Cramming a lot of fun into a little time

Back in May, I told my mom that for Mother's Day, I was treating her to a trip to a casino that is just a few hours down the road. The only problem was finding the free time to go. We have had the busiest summer *ever.* Plus we had to coordinate around my husband's and my sister's work schedules. At first I thought it would be just mom and I, but I'm so happy all four of us were able to go! We finally found a couple days we could all go, and it just so happened to be on my birthday too!

This is the room my husband and I had. It was so nice, and frankly-- cheap. We stayed for $30, and my mom and sister's room, with 2 queens, was just $40. I tell you, a casino is a cheap place to stay if you just want a day or two away from home and don't intend to do any gambling.

The view from our room. I didn't even bring my bathing suit, but after seeing this, I kind of wished I had!

We did gamble a little. I spent a few hours there, mom and S spent a bit longer, and Mr. GV never even went inside. Instead he spent his time napping, reading, and running.

My mom, excited to hop on the shuttle from the hotel to the casino for the first time.

Trying to get a "normal" picture of my mom and S together is not easy. But these are more fun anyway!

Exhibit A: Kissy face.

Exhibit B: Mom has horns.


Exhibit C: S has.....antlers?

And then apparently I had some kind of issue with looking straight at the camera. I think it had to do with my glasses, which I had not worn in a while. At any rate, I kept looking up.

The next day, mom and S went back to the casinos and had breakfast and did a little more gambling. By 11 we were checked out and headed toward Memphis. We had decided to see Toy Story 3 in 3D, so we picked up our tickets for a later showing and then needed somewhere to chill.

Yep, Starbucks it was, where the one coffee drinker in the family, Mr. GV, could get his favorite, an iced soy latte with peppermint. And we all geeked out with our electronic gizmos. Actually, we could be an ad for the Ipod Touch, because we had 3 of them out, checking in on Facebook, email, and blog feeds.

Soon it was time for the movie.

It's not easy to pull off the 3D glasses look---you gotta have attitude!

Me and Mr. GV, sans glasses.


The day before we left for our time away, Mr. GV did some online investigating and discovered a new-to-us restaurant called DeJAVU. They serve Creole soul and vegetarian food. He managed to keep the type of restaurant a secret from me until we pulled up in front. This is a Big Deal, because Mr. GV has trouble keeping things a secret from me, just because he wants to share them right away! :)

Three of us had vegan food:

S had the Mushroom Hoagie Roll, and chose Sweet Potato Fries and Roasted Garlic Potatoes as her sides. She enjoyed the first two items, although the garlic potatoes were a little too garlicky for her.

Mr. GV chose the Veggie Rolls, along with Collard Greens and Candied Yams. He enjoyed his meal. But it was spicy, even for him!

I decided on the Tofu Your Way, teriyaki-style. My two sides were Veggie Brown Rice and Smothered Okra. It was all yummy, but the okra was especially good!

Mr. GV and I also shared a slice of chocolate cake with strawberry sauce. The cake was good, but the sauce was a little.....odd. It had a strong mint flavor. Just not what I expected.

All in all, the meal was very good. We will definately be back to try other dishes the next time we are in Memphis.

Mr. GV and I outside the restaurant, apparently squinting into the sun.


We had a nice little rainstorm. And then we saw this as we headed towards home:

A rainbow was a nice way to cap off our time away.