There's always one...

We went to see the movie, "Act of Valor" yesterday.
I bought our tickets online because I didn't want to have to sweat standing in line at the theater. It costs an extra $1.25 per ticket, but when you are driving as far as we are to see a movie, you want to be sure you've got a seat.
Anyway - at 11am, I pushed submit to purchase the tickets.
At 11:01, they printed out on my printer.
The show was due to start at 2:20.
We arrived at the theater at about 2pm.
We went to walk into the designated theater - Number 9 for those of you who care - when a lady yelled to us, "The show's not over! Line forms in the back down that hallway!"
We were a bit shocked that the previous showing wasn't over and that there was a line.
We decided that we'd just wait off to the side, and when the others had gone in, we'd mosey in and sit. We also decided that if we couldn't sit together, we'd just split up. LLB's friends were there and we had Gram and Grandpa with us, too. Finding 7 seats together might be more difficult than finding a group of 3 and a group of 4.

Another family came up and went to walk into the theater.  The lady yelled at them, "Hey!! Show's not over! Line's in the back! I got my tickets an hour ago and I've been waiting!"
I rolled my eyes at Gram and thought, "OMG, Lady!  Chillax.  It's a movie. I am sure there are seats available - besides... no offense, but really, I've had my tickets since 11:01am... but what.ever."
The family looked at her funny and moved aside.
As the Theater Staff went in to clean the theater, the Lady got her family and moved towards the door. She was GOING to be FIRST.
They finally opened the doors and the Lady sprinted in.
We hung back for a moment - we didn't want to be accused of cutting the line.  As we went in with other people, I asked (no one in particular), "Did that Lady get her seat? Heaven forbid she not be first in the theater and have her choice of seat - you know, she's been waiting for an hour..."
A few people around me giggled...
We never saw her after we went into the theater, but I will tell you that the theater was not full.
There were plenty of seats for everyone and everyone had a decent seat. No one was stuck in the front neck ache section.  There were empty seats all over the place.
As we sat down, I said to Gram, "That Lady is going on my blog." Gram snickered...
And here she is... The Crazy Lady from the movie theater.
FYI: The movie was phenomenal.  Act of Valor -- put it on your "must see" list.
Go see it.
And after you see it, say, "Thank you!" to your servicemen and women.

What a waste of time!

LLB's new glasses are in... I got a phone call to that effect.
I picked her up from school and took her to the eye doc's.
She put her new glasses on and they looked terrific. She had a look on her face that told me something wasn't quite right, but the lady said she'd have to get used to them.
We left.
We got on to the highway ramp.
Yes.. the ramp.
The ramp where you can't turn around.
The ramp that to turn on to it has a red light that lasts about 10 minutes... that one.
So - we got on the ramp and she says, "Mom, when I close my right eye, the left eye is blurry."
No problem - we'll just take the next exit.
The next exit is 8 miles up the highway.
sigh....
We went up 8 miles, turned around, and came back 8 miles.
She told the lady that her left eye was blurry.
The lady checked it...
They didn't make the lens correctly - said it was a computer problem -- can you say TYPO???
It will be another week before she has her glasses.
I sure am glad I didn't send in her current frames!
So -- that trip cost me a half a tank of gas with nothing to show for it.
But when her glasses do come in, she's going to look great!

The Circus Coming!

Well, it's that time of year again! The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming!
I've seen the TV ads for this show and it looks terrific.  I can honestly say that I've never had a bad time at the circus. We LOVE it.
My Daddy took me to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus when I was seven and we were living in Spain.  It was terrific! I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
So - go to the circus. Take your kids. Take your friends.  Heck, take your mom!
Here is the info:

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents Fully ChargedSMto Bring a Surge of Excitement to Washington, DC AreaThe Greatest Show On Earth arrives at the Verizon Center, March 15 – 18
and the Patriot Center, April 4 – 15

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 23, 2012 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baileypresents Fully Charged is an all-new surge of circus entertainment where megawatts of thrills explode off of the arena floor with breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-before-seen performances that energize Children Of All Ages! Fully Charged invites families to disconnect from the digital world and plug into a circus experience like no other. The 141st Edition of The Greatest Show On Earth is themost electrifying edition of Ringling Bros. ever to come to DC!

Fully Charged performs at two arenas in the Washington, DC area – the Verizon Center in the District from March 15 – 18 and the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. from April 4 – 15. Fully Charged will also perform at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Md. from March 21 – April 1.

Fully Charged is lead by dynamo newcomer, Brian Crawford Scott, only the 36th Ringmaster in the 141-year history of Ringling Bros. The amazing acts of Fully Charged include Tabayara, a dynamic animal trainer whose rare ability to communicate with animals allows him to ride rearing stallions at a fully-charged gallop, orchestrate majestic four-ton Asian elephants in a symphony of dance, and stand eye to eye in a cage with 12 ferocious tigers.

Audiences will feel the earth shake when the strongman duo of Dmitry and Ruslan, who are as wide as they are tall, enter the arena. The fearless Fernandez Brothers dial up the thrills as they perform daring feats of athleticism on the Twin Turbines of Steel, including extreme jumps and twists inside the moving wheels! Ever wonder how many clowns it takes to change a light bulb? The hilarious hoopla continues to flow as the clowns from the world-famous Ringling Bros. Clown Alley, charge up the audiences’ funny bones with hysterical silly antics and clownish comedy. You can only experience this current of excitement at Ringling Bros. Fully Charged!

The All Access Power Up Pre-show Party is hosted one hour before show time and is free to ticket holders. The Pre-show allows audience members to meet and take photos with performers, try on circus costumes, learn circus skills and have the chance to win a painting created by Asia, a true pachyderm Picasso.
 

WASHINGTON, DC SHOW The Verizon Center | March 15 - 18, 2012

Show times:·       Thursday, March 15 – 10:30 am, 7:30 pm·       Friday, March 16 – 7:30 pm·       Saturday, March 17 – 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm·       Sunday, March 18 - 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm

DC Ticket Prices: $35.00/$30.00/$18.00/$14.00 (Circus Celebrity, Front Row and VIP available)

Ticket Information: Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 800-551-SEAT, via www.ticketmaster.com , and the Verizon Center box office.
 

FAIRFAX, VA SHOW 

The Patriot Center | April 4 – April 15, 2012

Show times:·       Wednesday, April 4 – 7:00 pm·       Thursday, April 5 – 7:00 pm·       Friday, April 6 – 1:00 pm, 7:30 pm·       Saturday, April 7 – 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm·       Sunday, April 8 – 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm·       Thursday, April 12 – 7:00 pm·       Friday, April 13 – 10:30 am; 7:00 pm·       Saturday, April 14 – 11:30 am, 3:30 pm; 7:30 pm·       Sunday, April 15 – 1:00 pm, 5:00 pm

Fairfax Ticket Prices: $30.00/$18.00/$14.00 (Circus Celebrity, Front Row and VIP available)

Ticket Information: Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 800-551-SEAT, via www.ticketmaster.com , and the Patriot Center box office.

For additional information about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, please visit www.ringling.com  .

Blind as a....

My LLB went for her annual eye checkup last week.  The doc said her eyes hadn't changed very much - just 1/4 step worse. This is really good news since just a few years ago she was stepping into the realm of the extremely nearsighted at a much faster pace.

We looked at frames, but decided to use the ones she has until next year when our VSP will cover new frames.  That was until they told us she'd have to leave her glasses at the shop so they could send them out to get the new lenses installed.  My first thought was, "You're kidding me, right?"and that's what popped out of my mouth. (I have trouble with that sometimes.) They assured me that they weren't kidding. I bit my tongue - hard. Obviously, the people who work in they optometrist's office, don't actually live their lives in the fuzzy world of diminished sight.

Even if LLB wasn't off the next day to USC for an Honor Band and there was NO WAY I could allow her to walk around for a week her without glasses!  She gets lost with them on - can you imagine what would happen if she didn't have them?? 

Fast forward to Saturday. We'd been trying to find out her vision number for a form for the USAF.  They wanted to know if her vision was worse than 20/50.  I knew it was because the kid can't see the big E on the top of the eye chart... But, what do I know?

Mr. called the optometrist to find out her number.  

Let's just say if her vision were an SAT, she'd be all set!

So - this morning, we were chatting about her vision or lack thereof and she wanted to know her numbers. I told her.  Her response, "Wow! That explains a whole lot."

"Yes, yes it does, but it does not explain why your room is a disaster."

"Oh, but it does. Technically, I can't see the mess." 

"Yeah... that's it."

What a busy weekend!

I was going to write about something completely different, yet related, but I'm not convinced that I'm still not being watched, stalked, talked about, and generally being spied upon.  Some of you are asking if I might be paranoid... Yeah... maybe a little. It's sad to think that I can't express my feelings on my own blog because people - and they know who they are - think they have the right to tell me what I can and can't write about.

I'll fill you in on the weekend instead.

As many of you know, LLB was off at USC for an Honor Band Clinic. She LOVED it! Her favorite part was having a master class with Allen Vezzutti. She learned a ton, had a great time, and arrived home at 3:15am this morning.

On Saturday, the rest of us went to VMI to see the boy and his girl.  We had a quick picnic lunch and then headed off to the basketball game. We got to sit with the band and it was awesome! Can I say that the band director is just as much of a kid as the college kids? He is a scream!  Heck, I want to be in his band. He is everything that the high school director isn't. And it just blows my mind every time I see him in action.  What a breath of fresh air! Anyway, it was a very close game and it was fun to be in the stands.  The band played a lot and I really wish that LLB had been there to see how much fun they all had. The best part? VMI actually won against William and Mary.

After the game, we unloaded the car of all the microwaveable mac and cheese and ramen noodles that one boy could eat in a week and most people could survive on for a month. I included in that care package a new ski jacket, a box of plastic spoons, a tiny bottle of dishwashing soap, a set of measuring cups and THE most awesome mug ever!

It's a 20oz Corning Ware microwaveable mug. FYI:  I found it at Walmart for less than half the price Amazon has it.  It's perfect for Easy Mac -- one packet of EM, 2/3c water, nuke it and you're done. He tried it out yesterday and even called to tell me how wonderful it is!  Mother of the Year!! Thankyouverymuch!!

Anyway, after that, we went to a great Italian sub place in Lexington. They had the best Italian sub I've had since we moved here.  I'm definitely going back and I'm going to try the Calzone and the Pizza and whatever else is on the menu. It was wonderful!  

We had coffee hour at church yesterday. When we do coffee hour, we do it up because we figure we've had lunch on others for the past few months and it's only fair.  I must say that our coffee hour rocked!  If there's one thing our family does well, it's food. We had Mr's chili with rice on the side, spinach and strawberry salad, ravioli, shrimp salad mini sandwiches, mini crab sandwiches, crunchy snacks, and more. Everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch and hopefully everyone went home with a full belly.

From that point in the day, my life becomes very ordinary again with making up LLB's bed, a bit of vacuuming,  putting laundry away, doing the dishes, and generally sitting around until 2:15am when LLB called to tell me she was a half an hour out from the school and to meet her there.

Today, I've hauled in some firewood, had a cup of tea, and driven LLB to meet her friends so she can go Snow Tubing.  My kitchen counter is awash with Calculus and History text books, a calculator, a few notebooks, pencils, and the remnants of her lunch.  So as much as life is busy, life is ordinary... and that's how I like it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I can't believe it's already February 14th!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I've kind of neglected this blog over the past couple of years. But I'm hoping to get back to it now that some things have changed and a few people have moved on to bother other people and have hopefully stopped stalking me and my writings.  (We shall see, won't we?)

We've had a great winter so far. LLB is starting to take her SATs and ACTs. She's thrilled with all of that -- NOT!  This week she's off to an Honor Band with some of her classmates -- we are hoping the weather will hold and that she can get to and from without hitting any snow or bad weather. Upon her return, she's got big plans that include tubing, visits from old friends, directing the pit orchestra for the musical, and more! She's one busy girl, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

My boy is doing well. VMI is a challenge, but he is enjoying his time there.  He made the Deans List for the first term-- no surprise there.  He's being inducted into the National Honor Society for College Freshmen. He's just received a letter stating that he is being considered for a scholarship, too! His hard work is paying off. We are so proud of him.

My boy is a great kid, unfortunately, another cadet doesn't appreciate him or his work ethic and has decided to try to make his life miserable. (I've got my eye on this person and I can make a phone call at any moment if I decide things have gone too far. For now, I'm watching it all play out.) This particular cadet has taken my boy's food stuffs, moved his things around, and even took a swing at him. This kid is on my list and those of you who know me well know that the one place nobody wants to be is on my list.

So now we have this:  My Cadet was given a Rat Ring by his senior when they had "breakout" at the end of January. It turns out that the ring is now missing - along with the ring given to him by his girl at Christmas. My Cadet - who is very careful with his things and is trying desperately not to wrongly accuse - doesn't want to say they were stolen, but will say that they are both missing and nobody seems to know anything. I'm a bit upset that this sort of thing happened - especially with such special items -- I can only hope that I am wrong about who I think took the rings, but my gut tells me that I'm right...  And my gut isn't wrong all that often.

We are all hoping that the rings just appear one day before the end of the term in May.  As I told my boy, we can replace both items. They won't be the same, but at least he'll have a Rat Ring to pass down to his Rat one day. I reminded him that those who love him and support him are what really matter -- stuff is just stuff...  (except when it's stuff that means something - then it's harder to remember that it's still just stuff.)

So as we move into spring, we'll be visiting colleges with LLB, getting ready for the musical and the HUGE cast party that goes with it, and generally being the busy people that we are. Stop by and I'll fill you in on our day to day excitement... well, I'll try for once a week, to start, ok??