What a Day!

Where to begin?...

Let's start at the very beginning!  A very good place to start!

We woke up bright and early once again...this time to drop off Christina at the local community college.  She was taking an important test today....that would hopefully change her life FOREVER!!!!!  More on this later...

But...because of this...Amanda, Zaira and I were left with "nothing" to do for the majority of the day....not a good plan on a hot, humid summer day.

Now...if you remember...a few weeks back...Amanda wrecked her car.  Well...she has not found a replacement car.  So...we decided to take a look around town at used car lots.  I am not typically one to enjoy used car lots but we did not have anything else to do!  After going to several locations and being offered over-priced vehicles or PT Cruisers, we gave up the hunt.

So...that took all of an hour and many more to go!  So...we headed indoors and out of the heat.  I am not much of a shopper (especially clothes) but Amanda loves clothes shopping, so we tried on clothes and even bought a couple of blouses.

Still had time on out hands...so we did the worst thing I can imagine...we went to the mall!  I am NOT a mall person...I just have never had a good experience at a mall.  So...the idea of going to the mall did not thrill me.  But once again...what else was I to do?

But you know?  It was actually fun...in an odd bonding kind of way!  I enjoyed being with my daughters...watching their reaction to different stores and displays.  We had such a good time!  We also determined the birthday gifts for Zaira so we really did get a lot accomplished.

I even <<SHUTTER>> bought things at the mall!  I found the perfect mirrors for the bathroom in a store just as we were about to leave.  And the best part...it was for almost half the price I planned on spending.  SO...I bought a large cross collage that I spotted as we were first going into the store.  I almost never splurge like this but it was so perfect for me...I just could not resist.

Now...throughout this adventure....Zaira continued to repeat the same 'word' as we went into stores.  Amanda and I could not figure out what she was trying to say but she remained consistent so we knew it was important to her.  Our last store of the day was a little boutique that Amanda said was 'special.'  And it was a cute store.  As we were walking through, Amanda picked up a little trinket made of ceramic and Zaira repeated her 'word'...it suddenly became clear...that she was saying "touch" as in..."Can I touch it?"

I was so surprised that I did not notice that she was INDEED touching the breakable item until it was too late!!!  It fell to the floor and shattered!  The nice lady refused to let us pay for the item, which made me feel even worse than I already felt...so I had Amanda look for another item that we could buy...of course it did not take long for her to find something.  Thankfully it was on the clearance rack (and a little more than the cost of the trinket that was not expensive).  It was a dress with biggest flowing sleeves I have ever seen!  LOL...Amanda fell in love...I bought it for her cringing but knowing it was perfect for her.  We left the store with dignity...LOL.  And then left the mall!

This just in time to pick up Christina from her test.  The test that made her an official HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE!!!!!  She can now way she is part of the Class of 2013!!!!  I am so proud of her...and a little annoyed!  LOL!  Can you believe she fell asleep in the test...and still passed with flying colors!!!????!!!!  How crazy is that?  It just goes to show you that she is one smart cookie!  I could not be happier for her!  She is actually close to having an associate's degree thanks to the charter school's program...so I am not surprised she did well on her test.  We will be celebrating and having our own little ceremony for her soon!

We got home in time to work on the bathroom some more...we seem to be slowing down but really only have a little left to finish.  We need to grout the counter tile and replace the sinks...and of course add those new mirrors.  Still hoping to get done before the weekend...we will see!  Please Lord!!!!