Reconnecting

Moving from one side of the country to another was, I'll admit, really hard for me.  I left behind a lot of wonderful friends.

However, I do have a number of friends from the East Coast who have moved to the West Coast.  But I digress...

So color me thrilled when I discovered two of my three besties from high school were coming for a trip to California.  Bonus?  One of the three besties lives here!

Mindy came in June.  So I drug her out to Coronado to see the sparkling gold sand, live sand dollars, the Hotel Del Coronado and of course the Coronado Bridge.  If I had more time I would have taken her to even more places.  Plus it just wouldn't be a party if we didn't get together for a meal and drinks.  The last time I saw Mindy and Adina we were NOT of drinking age.  And I'm not going to say how long ago that was.  As an added perk, Jim was able to take Mindy and Adina's son on a tour of an LCS (Littoral Combat Ship).  What a great time!

Rachel came in July with her family.  They came right at ComicCon time so San Diego was crazier than usual.  Again we all met up and got to tour the USS Gabby Gifford, which is the newest Navy ship.  Sensing a theme here?

This gave our friends a tiny glimpse into military life.

It was so great to reconnect with these ladies.  And I hope we don't wait another twentyish years to see each other again.

Letting Go

So last month our 1990 Mazda went on to a new family.

A bittersweet moment as we watched her pull away.

We first got Mary (yes we named our vehicle and it is a she) in January of 2013.

She was in a wreck within a month of her purchase.  And for most people that is where the story would end.  Who would keep a car that the insurance company said would cost more than it was worth to repair?

Us!  That's who.

Along the way we learned a lot about car maintenance and painting cars.  We swapped the engine.  Once out of need and another time for more power.  She started out white and then was gray.  Then we painted her black and white.  Now she's tan and black.

We discovered the joys of driving with the top down in all the seasons.  We auto crossed and met other Miata fans.  My favorite Mary moment was driving through the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for their holiday light display with the top down.  You know you wish you could have been there.

Darby loves the convertible.  What dog wouldn't?  Top down and you feel like you're flying!

We even did a scenic cross country drive in Mary.  That was interesting.  No cruise control, power steering, A/C or radio.  There was only the driver side air bag and it's a manual transmission.

Whew!

However, we are getting older and Mary just isn't a daily driver.  A sad realization for us, but a true one.

Fortunately we have a friend on the west coast who will use her for auto crossing.  Now she's off for more adventures.

 Farewell Mary!  We'll miss you.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens: Children's Adventure Garden

Yes, this is another post on Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  There's so much that you can do there that I felt I needed to break it down into sections.

And yes, I felt I should get this out there before the new year started.  I've been a bit slack on my blogging for my sites.

So hang on for another exciting adventure with my friend, Elizabeth, and her two sweet little ones.

This is about the World of Wonders, which is a children's garden.  Talk about fantastic!  They had little stations set up around the area all educational.  What a fabulous idea!

This area is a three-acre garden is dedicated to families and children. World of Wonders has several distinct areas, each offering different interactive lessons, but all offering excitement, enrichment and entertainment. 

World Plaza is the area that we stayed in.  The day had become hot so it was the perfect place to be.  And the girls came prepared to get wet.  Here you can splash your way around the world! Through fountains, bubblers, foggers and jet sprays, explore the oceans and other major waterways on Earth. 

What a refreshing way to cool off.  

We spent a good chunk of time here.  The little ones weren't the only one to have fun.  Fortunately I didn't get as wet as my little buddy.  But we did splash a lot!

Botanical Gardens: Butterfly House

Stop To Smell The Flowers

So a while back I marked another thing off my 757 Bucket list.  I was able to visit the Norfolk Botanical Gardens with one of my girlfriends and her two little girls.

These posts have been sitting in my draft folder, so please forgive me.

Mini Tour Guide

Can I just pause a moment here?  I just love viewing the world through a child's eyes!  They see things that you may never notice.

There are lots of things to explore there, but I'm going to focus on the Butterfly House in this post.  This is what I really wanted to see when we went there.

The enclosed house provides an unbelievable opportunity to observe butterflies as they circle and land on their favorite nectar flowers providing amazement and educational opportunities. It’s the perfect compliment to the 2.5 acre Bristow Butterfly Garden and the giant Butterfly Maze. Included with regular Garden admission.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

My buddy has a membership so I didn't even have to pay for admission.  Not why I'd mentioned wanting to go there though.  It's just something I've always wanted to do.  Wish I'd read about the Butterfly Maze before just now.  I would have liked to explore that as well.  Oh well!

Identification Charts Help

It's really cool to walk in the enclosure.  There are butterflies everywhere! I honestly hadn't expected to see so many butterflies.  They even hand you a chart so that you can identify the butterflies there.

There's are ribbons tied to plants so you can spot their eggs on host plants and watch as the caterpillars continually eat and grow. The opportunity to witness their final transformation as the chrysalis opens to reveal a winged beauty is what makes the Butterfly House so thrilling.

A big shout out to my buddy, Elizabeth, and her little girls for taking me and sharing a really great experience.

Hanging Out

Life gets in the way some times.  We get focused/fixated on one thing that has been keeping us from doing the things we enjoy.

I've let everything slip through the cracks.  My friends, my writing, my crafts and even my health.

That has to stop.

Feeling like a brunette here

Fortunately, I've finished the majority of the house is finished.  It's finally on the market for rent and as I'm posting this we've had one viewing and an inquiry.  By tomorrow we'll have another viewing.  And the house isn't available until October!

So slowly I'll try to do things that I have on my fun must do before I move.  And hopefully catch up with friends.

Fortunately this week I was able to catch up with friends at a local brewery, The Bold Mariner, and catch up.  I really enjoyed it.  I got to try a flight of different beers and for the life of me I don't think I could name just one that I really liked.  I liked them ALL!  I think I need to check out more of the breweries in this area before I leave.

I also got to catch up with other friends at Pendulum this week.  I knew this place was a butcher shop, but didn't realize that they do lunch as well.  I'd always gotten my tri tip here.
O M G!  It was wonderful!  The menu does change up and they have wine and beer.  Oh goodness I can go on for a long time about the wonderfulness that is this place.

Definitely have to keep up this fun!

Change Of Command

USS Vella Gulf

On August 29th I went to the Change of Command of a friend of mine.  It seemed only fitting since I was at the last Change of Command when he took command of the ship.

It really doesn't seem that long ago.  Where does the time go?

Chaplain & incoming CO

And wasn't it just a week or so ago when we were welcoming the ship home?  Wow!

I was running a bit behind that day, but luckily made it just before the ceremony started.  What is it with me and running behind lately?

As most of my friends know, I'm a bit of a shutterbug (okay maybe more than a bit) and will be more than happy to take photos for them.  In fact, I think it's kind of expected now.  You see me, you see me with camera.

So, of course, there I was with camera in hand trying to catch a few memories for them.

Rear Admiral Dave Thomas

Rear Admiral Thomas had some very nice things to say about the outgoing CO and the ship.

Remarks!

The ceremony went on without a hitch.  Even when my friend's hubby got a bit emotional when he gave his speech.  But then who wouldn't.  I think everyone in the audience got a bit teary eyed.

We ate and drank a little at the reception.  Water for me!  And I swear I was good about the food.

Relieved of command

And afterwards I took family photos.  The running joke is for every 1 photo that my friend's father-in-law takes I take 3.  He's getting better though.  So the joke is when we line them up I count.  Hopefully by the time I say three he's ready to take that photo, since I've already taken my 3.  I call him 'Quickdraw'.  He always chuckles when I do that.

The cutest couple!

 Luckily the family likes me.  Or at least it looks that way.  My sense of humor can be a bit odd at times.  So at least I didn't offend anyone.  I did get tons of pictures, but only picked a few to share.  I didn't think anyone would want to see the over 100 photos I snapped that day.

Family photo sans one

As always I had to get a picture of the adorable couple.  They're just SO cute together.  And of course a family shot.  The oldest daughter wasn't able to be there, since she'd just gone back to college.

Tradition!

So the dad grabbed a fern as a stand in.  Too funny!  And as is tradition there is always one photo where it looks like they're pushing the oldest daughter out of the photo.  Love this family!!

A view

Fear not, for this isn't his last duty station.  Just his last command at sea.  He's on to shore duty now and hopefully a lot of family down time.

As I was leaving I had to get one last parting shot of the ship.  If you look closely you can see the port hole, that was the captain's quarters.

Thanks Captain for letting me join you on this day!

Catching Up

I was able to meet up with my buddy, Denise for a nice long chat.  Face-to-face time with a friend is so much better than chatting on line.  Don't get me wrong!  I'm thankful for the on line chats too, but this was better.

I got to meet her wonderful husband, John.  I was even able to meet her wonderful daughters, Grace and Libby.  They were a delight.  But then again I don't think they would be in Denise's life if they weren't.

Sadly this is another moment where I forgot to take out the camera.  *sigh*  What makes it worse is the fact that I had my camera with me and had used it earlier that day.  Yet another blonde moment for me!

She took me to a wonderful restaurant called Peel, which I will so have to blog about on Rosatodi.  Afterwards she took me downtown and we window shopped, chatted and had coffee.  It was a wonderful time.

All good things come to an end though.  I'm running out of time for my visit here.  Soon I will be back in my own home.  For those who said they wished we could have visited...  Well I'm sorry time didn't allow it.  Maybe a future time.

For those I did get to see (If you even read this.)  Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to catch up with an old friend.  I really appreciate it!  And I really enjoyed it!

As we say in the Navy...  Fair winds and following seas.

Because this is not goodbye.  I KNOW our paths will cross again.

A Short Photo Session

So yet again another blog post that I should have done a while back, but never got around to it.


I know!  I'm a terrible person.

I really need to get back in the habit of blogging fairly regularly.  I'll try.  I promise!


So in March (I think) I took my buddy out to the beach to take pictures of her doing some of her moves in her Tae kwon do uniform.

She'd been wanting to do this for quite a while, but time constraints and weather were always working against us.


Luckily we got a nice warm break in the weather and were able to do a few quick shots before she had to go pick up her son from school.


Normally, I would take a lot longer to do this.  I like to get the really good shots.  But sometimes you have to work with what you have.  Real life likes to intrude.  


How rude!

These are just a few random shots from what we did.


And the lesson learned?  Sometimes you have to block me out or I'll make you laugh too hard when you are trying really hard to be serious.  Because, in case you didn't know, I can be quite the ham!


Also find a less crowded beach so that you don't have to deal with gawkers.


And definitely plan more time for this!

Retirement Ceremony

Watching over during National Anthem

So last week I was lucky enough to be able to attend my best buddy's hubby's retirement ceremony.

Did I lose you there? I have been known to do that. 

I tend to talk in letters and a strange language I like to call Naval Spouse Speak. Let me try to speak English for you.

My best friend's husband had a retirement ceremony last week and I was lucky enough to attend.

Presentation

Steve's ceremony was held on the USS Enterprise just days before they deployed for the final time.

Why, you may be asking, did he have it there?

Good question.  It's the ship he was attached to when he retired.

Pretty simple answer huh?

Side note.  It was really interesting to see all the things going on as they prepared for their final voyage.  However, I did not take out my camera to take photos of that for fear of being escorted off the ship.

Presentation to the family

Rear Admiral Walter E. 'Ted' Carter Jr. was there as the guest speaker.

Even Greta and their son were given certificates of appreciation.

Families serve with their sailors even though they don't draw pay or get the awards, so I thought this was very nice.

Steve made some personal remarks.  And I'll admit, sentimental fool that I am, I laughed and cried, but only a little.

'The Watch' was read by one of his shipmates and he was relieved.  Read the poem and that statement will make sense to you.  If you're an emotional person you may want a tissue nearby.

Piped ashore.

Then Steve and his family were piped ashore.  After that, it was time for refreshments.

Yummies for everyone!

And of course time to chat with those who were able to attend the ceremony.

Also it gave me time to go through all the photos I had taken.

All smiles for cake!

Of course, Monster finished first and was REALLY interested in getting a piece of that cake.  So with a bit of maneuvering he helped cut the cake with Dad's help.

I'm told the cake was delicious and had butter cream frosting.  I thought it was a pretty temptation that I was, for once, able to avoid.

Thank you Steve for the 24 years of your life that you gave to the military.

Final walk down the pier

We truly appreciate all you and your family sacrificed!

Fair winds and following seas!

The end of one chapter and beginning of a new.

Best of luck in all your future adventures.

And thank you for letting me tag along on your special day.

Trick Or Treat!

Pirate Ship Jack-O-Lantern

Posh Kitty Jack-O-Lantern

Most people know that Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday!

If you didn't know before, you know now.

Every year, when home, the hubby and I carve pumpkins while watching 'It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown'.  Normally we would eat cheap pizza as well, but we're on a diet so that was kept out of this year's festivities.

As he does every year, the hubby carved a pirate ship.  He got a number of compliments this year from adults as well as children.  I did the cute little kitty this year.

Fear the Darbysarus!

I don't want to look at the camera!

Now I normally make fun of people who dress their dogs, but now that I have a small dog myself I just couldn't help myself.

I really got a chuckle out of this costume.  Darby is in NO way mean or aggressive, so turning her into this fearsome creature was quite funny.  She doesn't sit well for taking photos, but this time I think she was mortified.  I will have to do a photo shoot with her again soon.

When my friends came over to trick or treat their son thought she was so cute and wanted a photo op.  Who was I to deny?

All smiles!

Don't they look a bit evil?

And as with every year since my buddy and her little one started trick or treating, they came to me for the photo op.  He's a ninja and the closest I can think to describe her costume is a modern geisha.

She's the cool kinda mommy who will put on a costume to go along with her kid's costume.  Cool mommy points there!

We gave out full size candy bars this year.  We had on hand a little over 90 pieces of candy.  At the end of the night we had about 20.  Close to 65 trick or treaters this year.  Lighter than last year, but still pretty good!

Traditions...Of A Sort

It doesn't always happen, but when my hubby is unable to be with me on my birthday my buddy and her hubby like to do something for me on my birthday. Sadly this year was one of those times, but Steve had duty on my actual birthday. So they did it a day later. What we do is get special coffees and then go to check out Christmas lights. After that we tend to go out to dinner.

So I was picked up and we got coffees from Java Cup Cafe. From there we headed out to Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Every year they do a light display for the holidays. It isn't just Christmas, they have all the seasons on display. Normally this is something my hubby and I go drive through every year, but as stated before he's not here to do this. Side note? Greta HATES nutcrackers, so I took this as a joke. We were making jokes about this one the entire drive up to the opening.

There's an 'Under The Sea' section. So I had to grab this one of the Norfolk Mermaid. I did get a new perspective this year. I've never seen Christmas lights through the eyes of a child. Well that and I normally ride up front. lol Sometimes, with the 'help' of a child, you see things you never saw before.

Of course, as a Navy Wife, I HAD to get a picture of Santa flying off the aircraft carrier. This is a staple in the light display. And I'm always proud to see it.

One of my husband and mine's absolutely favorite parts of the light display is the starry nights. They've added something new this year. You enter into a 'meteor shower'. Which is really cool and totally new! I do hope they do it again next year so the hubby and I can go view this.

One of my favorite parts is when you come over the bridge and look out into the lights. It almost feels like you're suspended in space. Really cool. Luckily my buddy, Greta, took these for me. I couldn't really get a good shot from the back seat.

The spiderweb used to be in with the fall decorations, but now it's at the end. And now the spiders move more. Really neat.

After this we had dinner and then went to one more lights display. All in all it was a very good night. Thanks Greta, Steve and Monster!

Christmas Cards

So today I went out with my friends to get some pictures for their Christmas cards. I really enjoy taking people's pictures and rarely get to do it.

So we went to the zoo in our area, because Monster loves the zoo.

I think the statue of the elephant in front of the zoo is awesome! It's made up of butterflies. Hopefully you can tell by looking at the picture. It's hard to tell from further away.

What's really neat, in my humble opinion, is that the butterfly on the trunk is made up of an elephant. So I titled the photos butterfly elephant for the first photo and elephant butterfly for the first.

I think it makes sense.

Don't you?


Our first stop was the turtle statue. This is something Monster's been playing on since he was knee high to a grasshopper, so I thought it quite fitting. Imagine my sheer delight when Daddy climbed on behind his son. It was like the inner child had just emerged. And I was so NOT missing that opportunity.

Of course it didn't take much convincing for Mommy to join them. I think this is just an adorable photo.

I can almost see the statue coming to life and plodding along with the trio on his back.

Our next stop? Why to view the most dangerous animal.

What is it you ask?

HUMANS!

Yet another cute photo of some of my favorite people.

And I couldn't end this without another photo of Monster. I told him that all monsters should be in cages, because they're scary. He thinks I'm nuts. He's probably right!

All in all it was a nice time. We didn't stay terribly long as it was chilly. But that was a good thing. It meant there weren't lots of people there to get in the way of our pictures.