Me? With a Social Life?

So, yes, I went almost a month without posting to this blog.  Mostly because I've been busy!  Working, taking care of kids, we've had some company, and, well, I've had a social life!  After several years consumed with work, school and parenting, I now have some time to enjoy life and I've been doing it!  My increased social life, at least lately, is in large part due to Jason and his work.  It's been fun!

President's Lawn Party

Every fall, the president of the University of Mary Washington, where Jason works, hosts a lawn party.  All the faculty are invited to the President's Mansion, Brompton , an antebellum mansion with some interesting history (click here for more information about Brompton;  click here for information on Brompton during the Civil War).
Because it is a Lawn Party, we didn't see the inside of the mansion, but I discreetly peeked in a couple of the windows.  I had never been to a "Lawn Party," but this one had music (taped, not live), an open bar, and tables of hors d'oeuvres.  There were a few tables where people could sit, but most everyone stood and mingled on the lawn in front of Brompton.  I got to meet some people Jason has told me about, and visit with others I had met before.  It was a fun time! 

Dinner at Allyson's

The evening after the Lawn Party we were invited to have dinner at Allyson's, a colleague of Jason's.  The food was excellent (beef short ribs with polenta, and I ate WAY too much), the conversation interesting and funny.  I felt like a real grown-up, having socialized with adults two nights in a row!

Washington, D.C. with friends

The week after the Lawn Party and Allyson's, my friends Sara and Ron from Minnesota were in Washington, D.C. so Jason and I went up to spend an evening with them.  It takes about an hour to get to D.C. from Fredericksburg, as long as the traffic isn't awful.  We drove to a Metro park 'n' ride then took the Metro into the city.  We met Ron and Sara near the Washington Monument, then walked along the Mall for a while.  We slowly made our way to a restaurant for dinner, passing Ford's Theater on the way (I found out that in addition to giving historical tours of the building, Ford's Theater does still put on current productions).

We had dinner at an excellent restaurant called Mio.  They do Puerto Rican food, which I had never had.  It was soooo good!  Dishes included lots of plantains (I had never had these), which I think have the consistency of potatoes.  Some dishes had them sliced and fried as a side dish, some dishes had them mashed as part of the dish.  We had a delightful time!!