Sweet Saturdays: 05/25/19

Hello again! For Sweet Saturdays: 05/25/19, I'm back as I was at Disney World last Saturday. I really wanted to enjoy those 4 short days with my daughter for her college graduation. She graduated last December, but if you know how it is with Disney trips, to do it right you should really plan as far ahead as possible.

This was one of the very few pics of me before I started sweating bullets and my hair was dripping. Haha! I have never been to Disney in the hottest months and even though May isn't the hottest month for them, it was the hottest I've ever been while there. I'll do a separate post of my whole Disney vacation in a few days telling you more about our wonderful trip.

The Week In Review:

I spent this week pretty much catching up from being gone last weekend. Other than my two babies (my dogs), I've been home alone for over a month now. My son is at boot camp and my husband is in South Carolina working. Scott travels a lot for his job and I'm used to him being gone, but I always hate when he's gone in the summertime. In the past, I've had Brandon here to do all the mowing and Bre here to do all the gardening, but it falls to me now when Scott isn't home and Bre has moved out.

I'm no stranger to hard physical work so it's fine, but if I had the choice I'd choose something other than mowing and yard work. We have a huge back yard so the mowing is daunting to say the least. Not to mention we are in an area that has an association (I can never say that word without turning up my lip slightly, haha!) and if your front yard isn't perfect, they'll write you a letter. No fun!! At least the flowers are pretty, as is the basil! The gardenias are full of buds getting ready to bloom 🌼🌻🌺🌹

We heard from Brandon this past weekend!! I will tell you more about that special situation in my Disney post, but what we found out is that he is doing well. His division passed the Marlinespike training segment (basically a teamwork drill that involves tying big knots and getting the "ship" underway) with 28 seconds to spare. He also passed his swimming test, which isn't a shock at all because he's like a fish in water!

He told us how he got his particular "job" in boot camp (Starboard Watch Section Leader). The chief sat them down at the beginning of boot camp and asked everyone who wanted the hardest job at boot camp. Of course no one raised their hand. He again said "No one wants to volunteer for this job???" and my son finally raised his hand and said he would do it. And then he said, "they've liked me ever since!" Haha!! That's what ya gotta do in the navy, I hear, to get ahead--brown nose. Lol!! He said it's a very stressful job as people are waking him up at all hours of the night asking him questions, but he's never been afraid of hard work. I'm so proud of that kid, it makes my heart so full 💖

What I'm Loving This Week:

Blackberries. I've always been a blackberry fan and what I'm so going to make TODAY is this Blackberry Infused Earl Grey Tea. It sounds so up my alley! I love Earl Grey and I love blackberries so combining them should be a no brainer.
Chilled Cucumber Soup. I took a tip from Katie at Fairytale Foodie and tried the chilled cucumber soup at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. She was right, it was SCRUMPTIOUS!! I'm craving it right now and must figure out how to make it! Check out her post here for all her info on Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. I will talk a little about the festival in my upcoming post on my Disney trip, but she goes into so much more detail and has way more pics!!
Disney's Aladdin live action film just came out this week and I can't wait to see it! Will Smith plays the genie and, while no one can take the place of the late, great Robin Williams, I'm sure he will honor his memory 😍. Brandon was always my movie buddy so without him here, I'm a little discombobulated.

What I Posted This Week:

Gluten Free English Scones--the ultimate in scones, in my opinion! We Americans are used to those sweet versions of scones with lots of "stuff" added to the dough. They're usually a glaze or drizzle of some sort, but I like the simplicity of these so much better. These scones are only slightly sweet with a texture similar to a biscuit, but softer. With clotted cream and strawberry jam, they're heaven on a plate 😋
Sanaa Disney Gluten Free Review--one of my new favorite places to dine at Disney World!!! Everything was delicious and so well flavored with all those Indian spices. The bread service with the 9 sauces was just wonderful!!! I'd eat here again in a heartbeat.
Gluten Free Puff Pastry Cheese Straws--oh my goodness are these addictive!!! Crunchy, crispy, cheesy, spicy. What more could you ask for, right? I feel it's such a retro thing, but that's the name of the game when it comes to recreating all our old favorites into gluten free wonders.