Summer Break -- Brief and Shining

 

Well, it's the close of a few short weeks off.  It's been wonderful -- filled with family and friends.  I started my respite from school with a fabulous dinner made by friend and fabulous cook, Lynn.  We toasted her new blog, Cackalackyfoodie, along with the close of my semester and Walt's birthday.  Fun and yummy food were had by all.  

The next few days were catch up and prep for my trip to Jacksonville for Mother's Day.  What a wonderful trip.  I read, walked by the St. Johns River, ate lots of tabbouleh from Whiteway, went to yoga and bought incredible new glasses.  They are fabulously French and Italian.  But the best times I had in Jax were drinks and meals with old friends.  The icing on the cake was a wonderful Mother's Day meal I made for my mom and Hila, one of my oldest and bestest friends.  We commenced with Mojito's, which were a crowd pleaser and really got the party started.  We feasted on fillet, roasted potatoes, salad, summer squash and homemade strawberry shortcake.  What more could we ask for?  The best part was that my mom had a wonderful time.  

Since coming back to Raleigh, I've run around and relaxed.  This seems to be a theme for my vacations -- getting stuff done and trying to do fun things.  Big things have happened in a few short days.  I've been out and about in downtown, bought some fabulous new art at Artsplosure and changed my name back to Charbonnet -- a bureaucratic nightmare.  Fortunately, I've balanced the crazy, well some of the crazy, with R&R.  My pool is always tonic for my soul.  Each day I floated and read my book, "Eat Pray Love", which I sadly finished yesterday after the sun went away.  After this vacation, I only hope that no one gives me the nickname of "Groceries."

So after two weeks, my hope is to incorporate parts of the last few weeks throughout my schooling.  Well, maybe I should lay off the food and start hitting the gym some.  It's been fast and furious -- but I wouldn't change a thing.