Sex on a Friday night

So, I went to see "Sex and the City" last night with some girls from work, and I LOVED IT! I'll try not to give away any spoilers for those of you who haven't seen it, but anybody who has ever seen the show really needs to go see this movie. It was wonderful, and I was very happy with the way things ended. The movie had its fair share of laughter and tears, and overall, I give it two thumbs up for sure. The only semi-negative thing I can say about it is that those women have not aged super gracefully on the digital screen. You could just about see every wrinkle and dimple, but I will say that it was nice to see that some people in Hollywood aren't perfect.

Now, saying all that, I will say that if you didn't make it to opening night, count your blessings. Of course it sold out, so I was glad we bought our tickets early. I have never in my life witnessed such chaos. The line to get inside the theater was out the door, and then once they announced that the "Sex and the City" theaters were seating, it was a mad rush to get a seat. Absolutely nuts. You had to literally hold on to the people you came with or one of you could have easily been trampled by the stampede of estrogen running (yes, running) to the theater. The few poor guys that were there because their girlfriends or wives convinced them it would be a fun date night were totally miserable. The one sitting next to me was texting on his phone through the entire movie despite being elbowed every few minutes by his girlfriend.

Yep, I can definitely tell you were all the ladies were last night. But overall, it was actually fun to watch it in a theater full of mostly women. Everyone gasped and laughed and sniffed back a few tears at the same time. It was definitely a unique experience. The only thing better would have been if there was a waiter coming around offering free cosmos. :)

Gettin' Our Memory On

We definitely got our eagle on, our drank on and our memory on over the weekend as we celebrated Memorial Day at Eagle Lake. It started Saturday with a day full of boat-ridin' and beer-drinkin'. It wasn't very pretty weather-wise, but we got plenty of sun regardless. A little too much sun, really, because I'm still recovering. Ugh...

After a fish fry late Saturday afternoon, we played cards as the sun set, then headed to Trey's family's house two roads over for a bonfire. Actually, it was more like a brushfire burning all the limbs and trees that fell during the storm last month. We watched the fire while we listened to music and drank more beer. Fun times, fun times...

On Sunday, we drank even more beer since the sun was shining and it was a holiday weekend, but after an afternoon slightly hungover, slightly drunk again, definitely sunburned and pretty tired, I took a nap before we decided to drive back to Jackson and call it a night. We got home and attempted to drink yet one more beer with our neighbors, Ben and Tina, but Derek was falling asleep on the deck before his beer was even finished. Clearly, we just had too much fun.

The long weekend was capped off yesterday with a lazy Monday by washing clothes and watching a movie. And, just for Jessie, I remembered the moment of silence at 4 yesterday afternoon to remember our soldiers. I paused my movie and said a little prayer.

I forgot to mention that Derek did the big reveal of his tattoo this weekend. It was a souvenir from Colorado. Surprisingly, Gary and Candee didn't say too much about it, besides the fact that it was kinda trashy and he could have gotten some crazy needle disease. I think it'll grow on them with time. After all, it does mean "Grey," so they couldn't argue too much. :)

All in all, it was a great holiday and definitely one that I need to recover from for a few days. So how much longer till July 4th? :)

Happy Day

Today is a happy day, I think. Not only is David Cook the new American Idol, but our window got fixed today (praise God!) AND it's my sister-in-law's (and brother-in-law's) 27th birthday, which means they're officially my age now, so I don't feel too old for another few months.

Let's start with "American Idol." I really, really wanted David Cook to win out of the two finalists, but I just had a sneaking suspicion that David Archuleta would win based on the insane fan base he has with the preteens. Now, of course David C. is no Bo Bice in my book, but he's pretty good. I'd definitely listen to him on the radio, so I'm happy.

On to the window... no more ghetto fabulous cardboard! Yay! The window guys were actually very nice and proficient. So as fast as that project made it on to the To-Do list, it's now taken care of.

As for the big birthday celebrations for Katie and Zach, we'll celebrate this weekend at Eagle Lake as part of the Memorial Day fun. :)

And as if I don't have enough to be happy about, tomorrow is FRIDAY, and tonight is the two-hour season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" AND the season premiere of "So You Think You Can Dance." I just can't wipe this grin off my face today. :)

Ghetto Fabulous

It seems like lately there hasn't been a dull moment at the Grey house. Last night, I get home from the gym, and Derek opens the door with an "uh-oh" look on his face.

"I did something bad," he said. "Don't be mad." I walk in and notice the window above our sink is broken and my stained glass that I made a few years ago in Vicksburg is gone.

I was quiet for a minute, just looking at the window and then back at Derek until I said, "I can't believe this. Do you have any idea how long it took me to make that?" Then he quickly clarifies that the stained glass is fine, it's just the window that shattered. Phew.

While Derek was trying to throw the water hose over the fence to water the hanging plants in the carport, the nozzle hit the window. It wasn't a pretty sight.

For the time being, we rigged the window with cardboard so bugs can't get in and air can't get out. Now we're just waiting on an estimate from the window guy. Just add it to our list of things to do around the house. Geez... just when it seems like we get a little bit of a break!

Anyways, I can live with a broken window for a few days. We'll fix it. What I can't live with is pieces of a cardboard box that once held a shop-vac covering up my pretty view of our flower box. It's not the classiest look, that's for sure. But maybe we'll only be trashy for a few days... here's hoping. :)

Shack-Up Inn

My parents spent the weekend with their friends, Alice and Gene, tucked away in a little place called Shack-Up Inn in Clarksdale. This place is a Mississippi gem set back in time, and having visited twice before, I just knew my folks would thoroughly enjoy it. (It was a Christmas gift from yours truly, by the way.)

As described by the USA Today as one of the 10 Best Places to Rent a Cottage, Shack-Up is "a must-stop on any Delta Blues trip with undeniable character. You stay in updated sharecropper shacks or rooms carved from bins attached to an old cotton gin on historic Hopson Plantation. Shack-Up is near Madidi, the restaurant co-owned by actor and Clarksdale native Morgan Freeman, Ground Zero Blues Club and Delta Blues Museum."

It may not look like much, but this is by far one of my favorite places, and I highly recommend everyone make a trip there at least once. It's worth the drive through the Delta. It's at the crossroads of Highway 49 and 61. It's a place where you don't meet a stranger, and everyone's up for some good, old-fashioned shack-sittin'. And it's also where bluesman Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil, so keep your ears open for some ghostly guitar pickin' in the air.

So... now that Shack-Up Inn is on your to-do list this year, we just need to figure out if we should shack-sit on the porch of your shack or mine? :)

A little acetone and some warm, soapy water

In all the excitement of heading off on vacation last week, I totally forgot to tell you about the major drama that happened last Tuesday at the Grey house. After an hour or so of packing for our trip, Derek decided that his last "to-do" item for the night would be to superglue the ear pads onto his sunglasses since he had been having a hard time making them stay. You probably can already see where this is going...

Well, sometime in the midst of this job, the tube of superglue exploded (or something like that - I couldn't really understand him through all the hysteria) and Derek came running in from the carport yelling with glue dripping from his face. The glue had gotten on his eyelashes, lips, cheeks and inside his mouth. He was freaking out. I was freaking out. Do you let it dry or not? There's not a huge window of time here. Neither one of us knew what to do, so I was armed and ready with a washcloth while he looked online for a solution.

Turns out a little fingernail polish remover (acetone-based) and some warm, soapy water will take the dried superglue right off. We probably could have figured this out had we not been in panic mode. Needless to say, it could have been much, much worse. I guess it could be considered a learning experience for the future. I now know to NEVER let my children play with superglue (duh). I think Derek's learned that lesson the hard way. :)

Feel like you were there?

I thought I'd post a few more pics from Colorado. The first is a view from the car on our way to Royal Gorge to raft. The second is our sexy selves suited up before we risked our lives floating down the river. The last two are from Derek's hike up the Flatiron Mountain in Boulder. Don't you just feel like you were packed in our suitcase now? :)

Spring Break 2008

We made it back from our "Spring Break 2008" trip to Denver on Monday, and we had a total blast. It was so great to see Jenn and Matt and sightsee all around Colorado. It is SO beautiful there! I'm afraid if we had stayed much longer then we might not have come back to Mississippi!

Highlights definitely included the "cold as the Rockies" Coors Light at the Rockies game (and throughout the whole weekend, actually), a tour of the Coors brewery in Golden, dinner in downtown Boulder and white water rafting. Yes, I survived the rafting trip without any problems, but it was definitely a true test of my courage. :)

Derek went hiking with the boys on Sunday while Jenn and I went house-hunting. It was gorgeous weather to be outside. Oh, did I mention a trip to the tattoo parlor where Jenn got her nose pierced? It must be a very "Colorado" thing to do because she fit right in!

The only bad thing about going on vacation is having to come back to all the work that doesn't get done while you're gone. Ugh... now it's back to the grind. At least we've got some great memories of a nice vacation to a place that we plan on visiting again soon. :)

Denver or Bust!

It's finally vacation time for us! We're leaving tonight for sunny Denver to visit our friends Jennifer and Matt. We've been planning this trip since almost August, and it's technically our "anniversary trip" only two months later.

We've got a jam-packed itinerary planned for the next five days that will include a Colorado Rockies game, a tour of the Coors Brewery and white water rafting. I promise to take LOTS of pictures and post them when we get back. Until then, my friends, try not to be jealous. :)

Culture in the 'Big City'

Derek and I went to go see Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" last night at Thalia Mara Hall downtown. It was the last show of the season for the traveling Broadway productions that come here. While I can't say that it was one of my favorites, it was definitely worth seeing. I'm actually pretty impressed with the quality of productions that come to Jackson. They haven't posted the schedule for next season, but this year's schedule was pretty good. It's so nice to have a little "culture" in this metropolitan city of ours. :)

http://www.kesslerbroadway.com/index.asp

It's about blogging time!

Okay, I've given into the temptation of the blogging world. And I know y'all are all as excited about this as I am. Don't ask me what I'm going to write about all the time because I have NO idea. I guess I'll just let my thoughts flow, and you can hear all about my fun and exciting life. Ha!

So here's to my first blog, and I'm sure I'll get better as I get used to this whole technical thing. I usually work better on paper, but we'll see...