Adios July!

This is for those of us who can't seem to find time for a social life during the week. Who said Myspace and Facebook weren't cool? I have to admit there are downfalls though. It makes it pretty difficult to come up with an excuse as to why you haven't kept in touch with certain people...not that I would ever do that (awkward cough).

So anywho, it's Thursday again and the last day of July! Am I the only one who feels like this year has taken off and left me squandering in the dust? Seriously, I feel like catching up would require Christmas shopping and plans for the New Year celebrations (which probably isn't a bad idea to start thinking about). Like all things, there is a good side to it. Fall is just around the corner! My favorite time of year and it will be here before we know it! The small town festivals, the amazing weather, the changing of the leaves...it's all so, ahhhhhh, beautiful! I crack myself up sometimes.

Plans for the weekend? Funny you should ask. I was thinking about a trip to Knoxville to visit with the sista for her birthday! Wow! See, too much time on the computer results in random conversations with yourself; posted for everyone to read. Then we call it blogging. ha Sure, sure, hurry and think of something to call it so we all don't look like a bunch of crazies. Too many thoughts to not write them down...yep, I qualify that as a little crazy. The distinguishing factor: are they thoughts or voices? Hmmm. Blog, that's the best they could do? I would have gone with online asylum. I think that has a nice ring to it.

Have I mentioned that I love to laugh?! There are few things better than a good laugh. At someone or with someone, whatever. Just kidding, I keep my laughing with other people to a minimum. ;) Seriously though, I find humor in some of the weirdest things, but it's great! And I am not talking about a small giggle or smirk kind of laugh, I'm talking about a bust out I-almost-wet-my-pants laugh. It always seems to be at the most random times too. The middle of a meeting, church, driving down the road. Yep, I'm that girl. Really off topic, but just thought I would throw that out there.

Speaking of funny, this is too much!

I better get to work. Only one more day until the weekend!! Yay!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!

29 years! Just thought I would take the time to wish one of the best sisters in the world a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" I must admit I am a little bummed that I cannot be in Knoxville, TN to celebrate this wonderful event tonight. Maybe this weekend!

If you haven't had the opportunity to meet my sister, I'm afraid you are missing out. I can't think of any description I could post on here that would even begin to capture her personality. She sees what she wants and gets it. She wants a good time and makes one. She's always smiling, always laughing, and always a bit mischievous. She's successful, driven, determined, caring...a Davis for sure! :) Her personality is the kind you crave when you're deprived of it and cherish when you're graced with it. She's a wonderful sister and best friend. I'm so proud to be her sister and I can't wait to celebrate 29 more years with her!

Here's more about Lauren if you want to get to know her!

Tuesday Workload

I thought this was appropriate for the week I'm having...and it's only Tuesday! It always amazes me at how quickly people will push work off on another person. Accountability people! Not only is it put off on you, but then you get hassled about when it's going to be done. That's on top of everything else you're already doing. Funny how that works.

Just a little venting today. What kind of person would I be if I didn't take the time once in a while to complain. Love my job...still learning to like all the people I have to work with. :)

Surprise Visit

There were some pleasant changes in the family visit this weekend. Yesterday, to our surprise, in addition to my brother, his wife, and his little girl, my Aunt and cousins (who brought their husband and girlfriend too) showed up to visit. It was so good to see everyone! Talk about a full house. We spent the day out by the pool visiting and catching up on what seemed like forever. Then, we grilled out and enjoyed a feast that mom and dad prepared for us all. You don't realize just how much time has passed until you start rehashing those old memories. We all had a great time and I am so happy that they all had a chance to see Ellie too!

There never seems to be enough time for family. Everyone stays so busy with their own lives; trying to squeeze in a visit or two during those spare weekends. Actually, if we really waited for "spare" weekends we would never see family. I think that goes for everyone though. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and put everything off one more weekend (work and play) and just enjoy the company.

Speaking of work, it's back to work today! Monday is always a bit of a struggle for me...probably for everyone. I get up with all good intentions, "Today is going to be a great day and week!" Then I get to work and realize just how tired I am. It's good though, I'll wake up for Tuesday! :)

I better get to it!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

There has been so much going on this past week that I haven't even had a chance to blog on all the fun! Where should I start? I know I mentioned before that we went to the Corey Smith concert and had a BLAST, but I thought I would add another pic just to reminisce a bit more on all the fun we had.

Needless to say, we were all due for a good time. Time away from drama and work; time with the sisters...and that's just what we got! It's funny how one good night can make you miss spending time with two other people so much. It's good though! It makes me that much more excited about our next adventure together! :)

So that was last weekend. Then on Thursday I had plans with several girls I work with to go watch Kurt Thomas play at The Vinings Inn in Atlanta. We had so much fun! Here is a pic of us with Kurt. We took ton of pics, but I thought this would be cute to share!

Yes, I did have to struggle through work on Friday after going out that night, but it was worth every minute! Now, it's Saturday morning and there's a full week ahead of me too! Lauren and Judson are back in town to celebrate Lauren's 29th birthday! We're due for cake and presents tonight which is always fun! Her birthday really isn't until July 30th, but she couldn't get off work to come home. I am hoping things will work out so that I can spend next weekend celebrating with her in Knoxville!

There's something else I'm super excited about...my brother is coming into town tonight with his wife and daughter!! Jack and his wife will be here until Wednesday and Felicia, his youngest daughter, will be staying with us for two weeks! It's going to be great! The last time I had an opportunity to spend time with them I was going into labor. I don't remember much after being admitted to the hospital, so this visit will be much better I'm sure! :) Well, I better get to cleaning for the company!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub...

Right out of Whoville! Isn't she a doll?! You know you've got it bad when someone could do just about anything and you would still gush about how precious they are. I say that only because it is really out of my element to feel that way. Ok, maybe not to feel that way, but expressing those feelings toward another human being really hasn't ever been my style. I know, I know, I should take more time conveying those feelings to the people I love. Believe me, I am working on it.

Regardless of how cold I may be to others, Ellie just warms my heart right up. Yep, I can feel a little ice breaking off each time I look at those beautiful blue eyes. I guess God does have a plan: beautiful baby....check, happy mother...check, cold heart warmed over...double check!! Just kidding. I really shouldn't be so hard on myself all the time. If the world didn't have people like me we would all me mushy, love-sick puppies wandering around aimlessly. Ok, maybe not that bad, but you get the point. I think it balances out in the end.

Ramble, ramble, ramble...where am I going with this? Hmmm....what is it that I am trying to say? I guess just that we should remember everyone is different. Actions and reactions to events are always going to depend on the individual person. Where one may cry another may laugh; not because they are ruthless, but because they see things from a different perspective. I guess sometimes we could all benefit from a new perspective on things.

Wow, I have successfully taken a post about a cute bath time photo of Ellie and turned it into a lecture...minus two cool points for me! I better get to bed before this gets any worse. :)

Wild Weekend!

What an amazing weekend! Lauren came home to visit Friday and it was on from there! Friday night Leslie, Creo and I met Lauren and Judson at the tattoo place just one town over. Yep, I got myself some ink! I went by the place about a week ago and had an artist (JP) put the picture I had in mind on paper; he did a great job. So, I waited for both sisters to be in town and we headed for the tat! I have two short clips that Lauren took I thought I would share...

Aren't those fun?! So anyway, I got the tattoo and I love it! Then, on Saturday we had a concert to get ready for! Not just any concert...Corey Smith! He's my favorite! We got everything together and headed down to Chastain Park for the show. Our plans changed a bit as far as company goes; it ended up being Leslie, Creo, Lauren, Judson and myself, but I wouldn't have rathered it any other way! We had SO much fun!

I better get to work...I'll write more soon!

Over the Top!

Can we say slacker?! Seriously, I haven't posted in over a week! That's what happens when school starts back and stress settles in. I'll work on it though. :)

So what's new and exciting? Hmmmm.... The Corey Smith concert is this weekend and I can hardly sit still I'm so excited! He may not call himself a genius, but I do! If you haven't heard him, check him out!

The weekend is looking great already and it's only Tuesday! Leslie and Creo are going to the concert with me and Lauren and Judson are coming home for the concert as well...excitement level just went up ten points! Cara (one of my best friends) and her new hubby Greg are going to be joining us for the party too! Oh man, it's going to be off the hook! Yes, I just said that.

Other than the concert, I have a quick update on the little one. Ellie is great as usual, but she had an accident today. I should be more specific, she had a run in with the trashcan. Oh yes, I got home from class tonight about 9:30 and she was just drying her tears. Apparently, she hasn't quite learned the rules of gravity yet.

A quick mental picture for you....on our porch there is a leather couch with tables at each end. Beside the small table to the left of the sofa my dad keeps a mid-sized (fairly small) trashcan angled in the corner. The only real access to this trashcan is over the side of the couch. Yep, that's right....

Ellie was sitting on the couch, playing so diligently with the pens, paper and such that were on the side table, when her attention was snatched away to the small calendar residing on the window ledge. You know kids, once they get their mind set on something they just lose focus of everything else (including balance). As she reaches over to the ledge, she slips on the slick leather armrest and goes HEAD-FIRST into the trashcan! Oh man, mom said she had no choice but to pull Ellie out by her ankles. I have to add that Ellie isn't the smallest of the 18 (almost 19) month olds that I've seen. Nope, she's a good 28 pounds of pure disaster running around the house. So anyway, mom pulls Ellie out of the trash, all the while Ellie is screaming hysterically from her little trashcan somersault.

I walked in about the time GiGi (my mom) was pulling the ice pack off of Ellie's forehead. Luckily there were no broken bones or concussions, but she does have two large bumps on her head. Both are long knots shaped familiarly like the side of a trashcan. I wish I had more than this one picture to share with you, but between the crying and laughing this was the only shot I could get.

Look at that knot on her noggin!!! Head-first into a trashcan and still smiling, that's my girl! :)

July 4th Weekend

What a wonderful holiday weekend! We went to Knoxville to visit my sister and had a great time. It is always nice to spend extra time with the whole fam. This first picture is of Ellie in her July 4th dress! Wasn't she a doll?! Let me just say that dress only lasted through dinner. Little Ellie had a huge accident in her pretty new dress. Yes, you heard me correctly...poo all over the place. For those of you who have never experienced such a grotesque event, let me enlighten you.

It's a funny thing...kids and their bowel movements. They can just keep that stuff to themselves until the next thing you know you're up to your elbows in nastiness. You think I'm kidding? I wish. I do have to say it wasn't THAT bad since it was my own daughter, but had it been anyone else I wouldn't have been able to do it.

So, we were enjoying our nice 4th of July dinner at The Olive Garden. They seated us in a private room because there were eight of us (or maybe they knew the fate of our night already). We enjoyed a great dinner, wine and conversation. Little did we know that while we were enjoying the atmosphere, Ellie was destroying the ozone layer with her own fireworks. That's right, I took her out of her highchair so that she could walk around the table while we continued our conversations. Well, she hadn't began her little escapades then, instead she waited until she was down doing her own socializing before relieving herself at the same time.

She was walking around the table and who did she pick to surprise??? Uncle Judson! Oh yes, he picked her up with an, "Awww, she wants to sit with me." Next thing we knew he was saying, "Ummm, I think someone had an accident..." followed with an "ALL OVER MY LEG!" Oh man, it was so funny. Judson stood Ellie up and had a huge brown, pure liquid, spot on his freshly pressed khaki shorts.

Needless to say, Lauren and I rushed her to the restroom and, to our surprise, Ellie had messed all the way up the back of her diaper and into the cute July 4th dress. Oh, and it didn't just go North. Nope, those cute sparkling red and blue sandals adorning her precious dress were now adorned with something I can assure you I didn't pay extra for. Lauren and I thought, "We can handle this...we're pros!" Sure, sure. So what did we do? Yep, we stripped the baby butt naked in The Olive Garden restroom and washed her in the sink. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Luckily, I always keep a spare outfit in her diaper bag for times such as these. Though, I never thought I might need to keep a hand-held pressure washer in her bag too. Wonder if they make those? Hmmm. ;)

Well, we managed to get Ellie all cleaned up and the outfit and shoes washed out. We even made it to the fireworks early! She wasn't in her red, white and blue, but she was still precious.

This next picture was taken outside Lauren's apartment before dinner.

Ah, our night out together. Finally. It has been too long since our last night out together. It's always a good time with the Davis girls. Those of you that have brothers and sisters that you are close to know what I mean. It is fun to go out with friends, but nothing like spending the night out with you sisters! Too much fun!

Ellie's First Haircut!

Yep, we gave her the first one yesterday! There have been several trims over the past year, but this was her first full haircut. She did so good too! She just sat there and let us snip away at her ringlets.


No worries, all the cut did was add to the curls! How precious is she?! :) I took a little video too. She has two new words that she is using all the time now; I thought I would share how adorable it is with you!

I probably won't think the "no" is quite as cute in a year or two, but it sure is now. :)

So, today is my FRIDAY!! Waaahhhhoooo! I just can't think of many things more exciting than that at the moment. I just have to make it through work and home to pack!

She's a brick....

HOUSE!

It begins...Ellie's obsession with shoes. :) She loves playing dress up already. Lauren took this picture one afternoon last week. Man, she'll be grown before I know it; wearing her own stilettos. :( That's ok though, more shoes for me to share. So anywho, 29 days until Lauren's birthday!! 29 days until her 29th birthday! That's exciting! Ah man, it's July 2nd....28 days until her 29th birthday. Really doesn't have the same ring to it does it? That's what happens when I try to blog after a long day at work...my brain is fried!

This week is just creeping by. Only one more day until a long weekend!

July 1st

Look how cute! This picture is from the weekend out by the pool. Yep, we're getting ready for the big holiday weekend. I think I mentioned it before, but we are all going up to visit Lauren in Knoxville this weekend. I could definitely go for some time away. Tennessee isn't as far as I would like to go, but it will do for now. Lauren has lots of fun stuff planned for the weekend...I see great photo ops in my near future! :)

After our chaotic weekend, I find myself more mellow than usual. Maybe it's the delayed recovering process. Recovering from a weekend full of excitement and trying to redirect that energy to another work week. It's just hard to find that much excitement in a work week. I do have the weekend to look forward to and it is a short week! Yay! Then it's back to school for me....blah! That's ok though, I'm thankful I had some time off. I can't believe it is July 1st already! Maybe this quarter will fly by like the rest have.

So here is another cute pic! It would have been much better had Ellie turned to smile too. That's ok though, it really captures her refusal to listen to what I say. I am sure I have years and years of that to look forward to.

I never post all of my cute pictures on here, but I do have tons of pictures on Myspace if you want to check it out...it's always easier to post pics on there.

I better get going, work awaits!