My BFF

Last night was such a great night. My BFF was here in town for a short visit. She moved to Qatar two years ago with her husband, and I have been missing her something awful! When she lived here we were inseperable . We went out all the time and had soo much fun. I started to actually 'have a life" once I met her and did more living in the 5 years we were friends than I had done my whole life. She was a local Actress and got invited to the coolest parties and events and such. I actually got to work with her on a Pilot for HBO once. (although it's never actually come to fruition, at least not yet.) and I've gotten to accompany her on a few shoots. She was actually in an episode of One Tree Hill. It was funny because she was even given guest star billing. We were all excited and even had aparty to "watch" her episode,with Champagne even..LOL....then her scene finally came up at the VERY end and WTH it was all blurred out!!!!!! Even the extras got more airtime than she did and they were 'clear'...LOL OH well.

So anyways she was in town last week and we finally got to go out. We went into Norfolk to a little place called Crackers..They have the best Martini's . I got a little tipsy..LOL...luckily I wasn't driving, although I probably should have as BFF hasn't driven in america for a while and the 'rules' in Qatar are a little 'different" which means we had a few 'close calls" .

We had Martini's and Tappas. All the food was awesome!
For Dessert we had Some-Mores , how cool is that?We also learned that if you stick the little skewer into the burner gel and let it burn for a while it makes a great writing utensil....LOL...here is the Co-eds artwork...Everyone joined in the fun.!

Sushi Night

The girls and I were out shopping. Drama Teen needed to get some fabric for a costume she's making for the Drama Showcase in June. We decided to stop for a bite to eat before heading home and chose Yu-Mi Sushi. Drama Teen is sooooo NOT a sushi eater but said it'd be ok...she'd find something. She did. She had the Teryaki chicken and actually enjoyed it. We did get her to try a piece of Tuna Tataki.She's STILL soooooo NOT a sushi person...LOL
Co-ed and I enjoyed meal though YUMMMMM

Road Trip

Co-ed and I took a quick Trip up to Va Tech this week. She was going to stay up there for the summer and take a few courses so she could graduate early. She still plans to graduate early , but decided to take online courses so she could stay home for the summer. She needed a few things from her apartment though so we took a day trip up to Blacksburg. Packed up a few of her things and did a little cleaning. On the way home we didn't want to stop for fast food, so we kept watch for anything that sounded good. First we took an Exit for the Scenic Mountain restaurant, but as we drove up it didn't look too promising so we decided to just keep on going.....then we came to the Natural Bridge Exit, and figured why not? We weren't sure what to expect as we'd never checked it out before. We came up to the Hotel and were Mildly surprised! It looked really nice. The area is really beautiful and the Hotel looks very swanky. We dined at the Hotel Restaurant. I was a little worried we might be underdressed but we were fine. The Food was absolutley wonderful . We started with some Hoppin' John Cakes..I'd never had them before but OMG they were GOOD! Then I had Pork medalians with a sweet Bourbong Sauce and a Sweet Potato Casserole...Coed had Porkribs and pulled pork with the Sweet potato Cassrole as well. Co-ed and I definately want to come back sometime this summer to spend a weekend. It was too late to see any of the 'sights"...there's a Wax Museum, some Caverns, a Zoo even???

School Board Awards

Every year the Chesapeake School Boards recognizes students for exceptional performance in various activities. This year Drama Teen was recognized for TSA( Technology Student Association) The TSA Group from her School Placed Second in their Annual TSA Competition.

Mojito Night

I found these cute drink mixes at Target the other day, so I bought a couple. A Mojito Mix and a Cosmo Mix. The girls and I decided to have a Mojito Night. They were actually quite good.

Recital

Drama Teen has been taking voice lessons for the last year or so. On Wednesday they had a recital for all the voice students. There were some pretty talented kids. Especially the younger ones. There were 3 middle school girls who did really well. They will definately be contenders when they get to High School. Of the High School kids Drama Teen pretty much had everyone beat , except for one girl from the Governer's School. She was awesome.

Drama Teen really blew me away though as usual. She always surprises me. I know she's good. It shouldn't be that surprising but it still moves me to hear her sing and see her perform!

DramaTeen and friends lead the way...hoping we don't get lost!Finally made it, only had to turn around twice..LOLDramaTeen with other schoolmates who were performing that evening.Best Friends Forever!
A Tango with her Leading man from Sound of Music( his mom and brother came to see her sing as well)And here she is with her Voice Coach.

Storms

We've been having a rash of severe storms lately. It's actually been quite scary. A couple of weeks ago Suffolk had a tornado that ripped thru a neighborhood and leveled quite a few homes. The same day as Drama Teens Concert we had heavy winds and I was really worried we might get a tornado coming thru. Luckily no tornados but the winds were heavy enough to take a couple of our trees down. This first one is one of ten Bradford Pear trees that line our driveway. It pretty much split in half. Luckily there's still enough of it left to keep the symmetry of our drive intact..LOL.

This other tree is a Gum Tree that completely fell over. Again, luckily it fell in the right direction , AWAY from our Driveway and AWAY from any of our cars...although the Co-ed wouldn't really have minded if it had landed on hers..LOL. ( having transmission problems YET again)

Spring Concert

Tonight Drama Teen was a Chorus Teen. The Spring concert was tonight. The final Concert of the year. The great thing about this concert was that various students got to particpate in various ways. Some were soloists, some were accompanyists, and two got to conduct( as part of the Senior Honor's class) Drama Teen was one who got to Conduct. Not only did she conduct, but she conducted a song that she composed herself. How awesome is that!!? Her song was lovely, I had tears in my eyes as I sat in on rehearsal before the concert. The words were inspired from a special Prayer that Father Richardson had given her not long before he fell ill. So it was really touching to have it performed this Spring, in light of his passing. I've been a Chorus Parent for the last 9 years!!! I would say this is my last year as a Chorus Parent but Drama Teen will most likely be participating in Chorus at JMU next year. She is definately pursuing a Musical Career of some sort.

Memorial for Father

This weekend we had a special Memorial Service for Father Richardson at our own chapel. We attended the Vigil Service at St. Gregory's and the Funeral Service at Little Creek Amphibous Base on the 5th and 6th. They weren't at our Chapel because our chapel is just too small to have acommodated all the people who would want to attend. Plus Father spent many years at Little Creek and had requested his Funeral be held there. St Gregory's hold about 2000 or more...and it was Packed! The Vigil Service was really nice, people from all aspects of Father's life got up to speak. It was amazing to hear all the stories and we learned so much bout Father that we never knew. The Mayor of Virginia Beach was one of the speakers. This little Jewish Woman had such a wonderful speach to honor Him. The funeral service was beautiful. The Bishop officiated over Mass. Drama Teen and I and one other woman from our chapel had the opportunity to sing with the Little Creek Choir for his Funeral Service.

Anyway this weekend was for our congregtion. We had our own Memorial Service and Reception in Honor of Father. His sister, brother in law, and nephew were in attendance. We had a few parishoners speak, and we sang all of Father's favorite Hymns. It was a beautiful Service.

Prom Princess

Last Friday was Drama Teen's Senior Prom. She made her own dress. It's supposed to be a Sleeping Beauty Dress. ( without the sleeves) I think she did a pretty good job. She's learned to sew in Drama Class ..sewing her costumes for her shows. Her Dress turned out beautiful and she LOVED it. She really felt like a Princess. Her date was her leading man from the Musical. His mother made his Vest to match Drama Teens dress. She finished it just as they were getting ready to leave..LOL. One of her other Friends decided to go as the Princess from Enchanted. she also made her own dress( another drama teen)..Isn't she just the most beautiful Princess you ever saw?