Check out this blog post I found yesterday: World Vision Sponsor

Rob Wang is a child sponsor with World Vision, just like I am, and he had the unique experience of meeting his child on a recent trip to Chile.

That is my dream.

I have sponsored this little girl, Gorret, for the past 6 years.

She lives in Uganda in a village that has been ravaged by AIDS. It is my dream to visit Uganda one day and meet her. I also want to experience a little bit of her world - the sights, sounds and smells of her village.

Put this on my bucket list.

TGIF!

This Friday was a fun-filled day for me (I love starting off the weekend early with a great Friday)!

It all started at 8:30am at Walter G. Byers Elementary near Uptown Charlotte, a school where 40% of the students are homeless. I visit Walter G. every Thursday to have lunch with my buddy Kaali. He's a six year old homeless boy and first grader at Walter G. We talk, tell stories and eat together for 40 minutes every week. 

Friday was Field Day at Walter G. and I spent my morning with Kaali and some of his friends doing things I haven't done for far too long. Things like, the egg and spoon race, musical chairs and the limbo! 

I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but with these kids on a Friday morning, cheering them on and watching them burst with excitement throughout each activity. 

Kaali, me and Chutney (Chutney and I decided to swap my sunglasses for her hat, even if they didn't fit us quite right!)

Chutney again with the HUGE sunglasses!

Musical chairs to "Beat It" by Michael Jackson - these kids have rhythm!!

The hilarity of musical chairs!! Everytime someone was eliminated for not finding a chair on-time, the kids rolled around laughing hysterically :) 

After Field Day, I switched gears in a big way and met my sister-in-law, Kathryn, at Rooster's in South Park. One of my favorite restaurants! Here's a shot of the insanely good lemon tart with honey, lavender oil and fresh berries:

Later in the evening, it was time for my date night with Russell. It was nice to go out, just the two of us, since we'd had two weeks of constant family in town for the wedding and then Memorial Day. 

We tried two new Charlotte experiences.

First, dinner at Ratcliffe on the Green, a small, intimate restaurant in a restored florist shop. All the items on the menu are locally grown or raised and it was amazing! For dinner,  I had the monk fish wrapped in prosciutto with fingerling potatoes, asparagus spears and a shitake mushroom sauce over top. Russell had their famous shrimp and grits!

Our appetizer was for the sake of nostalgia, Moules and Frites (or Mussels and Fries) - a Belgium specialty!

After dinner, we walked across the street to the new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art - a beautiful museum featuring the personal collection of the Swiss Bechtler family. The first Friday of every month they have live jazz in the lobby, drinks and appetizers for those admitted to the museum. We ended up loving it so much, we bought a annual membership! I guess we'll be back soon :)

Here's a view from the second floor terrace of the museum onto Tryon Street. The Catholic Church on the green, the Harvey Gantt Cultural Center and the Westin Hotel are in the background. That metallic figure in the front is a sculpture commissioned by the museum - it looks like a rock star cockatoo!

Two of my favorite pieces are above. Left is a Pablo Picasso, "Femme au Chapeau" and to the right is a Max Ernst, "Study for a Monument to W.C. Fields" (an abstract of actors W.C. Fields and Mae West).

Here is Russell with one of his favs :)

And here I am ending a perfect Friday :)