Random Thought Thursday

We've been pretty boring over the past week, so I apologize for the lack of interesting blogging material. Here are a few random things on my mind this lovely Thursday morning...

• On Friday my office took a field trip to the Mississippi State Fair for lunch in honor of my birthday a couple of weeks late. The birthday person gets to pick where to eat for their "birthday lunch" so I scheduled mine for when the fair was going to be in town! I actually got a sneak peak the week before when I had to go with one of our environmentalists to do some food booth inspections with WAPT, so I had already gotten one chicken-on-a-stick checked off my list. But, since it's fair time, I got another one on Friday along with some bacon/cheddar/ranch fries, half a roasted corn and some fried Oreos. Well, it was kind of windy that day so I had a bit of a catastrophe with my fried Oreos, as seen above... totally worth the mess though. Yum.
  


• Last night we went over to Melanie and Trey's for dinner. It was so nice to catch up and hear all about their New York trip and see their cute kiddos. It was a very enjoyable Wednesday night, and Mel, if you're reading this, the food was delish. Thank y'all so much!
  


• This past weekend I did a little shopping and am now the proud owner of two pairs of jeggings and some cowboy boots. I am thrilled. I've already worn the boots and can't wait to put them back on my feet, and the jeggings I'm still studying on, but they look cute on everybody else, so we'll see... It's about time I got some boots! LOVE them.
  


• I'm getting excited about Halloween next weekend! While I'm not quite as into this holiday as Derek is, I do enjoy watching our DVR'd collection of scary movies. I love a good scary movie (key word good). Our friend Olivia is starring as Janet in a Vicksburg production of Rocky Horror Picture Show over the next couple of weeks. We're looking forward to heading over there one night to cheer her on. Break a leg, O!

All in all, it's a fabulous time of year in my opinion. There's so much going on, the weather is just perfect, and the holidays are just around the corner! It's hard to be in a bad mood when life is this good... :)

Bunco!

So, about a month ago, a friend of mine was talking on Facebook about starting a bunco group. I was all for it. I knew her through another friend, and knowing how much fun these girls are I figured it would be a good group. I was right!

We played our first game last night at Sarah's house (she's in the peacock outfit) in Brandon, and the theme was Halloween. I recycled Derek's Beatle costume from last year and dressed in drag. Yikes... I don't make a pretty boy.

The game itself is fun! It's FAST. I don't see how all these people call it drunko because I honestly couldn't drink that much and still focus on the rules. I guess eventually I'll be able to play without thinking, but for now, I can't even carry on a conversation at the same time.

In summary, I loved meeting everybody last night and can't wait for next month! Fun times!

Big 3-0 Birthday Tour Stop #3: The Burg

We hit the road Saturday for USM's Homecoming, the final stop on my Big 3-0 Birthday Tour. It was a HOT day to be sitting outside all day, but we suffered through it. My friend Christy is Martha Stuart Jr. and had our two tailgating tents decorated just as nicely or better than most tents in the Grove in Oxford.

It was a special birthday celebration for me, my friend Katie whose birthday was Saturday and Allison, whose birthday is today. We even had a homecoming-themed birthday cake!

After sweating it out and chasing the shade all afternoon under our tent, we ended the night at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game on TV. It was a horrible game, we lost after what felt like hours, and we called it a night before even 11 p.m. But considering we started the day with mimosas 12 hours earlier, I don't think that was too bad, especially in 95-degree heat.

I had a great time seeing all my friends and celebrating my birthday one last time! I think three separate birthday celebrations was perfectly appropriate for this big birthday. I can now officially accept the fact that I'm in a new decade of my life. After all, it's all in how you celebrate it, and I think I celebrated in style. :)

Random Thought Thursday

• I've been on jury duty this week. While I only had to actually show up at court for half a day on Monday, I've been sort of "on call" all week by having to call after 6 p.m. each night to see whether or not I had to report the next morning. So far, I haven't, but I'm afraid this might last longer than just this week. I was kind of hoping that I actually would make it farther than the first round because I think it would be really interesting to serve on a jury. No such luck at this point. I'm on Panel #9, and only numbers 1-7 have actually had to report to Round 2 this week. Oh, well... maybe next time?



• Our Halloween costumes came in!! We're pretty pumped about them. No big announcements on this year's theme just yet, and while not quite as creative as last year's Beatle and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, still just as cool. I'm excited! Now we just need to figure out what to do Halloween weekend.



• I know I've already mentioned it, but I LOVE FALL!! We switched over to our "fall" coffee candle this week, and I swear I could burn it 24 hours a day. I love it. This weather makes me so happy!



• The final round of my 30th birthday celebration is this weekend. I'm heading to USM's homecoming, and I can't wait to spend the day with all my college friends! It's one of my favorite Saturdays of the whole year. :)



• Speaking of friends, I just finished a really good book, The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King. Set in the South, it's about a group of women who have stayed friends since college through their semi-annual get-togethers. They're all about to turn 50 and going through some major life changes. The quote on the book calls it a cross between the the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and the Sweet Potato Queens. It was great, and it reminds me of my little group of friends. I figured we've done well with our semi-annual get-together for seven years now, so we're well on our way! Ha!

Fall Is In the Air!

What a lovely fall weekend! It's been BEAUTIFUL here all weekend, and I have truly enjoyed spending a nice weekend at home. This is my favorite time of year!

Friday night Derek and I were the true definition of an old married couple. We sat in silence and read our books all night. Exciting, huh?

On Saturday I met my friend Katherine to help her shop for a wedding gown, then we went to lunch at Bravo and then I had my post-birthday massage at Aqua before going to get my monthly mani/pedi. It was a fabulous "me" day, and I've decided I really want to try to get a massage at least every other month. It did me wonders!

Last night Derek had a boys' night with Josh, and I babysat Baby Brady (not so much of a baby anymore really) across the street while his parents went out for their fifth anniversary dinner. We had fun! I think I might be his new favorite babysitter. ;)

Today I've succeeded in washing five loads of clothes so far, including all the sheets and comforters, and I have the back door and all the windows open for some fresh, fall air in this house. THESE are the weekends I love, and I'm ready for a few more nice, cool weekends before winter sets in. Love it when the seasons change! Happy Fall, Y'all!

Big 3-0 Birthday Tour Stop #2: Jacktown

Round Two of my birthday celebration commenced this week. On Sunday my parents and grandparents came up for an early birthday brunch at Julep. If you've never had brunch there, I highly recommend it. It was delish! We had a great visit, and the mimosas were two-for-one. :)

Yesterday was my actual birthday, and I had an all-around wonderful day! I was greeted with this birthday poster in the lobby of our office at work. And no, those aren't my man hands. In fact, only the head is mine. Our graphic designer photoshopped it. I love it! It's very "me." Ha!

Then right before lunch I got these beautiful flowers from Katie, Neil and Frances (and Jack). So sweet!

After a day full of texts, phone calls and Facebook wall posts, we went to the Bulldog for my official birthday party. Katherine had decorated a big table outside and even bought me a party hat that said Over The Hill. Nice, huh?

It was SO NICE and fall-like outside - perfect for a birthday party! Claire even made me lemon (my fave) cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I felt so loved!

After the Bulldog, we went to McB's near the Reservoir for some karaoke. I sang a little Fleetwood Mac and called it a night about midnight. Not too bad for a Tuesday night 30th birthday celebration...

I can't let the birthday blog post go by without saying a word or two about my sweet husband. He has made this the BEST birthday. He spoils me rotten, and I love him for that! :) For my big 30th birthday present, Derek had my engagement ring/wedding ring reset, and it is absolutely beautiful. I can't stop staring at it. I'm a lucky girl to have a man that loves me this much.

I have the best family and friends anyone could ever ask for, and I'm proud to welcome my 30s. I have a feeling it will be the best decade yet!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Yesterday was our big filming day for "The Help." We reported to the church right next to the set bright (well, actually, not so bright) and early at 4:30 a.m. Our alarm clock actually went off at 3:15 a.m. I think that's a first. Like Derek said, I'm not quite sure if that's classified as a really early morning or a really late night.

But anyways, so we check in at 4:30 a.m. with curlers in my hair. We go straight to wardrobe to get our costumes they picked out for us and then go get changed. Derek went one way, and I went the other, and this was one of the few times I saw him for the rest of the day. Once he was ready and had gone through hair and makeup, he was taken to the set to start filming the first few scenes of the day on North State Street in Fondren. At this point, it was probably about 7:00, and I was still waiting in line for hair and makeup.

Derek played the part of a "Jacksonite" buying a car from a used car salesman at Fondren Family Used Cars, seen above. In his scene, he was talking with the salesman about the car when Emma Stone, who plays "Skeeter", drives up in her convertible.

They filmed that one scene about 10 times. He also was in another street shot where he walked across the street and his reflection was filmed in the window of a passing car. Pretty cool, huh?

Unfortunately, since we were separated for most of the day, I never had the opportunity to get a picture of Derek is his costume, but I did find a shot of him on the Jackson Free Press website. Check him out! :)

About 11 a.m. my hair and makeup was FINALLY done, and we were about to break for lunch. I snapped a few quick shots of myself while I had the chance. I think this is the ugliest dress in all of America, but maybe at least I'll stand out. Ha!

I was called out after lunch and was taken to the state capitol for my scene. I played a law librarian in the scene where Skeeter steals the Jim Crow laws from the library. In my scene, I was carrying a stack of law books from the Speaker of the House's office to the House of Representatives chamber. I was supposed to cross behind Skeeter's path as she was walking out.

It was fun! We were both very glad we did it, even though it did make for a LONG day from 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. We met some really interesting people, and it was really cool to see how a movie is made. Every single scene takes SO long to film, even just the little ones that you don't think about. I'll always pay attention to the people in the background, too, now that I know what it's like.

It definitely is not glamorous in any way, but it was something that we can now say we did, and who knows - we might even make it in the movie! :)