It's here.

It's Election Day. I cannot believe we made it. I'd love to say looking back that it wasn't that bad, but I simply can't. This cycle has been the most stressful, emotional, and downright insane election cycle of my life.

You have to remember that it actually started, for me anyway, back in November when I took on the responsibility of helping get a Texas contingency to Iowa to help the good Governor. That was a roller coaster of national spotlight proportions. It was a fun adventure, but obviously ended in me voting for Mitt Romney on the first day of early voting two weeks ago. (And to add insult to injury, I didn't get an "I Voted" sticker until my sister generously donated hers to me.)

Which brings me to this Election Day. I almost didn't make it folks. To say it was also a roller coaster would be the understatement of the century. I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my life. I have sacrificed a ton (and the candidates even more), and it all culminates today.

So alas, we are here. Two of my three clients will win, and that third will be in a runoff... unless our polling is terribly wrong. Of the firm's other clients, I think all but maybe 2 will win or be in a runoff. We have a good number of campaigns so that is an impressive victory on the day...not to mention a good day for conservatives too. We will be heading into November with a strong team to combat the liberals and the top of the ticket.

That is, after that runoff I mentioned. Luckily I will only have one. And with any luck, that could work itself out before I even return from my vacation!

So here is to today, Election Day. Us TX politicos never thought it would actually get here after all the Redistricting hoopla, but it did. And no matter what happens today, it was a fight fought hard.

xoxo Sara Marie

Sorry Sister

Ok so last week I started off with the Bachelorette post. I even got ambitious and thought about having a guest blogger to write about the guy's perspective of the show this week. Well, not only did I not watch the whole thing, the guy's perspective will have to be put off too. Sorry, Emily. (Emily my sister, not Emily the bachelorette, though I'm sure she is disappointed too.)

Anyway, I got home just as the show began and have a few notes from what I saw before two things happened, 1. There was a fire drill in my building and I missed at least 40 minutes and 2. I got kind of bored with it.

I know I should have been DVRing it, but I was watching it right then and didn't plan on missing so much.

So I have a few comments to make, but I'll have to get back on track at some point... though with the election next week and vacation after that, I'm not sure when that will be...

Here's what I thought of the first part of the show:

The date with Ryan was cool. I get that she wanted him to do what she usually does; getting groceries and making snacks, but it still seemed a little lame.

Ryan is a little bit cocky which most girls love, me including me, but it just didn't seem like sparks were flying. The dinner and concert were cool and things seemed a little better during their dance. I did love Emily's dress.

Kalon is so different. And I will stick to the possibly gay comment I made last week about him too.

Charlie is my favorite. He is so genuine and funny. I really hope he goes far.

Stevie is just weird. He reminds me of the radio DJ "Lunch Box" in Austin for some reason.

And don't freak out girls, but I think Jef was a lot better this week. I only saw him for a bit because this is when my evening started to trek downward, but he seemed less funky.

So that's it. Sorry Emily... Emilys, like I said I will try again next week but life is just busy so it may or may not happen.

Xoxo Sara Marie

Have Your Cake, and Eat it Too!

I had a great weekend. It was a girl's weekend out at the Beaumont Ranch. We rode a mechanical bull on Friday, then had massages, zip lined and tanned on Saturday. On Saturday night, after karaoke and before considering crashing a high school prom, we played our own little game of Guess Who. See the organizer of the weekend, we will call her The Czar, had this idea for us to all dress up as a famous woman in history. Then each person would get up and say a few words about their character. In the end it would be a game to see who could guess the most correctly.

The gals dressed up as a wide variety of ladies. We had everything from Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan to Ester from the Bible. In between were women like Marie Antoinette, Joan Rivers, and the founding lady of the Girl Scouts. All of the characters were impressive and made waves in history, even if it was because they planted a hit on their fellow Olympic teammate.

The coolest part of the game was looking at the actual women in the room participating. We had an engineer, a chiropractor, an attorney, the lady who successfully lobbied the government to pass a law allowing silencers on shot guns, several leading philanthropists in our great state and a number of well-connected politicos.

It was by any standards an impressive group. And for me, a lesson learned.

See I have been struggling this year with the balance of work and play. For some reason (maybe based on example as of late) I have carried this connotation that in order to be successful, one must give up a certain amount of fun. And in order to enjoy life and relax, one must give up some amount of dedication to their job. False. Every lady participating this weekend has a storied career in a variety of fields. And every one of them understood the importance of enjoying the weekend too.

Work Hard, Play Hard.

I came away with a new respect for what I do. It is a great career choice that matters. What I do each day matters. And I like that. Lately I resented my job at times because it does often take me away from a Saturday afternoon on a patio with my friends. But it is an important job.

These gals I was with over the week all take their professional very seriously and are very passionate about them. With that said, they know how to have a good time too. And that I think is really underestimated in making someone a well-balanced individual.

So while I may not get to be out on that patio as often as I would like, I do have time for fun. If I don't, I will make time. And that is ok. Even further, it is probably just as important as the job when learning to find balance in work and play.

So thanks to The Czar and all the ladies who were a part of our fantastic weekend at the Beaumont Ranch. It was much needed and much appreciated.

I'm sure Doc (yep, Doc is back... ya know, the one who tried to smuggle the dog back from Costa Rica) is going to have a much more detailed and less dramatic-life-lessony post about the weekend so check her blog out soon: www.gatortalesandeverydayramblings.blogspot.com

Xoxo Sara Marie

It's May, why are we talking about New Year's Resolutions?

Because I'm still on track, people! The last time I checked, here, I was close enough to call it, "still on track" anyway.

So here we are over half way through May. I have done several blog posts, and I was thinking to myself about how successful I have been at these different resolutions for each month. Then it dawned on me, this blog activity was last month's resolution.

The good part of that is my attempt to make each month's resolution more of a habit is obviously working, the bad news is with that misconception, I am nowhere on this month's.

So I took a list at the 8 remaining resolutions on my list and decided the best option (given it is over half way through the month) was to write letters to 4 of my friends/family. Sending cards is one of my favorite things to do... let's change that to giving cards. I never actually mail them to folks. Well, in these last two weeks of May I'm going to do at least four, maybe more.

Here's to the written word and snail mail! Happy May!

xoxo Sara Marie

Emily is happy.

No, not Emily, the new bachelorette; my sister, Emily…although, the topic of this blog will the newest ABC reality star.

See my sister, Emily, is obsessed with The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Her and my Mema literally write letters back and forth to one another during each season.

I have never been a fan. Well, honestly the seasons are so long my ADHA sets in, and I get bored or forget to watch.

Well this season I'm vowing to watch. Maybe not each Monday night, but I have the DVR Season Pass set, and I will get through the episodes.

Last night's was fun because we met all the guys and instead of going on and on about how I think it is totally ridiculous for someone to go on live TV (sort of) to fall in love (or most of the time lust) I will go through my initial opinion of each dude.

Kalon- I'm pissed this guy is from my new town. He is pretentious and possibly gay.

Ryan- Cute, and the whole "I wrote down what I wanted to say so I won’t forget" while holding a piece of paper that reads "You are beautiful" on the back, was pretty original. This guy will go far.

Tony- He is a dad so I think it is an automatic few rounds. He seems a little bit dorky but we will see.

Lerone- already out and I'm glad because when it showed him at home, he had this tiny lap dog. What masculine guy walks a Chihuahua with any dignity?

David- This guy didn't get a rose either and I am glad too. He said he was a singer and my goodness he had a terrible voice. We only heard a snip it of it but it was atrocious.

Charile- This guy seems normal...minus that sweater he was wearing. And his bulldog, now that is a man's dog.

Jef- This guy is going to get annoying. Well hell, he already is. The skateboard arrival was kind of cool, but the hair; that hair has got to go.

Arie- I like this guy. He is definitely not the best looking, but he seems genuine and nice...two things hard to come by in this group.

Sean- He looks like a total Frat boy…which is not necessarily a bad thing for some gals. Me? No, thanks, but a Charlotte, NC girl might be really into this type.

Doug- He got the first rose after giving Emily a letter his son wrote her. That was a calculated move for sure, and I kind of doubt the kid even wrote it, but none the less, it was smooth and Emily loved it.

Jackson- This guy is a "fitness model" and the first thing he did when he didn't get a rose was take his shirt off. Umm, what? Douche Bag.

Joe- He got out of the limo screaming. Whoa, buddy, chill out. His hair is awful and his suit looked too small but he seemed nice enough.

Kyle- I'm sure this guy is great, but honestly all I could think of when he was shown was the Dentist from the Hangover. He looks and kind of talks like that actor. Hilarious.

Chris- This guy was one of my favorites... and then he brought out the bobble heads. That was strange but certainly not the weirdest tactic of the night...

Aaron- The biology teacher has funky, hipster glasses and they didn’t show much of him. Undecided.

Alessandro- The Brazilian…who doesn’t look at all like I would think a Brazilian would. He seems short and almost Snookie color. Strange.

Stevie- This guy is a trip. He did these crazy dance moves with a small boom box. The bright green shirt under his suit was loud and he really was enjoying stirring the pot over Kalon. I think he will be a shit-talker.

Randy- He didn't get a rose. He dressed as an old person and then ripped it off or something, it too was weird and I think he was almost embarrassed. Poor guy.

Nate- This guy was super normal and nice and I think he will go far.

Brent- Now obviously I like the name, and he seemed legit until he busted out pictures of his SIX children. Yah I knew right then he was toast.

John "Wolf"- Strange nickname but despite his Snookie tan he came across genuine.

Travis- This guy has an ostrich egg. He told Emily he would care for it throughout this process like he would care for Emily and her daughter. Ok, I get the concept but I'm sort of just waiting for that egg to smash to the ground. And a few times I thought it might last night.

Michael- He is form Austin! But his hair is almost as long as mine. And with Emily having dated the Austin guy before with Brad--the Bachelor-- I'm not sure he has a shot.

Jean Paul- I think this guy was wearing a toupee, and look at that, he didn't get a rose.

Alejandro- Obviously Spanish by the name, but half of the words he spoke were in Spanish too. Kind of over did it for me.

So those are the guys. Lerone, David, Jackson, Randy, Brent and Jean Paul went home. Still a long way to go with the other guy so we will see what happens, but I'm calling it now Ryan, Chris, Nate and maybe Arie being in the finals.

And obviously I am looking at this like the NCAA bracket not a girl who is trying to find a husband. Ha. But seriously what more could you expect from me? Tell me what yall think!

xoxo Sara Marie

The Mothership

My mama is better than yours.

Linda Kinney is one hell of a woman. She is the definition of self-less. She does more for other people than she ever considers for herself. 

To me though she has always been my rock. She is my whole family's rock really. The glue that not only holds us to one another in this crazy adult life we now all navigate, but also the glue that holds each one of us together.

My life has always been a roller coaster of emotion. I live loud. I work hard and play hard. This has created a lot of peaks and valleys in my lifetime and through each one, my mom is there.

Growing up she found my teddy bear for me before bedtime and drove me all over this great nation playing softball. In college it was 3am phone calls because I was homesick. Today it is when I don't know what to do about decorating my condo or just to vent to her about whatever it is that's on my mind.

She gives and gives and gives to me and my family, and never asks for anything in return.

So we have days like today, where we get to say thanks for all the millions of things we forget to say thanks for as they happen.

So thanks mama. You are the greatest example of how to be a mom. I'm lucky to be yours.


Oh and thanks to Mema, and Johnna, and Kimbo, and all the other mamas in my family and friends!

Happy Mother's Day.

xoxo Sara Marie