After the tournament Christina requested a stop at the Asian Gourmet Market, a favorite shop of hers that we used to go to a lot when she was younger and she would buy a Japanese candy. Moa was excited to be around such familiar items and said that she would fix us dinner! 
She made hayashi raisu, a Japanese beef stew of sorts. 
Her variation had no mushrooms and a scrambled egg mixture placed on top of the rice before the beef and sauce were put on. 
It was DELICIOUS!!!!!! She said the rice “wasn’t good”; I’m not sure if that meant that it wasn’t cooked properly or flavored properly…but to the inexperienced pallet it was fabulous! Thanks Mao.
She made hayashi raisu, a Japanese beef stew of sorts. Her variation had no mushrooms and a scrambled egg mixture placed on top of the rice before the beef and sauce were put on. It was DELICIOUS!!!!!! She said the rice “wasn’t good”; I’m not sure if that meant that it wasn’t cooked properly or flavored properly…but to the inexperienced pallet it was fabulous! Thanks Mao.
One more time…let’s go! We played against a strong team and didn’t come out ahead this time. Oh well – instead of going on to the finals we celebrated with Dairy Queen :-D
Christina fell in love with her first 
a beautiful, full length, peach, ‘80’s gown – I couldn’t be more proud having had my prom in the ‘80’s. First step was taking it to Mrs. Chris, our fabulous dress fairy godmother! She can make miracles happen with material…and we weren’t disappointed. She turned it into a perfect gown that 
She changed the straps to make them wider, added more layers and sparkles (that didn't show up well in the pictures) to the skirt, and a corset back to add a modern touch.
She wanted something different, so she opted for a partial up-do with live flowers in it – picked to match the boutonniere she ordered for her date, of course!
Teeny and her boyfriend decided on 
They had food, drinks, decorations, and a DJ! Teeny was excited and had a wonderful time!
and along the way we were lucky enough to see the 
Also, an interesting fact that I learned is that they don’t actually get their recognizable white heads until they are 4-5 years old. 
That makes it easy for young birds to be mistaken for other birds of prey from a distance. We stopped along the way for dinner at Chili’s. They have a great idea for mini-dessert dishes that come in a trio…perfect! Christina got the chocolate and enjoyed every bite. 
The next interesting travel item was an Alabama 
Mao was amazed that we traveled under the water instead of over. 
We finally made it to the beach 
and, unfortunately, it was spring break for some colleges and cold! Bummer! 
But the water was beautiful and the time away was relaxing. After a few hours of braving the cold wind under a blanket the following day we decided to scrap the “beach” vacation and head to the 
and, with Mao’s help, 
they made some FABULOUS oatmeal and raison cookies!! 
They were delicious with a cold glass of milk, but “a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips” prompted us to share with neighbors so we could enjoy without feeling gluttonous! 
