Snow last weekend, Sun and Water this weekend.

This past weekend the Reds were traveling again. This time we were off to Connecticut for a baby shower for SIL. I would say the best part was I didn’t have to drive but the place we stayed was probably my favorite part.

We stayed at the Madison Beach Hotel on Long Island Sound. This place is beautiful with its old time charm. It was a great family bonding time since the whole fam damily was there not to mention the long trip and our close quarters on the drive.

I couldn't get enough of walking around the grounds and along the water but I think Mini Red enjoyed it more. Sunday morning the water was so calm and Mini Red explored and found some beautiful shells.

We made great time on Sunday and arrived home around 2:30. Mini Red and I then headed into town for a book festival. We bumped into some friends and they joined us in our quest for ice cream. We got to the ice cream shop in the nick of time because they were running out of ice cream and closing up.

The best part was the girl scooping was beat and raised her arm to wipe her brow and exposed her hairy armpit. I have to wonder if there are hairnets for the hairy armpits. Shouldn’t they be required? I certainly lost my appetite for the ice cream and decided to have bottled water instead.

Celebrating the Jubilarians ended with a Spring Snow and tragedy in Blacksburg

The trip up to Scranton was uneventful and speedy. By the time we hit Wilkes-Barre we decided it was time to stop and get a bite to eat. I love it when there’s no stopping on a trip and you drive right through putting you ahead of schedule. This was a good move because there was no other time to eat all evening.

Aunt Dot was happy to see us and she looked great! We had so much for her and I wasn’t expecting her to want it all but she did. Yeah! I brought her two small plant stands for her balcony and Ra sent a small three tier stand that Aunt Dot loved. Plus we brought her two plants. I was happy she wanted it all and we found places for everything. This also meant I didn’t have to bring it home with me.

I also discussed her taking back a beautiful piece she gave me last time. It’s an Our Lady of Hope figurine plate thingy I got her years ago. She was happy that I would bring it back for her to hang on her wall. These were all great signs because I think last time she was just getting ready to die. This time she is fighting and she wants to walk again. She’s even wearing her wig again. The other sisters and I can’t figure this part out. When she was sick and could wear her wig we were all surprised to see she had a lot of hair and it’s less gray than the wig. Go figure.

Sunday was the big Jubilee. There were 18 sisters celebrating from 60 years up to 80 years as nuns. Evidently, it added up to over 1000 years of service. Holy moly! So many of the Jubilarians were nervous but not Aunt Dot. She had her hair done first thing in the morning and was more confident than I had seen her in some time.

After Mass there was a catered supper I still can’t get over how happy she was. I was a happy girl when I found the wine fountain. This might have added to my exhaustion but by the time Mini Red got to our room in the convent, that evening, we could barely keep our eyes open.
The next morning we woke to SNOW! I had heard this might happen but Scranton had 4 inches by 8am and most of the schools were closed. Frackville had 8 inches by 8am and that was the direction we were going. We visited with Aunt Dot for a while before we go on the road around ten. Route 81 wasn’t bad but around Frackville there were all sorts of crazies on the road and not long after that the snow was clearing up. We made record time and Mini Red took pictures the whole way home.
I’m trying to get Mini Red to look around and notice things along the road. She even noticed modern day windmills along the top of a mountain. She went on to tell me they were learning about how they are taking old ideas like the windmills and modernizing them for alternate energy sources for when we run out of oil. This is what I love about these drives.

We stopped in Thurmont to see what Dirt Cheap was selling. As we were getting ready to leave I see the news talking about VA Tech. I did a little panic and at that point I hadn’t even heard all the details like the kids in the engineering class. My panic is my cousin who is studying engineering there. When Mom picked up the phone she just said “He’s fine”. We don’t have a lot of detail but Mom called my Uncle and just confirmed via his secretary that he’s fine. I’m sure we’ll hear more later and I’m just praying that he was no where near any of it.

Even more terrifying than having family there and still another cousin is a professor there is this is so gruesomely unexpected. Here these kids are and there worst fear is a bad grade and this crazy dude comes in firing. How can a parent feel safe sending their child off to school? I just can’t believe what this world is coming too?

I was too busy to notice it was the Day of Evil

The plan for the day was to get a lot done this morning and then get to the office. I never made it to the office but I got a helluva lot done.

Dropped Mini Red off at the bus, went to the ATM, Coffee from Dunkin Donuts and I had the car at the dealership by 7:40. This put me third in line for the day, which ain’t too shabby.

The oil needed to be changed and I had already made an appointment next week for the sunroof recall but this morning they said they would do it all and give me a loaner. On top of that I was due for the 15,000 mile check up and I had noticed some strange things they were going to check out.

By 8:30 I was at Mini Red’s doctor to get some forms signed for her upcoming Outdoor Education trip. I’m told it’s normally a 72 hour turn around to get these papers done but she was squeezing me between patients. Thank goodness.

By 9:30 I was visiting former coworkers and picked up a trampoline to be delivered later to Ra.

I made it to the mall a little after 10, which gave me some time to shop for Aunt Dot but I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I headed to the third floor where Mini Red’s Orthodontist is.

10:40 appointment with Mini Red’s Orthodontist was to review her status and suggestions for the next round of braces. I have had so much anxiety about this and the upcoming cost but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and the Doctor and his staff are awesome! I have to come up with some serious down payment and it’s gonna start with some extraction of teeth which are added cost on top of what the braces will cost. Oye! But it could always be worse right?

Since I was in the mall I went to Lenscrafters to scope out the frames. I found some new frames but these costs are outrageous. I decided to come back another time after I found some frames I like. I need to figure this all out since it feels like so much money is flying out of my butt between braces, glasses and just living day to day.

Today was the deadline for the Outdoor Ed permission slips and fees so by 11:40 I was off to Mini Red’s school to drop them off. Once that was done I headed to drop the trampoline at Ra’s in Columbia. There’s no way I’m making it to the office today.

I arrived at Ra’s about 12:20 and was greeted by her mother. I was so excited to see her and had completely forgotten she would be in town from Canada. I just grabbed her and hugged hard cause I just love this woman.

Ra’s 4 year old helped me unload the trampoline in the back yard. He and I had tried it out the prior weekend and I can’t wait til they have it put together and I can get on it again. At one point the 4 year old was dragging this one part and I suggested it might be easier if he picked it up from the middle.

He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “I can’t Auntie Red! This is heavy and I’m a little guy.”

“Oh ok. Then just finish dragging it to the end of the yard.”

We finished unloading the trampoline, reloaded the car with stuff for my aunt, clothes Ra was giving to Mini Red and closed everything up. I see Ra all the time but it was nice to sit down to lunch and visit with her and her Mom. For dessert we had chai tea, cookies, sat back, relaxed and chatted… I feel so comfortable in her home.

By 2:30 I was off again dropping stuff off at Mom’s, picking up Mini Red, dropping stuff at home and off to find some things Aunt Dot had requested. Dropped off the loaner, picked up the car and continued the search and didn’t find anything I was looking for. We left Rockville and headed to Wheaton to treat ourselves to El Pollo Rico and finally got home by 7 and we are beat.

But we aren’t done yet. A few hours later I made an ice cream run. It’s no longer Lent so we after the chicken dinner there was some homemade hot fudge in the fridge that has been waiting patiently for me.

Packing will be last minute, for me, and hopefully we won’t start out too late for Scranton in the morning. This weekend will be good for my soul since we will be staying at the convent again and there is no internet access. Aunt Dot is celebrating over 70 years as a nun and I’m glad she is in better spirits.

She is still unable to walk and understands that everything is different now but she is ok with it. I was worried about the “ok with it” part but she requested some plants and I took this as a great sign.
Mini Red isn’t looking forward to the nuns pawing her but Scranton’s forecast has snow in it and that makes it all worth it for her. I’m looking forward to the drive on 81 because it's so beautiful.
At least I won’t have to drive on next weekend’s trip to Connecticut for a baby shower for SIL.

The Reds are a traveling!

It was a Mini Red weekend

Friday, I took Mini Red to see The Last Mimzy. AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME flick. Very cool, imaginative and had us hooked all the way through.

Saturday, Mini Red and I met up with Nicole, who is in town from Chicago. She is staying in Dupont and we picked up Louie (her dude) from the firehouse and headed downtown. The Dupont area is so cool and we found a little nail salon where Mini Red and I got pedicures and Nicole got a manicure. I loved this place because they were clean and actually sanitized and sterilized their utensils between clients. As we were drying I did a double take on Nicole’s coffee. They are placing ads on the coffee wrap thingies. Sorry this pic is fuzzy but I was amused that Tylenol PM is advertising on coffee. Isn’t that... Ironic?

After our pampering we were off to have a bite to eat and decided on Trio Restaurant. This is a nice quiet place that can make just about anything you want. We all talked over our meal as if Nicole never left the area. Often times our conversations turn towards Mini Red and grades and what not. It still surprises me when Nicole says things to Mini Red that start with, “Your Mom…”

OMG! I’m a Mom and my daughter is at THAT age. Am I really that old? Mini Red is talking about boys and I just want to cover my ears and sing, “lalalalalalalala”. If I ignore it will it go away? No!

One of the discussions this weekend was forget the boys and do for you. Get the school work done and make goals and move towards them. Deal with the chaos that is relationships once you get your life set and in order and procure a high paying job to support your mother if she lives that long (hahahaha). This is coming from experience cause the opposite sex is very confusing.

Saturday night I ate something that didn't agree with me and I was up at 3:30 in the morning after an FN nightmare. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I turned on the TV in hopes it would bore me to sleep but I found Rocky… Ohhh, a good one! Just as I was able to fall back into lala land Mini Red walks in to climb into bed with me. I’m my half conscious state I just shushed her, several times, but she was still talking. Thank goodness she finally got the hint and let me sleep but she had an ulterior motive.

She woke me around 10 thinking her religion class was at 10. She was a bit miffed when I told her it was at 11 and begged me not to make her go. Hahahahaha the life of a Mom can be so joyous at times when you can torture your child with things such as religion class. Mooohahahaha.

Today was such a beautiful day so we got some pansies and planted them on the balcony. I think Mini Red’s favorite part was when we went to the park and she gave me a tour of the creek she's recently found. We started at one end and worked our way down by walking on tree branches and stones. Near the end there were some kids swinging and this little girl was pointing to Mini Red and I in the creek. She was amazed we were in the creek and said, “That one looks like a MOTHER!”

I looked up at her smiled and said, “I am a MOTHER!”

We went home and just chilled out as one should do on a Sunday. I finally got to watch the movie Babel, which is another great flick. I was surprised my phone didn’t ring all day until I just realized the ringer was off.

I think this was just the weekend Mini Red and I needed especially since next weekend she is going away for her week of spring break. I can’t stand for her to be gone that long especially when it’s with FN but oh well. So I’ve got myself booked and won’t have a minute to breathe so that should help the week go by fast.

How was your weekend? Has anyone else seen The Last Mimzy?

Happy Birthday Shortie!

Oye! It has been a very disappointing week... So far

Thank goodness I had the Shamrock Festival in the middle of it all, but...

I just don’t get you boys.

Taxes... Enuf said!

Driving in DC.

My Spring Break day was disappointing and Mini Red is now in big doo doo trouble. She's kissing my butt right now trying to get out of her punishment.

With all my frustrations, lately, today was unusual at work. I was the happy-go-lucky positive one. I guess someone had to be. Tomorrow I'm dragging my co-workers on a field trip. We are gettin' a free coffee at Starbucks. I hope they know where one is.

Ok here is another positive... Brother-Man and SIL announced the name they have chosen for the baby at our weekly Family Dinner. They are naming him after my Dad. The look on Dad's face was priceless!

I’m sure it will be better tomorrow after a run with Mrs. M. A good run always helps. Oh crap! I hope it doesn't rain.

If all else fails then I will hang with the Fam and we will get our drink on celebrating St. Patrick's Day at the beach... In the cold... And the rain.

OK, OK, OK I know! I can get some sleep this weekend.

Much better now.

I got my green on at the Shamrock Festival

Had a blast at the SHAMROCKFEST! If you weren’t there then you missed a great time.

We got a bit of a late start but I think many had the same thought. As we were walking out of the Metro Station to the Stadium all the kids were clapping. They were so excited to get their drink on but JT and I just laughed and commented on feeling so old amongst the kiddies.

Since we had VIP tickets we had a separate entrance and flew right through. As they were strapping on my wrist band for my unlimited beer the dude commented on how I look like I’m always ready for St. Patrick’s Day with my red hair. I said, “Yeah but I still need to wear green.”

He said, “What? Are your eyes brown?”

“No! There Greenish! Ahhhh good point!”

It didn‘t take us to long to get pointed in the right direction towards VIP Area #1. Ahhh that first beer tasted so good. We enjoyed our beer and just took it all in. It was amazing how many were drunk already and others had set up a huge flip cup tournament.

We pulled out our schedule of bands and decided to head out and investigate. We found The Connells were playing at the HiBall Events Stage. The crowd was large and we couldn’t get too close but they put on a good show.

We soon finished our beers and headed back to VIP Area #1 for more beer. As we were deciding where to go head to next I saw a familiar face… Ar-Jew-Tino! Ohh and there’s Kassy and I-66. Kassy looks awesome as a brunette but her boobs didn’t look as big as they did in that last Blogger HH photos she was in. I was so excited to see everyone since I haven’t been to a happy hour in so long. Then I saw JOE! It’s Joe Logon… “Dude! I didn’t know you were gonna be here?” So what does Joe do first…? He gathers everyone for a blogger photo.

Poor JT was probably overwhelmed with his first introduction into blogger world but I made sure to introduce him around. Mrs. M felt the same way the first time I brought her into blogger world. He even got his picture snapped and I warned him he was gonna be blogged now. “Uh oh” was his response.

As the bloggers were dispersing we headed out to investigate. We found VIP Area #2 but it was way more crowded and we didn’t stay long. Just as JT was asking if I was gonna take any pictures I noticed the most incredible mohawk, which stood about a foot high. I asked the dude if I could take his picture cause I loved his mohawk. He said sure but I had to be in the picture with him and giving the finger to the camera.

I’m such a dork I can’t even flip the bird cool like. Hahahaha. The number of Port-A-Potties was impressive as can be seen behind us. If you had to pee the line was never long… Thank goodness. The longest line for a toilet was in the VIP area where they had trailers with running water but even those lines weren’t bad.

Carbon Leaf was playing at 6:10 so we beat feet over there and it was so cool! The crowd was HUGE but we pushed forward. I loved watching people get picked up and all the hands that just carried them up towards the front over top of everyone. They played for only an hour and there was an hour lull before Flogging Molly was to perform. There were so many people so we headed back to the VIP area on the other side. Seems everyone else was to drunk to think of this so we grabbed some seats and chilled out for a while where it was less crazy.

At about 8 we decided to head out to catch emmet swimming who was playing til 9 and Flogging Molly was playing 8 to 9:30. The plan was to catch the end of Flogging Molly but we were having so much fun with emmet that we stayed right there. When they were done the rain was coming down and we were done for the night.

I couldn’t have asked for better weather or better company. It was an awesome day!

Other ShamrockFest Recaps:
Shamrock out with your...
Pot o' gold
Never Have I Ever
Um, they should call it Boozefest Revisited
Shamrock Fest '07 (mohawk)
My interview with DJ AM
Quotes from ShamrockFest '07
ShamrockFest, David Mamet and the Pretty Young Abercrombie Blonde

Signs of Spring in DC

As I was driving into work this morning I saw it… A sign that Spring is not far.

Crews were out on the Potomac rowing. I couldn’t help but let out a big sigh and relax just a bit. Forget the groundhog’s predictions us here Washingtonians look for the crew teams out in the water.

This means the Potomac has thawed and Spring is not far behind. I love driving into work and seeing them out there. It’s beautiful!

Winter doesn’t bother me primarily because I have the butt warmers in my car but I’m done with it. After that beautiful day last Saturday I’m jonesing for warmer weather.

Ok so that photo wasn’t taken in DC… I took it on the North Shore of Oahu. You get my drift though, right?

What a fabulous day to be Irish!

The weather was great.

The St Patrick’s Day Parade in Alexandria was great.

The Irish Bar hopping was great.

The beers were great.

The Irish music was great.

The Bagpipes were great.

The company was the best!

Next Saturday, March 10th, is the Shamrock Festival! Wahoo!

Next Sunday, March 11th, is DC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

I hope the weather is just as good next weekend as it was today.

Can’t wait!

Happy Valentine's Day

Gawd I love this kid!

We are home today due to the ice. Mini Red decided to go down and clean off the car while I hopped in the shower. When I peeked out to check on her she she was almost done. I was nervous about her trying to get into the car because the windows pop down when you open the door and the ice could cause a problem there. Seems she handled it fine. Good girl!

I grabbed the other set of remote keys for the car and made the car beep. Mini Red stepped back from the car and was checking her pocket thinking she had hit the button. She started to move back to the car and I hit the button again! Again she stepped back and checked her pocket. So I hit the button again. She looked up to see me in the window and shook her fist at me.

Where is the snow we were promised?

I want SNOW!
I wore my BIG ASS boots today. I've had these things sitting in my closet for a few years. I was afraid to break them in but they have some serious traction, which is useful in foul weather. So why not break them in now... Right? They aren't real comfortable... yet I wore them in anticipation of snow and ice and trying to thwart any chances of me looking the fool falling on my ass. Now I'm just real disappointed that they’ve been worn for no reason. I hate when promises are broken. Damn you (*shaking fists*) promise breaking weather people!


If tomorrow is a snow day for Mini Red I'm not sure what I will do with her since I can't take her to the client site with me and I can't miss work right now. I'm sure Mom would be able to help me out but then again it's not looking like I have to be worrying about that at this point.

I'm still holding out hope for some of that white stuff and maybe it will start as soon as I get home. I have a feeling the drive home will be awful especially if the drive in this morning was any indication. It seems people were getting all crazy this morning and causing chaos everywhere. Telling the DC area it's going to snow is like jumping in someone's face yelling BOO! Everyone gets freaked out over nothing.