BIG NEWS for "Libby With a Y!"

Like the Jeffersons, we're moving on up around here -- me, myself and I!  After much consternation and brow-beating, this blog and my other website with various and sundry writing clips have merged!  They are now together as one harmonious unit (I dare to hope) at...

www.LibbyMcNamee.com

 Please check it out!  

*** If you can't/don't wants to remember the new site address, no worries!  This will be my final entry here.  However, I'm going to leave this site up, so you can always come back here and click on over to the new digs.   All previous archive entries back to 2007 are on the new site.

All this talk of a "final entry" reminds me of this hilarious video below, "Sad Cat Diary."  

We've lost count of how many times we've watched it.  It's worth seeing even if you hate cats.  Perhaps their suffering becomes even more enjoyable that way!  This chubby white cat is mighty upset that his food bowl is only half full.  He is so convinced he is going to starve to death that he laments, "This may be my final entry."

Thanks for reading!  See you at www.LibbyMcNamee.com!

LibbY

Is It Really Safe to Put the Scraper Away?

It is downright glorious outside, but is it really safe to put the ice scraper away -- for good?  Or as Sam would say, "for REAL?"  Yesterday as I got into my car, I looked down and noticed two things.  OK, make that three:

1.  Even with open-toed shoes on, my feet were not cold at all, a good thing.

2.  A pedicure is also a good thing (i.e.necessary) when you are teetering on the brink of spring.

 (By the way I only wish these were my purdy feet!)

3.  Lo and behold, there was an ice scraper on the floor of the passenger seat.  Bleck!  Rather incongruous to have one on hand when also talking about open-toes shoes, right?  For some reason I am still reluctant to remove it from said vehicle.  Believe me, it is not out of nostalgia for the wonderful winter of 2014, but fear!  It was fear of needing that scraper in the near future and not having it nearby!!  Are these fears based on reality?  Yes, I dare to say they are since we have not yet gone a fortnight without some ice or snow.  ("Fortnight" is such a cool word, don't you think?  It's right up there with a "month of Sundays" in arcane measures of time.)

Well, the daffodils seem to be out there taking the plunge, springing up everywhere.

The lovely dogwoods have started to bloom as well.

So, I hereby resolve to take the scraper out of the front seat of my car.  I'll move it to the trunk!  Baby
steps, right?  Slowly but surely I vow to have it in the garage by Memorial Day.  Even then it may be at the front of the garage.

By August, I vow it will be packed away.  Baby steps....

LibbY

Life Bee-yond the Screen

I'll be honest -- Sam has too much screen time, and I'm always trying to whittle it down without him noticing.  (It doesn't work, but I keep trying, a sure sign of insanity.)  He'll do just about anything to have access to a screen even if it is a TV show showing an old Lawrence Welk Show.  True story.

Well, this week Sam's BFF had been out of school for the second straight weeks.  He's been recovering from having his tonsils out, the poor guy.  It's been sweet how much Sam has missed him.  On the flip side it's also been sad to hear about his lonely day at school when he gets off the bus.

So one day last week as we were about to head out the door, he became mysteriously ill.  I kept asking, "Do you feel sick or do you just not want to go to school?"  He said he felt achy and had a stomach ache, but I had one more test for him, the test of truth.  "If you stay home, there will be no screen time.  Do you still want to stay home?"  He said yes, so I knew he really was sick.

With that I also knew that President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Sam McNamee Entertainment Committee for the day.   So who was the one making the sacrifice?  (I knew that Louise was going to sleep on any job assigned to her, so I decided not to even bother recruiting her.)   But alas, I had to keep my word as much as I didn't want to.  All day long?  It was 9 am.  What in the world were we going to do?

Just when you think you know your kid inside and out, you realize you don't at all.  Within minutes I was nearly blown over -- in a good way.  Mr. Un-Crafty was crafting away!  He got out some paper and started industriously making these neat little origami guys.  And then he voluntarily started to COLOR them!  Wow, he must have been sick, but I was not about to stop him!

Then he had a great time learning how to take pictures with my phone.  As the grand arbiter, I decided that didn't count as screen time.  He was so proud of himself.

Then he inspired me to tap into my own inner craftiness.  (It is way, way deep in there!)

Introducing "Bee" cupcakes!  

It is interesting to note that I also became much more creative once I limited my own screen time.   Hmmn...   Do as I say, not as I do, right?

LibbY

PS  I did not take the cool photo though!  It was my budding beekeeper and birthday buddy, Lolo who is always buzzing with creativity.  OK, enough of the bad bee jokes -- for now anyway.

Hail to SUPER MAILMAN!

Today as I came careening home from Tar-jay to meet the bus, I saw two fire engines on our sleepy street with lots of hoses out!  Immediately I started to pray that no one's house was on fire.  Then I couldn't believe what was in front of me -- THIS!

Holy freaking cow!  I had to start snapping pictures because it was just too shocking to describe with mere words.  (A picture is worth a thousand words, you know!)

Oh my!  The thing was absolutely torched!

So by now I bet you are wondering where the mailman was.  Here he was -- hanging with the mail.

So as he was delivering mail to that box, the truck backfired and started smoking.  Then he noticed it had caught on fire!  He hopped out rather quickly AND THEN GOT ALL THE MAIL OUT before clearing out in case the dang thing blew up.  Hey, the whole scenario was so bizarre that anything could have happened.  Heck, that truck could have sprouted wings and flown off at that point, it was so surreal.

Our mailman Jim was joking around to the little group that assembled, awestruck by the whole thing.  "Don't try, I'll get your bills to you!"  And he did.  He had the post office send him a new truck, and then he finished his route, still smiling.

Sam and his BFF were appropriately dumbfounded and thought he should get a Medal of Honor.  They vowed that from now on his name is "SUPER MAILMAN!"

So today a new superpower was born on our very street.  Pretty good for an average Tuesday, huh?

LibbY

So Who's Ready for Spring?

Oh man, I sure am!  In fact.  I've never wanted winter to be over so badly.  Out, out, brown snow!

We are up to ten snow days now (I think) and a bunch of two-hour delays. Oh, but who's counting?   You could drive yourself insane; learn from my mistake.  I don't think we even had ten days off after the legendary Blizzard of '76 in New England.  But then again, up yonder in the Northeast they actually plow the side streets.  That's quite a concept in Virginia. 

As a kid I remember hearing the melodious scraping sound of the plow clearing ALL the snow off the roads.  So its not that Northeasterners know how to drive in the snow, they don't have drive in snow.  The plows clear the snow away before it gets packed down as ice, black ice, what have you.  

(Exhibit A below.)

So enough of that!  The first day of spring approacheth!  It is coming up on March 20.  Since today is March 10, that means a mere 10 days from now, folks.  (As you can see, I'm quick on my feet with the math problems that life throws at you when your phone is recharging.)

This WILL happen soon. Really!  We must believe.  Maybe it won't be on March 20 exactly, but it's coming.  Nature has a way of taking us down a notch when we try to schedule it to a T.

Yes, its almost time to spring into spring!  BOING!

Let me be the first to wish you ---- 

LibbY

Perfect Day for a Getaway to BORA BORA!

Ah, snowed in again!!  Don't we all want to jump on a plane to somewhere warm?  A perfect time to daydream of a tropical vacay.  Here's how to do it on the cheap -- my piece from the February March issue of Robious Corridor Magazine hot off the presses!  Link below --

                                       Robious Corridor Magazine: Beat the Winter Blues!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

                                                               
                                                                  See you there?!

LibbY

Flannel Gridlock

When the going gets cold, the tough break out the flannel.  In my case I went hard core, pulling out the flannel pajamas AND sheets a la flannel.  With the weather as cold as it has been lately, there cannot be too much flannel around here!  However, after getting all excited to get into bed to be all warm 'n' stuff,  i soon realized that was downright difficult to scoot down.  It was nothing other than the scientific phenomenon known as "Flannel Gridlock."  Two flannels placed together are not moving anywhere.  Yes, it's a First World Problem for sure, but a problem nonetheless.  I'd rather have this problem, though, than that scary 18-hour gridlock in Atlanta this week.

Flannel can be extremely good-looking on a guy.  Just ask him!  He's a flannel kind of guy.

OK, here's another example.

Let's face it, for ladies flannel just doesn't have the same allure, try as we might.

Although I do have to note that one of the Olsen twins pulls the flannel look off nicely in her own Bohemian chic way.  Hats off to you, Mary-Kate or Ashley.  Whichever one you happen to be, you wear flannel quite well.

So here is my remedy for  cases of Flannel Gridlock!  You sorta roll/lift yourself onto the bed right into place, so then there's no need to scoot down.  How 'bout that?  One thing is for sure -- seems like flannel is here to stay for a while.   Don't worry, I won't try and wear a flannel bikini this summer!

Wait, just in!  It's a photo of Katie Holmes shedding the flannel shirt she was wearing over her hot pink bikini!!  She's lucky -- she is somewhere warm!!  Plus, she doesn't have to worry about Flannel Gridlock!

LibbY