The Week Ahead - April 7

Outside my window...rain for the first couple of days this week, then temperatures heading up into the high 60s.

 

I am thinking...about how much I'm loving the posts following the Royal Tour of New Zealand and Australia and it's only Day One!

I am thankful...for a great Date Day outing with Vic yesterday - Berkeley Plantation was beautiful.

From the kitchen...Vic's underway for a few days so it will be girly favorites - chips and gravy, British telly, and sleepovers.

I am hearing...the heater, the washer, the dryer.

 

One of my favorite things...a rainy day outside when I have lots of things to do inside.

I am reading...still nothing.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week...getting my bangs trimmed tomorrow in preparation for Wednesday's SOPC luncheon (see below), riding lesson on Thursday, and Sophia is being inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society on Sunday.

An acronym within an acronym - SOPC is the SACT (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation) Officers' Partners' Club, a social group for spouses/partners (how very European!).  The HQ SACT is the only permanent NATO Headquarters outside of Europe and the sole NATO Headquarters in North America.  The SOPC is very organized (how I wish I could belong to a group like that - it's right up my alley!); they hold a monthly luncheon which is sponsored by a different nation each month.  The luncheon includes food from that nation, displays and raffles that are relevant, and some sort of presentation to educate the other members about the nation of the month.  It's held at a ritzy country club and let's just say that the dress code wouldn't be out of place on a Paris street.  Ugh, what am I going to wear?  The SOPC also has a lot to offer someone living outside of their native country for a couple of years - 20 social clubs!  They have a book club, cooking clubs, conversation clubs in various languages, bridge, mah jongg, horseback riding, tennis, bowling, quilting, scrapbbooking, Mom and Tots club, as well as field trips near and far.  Your could fill your whole calendar with SOPC events - SO jealous!

So, the Tidewater Officers' Spouses' Association (TOSA) board members have been invited to attend the April luncheon which is hosted by Spain.  Can we say paella?  I hope so!  Our main purpose is to snoop - TOSA is  hosting the November SOPC luncheon with a Thanksgiving theme.  We're doing a recce to see what will be expected of us.  As much as I am excited about moving to Washington, I will be very sorry not be a part of this event.

Here's a photo of the tables at the UK Luncheon last May - the theme was Royal Ascot and the tables were labeled England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall, and Isle of Man.  The centerpieces were teapots with a variety of teas (which one lucky person at each table got to take home) and there were a variety of printed materials about the UK.  On the menu was Coronation Chicken.

Their presentation, along the horse-racing line, was a Chutes and Ladders (Snakes and Ladders here in the US) game - you can see there is a player from each of the six countries/areas with a hobby horse and a grid on the floor.  They would roll two dice, one to select the player and one to determine how many places to move along the grid.  You can see all the Royal Ascot-hatted ladies in the background.  I asked the TOSA ladies if they were going to dress up for the November luncheon but I got a thumbs-down for Pilgrim attire!

College Update...sent off the financial aid paperwork...still no orders but we're signing the enrollment papers today anyway.  There are three people in  Vic's office waiting for orders...one got theirs on Wednesday, one on Thursday, so I was hoping Friday was going to be our lucky day.  No such luck but they have to be coming SOON!!

Volunteer Update...still need to narrow down my replacement and start training with her.

Travel and Family Field Trips Update...Vic and I have a couple of Date Day trips in the works, can't make them Family Field Trips because Sophia is booked solid with babysitting and petsitting commitments - 23 days out of the 30 in April and more on the calendar for May.  It's all going into the car fund - at this rate, she's going to be driving a Ferrari.

Didn't see this until after I started the laundry but I'm planning to apply it to everything else that needs to be done around here!

Vic and I with Lake Erie behind us, July 2008

Vic and I with the James River behind us, April 2014 (my goodness, we've gotten chubby!)

Leave a comment below if you'd like to share your Week Ahead.