As we rang in 2015, we all headed in different directions. John went with the Boy Scouts on the annual "deep freeze" camping trip. He doesn't enjoy it much, but one of his leaders commented to Margie how impressed he is with John's perseverance. When Margie told John this, he replied, "Eagle Scout looks great on a resume!" LOL! Well, at least now we know where his priorities are.
Lyn spent the weekend celebrating her friend Sheri's birthday. They played laser tag, had dinner, and then enjoyed a sleepover.
Dan and Margie took the opportunity of a rare kid-free weekend (the house was so quiet!) to go on a little date night. Several months ago, Margie had scored a gift certificate to a restaurant inside a hotel in Shirlington, and we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to use it. Well, we discovered why they were giving the gift certificates away--it was horrible! We were the only ones in the restaurant. I mean the only ones. At first, we couldn't even find the wait staff! Margie's soup looked and tasted like it was glopped right out of the can. She actually had to add water from her water glass to make it palatable! The entrees were actually surprisingly tasty, but the whole experience left a bad taste in our mouths--literally and figuratively! We will not be going there again any time soon.
The next day, Margie attended the annual Primary breakfast. This is an opportunity for the kids to meet their new Sunday School teachers. As Primary Secretary, Margie is super busy at the end of the year putting together packets for the teachers, making door signs and rosters, and generally making sure all the kids (and leaders) know where they're going. Fortunately, however, by the time the breakfast comes along, most of her work is done, and she can just sit back and enjoy it.
While the kids were out of school, Margie enjoyed getting out watch the sunrise a few times--despite the fact that the weather stopped her from actually riding her bike.
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| Sunrise on the Potomac, 1/7/15 |
Also, this month, Margie a new volunteer position at LTA doing the front of house inventory. This includes counting and buying intermission supplies, wine and soda for the opening night parties, batteries for the usher flashlights, etc. While she enjoys the counting and calculating, she didn't anticipate how hard it would be to lug cases of items from the grocery store to the theater. Luckily, she only has to do it once per show, so that's just once about every 6-8 weeks.
Dan, Margie and John enjoyed a little bit of theater this month when we attended "Night on Broadway," which is a fundraiser for the choral department at the high school. It was a pretty good show, but they had lots of problems with sound. It was a great opportunity to show John how badly a good sound person is always needed! Lyn spent the evening at a friend's 16th birthday bash and wasn't able to join us.
The whole family also attended a fireside for the church Youth to introduce the theme for the year, which is, "Embark in the Service of God." Some friends of ours sang the song featured in this video, and it was really powerful.
Later that week, Margie attended a service activity with the women's organization at church. We started by putting together freezer meals that will be used throughout the year when someone is in need. After that, we started a knitting project to make hats for cancer patients. There were several women who had a desire to serve, but didn't know how to knit, so Margie was glad to be able to be one of the instructors.
The next night, Lyn went ice skating with the church Youth. John was invited, but not interested!
On January 16, John celebrated his 13th birthday. Woo hoo!! We can't believe we have another teenager in our house!!!
Of course, Margie canceled Christmas due to the construction, and she told him that she would have to cancel his birthday, too. He was OK with that, especially considering he usually celebrates his half birthday in the summer. We did, however, make a trip to Silver Diner. We always enjoy the fun, friendly atmosphere, and we thought at least John could get a free dessert and a restaurant full of people singing to him. We were wrong! I guess this just wasn't our month for restaurant visits. The server barely acknowledged him. It was a HUGE disappointment, and it was his THIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY!!
Margie was livid, and the next day she gave the manager a piece of her mind. The manager said she would love to have the opportunity to make it up to us, and so the following week we went back. This time, they made a huge deal, lots of fun, lots of singing, two of the servers even shook John's hand(!), and the entire meal was free for all of us. Great job, Silver Diner!
The night after John's birthday, the whole family pitched in to help cater the opening night party for The Game's Afoot at LTA. We always enjoy these things, but they are exhausting! I can't imagine doing it for a living.
Also this month, Margie picked up two new clients. The first is a woman who is on maternity leave and hired Margie to help organize her house and home office before she has to go back to work in March. It's kind of funny how it all happened. Margie had just been thinking that she might want to add professional organizing to the list of services she provides, when this opportunity arose. She has really been enjoying it, and the client has really been impressed. She says she knows several people who have been looking for something similar, so who knows what Margie's future may hold!
Margie also starting providing "homework coaching" for a friend's 8th grade son. This is her first time coaching a child, and she wasn't sure how it would go, but so far, he's really made some strides. Margie is looking forward to seeing how things progress throughout the school year.
Also this month, Dan, Margie, and Lyn attended "New Beginnings." This is similar to the Youth fireside, but it is just for the Young Women. At this event, all the girls in the area who are turning 12 this year (at which time they begin attending the program) are introduced and welcomed by one of the older girls. Lyn was chosen to introduce a friend of hers, and it was really neat to see her, now as an "older girl" presenting. Our little girl is growing up!
On January 30, Margie took Lyn to the eye doctor. You will recall that when she was a baby, her eyes were crossed and she had to have corrective surgery. At the time, the doctor told us that she would likely have to have a second surgery when she was around 14, so we have been paying special attention to her eyes the last year or so. Well, a few months ago, she was reading in the car, when she said that her eyes had suddenly gone blurry. She looked up, and Margie noticed that her right eye was completely in at her nose! It cleared up a few minutes later, but Margie figured she'd better call and make an appointment with the doctor. When we got there and described what happened, he said that it was unrelated to her previous condition and all was well. What she had experienced is called "accommodation spasm" and occurs during long periods of eye use, such as reading in the car! In other words, "How to Freak Out Your Parents 101."
That night, Lyn went over to a friend's house and helped them prepare a "Medieval Feast." It was lots of fun, and she even brought home some fresh pretzels and home-churned butter to share!
Construction continues on the house. They are still not finished with the master bath, though each week we expect that "this is the week" it's going to be done. We will be sure to post some before and after pictures when it is finally finished!
After the master, they'll will begin working on the hall bath, then they'll head downstairs for the handrail, the front door unit, the portico, the new windows and siding, and then finally the kitchen. And then the outside work begins! It's a long project, but we are super excited for our new house.
On the last night of January, Dan and Margie went their separate ways. Dan attended a birthday part for a Rocky Horror cast member. It was an art deco/Great Gatsby/roaring 20s costume party, and he had fun picking out just the right outfit to wear. I'm sad I didn't get a picture!
That same night, Margie attended a Ladies Night Out with some theater friends. This time we enjoyed a prix fixe menu at 219 Restaurant in Old Town. It was great food, great company, and a great way to finish up the month.
We hope your year is off to a great start!
