Amanda's Birthday and Stuff

Well, I fully intended to write about this sooner than now but things have felt topsy-turvy lately and I haven't gotten to it until now. Amanda's 18th birthday was great. The day started out with home made cinnamon rolls. Travis had the day off and Chloe had been sick with a stomach virus so nobody was planning on getting up early except for Amanda because she had to go to school. I did manage to roll out of bed just before 8 o'clock to wish her a happy birthday. My parents arrived about noon-ish and we decided to do lunch at Logan's instead of dinner. Mostly because we were all starving and Amanda was ditching us that night for "church" (really for some guy she likes that would be at church. But at least we're not making her go anymore). We hadn't been there in at least a year but we did go there quite a bit when we lived in Birmingham since it's one of my parents faves- and Amanda's. I'd like to add here that, in case you didn't know, Amanda is known around here as a carnivore. Ribs and steak are her absolute faves, she doesn't really like chicken and she has a 23 inch waist. Seriously. So this was her choice and she was *really* looking forward to it. Lunch was nice and for the *first time ever, ever, ever* Halle stayed in her seat and did what she was supposed to do without any scolding. She was actually delightful to have at the table. It gives me hope that maybe we could go to an actual restaurant with her in FL with the relatives. And, as another aside, I really, really hate country music. Which was blaring in the ladies restroom that I had to visit 3 times because of little girls with little bladders. It's not like I've never been someplace that they've played country music. In fact, my family used to frequent Po Folks quite often when I was a kid but for some reason it was driving.me.nuts. But that's probably why I've never had any sort of inclination to got to the Opry House even though we live so close.

OK, enough about that. So with Amanda's newly found birthday wealth, we headed to the mall to blow it. Coincidentally it was a tax-free weekend and she wanted to make sure she took full advantage of it. Which I totally don't blame her for since she's saving close to 10 % on everything. The rest of the afternoon was spent with all six of us following Amanda around the mall, which is exactly what she wanted. So in that regard I think her birthday was a success. Later, we celebrated with a triple layer chocolate cheesecake by her request. It is her absolute, all-time fave. And I have to say that it's my favorite cheesecake out of all the ones my mom makes. Of course, she did tell me that I have the recipe in one of my Southern Living cookbooks and I think that's a hint that I should start making them. I'm not sure I see myself tackling cheesecakes yet though.

And that concludes our tour of Amanda's 18th birthday. Stay tuned for pictures of prom, house renovations, embroidering for Kylie and a finally completed painting.