Next weekend I am participating in my first Relay for Life.
My quasi-little sister lost her father to cancer last August. (Read about him here)We are walking to honor him. This is such an important cause, not just for my family but for families across the world.
$10 would help, $20 would be fantastic and for $1 million, well I doubt I have any friends or readers that are capable of that... haha. The point is any amount helps. Donate today it you can!
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12National?px=27107476&pg=personal&fr_id=40756&JServSessionIdr004=6rd841wnv1.app310b
xoxo Sara Marie
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Unbelievable Timing...
This past Sunday one of my clients had a TV commercial shoot. We were downtown Houston in front of the Civil Courthouse building. The shot we were getting was of the candidate with a couple of police officers in the background in front of their police vehicle. Now because there is a policy in most police departments in Harris County that the officers may not participate in political advertisements, we got constable deputies from a neighboring county. They were reserves and off duty (obviously) at the time. They came in their full get-up though and arrived in a very cool police, tricked-out Tahoe.
So the scene set up, again, was the candidate right in front of the camera with the officers just chatting in the background next to their vehicle.
Just as we started another take of this particular script, that included information about prosecuting criminals, we heard a commotion a few blocks away. Luckily it did not get into the audio in our shot, so we kept rolling.
Within a few minutes we heard an HPD officer screaming "Get on the ground, hands in the air, get on the *$%n ground!!"
And before I could even process what was happening the two off duty officers had drawn their guns and tackled to the ground the suspect that was running straight toward our direction.
Apparently the commotion mention previously a few blocks away was the beginning of a foot chase between a man who had stolen a lady's purse, forcibly, and then run from the cops. When they got him on the ground they found narcotics, and after running his name they found that he is already a convicted felon.
It was really scary but also incredible to see how quickly those off duty officers sprang into action.
And the coolest part is that we think we got most of it on film. At the very least we got the officers going from zero to full blast in the blink of an eye.
It was a terrifying moment in which I came away very impressed with the sheer fearlessness of our men in uniform.
Happy Wednesday!
xoxo Sara Marie
Monday, April 16, 2012
Party of the (a) Decade!
DISCLAIMER: None of what I write here will acurrately convey the amount of fun that was had on the night of this particular party.
It started out with the invitation. An email hit the inbox of approximately 20 folks with details outlining my boyfriend's birthday party. It held the standard details, Saturday night, from this time to this time, etc. It included that the party would have a 1980's s theme and that the actual location was mobile. Yep, 80's rock on a party bus. Then the email invitation had it's own disclaimer: If you don't dress up and come to go all out, you are not allowed on the bus.
We had no idea what we were in for...
At 6pm we all gathered for dinner at Able's on the Lake. Now, because most of the costumes were so outrageous, some of the party goers tamed it down for dinner. And some did not...
Dinner was very nice and while us gals who were already dressed waited for the bus, the rest of the group went to jump backwards almost 30 years in their attire.
When the bus showed up it was everything an 80's rock group would have loved: track, neon lighting, a stripper pole, leather seats, built in bar, flat screen tvs, and a rocking sound system.
We loaded up and the birthday boy got on the mic. He shouted the rules, "Don't break anything, don't throw up, and have a rockin' good time."
We were off..
And within in the first hour we had done a Chinese fire drill in downtown Austin and stormed in and out of two bars on 6th street for potty breaks.
Now let's discuss the "storming of the bars for potty breaks..."
Imagine 10pm on Saturday night downtown. Places are not crowded yet, things a relatively calm. Then a black bus that is literally rockin' for the extreme dance party on the inside pulls up and 20 20-somethings all rush out wearing 80's rock outfits. We were generally all still screaming whatever song was playing inside the bus as we ran/danced our way into these bars. My boyfriend, who I gave the best dressed award to, would usually stand at the door screaming something like "This way, this way" While swinging his arms in the direction of the bar we were momentarily taking over.
Inside the bar we would all go rush to the bathroom then back out to take a shot or two, along with about a dozen pictures with random people. We would dance around for a few minutes before the birthday boy would again shout and wave us back in the direction of the bus.
By hour 3 we had done this 3 or 4 times at different bars. Same process, but the places were getting more crowded; that did not stop us.
In our final bar stop we hit Madison, as we ran through the doors the manager asked what kind of party it was. Birthday boy explained and the guy gave us two bottles of champagne. Whoa. We hung out a few extra minutes in there, then back to the bus we went.
On the bus, in between stops, it was madness... dancing, screaming the lyrics of our favorite 80's music like Girls Girls Girls and Don't Stop Believin', and of course toasting the birthday boy.
By midnight we had made our way all over Austin, into several downtown bars, done multiple chinese firedrills and even took a group photo at the Capitol.
We were dropped off at our hotel and after taking pictures with more random people at their request, we headed back downtown, this time on foot.
We picked a few places to wind down the night and before we knew it we were headed back to the hotel.
The next day and week following was spent exchanging pictures and text messages about how much "returning to reality after a party like that sucked..."
All in all it was a fantastic party. I think the only bad parts were one guy losing a phone and the headaches we all fought the next day.
In the record books it will, for now, be the party to beat. And I'm not sure it can ever be done.
Xoxo Sara Marie
It started out with the invitation. An email hit the inbox of approximately 20 folks with details outlining my boyfriend's birthday party. It held the standard details, Saturday night, from this time to this time, etc. It included that the party would have a 1980's s theme and that the actual location was mobile. Yep, 80's rock on a party bus. Then the email invitation had it's own disclaimer: If you don't dress up and come to go all out, you are not allowed on the bus.
We had no idea what we were in for...
At 6pm we all gathered for dinner at Able's on the Lake. Now, because most of the costumes were so outrageous, some of the party goers tamed it down for dinner. And some did not...
Dinner was very nice and while us gals who were already dressed waited for the bus, the rest of the group went to jump backwards almost 30 years in their attire.
When the bus showed up it was everything an 80's rock group would have loved: track, neon lighting, a stripper pole, leather seats, built in bar, flat screen tvs, and a rocking sound system.
We loaded up and the birthday boy got on the mic. He shouted the rules, "Don't break anything, don't throw up, and have a rockin' good time."
And within in the first hour we had done a Chinese fire drill in downtown Austin and stormed in and out of two bars on 6th street for potty breaks.
Now let's discuss the "storming of the bars for potty breaks..."
Imagine 10pm on Saturday night downtown. Places are not crowded yet, things a relatively calm. Then a black bus that is literally rockin' for the extreme dance party on the inside pulls up and 20 20-somethings all rush out wearing 80's rock outfits. We were generally all still screaming whatever song was playing inside the bus as we ran/danced our way into these bars. My boyfriend, who I gave the best dressed award to, would usually stand at the door screaming something like "This way, this way" While swinging his arms in the direction of the bar we were momentarily taking over.
Inside the bar we would all go rush to the bathroom then back out to take a shot or two, along with about a dozen pictures with random people. We would dance around for a few minutes before the birthday boy would again shout and wave us back in the direction of the bus.
By hour 3 we had done this 3 or 4 times at different bars. Same process, but the places were getting more crowded; that did not stop us.
On the bus, in between stops, it was madness... dancing, screaming the lyrics of our favorite 80's music like Girls Girls Girls and Don't Stop Believin', and of course toasting the birthday boy.
We were dropped off at our hotel and after taking pictures with more random people at their request, we headed back downtown, this time on foot.
We picked a few places to wind down the night and before we knew it we were headed back to the hotel.
The next day and week following was spent exchanging pictures and text messages about how much "returning to reality after a party like that sucked..."
All in all it was a fantastic party. I think the only bad parts were one guy losing a phone and the headaches we all fought the next day.
In the record books it will, for now, be the party to beat. And I'm not sure it can ever be done.
Xoxo Sara Marie
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New Year's Resolution Update
Ok so if you read this blog before my recent hiatus, you would know that I chose to have a different resolution for each month. I picked 12 things back in Janurary and each month I select one and knock it out. Well sort of knock it out. In Janurary I think I got to 225 glasses of water. In fact I think I did knock that one out.
Feburary was a default success. On the list was to clean out my kitchen, closet, office, etc. Well, duh, I moved. So not only did I clean those out, I cleaned out the whole place. Not exactly how I planned for that one to happen, but it did; so I win.
In March I chose to whip my butt into shape and go with 20 workouts in 31 days. It doesn't seem hard, but when you work the hours I do, time for a workout escapes you more often than you think. I got to 19 I think. I may have hit 20 or it may have been only 18, I lost count along the way.
The point of this exercise to have a resolution is to each month make whatever my task is more of a habit. Drink more water, check. Be more organized, check. And work out more regularly, check. I may not have achieved the set goal to workout 20 times, but I did learn to squeeze in workouts even when I think I can't.
All in all the resolutions are going well. 2 for 3 is hall of fame stats. This month's is this blog. Redesign, restart, just focus on it more than I have been. I'm already a sucess. Next month is probably cook 3 times a week or attend church three Sundays of the month. We will see what the calendar allows...
xoxo Sara Marie
Feburary was a default success. On the list was to clean out my kitchen, closet, office, etc. Well, duh, I moved. So not only did I clean those out, I cleaned out the whole place. Not exactly how I planned for that one to happen, but it did; so I win.
In March I chose to whip my butt into shape and go with 20 workouts in 31 days. It doesn't seem hard, but when you work the hours I do, time for a workout escapes you more often than you think. I got to 19 I think. I may have hit 20 or it may have been only 18, I lost count along the way.
The point of this exercise to have a resolution is to each month make whatever my task is more of a habit. Drink more water, check. Be more organized, check. And work out more regularly, check. I may not have achieved the set goal to workout 20 times, but I did learn to squeeze in workouts even when I think I can't.
All in all the resolutions are going well. 2 for 3 is hall of fame stats. This month's is this blog. Redesign, restart, just focus on it more than I have been. I'm already a sucess. Next month is probably cook 3 times a week or attend church three Sundays of the month. We will see what the calendar allows...
xoxo Sara Marie
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tell Me Everything You Pinned Today...
I love the Ryan Gosling thing on the internet that has him saying, "Hey girl I love when I come home and you're still in your PJs. Now let me give you a foot rub, while you tell me everything you pinned today."
Ha.
Well because I do love pinterest so much, I'm going to assume yall are all Ryan Gosling right now, and dying to see what I've pinned lately. Here are my last 5 pins:
So that is the latest... as in the last hour of my life. Ha. If you are not on Pinterest, and you are female, I'm pretty sure you are 17 times more productive than me and any one else on the site. Congrats.
xoxo Sara Marie
Ha.
Well because I do love pinterest so much, I'm going to assume yall are all Ryan Gosling right now, and dying to see what I've pinned lately. Here are my last 5 pins:
Fancy and fabulous.
I don't usually fall for Gucci, but this is hot.
I'm all over this colored jean trend. I have blue, red, black and yellow. This pink is nice.
Hello perfect spring time shoes.
A perfect comfy travel dress!
xoxo Sara Marie
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sasha Donatella
She is the newest member of the Sara Marie family. She is the Raleigh Eva 12 mountain bike.
See, I have wanted a bike for a while but had no where to keep it. Well now I have a balcony, so what better time to finally get my bike. (As a side note: I don't even keep her on the balcony because I like her too much to lock her outside, ha!)
Anyway, Sun & Ski was the choice shop. I went over there with my boyfriend consultant in tow. Our salesman Joe had me down to two bikes. One nice mountain bike with pad brakes (read: cheap) and one awesome bike with disc brakes (read: expensive). Anyway I was rational for once in my life and decided on the one with the pad brakes that was still pricey but not as expensive as other.
We closed the deal, and they told me to come pick the bike up the next day. Well in the 24 hours following, the resident expert boyfriend became even more of an expert. He did a bunch of research on the reviews of both bikes and found that I had probably made a big mistake.
I was a little torn because I wasn't sure if I wanted to double my purchase. While I was contemplating the upgrade the boyfriend decided that he is going to cover the additional costs as a thank you for taking care of him after his 3rd surgery of our relationship. What a wonderful present! (Thank you boyfriend, again and again.)
So we went back over to Sun & Ski and got my new disc brake bike the Raleigh Eva 12. I named her Sasha Donatella because she is part fierce, part ninja across the trails of Houston.
Here's a picture of my lil gal...
See ya on the trails!
xoxo Sara Marie and Sasha D.
See, I have wanted a bike for a while but had no where to keep it. Well now I have a balcony, so what better time to finally get my bike. (As a side note: I don't even keep her on the balcony because I like her too much to lock her outside, ha!)
Anyway, Sun & Ski was the choice shop. I went over there with my boyfriend consultant in tow. Our salesman Joe had me down to two bikes. One nice mountain bike with pad brakes (read: cheap) and one awesome bike with disc brakes (read: expensive). Anyway I was rational for once in my life and decided on the one with the pad brakes that was still pricey but not as expensive as other.
We closed the deal, and they told me to come pick the bike up the next day. Well in the 24 hours following, the resident expert boyfriend became even more of an expert. He did a bunch of research on the reviews of both bikes and found that I had probably made a big mistake.
I was a little torn because I wasn't sure if I wanted to double my purchase. While I was contemplating the upgrade the boyfriend decided that he is going to cover the additional costs as a thank you for taking care of him after his 3rd surgery of our relationship. What a wonderful present! (Thank you boyfriend, again and again.)
So we went back over to Sun & Ski and got my new disc brake bike the Raleigh Eva 12. I named her Sasha Donatella because she is part fierce, part ninja across the trails of Houston.
Here's a picture of my lil gal...
See ya on the trails!
xoxo Sara Marie and Sasha D.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Don't Call it a Comeback.
Hi there. I'm back. When I left I was in over my head. I think I wrote something like, "I'm trying to keep my head above water..." but I'll be honest now and tell ya, I was sinking fast.
Let's start at the beginning. I started a new job. That was the motive behind the move to H-town back in January. This new job includes visiting every far corner of Harris County and all the Republican grassroots organizations possible to promote three different county-wide candidates.
Well, if you are not familiar with Harris County (and 4 months ago I was not) you are in for a surprise. Harris County is 1800 square miles. That is bigger than Rhode Island, people. There are 4.1 million people in that area, which is a greater population than 24 different states. And my goal is to reach as many of those people as I can on behalf of three separate candidates. Ok, ok so a much smaller number than 4.1 million are actually registered voters and then only a percentage (albeit a large percentage) are Republican Primary voters. But the point is, I jumped in the deep end of campaign trail pool. I took the job with no clear Election Day and a lot of ground to cover. I was driving hundreds of miles a week with no real place of my own. (Shout out to the boyfriend and Crazy Witch Aunts for letting me stay with them.)
I can say now, I love the job... not every day, but more often than not, I'm having fun. I've got the clubs down, and a pretty good routine juggling the three different campaigns.
So let's move on... While figuring out the 3rd largest county's republican political atmosphere, I bought a condo. And not only did I buy this fantastic condo, but I also renovated the entire thing from top to bottom in 5 weeks. I was a first time home buyer and a first time renovator. I have never done anything but throw down a deposit and sign a lease. And was the home buying and renovation process an adventure for Sara Marie? Of course.
In the beginning things went flawlessly. I met with my loan officer and at first he seemed ok. It's been a while since I finalized everything and I've done my best to forget the headache that it gave me for 7 solid weeks, but here's the summary:
The loan officer was one of the worst customer service agents I have ever dealt with in any capacity. He lied on several occasions and then made a mistake that, if I had not challenged, it would have cost me 4 thousand dollars. Yah. Then the seller screwed up some paperwork and pushed the entire deal back 10 days. I found out about this error 24 hours before closing. That does not even scrape the surface of all the paperwork mishaps. I signed the total package of papers (which is takes 20 minutes easily without reading any of it) 3 different times...before closing. Add on the final flip and sign through the papers and it was 4. This is just the summary too. I would go in to every detail, but like I said before, I've tried to bury them somewhere deep so they never come up in my mind. The total process took 41 long annoying, painful days.
Then simultaneously were the renovations. Not one mistake was made until literally the last day. In the final walk through we noticed the wrong sink fixture in the bathroom. And not only would they have to order a new one, they would have to remove the granite and cabinet completely to fit the correct one. Fantastic. I thought I was moving in the next day, but with no water in the bathroom things were certainly delayed. When that got settled we realized the new AC unit was not installed. After being told it would be two weeks until a new one could be installed, I lost my mind on the seller's agent. Miraculously I had an AC unit that night. And that was my first night there.
The fixtures in the bathroom were correct and cold air blew through the vents the entire time I unpacked.
And now I'm settled. Not just in the condo, but into the job too. I have my place to call home, a job I enjoy more times than not, and a new mountain bike! But that is for the next post... until then...enjoy the pictures of the condo from start to finish…
I like before and after pictures so I tried to do that throughout. Enjoy!
Xoxo Sara Marie
Let's start at the beginning. I started a new job. That was the motive behind the move to H-town back in January. This new job includes visiting every far corner of Harris County and all the Republican grassroots organizations possible to promote three different county-wide candidates.
Well, if you are not familiar with Harris County (and 4 months ago I was not) you are in for a surprise. Harris County is 1800 square miles. That is bigger than Rhode Island, people. There are 4.1 million people in that area, which is a greater population than 24 different states. And my goal is to reach as many of those people as I can on behalf of three separate candidates. Ok, ok so a much smaller number than 4.1 million are actually registered voters and then only a percentage (albeit a large percentage) are Republican Primary voters. But the point is, I jumped in the deep end of campaign trail pool. I took the job with no clear Election Day and a lot of ground to cover. I was driving hundreds of miles a week with no real place of my own. (Shout out to the boyfriend and Crazy Witch Aunts for letting me stay with them.)
I can say now, I love the job... not every day, but more often than not, I'm having fun. I've got the clubs down, and a pretty good routine juggling the three different campaigns.
So let's move on... While figuring out the 3rd largest county's republican political atmosphere, I bought a condo. And not only did I buy this fantastic condo, but I also renovated the entire thing from top to bottom in 5 weeks. I was a first time home buyer and a first time renovator. I have never done anything but throw down a deposit and sign a lease. And was the home buying and renovation process an adventure for Sara Marie? Of course.
In the beginning things went flawlessly. I met with my loan officer and at first he seemed ok. It's been a while since I finalized everything and I've done my best to forget the headache that it gave me for 7 solid weeks, but here's the summary:
The loan officer was one of the worst customer service agents I have ever dealt with in any capacity. He lied on several occasions and then made a mistake that, if I had not challenged, it would have cost me 4 thousand dollars. Yah. Then the seller screwed up some paperwork and pushed the entire deal back 10 days. I found out about this error 24 hours before closing. That does not even scrape the surface of all the paperwork mishaps. I signed the total package of papers (which is takes 20 minutes easily without reading any of it) 3 different times...before closing. Add on the final flip and sign through the papers and it was 4. This is just the summary too. I would go in to every detail, but like I said before, I've tried to bury them somewhere deep so they never come up in my mind. The total process took 41 long annoying, painful days.
Then simultaneously were the renovations. Not one mistake was made until literally the last day. In the final walk through we noticed the wrong sink fixture in the bathroom. And not only would they have to order a new one, they would have to remove the granite and cabinet completely to fit the correct one. Fantastic. I thought I was moving in the next day, but with no water in the bathroom things were certainly delayed. When that got settled we realized the new AC unit was not installed. After being told it would be two weeks until a new one could be installed, I lost my mind on the seller's agent. Miraculously I had an AC unit that night. And that was my first night there.
The fixtures in the bathroom were correct and cold air blew through the vents the entire time I unpacked.
And now I'm settled. Not just in the condo, but into the job too. I have my place to call home, a job I enjoy more times than not, and a new mountain bike! But that is for the next post... until then...enjoy the pictures of the condo from start to finish…
I like before and after pictures so I tried to do that throughout. Enjoy!
This is standing in the living room look to the kitchen and front door.
Same view.
Looking down the small hallyway.
Again with paint...
Finished!
looking into the livingroom...
New floors, less junk!
Finished, minus the rug...
Livingroom complete!
Looking into my bedroom...
Purple wall!
Looking into the bathroom...
Finished!
View into the kitchen...
Complete!
And this is just a shot of the little entry area.
So that's the new place. I love it. And when the blinds are installed this week it will be 99% perfect. Hello, there is always room for improvement. Duh.
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