Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

It has been a quiet 24+ hours at the Davis house...

There has been a bit of moping around...

A few glares here and there...

And attempts at having some fun...

Usually fall short...

We catch each other sitting...

Waiting...

Wishing 'dad' would come home.

________________________________________________

Ya, we are having a first class pitty party here at Casa de Davis. Troy left yesterday morning for his work trip to Germany and then on to Spain, and us girls miss him somethin fierce! I know he is going to have a great time (especially since Espana is now the futbol WORLD champions!), and the trip will probably go by very fast for him...but time feels like it has stopped over at our house...and Friday can't get here soon enough.

Tess keeps checking the back door, waking up with a jolt every time she hears a noise, and sits patiently with her tennis ball, waiting for dad to throw it for her.

Lucy seems to be taking it pretty bad too, which is odd. She has camped out by the back door, lays in Troy's sink, and sleeps on his pillow.

And me? Well I am just a royal mess myself :) I miss that guy a whole bunch and forget how comfortable I get in his presence.

We I have scheduled a few things to help us through the week (dinner with the Johnstons, happy hr with some friends, and some quality movie-watching sessions) but I don't think we will be ourselves until the man of the house is safely home. But hell, it's our pitty party and we'll mope  be grumpy  sulk  feel sorry for ourselves  cry if we want to!

Fantastic Fourth

We went down to Port Aransas for the Fourth of July and it was arguably the best trip yet. We got to see everyone, relax, eat good food, celebrate a little, and watch some great fireworks. It was all in all a great and uneventful weekend... except for our last night there. We got quite an exciting show! A swarm of teenagers/twenty-somethings literally jumped the walls of the property as about half of the residents/families were watching fireworks from their balconies. Cases of beer in hand, many of those idiots were really rude, thus prompting some of the owners to call the cops. We were being oober nosey and decided to check out the action once the cops arrived :) Overall, the police issued over 20 MIPs! It ended up being quite a show and I think it is safe to say that those kids made our night -- especially the ones who had to be picked up by their parents! What's sad is that made us feel old...very OLD.

Here are some pics from the fun weekend:

Jackson in the Car

Celebrating Lindsey's Birthday

All the Girls

Old Glory

Linds and James

Jackson and the Pinata

Matt and Jo

Me and My Hubby

Fireworks

We hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Some Incentive

We have collected so many shoes over the past few weeks that I just can't believe it! I stopped counting since the last *box* we received this week. I am happy to say that by the time our shoe drive is over (July 24), we should have some wonderful shoes to send to Soles4Souls. But, I am sad to say that we are only receiving shoes from our wonderful co-workers (exception - my sis; thanks Linds!). So come on family! Get it together, friends! We need your help more than anything, and are just asking for one pair of shoes to go toward a really great cause. You know you have a pair (or two) just sitting in your closet collecting dust...

To offer a bit of incentive, I am offering to design a set of 2 custom Chelsea Davis Designs notepads to the first friend/family member to give us 5 pairs of shoes for our shoe drive! That's right - any way you want them: Honey-do list, Notes from the Bride to Be, The 'Smith' Family -- you name it! Just get us the shoes and the cute and custom notepads are all yours!

Today feels like Friday to me because I am off of work for the next four days - YIPPEE! Troy has to work, unfortunately, but that leaves a full day for me to do the million things I need to do. First, I am going to go over to a gem of a paper store -- a haven -- to spend hours looking at all of the wonderful products they have, then I am going to the newly-opened Paper Source for more paper perusing, then it's lunch with Troy at one of my faves - Grand Lux Cafe. After that, I have a haircut, pedicure, and some shopping to do before we meet some family for dinner and then head out for a movie date :) It sounds like a lot (cuz it is) but doesn't it all sound so fun?! I am really looking forward to the day, so much so that I will be at the paper store by 8am! :)

We head to the coast on Saturday morning (weather permitting) for some time on the Texas coast, sipping adult beverages and lazily passing the time. We wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend!! Somewhere in between the BBQ and the fireworks, take a moment to give thanks for our freedoms, our independence, and the men and women who have, continue to, and will one day serve to protect those freedoms.

Image from WeHeartIt

I Heart Faces - Pet Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge at I Heart Faces is all about pets, so how could I not post a picture of my sweet Tess? This is one of our favorites of her, from a hot day in Houston, as she "cools off" chasing the water hose.

Best Friends, Birthdays, and Baseball

The trip to DFW was a good {hot} one, but we had so much fun. We got in late on Friday night, but that didn't stop Rach and I from uncorking some vino and chatting until the wee hours of the night while the guys crashed out on the couches!

Saturday was a whirlwind. I met up with my friend Kim for lunch while Troy lounged at Casa de Rachel. I grew up with Kim and have known her since kindergarten. We were the best of friends and grew apart a bit when I moved to the 'big city' for high school. I haven't seen her in almost five years, so you can only imagine how long we sat there catching up. I brought my trusty camera, but we didn't take a breath to snap a photo :( Next time!

I had to rush out of lunch to pick up Troy because we were meeting my whole family at the Rangers' game that afternoon to celebrate a late Father's Day, my mom's birthday, and my sis Shannon's birthday. It was great to be with the whole family, but oh.my.gosh. it was so stinkin hot! Thank the good Lord mom bought tickets in the shaded section because full-on sun would have sent me over the edge! We did get sweet relief in the form of yummy food and drinks in an air-conditioned buffet area full of the ballpark staples: hot dogs, popcorn, lemonade, and peanuts! It was a good thing everything was included with our tickets because I think we both drank about a gallon of cold beverages to keep from passing out of heatstroke!

Saturday night was Cliff's pre-birthday celebration at Rachel's house. That girl knows how to throw a party! They made venison burgers, had about five different desserts (including a funfetti cake!), and the drink I always look forward to when visiting my bff - SANGRIA! We got to relax and joke around with some good friends, old and new, and like always, we drove home on Sunday with full hearts (and tummies!).

It was but another busy weekend, of the dozens that have taken over our schedule for the next few months, but it was really good to see everyone (you gotta love getting face time with 11 people in 24 hours!).

I will end by wishing my mom a very happy birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADRE!! We could not imagine our crazy life without you to bring us back to 'center'. We love you lots and hope you have a wonderful birthday week in Mexico :)

"¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Andale! ¡Andale!"

Just a quick update on things, which by the way are C-R-A-Z-Y loco. We moved my sis here last weekend -- ya, that's right, my nature-loving, kayaking, music-loving, South Congress-frequenting social butterfly of an Austinite has officially become a traffic-hating, fast-paced, lives-thirty-minutes-away-though-we-live-in-the-same-city grade A Houstonian with the best of us ;) It was a good, quick move and I am very proud of my little sis for being so organized and ready to go when Troy and I showed up with the truck on Friday for a suicide trip there and back. I am also proud of her for taking a leap of faith. Being an older sister usually means that you worry more than you're 'supposed' to, can never quite let loose because you are the 'responsible' one, and can usually be expected to throw out a lecture or two when things get sticky. So I would naturally wonder why in the world would Linds willingly move closer to me?! But, I think it was a great move and that it will be great for both of us. And let's be realistic - I feel so much better knowing that she is close and that Troy and I can be there in a second if we need to. Ya, I know...mama bird syndrome.

Anyways, we are gearing up for yet another fast-paced, busy weekend, this time to DFW to celebrate (get ready) my mom's birthday, father's day, my step-sister's birthday, and Troy's BFF's birthday. Whew! I am exhausted (and broke) just thinking about it! I am particularly excited because I am going to meet up with two of my oldest friends, Kim and Jenna. We went to kindergarten together, played softball together, and grew up together in Commerce until I moved to Keller my freshman year of high school. I haven't seen them in way too long (Jenna has a 15 month old and another on the way!) and am very excited to meet them for lunch on Saturday. Troy and I will hightail it out to the Ballpark at Arlington for the 2:15 (heat of the day) Ranger's game with the fam after my 'girls' lunch. Mom did good too, we are in the all-you-can-eat/drink, air-conditioning provided section (thank God). That's grass fed beef in those hot dogs, right Mom? ;)

We will finish up our Saturday with a bday celebration for Mr. Cliff Higgs, then rush back to Houston for a client meeting about invitations. Tired yet? We stay that way.

Speaking of invitations, I have posted some recent works on my blog and have some more coming soon. Spread the word if anyone needs custom paper products - I am really trying to better my business and am working super hard to offer even better designs and high quality products. I am very excited about a service/style new to CDD - letterpress! Affordable Letterpress! Very exciting, I must say :) I am also working on a number of thermographers for future orders as well, so I guess you can say 'business is booming!'. Never a dull moment...

Last little tidbit: Thanks to those of you who have donated shoes. We seriously have about 70 pairs and WANT MORE, so clean out your closet (you know you need to), and give me your shoes people :) Incentive to be announced soon...

Have a great rest of the week -- oh, and GO SPAIN! OLE!!

Show Us Your Life - The Proposal

Today at Kelly's Korner, Show Us Your Life is all about proposal stories, so I thought I would share ours!

And an added tidbit of info: according to our old wedding website, we have been married 580 days today. How does that make ya feel, hunny? Haha.

It was our two-year anniversary and Troy had made reservations for dinner. After work, I rushed home to get ready, and Troy arrived soon after. He immediately suggested that we exchange anniversary gifts (I was still in front of the mirror getting ready!). So, I closed my eyes as Troy instructed, and he put a necklace around my neck (keep in mind that I had politely hinted at a certain necklace for our anniversary). I opened my eyes and saw a simple silver chain. Confused as I was, I followed Troy's further instruction to close my eyes again. I felt his hands start to shake and a small object fell onto the chain. I immediately thought that it was the necklace I requested, but when I opened my eyes to face the mirror, I was shocked to find a beautiful ring hanging from the chain.

Troy took the ring and got down on one knee, and after a quite convincing speech, asked me to be his wife. With tears in my eyes, I most definitely said YES!

I am happier today than 580 days ago and can't believe that I am married to such a wonderful, loving, patient husband. We don't have a photo of our engagement, but have many many more since then. I guess it will be a memory I always keep in my heart.

XOXO