Weekend Part 2

So after the morning at Bass Pro Shop, we headed to Smith Lake for a party with friends from church. We had such a good time and I even ran into an old co-worker of mine that has a place in the same area as the party we were attending. Anywho...we had delicious food and a fun boat ride. It's always nice to ride someone elses boat and just be able to relax. I'm sure David enjoyed the relaxation as well without me freaking out about our boat! :) Anyways, we had to leave a little early because David had a reaction to some medicine he was taking and wasn't feeling good....(that is a whole other story). So we jetted back to Decatur and crashed in the bed...Thanks for hosting us Ann and Don!!

Work work work....and a little play!

On Friday night, David shot a wedding down in Birmingham of possibly one of the nicest brides we had ever worked with. It was an absolute joy to work with Lauren and her wedding party...more to come on that later. Normally, I do not go to weddings with David anymore, as he has a second shooter now. Well, the second shooter wasn't going to be able to get there until an hour or so before the wedding, so David needed a hand. How does he convince his wife to go be his assistant, drag bags and lights around in 9000 degree weather and walk in heels for 9 hours?? He promises her a night in a fancy hotel and a trip to the Bass Pro Shop. Now, let me explain to you what I mean by a fancy hotel...

This would be it...the Comfort Inn and Suites...now this hotel is fancy for one main reason to me...it has a waffle maker that you get to make your own waffles at for breakfast. I don't know what my fascination is with the waffle makers, but I LOVE THEM!! Oh, and yes, I did have clothes on in this picture....I had just gotten out of the pool for a lovely morning swim...


Anywho...on to the rest of the day. We then took off to the Bass Pro Shop, or as I like to call it, "The Greatest Place On Earth!!" I could spend every dime I own in there!! That place is amazing....we made it out with minimal damage today...David got a pair of boat shoes, a new gerber tool and something else I can't quite recall..and I got a sling shot dog ball thrower (that is not the technical name), a new Bass Pro hat and shirt. I really wanted a deer feeder that I have had my eye on, but I need to save my pennies up for that one. We had a super time inside the store too, here are some things that happened...

David was attacked by a bear...


The same bear patted me on the head....


We played some games...




Admired the beautiful store....




And then last but not least....David tried on this sweet outfit....too bad it didn't fit...


On a positive note, the lady from the Bass Pro store told us that they were told the store in Decatur would be opening in either March or April...I told her they haven't even moved the first mound of dirt..oh well, maybe she knows something I don't!

Well it's not Bass Pro Shop...

But it will do for now!!



Like the rest of the nerds in Decatur, we headed out tonight to check out the new Academy Sports in Decatur. Granted, I was a little skeptical because my heart has just been broken since the Bass Pro Shop has been delayed yet again in our lovely town. But when we graced the doors of Academy Sports tonight, my spirit got lifted a little. It is really nice and HUGE!! They have everything in there! I really like their camping/boating section. I already have a deer feeder picked out that I want for Christmas to put out at the river. If you have not ever been to Academy before, I would recommend it after being inside it tonight. But I will say, my fingers are still crossed for Bass Pro to come!! :)

The Lost Art of Serving....

Ahhhh....the art of customer service...where has it gone? It is funny to me now, that more times than not, you get crappy service somewhere. Last night, I needed to get a prescription filled, so I zipped off to Walgreens at 7:40. When I got to the window, the lady very rudely said, "You know we close in 15 minutes right..." I replied with a good ol' "Yes I do," and we proceeded to have a stare down. She told me to pull around if I was going to wait on the prescription. Now, this irritated me for a couple of reasons...

1. It was 7:40 when I got there...they don't close until 8:00...so if you don't close until 8:00, seems like to me you should take prescriptions up until 7:59.
2. Secondly, I was asking her to fill one of the most common antibiotics on the planet....not a narcotic...I mean, if you can't count out 20 pills in 20 minutes, seems to me like you don't need to be a pharmacist....
3. My insurance and everything was already on file, so it literally took her a total of 4 minutes from the time I gave her my prescription to the time I drove away...

Now, I say all that to say this...we all need to make an effort to reward or at least acknowledge those who do give us outstanding service. This happened several months ago, but I actually had a lady at Wal-mart give me extra great service....I know, you are all picking up your jaws, but it did happen at Wal-mart. So, I went on their website and wrote a letter about her and what a nice job she did and how helpful it was. If we would all remember to just treat each other the way we would like to be treated, oh what a great world we would live in... :)

Winding Down...

Well last night was my official "last night" of class. I am so glad because it was exhausting and totally ate up my summer. Now, we will be using every spare moment to get what's left out of summer!! Its weird how doing something 3 nights a week really takes a toll on a person, especially when it is microbiology. I did have a really good teacher, but honestly, I don't think I would have enjoyed eating cake 3 nights in a row..and you all know how much I love cake! :)

I also thought I would steal this post from David off his blog
maybe you all will appreciate my skills after this... :)

Word to my wifey
Sunday, July 26, 2009

Anna doesn't go with me on all of my sessions but she usually does wind up helping out when there are kids involved. Kids are easy to photograph. Sometimes they need to warm up to the idea though...that's pretty typical. That's where Anna comes in. I'm not sure what she does...or how she does it....but she can take a kid from "No Way, No Pictures" to "Where Would You Like Me to Stand and for How Long?" Now you didn't hear this from me....but I think she gives them a little hit of benadryl. I have no proof....but it's gotta be something like that.

I really do appreciate her though. Normally by the end of the shoot she is best friends with the little ones. She also can do some pretty impressive choreography with hula hoops which...coincidently...she just happened to have in the back of her car. Not as random as you might think.

Same Song...Different Verse

So Saturday night was a little repeat of Friday night...David and Justin played another show, this time, it was a private party on Smith Lake. Let me tell you why I am a river fan any day over the lake:

1. You do not have to drive hours down backwoods country roads, dirt roads, gravel roads, or any other kind of undrivable conditions to get to your property.

2. Let's say one of your kids, nieces, nephews, etc falls off your dock...at the river, you can hop in and get them, even if they are on the bottom....At Smith Lake, your dock is about 100 feet above the bottom....you fall off there and you are swimming with the fishes....permanently.

3. This is a bit of a broad generalization, and I don't mean it for everyone, just some of the people I have met....river people are good old fashion Andy Griffith lovin, come over and eat some fish kind of neighbors...lake people try to out do each other with their fancy landscaping, boats they can't pay for always saying things like, "We were at the LAAAKKKKEE all weekend."

4. I am sure there are some funky sea creatures living in the bottom of that giant lake that could swallow you whole...I'll take my chances and wrestle and alligator any day in the river...

Oh, and by the way, the people that Justin and David played for were not "Lake People..." they actually belong at the river...they just don't know any better. They were all really nice and made us all feel welcome, not to mention they did the electric slide while they were playing...hello, super fun!! :)

Anyways, we had another great evening with some great food, great music and of course a car full of laughs on the way there and back. Hope yall's weekend was as exciting!

American Cancer Society Benefit

On Friday night, David and Justin graciously donated their talent for a Wine Tasting for the American Cancer Society. Of course, they did a great job as usual. The event was at Burningtree Country Club and they had a nice turnout, especially for a first time event. Micah and I had a large time as well, and I got to catch up with cousin Courtney too. They had a silent auction with some really nice items, and I went home with one of those collapsible picnic basket things. It will be perfect to take out on the boat! We have quite a busy weekend ahead of us, so there will be lots more to come! Hope everyone has a great day!