My Big Break

Lately Mississippi has been a buzz with movie talk. They're filming the movie The Help right up the road in Greenwood. They're even coming to Jackson this week to shoot a few scenes. The movie will be based on the book by Mississippi author, Kathryn Stockett. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend you do. It's a great read, especially if you're from Jackson. So, a few months ago I saw an article in The Clarion Ledger about needing extras for the movie. I filled out the form and sent in a picture. I'd honestly completely forgotten about it when I got a call from the casting department. They asked me if I wanted to be an extra, the only catch was that I would need to commit to 5 days. I debated over it and decided that I just couldn't pass it up! Work was nice enough to let me take a few days off. So, I headed to Greenwood for the week. I must say I'm so glad I did! It was such a fun experience! Each morning the extras had to be at the shoot between 4:30 and 5 AM with our hair in rollers. We changed into our costumes and waited in line for what seemed like forever to have our hair and makeup done. My scene was the Junior League Benefit scene so I was all dressed-up in the finest formal attire.

What a fun scene to be in! I got to see Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sissy Spacek just to name a few. Basically, the production assistants just gave us simple directions, like pantomime with each other and pretend to be mingling, then on this cue walk across the room to the auction table. There was lots of down time each day while we were waiting for the crew to change lighting, set up for a new scene, etc. By the end of the week all of the extras had gotten to know each other well. Everyone was so nice! Here's me and some of my "co-stars" below -Becky, Laura and Marley.

On Friday, we ended up filming until about 3:30 AM that night! We filmed the benefit arrival scene. It was amazing to see everything that went into making this scene, from the antique cars and outside landscaping to the costumes and props. My stage "husband" and I along with another couple got to stand on the balcony of the Greenwood Courthouse (aka the Andrew Jackson Hotel). Hopefully, that shot will make it in the movie! Now I realize there's a huge chance my scene could end up on the cutting room floor, but I have to say the whole experience was completely worth it! Now I only have to wait until October 2011 for the movie to come out!

Miskelly Waterfall (Mullet Action Shots)

The first pic is MONEY SHOT! It simply doesn't get any better than this. K and I always have the GREATEST time getting strategically positioned to non-chalantly take upclose pics. That included taking unposted pics behind couches and faux plants. We were very nervous that she would hear the camera snap. We finally decided to sit next to the breathen and take our chances. It paid off and passed time while we waited on our mattress purchase. Which leads me to this fine story during our mattress hunting experience.

The story.......Well we prolonged getting a new mattress since we got married. It was nearing 10 years old and I could feel the springs unloading off my shoulders and hips the last couple of months. (I still find it hard to believe that Kristin's bed and mattresses were a total $100- talk about a bargain!) My how far we have come, and we are grateful to finally a step up to the 21st century in sleep support! "Total body alignment!" I kept telling Kristin when trying mattresses. And yes, we kept laughing and laughing about that quote from Temperpedic commercials. It is true though. Laying on mattresses is tiresome and a little nasty. Just think of how many people have lied down and rolled around. That didn't keep Kristin from slamming a gross pillow in my face while I had my eyes shut. Reminds me of Derek sticking a nasty chess piece in my mouth he found on the floor in Nachidoches, LA hotel room several years ago. I still need payback for that by the way. And I have got to get better at my situational awareness!

Kristin and I had a great time Saturday and are happy about our purchase, and we definitely sleep better now!

Who dat!

All I can say is It's About Time!

Are You There Blog? It's Me, Kristin.

You're still here! I'm sorry I've neglected you for oh...just the past year and a half. Let's just pick up where we left off and pretend like I've been blogging all this time. Christmas was absolutely wonderful! We spent it in New Orleans with my entire family. It's so rare that we can all be together, and I must say I LOVED it.

Drew and I headed down to New Orleans Christmas Eve morning. We met the whole fam at Cafe Du Monde in the Quarter for some yummy beignets and coffee!

While at breakfast, Johnny and Amber surprised us with some exciting news! They're expecting a new baby in August. We're so excited for them and can't wait to have a new little niece or nephew. And I know our sweet little niece Adison can't wait to have a new little brother or sister. Not to sound like an obsessed aunt, but Adison had to be the cutest thing at Christmas -she had complete present OVERLOAD! Here's her snuggling with Unkie Dew!

The rest of our New Orleans vacay flew by with lots of aunts, uncles, cousins and Mimi time. When we got back to Jackson, we celebrated Christmas with Drew's family. Drew's mom's birthday is Dec 28th so we had a joint Christmas birthday celebration at our house. We ordered in food, had a few glasses of wine and watched the Bears game. A perfect, relaxing evening.

So now the holidays are over, and it's boring COLD January. But that's okay because 2010 is looking to be a pretty exciting year with bachelorette parties, weddings, trips, a new little niece or nephew and our 2 year anniversary. And...Santa brought me a new camera for Christmas so no more excuses not to document all of the upcoming fun.