The one where she is no longer a teenager.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but where does the time go?
Lolo left her teenage years in the dust this weekend.

I got out the 'celebration' plate and before I could write on it Lolo did.

I won't go on and on about how wonderful she is; been there, done that. 

 A low key weekend. She worked all of Saturday, (her actual day of birth) we had some food delivered and she had prezzies to open in the evening. 

 She is excited about getting gifts....and surprisingly, the power puff girls paper made her happy too.

We rented a movie and chillaxed.

Sunday was going to be a larger get-together/pool party. We DID sit in the hot tub for a while....IN.THE.RAIN. 

{I'm over being soggy}

A nice dinner with all her requests: Steak, sweet potato chips, fried pickles and green beans with almonds. 

And since one cookie cake isn't enough, there were two. 

 I bet you are wondering which of these I baked. 

If you guessed the top one you'd be wrong. If you guessed the bottom one you are also wrong. 

The 'kids' played Corn hole. 

 They played....and they ate.

 yeah, they ate. Would you believe that I did NOT eat one piece of the cookie cake(s)? I don't enjoy cake or cookies. I'm a loser like that. 

I heard at least 14 times this weekend: BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Yes, my Lolo is full of awesome-sauce. 
IF you cut her, she will actually bleed awesome-sauce...but I'd advise you to NOT cut her; she carries a knife and mace. You know, just for the fun of it. 

Next year, Vegas. Or so I'm told. I'll believe it when I see it. 

XOXO

The one where we fall in love with an old city.

Remember last year when we had that beyond awesome vacation in Costa Rica? Me too.
This year we decided to take it down a notch or 200. Plus, if we keep treating our kids to over-the-top trips, they'll never leave us.

As a family, we had a hard time coming up with a vacation destination this summer. pitiful. 

Finally, I told the Coach to come up with something and book it.....and he did.

We continued north after our two school visits in St. Augustine and Jacksonville to Charleston SC and then south again to Savannah, GA. 

 He found for us, deluxe accommodations in the heart of Charleston; a boutique hotel.

We had our own porch/balcony/verandah/patio. Whatever it was, we enjoyed it. 

 The hotel had a nice rooftop area as well. Lolo taunting the 'Don't throw butts over the railing sign'

 Our breakfast was delivered to us each morning in a cute basket. "Pic-a-nic basket boo boo?"

Fo'rizzle. We did not want to leave. We had breakfast delivered, wine & cheese in the evening, milk & cookies before bed....and drum roll.......a washer & dryer in our suite! BINNNNGGGGOOOO!

Our upstairs master suite was deluxe.....and I fell in love with the unique bathroom. 

All in all it was a great place to stay. We were minutes from the main drag that included shopping, eating and sightseeing. 

 I have another post about the sights that we saw, and I'll share that next week. 

I don't want to bombard you with too much at once. I know how delicate you are.

Just a little FYI. We are selling our house and moving to Charleston. 

I know I said that last year regarding Costa Rica, but really, we are going to be splitting our time back and forth.

Will you be able to keep up with me?

TGIF

XOXO

Kiss my grits! {and shrimp}

Several months ago I posted on facebook about how angry I was with Cracker Barrel; surely you saw it on CNN.
Yes, I had a beef  grit with them; a bone shrimp to pick.
As the story goes, we were planning on meeting friends for breakfast at CB the morning after a concert. All I could think about was Shrimp and grits,  for they (CB) made me love them. MADE ME.
That morning I was told every so meanly politely that they NO LONGER HAD THEM ON THE MENU.
I was as peeved as a one handed woman paying full price for a manicure.
SO, as a revenge to CB I made them myself.

And they rocked. 

Who's sorry now Mr/Mrs Cracker Barrel?

***

On our vacation last week I again had a hankering for shrimp and grits and did I ever get my fill...

I nibbled on shrimp and grits in Orlando.

I devoured shrimp and grits in Charleston.

I slurped  enjoyed shrimp and grits in Savannah.

I could eat them on a boat, I could eat them while I float.
I could eat them on vacation, I could eat them on a satellite station. 

Ok, a poet I am NOT. But a shrimp and grit eater, I AM.

Shrimp fear me.

Grits run when I name is mentioned. 

yah, runny grits. ewww.

Gittin' the young-in' edumacated

We started off our summer vacation this year with brain work. We toured two of the schools on Lindsay's college list. These are not her 'dream' schools, but they were on her 'maybe' list.

I'm still not prepared about her going away to college; yes, I am one of 'those' Mothers. 

Flagler College in St. Augustine. I searched everywhere for that fountain of youth, but it has alluded me. Actually, I think Linds is sitting next to it....and apparently she drank it all. She just turned 57!

As we waited (and waited and waited) for our tour to begin, the Coach had a few (100) wise words. 

 The school is chock full of history. What does chock mean anyway?
See, I did NOT attend college.
St. Augustine is a sleepy little beach town with a ton of ghosts. 

The girls dorms are located in the old Ponce De Leon Hotel. I'm pretty sure that ole Ponce DID not stay here, but some other notable people did. I'm positive this is the ghost headquarters of the town. 

 No two rooms (dorm rooms) here are the same and most of them have (non working) fireplaces. 

 It was quite grand inside. This is the ceiling of the rotunda.
{I learned that from HGTV and not college}

 We had possibly the dorkiest of tour guides and were accompanied by more than dorky families asking the silliest of questions. (What kinds of soda do you sell here? Is there a curfew?) We were thankful when the tour was done and we could poke fun at all of them. It's what we do.

The next morning we toured a MUCH bigger school. Still not her dream school, but it was very nice. 

 Flagler was so small, a map was not necessary. 

I guess if one ever got lost here, you could just follow the $$.

Two days of me being in at College and I was exhausted. A vacation was necessary. 

Plus, I had to wash my toga {toga!toga!toga!}
Remember when I said I didn't want Linds to go away to college? Well after 8 days of traveling together, I'm packing her bags. LOL!

Today: back to the grind!!

XOXO