More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys

Recap from Kenny Chesney '09:

Mullets spotted: 29;

Drinks Drank: 2;

Cops Asked To Voluntarily Administer Breathalyzer Upon Realizing That My Mother-in-Law Knows How to Have More Fun Than I Do: 1 (hence, the wimpy drinks drank number above)

Favorite Song Sang: Bob Marley's "Three Little Birdies" (there's just something about Kenny singin' a Bob Marley song...);

Pictures Taken: 319;

Dollars Spent on Nachos and Coke: 9

Clogging Numbers Clogged: 2 (I out-danced some booty dancers and won second place in a dance-off before the concert, might I add);

Cute New Red Shoes Ruined by Mudslide on the Lawn: 2

Emergency Ponchos Utilized During Torrential Downpour: 6

Minutes Spent in the Steak-n-Shake Drive Thru at 1:30am: 47;

Dollars Demanded Back Post Ridiculous 47 Minute Wait in Drive Thru: 8;

Hours Slept Before Going to Work the Next Day: 3.5

It. was. fabulous.

All-time favorite moment of the entire night: remembering how darn good it feels to just dance, be silly, and let loose. So important that I had a 30 minute dance party this morning in our living room just to keep the dream alive ;)

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

My first attempt at a diaper cake on a budget. Total cost: $26.50. Not the prettiest of Pat-a-cake creations, but I kind of like the simplicity of it.

We spent the afternoon with Lil' Buckaroo at Little Suwanee Town Park. I have sand in my ears and in my belly button. Austin has sand in his Handy Manny dungarees, in his nose, and in between his tiny toes. Many sand creatures were created and many giggles were giggled.

Now I am filling my mind with Duggar Family ridiculousness. Let me tell you, Hubs is ecstatic. The only thing more fascinating that an hour of Duggar debacles is a new episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant". Ah sweet remote control control!

Lazy Bones

Today has been absolutely blissful! Hubs and I have spent it loungin' around and doing nothing especially special. I got a pedi and found a super cute dress for Jenn's baby shower. Nothing like an excuse to go to Ann Taylor Loft. I am most excited that they allow me to use the "Loft Loves Teachers" discount card even though I do not technically work in a school. That little extra 15% makes me a happy girl.

For lunch, I whipped up this chicken salad yummy goodness:

Southern Chicken Salad

• 1 Publix Rotisserie chicken (original flavor)
  
• 4 tablespoons of mayo


• 2 bunches of red seedless grapes-halved


• 1 package honey glazed/roasted pecans


• 3 tablespoons sweet relish


• salt/pepper


• King's Hawaiian Sandwich Snackers

Directions: Chop rotisserie chicken and pecans. Mix with mayo, grapes, sweet relish, and salt and pepper. Serve on King's Hawaiian Sandwich Snacker rolls. Mm-Mm-good!

Now off to waste 4 hours and 17 minutes until the scandalous Jon and Kate Plus 8 Season Premier hits the airwaves.

Later taters!

Letting Go

This morning I surrendered my 5-year plan. And my 10-year plan. And also my 15-year plan.

Kevin Queen reminded us that when we are busy building our own little mini-kingdoms, we often get bent out of shape when things don't go our way. I feel that my efforts may be better spent bettering the Kingdom of God and am letting go of all my own crazy selfish plans. Seems I had to be reminded (again) that God's plans for us are greater than those we create for ourselves. This is quite the little journey I'm on.

I am writing this post for the sole reason that I feel as though I am going to need several reminders of this very moment.

I apologize for not writing about all the superfabulous things that have been going on lately. I'll have to catch up on those things soon because they have indeed been going on! And with that dreadfully grammatically incorrect sentence ending in a prepositional phrase, I'm off to partake in some Bang Bang Shrimp festivities...holy moly goodness!

A Pitcher is Worth a Thousand Words

Today I read the most fabulous book with one of my kiddos at work. It's so marvelously called: "Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name".

Besides being about a girl who picks her nose with her toes, has only two teeth: one goes north, the other one south, and feet bigger than a bathroom mat, her name alone inspired me to make a Top Fourteen List (because 10 was just simply not enough).

Here goes; my Top 14 All-Time-Fav Words to Say.

1. chickadee
2. edamame
3. discombobulate
4. onomatopoeia
5. heebee jeebees
6. dilly dally
7. lollygag
8. smorgasbord
9. tomfoolery
10. hootenanny
11. Worcestershire
12. kittywompus (I personally prefer to pronounce this one: kattywompus)
13. malarkey
14. scuppernong

And because now I can't stop thinking about ridiculous words...

Top 8 Exasperating Expressions:

1. awkward (how many 'w's are truly necessary in one word??)
2. phlegm (besides referring to thick, slimy, snot, why do we need the 'g'? silent 'g's aggravate me.
3. gnat (since I have made mention of the silent 'g' nuisance, why can't we just spell this one n-a-t? tomfoolery.)
4. February (two syllables in a row that contain 'r'. uf.)
5. sherbet (two syllables in a row that should both contain 'r', but don't.)
6. error (again, what is with the 'r's?)
7. fifth (raise your hand if you actually say the 2nd 'f' here. like silent 'g's, silent 'f's also aggravate the dickens out of me)
8. picture (in graduate school I was actually called out on telling a child to look at the "pitchers" in the book. my clinical supervisor wrote out "picture" in phonetics and suggested that I learn to model correct grammar and pronunciation. since then, i stutter on the word "picture" 149 times per day while working with special needs kids)

Being a speech-therapist breeds nerdiness, what can I say?

As Happy As a Clam

I have spent today doing absolutely nothing remarkably productive.

It. was. fabulous.

I slept until 9:07am, went to the mall and dillydallied around for a few hours, redeemed my much awaited "free panty" coupon from Victoria Secret, picked up the little man from school, and ate yummy hibachi with the fam to celebrate Ryan's 16th birthday!

Speaking of Ryan, he is an absolute blessing...a testament to God's goodness. It's crazy to think that less than 1 year ago he was being life flighted to the trauma unit at Atlanta Medical after sustaining numerous injuries from an ATV accident. Praises for a year of incredible healing!

In other news, I am infatuated with American Idol. I find this insanely silly, seeing as how NO ONE watches this show anymore. Regardless, I anxiously await each Tuesday and Wednesday night and spend approximately 4 hours a week shouting at my TV. Between hollering comments about wardrobe misfortunes and throwing a private dance party to whatever song Danny, Kris, or Adam happen to be singing, I can hardly even follow who is doing what and when.

And now, I leave you with a random list of thoughts/ponderings from the week

• Have you ever had to force yourself to think positively about something? I have been practicing creating 1-positive-thought-a-day regarding my job. It has made a tremendous difference in my overall happiness (which has been seriously waning since, oh December or so). I make myself add one happy thought to my zebra print list each day and so far I have come up with the following blissful realizations: 1) I get to wear scrubs to work (at least when I am not rebelling from my job by wearing khakis and cute shirts); 2) My commute is approximately 2.5 songs long; 3) I am super-blessed to have Wonderful Wednesdays off! Right when I begin to feel defeated and start to whine, BAM, a day off! 4) I work with tons of amazing little people. They make me a better person and help me achieve my dream of making a difference in some small way; 5) I have fantastic health insurance; 6) I get to play. All day long. Having this as part of my job description makes me laugh out loud. It also makes me spend copious amounts of money on Fisher Price products; 7) I get to go to Chick-fil-a for lunch approximately 4 times per week. Some days we mix it up and go to Zaxby's, but that's rare; 8) I am fortunate enough to see kids with a variety of etiologies. One minute I am treating a kiddo with an articulation disorder, the next minute a bambino with a fluency disorder, and the next, a wee one with an auditory processing disorder. Variety truly is the spice of life; 9) I accrue approximately 5 hours of PTO every 2 weeks. I redeem approximately 6-8 hours of PTO every 2 weeks. Although this is not self imposed and makes me grumble, it does help achieve some sort of work-life balance; and 10) I am within an arms reach from unlimited amounts goldfish crackers all day long. Need I say more?
• I have prayed over the following verse all week. It comes from Matthew 6:19-34. My favorite translation is found in Eugene Peterson's "The Message". It reminds me: "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up in what may or may not happen tomorrow (insert: elbow nudge to self). God will help you deal with whatever things come up when the time comes". This verse helps my impatience with certain things subside.
• I have 7 different bathroom cleaners under our bathroom counter. I want so badly to discover a magical cleaning potion that will clean our bathrooms by itself. Anyone know of any such product?
• Hubs recently enlightened me on something that I do that might just get under his skin just a wee bit. Apparently when I pluck my out-of-control eyebrows over our single sink vanity, the hairs often fall right on his sweet little toothbrush. Eww. We need a double vanity.

And with that hodgepodge of totally unrelated ramblings, I am off to sleepy town!

A Face Only a Mother Can Love

Proverbs 31:

A mother and wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;

She provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;

She is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;

She can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Here's to you mom....thank you for being an amazing woman, a magnificent mother, and an awe-inspiring example of what it means to be a woman of faith.

A Country Mile

Just got home from a swingin' good time down in Tifton, GA :) Three cheers for Chris' little sister Whitney--now a college graduate, off to conquer the world! We are so proud of her!

On our road trip to Tifton, we saw a lot of these beauties: They make me happy because they take me right back to my country bumpkin roots.

We also passed several cows, some bales of hay, a town called "Arabi, GA", and 3 billboards advertising "Strippers-Truckers Welcome". We ate Chick-fil-a approximately 4 times in less than 24 hours. It was glorious.

We kept the little man tonight and he has had us in stitches. He is so silly. Our attempt at making a homemade 2-year old inspired Mother's Day craft ended with the two of us covered in chocolate brown finger paint with absolutely zero finished products to give to little man's mommy. After failed attempts at being crafty, we found ourselves at the mall having a grand old time on the carousel. Hands down best $1.75 spent all day.

Shop 'til You Drop!

My name is Ali Davis and I am addicted to Etsy.

There. Now that I got that out into the open, I can continue to shop for monogrammed cell phone logos, owl printed iPod covers, and rocket ship baby booties while finishing this post.

After being inspired by my need for all things crafty, I have decided to open my very own Etsy store. It's called Pat-a-Cake Baby Boutique and will showcase all of my diaper cakes, diaper wipe covers, paci clips, and taggy blankets.

Insert Glossary for those who have already stopped reading because they have no clue what I am talking about:

Etsy: online marketplace similar to Ebay but especially for handmade goodies;
Pat-a-Cake Baby Boutique: my third choice for pseudo baby boutique name (#1 choice was "Baby Cakes" but unfortunately 4 other users previously monopolized on that one including all spelling variations);
Diaper wipe covers: oober cute little baby gifts for today's trendy mom; Paci clips: ribbon clad binky holders;
Taggy Blankets: baby "lovies" for cuddling and calming.

Here are a couple of sample diaper wipe cases. Let me know what you think!

Bunches o' Blessings: 1) Chris passed his Cobb County Firefighter physical fitness test, now on to the next firefighter hurdle 2) 2, count them, 2, upcoming days off from work (praises!!) 3)Mama Potts said hello from heaven tonight on my way home from work...her memorial song came on the radio and I looked up into the sky and saw a rainbow...talk about chill bumps! I immediately felt her presence and know that she's watchin' over me! 4) Three cheers for new 12 Stone friends: Dillon, Stacy, and Mike, and Mel!

Prayer Plea: Please pray for Jessica's sweet little nephew who is 2 years old. He has a tracheotomy and can not eat or talk. A benefit will be held on July 19th in his honor. Jessica is looking for auction items...let me know if you have any talents you may want to offer up!

If the Shoe Fits, Wear It!

My new favorite wardrobe accessory!

I found these oober cute red kicks at Khols this past weekend. The true kicker (no pun intended)...they are KEDS! Raise your hand if you grew up with side pony tails, shirt scrunchies, and canvas Keds! Can it be? Have the geniuses over at the little square blue rubber logo-ed company created a come back?! Indeed, I think they have! And an absolute steal, priced at $28.99!

PS. The polka dots might have been what sold me on these even more than realizing that they are Keds.

My favorite pairing: cotton black dress with chunky red necklace.

Which reminds me, check out my new favorite chunky necklace hotspot: http://www.sammoon.com/web3/product.asp?cat=jewelry&tempcat=Trendy_Style&sub=sub Once you get past the plastic heart shaped bangles, you will find some super trendy deals! One of my less-chunky favorites:

Until next time...

This Takes the Cake!

Today I am blogging about none other than my recent obsession with Diaper Cake creations. What started as a personal challenge to figure out how to make these darn crafty things by watching a video on You Tube, has turned into one of my most favorite past-times! It is silly, yes, but I love to imagine, create, and obsess over darlin' baby themes and to see the lil' cakes come to life. I have several other creations but they are top secret for now. I shall reveal them soon!

In totally unrelated Diaper Cake doings...my prayer thought for today has been:

"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine"-Ephesians 3:20

This verse means so much to me and really speaks to the depths of God's favor on each of our lives. Feelin' especially blessed...