“I believe in pink… I believe in kissing, kissing a lot… And I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.” -Audrey Hepburn
When I grow up…
Oh, the joys of summer- staying up all night and sleeping in, hanging out with friends, laying by the pool, taking vacations, basically doing whatever your little heart desires.
Until now.
Now I don’t want to complain, because I still love summer more than anything and I’ve been very blessed to have the kind of summer I’m having so far. I’ve gotten to do all of the things summertime is made up of.
However, I feel like more of an adult than I ever have this summer. The past two summers I’ve gotten to frolic in LA and South Africa- learning, yes, but let’s be real, I was in foreign places (yes California is pretty foreign compared to Arkansas). This summer I’m waking up every morning at 6:30 a.m. to reel students into student media, reply to 8397249 emails a day, edit and post web stories and take a summer school class (which I vowed to NEVER do). I’m also not very good at not bringing home work.
And now, I’m looking for a second summer job. Reality is setting in and saving money is becoming more important in my life than I’ve ever realized.
I’m growing up. Despite eating apple sauce nearly every day for breakfast, calling my mom when I’m having a breakdown, getting sheer enjoyment out of the Disney channel and loving pink and bows and glitter oh so very much, I’m growing up. *sigh*
Of course there are wonderful things to look forward to as I get older, building a relationship with my future husband and having a beautiful family as well as having the freedom to choose my path for the rest of my life.
This is a quote from one of my favorite t.v. shows as a “kid”, The Wonder Years, that I think sums up things pretty well.
“Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what’s to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn’t have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves for growing up.”
Hocus Pocus
I’ve always been fascinated with magic. I will go to any magic show, go inside any magic shop and look around until someone makes me leave and most likely buy some ridiculous trick I can never master. I also LOVE movies like The Illusionist and The Prestige. I used to dream I would grow up to become a magician’s assistant- a beautiful accomplice who would be a part of fascinating and mystifying people, but who knew all of the secrets. Though that might make my interest in magic dwindle, it’s still always been a dream.
Today my mom and I were watching David Blaine, an illusionist and street magician. If you’ve never seen anything he does look it up on Youtube right now. Seriously go. It’s insane. He will ask someone to write a name on a piece of paper, then burn the paper and rub the ashes over his shirt. He then lifts up his shirt only to show the name that was written down is now written on his stomach in ash. He also sticks pens through his lip, pulls string out of his arm and makes cards appear inside audience members shoes. He has also broken several world records by being buried alive for 7 days, frozen for 63 hours and several others. I think it’s extremely interesting to see what he’s going to do next and how people react.
As I watched it again today, I just don’t know how I feel. Some of the things he does are just freaky and it makes me think he has supernatural powers. I don’t know what I would do if I saw some of the stuff he does in person. Some people think he is the anti-christ. Other people insist he is just a performer. I don’t know what to believe. All I know is I will stick to magic shows in Branson.
Here is a hilarious parody of David Blaine. Like I said, watch something he does first, otherwise this won’t be funny.
Romping around in my romper
Romper:
1. A person or thing that romps. (Romp: to play or frolic in a lively or boisterous manner)
2. A loosely fitted, one-piece garment having short bloomers that is worn especially by small children for play.
Source: dictionary.com
3. A chair old people run over your toes with in Walmart.
Source: Graham Jones, Facebook
Here’s the deal. When I first started seeing rompers in magazines and in stores, I didn’t like them… at all. Adults are supposed to wear onesizes?! (According to dictionary.com they aren’t for adults!) I thought they were weird and I would never get into the trend. Then came the day when my mom bought me one and insisted I wear it. My roommate had been wanting one for weeks and was so jealous I, of all the people who didn’t even like them, got one before her. So I decided to get in on the trend and try mine out for a girls night out with my new sparkly, gold nail polish. Yes, I finally got some.
This is how I felt, like I was on the runway! If you know me at all you know I love celebrities and I kind of felt like one wearing my romper. Thus, the official verdict was that I liked it a lot. I don’t know if I could get into printed ones though, basic black works pretty well for me. The one problem I did have with it was how difficult it made going to the restroom, sorry, but it’s true. Anyway, there’s my evaluation of rompers. Enjoy a few pictures with friends from the evening.
Would you rather…?
Before I begin with my post, I would like to share with you a couple of very exciting pictures I promised yesterday.
Do I look more or less like the little girl? Maybe not, but I guarantee I was more excited than her.
Okay, onto the real things I’ve learned today. The day has been full of probing deeper into myself via “Would you rather…?” questions and personality/aptitude tests. Here is what I have learned about thus far (with my comments in parentheses):
1. I should wear red nail polish because I’m classy, beautiful and charming. (I hate red nail polish, but love those descriptions)
2. Out of the Twilight cast, I most relate to Jasper Hale. (Yawn and no thank you)
3. I have a lot in common with prostitutes. (This stemmed from pink being my favorite color)
4. There is absolutely no job that matches up with my talents in the career database. (Great, can I just be a mom?)
5. I have a cold exterior, but am warm on the inside. (Reaaally? Please tell me this isn’t true)
6. My perception of life is related to the quality of plastic. (Cheap? Disposable?)
7. I’m not the best organizer, but I’m a good team leader. (Have you seen my computer? Closet?)
8. I ooze with charm when with my partner. (Finally, I could agree on this one)
9. My prototype is ‘feminine woman’. (As opposed to….??)
10. I want to be in a t.v. show. (Duh)
11. I want a horn in the middle of my forehead. (Hey, you didn’t hear the other options)
These are a few of my favorite things…
1. Animal bracelet things
I have never seen these things in real life, but for some reason I want them so bad. Just wait until I get them and then I will post a picture of myself looking just like this little girl.
2. Sparkly gold nail polish
I saw this on cupcakesandcashmere.com and have been searching for similar gold nail polish ever since. I love painting my nails unique colors: teal, purple, orange and the latest has been metallic silver (which my mom despises at each new application). I read in Glamour that metallic shades are hot for summer: silver for fair skinned, gold for medium skinned and copper for dark skinned. “Though it’s cool to wear the ‘wrong’ hues too!” Glamour told me. Good thing, because I’ve been wearing the wrong hue for weeks! But not for long….
3. Sactionals
What is a sactional you say? I thought it was the weirdest thing ever when someone told me about it today, and now I think it’s the greatest thing ever. It’s a couch, in sections, that you can move around into all of these wonderful positions. And yes, it comes in zebra and leopard print. What more could I ask for?! Check out lovesac.com.
4. Mexican food
Yes, this has always been a love of mine, but today I was particularly craving it. So I went to the new Mexican restaurant off of Dickson with two wonderful people J and S for some chips, cheese dip and chicken fajitas made to perfection.
5. Wii video game- Just Dance
Immediately after K showed me the commercial for this game I knew I had to buy it and it would be a hit. Boy was I ever right. After dancing off the Mexican food for 2 hours with S, I was soaked in sweat and exhausted, ready for the game to be my workout routine every day. It was definitely the most fun I have ever had in a game, and I am not a gamer. (I recorded a video of me and S doing it and it’s pretty hilarious, but I’m having technical difficulties. I’ll post it later, because it’s definitely not something you want to miss.)
6. Random Tie-dye parties
J came home from Walmart with a handful of suspicious ingredients that we were unsure of until we learned it was a tie-dye kit. The activity was perfect for dance breaks and so much fun. I’ll post pictures of the results later.
7. S&P
I LOVE these adorable salt and pepper shakers S got us from Costa Rica, yay!
Today was a rather uneventful day- besides having a flat tire for the second time this month and hearing it could possibly be someone slashing my tires. “Did you make someone mad by telling him you wouldn’t go on a date with him?” The tattooed mechanic asked with a wink. Thus, I would rather share some outfits from my favorite blog cupcakesandcashmere.com and break up the monotony of words and life.
“You never know what you’ll run into at a motel pool”
My claims were correct, the trip started out with a Newport bang. Pulling into my grandmother’s neighborhood, we see the epitome of rednecks: a guy sunbathing in his front yard, with no t-shirt on and a belly so big he could have been pregnant with twins.
“He’s either drinking a huge mug of tea or ale,” my dad said. “I’d bet on the ale,” I respond.
I scrambled to get my camera, but to no avail. I did force my parents to drive back by several times throughout the weekend so I could snag a pic, but unfortunately he seemed to have gotten enough sun already.
The janky motel wasn’t as janky as I had remembered 5 years ago. Though it was still a motel, which gives me the heebee jeebees no matter what. However, the real motel excitement came when we all spent the day out by the pool Saturday. I knew it would be an interesting afternoon when a guy walked in with swimming trunks and huge boots on, a confederate flag tattoo on his chest, a rebel tattoo on one arm and barbed wire tattoo around the other arm. The guy had just graduated from high school in Elkins and talked so much it seemed as though he was part of the family. Topics ranged from marijuana brownies, partying with the Hells Angels, moonshine that made his “momma run nekked through the streets” and his girlfriends that beat him up and “stabbed him with a pickle.” (?!)
If there wasn’t anything else that could be more Arkansan I didn’t know what it was, until I felt the mosquitos. I’ve grown up in Arkansas so I know about the “skeeters” and how they love to bite me at any chance they get. Friday night, we were having a wonderful evening sitting on the patio drinking beer and eating delicious bbq, very peaceful, until we heard the “skeeter spray”. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a truck that drives around every night spraying who knows what into the air to get rid of the mosquitos. The sound elicited conversation among the Newport natives including my dad and his siblings, who recalled chasing the truck down every night on their bicycles. It was “what the cool kids did” and who knows what wonderful chemicals they were eating up, but “it kept the skeeters off for at least a couple days.”
As I’m listening to the stories, I realize I am itching up a storm. I already have 5 bites on my left arm and a handful on my ankles. We decide to move inside, only to find more entertainment in the form of my 90-year-old grandmother and her best friends filling up a room with laughter and wine.
The scene immediately reminded me of the divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood- a group of older women sharing stories, life, acting like teenagers giggling over gossip. I walked in on a story about a civil war re-enactment one of the women had gone to. Though I didn’t hear exactly what happened, she was engaged in full-story mode and had the whole room hootin’ and hollerin’. She swore she would never go to another one again. And next thing that came out of her mouth was what had happened at the one the next weekend and how a little girl had just bent right over and mooned her.
So, on an end note of the weekend, I had a fantastic time with my family, specifically my grandmother. It amazes me how great of health she is still in, how beautiful she looks and how much I want to be like her. Upon her insistence, we spent hours Saturday looking through boxes and boxes of old photographs she had of all her kids and grandkids now grown up. We all bonded over hideous hairdos, overkill floral and ruffled Easter dresses, New Kids on the Block sweatshirts and memories from all of the above. I realized I’m a lot like Mimi- I get my love of pictures from her, my love of entertaining guests (she is constantly making sure everyone has eaten enough and has something to drink) my love of cooking and food, my love of dressing stylishly (which I am now positive I will try to do into my 90s if I live that long), and most importantly my love of people.
Weekend in Newport (not the Beach)
My weekend adventure includes heading to the tiny eastern Arkansas town of Newport, where my grandmother lives. When I was younger, I used to tell people I was going to Newport for the weekend and some would respond, “Newport Beach?!” and I wouldn’t correct them, I wanted to seem cool. But now, in my old age, I value my time spend in Newport. It’s a peaceful place where I can relax, spend time with family and separate myself from technology that bounds me so tightly these days. Thus, I will be signing off of the blog for a few days. But I promise to return with tales of the family reunion and the 90th birthday party; contrary to what some may believe, the stories should exceed expectations- especially after staying in the only (janky) motel, yes motel and spending extended time with family. What great stories wouldn’t come out of that? So be patient friends, I’ll be back and join me in enjoying the simpler things of life this weekend.
The musings of a writer
I’m reading the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It’s a story about an aspiring journalist in the 1960s who wants to tell the stories of the black maids living in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi and the truth about what it’s like to work for a white family. It’s incredible and I highly recommend it.
However, it has gotten me thinking. I want to write something that means something, that affects people. Something that’s true and interesting and hasn’t been done before. What am I really writing about now? Events in northwest Arkansas, Celebrity Monday, fashion, technology. I truly enjoy writing about all of that, but is that enough to stimulate me for the rest of my life and make a difference?
I’m not even quite sure what I would want to write about- faith, religion, religious persecution, social justice issues? My best friend got me involved in the organization Not For Sale, an anti-human trafficking organization, and it really affected me. I wrote this story about it for The Arkansas Traveler. http://www.uatrav.com/2010/arkansas-organizations-raise-awareness-about-sex-trafficking/
I’m thinking about maybe interviewing women and children who have been involved in the sex trade and compiling their stories. I want people to be heard and I want to make a difference, not just write about fashion and celeb gossip (that I do love oh so much.)
If you have any suggestions of things that you think need to be written about, please comment below.
“The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.” James 5:16
What a beautiful day it has been that God has given me. My entire day has been thread together by Him in so many little ways that now make sense to me.
Passion
I’m at freshman orientation handing out The Traveler and talking to students interested in journalism. All morning this has been very rewarding for me, talking to bright-eyed, bushy-tailed students with a wonderful four years ahead of them to discover who they are. One girl that particularly struck me was interested in journalism and writing and was just overjoyed that she found our table. Come to find out she graduated from BHS (as did I) and we began talking like friends do. Just seeing the joy and excitement in her eyes of finding something on campus that she could be a part of was nearly enough to just make my day. Thus, my realizations of the morning are how much I love being a mentor or leader in someone’s life.
Prayer
I come back to the office to find a forwarded email from my mom about prayer. It began by saying that we often find ourselves too busy during the day to say a prayer. Everything has to be accomplished asap, so we often forget to speak to God in prayer about it before we react. However, we should really think about the acronym differently…
When there’s work to do, deadlines to meet; You’ve got no time to spare, but as you hurry and scurry- Always Say A Prayer.
This very simple idea had a profound effect on me, as my life lately has been characterized by being busy- too busy to praise the God who created us.
Passion and Prayer
I had received an email at the end of the semester about becoming a mentor for freshmen. It looked appealing and I strongly considered applying, but it fell to the bottom of my list of things to do. Today I remembered that email- thinking about how much I enjoyed it this morning and how wonderful it would be to help even a handful of freshmen. I got home and began looking through old journals when God placed me on a page from 2008 that read, “Lord, I really feel you calling me toward spending my free time in conversation club. Also, how about mentoring students?” and that’s all I ever said about it. I honestly have no clue why I wrote that and can’t remember any reason why I would think about mentoring, but it secured my thoughts all day.
What an incredible God we have who will use anything such as a curious freshman, an email and old journals to lead me to glorifying Him and revealing part of His purpose for my life.
She’s just bein’ Miley
As we all know, I used to.. yes, used to… be obsessed with Miley Cyrus. I thought it was the greatest thing ever that so many people thought I looked like her and I just really wanted to be friends with her, but recently things have changed. She has become too scandalous, raunchy and very bluntly, skanky. It is a sad day in my book to move her down the friend list, but it had to be done.
However, while shopping today I found some cutoff black jean shorts that I loved, but very much made me think of Miley- who is now famous for her booty shorts. (She’s seventeeeeeeen!!) Now I promise my shorts are not nearly as skanky as these, but she would in fact wear them I believe. Which leads me to think I will always hold a special place in my heart for Miley, and definitely Hannah Montana (which if you don’t know the difference between the two, please contact me. Or watch Disney).
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe
Introduction-ish
I personally don’t like reading introductions, and I definitely don’t like writing them, so I wasn’t going to write one about myself and the purpose of this blog.
However, I think a good introduction to myself comes in sharing my thoughts on the ride home from Conway- a wonderful weekend of wedding planning, water park-ing and countless laughs and memories with incredible people.
As I was driving home listening to High School Musical and eating/playing with twizzlers, I thought about how much of a little kid I am. I’ve known this, but it really hit home this weekend when:
1. Someone told me I look like Hannah Montana and it was the biggest compliment in the world.
2. This certain someone’s brother told me I was 17 for bejeweling my phone and wearing metallic fingernail polish.
3. I got so excited to be on “vacation” so I could eat Twizzlers, Mike&Ike’s and drink Rooster Booster.
4. I created a scene in the frozen yogurt shop.
I am not ashamed of any of these things, in fact that’s just who I am. So, when will I grow up? Do I ever need to? Will I always be a kid at heart?
m.davis xoxo 