Milk in the Mashed Potatoes

I think art inspires art; that’s why I’ve filled my house with music that inspires my cooking and paintings and photographs that inspire my music, and vice versa. It’s all connected for me. I couldn’t just commit to do one thing. I want more. -Jessie Baylin

Five years ago Relevant Book published my book, Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot. I’ve recently updated the book and made it available as an ebook through Amazon. For the bride looking to plan her dream day on a budget, this book has everything she needs. Buy it or recommend it to a friend today!

Friends who already have copies, would you be so kind as to leave a review on the product page so others will know what a great find it is? Thanks!

Jon Acuff (@jonacuff), the guy behind Stuff Christians Like, and a new marketing golden boy at Dave Ramey’s Lampo Group, will be signing copies of his new book, Quitter, tomorrow at Books-A-Million in Sanford.

I first started following Jon on his hilarious blog, Stuff Christians Like, and bought copies of the book that came out of that for many of my friends. When I reached out to introduce myself to Jon (I work with his equally hilarious and talented cousin Josh Acuff), he reminded me that we spoke when he proposed a book to Relevant when I was the acquisitions editor there. We passed on the book. Ouch.

But Jon’s not the kind of guy to let that get him down. He’s obviously gone on to much bigger & better things, including fundraising to build two orphanages in Vietnam. His new book, Quitter, is about bridging the gap between your day job and your dream job. I’ve only read the first chapter (available as a free download here) and I can’t wait to read the rest.

So join me tomorrow in saying hello to Jon and picking up a copy of his new book. Let me know if you’re coming out! (Did I mention he’s giving away $500 at the signing? Booyah!) Reply or DM me at @caranicoledavis

Here’s the trailer for his book:

Here are few tunes that currently get my feet moving. What are some of your favorite songs to workout to?

Brady was my best friend and neighbor when I was a kid. We used to climb trees together.

I once got a tick from one of those adventures. It burrowed itself into the back of my head and was there for weeks before I told my mom about it. After an ER trip & surgery to remove said tick, I was on my way with a congratulatory Barbie doll. It was the makeup kind and totally awesome.

One of my most vivid memories of Brady was the morning he offered to carry a Lego pyramid I made for a school project onto the bus for me. The paper grocery bag that it was in slipped from his hand and the pyramid did not fare so well. Still, he was a gentlemen for offering to carry it. (My mom remembers him a little differently … she says he pushed me off the porch one time.)

Brady’s older brother Brandon was my first piano teacher. I took lessons from him in their home across the street, then came home to practice on my Casio keyboard. A couple of years later Mom bought me an upright and I began lessons in earnest from the Joanie Clark Music Studio. Joanie had a studio adjacent to her home and I grew up alongside one of her daughters, Kristin. I took piano there and performed songs like “Wind Beneath My Wings” at piano recitals until I went to college.

Brady and I didn’t keep in touch after his family moved away, and it’s only been a few months ago that I learned he was active in Nashville’s local government. I’m not surprised. He’s always been a personable, smart guy who puts others before himself (or as mom would say, “pushes others before himself”).

In all seriousness, I am proud to have known him.

What surprised me most about when we re-connected was who his wife is – Kristin! I learned that they didn’t meet each other until they were each at college (him at Mercer, then Harvard, her at Duke). Both are from amazing Nashville families and they seem perfect for each other. She is now a minister at a United Methodist church. I think it’s so weird that two people I knew growing up (who didn’t know each other at the time) found each other and are now working to make Nashville a better place together.

Since I no longer live in Nashville I can’t help Brady and his team knock on doors, but I can support them in other ways. If you’re in Nashville, get this guy on your radar. He’s running for Metro Council – District 4 in August. Check out his site and if you like what you see, lend your support.

The following shows are ones that I know I’d love. Based on friends and reviews, they are right up my alley. Now that I work from home and have a kid, sitting down to watch a TV show (either on TV or on the computer) seems like a luxury. I feel like there are better ways I should spend my time … and yet, these are calling out to me in the still of the night: “Waaaatch meeee….. you’lll loooove me and laaaauugh still your siiiides hurt ….” (I’m not sure why they call out to me like ghosts, but I just go with it.)

A few random thoughts:

• “Friday Night Lights” is the only non-comedy. I like to laugh. If I’m going to watch a series or a movie, it better be good if it’s not funny. Conversely, it can be bad and funny and I’ll still watch it. I like to laugh.

• I’ve never thought to consider which network is pumping out the shows I would most like, but apparently NBC’s the big winner here.

• I have seen a handful of 30 Rocks and Parks & Recreations and enjoyed them (“30 Rock” especially) but it’s just committing to watch them all that’s the hard part.

• In the case of some shows like “Mad Men” or “Lost,” you feel like it’s just too late to watch if you’re not watching from the beginning with the rest of the world. Part of the fun is interacting with your friends as they follow the show as well. (Then again, I don’t regret a minute of watching “Arrested Development” even after it was no longer on air.)

What show do you really want to watch or follow but haven’t?

Life as a mom in a city that’s out-of-the-way does not afford many opportunities to stay on top of the live music scene. Nevertheless, after attending an amazing live show by Brooke Fraser recently (see above photo), I’ve got the live music bug.

Here are 8 artists I’d love to see live. This year if possible. Some are hot new trendy artists, others are ones I’ve loved for a while and listen to everyday.

Sadly, only one of them is coming to Orlando (John Legend) but he’s opening for Sade and tickets are $63. It’s also in an arena. Pretty sure I’ll pass since he’s just the opener.

Adele is sold out at every show. I got excited when I didn’t see a “sold out” on her Asheville show the week I’m going to be near there, but when I went to get tickets they were in fact sold out. That would be one amazing show. (Congratulations to all those who have acquired tickets.)

What tours do you want to see this year?

These are the top 10 celebrities I consistently confuse. It’s not that some of them look similar (although some of them do). I think it more has to do with the time they were introduced into my conscience. They are filed away in the same cranial drawer, and sometimes the wrong folder is retrieved.

What celebrities do you get confused?

I just finished Tina Fey’s Bossypants at the recommendation of a friend, who said I remind him of her in some ways. Flattered, I knew I had to read it immediately and find every possible correlation in our lives. Henceforth, here are 15 ways I am just like Tina Fey.

• We are women.

• We are writers.

• We are married to a man named Jeff from Pennsylvania. (I do not believe it is the same one.)

• Both of our first names have four letters. (Our husband, Jeff, pointed this out.)

• We are producers. (Except in my field it’s called an editor.)

• We have each published a book.

• We both gave birth to female babies during the years 2005-2007.

• We are between 9-11 years younger than our husband. (I’m just assuming at this point it’s the same guy.)

• We share similar philosophies and experiences when it comes to cruising. (Except mine didn’t involve a fire and evacuation.)

• We share similar philosophies and experiences when it comes to breastfeeding.

• We both have facial scars. (Everyone asks about hers. No one asks about mine. No, it’s okay, really. You don’t have to ask next time you see me. I’ll just write a blog post about it. It’ll be fine.)

• We have experienced gender prejudice in the workplace.

• We have both agonized and tortured ourselves over whether or not to have a second child.

• We like to tell jokes. (She gets paid to do it. I get advised in private to think twice before I tweet.)

• We wear glasses and sometimes contacts.

Okay, so some of this is a stretch, and we really don’t have that much in common.

But the appeal of women like Tina Fey, Ree Drummond and other strong women in the media that I look up to is that they’re transparent with their life experiences, and their struggles are universal. Women like me can relate with them — even if our lives are drastically different. (i.e. If I could ever produce a body of work for public consumption, and consequently a girl writes a blog post on the 10 ways she’s just like me, I’ll know I’ve succeeded.)

The point of all this is that Tina Fey has a great book (as long as you don’t mind some of the most creative forms of cursing I’ve seen this side of “The Sopranos”) and that you should go buy it or borrow it immediately — right after you buy my book, of course, which has significantly fewer cuss words (and is $3 cheaper).

***

At the release of her book last month it was announced that Tina is pregnant with their second child. This is clearly the work of genius of two levels:

• First it’s marketing gold. You simply cannot buy publicity like that. Ask Lindsay Lohan.

• Secondly, on a personal level, the news and birth of your second child will never match the level of excitement that comes with your first. It’s like a second marriage – “Oh, they’re trying this kid thing again. Let’s see if they can get this one right.” So she’s a genius for being able to muster interest on a national scale for the biological function of her uterus.

And since I’m clearly trying to pattern my life after hers, I will now immediately run out and get pregnant as well and try to time the news to coincide with the release of my upcoming e-book. The news is sure to make The Drudge Report, don’t you think?

I love giving Madilyn surprises occasionally when I pick her up from school. But lately she’s come to expect them. When I picked her up today she asked in her sweetest voice if I had a surprise for her.

I didn’t. Her disappointment was palpable.

I had $2 in CVS bucks so I took her across the street and told her she could pick out something for $5 or less. As she perused the toy aisle, her eyes lit up at the site of a Polly Pocket set with no less than 20 little pieces of plastic trash that I could only imagine strewn about in every crevice of our fine 1980s home in two weeks or less. It was $16.

No dice, I told her. Keep looking.

Then she found it. It was a Play-Doh set with several instruments for manipulating that magical benign mass of colored dough: two molds, plastic scissors and two other tools I couldn’t decipher uses for. It was perfect. The price was right and we were on our way.

Three hours later I found Play-Doh smashed in the living room rug, sandwiched in her pink plastic Barbie laptop and spread across the top of our $250 custom ottoman.

And then it happened.

A commercial came on the television for something involving hair, pink, plastic, sparkles, glitter and probably unicorn byproducts.

MOMMY!! THAT’S WHAT I WANT!

All the sudden she no longer wanted the Play-Doh set. She wanted me to take it back and get her this new shiny thing she saw on TV that promised eternal happiness and everlasting popularity.

I told her she had already made her decision. We had already opened the Play-Doh and it was now officially apart of our home decor for at least the next eight years.

She wailed.

At nearly 4 years old, taking responsibility for your actions is a concept not to be grasped. When you change your mind, you change your mind. Resistance shouldn’t be part of the equation.

I sentenced her to her room for crying (I know, I know … the Mother-of-the-Year people have already contacted me about my nomination.)

As she cried herself to a drowsy stupor, I couldn’t help but see myself in those sweet blue eyes that were now spitting out tears like a lawn sprinkler on the fritz.

I’m just like her.

I have a dream I want so badly right now I can’t see straight sometimes. And I have the hardest time owning up to the fact that I made all the decisions that brought me to my current reality. I made the choices of my own volition, and now that I’ve changed my mind, I’m as pouty as a school girl that I can’t have what I really want. Not yet anyway.

I stroked Madilyn’s hair and reminded her that her birthday is coming up very soon, and that I was sure she would get a lot of fun toys then — maybe even unicorn byproducts. That seemed to satisfy her and soon she fell asleep.

Maybe what I want isn’t too far off either.

I’ll sleep on it.