Wednesday, October 27, 2010

We're back, and it was over WAY too soon....

Friday morning started out pretty much like any other Friday morning for me, EXCEPT THAT AFTERNOON I WAS LEAVING ON A JET PLANE FOR ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA TO BE A GUEST AT THE FILMING OF THE SEASON FINALE OF THE HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY!!!

Brandy and I were so excited about the trip, we got to the airport over two hours early just so we could feel like we were "finally on our way!" And believe me when I tell you, getting to the airport early where we live is NOT necessary. We did sit in the airport bar and have a couple of adult beverages while waiting to board. Afterall it would take us all of 48 minutes to get to Atlanta so we could sit and wait two more hours, in a bar, for our flight to California. And, apparently Brandy had no idea how far Calfornia was from Atlanta since when the Captain announced it would take 4 hours and 17 minutes to get to John Wayne Airport, she was shocked. I think she actually thought it would only take a couple of hours. But, thank goodness for technology and she was able to watch Bravo TV while we flew through the air. We were definitely too excited to sleep on the plane. We arrived in Orange County about 10:15 P.M. their time, 12:15 A.M. our time, so we were finally getting a little tired. After a 30 minute ($65.00) cab ride from the airport to the hotel, we went to bed, because the hotel bar was closed and what else was there to stay up for. We definitely should have gotten our cabbie to stop at a jiffy mart so we could fill our mini frige with Ultras, but hindsight is always perfect isn't it!!

We were awake bright and early Saturday morning, since we were too excited to sleep. After indulging in a huge breakfast, in anticipation of not eating again that day, we started getting ready. Brandy said she needed to go ahead and "fix" her hair early so it could be re-done as "dirty" hair later, because everyone knows dirty hair is easier to fix and it looks better??? Who knew!!! After 4 hours of getting ready, taking numerous pictures, more primping, our ride was finally at the hotel. We had the pleasure of riding to the event with Vicki's assistant, Heidi and her friend Laurie, who were awesome. When we arrived at Vicki's house, where the finale was being filmed, Bravo people were everywhere. We had to sign a contract allowing them to film us, and have our picture taken with the contract!!! That alone made me feel somewhat like a celebrity! After waiting outside the house for all of 10 minutes, Brandy texted Vicki and told her we needed a beer, and that we wanted to see her. Vicki told us to go out by the pool and get a beer, and then come on up to where she was having her hair and makeup done. The camera crew was in her bathroom filming her, and we actually sat in there with her and the crew for about 30 minutes, and they were filming us, right along with her, and laughing right along with all of us. We then headed back downstairs, because HELLO, we needed another beer (and BTW, there was no Ultra at this party). We had the option of drinking Becks, Corona, Fisher, and something else I had never heard of. I had a Becks, which was good, but then I tried a Fisher, and I loved it. We met lots of wonderful people, got to see a cat fight between Tamra and Gena, lots of wine being thrown in people's faces, and a hasty exit on Gena's part. We took lots of pictures, made new friends who thanks to technology, once again, we were able to "friend" on Facebook immediately, and ate things we have never eaten before. I drank a martini of some kind that some cute hot yummy GAY guy made especially for me. What a waste of a cute hot yummy guy!! I think he is in the pictures Brandy put on facebook somewhere since I am pretty sure she is in 99% of the pictures taken that night.

After the filming, one of Bravo's crew memberts drove us, Vicki, her daughter Brianna, her office manager Danielle and couple of other people to a Mexican restaurant called Carmalita's to eat some real Mexican food. And then, Vicki called a limo to come get us!! HELLO!!! I had never ridden in a limo before!!! We then headed back to the hotel because we were all tired from the an extremely busy day.

Sunday morning, Vicki picked us up bright and early and we actually headed to a bar in Newport Beach 9:30 A.M. to watch the Chicago Bears play football because the games come on two hours earlier there than they do here, and when I tell you the bar was packed, I am not kidding. Standing room only. Vicki is from Chicago and she and her family are huge Bears fans. Our New Orleans Saints were playing too and we all kept each other company while both our teams lost. We then headed out on a boat ride that was fabulous! The houses on the water there have private beaches and were truly unbelievable. And, Brandy almost got a ticket for pretending we were riding around on the Titanic!! Shocker!!! We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and then we headed out to do a little purse shopping, (because a girl can never have too many purses) and we were successful!

We wound down the night by hanging out with Vicki at her house for a little while and then she took us back to our hotel and we said our goodbyes. It was the trip of a lifetime for us for sure.

After leaving Orange County late due to weather delays in Atlanta, we ran a marathon through the Atlanta airport to make our connecting flight and made it with about 10 minutes to spare.

It is definitely a trip we will be talking about for months to come. And, we certainly can't wait to find out when the finale will air so we can see if we made it past the cutting room floor! You should at least be able to see Brandy because she made her way to wherever she saw cameras because who knows when we will ever be around a film crew again.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The BIG TRIP TO HWOC!

This time Friday afternoon, I will be sitting in the Jackson International Airport, waiting on a plane to take me and my daughter to Atlanta, and from there to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, home to the Housewives of Orange County!!!! I am not sure who is more excited, me or Brandy. She says she has become even more "infamous" because of this trip, and I seriously have no reason to doubt that. THANKS FACEBOOK!!!

We have been advised by our friend, Vicki Gunvalson, the filming will begin Saturday at 2:00 P.M. and not end until 6:00 P.M. Either Vicki or her assistant will be picking us up at our hotel Saturday and take us back to Vicki's house so we can participate in the filming of the finale of the Housewives of Orange County. We will get to meet all the ladies on the show, as well as other individuals who have been invited to participate in the filming as well. Even though the this particular show is my favorite out of all the Housewives shows, I never in a million years dreamed I would ever meet one of the ladies, much less be asked to be part of the show. I am OVER THE MOON excited about this. Brandy is OVER THE MOON and then some... Seriously! If you know her, you know what I am talking about. If they give her a chance to speak, she will do so, and I feel sure they will not edit her out. Due to my serious "Elly Mae" twang, I will refrain from speaking when a microphone is near.

Outfits have been given lots of serious thought. From what to wear on the way out there JUST IN CASE WE SEE SOMEBODY FAMOUS, to what we will WEAR ON TV, and of course WHAT TO WEAR HOME, just in case the paparazzi gets wind of our TV DEBUT, and wants to follow us around the airport taking pictures.. WE ARE TOTALLY PREPARED!!! We have had our hair done, made numerous trips to the tanning bed, nails are done, and pedicures are scheduled. When you are going to be standing that close to women who have their makeup and hair done by professionals almost everyday, you gotta give it your best shot, and believe me, WE ARE!!! Details to come...

Busy, busy, weekend... again...

This past weekend was pretty busy for me. It started Friday night when I went to karate with Brandy and the kids. Benton absolutely loves karate and I absolutely love watching him. He probably listens to Instructor Parks better than any of the other kids, and I am not saying that because he is my flesh and blood (well, maybe because he is my flesh and blood). After karate they wanted to go to Pizza Inn (which does not sell adult beverages) and we vetoed that since it was now 6:30 on Friday night, Pizza Inn was across town and all restaurants were starting to fill up. Benton then decided he wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant (which does sell adult beverages), although he wouldn't touch Mexican food with a ten foot pole. However, he does love their chicken strips and fries, and chips. Bailey will eat anything.. seriously.. After we finished dinner, I dropped them off at their house so we could all start packing for our trip to Louisiana the next morning.

My niece Taylor was celebrating her 5th birthday, and Brandy still needed to find an outfit for out trip to California, so we headed out early. We arrived in Louisiana about 9:30 and started our shopping venture at Target, where we purchased one birthday present, two toys for well behaved children, and a few items of clothing for well behaved children, and a couple of things for G. We then headed to some boutiques, and unfortunately Brandy found nothing, at any of them.. Me, on the other hand, found an awesome suede and fur vest that will look snazzy with a pair of boots I purchased recently.

We then headed to lunch with my niece, sister-in-law and my mom and then on to the party. The kids had a blast, but they were ready to go before the party was over because THEY WERE TIRED OF GOING PLACES, and just wanted to go mammaws and play. We headed to mammaws where they played, the adults rested, and then I proceeded to get dressed for GIRLS NIGHT OUT with three friends from high school. Two of the friends I had not seen in over 15 years, and the other one I see often. Two of the friends came to get me and we headed to Monroe to Portico's where the other friend met us and we talked, laughed, revisited our pasts, laughed some more, etc. We all made a pact to NOT let so much time go by before we connected again, and plan to meet again in December, and I CANNOT WAIT!!! We used to have lots of fun when we were in high school, and in the first few years after high school before we all got married and went in different directions, and now know we can still have fun with each other after all these years.. So, the plan is to meet again in early December. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

After eating my mom's "biskits" and gravy, Brandy and I loaded up the kids early Sunday and headed home since we had not yet been to the fair and it was definitely on our list of things to do Sunday because it was the last day. Hubby and I headed out with the kids about 1:00, and although it was hot, we had much fun. Bailey loves to ride, but unfortunately she is a tad short to ride some of the rides, but Benton would prefer trying to win cheap plastic toys at $5.00 a pop. After spending 20.00 on games where they won 4 cheap plastic toys, I said no more. We are going to ride rides or leave. They were fine with that, and loved every minute of it. We purchased 12.00 worth of cotton candy on our way out and declared it a great day. They were not quite ready to go home and requested we head to G's house, and this was fine with me because I LOVE BEING WITH THEM. We played outside, I squirted them with the water hose, they filled up a bucket with water and created a "brew" that they stirred and stirred and stirred... Whatever makes them happy is my motto..

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Does it get any more random...?

I wish I could think of something to write about everyday, other than the randomness of my life, which I don't write about, but I do think about writing about it. So, I answer random questions from time to time, so I feel like I am writing about something. So, here you have it:

1. If you could go back and start all over at the age of 21, would you? Why or why not? I can honestly say, HELL NO!!! Unless I already knew what was going to happen, and had the ability to change it all. Because there is plenty I would change, but without knowing it was going to happen, there would be no point in doing it twice.. Seriously.

2. What would be the perfect pet for you? I supposed four dogs since that is what I have.

3. If you were a car, what kind would you be? A Jeep with top off.. Not that my top is off, or anything like that..

4. What is in the floor of your closet? Right now, there is lint and pinestraw because I picked everything up off the floor and I now need to vacuum it. Hopefully before the weekend is over. And the pinestraw was tracked in by the dogs.

5. If you had the chance to do anything you wanted for a living, what would it be?
I would like to own a daycare. I love children..

6. If you had the chance to spend one day with someone who is gone from your life, how would you spend it? My daddy. My love of beer came from him. And he died before I could really enjoy having a beer with him.

7. Describe yourself in 200 words or less. Um . . . I don't even know where to start. Any suggestions? I would like to say I am smart, good looking, great body, have hair to die for, etc., but none of that is happening... WHATEVER...I was told one time that I wasn't too cute, but had a good personality... I will claim that...

8. What is your favorite holiday? Probably Thanksgiving simply because it is just about the food preparation, eating the prepared food and cleaning up after the prepared food is eaten. Not stressful at all. Just EXHAUSTING!!!, but only for a day.

That's right, if you're reading, you are tagged. Just pick any one of these questions and answer in the comments section.

Things I did not get done yesterday...

One of the attorneys in our firm is building a MEGA bucks house. The other secretary in our office is a part time very good interior decorator and she is decorating the mega bucks house. Therefore, she makes appointments for various house decorating ventures during office hours and then tells me about them, and I am expected to work my lunch schedule around her decorating ventures. Fair? Not really, but I have a good job and great bosses and can't really complain. Could she be more considerate?? Yes, but that is not her style. And, after nine years, I am accustomed. Anyone else would probably get really upset about it, but I have learned it does no good, so I just go with the flow and realize this too shall pass... So, I did not get to do all that I intended on my lunch HOUR yesterday. I did not get: 1) tanning spray for my upcoming TV appearance; 2) car tag; and 3) inspection sticker that is TOTALLY UNNECESSARY in my humble opinion.

So, those three things have been moved to my list of things to do today, and just maybe I will get them done then, along with ten new things I have on a list for today. I run errands almost every day at lunch so I don't have to run errands after work. I go to WalMart between 6:15 and 6:30 in the morning, before I come to work, so I don't have to fight the crowd in the afternoons, and so I can pick the kids up whenever I want. I can't let anything interfere with that pleasure!

The MEGA bucks house will be finished in the next few weeks, and hopefully things will return to "normal." Only time will tell.

Ten things I need to get done today...10/07/10

There are ten things I WILL get done today, and if I put them in writing, I have to do them...

1. On my lunch HOUR I need to purchase a can of spray tanning stuff a co-worker recommended; I need it for my upcoming appearance on TV...

2. On my lunch HOUR I need to run to Shoe Gallery and see if they have anything suitable for me to wear while on TV...

3. On my lunch HOUR I need to get a car tag..

4. On my lunch HOUR I need to get an inspection sticker.. dumbest thing ever REQUIRED!!!!

5. I need to do two loads of laundry today; I am obsessive about keeping my laundry caught up..unlike my daughter... just saying...

6. I will pick up the grandest kids ever after work today!

7. I will take them for ice cream if their little hearts so desire!

8. Hubby and I will interview a new dog sitter tonight.. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? The oldest dog has never been boarded so we hire a dog sitter for the few ocassions we go out of town together. And, the dog sitter has to spend the night so they can sleep with her. She has never not slept in our bed, with someone.

9. We will take the kids somewhere fun to eat tonight, and in all liklihood it will not be a place that serves beer. The sacrifices I make for them...

10. I will get my bathroom cleaned tonight...So I don't wake up thinking about it again tonight.

It is a good thing I am not a big watcher of TV... and I can use DVR...