HSM On Ice

And if you don't know, HSM is High School Musical :) Dads probably won't get it, but I'm sure all you moms out there definitely know what HSM stands for!

So yes, the gang trooped to Araneta Coliseum this evening to see HSM on Ice. The kids missed swimming, and my kids rushed home from Kids' Band and Tae Kwon Do so that we wouldn't be late. Yes, I'm glad to report that we have raised kiddos who are sticklers for punctuality; YAY!!! It was Lai and her kids and me and my kids. We borrowed their Lolo's black van to save on gas (of course!) and so that we would just use the one car and the one driver. Besides, we knew the kids all wanted to stay together anyway. *roll eyes here* hehehe.

Traffic was way lighter than what I thought it would be. We arrived with close to an hour before the show started. So we wandered around the outside of the Coliseum to see if there was any place that would strike our fancy for a quick and cheap meal. Nada. The kids I think were too excited to go inside and FEEL the place, hehehehe.

So we all troop inside finally, and we spy Dairy Queen right away. I told the kids sure, they could have ice cream....they could get a large one, too....but that it should last them throughout the whole show. Wishful thinking, I know, but hey, a mother (and her wallet!) can hope, right?

We did pretty good, as a whole, we "only" consumed the following:

• 5 large Dairy Queen Blizzards (1 was mine)
• 1 ice cream sandwich
• 1 Jamaican Patty (Elizza's)
• 1 bucket popcorn
• 2 slices pizza
• 2 hotdogs
• 1 order NYFD french fries

Not too bad, considering we resisted the kids' pleas for those ridiculously over-priced sno-cone slushies at P600 a pop! Hello!!! Totally ridiculous! I don't think anyone bothered to buy those! Other over-priced stuff were those plastic hats that Ryan wore and some Wildcat pennants. I told Rogan I could make him bigger and better ones, hehehehe. Good thing my son believed me! :)

Overall, I think the kids enjoyed the show. It was nothing spectacular, it was OK. Just put the movies onto ice and that's pretty much it. The movie had better acting, too. In Rogan's words, and I quote: "Mama, the acting is just terrible!" Hehehehe. Straight from a child's mouth, ladies and gentlemen! :)

And they could have been a bit picky about some of their skaters, too! I mean, these were supposed to be high school kids, right? But the guy they chose to play Ryan--holy moly! He was old and craggy! Again, to quote Rogan: "Mama, that guys looks sooooo old!!!" :) From the mouth of babes!

The truly good skater I think was Troy. He wasn't the best looker, but he skated really well and he played the part pretty well. He used his time on the ice and showed off his skill. Even Riley couldn't help but clap when he saw Troy leaping and spinning all over the place!

After the show, to the kids' disappointment, we opted to all go home. The kids had homework to be done and there was no way I'd let them off the hook for the that one! :)

Nighty-night!

Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia!

I *FINALLY* got to see Mamma Mia! Whoohoohooo! For the past 4 or 5 times that we've been to Vegas, it was always on the day that Mamma Mia would be off for the week, adding to my endless frustration of seeing the show! :) But Tita B came through with tickets for Mom and me, and I found myself seated in the middle front section of the Mandalay Theater! Yes!!!!

I've always been dying to see it, and with the movie coming out soon, it was a *must* that I see the actual musical. I'm the type to note differences in shows when seen in different genres, hehehehe.

Anyway, for those extremely few people who have *not* seen Mamma Mia, here's a summary:

Writer Catherine Johnson's sunny, funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise.

On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.

The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, and every night everyone’s having the time of their lives!

And yes, Japs, the show features many of ABBA's musical hits which you would have enjoyed :)

The show was very lively and made you want to jump up and dance, hehehe. Boydee probably would have, too! I wonder if the movie version will feature a young-ish set of characters like the play. Apparently, everything in the characters' lives happened when they were less than 20 years old (I think), so the only missing apparel could have been school girl costumes, hehehehe, they were that young! And of course, I like the happily-ever-after type of endings, where everything, as in everything, is tied into nice little bundles of feel-good stuff. Bang, you should know what I mean!

Of course, with all our activities in Vegas, there was no time left for scrapping yet again! Sigh! This is getting quite frustrating as my creative outlet has been put on hold!!! Aaargh! I need some ME time to be able to scrap at least a measly page, right? But by the time everything has been done for the day, all that's left is for me to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion! Not so much the physical kind, but the mind-draining kind!

Oh well. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll be able to sit down in front of my computer and open up Photoshop instead of Excel!