Fried Food, Cable, and Beaches, Oh My!

What an awesome weekend.  We stayed in a very nice condo… the kind of place that has clean, trustworthy, “I will gladly walk barefoot on this” kind of carpet… (and to our feet, who only feel the harshness of hardwood flooring, carpet was something to really write home about.  This definitely sounds like a 1950’s commercial.)  Our condo also had fancy cable… the kind of cable that has numerous reality shows on anytime of day, the kind of cable that can suck you in and make you lose track of time, the kind that can have you yelling things at the tv like, “Barry!!! Why did you bid on that good-for-nothing storage locker??!??”  or “That mom did NOT just use the  phrases, ‘self-tanning’, ‘teeth-whitening’, and ‘my 3 year-old child’ in the same sentence.” It was glorious. On Saturday afternoon, while sitting on the beach, enjoying a drink, staring at the water crashing less than 10 feet from our toes, Sean said, “I know Jesus is coming back soon because I just saw Toddlers and Tiaras.”  Haha, amen brother, amen. 

 The second night we went to a restaurant within walking distance of our condo.  We ate hushpuppies, french fries, popcorn shrimp, and fried jumbo shrimp…with the exception of a few orders of Sonic Mozzarella sticks, this was our first fried food in over 2 months…it was heavenly.   We were also sitting on an outdoor patio with a wedding taking place about 100 yards away. I got to stuff my face with fried-goodness, while watching a beautiful bride walk down the “aisle” to a small crowd of excited friends and family members. I might have cried a little, and then stuffed my face with more fried shrimp while mumbling things like “this is perfect."
   

By the time we got back to the condo it was still light outside, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful ocean view aaannnddd fancy cable at the same time. (The couch sat right next to the ocean front balcony.) Say whhhhaaaaatttt????  It was awesome. Just awesome.  Sidenote: House Hunters is still my favorite…and House Hunters International?!!?  Fahgetaboutit.

On Sunday we woke up to dreary skies and a rainy forecast.  We easily made peace with this, as we’re both huge fans of watching storms roll in across the ocean. See?

After drinking coffee and admiring the rain from the dryness of our 12^th story balcony, we decided to brave the weather and dip our toes into the sand before this sucker showed up:

Then low and behold we got down to the beach and it cleared up! 

We ended up spending the rest of the day with our toes in the sand, soaking in the sun, and reading the incredible mystery series my father and sister wrote together.  Seriously… they’re AWESOME!!! (… and I wouldn’t just say that. I taught middle school reading.  I’ve read a LOT of kids’ books and these. are. awesome. )  I’m hooked!  

This morning we got up, walked on the beach, (Okay… Sean walked on the beach.  I slept in.  Egyptian cotton is a powerful force to be reckoned with.)Then we had coffee on the balcony, and headed home. 

Such an amazing vacation, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to go. This was the first vacation we’d had by ourselves in 2 1/2  years!!!!!!

(P.S. There’s news on the adoption front.  We’ll be going back to Africa soon! Unfortunately we won’t be bringing Abiella home with us but at least we’ll get to see her! Details on that piece of information soon.)

Hitting the Road Again

I've always been a fan of road trips.  Something about being in a confined space in an open area, the guilt-free understanding that fast-food may be your only option, the constant intake of large doses of caffeine, and the music... oh the music.  When I first met Sean I was in the middle of a personal mission: get someone to drive all the way to Canada and back with me.  At the time, I had never left the country and for whatever reason I really wanted to say that I had stepped foot on another nation's soil.  Easiest solution?  A quick drive (as in 25 hours) to Canada.  Combine the exhilaration of inhaling Canadian air with awesome friends, loud music and bad food and it sounded like a perfect Spring Break to me.  Unfortunately, nobody else agreed.  People would laugh my idea off... and say, "Oh Mary Susan...that would be fun, but seriously I think I’ll go to the beach instead.”  I secretly scoffed at their pathetic lack of adventure.  I mean seriously, did they not understand the vision??  We could camp along the way to avoid hotel fees and this bizarre venture would without a doubt be the birth place of a treasure trove of stories we’d all tell our grandkids. But the more I pushed, the more nobody agreed.  I had finally decided my dream was all but dead, when I met Sean.  I mentioned this little idea to him and he immediately said, "Sounds awesome.  I'll go!"  "What??!??" My radar went off.... This man (whom I had been spending more and more time with at Fazoli’s after class) was officially really cool. For a few days I gave the whole, “Go to Canada with this new guy I met named Sean” a lot of thought. Eventually though, I landed on the fact that we had only known each other for a few weeks and hitting the road to drive and camp for 4 days straight with a man many of my friends had never met seemed a little... ambitious.  Today, Sean and I often laugh and say, "What if we had gone to Canada together??" (Sidenote: 2 years later we did go to Canada together ... except this time it was by ferry, automobile, and floater planes... thank you Young Life for an awesome time in British Columbia...) I digress, point is, we're a fan of road trips and we often look at each other late at night and say, "Let's just drive to the beach.  RIGHT NOW.  DON'T THINK. JUST GRAB A BATHING SUIT AND GET IN THE CAR."  Unfortunately, one of us always squashes the spontaneity with a concern about work, or the dogs, or an upcoming obligation and we end the night watching Netflix, which is in its own right, very exciting. (I mean it’s like having a Blockbuster on your tv, ready for you to “rent” a film at anytime… Have we already forgotten how awesome this is??!?)  Point being, for Mother's Day, Sean is taking me out of town.  We're going on a road trip and landing on the Atlantic coast!! So friends, tomorrow I'll be hitting the road to drive to the beach and lounge for another long weekend.  Woohoo!!!  Thanks Sean!!! This Mama is pumped!!!

Oh... and just for good measure, here is a photo of us when we finally did reach Canada.

This also happens to be a failed album cover of a hip-hop band Sean and I used to be in called the                  Paddle Poets. For some reason we never gained any street cred.

Have a good weekend!

       

When Hipsters Have Kids

My friend Alice's facebook status today has this video with a caption that reads, "This is what happens when hipsters start having kids"   So funny.

Have a good Wednesday!

mae

Update on Court

I haven’t been very good at writing on here recently because I've been increasingly distracted by news on the Abiella court front.  Last week, we got very exciting news that papers were signed and our case was headed to court on Friday, May 4^th (two days ago.)  I was hesitant to tell many folks since last time we thought we were going to court, we had to go back and tell everyone, “no… actually… it didn't happen.”  SO this time, I kept the news fairly quiet.    Friday morning (the day of our court date), Sean and I woke up and sat in our living room sipping coffee for what felt like an eternity. Ghana is five hours ahead of us, so our morning was nearing Abiella’s afternoon.  We couldn't bear the thought of going anywhere or doing anything until we had some news.  Had court happened?? Were they in court right then?? Eventually, Sean’s phone rang and our hearts jumped. Unfortunately, our coordinator was calling to inform us that someone didn't show up for court and our case had to be rescheduled.  So alas… we wait again…

mae

Three Things you Need to Know About the "Cat Drawing Situation"

If you didn’t see the video about the dude that draws cats, you seriously MUST watch it now… BEFORE you do anything else.  I beg of you.  If not, this post will make absolutely zero sense.  Here it is one more time for good measure:

Things you need to know:

1)  3 hours after I posted THIS, Steve the Cat Drawing Man followed me on twitter.  I’m assuming it was some form of google alert system that led him to my blog and thus my twitter account. Now my very small, fairly inactive twitter account, has Steve the Cat Guy as one of its mere 45 followers.  Hilarious.

2) When I posted this blog, I had no idea that Sean had secretly purchased a cat drawing for me.  I now anxiously await my “dancing cat eating chips and salsa while surfing the internet” drawing.  It's basically a mini-mae mae… if I was a cartoon cat. Sean pretty much nailed it.

3) Lastly, Steve the cat man commented on my blog which I think is pretty darn cool.

Technology, makes this world one crazy place, eh? One minute I’m watching a dude on television (Hulu Plus actually) and the next minute he’s commenting on my blog and sending me a drawing of a cat.  Bizarre.

Happy Weekend, friends!

I Want to Draw a Cat for You

Oh my gosh, y'all. Today is my birthday and at 12:05 am this morning I discovered this little gem on Shark Tank. I consider it fate's little birthday gift to me. 

Two things: A) I LOVE Shark Tank.  If you aren’t a fan of this show, give it a second chance.  B) Out of ALLLLL the sales pitches I’ve seen on this show, this is by FAR my favorite; it is truly a birthday miracle.

If you love me at all, you will watch this:

By 2 am I had youtubed 2 interviews with this genius, scoured the "I Want to Draw a Cat for You" website, and I was still hearing "I want to draw a cat for you" (complete with visions of the dance) running through my head as I fell asleep. If you know me in real life, get ready.  You're going to see me doing this dance a lot.

Genius, just genius.

mae

I'm Back!!

Woah!  A whole week has passed??? I feel like I've been in a time warp.  Why?  Because time loses all relevance when you're here:

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my friend Danielle was taking me to the beach; well, this was it.  We were super excited to have our friend Ashley join us, and the three of us hit the road early Monday morning. I had all intentions of blogging while I was there... but to be honest, I didn't look at my phone or my email or really do anything other than lay in the sun, read magazines, eat a ton of chips and guacamole, and laugh until I thought I was going to pass out.  Seriously.  That's it. My version of heaven.

We left the condo one time for dinner...  and other than that we either cooked or ordered in.  The days went like this: walk downstairs in the morning to get a coffee, (there's a cafe in the building... whatup!! (insert me raising the roof here) are you embarrassed for me yet?), meet the girls back in the condo with my extra large dose of caffeine, relax on the balcony for a while sipping on my caramel macchiato, make a quick sandwich, hit the sand and look at this until 5 pm:

PLUS, there was a tiki bar with drinks and snacks a few steps away and the beach was full of families and older folks, no crazy spring breakers!  (I officially sound like an old woman don't I?)

It was an amazing, amazing week.

I miss it already!

You rock, Danielle and Ashley!!
Thanks for such an incredible vacation!!!

mae

P.S. Sean's b-day was the day after I got back from the beach.  We celebrated by going out to get our favorite sushi and then seeing "5 Year Engagement."  It. was. hilarious. I have many close friends and family who share April birthdays!! So... here's a big

Happy

Birthday

to all of you!!!
I love you!!!

Woohoo!!! May 2012 bring you all sorts of goodness!

*****