you may say I'm a dreamer

Day 3

2011-03-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Day 3: My first love...

Hmmm.... this is going to be a difficult subject to write about. Only because I can't exactly pinpoint my first love. And does first love mean the first relationship I had where love was returned? Or does it mean MY first love-- the person I first loved, even unrequited? I'm not sure.

Even so, I often go back and forth in defining feelings I've had for boys in the past. I suppose this is why I'm having such a hard time deciding who my first love is. After relationships I've always questioned myself. Did I really love them? Or did I just think I loved them? Was I in love? Or did I just love them as a best friend?

For as long as I can remember, I've been the girl that falls for the guy best friend. And while I agree with Emily (that you should marry your best friend and most great relationships start with friendship), I often found myself in relationships that just weren't satisfying. These guys were my best friends and we always had a blast, but most of the time it was missing that spark.

I had several crushes and one-week-relationships during the middle school years. Was one of them my first love? I dunno. My first relationship or real-life boyfriend was in 9th grade with a boy named Alex... who remained one of my best friends throughout all our high school years. I know, imagine that?

We had a dramatic 15-year-old break up and my heart was broken. I suppose I'll give him my first love credit. :)

Day 2

2011-03-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name.

I'm sorry to say that this may not be so interesting.

The origin of "redshoes" goes back to sometime in high school. My dad decided to make the family some email addresses. In high school, I owned a pair of red Converse tennis shoes. I also had a pair of black ones, gray ones, and blue ones. The reds were my absolute favorite though. I probably wore them the most.

Anywho-- the day Dad made my email address, I was wearing said shoes. And thus the domain redshoes was born. I was actually a pretty huge fan of it. I love those shoes. I love red. And I also love the Wizard of Oz (I'm talking about the movie of course since the book is about silver shoes) where there are not only red shoes, but sparkly, ruby RED shoes. It's one of my all-time faves.

When I created my blogger account, I used redshoes again for lack of creativity. And the 33 at the end isn't original either. 33 = March 3, the day of my birth.

So, there you have it! redshoes33

Day 1

2011-03-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

1. This picture was taken out of sheer boredom while waiting for the boyfriend to come pick me up for a Mississippi adventure.

2. I'm a preschool teacher. I have feelings about this profession and working in childcare that I'm going to keep to myself. Just know that I am one.

3. I just started a fitblr called kbyefat. Fitting, dontcha think?

4. My boyfriend, James, seriously lights up my life.

5. I like Girl Scout cookies entirely too much. Tagalongs are #1 and Thin Mints bring it on in with a close second. Those are 2 reasons I need to continue with kbyefat. It's also a good thing these cookies make an appearance in my life for a limited time only-- once a year.

6. I just realized I've taken up the most room so far talking about cookies. COOKIES. I do have a problem.

7. I wish I had more time to sit around, look out the window, and paint.

8. Even though I often feel trapped, I'm one of the most blessed people I know.

9. I worked in clothing retail for 3 months this past holiday season. It was one of the most mindless, boring things I've ever done. I hate folding clothes now. Especially sweaters.

10. I'm thinking about trying to write some children's books. Know any good illustrators?

11. Hand written notes, cards, and letters are like treasures to me. I keep them forever and it has always been one of the quickest ways to my heart.

12. I can often be a Bitter Betty but I try my very best to laugh off any difficult situation that comes my way.

13. I'm allergic to dogs and cats.... I don't like them. And even if I happened to not be allergic, I still don't think I'd like them.

14. My parents bought me a Wii for my birthday. Once I figure out how to get it to show up on the TV, I'm sure I'll have a blast! ;)

15. I have grand notions and can't stand it when one decides to burst my bubble. Just let me be naive and dream, won'tcha?

30 Day Challenge

2011-03-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

Alright, kiddos. I'm trying this challenge thing... since we all know how great I am at updating and/or finding awesome things to blog about. Cliche'? Maybe. Teener-Bopperish? Of course. Don't care. Get ready for some greatness!

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: A song to match your mood
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you've traveled to
Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend
Day 10: Something you're afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without
Day 13: Goals
Day 14: A picture of you last year - how have you changed?
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you're looking forward to
Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself of ALL TIME Why?
Day 22: What's in your purse?
Day 23: Favorite Movie
Day 24: Something you've learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Your Dream Wedding
Day 27: Original Photo of the city you live in
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: a picture of yourself this day and 5 good things that happened since you started the challenge

Kbye, 2010.

2011-01-14T06:13:00.001-08:00

Here's pictorial evidence I had somewhat of a life in 2010. I did a post like this last year, too.

January was the month I took my very last class at Freed. I spent two fun-filled weeks with Emily in the Priv House where we told each other ridiculous life stories, ate delicious cake, and discovered one of the most entertaining songs ever.

There aren't any pictures from February. That was the month I begrudgingly moved back to NC.

March brought about a 23rd birthday with more delicious cake and time spent with my family. It was also month 2 of a never-ending job search and missing my love. But hey, atleast there was cake!

In April, my love came to visit me. He met my family for the first time and my brother commented, "It's like he's always been around. I like him." I like him, too. :) That visit brought MORE cake, koolaid, an afternoon of putt-putt, and a game of Cranium (in which our team lost miserably).

In May I graduated. Insane. And then I moved back to Huntsville to try their job market.

June was mostly miserable with the exception of WAM time. God has really blessed me with some awesome friends in this lifetime.

In July, and we're talking at the very END of July, I was finally hired. Yay job!

August was a month of learning-- learning my childrens' personalities and learning how to best teach them. An old friend of mine got married and this is really the only picture, while not with the bride, I have of that month.

In September we had our family Labor Day vacation in Gatlinburg... where we saw dinosaurs-- big boring dinosaurs. 'Twas fun. However, September was also a month of sudden loss-- a loss of which I don't think I'll ever recover.

October... ahhh, what a good month. The Sanderson sisters made an appearance in a certain haunted church building. Unforgettable... let me tell you. "...BoooOOOOooook!!!!"

November was Thanksgiving. The weather was nice and we ate out on Grandma's brand new deck. November was also the beginning of a second job. Busy. Busy busy busy. So busy there are no pictures in my possession of November.

December was also terribly busy. I did manage to make it home to spend Christmas morning with my family. It was a Christmas that quickly turned into a white Christmas, and a day-after-Christmas trek that landed me in a hotel room for the night. Stupid slick roads.

So, there you have it! I actually did some fun things. If anything you've learned I have a great love for cake.

I spent New Year's Eve with my best friend sitting on the couch and watching the moon pie drop on TV at midnight. I loved every minute of it. With no one else would I have rather rang in the new year. Year 2010, you sure did go in a hurry!

I'm not too sad to see 2010 go. It wasn't a bad year overall. 2k10 gave me a lot of firsts and I expect 2k11 to be just as grand. I think good things are ahead.

Happy Ham Day

2010-11-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

I've not blogged... in a really, really long time. And don't let this post get your hopes up either. This will probably be the last blog for a really, really long time as well.

I would say happy turkey day but I'm not a fan of turkey. It's dry.... and just not that tasty. I'd rather have ham. So, happy ham day! Ooooh, or dressing. Happy dressing day? Meh. We'll just go with Happy Thanksgiving.

As the holiday season has already come upon us (can you believe how this year has flown by?), I probably won't have a spare minute until after Christmas. Let me tell you why! Two days ago, I got a second job working in retail for the holidays. I know, I know. I've already questioned my sanity for making this decision about a million times already. Who am I!??!? I don't even know anymore. The Ashley I know wouldn't be caught dead in a shopping mall on the busiest shopping day of the year. Nope! Not me! Except for this one time I'm going to be working a 12 hour shift in a mall on Black Friday. What have I done? Hah, I think it will be good-- good money and good experience. Let's hope so anyway.

It's Thanksgiving and I sure do have a ton to be thankful for. This wasn't the Thanksgiving I thought I was going to have, but it has been good nonetheless. Dad and Timbo came down and it's been nice to spend time with them.

You know what? I'm thankful for my family. I mean, really. I've been blessed with 2 wonderful parents. Parents who have not only taken great care of me my whole life, but have also given me great genes. I know that sounds weird... but it's true. I'm intelligent and pick up on things quite easily, I have a good memory, and I'm pretty cute. :) That's all because my parents are smart and awesome and gave me good genes. My Momma is just precious and I don't know one person who doesn't like her. I wish she could have come down here for Thanksgiving. My Dad and I had a very good talk today. He always has big plans, great ambitions and vision for the future. He's already built one business that is successful and growing and always has more plans in the works. I'm so thankful to have him to teach me to dream big and motivate me to do more. I've got a pretty awesome little brother, too. He's funny and is one of my favorite people to laugh with.

I'm also thankful for my James. And for my job(s). And for the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. And for juice. And for jam. And for jellybeans. And for jars. And for jump ropes. Couldn't help myself-- had to keep going with the J theme. And I must confess, I lied about being thankful for jellybeans. They're gross. I also could care less about jump ropes. Of course, I might decide I like jump ropes after implementing the "12 Steps to a Skinny Ashley" program. I'm not exactly sure what the 12 steps are quite yet. But a skinny Ashley needs to happen in the year of our Lord 2011, whether it be 12 steps or 190709234 steps. We'll see how that goes.

Bless your heart if you actually made it through all that random mess. Eh, I just did a stream of consciousness blog. Didn't you love it? Isn't that J picture cute? J is for jaguar. Atleast that's what J means in my toddler classroom.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with those you love. And if I don't blog again before then (let's not hold our breaths) I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Just Call Me Miss Ashley :)

2010-08-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post! The months of job searching finally ceased when I was offered a teaching position at a preschool. Yes, I have my very first, real life, big-girl job.

I'm the lead teacher in the toddler room. Yep. 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 year olds... approximately. It's stressful. It's wonderful. It's a blessing to be employed. And I really do enjoy teaching the tiny tots.

It's weird to have my own classroom... especially since a few years ago I decided teaching small children wasn't for me. Looks like God had something different in mind. And so far I'm pretty glad.

Here is the big carpet where we have circle time. The walls are pretty bare. I plan on decorating. Sometime. Soon-ish.

Here are the cubbies. I basically forgot these ever existed. I haven't had a cubby since age 6. They're pretty handy though. Notice the random objects on the very top of the cubbies-- this space is a catch-all for things I don't want the kids getting into. If they can't reach it, it's not a problem any more. Bah haha.

Here are my toddler-sized tables, toddler-sized chairs, and toddler-sized bookshelves. When it's time to learn Bible stories, ABC's, numbers, shapes or colors, I tell the tiny tots to "line up on the purple wall" over there. And after chasing a few strays and everyone is sitting on the floor, we sing about twinkling stars, hip-hip-hip-hippopotamuses, itsy-bitsy spiders, and Alexander alligators.

Here are my sweet kiddos lined up on the purple wall "reading." They are precious. Absolutely precious.

And on especially hectic days, naptime is such a nice break. And look how adorable they are on their little cots!!

JINGLE BELL ROCK. Judge me. Don't care.

2010-07-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

This is what sitting at home doing nothing on a Friday night looks like. And sounds like, apparently.

I. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"I'll Be Seeing You"
2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Boom Boom Boom"

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Great Indoors"

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"It's Beginning to Get to Me"

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Can't Repeat"

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Sleigh Ride"

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Maureen"

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
"I Need Love"

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Cure For The Itch"

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
"If I Die Tomorrow"

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Disciplined Breakdown"

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"I Wish (Skee-Lo)"

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Believe"

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Wishing Well"

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"O Sacred Head"

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Honey Please Can't Ya See"

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"This Is It"

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"I Dare You"

22. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Two Cups of Coffee"

23. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"Away From the Sun"

24. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"Hang em' High"

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"She Don't Know She's Beautiful"

26. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

27. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Jingle Bell Rock"

I'm not so Casper after all

2010-07-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

I am so not a fan of long distance relationships. It's really not the easiest thing in the world, and it's just plain hard to go for long periods of time not seeing your special someone. Thankfully though, the bf is only a few hours away and we get to meet up in the oh-so-wonderful town of Columbia, TN every now and again.

Last night we met at Cracker Barrel, which is one of my favorite places. And the food, of course, was delish. Who doesn't like to eat there? If you don't, I'm going to assume you're a Northern loser of life ~~and cross you off my friends list.~~ Jay-kay, homie. Don't get yo panties in a twist. As we were leaving the restaurant, I spotted one of my all-time favorite candies-- Candy Apple Sugar Babies. They're fantastic. And also only sold seasonally and I've only ever seen them at Cracker Barrel. It's a shame. So, you know I bought some. On second thought, I probably should have stocked up. Oh, well. You should try them sometime.

Aaaaaafter that, we went bowling. I don't know if any of you reading this have ever met me and bowling. If you have, you know how ridiculously awful I am at it. I have no technique. And no follow-through... but I promise you it's because the balls I have to bowl with (on account of my fat fingers) are always too heavy. So I can't bowl the ball with any decent amount of speed. And I'm sure your average on-looker thinks I just drop the ball in hopes it will hit a few pins over. Which is partially true-- let's be honest here. The athletic gene skipped me. I think I got one spare. The whole time.

The bowling alley was surprisingly very nice. It even told you how fast you bowled the ball. James would usually register around a 19 or 20 mph. I think I was usually a 7ish, 8ish, and 9ish mph if I was lucky.

We played 3 games and each game, the background of our screen would change. After the cool galaxy backdrop, we had a sunset, then a waterfall. It was pretty cool. And yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking. "Girl can't even spell her own name!" Yes, I can. They only let me use 5 letters. The E had to go. Sorry, E, it's a tough break.

Unlike me, James can actually bowl. The above picture is what it looks like to "follow through." Maybe I should have been taking notes. It was fun to watch him. :)

Before taking this picture, I said, "I hate taking pictures with people who are tan because I don't like to see how Casper I am." Don't worry, James gave me a hard time about that one, so you don't have to. But really now, we all know that's how I talk. And in my mind, "how Casper (the Friendly Ghost) I am" equals "how pale my skin is." Makes perfect sense. You know it does. And it seems I'm not as Casper as I thought I was, anyway.

This begins our series of crazy pictures.

This one is probably my favorite. Because I love that our facial expressions are accidently exactly the same.

Scary. Just plain scary.

In summary: We ate. We bowled. We laughed. And what a great night it was.

WAM Time

2010-07-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

About a week and a half ago, one of my good friends, Matt, came to Huntsville to visit for a few days. It was fantastic. We went on many adventures, mostly unplanned, and dubbed our time together as WAM (Wacky-Ashley-Matt) Time. We drove aimlessly around town listening to the best mix CD's ever. You should be jealous. Here is a pictorial blog of some of the things we did. Looking forward to some more adventures with him in a few weeks!

Does this Jesus remind you a kitchen utensil?

Homemade pizza! Yum!

You can sorta kinda maybe almost see Huntsville... through those trees.

Matt hates this picture because of his facial expression. I love this picture because of his facial expression.

Glad there's someone else out there who's skin is as radioactive white as mine.

This picture would be our Album cover, if we ever became musical artists. We decided.

What is love?

2010-06-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

What is love? If you're like me, when you hear those words, the first thing you want to do is bust out into song, "What is love? Baby don't hurt me!" And what an annoying song to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day! You're welcome. But don't thank me, thank the 90's.

Seriously though, what on earth is love? Most of us know God's definition of love and are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13. It's an exhaustive list on true, unconditional love. Love's patient and kind... it certainly isn't jealous or boastful. Love does not keep a record of wrong-doing. The best thing about this list, about God's love, is the ending statement, "Love never fails." Never? Hmmph. So love is something meant to last forever?

I know there are several different kinds of love. I want to focus on romantic love namely. Most weddings have the scripture about love incorporated. This is because God wants marriages to be built on kindness and patience. God wants married folks to keep on forgiving and not keep a record of wrongs. God wants marriages to never fail. It's a great design-- God's design for love and marriage. Don'tcha think?

So, we have a an outline from God about what perfect love is... but love is still hard to define and everyone seems to have a different opinion on what it means to love someone. Is love just a feeling? Is love a choice? What about chemistry and attraction? I've asked several people today what they believe love is.

"It's completely undefinable. You just know it when you feel it, and that goes for any degree of love."

"Your question is like asking someone to define pizza. So many different kinds, all with different definitions. The greeks had it right by breaking it up into different words. Love is holding the door open for someone. Love is giving your spouse the window seat... Love costs. If it doesn't, it's not love. It's giving without concern for getting. The higher the cost, the purer the love... Love is the most expensive thing on this planet. It must be, because people who don't feel it from those around them feel poor and miserable and lonely, even among the wealthiest."

"Devoted selflessness to another person. It's self denial for the benefit of a specific person."

"Love is a choice, that's why God gave it to us as a command. We don't inherently love, and we definitely don't fall in love 'at first sight.' We choose to love people despite flaws, differences, and insecurity. We chose to love people on good days and bad. And, when it comes to the person we'll marry, we choose to love them and honor and respect them for the rest of our lives. We choose to break down all walls and let that person become one with us, so much so that it isn't loving another person, but a fulfillment of loving ourselves."

"To care about someone so deeply that nothing can change your view of them. To see someone in their best and worse state and still want to spend the rest of your life with them by your side."

"Love is a bond that is cultivated between two people. Each person is willing to put the other first and self last. While it begins with attraction and compatibility, love develops over time into a committed decision-- a special promise-- from one to the other every day. As the two mature, their love grows into a closer picture of perfect love described in 1 Cor. 13. Love is always the appropriate reaction to any situation."

One time my grandma, who was married for nearly 50 years, was talking to me about her marriage. She said, "It never crossed my mind that we would ever separate. When you love someone it's all about doing whatever you can to make the other happy." I take anything she says about love and marriage for gold because she and Pop had such a successful and happy life together.

There are so many things that I agree with from these statements. Love is most definitely a choice. Love is work. Love is expensive. Love is a feeling. Love is selfless. ...Love is a command.

One of my favorite definitions of love comes from Shakespear's Sonnet 116. I had to recite when I was in 9th grade and have loved it ever since. In college, I was delighted again when Dr. Cargile allowed us to recite a Shakespearian sonnet for extra credit. I guess you know which one I chose. :)
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

So, everyone has their different opinion of what love is. I guess that's another reason that makes it so unique and special.

I've always thought a lot about all this love business, for as long as I can remember. However, I find myself thinking about it more and more lately. I know that, for me, love is something I choose to do. Love is something I find difficult sometimes and something that is quite expensive. It's not monetarily expensive, but it does take a lot of selflessness and giving. A lot of the time it means giving and not getting much, or anything, in return. Love isn't all sacrifice though. Love is play and laughter. Love is time spent with those that mean the world to you. Love is being absolutely crazy about someone. Love is hugs and kisses. And.. love is basking in the sun and knowing there's a person out there who loves you, too.

2.5 Update

2010-06-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Since I've stopped blogging... what have you missed?

The answer: not too much. But I'll give a quick update.

I graduated from college. That's good, right?

Anna got married. And she was beautiful. :)

I moved back to Huntsville. Still on the search for a job. One good thing about this move is seeing my boy more. Twice in one week even. I know. Insane. But I love it.

Another good thing about living here is that Emily also lives here. We may not be next door neighbors in the HRH anymore, but we're in the same city. It's a comfort to have a best friend so close.

That's all, folks.

Dreamy.

2010-05-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to skip over all the stuff about how I'm an awful blogger. I just am. Whoops.

In other news, I have a new layout that someone else made and I've also renamed my blog after someone else's words. Good then. I like it. :)

You know, I don't put any stock at all into Astrology even though I find it fascinating. I like to check my horoscope every once in a while when I'm bored. It's amusing. I also like fortune cookies, which are basically the same thing, right? I've always enjoyed finding the similarities and coincidences between my current life and what the little piece of paper tells me is about to happen.

I think it's funny that the Leo (James' sign) and the Pisces (mine) are basically an awful match, according to the Miss Cleos of the world. I would have to whole-heartedly disagree with that astrological conclusion.

However, one thing I do agree with and/or find insanely interesting is the profile of a typical Pisces. Here are some things that astrology.com has to say about little fishies like me:

You Fish are spiritual in nature and emotional in expression. Your intuition and imagination are at once your strengths and weakness. So true. I day-dream allllll the time. If you see me staring off into the distance, I've probably entered my dream world. I dream about everything. What it would be like if I had made some different decisions in life. What it would be like if I didn't go to Freed. What I would have done if Trooper didn't die. What I'm going to do when I move back to Huntsville. I dream about what my future husband, kids, and family will be like. I dream about my future home and Christmas mornings when the kids run into the living room to find that Santa had eaten their cookies and left presents under the tree. I even dream about the day I send my last check to Freed-Hardeman paying off my loans.

You are attracted to the mystical side of things, and herein lay potential danger, for when pulled beneath the currents of everyday life, the realms of imagination and the subconscious offer little structure. True, again. I do tend to get my hopes up about these crazy dreams. And then when things don't work out the way I planned or dreamt they would, I feel hopeless. At the same time, I would still say I'm getting pretty good at staying grounded and realistic these days.

In conclusion, I think the new blog title is quite descriptive of me since I spend 90% of my days in some dreamy state. Thanks, John, for the catchy song. And for reminding us all to imagine.

Anyway-- enough with this Astrology pish-posh!

Hey, remember that time I graduate from college in less than 12 days?? Crazy.
Instead of ordering the expensive, boring, misspelled, text-only Jostens graduation announcements, I decided to order some picture ones online. So last week (I know... how last minute can I get?), I made Timbo Slice go out in my grandparents' yard and take some pictures of me for said graduation announcements. Most of them turned out ridiculous. I'm going to share a few with you... since, regrettably, they will not be making it onto the announcement mail-out. Just look at these beauts!

Oh, and these three aren't even the tip of the iceberg. Thanks, Timmy, for capturing some of my cute-- real cute moments. Hah.

Blah Blah Blog Blah

2010-04-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to write anymore. I'm not very inspired. And the things I've been feeling about life lately aren't really what I'd like to share with the world wide web.

PFL update: I'm still unemployed. I'm still 13202348 miles away from my love. I still don't know what to do. There isn't an easy solution. At all. And I'm bitter.

I wish I had a cute story to tell or a funny picture to post. But I don't. And I hate that.

I really do have a blessed life... so I shouldn't complain.

Who is Sloppy Joe?

2010-03-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This post isn't for the weak in stomach. Don't say I never told ya so.

It all began last night when James and I were talking on the phone. He was coming up with some disgusting would-you-rather scenarios, actually just trying to remember some out of the Would You Rather book he owns. First of all-- Ew. I've always been grossed out by that game. Okay, so it's pretty funny most of the time... but still. In his last particular "would you rather" inquiry he said, "Would you rather eat your least favorite food for the rest of your life or eat your favorite food cooked under questionable circumstances for the rest of your life?" ...or something like that. We all know how I am with direct quotes. I, of course, picked favorite food prepared in sketchy circumstances. Why? I'll tell you why.

Sloppy Joes. I. Hate. Them. To me, they are the most disgusting things on the planet. Okay that might be taking it a bit far. But I don't like them. At all. They are my least favorite food.

I mean, look at that. G R O S S. Okay, so there are probably about a million other 'foods' that might be 10,000,000 times more disgusting. Maybe I should further explain my utter dislike for this loose meat in gross tomatoey substance. My whole life, Sloppy Joes have not been my favorite. For a while, I could tolerate them. But mark my words-- I've NEVER liked them. One night, Mom made them for dinner. I ate one, reluctantly. I spent the whole night in the bathroom floor throwing up. I don't think it was the food that made me sick. Pretty sure I had a stomach bug or something. Sloppy Joe is nasty the first time you taste it... I won't mention how awful it tastes the second time, third time, fourth time... and so on.

I was telling James about my hate for Joe last night. Then I began to wonder... Who is Joe? I don't know who he is, but his idea of dinner delight is not cute. But really... who is Joe? And why did he come up with such a detestable sandwich? I then began my search for the truth.

According to my google searching that lasted approximately half an hour, I came to these conclusions: No one knows who Joe is. No one knows exactly where this sandwich originated. Some theories suggest it began during the depression as a way to stretch out hamburger meat to feed more people or make it last longer. One website said it began in Havana, Cuba. Somebody else said there's some restaurant in New Jersey called Sloppy Joe's and they claim to have coined the name. Another article said it must have been named by a restaurant who had a worker named Joe who invented the sandwich-- but they don't know that for sure.

Sloppy Joe. Hmmm... I mean, I guess the "Sloppy" part of the name is a given. Those sandwiches pretty sloppy and messy. I still wonder who "Joe" is though... He needs credit where credit is due. Although I hate his creation, there are 2309809234 Americans who love it. I'm sorry, Joe, that no one knows who you are.

Who are you, Joe? Whooo are you? Who who? Who who? I reeeally wanna know. (And today's song to be stuck in your head is brought to you by The Who.)

Greetings

2010-03-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Dear 15-year-old Ashley,

Don't ask how or why this letter has arrived. It really doesn't matter. Here in a few years, a new TV series will debut called LOST. After falling in love with this show, you'll begin to think anything is possible as far as time travel is concerned.

So, you've been in high school for about a year and I know you hate it. Chin up, though. A piece of advice-- you may not want to skip school so much. College scholarships will really come in handy in the future. Believe me. Go to class. Study every once in a while.

With the help of a few ignorant high school boys (and their parents), you'll go through high school thinking you're too big or not pretty enough to find love and you'll settle in relationships because of that notion. Let me stop that thought right in it's tracks. You ARE pretty. You shouldn't put up with anyone who says otherwise. I would say don't even bother with high school "love," but you'll learn some valuable lessons and figure out exactly what you want in a man. I will say this: don't get so torn up over ended relationships. It's for the best. In more than one way.

Don't be that shy and timid girl who sits in class and doesn't talk to anyone. You will probably miss out on getting to know some pretty awesome kids. Come out of that shell and realize you're capable of so much more. Oh, and there's more to your wardrobe than jeans, converse, and t-shirts. You know that, right?

You might want to take a few art classes to see if you still have a passion for it. Oh, and maybe take a few general education classes at Fo' Tech the summer before you go to college. I'm tellin' ya... it'll save some major bucks.

When you get to college, it will be life-changing. I won't go into all of the details. You'll see. :) However, I will say this again-- go to class and study. I'm for real. It will make life a lot less stressful.

You're going to meet a whoooole lot of people in the next several years. Some of those people will become your best friends. You'll laugh with them and cry with them... and grow together as Christian brothers and sisters. Don't take time with them for granted. I know you're not a huge fan of the phone, but try harder to keep up with old friends.

Go to more campus-wide devos. Never miss a Clayton Chapel Singing. Read your Bible more. Sing louder. Pray more. ...and chapel 5 days a week really isn't that bad.

I could go on and tell you all the secrets of life... ha! But I'll let you figure out some things on your own.

With Love,
23-year-old Ashley

Happy Day

2010-03-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

In all of my extra time these days, I found a website that amuses me greatly-- stumbleupon.com. Everyone I've talked to knew about this already. Meh. It's probably good I only found out about it recently because it is just another procrastination tool I would use to put off studying.

This website has a "stumble" button you press and it just takes you to random websites. Get it? Stumble unpon? Hah. Some of the websites are really neat. I know I wouldn't have found them on my own.

Today, during my stumbling, I found this.

I love every bit of that! It's simple. It's what life should be. I know I get caught up in all the details of life... like what I'm going to be when I grow up. But here is my answer. Just. Be. Happy.

"You're a copycatter!!!"

2010-03-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

That's right. You remember saying those same words to weird boy who sat next to you in 2nd grade who couldn't keep his eyes on his own paper. Or maybe you never once said that and I'm just a loser. Eh, wouldn't be the first time I made up a word. Today, I am a copycatter. A few weeks ago Emily did this in her blog, and today I'm doing the same. Woot.

1. My BFF & BF. Does that make him a BBFF (best-boy-friend-forever)??

2. My Ex.

3. Someone that can make me smile.

4. Someone with amazing hair.

5. Someone I trust.

6. Someone that amuses me.

7. A boy that makes me laugh.

8. A girl that makes me laugh.

9. Someone(s) I miss.

10. Someone I think is weird.

(Yeah, sometimes he takes after his sister.)

11. Someone I think is unique.

12. 3 2 people I've had some memorable experiences with.

13. Someone with beautiful eyes.

(Yep, this is creepy. Here's a picture of her beautiful face, too.)

14. Someone perverted.

15. 2 people with amazing voices.

16. Someone emotional.

(You should have SEEN what Glamour Girl did to her. No worries though. Thanks to Operation Steal the Teal, Farmer Anne and Elvis Chick weren't emotional for long.)

17. An awesome actress.

18. An awesome actor.

(And yet again I'm a copycatter. Emily also put Mason for this.)

19. Someone fashionable.

20. Someone(s) that I enjoy being with.

21. Someone I'm glad I met.

22. The funniest dancer.

It's safe to say the past few days have been especially rough for me. I'm beyond frustrated with my unemployment and I'm just getting into a funk. I've been a Negative Nancy, a Debbie Downer, etc. etc. I miss TN so so much. I'm jealous of everyone going to Makin' Music practices, hanging out in the dorm room, and having fun. Atleast I know that I can think of all the people in those pictures and smile because I've had great moments with each and every one of them. I know things will get better. I just have to tell myself that.

1,201 weeks, 8,401 days, 201,624 hours... and counting

2010-03-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

Wednesday of last week was my 23rd birthday. That means, today, I am 1,201 weeks old. That's about 8,401 days and approximately 201,624 hours. What on earth have I been doing for all this time? I know they say time goes by quickly, but wow. I still think it's sort of insane that it's year 2010-- that Y2K was a decade ago, 9/11 was nearly 9 years ago, and I was a senior in high school during this time 5 years ago. Insane. Time, where have you gone??

At any rate, my birthday was a pretty good one. It's the first birthday I've had at home since I went away to school. So that was a little surreal, but fun nonetheless. I took some pictures of my fun time birthday gifts and such along the way, of course. Didn't want to disappoint.

My birthday began a few days early when I received this card in the mail. It's from Emily and Robert. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Emily picked out the card and Robert just signed it. Otherwise, it would be pretty awkward. (Then again, I think Robert and Nik probably say the same kinds of things to each other. Hah, just kiddin.) However, it does describe Emily and me perfectly. Robert and Emily both scolded me for opening the card early... in my defense, there was no "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL B-DAY" warning label. And we all know how much I love getting mail. It was most definitely a day-brightener.

The weekend before my glorious Bday, I went to Costco with Mom and Dad. While there, we decided to go ahead and get my cake. Because I love Costco cakes, and they've got the best cake prices. (Have I mentioned I applied for a job there? Look at me marketing for them. I should be hired immediately.) Ahem, here is a picture:

I lovingly refer to it as my "Noah Cake." No, I wouldn't normally buy a cake with a rainbow, but it was the only one that had my favorite flavor-- vanilla cake and vanilla icing. Mmmm. This picture really does it no justice. I mean, this cake was HUGE. 9.5 pounds. So, we bought the cake 4 days in advance... but I assure you there was sill cake left on my real life birthday, too. Yep. Nine and a half pounds. Don't believe me??

See?? It was insanely ginormous.

It was also amazingly delish.

It also had a layer of buttercream. This cake = a fat kid's dream.

On the saaame day, Dad bought a wireless router for the house. Happy birthday to meeee!

So, now I can get on the internet any time. AND I can write blogs... if and when I find things to blog about!

My parents bought me theeeeese DVD's. I know, I know. I'm surprised I didn't already own these either.

Think Mom was inspired by my previous Ghostbustin' blog post? I think yes. :)

I got another card in the mail from Christine, Alyssa, and Emily.

Cute, isn't it?? I miss them terribly.

I woke up on March 3rd, my real birthday, and there was a package on the front porch waiting for me. It was from James.

A card, 2 books, a journal, and some M&M's.... And enough packing peanuts for about 10 packages. You know, those little styrofoamy things they put in boxes so stuff won't get broken when they're shipped? You should have seen me trying to open this box and those peanut things flying everywhere. I guess I was a tad bit excited about my birthday present?? I love it.

Later that day I went out to eat at TLC (Texas Land & Cattle) with Mom. Okay, I don't know if you've ever heard of one of those before or not. But it's a steak house, and the name of it kind of gives me the creeps. That's why I'm gonna call it TLC from now on, not to be confused with tender love and care. Good food though. And it was nice to have time with my momma.

After that I spent 2 hours at a job interview thing. I was real excited about at first but to make a long story short, it didn't work out.

After thaaaaat, I went to visit my grandparents for a few minutes. They also gave me a card and some money, for which I'm very thankful.

The blue card is from Katie Hannah. It made me so happy!

23rd Birthday in Review

Scrumptious Birthday Cake: Check!

Friends who love me: Check!

Wonderful family: Check!

Best boyfriend ever: Check!

that's what everybody wants

2010-03-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist for the second time today.

So, this movie isn't entirely appropriate... but I find it endearing anyway. I love that a bunch of teens are roaming around New York searching for their favorite band's show. I love the adventure. I love the spontaneity. I love how insanely random it is. And I love how Nick and Norah find each other in the midst of music.

Nick is a big dork. He makes mix CD's all the time-- I think we might have a few things in common. Most of my friends have been given an Ashley mix CD at some point during our friendship. And usually the CDs have no theme... just a random collection of songs that I decided to join together on a given day. Sometimes I make CDs for rides to retreats or for certain road trip adventures (ahem, HPA).

Music has always meant a lot to me. I guess I can thank my parents for that one. Dad seemed to have a record playing at home a lot of the time and the car radio was always turned to some classic rock station.

I remember the tape player that used to reside in my room, along with all these tapes Dad made for mom when they were dating. I'd listen to one while I sat in the floor coloring... or when my Barbies were at a rock concert, or when they were the rockstars themselves.

I remember my first CD player and The Eagles Greatest Hits and REO Speedwagon CDs that came with it (thanks again, Dad, for some awesome music). I remember begging Mom and Dad for the Beatles' red and blue albums and how excited I was to finally own each of them.

I even remember the first CD I purchased with my own money-- Hanson. Go ahead and judge. I still listen to it.
:)

There are very few songs I hear that don't have some kind of memory attached to it, or make me think of someone. Music has always been a comfort to me.

"Look, other bands, they want to make it about sex or pain, but you know, The Beatles, they had it all figured out, okay? 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.' The first single. It's effing brilliant, right?... That's what everybody wants, Nicky... They just want to hold your hand. " _Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Ingenious music. Couldn't agree more.

too lazy for a REAL blog today

2010-02-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

So, as I was looking through some of my old facebook notes today, I came across this one. Here you go, my readers, now you have something to read today since there is nothing to blog about currently in my life.

This is a note I wrote laaaast January of 25 random things about me. It was fun for me to read and think on a few things that are different these days.

1. My family runs powerlifting competitions in NC and SC several times a year. It's a unique event and I enjoy working at them most of the time.

2. You'll often find me with a diet coke in my hand. It is true that I love diet coke, but the whole truth is regular coke is my favorite drink of all time. I normally can't stop with just one.

3. I spent last summer up North. In Michigan. At first the thought of this terrified me, but it ended up being one of the greatest and most fulfilling summers I've ever had. I got to work with a youth group and made some amazing friends. I also learned a lot about who I am and what I'm capable of.

4. I can't whistle. I used to be able to... until the gap between my front teeth closed.

5. When I was little, my favorite movie was The Wizard of Oz. I watched it all the time but I hated the black and white part. So, I normally fast forwarded to color. It was many years down the road before I knew "Over the Rainbow" was even in that movie. I still love watching it, even the black and white part now. :)

6. My grandma is my hero. I think she is such a strong and talented woman. I wish I had her drive and work ethic.

7. I can't really swim. Don't judge me.

8. My first airplane ride, first mission trip, and first time out of the country was all last spring. It was amazing. Makes me seriously consider long term mission work somewhere.

9. I love roller coasters and amusement parks in general. Wooden roller coasters scare the living daylights out of me. I ride them anyway.

10. I've never had a cavity and I didn't need braces. Praise for that.

11. My favorite song right now is "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Lady Antebellum. I can't wait to find love like that. It's a precious song. Look it up.

12. Throughout middle school and my first few years of high school, I spent every Friday night at the skating rink. I was actually pretty good at it.

13. The Beatles are and forever will be my favorite band. I've been singing along with them since age 3.

14. Most of you know this, but I drive a '96 Isuzu Trooper. It's a gas guzzler and sounds like a school bus, but I'm very thankful to have it and I love driving it. I love ol' Trooper!!

15. I really like writing. And I always have intentions of keeping a journal. That being said, I've never filled one. I'm sure there are approximately 2398402 incomplete journals laying around my room. I just can't stay in the habit of writing often.

16. Of all current residents, I've lived in Hall Roland the longest.

17. During kindergarten screening I was asked to skip across the floor. I had no idea what that lady was talking about. I'm still not very coordinated.

18. My favorite color is red.

19. I'm addicted to earrings. If Claire's or Icing has their 10 items for $10 sale, I won't be able to help myself. Sad. I know.

20. I had a chorus solo in 8th grade. "Grown Up Christmas List." Sometimes I still get that same nervous feeling in my stomach when I hear the song. haha!

21. Going to NYC and seeing a Broadway show is very close to the top of my to-do list.

22. It's my secret dream to become a cake decorator some day. Has been a dream for years now. I actually considered doing that after high school. Too bad culinary school is even more expensive than Freed-Hardeman. Who knew?

23. I'm naming my first born son (if I have one) Charles, after my Pop. We'll call him Charlie. And he's going to be so cute. haha!

24. I have a stamp collection. Yeah, I've been known to have dork-ish tendencies.

25. I love painting. I love doing crafty things. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have quit art class in 7th grade and I would have majored in Art Education.

Who ya gonna call?

2010-02-16T20:21:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, me and Kinsley watched The Ghostbusters. I love that movie. Every bit of it. Everything from the eggs frying on the kitchen counter to the smiley godzilla-sized Stay Puft marshmallow man at the end. Every once in a while I still fight to urge to say phrases like, "Are you the gatekeeper?" or "There is no Dana, only Zule!" Both said in a creepy possessed by devil-dog voices. I'm well aware if you haven't seen this movie recently, you have no idea what I was just talking about. It doesn't matter. I love the movie. When I was a kid, it ranked in my top 5 favorites. It's weird and crazy and even more funny now than I perceived it to be when I was younger.

In fact, I have always loved this movie so much... that I had the ghost killer backpack and gun thing. So, I don't remember the technical name for it all. I went on many a ghost hunt and caught many invisible growing ghouls in my ghost trapper. The gun, which was attached to the backpack (complete with the Ghostbusters logo), made a very loud, obnoxious sound when you pulled the trigger. It kind of sounded like an old car that won't start. Either way, it was awesome. The original Ghostbuster kit came with a glow in the dark Slimer ghost. I lost that real quick-- thus me having to capture invisible ghosts. Ghosts who are invisible are more of a challenge to catch anyway, don'tcha know? I don't mean to brag, but I was a pretty incredible Ghostbuster.

I asked Mom what ever happened to my Ghostbuster get-up. She doesn't know. It probably got thrown away or given to Goodwill years ago. I would give anything to suit up again in my gear... sing "Who ya gonna call?!?" ...and catch invisible ghosts again. Fun times, indeed. Ah, man. That was one of the best toys of all time. I even tried to find pictures of it on google. Couldn't find one of what I had. I would suppose they were made around 20 years ago. Ancient. Sad.

U R CUTE. BE MINE?

2010-02-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

I think most of you, my precious readers, know that I've moved back to North Carolina. Yeah, I don't really want to blog about it. But it's a fact of life-- here I am. In some ways I feel as if I'm in a time warp. Who knew I'd be living here again? I'm certain it's going to be fine... and atleast I'll get to spend time with my long lost family and friends who reside here.

I got to drive by myself most of the way home yesterday from Huntsville. That gave my mind many hours to wander and at one point during those many hours, I came to this conclusion: I suck at Valentine's Day. Or maybe it just always arrives at unfortunate times. Either way, me and the Valentine's Day have never really been friends.

If I were to open a bag of conversation hearts describing me and Valentine's Day, they would say things like, "NOT CUTE" "2 DUMB" "CRAZY" "BAD GF" "KBYE" "GO AWAY" "C-YA" "IHU" (you know, instead of the fan-favorite ILU). I just don't have a good track record. There have been four February 14ths in my life that I've not been single... that I can remember anyway...

The first one I can remember having a "boyfriend" was in 7th grade. The boy I was "dating" for the past 9ish days was precious and actually ended up being one my best friends through middle school and high school... but alas! On that 14th day of February, I decided to end our "dating relationship." That's right. I broke up with him. I don't really remember why, I just remember feeling weird. Yes, I know. How heartless am I to dump someone on Valentine's Day? A heartless 13 year old was I.

The second time I had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day was in 11th grade. I actually made a pretty kick-butt gift. Good thing we decided to exchange presents early because I ended up being grounded and not allowed to go out on the actual day itself. Are we keeping score? Valentine's Day: 2. Me: 0.

I managed to be single every Valentine's Day for another 4 years, but low and behold I had a boyfriend my junior year of college. What happened there wasn't exactly my fault... that time. But he ended up coming down with the flu and went home for the week. Alright, V-day. Got me again.

And this year? Well, we all know what happened. I moved 7 hours away from my sweetheart. And did I send the Valentine in the mail on time? Nope. Without further adieu, the World's Worst Valentine of the Century Award goes tooooo....

Me.

However, at some point on Sunday, I asked if he'd be my Valentine. He said yes. :)

Valentine's Day: 4. Me: 1.

Watch out, V-Day. I'm gaining on you.

Post-Freed Life

2010-02-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

PFL. Post Freed life. PFL is not cute. I miss my Freed family like craaaazy. That's all I'm going to say before this post turns into a tearful, depressing ode to thee our dearest FHU.

Someone once called Freed a "life-source." True. No Freed for me means no life right now. Maybe I'll find a job soon and reclaim my life again. Hopefully. I've got some new life plans now though. I'll tell more about that in a later post. Possibly.

Someone also once told me I should never leave Freed because then I won't have any more fun time things to blog about. Also true. Sitting at home watching TV really doesn't constitute a good blog post. And I don't have much internet access... so even if I DID have fun things to write about, I wouldn't be able to.

PFL also means being snowed in is BORING. This weekend, NC had one of the most beautiful snows I've seen in my life. I was so excited until I realized I had no one to play with. Even my little brother decided to get "snowed in" at Grammie and Granddaddy's. Needless to say... there were no snowman building or snow angel making fun times in my life. Sad.

PFL with no vehicle? Frustrating.

Current PFL in one word? Sucky. I'll be sure to update my PFL status as things change and (hopefully) get better.

Okay, so not everything has been sucky. I've gotten to spend time with the fam and some wonderful friends-- one of them being Jennifer. Have I ever told y'all about her?? We met in 2nd grade and were best friends all the way through high school. And through college we've not been the best about keeping in touch, but we hang out every time I'm home and it always feels like no time as passed at all. I've been blessed to have such a great friend here and I know that she's here whenever I need her.

Thursday we hung out for the first time since summer and of course it was fun! We went to our "usual" restaurant, Olive Garden, for our typical mid-afternoon lunch/dinner. Then drove to Edward McKay's which is this awesome second-hand Book/CD/DVD store. We weren't in pursuit of anything in particular but were ready to make fun of people /things... but when we got there it was abnormally quiet so we couldn't say anything funny out loud without judgement being passed by those around us. Needless to say, we got bored real quick and eventually ended our evening at the movie theater.

There were only 5 other people in the theater. Looking back, that may or may not have been a red flag. Word to the wise: don't go see The Lovely Bones. Unless you're in the mood to see a horrifically bad and anti-climactic movie. At the very end something happens that probably isn't supposed to be funny... Jennifer and I started laughing hysterically. Probably because it was at that point we realized we spent the last 2 hours watching a movie that ended like THAT. Stupid like THAT. So, I really want to give you a true Ashley summary of this movie and tell you what THAT is... but I won't. Juuuust in case you do end up going to see this dumb dumb dumb movie.

Jennifer might hate me for posting this. I crack up every time I see it though. :)

Okbye.

Help.

2010-01-25T20:19:00.001-08:00

Look at this beautiful layout I found!

Problem: Look at the "undefined" tab and look how it's cutting off my "friends" in the lower right column.

I've tried fixing this myself. Can't. Anyone know how to fix it??

I'm Happy Today

2010-01-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

Emily gave me a blogging award. Can't say that I'm very deserving since I only blog about 2.5 times a year on average these days. Anyway, here it is! Let me also say that I loooove cupcakes. Are we surprised by that? Probably not.

Since I received this award I must list 10 things that make me happy! Alright.

1) Being home in NC. (that's where I am right now)

2) Noticing answered prayers. Especially prayers that I've prayed for a long time.

3) Having dinner with my grandparents.

4) Playing with Grandma's dog-- Pheobe. (I know. Crazy, right? I'm not allergic to her.)

5) Answering the phone and hearing, "Hey, girlfriend!" on the other end. :)

6) Thinking of all the fun times I had and great friends I made while attending Freed-Hardeman.

7) Sitting on a swing on a beautiful, sunny day.

8) Finding mix CDs that I made years ago... and realizing I've always had great taste in music.

9) Driving long distances by myself.

10) Unexpected emails or messages. And I love to receive a card or letter through snail-mail. True.

Most of the blogs I follow have already gotten awards.... except for:

Holly @for lack of a better word (who really deserves an award because she's an awesome blogger... who I've been following long before I even began my own)

annnnnnnd

Michael @A Young Man (who I miss and needs to blog more even though he's got a fancy shmancy internship these days)

Ok guys, tell me 10 things you're happy about!! Happy bloggin'!

pro-cras-ti-na-tion: delay or postpone action; put off doing something

2010-01-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

I've done this on facebook before. It's time to do it again.

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question

How am I feeling today?
"How's It Gonna Be?" -Third Eye Blind

Will I get far in life?
"Four Thieves Gone" -The Avett Brothers

How do my friends see me?
"Meet Virginia" -Train

When will I get married?
"Open Your Eyes" -Snow Patrol

What is my best friend's theme song?
"Love Your Way" -Powderfinger

What is the story of my life?
"I Have and Always Will" -Dave Barnes

What IS middle school like?
"Cry" -Mandy Moore

How am I going to get ahead in life?
"No One Needs to Know" -Shania Twain

What is the best thing about me?
"Just My Imagination" -Marvin Gaye

How is today going to be?
"New Divide" -Linkin Park

What is in store for this weekend?
"Sweetness" -Jimmy Eat World

What song describes my parents?
"Silver" -Nirvana

What song describes your grandparents?
"Real Good Time" -Aaron Carter

How is my life going?
"Irreplaceable" -Beyonce

What song will they play at my funeral?
"Bubbly" -Colbie Caillat

How does the world see me?
"Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" -The Beatles

Will I have a happy life?
"Gold Digger" -Kanye West

What do my friends really think of me?
"You're Not Alone" -Chicago

Do people secretly lust after me?
"Love Bites" -Def Leppard

How can I make myself happy?
"Dare You to Move" -Switchfoot

What should I do with my life?
"No News is Bad News" -Dashboard Confessional

Will I ever have children?
"Pardon Me" -Incubus

What is some good advice for me?
"He Ain't The Leavin' Kind" -Rascal Flatts

What is my signature dancing song?
"Weird" -Hansen

What do I think my current theme song is?
"Valentine" -Martina Mcbride

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"Sky" -Ingrid Michaelson & Joshua Radin

What type of men/women do you like?
"Angie" -Rolling Stones

What kind of kisser are you?
"Fooling Yourself" -Styx

What kind of lover are you?
"Sleeping to Dream" -Jason Mraz

What would be playing on a first date?
"Crazy" -Gnarls Barkley

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
"Imperfection" -Saving Jane

I know how much judgement you're passing about the music present on my Itunes. Yes, I like Aaron Carter and I don't care what you say.

Got any Codicil?

2010-01-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

Youth Villages is a no-go. They called me Friday to ask some questions that are all answered on my original application and resume: “Hey girl. What you graduating in? When? Bachelor’s? Oh. The Huntsville house only has internship programs for peeps working on their Master’s. Interested in living in some other hip city for an internship?” Then I say, “No, homes. My car failed me. I have to stay in Huntsvegas maaaaan to share a car with my Grams.” That wretched automobile. Then YV guy says, “You should apply here for a real job when you graduate.” K. Maybe.

Eh. That may or may not have been a paraphrase. I’m disappointed. The teeny tiny bit of direction I had is gone now. I guess I’ll just find some kind of retail job or something for a while to save money. It’ll be fine.

It’s Monday. (Ok, it WAS Monday when I began to write.) I’m less than excited about this. Especially after having such a pleasant weekend. I spent lots of time with Haylee. I regret not spending more time with her in the past because she’s basically awesome and I’m already so thankful for the friendship we’ve built even in the past few days. I was going to post a picture of Haylee and then came to sad realization that we have ZERO pictures together. This HAS to be remedied. I also spent a lot of the weekend with James. He got in town about 4:30 on Saturday and stayed til Sunday evening. It was great, of course. And it was nice to get a taste of what it would be like if we weren’t a long distance couple. However, I’m glad that our long distance is only a couple of hours instead of 9. Have I mentioned I’m blessed to have him?

On Monday, during an afternoon of extreme non-productivity, Emily and I sat in the living room and had a chat. Here's a fact about me... if I'm in any sort of long or deep conversation that takes place in an informal setting, I mess with my hair. I twirl it, I run my fingers through it... I don't know why. Nervous habit maybe? Anyway, on this particular day, I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt. At some point I put my hood up and was playing with the draw string. Emily could not take me seriously looking like a crazy. Curious to see exactly how crazy I looked, I took a picture of myself. And since I'm such a fun person who does not care if you know how ridiculous I can be, I'm gonna post the picture. Just for your entertainment.

Fun story: Recently got back my Family and Financial Planning Test 2. It was bad. Baaaaaad. Do you, precious bloggy blog readers, atleast have enough faith in me I’d be able to balance a check book? I appreciate that, if you do. I thought I could. Wrong. I’m so inept I got a $1 error and a -2 points on the test because of it. Awesome. Okay… simple math error, right??? Eh, I really am bad at math. It’s sad.

I'm learning all kinds of new terms up in this class. One is "codicil." Mason and I believe this to be a drug. Perhaps a prescription pain pill-- sold on the street to only the most upper class druggies. But what it really means is a supplement/pages added to a will to amend it. Good then. My 239840298234987234 mile long financial plan is due Friday. Needless to say, I’ll probably be spending some quality time with the Loden-Daniel Library, in my favorite 3 by 2 cubicle circa 1970, for one last time.

Last night I hung out with Michael and that was fun. He searched the net for some jobs available in Huntsville I can apply for. After that, Emily practiced her PW (preacher wife) skills and made a delicious cake (pictured below). I was trying to take pics with my computer. It was a weird angle and I couldn’t see the screen. That’s why the first 2 pictures are what I’d like to call abstract. …What am I gonna do in Huntsville without having 30 friends right down the hall?? I don’t want to think about it.

The Average Life of the Freed-Hardeman Short Courser

2010-01-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

I started writing this blog 2 days ago and just now finished it. It’s okay for you to judge if you must.

I've taken 2 other short courses in my college carreer-- First Aid & CPR and Lifetime Wellness. Both were 1 week short courses and insanely more interesting to me than this financial planning crap. I hate money. However, I have been learning some helpful tips and facts I didn’t know before. I was interested in learning more about stocks and funds. We learned about those today. I still don’t understand them. I know, I know. We are aware of what awesome math skills I have… now why would I not understand what’s going on? Hah. It is going to be a long, long, looooooong 1.25 weeks. That’s all I can say.

This is what life has been like so far taking a short course: It’s either really boring or really fun. I’m about to tell you a lot of random stuff that you probably don’t even care about hearing.

So, I have this real huge, hot pink, tacky tourist bag I bought in Puerto Rico a few years ago. It has become my toiletries/make-up/hair products bag. Yeah— it’s pretty much a Mary Poppins bag containing a never-ending supply of… stuff. You know what I mean, right? Mary Poppins carried a floor lamp in her bag. I’m convinced I could carry one in mine as well. I’m surprised at all the things I’ve fit in this bag before. It contains my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razor, face wash, make-up, pony-tail holders, clippy clips, bobby pins, earrings, hair brush, hair scrunchy mousse, hair spray, hair-dryer, curling iron, curlers, other random things…. and most importantly… my hair straightener. Remember that time I left this bag in Huntsville? And here I am, for 2 weeks, with no car. Also remember that time I chopped all my hair off and require a hair straightener to not look like a poodle-headed-grandma? Here I am, for 2 weeks, forced to wear the hair curly. It’s not terrible. But not great.

I had decided over the break that my hair is definitely a mom-cut. I told my mother this and she said, “Well you’re old enough to be a mom.” Thanks, Momma. Having worn it curly for 4 days now, I’m convinced more than ever I look like a mom. I mean, I should be driving a mini-van (complete with honor student bumper sticker) with 3 kids heading to the nearest YMCA youth soccer game or girl scout meeting. Me leaving my hot-pink-puerto-rican-mary-poppins-bag at home = DUMB. Love me still?

I’m staying with Emily and we’ve had some fun times thus far. I rode with her to school, we’ve been to wal-mart a few times, we’ve eaten at the best Mexican restaurant ever, drank massive amounts of diet coke (you know, before my resolution sets in) made life-plans, listened to fun time music, and had several amazing talks. I’m thankful to be spending this time with her.

In other news, it snowed Thursday morning. I woke up at 7:48 for my 8:00 class. Mad. I looked out the window, saw the snow, realized class was not cancelled. Mad. Then I walked to class with snow flakes falling on my face and I wasn’t so mad anymore. I morph into little kid mode when it snows.

I had sushi last night. At Sakura. It was blessed and I ate entirely too much. It was an enjoyable evening with great food and good friends.

I was supposed to have a phone interview for Youth Villages yesterday. I’ll write more about Youth Villages later— if I get the internship. It didn’t happen so it’s rescheduled for today at 1PM. Pray? :) Kthanks.

To Be Resolute ...Or Not To Be

2010-01-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna be honest. In all of my 22 years, 10 months and 1 day on this earth, I don't think I've ever kept a New Year's Resolution. Not once. I may have worked on my resolutions for several months, but I don't feel that I've ever consciously made effort for an entire year to be sure I was keeping my resolutions. Of course, my memory may be failing me... but I know for sure I haven't even made a resolution the past 2 new years.

I think one problem I've had in the past with keeping resolutions is the fact they usually weren't very specific or direct. I'm taking a short course for the next 2 weeks. Each morning, from 8-12, I will be in a classroom learning about personal and family financial planning. First off, if you know me at all, you know anything involving numbers is NOT my forte. Secondly, I'm already stressed enough about where my life is going... so being in a class learning about how much debt I'm in doesn't exactly help me sleep at night. Anyway, sorry for the tangent. Tonight's homework is to come up with 5 lifetime financial goals/priorities. Mr. Professor emphasized that these goals need to be specific and measurable. Now that makes sense to me. My mind wandered off a bit and I began to think about all of my goals-- financial and every other kind. I think if I set out a few precise and measurable resolutions... then I'll keep them. Maaaaaaybe.

...What does resolution even mean anyway?? My handy dandy dictionary tells me that resolutions are "firm decisions to do or not to do something." Simple enough. Here's the word I really like though-- resolute. To be resolute... If I were resolute, I'd be "admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering." (Thanks, New Oxford American Dictionary.) Resolute can also mean unshakeable, strong-willed, brave, persistent... the list goes on and on.

1) My first resolution is to be resolute. Okay, okay. So this actually isn't a very specific and measurable resolution. We'll get to those later. I want to be a resolute person in everything I do... especially in my Christian walk. I've not been resolute in anything lately, especially my spiritual life. That is something that definitely needs to change. I want to be resolute. I want to be admirably purposeful, determined, unwavering, unshakeable, strong-willed, brave, and persistent when it comes to my beliefs and Who I stand for. Making a resolution is making a promise. I break a bajillion more promises to myself than I do anyone else. I'm not good at holding myself accountable. Maybe after writing this on the world wide web... I'll feel more responsible for the promises I'm making to myself today. Alrighty then. Now on to more specific resolutions. :)

2) My prayer life is not where it needs to be. I'm going to make a more conscious effort to begin each day and end each day with a prayer. This isn't to say I won't pray anywhere in the middle. I just need to start somewhere and I think here is a good place.

3) James got me a chronological study Bible for Christmas. It's real neat. There is a schedule in the back for reading the entire Bible in a year. I'm going to read the entire Bible in a year... for the first time ever.

4) This resolution won't begin until I'm done with short course... but I've already planned to stop drinking sodas. This means diet coke. I know. The thought of it makes me incredibly sad... but I know I'll be healthier for it.

5) It's time to put this fatty mcfatterson lifestyle to an end. This will also begin after short course. I have got to eat better and exercise more. I don't feel good about myself. I need to work on it. Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying I'm the ugliest person in the world. I just know I need to be in better shape, not only to look better, but to feel better. Not to mention, I'm in 2 weddings in the late spring. I always feel the most self-conscious in a bride's maid dress. So yes, I need to get in shape.

I think that's it. And let's be honest, if I add much more to the list, I don't know if I'd be able to keep them all.

2009

2010-01-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going to steal an idea from my beautiful friend, Emily, and represent the year 2009 in pictures. She's a genius blogger and the highest form of flattery is copying someone... riiiight?? :)

JANUARY-- my Michigan kids come to stay with me for a few days.

FEBRUARY-- I found Milty at Olive Garden. Remind me to write a blog about that someday.

MARCH-- a surprise birthday lunch with 2 of my favorite ladies in the world.

APRIL-- Bonding time with future Precious Hannah Roommate.

MAY-- not pictured. haha

JUNE-- Carolina Bible Camp.

JULY-- 24/7 time with the Nikkster.

AUGUST-- Back to school- Back to sushi.

SEPTEMBER-- Gatlinburg, Forever.

OCTOBER-- Finding my personality twin but not the Bell Witch.

NOVEMBER-- Homecoming banquet.

DECEMBER-- Best friend adventure in Nashville.

So, I'm at Freed for my final 2 weeks of college. Class from 8-12. I'll probably be blogging a lot. Get ready.

Interrogation, Santa, Future Shoes, MJ

2009-12-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

So, I've already updated you on Trooper. Now on to updates about fun Christmas happenings!!

After Trooper's untimely death, I went to Huntsville to stay with the Grandma for a few days. While there I went Christmas present shopping, ran some errands, met James in Columbia for dinner, and spent quality time with the cousins. Then my uncle Tom, Dad and Timbo came down and stayed a few days.

In Huntsville, we had a few family gatherings-- one being the Payne Christmas party. Which is basically one of those fam reunion type deals where I have no idea who half the people are and I get asked, "Now, who do you belong to??" Basically meaning, "Who is your dad?" Because no one in the extended family can keep up with my Grandma's 4 sons and 9 grandkids. That question doesn't bother me much. But then my most FAVORITE series of questions in the whole wide world are asked-- actually... it's more of an interrogation, "Have you graduated yet? When will you graduate? What's your degree in? Now, what on earth are you going to do with that? Do you have any jobs lined up? Where will you live? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you getting married?" I don't know the answer to half of those questions. So... I stand there answering in the best way I know how... all the while wanting to stab myself in the eye. Have no fear, I left the party-- both eyeballs unharmed, intact, and still in the sockets.

Did I mention that while I was in Huntsville/supposed to be back home there was a huuuge snow in NC? Yeah. There was. I was bitter. Okay, I still am a little bit. Anyway, on the 23rd we all set out for NC. I drove Grandma's car all the way home. Surprisingly there were remnants of snow left here and there... and although I was sad to have missed it, I'm glad some of it stuck around long enough for me to see.

Santa Clause was very good to me this year, just as he is every year. Even though I deserve enough coal to warm the entire universe, I still got some awesome gifts. He brought me an ipod dock, make-up, DVD's, future shoes, candy, and all kinds of stuff. Yes, you read that correctly-- future shoes-- as in, I opened a shoe box and inside was an "I Owe You a pair of shoes" coupon. Santa doesn't buy me clothes or shoes without me there because he knows how picky I can be. :)

Grammie and Granddaddy gave me a new hair straightener, since I busted my expensive one back in September. This thing is awesome and I'm convinced it works better than a Chi, for all of you who even knows what that means. My brother got me the Michael Jackson's This Is It CDs I wanted. Yeah, he's pretty cool.

Speaking of ol' MJ... a few months ago, with the help of a website and JB, I made a Michael Jackson mii on the wii. (Hahaha, that sentence sounds funny to me... mii on the wii!) Anywho... here are some pics!

I hope you all had a spectacular Christmas and a have good New Year, too!!!!!!!!

Trooper Done Broke Down

2009-12-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time... on Wednesday, December 16, 2009... a fair maiden of Freed-Hardeman University set out on her great journey from the metropolis of Henderson, TN to the far away lands of Winston-Salem, NC. It was going to be a long and tiresome trip but the fair maiden had no fear because Trooper, her trusty steed, had carried her miles and miles from the east to the west on so many adventures without a problem. Sure, Trooper was gaining in years and did not move like she used to. And sure, there was a clickity click here and clickity there every once in a while. But the fair maiden had faith in her trusty steed and travelled along I-40 East in Trooper that day just as surely as she had any other day.

That morning was not a good one in the fair maiden's life. She had completed her final semester of college and had to move out of Hall-Roland Castle for the last time. She packed everything into Trooper and with a sigh of both relief and sadness, she climbed in and drove out of the parking lot. Trooper took her through the forests of 100 and 21-A with ease as she reminiced of good times and good friends-- tears rolling down her face. After turning onto the I-40 East Trail the fair maiden finally dried her eyes, turned up the gangsta rap music, and began to look forward to her return home.

Trooper and the fair maiden travelled down the trail for about 45 minutes when all of a sudden a giant dragon leaped out of the sky!! He was huge, and green, and MEAN!!! He breathed fire and with a creepy dragon voice he said, "I'm going to eat you!!!" Trooper and the fair maiden didn't know what to do! They just sat there and screamed. Then the dragon grabbed Trooper and the maiden up with his giant claw!! He flew away... the fair maiden and Trooper were never seen again.

THE END!!!

Hah, just kidding!

Trooper and the fair maiden travelled down the trail for about 45 minutes when all of a sudden Trooper's "clickity click here and clickity click there" turned into a "CLICKITY CLICK BOOM BOOM BOOM CLICKITY CLICK BOOM here, there, and everywhere!!!" The fair maiden knew Trooper was going down fast. She looked up and saw a sign for the Villiage of Waverly. Trooper made it off the exit and was just barely able to park at the Fast Fuel horse feed station. For a moment the fair maiden was angry with Trooper. How could Trooper fail her at a time like this? She was supposed to go home for the holidays to see her parents and brother and grandparents and friends. Why, Trooper? Why?!?! She was angry for several minutes, then she realized what the loss of Trooper meant. Trooper was in critical condition and she did not know if anyone could save Trusty Trooper. The fair maiden's anger quickly turned to sadness and despair.

The maiden called her father, King Keith of Iron Boy Powerlifting, to ask what to do. King Keith summoned his brother, Prince Mike of American Pawn and Jewelry, to come rescue the poor, defenseless maiden. For about 3 and a half hours, the fair maiden sat with Trooper waiting on the arrival of Prince Mike. He got there and attached dying Tooper to a trailer. Then they all set out on another journey to Huntsville, AL. It is safe to say Trooper was DOA (dead on arrival) to Huntsville.

Trooper is survived by his sisters Janice the GPS and Fergie Ferg the dancing dashboard diva.

RIP '96 Isuzu Trooper. Thank you, Trooper, for all the great times-- for getting lost in Michigan and everywhere else, and for being a trusty steed for several years. You will be missed.

The fair maiden is now in pursuit of a new trusty steed but in mourning the loss of Trooper has donated these pictures in memory:

Big Girl Haircut.

2009-12-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

So I got my hair chopped today. Completely chopped. Like.. 8 or 9 inches chopped. I showed the hair-cutter lady a picture of what I wanted. I mean, homegirl's hair in the picture was a considerable amount shorter than my hair was... but hair-cutter lady most definitely chopped off 2 inches more than what the picture looked like. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Wal-Mart in pursuit of new hair. I mean, my hair was long. Too long. Probably because I hadn't cut it since October... October of last year. Wanna see pictures of how long my hair was until today at approximately 2:30pm?? Okay! If you insist!

Look at my long curly side-ponytail for homecoming banquet. 'Twas a fun evening.

I hate hate hate this picture of me but love love love the people I'm with. This was taken 1.5 weeks ago at the Opry Mills. Yes, mall in Nashville during the holidays. AKA dumb idea. And quite frankly, my hair is lookin nappy. But hair=long. Point taken.

Are you ready? Are you ready for this? Alright everyone, let us take a moment of silence for my long lost hair....

IT'S ALL GONE! I think I like it though. Definitely looks better straight when it's short. We can forget me having curly hair again for several months. I mean, I could wear it curly... if I wanna look like a Grandma. Naaah.

No, I didn't pose for this picture. Obviously-- because I look like a total goof. I got a phone call while I was taking a picture to put on here. But it makes me happy. I'm was on the phone with one of my favorite people in world. :)

So, there you have it! LB, Katie, and I all got our hair cut short this week. We call it a big girl hair cut. No more being lazy and throwing it in a ponytail. Short hair is for those who take time in the mornings to get ready... you know. Professionals. Psssh. Who am I kidding? I'm far from being a big girl. Maybe my new sassy cut will get me an awesome job? We can only hope.

P.S. Hair-cutter lady's name is Peggy. And she cussed a lot. And she was crazy. Thanks, Peggster, for an entertaining afternoon... and for my big girl haircut.

A Friday Celebration!!!

2009-12-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE!!!!

It's Friday and there are several reasons to celebrate.

1) This has been a very busy week for me. Next week will be even worse, but that's alright. Even though my extensive to-do list puts me in semi-panic mode, I like being busy. I like feeling accomplished at the end of a day. Needless to say, this Friday is welcomed with open arms. I took my last test for this week an hour ago. Even though I have 2 classes left today, I proclaimed the beginning of weekend as I turned in my test and walked out the door. I'm attending class but definitely not doing any more schoolwork today. Hello, weekend! It's nice to see you! (I searched "happy friday" in google images and here is what I got.)

2) Another reason I get to celebrate?? James will be here this afternoon!!! I've only gotten to spend about 3.5 hours with him in the last month. I'm looking forward to seeing him! Here's a fun time picture of us on Halloween 3 years ago. Just call him Chet First Responder.

3) Tomorrow I'm going on a fun time Nashville adventure with Katie, LB, and Drew. We are gonna see A Christmas Carol. In IMAX!!! I'm only a little excited, can't you tell? I've heard this movie is creepy. And call me weird if you want-- but I like creepy movies. So yes, A Christmas Carol on Saturday and then I will spend Sunday in Nashville, too. Which means more time with James. :)

4) This didn't just begin today, but extremely cold weather is here!!! It has been for a few days now. Cold weather = wearing, for the first time, the beautiful purple wool coat I bought from Old Navy 2 months ago. Ahh! I love when it's cold enough to wear wool coats and scarves. I'm pretty hot natured, so when it's cold enough for me to wear a wool coat... then it's cold. I love it. I looked for a picture of my coat. Here's one just like it except in a weird brown color which is not as cute as MY beautiful big purple.

See??? What great reasons to celebrate!! Yay Friday! Yay weekend!

SANTA!!! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!

2009-12-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

Today's #1 fact: Elf is my favorite Christmas movie. And let's be honest, it's one of my favorite movies of all time. I watch it year round. I have to say, even though I watch it during non-Christmas seasons, the movie is much more fun to watch when it actually IS christmastime. It's so wonderful to watch it with great friends or family, under a blanket-- hot chocolate in hand.

IT'S DECEMBER! IT'S TIME FOR SANTA!

While I can hardly believe we're already in the last month of 2009, I'm still happy it's December. We won't talk about the fact December = the last few weeks of my normal college career. December means cold weather time, beautiful coat and scarf time, Elf time, eat-so-much-you-can-hardly-breathe-time... and many other times. But the most important time is the time I get to spend with people I love the most. I look forward to spending Christmas with my family.

Last night was the 3rd annual "A Freed-Hardeman Christmas" show. My friend Dustin had this amazing idea a few years ago-- for a production showcasing some of Freed's best singing talent while ringing in the Christmas season. He and another good friend of mine, Robert, put on the very first "A Freed-Hardeman Christmas" 3 years ago. It was a great success and it keeps getting better with every show. There are several fun Christmas songs sung and a reading of The Night Before Christmas each year. Emily and Robert sang "Baby It's Cold Outside" last night. Needless to say, it was amazing and oh so cute! There were so many fun and talented people on stage. It was the perfect way to start the Christmas countdown and was sure to take the Scrooge out of anyone who attended last night.

You should know, I had plans of making this a bitter blog because I definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I woke up earlier than I'd like to a nasty, rainy, ugly day, the diet coke tasted gross in Lion's Pride, and I can't stop thinking about what I'm going to do with my life. It's all good though... one breakfast with Katie Nana and a half-christmas blog later, I'm feeling better.

Soooo, instead of freaking out about soon up and coming real life adulthood... I will write letters to Santa, I will wear fun time scarves, I will watch Elf, I will drink hot chocolate, I will sing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs, and I'll be especially nice for the next few weeks. Don't wanna end up on the naughty list. I might cry if I don't receive the 2-disc THIS IS IT Michael Jackson soundtrack I asked Santa for. True story.

Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years!

2009-11-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Am I even allowed to call myself a blogger now? Now-- after posting only 4 times in the last MONTH? Well of course not. I am not a blogger. To be a blogger you must first blog. I know. It's sad. So many fun adventures have come and gone. So many potential blogs have been left by the wayside because of school, events, holidays, and lack of internet (this past week anyway). I apologize for not writing lately. I plan to fix it... even though I'm positive the 3.5 people who actually read this have forgotten all about me since I never update anymore. I'm making a comeback. You just wait and see.

Since I had no internet connection on Thanksgiving, I didn't have a chance to write a "things I'm thankful for" list like everyone else. So, that is what I will write today. I find that I enjoy making lists. I know what you're thinking! "Ashley? A list-maker? Is she that organized?" You're right. I don't appear to be very organized. I do like lists though. And I will admit, most of my lists never make it to paper. They are normally mental catalogues of what I must get done in a given day or things I need to pack for a weekend trip. You know, stuff like that. Anyway-- enough list-rambling. On to list-making!

The What I'm Thankful For List (Top 3)

1) God. Isn't he truly amazing? I'm so thankful to be a child of His. I'm thankful his patience, forgiveness, and grace. I'm thankful for every single prayer answered, whether I like the answer or not.

2) Family. Durrrr. This is an obvious one, isn't it? But I am. I am very thankful for every member of my family. I got to spend another Thanksgiving week in Huntsville this year. My parents and brother weren't able to make it down, but I still enjoyed my time with family in Huntsville. I enjoyed being with my grandmother for the week, as well.

3) Friends-- new and old. Each person present in my life has left some sort of impact on me-- some very lasting impacts. I have no doubt that high school would have been completely terrible without my core group of friends. For them I am very thankful. And it's safe to say that the people I've grown close to while attending Freed-Hardeman are the reasons this is such a special place to me. I don't know what I would do without them all. My life would definitely be void of adventures, time-wasting schemes, and gut-busting laughter. I'm thankful for friends. That's all there is to it.

Anna, Jessica & Sarah --Youth Rally 2003

Alex & Dave --Prom 2005

Julie & Melissa --Camp Ney-A-Ti, Summer 2005

Mandy, Nicoll, Amy, Janie & Shea -- The river, Spring Semester 2006

Jessica & Jennifer -Thriller! --Summer 2006

Lauren, Amy, Nik, James, Anthony, Kyle, Van, Mandy, Janie, Nicoll --Bowling Alley/LB's Birthday, August 2006

Abbey & Megan --GTO Mixer, Fall 2006

Shea, Kayla & Marcia -- Harry Potter Book Opening, Summer 2007

Me & Nik --XBX Fall Retreat 2007

Emily & Robert --Rosie's, December 2007

me & Amy --GTO Fall Retreat 2008

Nikki & Homer --Summer 2009

MaryAnne & John --Summer 2009

Katie & LB --Homecoming Banquet 2009

Alex, Alyssa, Megan & Christine --Homecoming Pep-it-Up 2009

Y'all know how I love my pictures. Couldn't leave ya hangin' without a visual of all my best buds over the years.

Oh, and don't judge the title of this blog without being made aware those words are lyrics of "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J.

Don't call it a comeback
I been here for years
Rockin my peers and puttin suckas in fear
Makin the tears rain down like a MON-soon
Listen to the bass go BOOM

Haha! I guess I was reminded of the song when I talked about my blogging comeback. I'm ridiculous, I know. Maybe you should youtube the song if you've never heard it. Then again, if you haven't... you aren't missing much.

Let's give Wordless Wednesday a whirl.

2009-11-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I've been the worst blogger in the history of life the past few weeks. Real sorry. I've been pretty busy... and honestly I haven't felt like blogging. Don't hate my life. And since I still don't even feel like writing a lot today, I will post some pictures of what's been happening in my life lately. Okay? Okay.

This is pretty much it... in a nutshell. I promise I'll do better later!

Cute. Real cute.

2009-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

I want you all to know I stared writing a blog. It was amazing. Then it disappeared. I don't know what happened. I'm blaming it on the bell witch. Maybe I'll try again later. Maybe.

"SING!!! Sing into my necklace, you poor unfortunate soul!!"

2009-10-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, I may have had purple skin... I may have dressed as an evil sea witch... and I may have tried to steal some voices. Hint: I did.

For 3 glorious hours, I was Ursula. You can't tell by the pictures, but I was a very glittery Ursula. Which also means that today I'm a very glittery Ashley. Even after showering, I'm still finding glitter everywhere. Cute, I know.

Ursula was not alone in her under-the-sea adventures. Ariel was there, thingamabob in hand. She wanted legs to walk to men's priv to see her Prince Eric/Bobby. In exchange for legs, I took her voice. Her fin magically began to unravel while traveling to the Priv House. Don't tell me Ursula doesn't have real powers. Who even needs King Triton? I don't.

There was a mini Disney villain reunion last night as well. Ursula got to spend time with her villain vixen BFF Cruella DeVille. We made quite the puppy-catching-voice-stealing duo. Check out those eye lashes.

Ariel was NOT excited about the villain vixen reunion.

Remember that part in the movie when Ursula... I mean I... am fixin' to get married to Prince Eric and have Ariel's voice forever and take over the human world AND under the sea world? BUT then all of a sudden Ariel's friends attack me and break my beautiful shell necklace? And I get real REAL angry? And turn into the giant sticking up out the water I'm gonna eat you and your ship Ursula? Yeah. That's what this picture is I feel like. This is my precious pumpkin roommate Hannah. She's tiny and I'm giant and angry and hungry for some ships apparently.

I told some people to sing into my shell necklace. Some complied. Others didn't. However, I collected enough voices to last a good while.

I love Halloween. It's one of my FAVORITE holidays ever. I'm for real. I love dressing up. I love candy. I love scary things. I'm glad I get to celebrate Halloween for 3 straight days this year. I'm headed to Nashville this weekend for more Halloween festivities and to visit some fun time people. I can't wait!!!

My dear, sweet child. That's what I do. It's what I live for. To help unfortunate merfolk like yourself-- poor souls with no one else to turn to. I admit that in the past I've been a nasty. They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch. But you'll find that nowadays I've mended all my ways. Repented, seen the light, and made a switch to this... And I fortunately know a little magic. It's a talent that I always have possessed.

Farewell to all the poor unfortunate souls out there. I must go now.

Random Thoughts of Today

2009-10-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Two days after Pumpkin Chicken Night (!) my pumpkin is drying out and withering. Goodbye, beautiful Judy Garland. Hello, Zombie-2-Face-Dorothy. Good then. I turned her pumpkin-demon self around to face the wall so I couldn't see her. I'm not even going to provide a picture. it. is. not. cute. And no... I'm not bitter about it. Not at all.

I'm starting project carve MJ one day this week. You just wait.

Today, I went to Sonic for happy hour with Kristina and LB. I couldn't decide which flavor slush I wanted... so I got a green apple slush because it matched my shirt. It seemed logical at the time.

Speaking of my shirt-- it's green and has a giant peace sign on it. Hippie much? All I know is it was $2 er something when Steve and Barry's was going out of business. I like it. That's all that matters.

Did anyone see the moon last night? It was HUGE! And Halloweeny! And YELLOW! Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous! I spotted it while driving home from Nashville last night. The sky was clear, a million stars were visible, and this moon was just spectacular. God is the supreme artist. My drive to Nashville yesterday afternoon was also gorgeous. All the leaves are turning into brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. It definitely made Interstate 40 a little less mundane. The sun was out, the trees were so pretty and the temperature outside was perfect. I love fall. Then, James took me to the Percy Warner Park to see even more beautiful fall trees. 'Twas a fantastic Sunday evening.

Those are all my ramblings for today.

Pumpkin-Chicken Night!!!!

2009-10-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Do not be confused by the title. No, we did NOT eat some sort of weird foreign chicken pumpkin concoction. However, we DID have a delicioso dinner cooked by Chef Batchaspaghetti-- baconcheesebbq chicken. It was all real good. We also had amazing pumpkin muffins by Chef May-May. But that's not the only pumpkin fun we had Friday night.... we. carved. pumpkins. Please contain your excitement. Here are some instructions for a fun time pumpkin night.

Step 1: Go to the Walmart House and buy beautiful $4 pumpkins.

Step 2: Buy an over-priced pumpkin carving kit.

Step 3: Place hair in pumpkin-carving-side-ponytail. It's the only way to ensure peak carving performance. It also helps if you wear an insanely stylish tie-dye t-shirt.

Step 4: Cut the top off your pumpkin and clean out all the grody guts and seeds.

Step 5: Make sure you have a diet coke handy. Pumpkin carving is hard work and you will need to quinch that thirst.

Step 6: Pick out a fun time template or think up a design to carve into your pumpkin.

Step 7: Attach and trace your template. AKA punch out approximately 234098234 holes around the shape of your design. Real fun, right?

Step 8: After several hours of wonderful hole punching you can begin to carve, shave, and shade your pumpkin for several more hours.

Step 9: When carving is complete, take a picture!!

Step 10: Put a candle inside and share your pumpkin with the rest of the Halloween world!!

There you have it, folks! Pumpkin Chicken Night was such a great success. You should have one of your own. There are several more pictures on my facebook you can look at if we're friends... and if we aren't friends... we should be!!!

Okbye!

Art Therapy

2009-10-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

It all started today at lunch when Lauren decided to draw a portrait of all the roommates in Priv House 103W... including me and Katie since we basically live there, too.

Isn't it cute?? I'm the one with an A on my skirt. I'm sure that was a "durrr" statement. A is for Ashley. And apparently I'm eating sushi. I'm holding chopsticks. I love it. P.S. Emily pointed out I'm the only one in this picture that isn't depicting a life skill. Thanks. See this blog to give suggestions on what I should do with my life. Ahem. Moving along.

I'm taking a class called Art for Children. I like it on most days, but today I especially loved it because we got to paint with watercolors. I know I've mentioned several times that I love to color. It's soothing and calms me. I also looove to paint. When class let out I immediately went to Fred's and bought some watercolors and painty brushes.

And the creations began...

LB is so cute. I love the candy corn.

We had waaaay too much fun tonight.

This is my sunset.

And this is my pumpkin.

Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. - Picasso

Whazzup my gnomie?

2009-10-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty good weekend. Went to Huntsville to visit Grandma, aaaaannnd Dad and Timbo Slice were in town, too. We didn't do a whole lot but laze around the house, watch football, watch random lifetime movies, eat entirely too much... aaaand we went to Walmart this one time.

Me, Dad, Timmy and Jordan went to Walmart around lunchtime on Saturday. This was a fun time. Dad ordered a dozen corndogs from the deli. The lady didn't know what a dozen meant. You know I laughed. Bless her Walmart-Deli working heart. Then when the corndogs were done cooking, she began putting them in the bag and lost count. She had to dump out the bag and start again. I probably shouldn't laugh at how dumb people are. But I do.

Anyway, while waiting for the food to get done, Jordan and I looked at halloween costumes and such. You know I've looked at this stuff about 9808234 times now but it doesn't matter because Halloween is my favorite. They have THE most precious infant and toddler costumes. SOOOO precious. My favorites are the gnome costume (pictured below) and this oh-so-cute pumpkin costume (I couldn't find a picture of that one.)

Adorable. I know. So I basically had a fit over these precious costumes when I showed them to Jordan. I told her I wanted a baby so I could dress it up in Halloween costumes.

Both Jordan and Timmy had really good school pictures taken this year. They both gave me one and I told them to write a fun-time note on the back of it. You know... something like HAGS (Have a great summer!) or BFF 4 Lyfe or KIT (Keep in touch!)

This is why I love love love my cousin and brother. I'm just going to tell you what they wrote on the back of their pictures.

"It's fun time note time and I'm texting. So now I'm taking time from my friends to talk to you. It's the school year 2009-2010 and I'm 16. We're watching Sorority Wars and we're at Grandma's. So whenever you read this 20 years from now you'll remember the day. By the way it's Oct. 17th. So here's to you my lovely sister! Cherish my face forever and I hope I'm not put in a drawer.

Your brother,

Timothy Payne"

Thanks Timmy. Thanks for reassuring me you're my brother. AND for writing your last name. You know I'll forget those things one day. I'm for real though. That cracked me up.

"Ashley! Here is the fun time note you asked me for. Well... HAGL. I hope you finally get out of college and get a job and get married so you can have a baby and put it in a pumpkin costume for Halloween. :) Anyways we've had some good times and I hope there are many more! ILY!

Love Always,

Jordan"

Oh, Jordan. Thanks for putting an emphasis on FINALLY graduating college. And I'm glad she knows the correct order of events that are to happen before having a baby. FYI, HAGL = Have a great life. Love that.

Yes... a good weekend, indeed.

Wanna play a game?

2009-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Remember that time last week was midterm week? Sigh. It wasn't very stressful as far as schoolwork and tests go... since I had none to speak of... BUT it was stressful because reality began to set in. HALF OF MY LAST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE IS OVER! Yeah. I'm not being over-dramatic either, if that's what you're thinking. This is... I don't even know what this is. It's terrifying for one thing. I do know that.

So, tonight, I decided to poll a bunch of my friends. I asked, "What should Ashley do with her life?"

Here are some suggestions I received:

Be a hustler (I'm a hustla, I'ma I'ma hustla, homie. If you aks, if ya if ya aks about me, I'm a hustla.)
Become a professional pool player (I'm game.)
Be a trophy wife
Become a millionaire (Yes, please. Gotta say this one is lookin' good. Have I ever told y'all I want a red Hummer if I ever get rich??)
Beer Wench (...great option, don'tcha think? Can't let this college education go to waste!)
Live in Henderson and work at the Snook House (Snookum's is the best restaurant in Henderson... I really don't think they'd hire me though since I don't have any long jean skirts... and I cut my hair from time to time.)
Move to Huntsville and be a counselor at Emily's sister's school
Move to Huntsville (so far this option has the most votes.)
Move to Memphis and live at the MSOP house ...and not marry a creeper. (I think I would have a one in a million chance of finding a non-creeper there.)
Be a nun. (Thanks, Benton.)
Just graduate. (Gotta love those short-term goals)
Move to Nashville.
Janitor. Be a janitor. (Thank you, precious roommate.)
A professional color-er. (This might be my favorite one so far.)
Live happily ever after. (Duh, I will.)

Now it's time for YOU to play!! What should I do with my life?? What a fun time game. Ready? Set! Go comment!

I'm bitter.

2009-10-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

This isn't going to be a bright and sunshiny blog. Real sorry. You can turn around and not read, if you'd like. Won't hurt my feelings. I'm having a bitter day... I'm going to complain. Alright.

Reason why I'm bitter:

1) I slept through my bible class this morning. I'm real mad about that but also let me talk about this class for a moment. The class is named Genesis-Exodus. I've learned a lot... But it's midterm week and we're on like Genesis 20 ...maybe. There are 50 chapters in Genesis. At this rate we will never ever make it to Exodus. Am I bitter that I will not get to learn about Moses? Yes. I want to learn about Moses. I want the felt board busted out and the story told with felt cut-outs. Felty Moses. Felty Jews. Felty Pharoah. Felty plagues. Felty Red Sea. Just like VBS. I'm bitter. ...and felty burning bush, please.

2) I broke my glasses last night. They're broken. They're broken and I can't see far away things. And I have to drive to Huntsville this afternoon. I can't see the board in class. I can't see who's on stage in chapel. I can't see people's facial expressions from far away. So, if you wave at me from 50 feet away and I don't acknowledge your presence, it's because I can't see you. I can't see. I'm bitter.

3) I have about 3-4 months to decide where I want to live and what I want to do with my life. I need to stop talking about this before panic attack ensues. I'm only 22 and I have to figure out what I want to do for the next phase in my life. Half a semester left. I'm bitter.

4) I want to eat something right now. I want to eat breakfast every morning in my classes. We aren't allowed to eat in class. Sometimes teachers won't say anything if you do. But most of the time they are rule enforcers. What's the fun in that? And why can't I eat breakfast in my elementary nutrition class? She's always telling us how breakfast is the most important meal blah blah blah. One day, the teacher went around the entire class and asked if we ate breakfast that morning. I replied, "I'd rather sleep a little longer." It's true. Let me sleep and then let me eat my breakfast in class!! It's a reasonable request. I'm bitter.

5) akjdflkasjdfiweufknu4ijotgknrehirjknvfkldjvoiu toiewjdfu3ih4glr j;kljdsf8oiw;ejklrfmasmv oiweu2j3khnasdg... I'm bitter.

Thank you. Happy Friday.

My Girls

2009-10-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

You thought I forgot about my hero blog series, didn't you?

Meet Jordan and Kinsley. They're my adorable not-so-little-anymore cousins. They live in Huntsville and I've had the pleasure of growing very close to them and watching them grow up while I was there in the summertime. This is the oldest picture ever but the cutest ever. Aren't they just precious???

This picture has always cracked me up. I couldn't resist. It definitely captures the essence of their sisterly relationship. I love it.

This is Jordan. I think this was taken at Horizons 2007. I really need an updated picture of us... but anyway... She's 14 now. 14!! She was a year old my first summer in Alabama. And she's growing up to be such an intelligent, gorgeous young lady. I'm proud of her.

Here's Kinsley. When she was real young and we went out somewhere, people would think she was mine. Which is scary seeing how I'm only 12.5 years older than her. She's hilarious. And takes every word you say literally. And she never holds back what she's thinking. I need to start writing down some of the conversations we have.

She's always scheming and coming up with funny plans. She was telling me about one of them last night. I don't remember what the scheme was, but I do remember saying this, "Kins, I don't know what we ever did without you and your great plans." She replied, "Well, I don't know what I ever did without you... and your pretty head." Haha. She's so cute.

You can learn so much by simply watching and observing the innocent hearts of children.

Okay, so I went a little picture crazy. Whatev.

He's Baaaaaaaack!

2009-10-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Guess who's back. Back again. Noah's back. Tell a friend. (nope, not Slim Shady) guess who's back.guess who's back.guess who's back.

What happens when you forget an umbrella and the downpour of the century arrives right as chapel gets out?

Good news though. Emily was prepared.

The Creepy Townie Caper

2009-10-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been visiting the my life is average website a lot. This provides hours of amusement. Some stories on there are hilarious to a dork like me. Here is one of my favorites from today:

Today I was babysitting my neighbor's little boy. I asked him what sound a cat makes. He said meow. I asked what sound a cow makes. He said moo. Then, to fool him, I asked what sound a walrus makes. He replied with Ku Ku Kachoo. Coolest kid ever. MLIA

I can only hope I will have cool kids like that one day. You know my children will recognize what great music is. Except I'm not sure "I Am the Walrus" is GREAT... but The Beatles are. Okay. Confession time-- I know every single word to this song. And that's what makes the "ku ku kachoo" reference so amazing in my life.

Great news, guys! It's October 2nd. [ok, so it WAS October 2nd the day I started writing this blog] Which equals day 2 of the BBQ Festival in Henderson. This is big time, folks. Big. Time. So big, in fact, that they closed down Main Street this year and set up the tents right smack in the middle of the road. What kinds of tents you ask? Oh you know... tents with fun time shooting games, airbrush shirts (I may have a new obsession. Had to stop myself from purchasing one.), toys & glowsticks, clothes, purses, crafty crafts, a dunking booth, and a few other things. So, yeah that's what's on the street. What is on the grass by the court house you ask? Oh you know... more tents, giant inflatable little kid jumpy slidey things, AND the glorious stage which provides this town allll weekend with soulful sounds of tone-deaf country singers who call Henderson home.

My dorm, the glorious Hall-Roland Hall, is strategically placed about 6 feet away from the BBQ F. My 9:00 class was cancelled yesterday. Good news... right? I decided to sleep in and skip chapel. I finally woke up at 11. And what did I wake up to? The musical stylings of the festival. I laughed. Out loud. My roommate, who is a freshman and has never met the Chester County BBQ Festival, looked at me strangely. I said, "Meet the BBQ Festival. Welcome to the next 3 days of your life."

So yeah. There are tents, there are inflatables, there is music... but that's not all. There are funnel cakes, there are fried oreos... there is heaven on earth. Emily and I shared a funnel cake Thursday night. Was it glorious? Yes. We bought the fried dough covered in powdery goodness and sat down on a concrete slab by the sidewalk on the corner of the street. This is where the real adventure began. This is probably going to be one of those "you had to be there" kind of stories, but bear with me.

When we sit down... we spot this half eaten corndog on the ground. It's gross and right in the middle of the sidewalk. And then the watch-all-the-crazy-townies game commences. We're eating and watching and laughing and eating and watching and laughing... when all of a sudden creeper townie of the year walks by. Emily and I look at each other and look back at him at the exact moment he TRIPS over previously mentioned corndog. So he didn't fall on the ground but it was a close one. He looks down at the disgusting, unidentifiable smush on the ground, looks at us, and we immediately look away at the ground trying to contain the laughter within. He walks away... and we erupt with laughter. The kind of laughter that is inaudible for the first 20 seconds. You know, when you're laughing SO hard no sound is coming out. It was an insanely funny moment. You should have been there. While we finished our funnel cake, we were obsessed with staring at people's feet as they walked by... to see who else would step in the smush. Fun times. It was gross. And funny.

Yay for the BBQ Festival and it's ministry of fattening food, creepy people, and all things hilarious.

Judge me! Judge me quick!

2009-09-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today while I was not walking to chapel, I heard someone blaring "Beat It" by Michael Jackson from their dorm room window. It was great. Okay. I'm a fan of Michael Jackson. In my defense, most of my favorite songs are the ones he sang before he turned into a white woman. He fascinates me. I'm for real. He is/was SO STRANGE. I am glued to the TV anytime he's on. I love watching the documentaries and made for TV movies and about him and the Jackson 5. And I was disappointed I couldn't watch some of his funeral since I was at camp. And no, I am not one of those fans that was absolutely crushed and cried when he died. I already told you how my brother and I made up about 2342349 dead MJ jokes. I have just always found his life interesting... and his music such a fun time. Judging me yet? I don't blame you. But just wait. You ain't seen nothin yet!

"Thriller" may or may not be my ringtone... and has been since this time last year. I'll bet most people think I put it as my ringtone because he died. False. He was alive and kickin' when his song became my ringtone. His Number Ones album may or may not be one my favorite on-the-road soundtracks... Annnnnd... there's a movie coming out... about him... that I realllllly wanna see.

Isn't it ridiculous he's only been dead... for what?... 2 months? And there's already a movie out? I realize this is just a money making attraction. I still want to go see it. Any takers??

And for procrastination's sake...

2009-09-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

One Letter at a Time...
A - Age: 22

B - Bed Size: twin bed in this lovely little room I share with precious Hannah!

C - Chore you hate: washing dishes...

D - Dog's Name: no dog for me! allergies.

E - Essential start your day item: i would say caffeine but i usually don't get any of that til lunchtime

F - Favorite Color: Red!

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Silver

H - Height: 5'8ish9ish

I - Instruments you play: none. buuut I've always wanted to play the piano.

J - Job Title: student currently...

K - Kid(s): none right now

L - Living Arrangements: Dorm: Hall-Roland Hall. Room: 313. Roommate: Precious Hannah.

M - Mom's Name: Ginger :)

N - Nickname(s): AP, Ash... and a few others, I'm sure.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: I had quite a few in elementary school. yay asthma.

P - Pet Peeve: can't think of one at the moment

Q - Quote from a Movie: "HEEEEY YOOOU GUUUUUYS!" -- The Goonies :)

R - Right or Left Handed: Right

S - Siblings: 1 younger brother. Timothy Bryant!

T - Time you wake up: MW: 6:45ish. TR: 8ish. F: 7:45ish. (give or take a few snooze button hits)

U - Underwear: I see London! I see France!

V - Vegetable you dislike: are beets a vegetable? I dislike them.

W - Ways you run late: Getting up too late.

X - X-rays you've had: several lung x-rays.

Y - Yummy food you make: yummy lasagna and yummy cupcakes

Z - Zoo Favorite: eh.

It's a "Come on Get Happy!" kind of day

2009-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hello world, there's a song that we're singing! Come on get happy! Y'all know what I'm talking about. A special thanks to the Partridge family for providing today's soundtrack.

After about 12 consecutive days of rain... it is sunny. IT IS SUNNY! And there isn't a cloud in sight. Not only that, but there is a cool crisp breeze in the air bringing this already beautiful day to a level of ultimate perfection. Even though I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to be surprised with a skills test in weight training class, even though I had a test in nutrition, and even though the power went out as I went to plug in my hair dryer therefore making me miss chapel... today is beautiful. Today is gorgeous. I love today. And I love the Partridge family. Sometimes I think I should have been born the era of bell bottoms, peace signs, and great music.

Have I mentioned that fall is my favorite season? Fall is my favorite season!! Ok, now you know. Today feels kinda fall-ish. It reminds me of an amazing October evening I had with some amazing friends a few years ago. All I will say is this... Me + Nicoll + Melanie + biggest pile of leaves I've ever seen = hours of amusement and pictures. Enjoy! Happy Fall!!!

The Not-So-Much Mule day

2009-09-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last week Christine invited me to go home with her to KENTUCKY! I've never been to Kentucky... atleast not to my knowledge... and this was such a fun time adventure!

Her family works with a children's home and they have a fall festival every year to raise money. So this past weekend, I went home with Christine and Amy to help with the fall festival. When Christine asked me go, this is basically how the conversation went:

Christine: My mom told me whoever I brought home with me would help me with the mule rides!!
Me: Okay! Mules rides? So what exactly does that mean? What will we be helping with?
Chrisitne: I don't actually know.
Me: OKAY! I'll go! I'm going to call this entire weekend Mule Day!
Christine: Okay!

So, the entire week leading up to Mule Day Weekend, I envisioned what Mule Day would look like. I pictured a pole... with mules tied to it... walking around in circles... with saddles... for little kids to ride on. I guess I got this idea from remembering what pony rides consisted of back in the day when I was a little kid pony rider. Mules aren't ponies by the way.

We arrived at Mule Day (aka the fall festival) at about 9:30 which was the time the mules were supposed to arrive. We sat under our blue tent labeled "mule rides" for a very long time. I changed Mule Day to Missing Mule Day. I think it was about an hour and a half later that the mules finally arrived. It was then that my vision of Mule Day was completely and utterly crushed changed. These mules were not mules at all. They were horses! And they were not saddled and ready to be attached to a pole. They were attached to a carriage. A carriage that held about 8 kids and would give them a ride around the block. Pssh. Missing Mule Day turned into Horse Day. About 2.5 later Horse Day was obliterated when lady who owned the mule-horses said to Christine and me, "We don't need y'all! We do this all the time." Oh. Okay. Bye then, Missing-Mule-Horse-Day.

Haha. In truth, I wasn't crushed at all. Since we had no real job to do, we just wandered around and people watched. P.S. I love people watching. I crack myself up while observing the weird things people do. I wonder if people I don't know watch me and laugh at dumb things I do. I hope so.

I've recently discovered, while looking for a fun time picture to put on here, that mules can sometimes look a whole lot more like horses than I thought they did. So, they may have actually been mules. Who knows? Let's be honest. They probably were mules and I'm dumb for thinking they weren't. But it's a better story if I continue to claim they were horses.

I have no earthly idea who this person is. All I DO know is the caption said, "Tommy and the cool mule." And that's enough for me.

There came a great mudslide... and the swine flew over the moon.

2009-09-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

There are times in my life when I wish I had a camera attached to my forehead filming and taking pictures of everything I see... all day long. There are just some moments that pass by too quickly for me to whip out my camera and take a picture. This is fact.

Like yesterday-- I definitely needed a camera when we passed by a cute old man mowing the lawn in his safari hat with attached mosquito net. Or when our friend Drew was walking around in Wal-Mart wearing a baseball helmet.

Or today-- When I was walking to class and the side entrance of the student center was closed because of a mudslide. Remember that time Freed-Hardeman decided to tear down our old art building next to the student center? And they just left it a big pile of dirt? We had several weeks without a good rain but all the Noah weather the past few days changed this giant pile of dirt into a giant pile of mud... and then gravity ensued. The point is, I needed a camera to capture these men in yellow raincoats trying to fix the mudslide in the pouring rain this morning. Ok, so maybe this isn't exactly funny. It was amusing to me. Although, it wouldn't have been nearly as amusing if they weren't wearing fisherman raincoats.

In other news, there have been confirmed cases of the swine flu around campus... one of them being right down the hall. Yep. Good then. We've already talked about what great problem solvers Freed is. We solve mudslides by hiring men in fishermen jackets to shovel mud... or something. How are they trying to solve the swine problem?? By attaching automatic hand sanitizers on pretty much every wall on campus. Yep. Good then.

I'm going to PUMP YOU UP!

2009-09-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get on this website that posts people's hilar text messages. Here is one I read yesterday that amused me greatly:

i hope kanye doesn't show up to patrick swayze's funeral. "i'll let you get back to your funeral in a minute...but michael jackson had the best death of the year. just sayinnn."

You know I laughed out loud when I read that.
I'm sure all 2 of you who read my blog have been anxiously anticipating an update because it's been an entire week since my last post. I had a crazy-fun, long, exhausting weekend. But have no fear, I am here to tell you alllll about it.

I mentioned in a previous post that my dad owns a powerlifting federation. This past weekend was the 9th annual IBP (iron boy powerlifting) Bench Press Classic and IBP regional full-power meet. So I travelled the distance (hah, she's going the distance! thanks, cake) to grand old North Carolina to help my family out with these competitions. Twas a fun time. I'm not going to bore you with all the details that go into one of these meets. I think it is best described through pictures and videos.

This is our friend Chip at an Iron Boy in April.

I didn't ask permission to use this video but hopefully he won't care. Haha. So yeah, I guess it's not everyday you run across someone who's family runs powerlifting meets for a fun time. But here we are. :) It's funny to watch people who've never seen a powerlifting meet before. You'd think they were watching a freak show. I guess it kind of is a freak show. But it really is a big time sport that takes lots of work. I'm amazed myself at how much these guys (or girls, in some cases) can lift sometimes.

Emily likes to call weekends like this the PUMP YOU UP FESTIVAL. It's a true story.

Gatlinburg, TN. Forever.

2009-09-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Labor day weekend was most definitely more eventful this year than usual. My family rented a cabin in Gatlinburg. Was it amazing? Yes, with the exception of crazy holiday traffic. Let me tell you about that time we were going home and it took 2 hours to get from Gatlinburg to I-40. Remember that time it’s only 23 miles from the G-burg to 40? Hah. But anyway, a fun time weekend it was.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in the burg/forge (you know, like Pigeon Forge) before. Eh, I’m sure most of you have. It is like a tourist attraction city, basically. About every 3 feet, there is a souvenir shop… usually with signs hung up everywhere…

T-SHIRTS 3 FOR $10!!! You know the ones… the shirts that say something like ‘Smokey Mountains’ with a cat design or dolphins or something equally as random… made out of the fabric that shrinks about 2 sizes the first time you wash them. AIRBRUSH SHIRTS AND TAGS!!! SEEN ON TV ITEMS SOLD HERE!!! And my personal favorite... FREE HERMIT CRAB!!! No joke. I don’t know where the surplus of crabs is coming from, but go team! Of course, once you read the fine print (which is easy to do when you’re at a dead halt in bumper-to-bumper traffic) you will find you only receive a free hermit crab with the purchase of a cage. Thanks, Gatlinburg. Thanks for building up my hopes and tearing them down immediately.

Whilst sitting in traffic, entertaining the idea of a teleportation device (I’m for real, I was making plans to build one and become famous one day), I decided I HAD to get an airbrush t-shirt. Yep. I’ve never gotten one before and I made up my mind this was the weekend to do most the cliché, touristy thing ever—to buy a personalized airbrushed t-shirt. I even thought about buying a cage to get a free hermit crab… but decided against.

On the way out of town on Monday… we stopped at an airbrush shop. Yessir, we did! I decided that not only did I want a shirt, I wanted me and my cousins, Alyssa and Jordan, to get matching shirts—with all our names on it. We stood around in this store, looking at designs, and finally agreed upon one. On the sample design we chose, there was a lovely mountain scene, the year, and the words, 'Gatlinburg, TN. Forever.' Hahaha. Forever? Really? I told him to omit the “forever” part, resisting the urge to leave it as is. While watching him airbrush, I was mesmerized and wondered why I went to college when I could just paint awesome shirts for a living and make a killing. The airbrusher man told us not to wash it for 7 days. I told him I'd wear it for the next 7 days.

I chuckled to myself yesterday in art class when the teacher said, “You probably chose what to wear this morning based on what people will not criticize you for.” Wrong, ol’ Barb (that’s what I call her for future reference). False statement-- atleast it is for me. So I may not be the most fashion-forward person in the first place, but I did it anyway. I wore the airbrushed t-shirt to all classes yesterday without fear of criticism. Yep, I wore the pink shirt… with the Great Smokies on it… with a sunset…. inside a giant ‘2009.’ Oh yeah. That’s right. I love it. Jealous? You should be. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Miss Jaunita, the lady who works in Lion’s Pride, asked if my name was Ashley Alyssa Jordan. Dontcha think that’s a pretty name? So do I.

I will probably write more about G-burg later. :) kbye.

You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty.

2009-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm bored with the hero theme... today we will make a slight detour.

Warning: after I tell this story, you will judge me. I'm just sayin'.

This past week, I've relived parts of my childhood. I've watched 2 Disney animated movies. That's right-- Aladin AND The Little Mermaid. You know what I mean when I say ANIMATED, right? I mean the classics, I mean the cartoon animations that made life wonderful as a five year old. None of this 3D-looking, computer generated stuff. I'm talkin Disney at it's best. That's right.

The Little Mermaid is definitely at the top of my Disney movie list. I'm telling you, when I watched it the other night, I was so excited and pretty amazed that I still knew most words to every song. I'm a little kid... atleast I am when I watch Disney movies.

You know the part in The Little Mermaid when mean old Ursula (who I'm thinking about being for Halloween this year. hah!) makes the deal with Ariel? When she says, "hey girl, I'll give you legs if you give me your voice and you have about 2.5 days to get Prince Eric to kiss you and if you don't you die..." Or something like that. So maybe so that was a paraphrase... but you know what I'm talking about.... right? I know you do. (P.S. Prince Eric is the most attractive disney prince. Yes, he is.) Anyway, so then Ursula is like, "Sing!! Sing into my shell necklace!" And Ariel sings, "ah ahh ahh ah ah ahh ahh ah ah!!" You know, that song? That tune? This leads me to the part of the story where you will judge me.

Back in the day, when I still went to our FHU cafeteria, Gano... [Here's a side note for those of you who don't know FHU-- Freed-Hardeman University... It's small, private, christian college I attend in the the middle of nowhere. I love it.] So yeah, at Gano.. back in the day... they used to have a cart holding all silverware about 254 feet from the food line. Now the silverware is much closer. Back in the cart days, one would generally grab a fork and wait in line for food. Do you also remember the parts of the movie where Ariel brushes her hair with a fork? Hah. I would stand in line, at Gano, with my fork... and it was all i could do NOT to begin brushing my hair with said fork and start singing aloud, "ah ahh ahh ah ah ahh ahh ah ah!!!!" Yes, I wanted to. No, I never did. Don't you also love the fact the "ah ahh ah" song isn't even the song she sings while brushing her hair with a fork? It doesn't matter, that was my Ariel song of choice.

That's all I have to say about that. Going to Huntsville tonight and then traveling with the Grandma, uncles, aunt and cousins to Gatlinburg on Saturday to meet the Mom, Dad, Timbo, and other aunt, uncle and cousins. We've rented a cabin or something. I'm excited... even though we'll be driving for approximately forever and a day.

All in the Family

2009-08-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to hero awards-- second edition. In the last post you met my grandparents. NOW you get to meet the people I lived with for 18 years, aka most of my life. You ready for this?

Introducing... my family!!! Dad, Mom, and my brother Timothy. I would not be as talented, fantastic, and spectacular if it weren't for my wonderful parents and patience-producing little brother. :)

Ok... so the brother isn't in this picture, but we'll get to him later. These are my parents. Married for nearly 24 years. Isn't my little mama so precious? I think so. Let me say this woman has so much patience. For the most part she's pretty easy going and she's a great mom. She never really buys anything for herself. It is rare, and when I say rare I mean sometimes a decade, that she buys herself new clothes. Growing up, she drove my brother and I everywhere we needed to go. She got up every morning and packed my lunch if I so desired and drove me to school-- just because I despised riding the school bus. She dropped off and picked me up from every girl scout meeting, every after school rehearsal, every sleepover... she and dad were at every soccer game. Ok. Pause. I know what you're thinking. "Ashley? Soccer? Hahahaha." Yeah, I was in elementary school and it was very short lived. Haha, I laugh to myself just thinking about those days. But anywho... moving right along!

If I had to choose one picture to describe my dad, it would be one of this sort. I'm sure you're asking yourself what on earth this is. My dad is founder and director of Iron Boy Enterprises. My family started to run powerlifting competitions my freshman year of high school. The picture is an Iron Boy event this past summer, and it's actually one of a smaller scale. My dad has become very successful in the powerlifting sport world because of the exceptional meets he puts on. I tell you this to convey why I look up to Dad so much. He had a dream and went for it. He has such a strong presence making him a good leader. He's a hard worker and may be one of the most persistent people I know. He was always the voice of reason when I was growing up. You see, I have this habit of not really living up to my potential. Most of it is laziness. Dad pushed me to be better than I was. I used to get so irritated at all the "lecturing" but now I'm thankful for it and know it was just because he loves me and wants me to be successful. And if I could pick one phrase of his that will remain with me for life, it's this-- "Be a leader." Those are words he's told me time and time again, and it's only been in the last few years that I've realized what it means.

This is my little brother Timothy/Tim/Timmy/Timbo/ TP/T-Payne. Choose your nickname. I never call him the same thing twice. :) He's 16 now and a junior in high school. This is crrrrrazy to me! We're about 6 years apart and I've always felt like I was so much older. Nope. Not anymore. Especially now that he's taller than me. Bless his heart, we thought he'd inherited too many of Mom's genes and be short. To our surprise, he's surpassed my height. Go team for that. So he and I never really got along when we were younger. Sometimes we still get into it but we've gotten so much better since I left for college. I've found recently that he and I have very similar senses of humor. You know we had such a fun time cracking Michael Jackson jokes... the day after same night he died. I love my little brother. I love driving around listening to loud music with him, playing guitar hero with him, and most of all laughing with him.

There you have it... 3 more of my heroes. I will close with a joke from the infamous T-Payne.

What did Michael Jackson say to the guy giving him CPR?
"Just beat it!"

Hahahaha. You love it. I know you do.

"I can be your hero, baby." Thank you, Enrique.

2009-08-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

I suppose most of you already know my life, but for those who don't or would like to know me better, I will post some get-to-know-me blogs. Maybe I'll write about some more of my obsessions, or maybe pet peeves. I'm thinking I will start out by writing a series of blogs about my heroes-- people who have impacted my life and helped me become the person I am today. Sound good to you?

And our first hero award goes to my grandparents... Grandma and Pop. If there's one thing to know about me, know this-- I spent every summer from age 8 to 20 with them in Alabama. Yes, I'm from North Carolina and yes, that's approximately 8-9 hours from home. I'm not what you would call the homesick type. I wholeheartedly believe my grandparents are the reason I'm a Christian. I wrote a note on facebook about Pop one time. I'm just going to copy any paste a lot of that here--

Anyone who had the privilege of meeting my Pop, knew what a special man he was. He was definitely a man of kindness, love, patience, strength, and most importantly, a man of God. He and my grandmother, Martha, spent around 30 years in the mission field teaching the gospel. Pop gave up a very lucrative job of taking pictures for the government so he could preach the word of God. He and Grandma made so many sacrifices and are some the most selfless people I’ve ever known. My Pop was a good man, an amazing personal worker, and one who genuinely cared about the souls of others. There is no telling how many lives he touched while here on earth.

On August 9, 2007 my grandfather, Charles Franklin Payne, passed away. I do take comfort in the fact he’s no longer in pain and most surely has a place in Heaven. He and Grandma would have been married for 50 years on December 15th. I hope and pray that I can find a good man like Pop and have a loving marriage like theirs someday. I am so thankful for the example they have set for me.

I count the time spent with Grandma and Pop one of the greatest blessings of my life. Over the years I’ve grown to respect my grandparents more and more and realize just how many sacrifices they’ve made to live a life of God. I have no doubt in my mind they are the sole reason I learned the gospel and the reason I am who I am today.

Our family historian, my great-aunt Margie, urged Pop to write a book about his life for his family to treasure. While going through some of his stuff, we found a spiral notebook with one written page:

“On March 23, 1933 Charles Franklin Payne made his entrance into the world. This day to me is no doubt the most important day I have experienced thus far. It is not likely that I will see another day of such momentous importance. As I tried to think of any accomplishments in life, as the world views success, I could not think of any; certainly not wealth, popularity, or fame. Since death is a part of life, I must then conclude that this day can surpass the day of one’s birth, if one loves God and is faithful to Him. Death is the means of transforming one from the mortal to the immortal.

Hopefully the pages found in this book can be of some insight to my children, grandchildren, and generations to come. I would never have undertaken such a task as this, had it not been for the encouragement and insistence of some of my family members. I would encourage my descendents to visit some of the places I have lived to gain further perspective of where you came from."

The part I put in italics is my favorite thing he wrote on that page. Is that not one of the most insightful things you've ever read? I think one of the reasons he was such an amazing man was because he didn’t realize how wonderful he was. He didn’t see the accomplishments he made and was never prideful or boastful.

Let's take a moment to talk about Grandma now. She is a fighter. And I mean that in every sense of the word. First of all, she raised 4 boys. I think that's an accomplishment all it's own. She lived the life of a preacher's wife, which I've never done, but know is not an easy job. They lived in 5 different states before Pop retired-- lots of moving. Grandma has had diabetes for most of her adult life, she's had toes removed, back surgery, breast cancer, colon cancer, knee and shoulder replacements, and has been confined to a wheelchair for nearly 9 years now. Just so you know, that's an abbreviated list of her ailments. And dontcha know that she still goes out to shop, still makes it to most church services every week, and still travels all the way to NC to see her grandbabies. What an astounding woman. She has always been the ultimate example of what a Christian woman should be.

I'm so so so so thankful to have such wonderful grandparents, on both sides. And now you have a bit more insight into my life and 2 of the great heroes God has placed in it. :)

this was a fun time

2009-08-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Emily gave me a blog award... because I'm such an excellent blog reader. Look at me go. P.S. if you find yourself with an extra 3 minutes on your hands and actually want to read all 2 of my blogs on Vox, the last site I was on, here you go.

According to the rules I'm supposed to list 5 obsessions and then give the award to 5 others. Well listen... I'm gonna cheat and not give out any awards because I only read about 2 blogs. And of course they both have been awarded already. I may come back later with a surprise post and give out blog awards! Never can tell. I'm sneaky like that.

Obsession #1: the color red. By the way, is this not a gorgeous picture? I think so, too. I like all things red. Red shoes, red dresses, red shirts, red apparel in general is my fave. I've heard many a time that wearing red boosts confidence. I find this to be true. I also think that everyone not only needs a little black dress, but a little red dress in addition. I'm not sure when my obsession of all things red began, but it's been around long enough for me to accumulate all red luggage, a red computer, red ipod and red purse. I'm sure that doesn't even encompass the amount of red things I own. My blog template on Vox was red. You better believe this one will be too as soon as I figure out how to do it. I think I would even paint Trooper red if I ever got the chance. No lie. Trooper is my SUVish vehicle that is missing a fender and sounds like a school bus. That's a story for another day though.

Obsession #2: The Beatles. They're my favorite band and I don't care if you judge me for it. We have videos of me at age 3 singing along with my one of Dad's Beatles records. I saw Paul McCartney in concert when I was 6, and even though I was about to die of bronchitis or something that weekend, I thought seeing Paul (my favorite and in my opinion the cutest Beatle) was the best thing ever. I want to see him in concert again before he gets too old to play or dies or something. Not to mention, he's the only Beatle still alive that's worth seeing. At age 14 I had a yellow submarine themed party. Again, don't judge me, especially for a party theme having to do with a song that had to be written while under the influence. At my party, I wore a tye-dye shirt and John Lennon sunglasses. Don't tell me I wasn't the most hip teenager... ever. I used to have a poster in my room of the picture on the left. My poster was way cooler though because someone photoshopped those umbrellas to be different colors. Loved it. Annnnnd, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is basically the cutest song ever and I can't wait to be in love and hold hands with someone again! Lame? Maybe so. I don't care. :)

Obsession #3: Sushi. It's one of my favorite things to eat. I love sushi. More specifically, any sushi served at Sakura in Jackson, TN. I had my first taste 3 years ago and it's been an obsession ever since. I just love it. I've even become a somewhat of sushi snob. If the sushi isn't absolutely amazing, aka if it doesn't meet up to Sakura standards, then I don't even want it. I went all summer without excellent sushi. I definitely couldn't wait to get back to school and make the pilgrimage to Jackson with some besties to eat the best sushi this side of Heaven. Actually, I went there and ate last night. Let's be honest, I'd eat it every single night if I could.

Obsession #4: Coloring. Yes I'm on the verge of 23 and yes I still love to color. For an even broader obsession-- school art supplies in general. I get so excited when Walmart has 24 packs of Crayola crayons for 25 cents. When Crayola colored pencils and Crayola markers (big and small) are on sale for $1, I can't contain myself. But yeah, I love to color. You can put a coloring book and pack of crayons (preferably the Crayola Crayons 96 Count) in front of me and I'll be entertained for hours. No joke. It's also a stress reliever for me. I relax when I color. This masterpiece to the left is one I colored and hung on the fridge in Priv 103 last semester. I know all 4 guys who lived there appreciated Disney-Princess-Ariel on their fridge.

Obsession #5: Food Network's Extreme Cake Challenge. Let me tell you how I stop in my tracks anytime I see this show on TV. I have to watch it... probably because I want to be the people on that show. I want to make extreme cakes!! Just go with it and let me have my irrational dream. I imagine if I ever DID make an extreme cake, it might make it on this blog, but not the Food Network. Haha.
Look at that cake though!! 1) It doesn't even look like a cake. 2) It's like 2342 feet tall. Ok.. that was a lie. I don't know how tall it really is. But it's tall.
3) Sam I am with his green eggs and ham?!?! Amazing theme. A classic. I love this cake. I love this show.

Hello Blogspot. Let's be BFF.

2009-08-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Alright. Here we go. I always have great intentions of actually writing in these things. And this is the third blogging site I've joined in my lifetime. Obviously I'm not great at keeping up with it. Maybe this time things will be different. Maaaaaybe. Don't get your hopes up yet.

I'm Ashley. Some call me AP. I love writing and have decided to enter the bloggy blog world again-- all thanks to the amazing stylings of Christine and Emily. Their blogs will most definitely put mine to shame. Read them. And if you think their blogs are awesome, you should hang out with them in real life.

I must go now. Eating sushi tonight with the aforementioned and some other really great girls. Okbye.