Labor Day Weekend.

It started off with a bang boat. On Friday evening, our Associate VP, Daph, and I accompanied 1000 students aboard the Steamboat Natchez for an evening of dinner, dancing, a photo booth, and a gorgeous view as we cruised down the Mississippi River. Seeing all of the students awkwardly dressed up trying to turn strangers into friends reminded me of my own riverboat cruise when I was a first year student during "Cruise In" in Memphis. How sad that was 12 years ago for me. I'm officially old!

Even so, it was a memorable way to wrap up my first Welcome Week and my first summer working full-time in orientation. As my coworkers and colleagues rev up for the academic year, I'm excited to take a breather and process the summer before planning begins for summer 2014.

Craving some down time, the extended 3-day weekend was good for my soul. In many ways, it was a mini-vacation. I spent Saturday at the beach in Gulfport before hitting the French Quarter Saturday night to celebrate Decadence (what some call gay pride in New Orleans). The Quarter was PACKED and though a bit too claustrophobic for me, I'm glad we went down to take in the sights with a great crowd. Needing a rest day, I enjoyed taking it easy Sunday. Going to church, grabbing lunch at La Madeleine, watching football, and spending the evening going for a run and cooking a delicious pasta dinner with Ed made for a wonderful day. All capped off with a visit to Creole Creamery (I'm obsessed with their cookie monster ice cream!)

Ed and I Saturday evening

We spent Monday at the outlet malls in Baton Rouge where I was excited to pick up a couple pairs of pants and a new shirt for fall before I drove home and had dinner with my parents. The weekend was exactly what I needed (and was craving) and the only thing that could have topped it would have been seeing my sweet niece who is now crawling! But I know I'll see her soon!

Cheers.