Monday, September 26, 2011

Shrimp and Grits and a Glass of Sweet Tea

We were not at home this weekend. Are you surprised? I know we've always traveled a lot but I cannot remember a chunk of time where we've been on the go the way we've been this summer and now fall. We hop from weekend to weekend it seems and while its all fun and games (mostly) it is a wee bit exhausting too. Airports are not the place to hang out if you want rest and relaxation. They help you get to places where you may find rest and relaxation but the whole airport hullabaloo is about as far from R and R as one can get.

Anyhoo, it was a good weekend to exit NJ. The rain people. What is up with the rain??? It was pouring buckets Friday afternoon as we made our way to the airport. By some miracle our flight was only slightly delayed (do flights ever leave on time anymore?) and we arrived in warm and sunny South Carolina around dinner time. Always happy to see my beautiful daughter2's face greet us as we step out into the sunlight there.

We were in town for Parent's Weekend at her university. We have been trekking to Parent Weekend events since Daughter1 started at this same uni back in 2006. Two 'kids' and six years later means this was our last...Daughter2 graduates in the spring. Sigh. Well, only a small sigh. Whenever we feel a little bit sad about that fact we need only remember that while Parent Weekends may be ending for us tuition paying is also ending for us. (Insert happy dance here!!) Oh, and fyi-if your kids are infants and your financial planner is blabbing on and on and on about putting money aside for uni in the far off distant future you best do what he says. You'll thank him for that advice one day.

Hubs cannot go to collegetown without having a meal at his favorite spot...his favorite meal I mean-shrimp and grits. This particular restaurant makes the absolute best. They are serious about their shrimp and grits. I have the restaurant's cookbook but have never attempted to recreate their version at home. Maybe this is the year to learn although I'm not sure shrimp and grits eaten in NJ is going to taste the same as having that dish served below the Mason Dixon. We'll find out.

Saturday was full of sunshine and we had a full day. We normally attend Daughter2's sorority tailgate before the game but this year Daughter2 is a rush counselor and there are lots of complicated rush rules she must follow which include not identifying to Freshman girls which sorority is hers. They are supposed to be neutral advisors to the rushees and her 'girls' won't find out which sorority is hers until after they've signed their bid sheets. I know some of you know what I'm talking about and some don't. Hubs finds it all very confusing...fraternity rush is nothing like sorority rush.


Anyway, because of this we ended up at a fraternity tailgate. Daughter2 is this particular fraternity's sweetheart and we enjoyed meeting some of the parents there. Being named sweetheart is an honor and you are chosen as sweetheart mostly because you have been a good friend and also maybe a little bit because you are an excellent baker and bring banana cupcakes with peanut butter icing and butterfinger crumbles around on a regular basis.


The sorority tailgates have tablecloths and dinnerware and balloons and lovely handpainted signs in the sorority's colors. The boys drag sofas from their house out to their tailgates. Somehow the sofas work.


While on campus we also visited the newly remodeled bookstore which is technically a Barnes and Noble. So nice! If you haven't been on a college campus recently you'd be amazed at how modern and convenient and wonderful our tuition dollars they have made life for the students.


We went to the game of course...always great fun when your team wins and the stadium sits in a beautiful spot. Daughter2 hates heights but she is putting on her game face here for a photo op with mom.


Speaking of sorority stuff...before we went to dinner on Saturday night we were able to meet up with one of my college sorority sisters and her husband. They live in town but we're always so busy when we're here we don't usually get to see one another.

We had bbq with my sister and brother in law and niece on Sunday afternoon before heading back to the airport for our (delayed) flight. We love collegetown and will miss visiting once Daughter2 completes her studies.

No more tuition. No more tuition. No more tuition.
Hey, that kinda works.

20 comments:

  1. no more tuition! yeah! looks like a great weekend. We took the train to DC. I love the train and wish we could take it everytime!

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  2. what fun...so glad d2 was happy and healthy...and your sorority sister was having fun, too

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  3. I was going to say that you could not pay me to sit on a fraternity house sofa but since I still have three college tuitions to get through, I probably should not turn any money away.

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  4. I'm looking forward to my first parent's weekend. Lucky for me I'm a lot closer than you but it will still be fun.

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  5. Sounds like a perfect weekend!! And the thoughts of no more tuition dancing in your head...oh the joy! And I'm having nightmares of omg..we have college tuition to pay in less than a year.....omg....

    Great pictures of your sweet daughter.

    Have a wonderful Monday!

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  6. That sounds like so much fun! We don't get to do a family/parent weekend with the girl child because she always has a volleyball tournament the same weekend so we follow her to the tournament city. Still get to see her but no tailgating. In fact only one of our kids schools actually has a football team and he says they're not good enough to go see the game. :( oh well.
    Love love love the chant... which I can do in another um... 2 years. Can't wait. :)

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  7. That looks like a fantastic weekend, and so much fun. Ah, university! Those were the days...

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  8. Always fun to visit the kids, huh? Our daughter recently applied for and got in-state tuition! We feel like it's a pay-raise for us! Some day we'll be able to chant No More Tuition and maybe even No More Mortgage!

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  9. When I read the title, I knew where you had gone! :D Puleos in the Small Town has some good shrimp & grits, too...CH always gets that when we go there.
    We're about halfway through the tuition thing; YS is looking at a couple of out of state schools (GULP), but he'll be close to his grandparents so there may be some help there! {fingers crossed}

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  10. What a wonderful weekend. I´m glad your tuition is ending, but then there are weddings....they are much more expensive (they say). haha j/k
    Looks like you had perfect weather too. Send all your rain down here, we´ll take it. :)

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  11. We were in South Carolina this weekend, too! I'm sure missing that state ... but I'm glad to be back home where there are people who I missed even more than the beach that I'm missing today. ha!

    I'm curious where the perfect shrimp and grits are served. I have to say that I had some pretty darned good shrimp and grits for lunch on Saturday. But if there are even better ones to be had, well, I need to know that! ;-)

    So glad that there's end in sight for the tuition payments!

    Have a great week!

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  12. What a perfect weekend you had. The shrimp and grits sounds different! You guys sure do have fun and keep busy. Glad you got to visit with daughter2.

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  13. Well, you really did have a full weekend. Shrimp and grits sounds new to me, never heard of that combo but as long as Hubs like it, I'm glad for him.

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  14. The shrimp and grits sounds wonderful. It is probably not something I would find easily here in Colorado.
    All the sorority stuff brought back some memories for me. How fun that you got to get together with a sorority sister.

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  15. I love the picture of your sweetheart daughter with her boys. And yes, college boys do things just a bit differently than college girls. Ahem. Looks like a great weekend was had by all.

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  16. Glad you were able to see Jane--:)
    With you on the tuition!

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  17. Your girls are cute as buttons :)

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  18. the amaretto/curry chicken turned out to be really good...not too much curry and just enough amaretto. i served it with macaroni noodles...next time i'll use rice, i think. but the sauce was much better than i anticipated...very happy with it.

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  19. What a fantastic weekend with your daughter! And the weather is picture perfect too. Best, "No more tuition!" How wonderful for you. You have done a great job!

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  20. I enjoyed reading this particular blog entry. We seem to have so many similarities. I'm an ex-NJer, now living & loving life in SC. Both my daughters went to SC universities. One to USC in Columbia, the other to CofC. I could not tell from your pics which higher institution you were at for the Parents Weekend. ?? I have started a blog. Marla's musings. Check it out.

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