tourist season and being the target of terrorists.  Also, KJ didn't want to go anywhere tropical because she had been to Costa Rica, Nicarauga, Jamaica, the Caymens and Cozumel all in the same year.  #firstworldproblems  So, after much debate, my two knuckleheads decided they wanted to go to Iceland!  Yes, Iceland!!!  And I'm totally OK with it!  T found great flights and they leave two days after KJ's high school graduation.  Which is totally crazy. 

Also crazy is the fact that Coach and I are going to be empty nesters in a few short months!  We've been waiting a long, long time for this!!!  hahaha!!!  Very, very proud of KJ though.  She was accepted at every school she applied to (Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State) but when it came down to it, she decided to take her talents to Ole Miss.  #hottytoddy  She already has a roommate and they've been busy planning their dorm room.  I'm happy for her.  I was actually hoping she would have gone to Arkansas or Oklahoma State because I want her to have her own college experience and not feel that she has to follow in T's footsteps.  But, at the end of the day, they are two very different people, with two very different goals and I know she'll do great where ever she is.

Sweet Sweet Summa Time

Everyone measures time differently . . . some measure by the seasons, some measure by school years, some people have great memories and can remember exact dates.  I am none of these people.  I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.  My memories are usually based on a couple of things -- where I was living at the time and who else was with me.

For example, the girls tease me all the time because I have an incredible memory for some things, others, not so much.  I can remember what little outfit the girls were wearing but can't remember exactly what grade they were in or exactly what year.  But I can remember if one of them was "in the stroller."

So here we are . . . our 2nd summer in Texas and KJ is about to start her JUNIOR year of high school.  How in the hell did that happen?  I mean seriously.  How in the hell did that happen?  She finally got her driver's license in June (after her cast came off) and her daddy took care of her and bought her a cute bright red convertible.  She's been baby sitting and house sitting a lot this summer and had fun volunteering at the Aquarium each week.  I think this is her "summer to remember."  That golden summer measured by days at the lake, driving around with the top down and hanging with friends at Six Flags.  Such a different place from where we were at this time last year.

We had just moved here, I was up to my eyeballs in boxes and we didn't know a soul.  She had just finished freshman year in Maryland, we road-tripped from Maryland to Dallas with the dog in tow, closed on the house, buzzed to the pageant, she went out west with my folks, came home for 1 night and went to volleyball camp, came home for 1 day and then had high school volleyball try-outs.  This summer we had T's graduation, moved her into her new apartment, had some family visit this summer and had some new friends to celebrate the 4th of July with!   We had summer lax 3 nights a week (when I say "we" I mean Coach and KJ), we did a couple of day trips and have enjoyed working on our tans and lazy days by the pool.

And now our baby is about to start her JUNIOR year of high school.  How in the hell did that happen??

Oh the Places You'll Go !!!

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams ~Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Friends Since Kindergarten !!!

What a wild, weird, wacky couple of days!  Don't even know where to begin!!  It's all good but honestly, it's all kind of gone by in a whirl!

My mom and dad arrived safe and sound Wednesday afternoon; my brother flew in Thursday morning.  T had a breakfast bright and early Thursday AM and from there they had mandatory rehearsal downtown.  She came home from rehearsal, got ready, took some photos and my brother and I drove her to UAB.  My brother went in to save some seats while I waited out front for a friend who accidentally left her family's tickets at home.  For some reason, right before we left the house, I shoved our two extra tickets into my purse "in case someone need them."  How weird is that??

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. -- Les Brown

The graduation ceremony was very nice and they did not waste any time.  We were done in an hour and a half?  Maybe a hour, 45??  Over 600 kids in the graduating class and everything was very well organized.  The kids pulled a funny prank on their Principal...as they went up to get their diploma, they put Mardi Gras beads around his neck.  Mr. Hulin is from New Orleans and they had photos of him from his early, crazy college days hanging off the beads.  Then, the very last student with a Z last name, put a jester hat on his head. 

I thought I was going to be an emotional wreck but was not.  I teared up a few times but never broke down and sobbed.  My dad, on the other hand, was very emotional.  My brother and I couldn't help but think if my dad was just happy to be there.  You know.  After "the Event" and all.  Plus T is the first grandchild on my side of the family so everything she does is going to be momentous. 

Believe there are no limits but the sky ~Cervantes

We all slept in on Friday morning and spent the day at the pool before we headed out to our favorite restaurant, 26, for our 7 PM reservation.  T has been fighting a really bad cold and I think she was pretty out of it by the end of dinner.  She's been attending graduating parties for the last two weeks straight plus working so it's going to catch up with her eventually. 

My bro flew out Saturday afternoon after stocking up on lax equipment from the store.  My parents left very very early Sunday morning and took KJ back home to PA with them.  She'll fly home by herself in two weeks and thinks she is the bomb.com. 

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Congratulations! Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets.

Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you'll want to go down.

In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don't worry.

Don't stew.

Just go right along.

You'll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose?  How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right... or right-and-three-quarters?

Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place... ...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or a No or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

NO! That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.

You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go!

There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.

And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV. Except when they don't.

Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul

On you will go though your enemies prowl

On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl

Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike and I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are. You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.

You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

---Dr. Seuss

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.

Senior No More

Tbone is officially done with high school!  I never in a MILLION years thought I'd be one of those parents lamenting the day their child graduates from high school.  I always knew this day was coming.  Just never really thought about how I'd feel about it.  Although I like to plan and be prepared, I don't ever really "worry" about the future (I have a husband who does enough worrying for the both of us).  I'm much more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl.  I like to plan lists and be organized but I totally recognize there's only so much I can do and all the planning in the world really doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the long run.  Which brings me to T. 

We've got a lot coming up the next week or so and I'm kind of glad we're getting it all done at once.  We can enjoy the summer and all the fun that comes with it!  We've got a bunch of parties to attend this weekend, a tea and then another big grad party.  She starts her new job on Monday, she's registered for rush, she's picked out her dorm room, she graduates next week and the week after we're headed to campus for Orientation/Registration.  And the poor thing is getting her wisdom teeth taken out after that.  It's a lot to take in but I'm glad I won't have too much time to dwell on it or get melancholy. 

I've seen a lot of friends post on FB or tweet about upcoming graduation.  And it's starting to get a little depressing.  T still has a full 2 1/2 months, almost 3 months, before she heads off to college and I don't want to wish her away.  I want to enjoy the summer with her and stop agonizing over the end of high school.  She has a wonderful, exciting new chapter of her life coming up and I want her to enjoy it and look forward to it.  A friend recently asked me if I'm sad.  Yes, of course I'm a little sad.  I'm very proud of her, too.  I am proud of the beautiful young lady she's become and I know she has many adventures ahead of her.  I was sad to see her last lacrosse game and I was sad to see her last dance on the high school stage.  But the same friend also gently reminded me that although we're experiencing a lot of "lasts," just think about all the wonderful "firsts" we've yet to experience. 

It's OK ...

...that T-Bone picked up her cap and gown yesterday.  And the graduation announcements have been mailed.  Really.  It's OK. 

...that a co-worker sanctimoniously told me she'd never read "50 Shades of Gray" because books about sex are gross and inappropriate.  Hmmm....same co-worker who had an extremely loud, hour-long conversation the other morning with her husband about why she wouldn't have sex with him the night before.  Trust me.  It was pretty graphic, gross and inappropriate for the workplace. 
...that my 12 year old likes to sleep with me when Cosmo is out of town.  It's kind of nice.  Kind of.  Except she's a loud sleep-talker.

....to not have slept well the last couple of nights (see above).  I guess I can sleep when I'm dead. 

...to have completely and totally confiscated hubby's new car.  I think he's driven it just a handful of times.  He's so good to me and has finally admitted I look so damn cute in that car!!!

....that people have waited until the very last minute to buy their Mother's Day gifts and are now calling in a panic for gift cards.  C'mon people.  Get it together!

98 and counting

T played Oak Mountain yesterday and started the game off with 97 career goals.  She is now at 98.  I don't know what was going on with her yesterday but her head just wasn't in the game.  She was just "off."  I haven't seen her play that bad since...um, never.  They were double- and triple-teaming her.  I have the most amazing photo of her charging down field with 6 OM girls on her.  She was mad as hell which is good.  She's got an incredible competitive spirit and was really upset with herself.  They ended up losing to OM by 1.  And there goes the undefeated streak.  Personally, I'm kind of glad that's out of the way.  I think the girls were more concerned with staying undefeated than they were with winning the game (if that makes any sense??).  KJ & I were able to leave T's game and still catch almost 3 full quarters of Coach's game.  They beat Grissom so that was pretty good.  Senior night this week for both the boys and girls varsity teams. 

KJ & I had a very successful shopping day Saturday afternoon.  She got a dress to wear to the May wedding, and a couple dresses to choose from for T's graduation.  She got 4 dresses in all and no one cried!  Yay!!! 

T and I sat down earlier today and started to address her graduation announcements.  I'm not exactly sure what the protocol is but I thought May 1 would be a good day to mail them out.  My mom, dad & brother will definitely be here to see her graduate.  Not sure about anyone else.  I don't think Cosmo's mother is physically up for the trip.  Right now, the plan is for KJ to go home w/ Grammie & Pop and spend some quality time in PA and then fly home by herself.  She loves doing that and thinks she's hot stuff. 

Don't Blink

The next couple of weeks are going to go by so fast! I'm afraid if I blink, I'll miss something!

Still trying to recouperate after Spring Break but we hit the ground running yesterday with lacrosse and volleyball practices. T & I are headed to Oxford later in the week while Coach has lax games scheduled in Memphis. Prom is barely two weeks away, we've got a wedding celebration, a bridal shower and another wedding, lax championships, I think we've got a vball tournament in there somewhere, a couple of end of year parties and then high school graduation! Whoop! Whoop! Truly, where did the time go? Wasn't I just putting this child on the bus to kindergarten???

"Time is free, but it's priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you've lost it, you can never get it back"

The Countdown has Begun

99 days until T-bone graduates from High School!

As of right now I'm OK with this but as we get closer I'm sure I'll get more and more emotional. Champ, on the other hand, will be a complete mess (the man bawled like a baby when the girls got their ears pierced).