This past week, Jessica was in the "One Act Plays" at Hayfield.  The name of her play was "The Prize Play" and was directed by Rachel Brisson, Class of 08.

 

The role was a stretch for Jessica and she played the part of the seductress very well.  She was very funny (and it WAS a comedy).  Ahe was a bit nervous before the show because this was such a challenging part, but she pulled it off beautifully.  We were proud of her!

 

It's such a busy time leading up to performances!  We are all tired.  This year, "One Acts" overlapped with Marching Band so it was a double whammy -- fun, but busy.

 

Now, I think we get a little breather.  The holidays are approaching -- I can hardly believe it!

 

 

 

Wow!  Where does the time go??  Things have been crazy busy here.  Lots going on. 

 

Jessica has been extremely busy.  Between Marching Band, "One Act" Plays (she has a lead), her school work (including one on-line class) and being a Cappie's Critic, she has kept us moving.  Her first quarter grades were good (All A's and B's).  The Marching Band did well, including a "Superior" at Festival, one 1st Place and one 2nd place at competitions and a "Best Color Guard".  The play is this Thursday Night.  She has also reviewed two shows:  Metamorphoses at St. Stephens/St. Agnes and "High School Musical" at Edison HS.  She wrote both reviews and did her nominations.   Throw in a Chorus concert and appearances by Chorale at events and you have one busy girl.

 

Tom and I have kept busy, too.  I finished re-decorating our Living Room.  It was way overdo, but it looks great now -- just in time for the holidays.  We kept hoping to get to the beach but that was not to be.  We are going down over Thanksgiving weekend.  We went to the Maryland Football games.  Go Terps!  Basketball season starts tonight and we are ready.

 

I have  bunch of picutres to wade through.  We got a new camera.  I'll post them in the next day or so.

 

Cindy

 

We're  baaaaack! We had a LOVELY time. The weather was perfect. In fact, everything was perfect.   Tom and I always try to get at least a weekend alone for our Anniversary every year.  The whole idea is to rest, relax, do fun things together and leave our cares behind us.  No work cell phone for Tom.  No computer.  Just us.  It really is something we both look forward to each year!

Where to start? The train ride was uneventful (the best kind). Got to NYC, dropped our bags at the hotel and had lunch at Bond 45(45th and BW). I had two small plates (buffalo mozzerella and proscuitto) and they were yummy. Back to the hotel. Hung out there and rested. Went to see "Grease". It was okay. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. I enjoyed it because I had watched the reality show where they cast Danny and Sandy. Wouldn't recommend it and figure it will close soon! After that, glass of champagne at the bar downstairs and a small plate of crispy calamari (I was hungry since lunch was a long time ago). DH had a crabcake and a beer. After that, more champagne in the room (compliments of Sofitel - so we HAD to drink it - for our anniversary). They also sent chocolate covered strawberries - a fruit serving, right?

On Saturday, we shopped til DH dropped! I got some stuff at Ann Taylor (they have the most amazing AT on Madison up near the park. It's their flagship store). After that, I HAD to go the 8th floor at Saks where they have a shoe store that has it's own zip code (no kidding). It was amazing and I didn't buy a thing. I also didn't try anything on either == that would have been dangerous.

Lunch was another small plate of calamari at the hotel since I liked it so much the night before. DH had a sandwich.

Took a nap, shopping is tiring in NYC. Trekking up and down 5th avenue with bags in high heels.....Got ready for dinner at the "21 Club".

Dinner at "21" is always amazing. The food is fabulous, service amazing and the folks you see there are neat. I didn't see any celebrities but the folks seated on either side were interesting. (You sit in a horseshoe like configuraton and are very close to your "neighbors" so it encourages socializing if you want to). I had a lump crabmet appetizer and plank grilled fish (I think it was chard or something but it looked like salmon). It was amazing. More champagne. After all, it is NYC. Skipped dessert because we weren't hungry. It was a nice night so we walked back (more walking in high heels - extra activity points, right???).

Sunday was "tourist day". We walked to the Flatiron building (about 20 blocks) because I've always wanted to take a picture of it. After that, we hopped a cab to Battery Park. I've never been there but I remember it from "Desperately Seeking Susan" one of my favorite movies. AFter that, we walked (bad idea because it sure looked closer on the map) to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked across it and back. That walk took 2 hours and we weren't strolling. I had on clogs so I don't get the "high heel" extra credit. We were tired so we took a cab back to Mid-town and went to ESPN Zone to watch the Skins lose. Oh well. I ate cheese fries and had a beer. Heck, I'd walked over 3 hours in the morning!

After that, another nap, and off to Spamalot. We'd seen it before but DH wanted to see it again and after he'd been kind enough to sight see at Saks, what could I say. We enjoyed it. After that, back to the hotel. We were still stuffed from thecheese fries so we skipped dinner.

We had breakfast at our fav spot (The Red Sea Diner), which was a bagel, cream cheese and lox for me and off to Penn Station for another uneventful train ride home.

We had a great time and hope to get up to NYC again soon!

 

 

Ok.  Everyone wants to see my new glasses so here is a picture!  They are very different from what I am used to.

 

We are off to NYC on Friday.  YIPPEE.  We're taking the new camera so stay tuned for pictures.

 

 

Tom and I went to Rutgers this weekend with the Terrapin Club.  It was a lot of fun.  We left on Friday and rode the bus up to New Jersey.  There was a nice dinner Friday Night.  Saturday, we went to a tailgate party and then to the game.  The game was amazing!  Rutgers was ranked 10 and Maryland was unranked so it was a major upset.   Lots of fun.  We got to catch up with a lot of friends.

 

Jessica stayed home to march at a football game and participate in a Marching Band competition.  Their band came in first place in their class and they also won "Best Color Guard"!  That was exciting.  There are two more competitions this season.

 

School is whizzing past.  Intermins come out next week.  I can't belive it's October.

 

We have been running around like crazy since school started!!!  It's always tough going from a lazy summer routine to a school year routine.  This year has been no different.

 

Jessica is starting out her Sophomore Year at Hayfield Secondary School.  So far she doesn't "hate" any of her classes. which is am improvement since last year.  Things are starting to settle down.  We've had 2 football games, Back-to-School Night, Orientation for On-Line Algebra 2, Voice Lessons, Dance Lessons and 2 Maryland Football Games.  I'm ready for a break but I don't see one in sight.  It's all a lot of fun, though.

 

This weekend should be a bit quiet.  At the moment, not a lot on the calendar.

 

I added some photos from the football games.  I also added video of Jessica and her friend, MaryEllen, tapdancing during the halftime show.  It's in the public folder at the bottom of my blog.  Jessica is definitely having a lot of fun being part of the Marching Band.

 

Until next time.

 

We spent the weekend working around the house.  Our main project was taking out all of the old, diseased shrubbery in front of our house and planting new.  That involved new brick edging, new dirt and new mulch.  Tom is VERY tired of Lowe's!!!

 

We planted a crepe myrtle on the end (a crimson one), 2 yews, hostas and firepower nandina's in the beds.  They are baby bushes, but a little Miracle Grow, deer repellant spray, water and loving care, they will grow into real plants.

 

Here are some quick pictures:

 

 

 

Which is just what we need!  It seems we have been on the road most of the summer; either at the beach, in NYC or in WVA.  It feels good to have some time at home. 

 

We had our first home High School Football game Thursday night.  Jessica is now part of the Marching Band - she does Color Guard (or flag 'work').  Hayfield lost, but the band was very good.  It was good to catch up with folks we haven't seen all summer and relax and watch the game.

 

Jessica's schedule came this week and she is happy with it.  She is taking Honors English and Chemistry, World History, Spanish 3, Phys Ed, Drama 2 and Chorale.  She is also taking Algebra 2 on line.  She is happy with her teachers and knows at least one person in each class.  I'm just glad I didn't have to go to school to try and change it!  School starts Tuesday.

 

Tom and I are going to the University of Maryland Football game today against Villa Nova.  That should be fun.  Go Terps!

 

I finally posted some pictures from the summer.  They are from our weekend in New York City and when we were back in West Virginia. 

 

The weather is amazing here - Sunny and in the 80's with low humidity.  I took a great bike ride this morning.  It was fun to not sweat so much!  I did remember to take my cell phone and both my pedals stayed on!  (Reference to earlier in the month where I lost a pedal in Kingstowne and had to push my bike because I had no money or cell phone!). 

 

Enjoy the weekend.

 

 

I haven't had a second to blog because Tom's Father passed away suddenly on 8/17/07.  He was found dead at his home from an apparent heart attack.  We went back to Kenova, WV for the funeral.  Tom's mother, Lois, and the rest of the family are doing as well as can be expected.

 

Although it was great to visit with family and friends, it was a very sad, emotional and exhausting week.  We appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes that we have received.  At times like these, family and friends are what get you through.

 

Anyone wishing to make a contribution in memory of Tom's father, should do so to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a camp run by The Petty Family for terminally ill children.  It's a charity that has been embraced by the NASCAR family and Pops sure loved NASCAR and auto racing.  (http://www.victoryjunction.org/aa_help/help02_financial.html  Make sure you note that it's in memory of Fred Skiles).

 

I hope to post pictures from our NYC Trip (which was wonderful) and some family photos from the WVA visit, but I'm too tired right now.  I'll try and get to it early next week.

 

 

 

 

Wow.  Things have been busy.  Jessica is back from camp.  She had a great time.  They did the Broadway Show "Working".  It was very good.  She had a short solo, which is really good at this camp.  I'll post pictures when I get them (I ordered the CD of rehearsal shots).

 

The heat index is about 105-110 degrees here.  YIKES.  Today, it was too hot to ride my bike (even for me!).  That was a bit of a disappointment.  I added my "bike journal" to my website list if you want to check on my riding.  I've done almost 200 miles since mid-June.  That's not a lot for road racing kind of bikers, but it shows a lot of consistent daily rides for me.  The link is http://www.bikejournal.com/journal_public.asp?rname=CindyKnits&public=1

 

We are off to New York City for the weekend on Friday.  Jessica chose 3 shows to see:  "Spring Awakening", "The Lion King" and  "Hairspray".  It should be a lot of fun and hopefully it's cooler up there!

 

Hopefully, we can get to OC next weekend.  Jessica has had no "beach time" this summer.

 

I'll check in after NYC.

Wow.  Where has the month gone?  Jessica went off to visit Switzerland and Spain.  She spent several days in Geneva, Switzerland and 2 weeks in Alicante, Spain.  She had a great time.  She and MaryEllen had a lot of fun and have stories to tell.  She got to see her grandparents and Aunt and Uncle.  It was great for her.

 

Tom and I spent some time at the beach.  We sat on the beach, rode bikes, put together a monster jig saw puzzle and hung out with friends at the Shark.  The whole family was there so it was nice to see everyone.  It was a bit odd without Jessica but she's growing up so we gotta deal!  The weather was "so so" but it was nice to get away.  The winds were so high that the fireworks were postponed for a day. 

 

Now, Jessica is home and getting ready to head off to camp.  She is going to a two week residential musical theatre camp in Baltimore.  She went last year, too, so she is excited to see all of her friends.  This year they are performing the musical "Working".  Auditions are Saturday night.  They arrive at 2 p.m. Sat.  She really looks forward to this camp all year long.

 

Right now, she is trying to cram a week's worth of stuff into two days!  Last night, she wanted "american food" so we hit Glory Days in Lorton for some mozzerella sticks and mac and cheese (that's what SHE had).  Today, she is off seeing the new "Harry Potter" movie with MaryEllen.  Tomorrow, it's off to the orthodontist, see "Hairspray" at the movies, and pick up the new Harry Potter book at midnight.  Normally, we wouldn't do the "midnight" thing but she wants to take the book to camp. 

 

Tom and I are planning another long weekend at the beach.  He'll need it.  He's been busy preparing congresssional testimony and is exhausted.  The hearing is Tuesday so things will get better.  I'll complete the sewing class I've been taking on Tuesday.  We'll learn zippers which is one thing I really wanted to learn (I know, I need a life....).

 

Just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on!

 

 

At long last!  Summer is here.  No more tutoring for the summer!  All my "kids" passed their classes!  Yippee!

 

Jessica is getting ready to head to Spain on Friday (6/29).  She is going to Alicante to visit her Grandparents.  I've looked at the city on the internet and it looks lovely.  She is taking a girl friend with her (as well as her Dad, Stepmom and baby brother, Alex).  They should have a nice visit.  They are also making a brief stop in Geneva, Switzerland on the way there and on the way back to visit Corinne's parents.  Jessica has never been to Switzerland, one of the few European countries she's missed.  She has been to England, Spain, Greece (twice), Italy, and France so far.  I don't think I missed any. 

 

She is relieved to have Freshman year behind her, especially Biology, which was NOT her subject.  She ended up with a B in Spanish 2.  Hooray!  The teacher NEVER gives A's and only a few B's.  Jessica was VERY pleased.  Maybe she can practice her Spanish in Spain to get ready for Spanish 3.  This is the final year of her language requirement so she's happy.  

 

Tom and I are off to the beach once we get Jessica underway.  Mom and the rest of the clan will be down for our annual Family vacation.  It will be strange not to have Jessica along.  This is the first vacation she's missed.  However, she has her Summer Stock camp on July 22-Aug 3 and Marching Band Camp starts Aug 13 so the Spain trip had to be now.  What a busy bee she is.

 

I'm looking forward to a little "down time" at the beach.  I'm taking books, knitting, dvds to watch and a jigsaw puzzle or two (as well as a bottle or two of vino!).  Very quiet.  We hope to catch a few movies.  We saw "1408" last night - very Stephen King.  I want to see "Ocean's 13". 

 

Guess that's all for now.  Prayers for safe travels!

 

 

 

 

Last week, I bought myself a brand new hybrid bicycle.  I got a Trek 7100, which was a good bike that didn't require me to get a second mortgage.  A hybrid was definitely the way to go for me since I wanted a few things:  1)  a bigger seat, 2) a basket for my "stuff", 3) enough gears to get up hills and 4 ) Flat handle bars; but I didn't need 1) A titanium frame (easier to take a few pounds off me than pay for a few less pounds on the bike), 2) to ride all crouched over 3) to go really fast.  I also wanted it to have a bit of "style".

 

I got my bike, a basket, a new matching helmet (of course) and a bike lock.  I was ready to ride.  Only problem, it was about 100 degrees on Friday.  I had to wait until 10 p.m. to go for a ride. 

 

Yesterday, I rode to the bank and to my meeting at school.  Today, I rode to the post office to mail a letter.  I'm trying to replace the car on at least one errand a day and ride a minimum of 30 minutes. 

 

I noticed today as I was pedaling around Kingstowne, taking the scenic route (and not just trying to avoid hills!), that on a bike you take the long way home!

 

 

 

 

 

Why do "short" weeks always seem longer????  I guess it's all in our heads.

 

First things first, the big news.  Jessica won the "Most Promising Newcomer" at the Thespian End of Year Banquet last night.  She was surprised, honored and excited.  It means a lot to her since she was voted for by her peers.  The Banquet was lovely and the kids looked great (party dresses for the girls and suits for the boys) and were incredibly well behaved.  I've been at receptions with adults that behaved much worse.  They were respectful, quiet and well mannered.  It restored my faith in teenagers!  (I lose it every once in a while with my tutoring kids!!!)

 

My life is a bit crazy.  Tutoring High School kids through SOLs (Standard of Learning Tests, although whoever made the acronym had a sense of humor) and Final Exams is no picnic.  They are all moving their appointments and I'm getting REALLY tired of SOL review packets.  The problem with the packets is they are made up of questions that were "thrown out" of the tests for being either poorly worded or containing errors.  Great practice, huh?  Geez.  Who's idea was "No Child Left Behind"????  Don't get me started.....

 

Anyway, the last day of school is June 18th.  11 more days!  More importantly, 11 more mornings to drag a teenager out of bed to be at school by 7 a.m.!  That's the worse part of the day.

 

Enough grumbling.  The weather has finally turned to summer.  We are headed back to the beach this weekend to finish up the work from last weekend.  We, hopefully, will get a little beach time and Tom hopes to play some golf.  We could use a little R&R.

 

Not a lot else to add.  BTW, I did fix my commenting feature (at least I think I did) so feel free to comment!

 

 

After a long weekend at the beach with warm temperatures, I feel like summer is finally here!  I guess we just skipped spring.

 

Our Memorial Day included a visit to Ocean City, MD.  We had a great time.  It's one of the few times Jessica will be able to go with us this summer.  She is off to Spain to see her Grandparents for 2 and a half weeks in July.  After that, she comes home for 3-4 days and is off to her Summer Stock Theatre camp for 2 weeks.  It will be "different" for me.  I have a lot of projects to take care of during that part of the summer.  Let's see how much I get done!

 

We had fun working around the condo, doing those chores necessary to "open up" for the season.  The family was all down and we celebrated my Brother-In-Law's 50th Birthday at "The Shark".  It was an amazing dinner and we all had a great time.  Tom and I bought new "beach bikes" and rode them around.  We got an amazing deal on the bikes  -- we got both for under $200.  They don't have gears, but hey, it's flat there.  Jessica already had a bike down there.  We walked on the beach and couldn't believe that folks were swimming.  The water HAD to be 50 degrees.

 

The BIG news is the Jessica was chosen for the Hayfield Chorale.  She was soooo excited because she really didn't expect to be chosen.  The auditions were grueling.  She made it through as one of the 7 Sopranos in the ensemble.  They chose 3 new Sopranos.  We are proud of her.  It's a big honor for a rising sophomore to be chosen.  She is stiill floating.  I'm working with the guidance counselor to get her classes worked out.

 

There are chores to be done before my tutoring students arrive.  Enjoy the day!

 

 

We became the proud owner of a brand, spanking new Ford Edge yesterday.  I have hated the van for years - it has a rough ride and drives like a long bed pickup truck, so I was happy to oblige when Tom decided he wanted to go look at the new Ford Edge. 

 

We called up my sister, who very happily allowed us to drive one.  It is sooooo smooth and quiet.  It has a double sun roof, navigation system, leather interior, heated seats and dual climate control - my side can be 80 and his can be 65!!!  We have never treated ourselves to a car like this!  I adore my Focus and our van was adequate, but this is a real treat!

 

We took it out for a ride last night and played with all the gadgets.  We are very excited.

 

Now, if I can just get Tom to quit punching EVERYWHERE we go into the Navigation system.......

 

Today is "Preakness Day".  After growing up in Baltimore and going to the in-field for years, I get a bit nostalgic.  I never bet on the races, but I sure enjoyed the fun party atmosphere!  In fact, I don't recall even seeing a horse all those years!  It looks like "Street Sense" is the favorite, but don't count out "Hard Spun".  I'll be watching the race!

 

 

 

 

Wow.  It's Finally Friday.

 

Today was busy.  I worked at Weight Watchers this morning, filling in for a friend.  We were busy!  76 members.

 

After that, me and the GFs hung out for lunch.  I live for Friday lunches.  They are my anchor! 
We went to Mike's American Grill and had great soup and salads, as well as good talks and good times.

 

Jessica is excited.   She was called back for "Chorale"!  That is amazing since she is only a rising sophomore!  We are so happy for her.  Even if she doesn't make the ensemble, this was quite an accomplishment.  She is going to a color guard info meeting on Monday.  She is excited about being part of the Marching Band Color Guard.  A good week, all in all.  Call backs for Chorale are Thusday.  It is an exercise in "blending",  which Jessica is very comfortable in doing.

 

Jessica is at Ardonna's Sweet Sixteen Party tonight.  We will pick her and her pals up around 11 p.m.   We bought a new Ford Edge today.  It is very cool!

 

Enjoy your weekend.

 

 

The show was AMAZING.  The kids did great and everyone that I spoke to really enjoyed the show.  The costumes and hair looked good and the dance numbers were energized and fun.   The storyline was also really cute.  Saturday night was the last erformance and after striking the set, I think everyone was exhausted.  They did the whole show from Audition to Opening Night in just 6 weeks.  It was well worth all the effort.

 

Today I went back to my knitting group in a bit of a funk.  The cotton stria tee is in a place where it requires concentration and none of my winter projects feels appealing when it's 80 degrees out.  After chatting with Perri and Penny, I decided to make the old standby "Simply Beautiful Tee" in Poppy.  I'm making it on size 11's so it will go fast and be really nice and soft.  I'm using Color 12, which is light to medium blues with white.  It is very textured and will be fun.  It will also go FAST.  I need a quick WIN right now.  I did my gauge (good girl!) and have about 2 inches done in just about an hour.  I'll hopefully get some knitting time this afternoon.

 

As for "Idol", I hope it comes down to Blake and Jordan.  I just can't get past the fact that Melinda is a pro.  She also just feels "too old" for me.  I love Blake and he does the most contemporary songs.  It's hard to say at this point who will go.

 

I'm also getting excited for the "Grey's Anatomy" season finale this Thursday!

 

Things are quiet here.  Jessica has an audition for the "Hayfield Chorale" tonight.  The audition piece is very hard and must be sung acapella.  Sophomores hardly ever make the ensemble but it's good audition experience.  If she gets in, she will most likely have to take Algebra II online so she can keep both Drama and Chorus in her schedule.  I wish she could drop Spanish but she needs 3 years of a language.  She is going to be a fine arts major in college so fine arts electives what's important to her.  Good thing her mom is a Math Tutor!!!

 

This is basically "catch up" week.  Lots of chores, errands, etc.

 

I think I'll go outside and enjoy this awesome weather (sunny and 80 degrees) while I wait for a repairman to come!

 

 

 

"Opening Night" is finally here.  Rehearsal ran until after 9 p.m. last night but Jessica thinks the show is "ready".  She is very excited.  She even stayed awake while I was putting up her hair last night.  Now, all the hard work is done, and we get to enjoy the performances.

 

During the Hair last night, we watched "American Idol".  Lakeisha is finally gone.  Phew.  I think Blake is the next to go.  I was just tired of seeing Lakeisha take NO advice from the "mentors".   This year's Idol is extremely lame.  Why do I watch????  I'm as bad as Mr. Tony.  I can't help myself.

 

I really need to carve out some knitting time soon.  I've just been way too tired and busy.  Maybe tomorrow.

 

Today, call is at 5:30 so it will be finishing the hair, makeup and dinner!

 

Break a Leg!

 

 

My good friend, Jean, took these amazing pictures!!!!  It was hard to pick which ones to put up on the site!!!