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September 2, 2011

Day 5...

Wait for it...


Wait for it...


AND WE’RE DONE!!!!



The Sunrise Series is now complete!
It was hard.
It was awesome.
It was exhausting.
And
It was beautiful.

Sunrises are worth getting up for, going to bed early isn't all that bad, and feeling rested is... well, I'm not there yet, but I'm sure it's coming.

I hope you enjoy your long weekend and meet me back here next week, where I will be introducing a new series called
 "Wigs, Easy Cheese, and Roller Rinks: 
Living on the Edge."
j/k
although that  does sound like fun, now that I'm thinking about it...
Hmmmm.....
Shall we dare??
To Be Continued...
Your ole early-bird,
(and apparently very tired)
Mae Mae 

September 1, 2011

Day 4...

Boom.


And Boom.


One more day of the Sunrise Series left!

Happy Thursday! 

August 31, 2011

3 Turning 30...

Two years ago, Elizabeth and I decided to start a book club.  After talking about it for months, we finally called some girls in town, picked a book, set a place and time, and had our first meeting.  Most of the girls I already knew, and some were just “friends-of-friends.”  But after that first meeting, I was hooked.  These ladies were smart, fun, witty, loving, and hilarious.  Women I had barely known before, quickly became some of my best friends and within a few months “book-club” grew into an excuse to eat tons of great food, get away from the boys, spill our guts, cry, share embarrassing moments, pontificate about all things needing pontification, and oh yeah, talk about books.

This summer 3 of the girls turned 30!  We decided to have one night of glory and celebrate all 3 together.  After studying our calendars we finally found a day when ALL ladies would be in town.  (This is nothing short of a miracle as 3 of the gals are musicians on the road, I travel with Sean some, and Elizabeth’s baby girl could arrive any second.) 

So, this Saturday, we told the birthday girls to meet us at Megan’s house at 3:00, dress comfortably but nice, and to plan on being out late.  Elizabeth was the last to arrive and when she walked in we all ooohed-and-awwed over the quickly growing size of her belly:


After everyone gathered in the kitchen, we told the ladies that the day would be split into three parts.  And part 1 would start with The Help.

Part 1

The first book we ever read as a group was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  We all fell in love with the novel and when news came out that a movie was being made, email chains started flying into everyone’s inboxes, with one basic rule.  “We see this movie TOGETHER.”  Unbelievably thrilled to go as a group, we all filed into the movie theater, spent 20 minutes debating what artery-clogging snacks we would partake in, and reserved an entire row for ourselves.  Elizabeth and I went a little crazy in the snack department...


Sidenote:  That trough of popcorn was gone before the previews were even over. Are you as impressed as I am?

The theater was packed, the movie was fantastic, and the crowd even applauded at the end.  Soo good.  I really wanted to get a pic of us all crying (and Megan laughing hysterically at a man in the front row who had a persistent and poorly timed grunt/cough issue) but I figured taking pictures in a movie theater makes you an immediate creeper.

When the movie was over, we all looked at each other and did the “that’s so good we can’t even talk about it” head nod, and then rushed to Part 2.

Part 2
There is a fantastic restaurant on the East side of town that has the most charming outdoor seating.  It reminds you of a secret garden, with lights strung above you, different levels of seating, beautiful pergolas, sweet swings and even Adirondack chairs in the back. Most of us had never been there (but always wanted to) so it was a great place to have a “special” dinner. When we arrived we had a beautiful table under the pergola with our name on it.  We ordered fried green tomatoes, fancy pizza, drinks, salads, cheese plates, grouper and anything else that tickled our fancy.  There were 3 people to celebrate, which means 3 times more food to eat in my opinion.

Once we ordered, we gave the girls their gifts: 30 Things We Love About You scrapbooks.  Each of the non-birthday-girls had made each b-day queen 2 scrapbook pages with a list of thirty things they loved about them. We compiled all the pages and put them into a scrapbook for each birthday lady. We had character traits, funny memories, memorable pictures, and embarrassing/awesome stories spread throughout the pages. It was great talking, laughing and reading through the pages together…





After dinner, we piled into our cars and headed to Part 3.

Part 3
For Part 3, we headed to Melissa’s house.  Melissa is unbelievably crafty, capable of all things domestic, a wonderful wife and mother and an engineer.  She is so good at everything it is frustrating… and we tell her how mad it makes us all the time. When I was starting a pottery class Elizabeth told me she felt sorry for anyone who had to make anything beside Melissa.  Sure enough, the rest of us left the class with cute vases and coasters, and Melissa left with a beautiful bird-house that can survive an F-5 tornado.  Geez.

Anyhow, we sat on her patio and ate the amazing cake she had worked on for 2 days.  It was beautiful, delicious, and a true labor of love (she made two more before she decided this one was perfect.)



After another few hours of laughing, eating, and waking the neighbors we all headed home.  Props to Elizabeth for making it through 9 hours of festivities 8 months pregnant.

Cheers to good friends, good food, and a new decade!  Happy 30th Liz, Malia, and Kristin! We love you!!

Day 3...

Day 3 was hard.
 I may or may not have fallen asleep at 7:45 last night, gotten back up for an episode of Billy the Exterminator and after being reassured that the roaches infesting Mr. Brown's home were being taken care of, passed back out again on the couch.  And I may or may not have been so asleep that I was carried to bed like a toddler and dropped off on the comforter, where I continued to lie in the fetal position in my jeans, blouse, and glasses.  And when my alarm went off this morning, I may or may not have considered downloading someone elses's pic of the sunrise, making coffee around noon, and then saying my internet was out and the pics couldn't be posted on time... And I may or may not have thought about lying and saying I was sick... And I may or may not have thought that that was such a good idea that maybe I really was sick.  And I may or may not have thought about saying my camera was broken and that my glorious morning with the sunrise simply couldn't be captured. And I may or may not have thought about actually breaking my camera so I could say it was broken guilt free... And I may or may not have truly analyzed how the guilt associated with intentionally breaking a camera might outweigh the guilt of lying, thus putting me in a real Catch 22. And I may or may not have thought about calling the whole thing off and saying this self-imposed challenge was an unnecessary goal, and we're all really silly for holding me to it...


But,
In the end,

I.


Miraculously.


Managed. 



Surrender to Adult Schedule is happening.  It is painful.  It is exhausting.  But it's happening.  And I may or may not be happy about that. 

Later today I'll be posting about what I did last Saturday.  
I can't wait any longer.
It involves cake, books, and some really old people.

Until then,
Mae Mae

August 30, 2011

Day 2...

Day 2 of the Sunrise Series is a success... kind of.  First, I was so tired last night I went to bed at 12:45! (Success!)  However, I woke up at 4:15 to one of my dogs pawing at the door to go outside.  (I was so exhausted I forgot to let him out before he went to bed.  Oops!)  So, I got up, let him out, and then discovered that Sean was missing.  After searching the downstairs, I tiptoed up to his studio and sure enough, there he was working. (Have I mentioned he really likes what he does?) He was singing harmonies and when I finally got his attention he looked terrified that he had woke me up.  He was relieved to know that I hadn't heard him, but regardless, at that point I was hit with a dose of "I'm not really sleepy anymore."

At about 5:15 I finally got sleepy again, and when I woke up 45 minutes later, I could see the sun rising from my bedroom window, but I couldn't bear to get out of bed. Partly because I was tired, and partly because I was getting an intimidating death stare:


Needless to say, I was awake (mostly), but I didn't get a picture because the motivation needed to get out of bed was canceled by my warm blankets and the dog on my feet.  By the time I got out of bed, it was still very early, but the sun was just past "sunrise" status.

(Just know I seriously considered photo-shopping this pic to make it look earlier... then I decided someone who lies on their blog about what time they get up is a lame-o.) But everyone understands I was up (mostly)?  I need to make sure I get credit for that... because that was hard.


Now I will fight the temptation to join the 3 other beings in my house who are sleeping like babies and enjoy this nice cup of joe.


Happy Tuesday!!
P.S.  If you haven't seen the new Top Twentycheck it out.  I need to borrow your wisdom for #18. I'm seriously stuck. Shoot me your favorite at mae.twohootsandaholler@gmail.com.  I will be buying someone's suggestion this week. 

August 29, 2011

Day 1...

Day 1 of the Sunrise Series is a success.  Although I am tired, (very tired) I am thrilled to actually be up before Regis and Kelly.  Four short hours ago I was climbing into bed to go to sleep, and twenty minutes ago, my alarm didn't go off, and I miraculously woke up in time to catch this:


The dogs are still sleeping, the house is quiet (for the first time in 5 days), and I'm thoroughly enjoying this:


Day 1: Mission Accomplished.