Tables and TVs

Oh please! (had to make it rhyme)

This past weekend I was trying to be helpful and open a tray table for Thomas, but the table slipped a part and came crashing down on my right big toe. OUCH! 5 days later, it's still tender, completely black from the cuticle to about midway up; BUT I can walk without limping. On day 3 Cortez (in his excitement to go outside) jumped on the toe, and today I jammed it on the corner of a wall. So, as you can imagine, my toe is on a slow road to recovery. Last night was the first night I didn't need to ice it so I could fall asleep and I'm hoping that as I go into the weekend I will be able to relax a lot more.

Which brings me to my next piece of news: new TV!! I think I will be able to relax a lot now that I have a new TV. We got it at Costco, and I just love Costco; for so many reasons, but mostly because they are so friendly and have such great stuff.

Second Birthdays!

Thomas had his year anniversary of sobriety on the 29th of August. Being the sneaky person I am, I tell him to be ready at 5:30pm that evening, but didn't lead on to any of my plans. Of course I was planning weeks in advance, from getting ideas of unique or romantic little restaurants in the area, to finding a place to get a little 'birthday' cake - carrot of course, I think he would disown me if I got anything else. I was so excited that morning. I made the call and ordered his cake, called and confirmed my reservation I had made the week prior and even found out it they would be able to light my '1' candle (for his first year).

I think he was really surprised and excited, and despite me getting lost and having to back-track a few times before we got to the restaurant, we had fun. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments in the last year. I look forward to the next few years and the candles they bring.

Paid or Un-paid, THAT is the Question...

I came across an interesting perspective today at work. I have been working with a local community college so we can start bringing in Interns for some projects we have going on this year. The first project is a series of seminars – mainly the internship handles a lot of the administrative support the agents don’t want to do and will give the interns incredible experience in marketing, running and managing these kinds of events. On the plus side the interns get paid based on how many people they can bring to the seminar.

So while I was meeting with the college reps today, one lady was concerned about the $8-$10 per person pay structure we had set in place. They weren't concerned that they were getting paid, but they were concerned with a ‘commission based’ pay structure. So they considered taking the internship from being ‘paid’ to ‘non-paid.’ The ladies who I was working with said they try to stamp out ‘commission based’ jobs; which to be honest I completely understand if we were going door to door selling pest control. But I told them that to expect another intern to do the same work, but not be paid wouldn't be fair (because we are also getting other students from different schools that have no problem with the pay structure). They countered my concern with, "well you would need to edit out the paid responsibilities so they would just do the non-paid part."

No sorry, in the real world employers don't cut out responsibilities because the new hires don't like the pay structure. Basing the pay on commission is a win-win. College students get experience to the financial and insurance industry (which is, by the way, primarily commission based and people make millions of dollars doing it), but they get to do the background work (market planning, building the presentations, market research) and then reap the rewards of their own labor by getting people to the seminars. If we take out the pay, we can’t expect them to work as hard to do all that we need.

Unfortunately, we had to pass with this particular college, and what makes me sad is that students aren't even aware that this choice was made on their behalf. I bet some of them would've loved the opportunity and excelled in the task. 100% of the students don't get the opportunity because the school didn't like 20% of the expectation.

My Birthday

Sunday was a day of rest! All of us were suffering from too much work on Saturday. I was actually suffering more than was bearable, so Jason and Thomas went down to the store to get me some headache medicine and Thomas comes back with roses :} I'm so lucky to have such a sweet spirited man in my life!

Roses for my birthday!

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating cake and ice cream, taking naps, and learning how to play my new game Power Grid. After the game (won by Jason) ended Thomas and I packed up and headed back to the valley. Considering ourselves very lucky we blew a tire in Show Low and not on our way down the mountain. We stopped in Payson to eat some dinner (and get me some caffeine!) at the Beeline Cafe.

As we were going through Fountain Hills, we were able to watch the finally of a fireworks show the casino was setting off. We drove past and it felt like bombs were going off next to the car! We were being showered in light from the explosions.

I may always have to go away for my birthday, but they are getting more fun with each year that passes. What a great weekend and birthday!

Rodeo Anyone?

After the round up we headed back to Pine Top to check into the condo and take a hot shower! Unfortunately, when we passed through Show Low and stopped for gas, we discovered that I had a flat tire. So, mom and Jason took the truck to Safeway to get cake, ice cream and other food items for the next couple of days; Amy, dad and the girls headed for the condo, and Thomas and I had to wait at Discount Tire in Show Low for 45 minutes until my car was drive-able again. Silver lining is that it was probably the quickest I have ever waited at Discount Tire!

After we got to the condo and showered, we didn't have much time before we were off to the Taylor rodeo! The evening ended with an amazing fireworks show - it was a VERY full day for all of us!

Thomas and me at the Taylor rodeo

Family Round Up

My birthday has come and gone - simply put: another amazing year. I distinctly remember thinking this year, 'my life gets better and better with each birthday!' This year Thomas and I spent my birthday in the Pine Top, AZ area with my parents and Amy with her family. 

It has pretty much been a family tradition to go 'away' the week of my birthday...wherever 'away' might be. Typically, when I was younger there was some ward camping trip or family gathering that called us away for that week...but as I get older I get the feeling my parents have just started looking for excuses to leave for that week. 

I am so glad Thomas and I took the time off work, we went up to Woods Canyon Lake (on the Rim) Friday night. On the way up Thomas saw a few camp sites closed and was like, "was that a picture of a bear next to that 'closed' sign?!" I was too focused on the road to pay attention, but my dad confirmed there were bear problems when we stopped at the BIFFYs before heading to the campsite - according to dad we were 'lucky' because all the bear incidents were on the South side of 260 and we would be camping on the North side (oh what luck!).

To keep Olivia from straying too far from the campsite that night, my sister would ask Olivia to let her know how big the bears are when she saw them...thankfully we never found out :}

Olivia squatted when I did to take her picture - she is so cute! 

Our campsite came with this cutie! :} 

Little did I know at the time, but this was taken before 6:30am...had I known it was so early, I would've crawled back into my sleeping bag!

Me n' Thomas

Thomas and I at the campsite - WAY too early in the morning.

Saturday morning (bright and early!) we ate a nice pancake, eggs and bacon breakfast, packed up and headed to the family cattle round up!

The official rounding up of the cattle had already happened, but the young cattle were still awaiting on their turn to participate in the biggest event of the afternoon. We branded, castrated, medicated, de-horned, and clipped the ears of 81 calves.

Thomas got me this shirt in Wisconsin, and I thought it was the perfect attire for the event!

It took Thomas some time to get used to the way the calves would struggle and cry when it was their turn, but after watching me handle about 5 or 6 he jumped right in. We didn't actually do any of the brandings. We held the nose with giant pliers to keep the rest of the body more stable. Thomas did have to look away when the two calves (that in his opinion were still chasing butterflies in their freetime) came through the chute.

Holding the nose was dirty work, Thomas was right in the middle of all the action.

Olivia, grandpa, and me

Olivia loves her grandpa!

Unlucky steer #13

 The ears on the cattle were given a V-like shape and the bottom section was sliced off, any calf with horns were also de-horned seared.

Here are some more pictures of the event:

We were so young and innocent...

Watching my first branding.

I'm being told about the flesh eating flies that come around if we don't continue to cover up the blood with dirt. Needless to say, I made sure the blood was constantly being covered!

It hurts to watch.

Thomas is wondering why he came with me at this point :}

Really?

They just wrangled a steer that got out of the clamp

When the calves get loose, the boys just tie them down and brand them where they fall. No one gets away.

Getting a closer look.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

I'm a professional already.

There's a lot going on in his head right now...

Everyone did their part :} 

Grandma and Olivia

'I'm ready for my close up'

Great food after a long afternoon!! NO rocky mountain oysters for me, thanks!

The Beehive

The Beehive is a Mormon publication that is circulated around Arizona. I've never read it until tonight, and the one thing I read upset me so much that I went straight home and wrote the editor and told her to discontinue the rant session that is, this lady's column. I told her that if complaining about back-rubs in church is all it takes to get into their publication, I would happily replace the other writer with my comical thoughts on healthy living, and my witty insights to community events and service projects.

Any one else read The Beehive and feel that it encourages Mormon Culture Ignorance (MCI) while side-stepping important values and principles that govern some of the sweetest things in life? Maybe I won't get a chance to replace the writer, but maybe my charm is something that publication desperately needs. :}

Mesa Activity

 Morning bike rides really make a lot more sense when they are directly linked to pastries. It was already 80 degrees outside when we started at 7:30am this morning, but that didn't stop us. I love my new schedule and the fact that Thomas gets to work from home. It really lets us enjoy our days in better ways. Thomas rides his bike with the ball of his feet, and since I typically follow I tried this entire trip to do the same thing. Um, that is WAY harder than I thought it would be! By the time we got back to my house, it was almost 82 degrees and I'm hoping I didn't get a sun burn - who would think to put on sunscreen at 7:30am?

In other news, the city of Mesa is doing some construction on Mesa Dr. just south of Southern right now and they have all these huge concrete pipes next to the places they will be placed under the street. So Thomas and I did some investigation work...we found that all the pipes I sturdy and definitely big enough for whatever they will be used for.

We didn't ride our bikes because it was night time and my neighborhood isn't what I would consider the safest part of town. My previous manager at University of Phoenix (Erik) said the city was planning to dump some money into that corner to make it more marketable, but so far all we've gotten is a Tito's Check Loan office and ripped up asphalt. Let's hope all this construction leads to more things - though I must admit I would miss the smell of laundry detergent if they removed the laundry mat for an AJs Fine Foods....

 The city of Mesa should be happy to have such involved residents!





Kisses,

Ashley

Penny for My Thoughts?

Oh Arizona, you poor state. I think your quarter is the only one I've seen that is actually prettier than the state itself. I was driving my car and looked into my cup-holder to find these coins just laying there and I was actually shocked at how perfect the Arizona state was captured in the back of this relatively small coin.

Joy

So, last night Thomas and I went to pick up a bed frame he needs for his new spot in Tempe. He found a lady on Craigslist that was selling one cheaper than Goodwill so off we went! After dropping off the frame in Tempe we were both super thirsty so we stopped in at Fresh and Easy and took an unusually long time to get a drink. They had weird options, but when we finally made a decision (me with strawberry lemonade and him with carrot juice) we checked out. As soon as my lemonade was scanned, I popped the top and read the lid to Thomas. He smiled and said "You should have a label like that too." Awe!

Okay that's my story for now.

Ashley

Time is Money

I need to start charging a lot more for my time. Today I actually had a day off where I wasn't so overwhelmed with the thought of returning to work that I got out of bed when I woke up the first time. Ran to the dry cleaners to drop off my suits, made my 9:30am appointment 25 minutes early and as a result was done with my appointment at 9:34am. Went to the YMCA, swam for 30 minutes and basically crawled to the long-chair to soak in the sun for another 30 minutes. After I could walk again, I came home washed both my poodles, shaved Cortez, did a load of laundry, did the dishes and took a shower.

Now, at just 3pm I feel happier, successful, more relaxed, more accomplished, and stress-free about my day then I have felt ever working for someone else. So I figure....$$$$$$^(per hour)*(less work) = More Me Time :}

Working for anyone that brings you so much stress and anxiety that you can rarely enjoy your days off aren't worth it! Do what you want, love what you do, and live HAPPY! :}