Four days, 262 cupcakes, 8 hours, a beach, an Old Navy outlet, and some sunshine.

So the past four days have been insane, in the best possible way of course.

Last Thursday was my daughter's 6th grade graduation. I sat in a room with lots of other parents and felt proud. She did her part in their skit perfectly, and she even won the award for best drama student (and they presented it without ever calling her a drama queen)! She looked gorgeous (except when she ran and then she looked like her mama) and she chose to sit with her friends instead of with us (although there was lots of waving and swinging by our table to say hi). And, to my own credit, I didn't cry.

Cupcakes!

Her principal is leaving this year and as I hugged him at the end of the ceremony, all I could say was "Thank you for not kicking her out." And all he said is "I'm so proud of her. And you."

And more cupcakes!

For the Graduation Celebration, I was asked to make cupcakes for the entire crowd. So I made 22 dozen of multiple flavors. And, while I'm not normally one for decoration, I really tried to make these special. The result was wonderful! Even the simple cupcakes looked stunning. It was also an incredible learning experience. I now know what frosting freeze and thaw well... which ones bead up... which ones will fall. And not to put sprinkles on early. LOL In the process of doing something special for my daughter and her friends, I also got the attention of others in attendance. Some people asked for my information to do receptions at the church (and I gave them the quote of $15/dozen, which adds up to a nice profit when you consider 10-20 dozen) and even weddings. Will anything come of it? I don't know. But it was nice to be appreciated.

The beach!!!

After graduation, we jumped in the car and headed to the beach. We didn't get far before we stopped for the night, but it still made the next day's drive a bit easier. We rolled into the beach on Friday, got into our room, and hit the beach for a bit before heading out for a little shopping and supper.

If I could take a pic of my inner child, this is what it might look like. LOL

Now anyone who knows me knows how obsessively I shop at Old Navy, normally online. I mean, for this trip alone, half the clothes were still in their little plastic bags where I had ordered them online. So imagine my excitement when we found an Old Navy outlet where everything was 40% off. Everything! So I got all this stuff I had been looking at online but either thought was just a bit high or wasn't sure if it would fit. It was heaven!

Views from our balcony

As far as the rest of the trip, it was wonderful. I was afraid it would be hurried, since we only had a few days, and, to an extent, it was. But we enjoyed every minute. And pasty me even got a tiny bit of sun. And no sunburn! Who thought that could happen?