Old Picture

I found this picture from when I was in Young Womens...I don't remember what we were doing, but it was obviously something fun! Probably something to do with modesty/fashion.

Yay for organizing emails! I get to find little treasures like this picture! (I am counting cleaning out my inbox as something 'industrious' for my virtue of the month) :} 

Kisses,

Ashley

Updates

I was moved to a different team at work, specializing with graduate students only, so a couple of weeks ago I went bowling with my team one last time for our 'team-build'

Dave, me, and Chad 

(it bothers me that this picture is off center with all the other ones!)

Kellisa (new to the team) and me

Erin and me

I took my shoes off and Olivia instantly starts to put them on her feet. I need to pay close attention to the things I do and say - she seems to think I'm pretty cool and I don't want Amy to get mad at me if I teach her the wrong thing!

She loves my shoes :}

Bye for now!

Kisses,

Ashley

Meet Bleeker

Hello world

he is so sweet -  I got him from a couple in Phoenix, AZ. They have been breeding their mama and papa standards for 9 years. He has a small belly-button hernia and the vet said it was genetic. My vet says he can fix it while Bleeker is under for his *snip-snip* and I called the breeders and they said they would reimburse me the cost of the correction.

Beautiful puppy!! (Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the back ground)

D.O.G. and Bleeker - mind you Bleeker is only 14-weeks in this picture, he's gonna get huge!

Me and Charla

As of late I have been spending a lot of my time hanging out with Charla and her friends. So here are some pictures and narratives of my life:

Happy Birthday

This was at Charla's birthday dinner - we went to Texas Road House (which currently reads: as Road House...someone needs to change the light bulbs...)

Night Out on the Town

Me and Charla are wearing the same shirt - just difference colors :} Before this picture was taken I went shopping with Charla and she let me borrow her shirt - I think we pretty much know we're dorks, but this is the outward symptoms of our dorkiness.

Me and Dave

Ralphie May

Charla's really good friend Dave (AKA: The Bodyguard) got us all tickets to go see Ralphie May. So in this picture there's me, Dave (in the back) and Boyce

Charla, me, and Boyce

Me and Charla

In other news of my life, I recently got a baby standard poodle (thanks to Travis and his azcentral.com suggestion!) Bleeker (my new pup) was only 14-weeks when I got him, but he was already potty trained (for the most part) and has the sweetest temperament. He's gonna be all white - so now I have two white fluffy fur balls (pictures are coming shortly!).

D.O.G. is actually handling Bleeker very well! He hasn't once looked at me like "I hate you." which I think is a good sign, because with Oscar he gave me that look at least twice a day! Speaking of D.O.G. he lost what little manhood he had on Thursday morning...poor guy, but he's recovering very well. Thank you for all the letters and kind words, he really appreciates them...

And I'm going to leave you with a question Jason asked me when I told him I was going to get another boy standard poodle: "Why do you insist on getting the male versions of the most frilliest dogs out there? Why not just a girl?"

The world may never know...

Kisses,

Ashley

Pool Party

I went with Erin and her kiddo Isabella, to her community pool. Isabella is such a cute little swimmer - she can totally swim, but she sticks to the edges. She is also quite the little social butterfly...and when she doesn't know the kid's/adult's name she goes: "Hey you! Want to play with me?" :}

My World

Dear God, 

When I am power full like you, I'd like to create a galaxy similar to this:

Thanks for being so perfect and creating so many beautiful things. I have a lot to look forward to.

Kisses,

Ashley

Will the real Ashley Allen, please stand up?

Okay, so my day started off normal: I got up, dressed, and headed to work. I was really focused today so I didn't even look around until 11am, when I checked my phone - remembering I hadn't turned the volume up since I woke up. To my great surprise, George had sent me a text and it read: "I think you won something on the radio? 96.9?" - he had sent this around 9am, it was now 11am - I was shocked by the text but he said they had called my name on the radio, so I looked up the station's number, still a little doubtful, but before I could find the number, Dennis called me and the conversation went like this:

Dennis: "Hey, I think your name was just called by Mix 96.9!"
Me: "When?"
Dennis: "Just now!"
Me: "Really?! So...should I call them?"
Dennis: "Yes! And call me back and tell me what they say."
Me: "Cool, okay!"

So, now I was excited! The first number I called for the station just kept ringing, so the website gave an email address to contact about contests (I'm not sure if this was a contest but I was leaving no stone unturned). My email said, "You called my name, someone answer the phone!"

I tried another number listed and got the actual radio station - I told the lady who answered that my name had been called on the radio and she said she had the prize waiting for me and told me to come and get it. So I head over there, in total disbelief. I have never won anything in my life - this really can't be happening to me. I figure I will get to the station and they will tell me I was mistaken somehow, but the disbelief and shock slowly melted away as I gave the lady at the station my driver's license, and filled out all their forms. I was soon walking out of the building with my prize and I felt so special! I know people shouldn't need a cheesy radio prize to make them feel good about themselves, but having never won anything before, ever! - I could get used to this! The prize was 2-nights stay at the Catamaran, CA and 4 passes to Sea World!!

I get back to work after lunch with a different spring in my step: "I won something, look out world!"

2-3 hours after getting back to work (5 hours since I got my tickets) I get a phone call from someone at the radio station...apparently Ashley Allen was at the station to claim her prize....what?

Lady: "Did you claim the prize earlier today?"
Me: "Yes"
Lady: "Well, how did you know you won anything?"
Me: "They said my name on the radio station...?"
Lady: "Oh, well did you get an email or anything?"
Me: "No, I haven't checked my email, hold on...no, I don't have any emails."
Lady: "Well, the Ashley Allen with me now has an email confirmation."
Me: "Oh."
Lady: "Well, we need to work this out, can you hold?"
Me: "Well, I'm at work now, could you call me back?"
Lady: "Yes, we need to figure this out."
Me: "Kay..."
Lady: "Kay, bye."
Me: "Bye."

I never got a phone call back - so I'm assuming they were able to work it out without my input. So, yeah. Here I am not a winner, and yet...? :}

Will the real Ashley Allen please stand up, please stand up?

Kisses,

Ashley

P.S. I've never won anything, ever! ...And technically, I still haven't. :}

Stuff at Work

So we had 'Spirit Week' at work - very 'High School' I know, but our team really got into it for the 'Team Unity' day which was the last day of the week. Cooper decided we should be street signs, so we spray painted card board and Logan's dad donated construction vests to our cause, and here are the results:

I made that sign, and the sign on the wall in the background! :) Turns out I was the best spray painter in our group so I had a hand in most of the signs - I'm even considering a possible career change.... 

Left to right: Brandon, Casey, Kellisa, Dave, Logan, Kevin, me, Chad

Front row: Cooper and Marc

**Notice our Speed Hump on the ground!

I just noticed that we are missing Erin in our group shot!

Here is a picture with me and Erin :}

They gave us ice cream towards the end of the day!! Who can say no to that?...I also grabbed an ice cream sandwich later when they were walking up and down the cubes trying to get rid of them. :D

Today was so much fun...but I hardly got any work done!

Kisses,

Ashley

Double Take

So, since turning 25 I’ve been reliving many of my life’s less-than-proud moments. Did I reach the top at 25, and now am I coasting down the other side of the hill? Was my life expectancy only to age 50? Or were my previous embarrassing moments not as embarrassing as they should have been? Because I can tell you right now, the second time around is definitely more embarrassing than the first!

I'm not going to explain what happened...but I am going to promise you that I will check both parking lots at work before I think my car is stolen...and definitely before I call the Phoenix police.

Something else I'm going to promise you: I will remove the word 'never' from my vocabulary, because I even surprise myself sometimes.

Oh ya...Ben got married

So Ben got married in May...here are some pictures of that blessed day!

Me and Olivia, during the ceremony

Outside the Mesa Temple

So pretty!

The proud parents and niece of the groom!

Olivia and Jason

Ben and Shannon cutting the cake!

Dancing with dad!

Family shot

The kids!

All the girls!

The wedding was so lovely! There was great food, great music and, of course, tons of pictures!

Posters and Tires

Ugh, so today on my way to work my steering wheel started shaking while I was merging onto the I-10 from the US-60...it freaked me out a little so I slowed down and checked out my wheels when I got to work. Everything looked okay - so in true girl fashion, I totally forgot about it. I got out of work 4 hours later and glanced at my driver's side tires and to my dismay the back tire was flat. It has been so muggy this week and today was no exception...so I go back inside and ask a guy I work with if he would help me change my tire. I know how to change a tire, but I don't want to change it! He had to work for about 10 more minutes, but feeling better about the whole situation I decided to go out and get the tire-changing started...well 10 minutes goes by and I am just tightening the lug-nuts on the spare tire. I let my coworker finish tightening my lug-nuts, but I forgot how fun changing a tire can be. Any ways, I took my car to Discount Tire and had my visiting teaching companion, Jody, come and get me. We went to Wal~Mart and got candy for our candy posters for this month's visiting teaching message (yea, cutting it a bit close...) but they turned out so cute and they were so fun to make!! After we made the posters, I went back and got my car with the help of my friend Charla.

It says: Families can bring us so much (Joy)! Sometimes we feel like (airheads) and people just (Snicker) at us, but family will always help in a (crunch). The best (way) to (raisin) your (baby) is to have a (good) foundation in love and harmony. Families are like a (symphony) - they are interesting and delicate, but very powerful forces in our lives. So cruise down life's (avenue) with your family and en-(joy) the ride!

Love, Ashley and Jody

Yes, I made up what the poster says. Well, I mean, the theme for this month from the Ensign was strengthening families, so I didn't make that up, but I did make up the poster so we could use candy to teach our theme!

I also had some fun with my Creative Memories program and made door signs for my:

Laundry Room

TV Room

Office

Bathroom

I did steal the sayings from stuff I've seen before, but I thought the signs were pretty cute. So today was very eventful and productive, even if it cost more than I was anticipating. But I have to say thanks to Becca, because had it not been for her clever budget, I may not have had all the funds necessary to get a tire unplanned like that. I love my friends!!

Kisses,

Ashley

Beaches and Budgets

Okay, so this year I went to CA again for my birthday. I got to spend some time with Becca and her hubby Mike. I bought a one-way ticket for $60 bucks to get there and drove back with them at the end of the week. I had moments of panic as I got on the flight, mid-way through the flight, and as I was walking out of the airport in CA. I've never bought a one-way ticket before and I kept thinking I was forgetting something or that I would be stranded...luckily it never took me long to shake that panic. I just had to remind myself that I was okay and would be driving home with Becca. 

Somewhere between getting dressed for the flight, and my conversation with Becca on her couch in her living room that night, my pants ripped in two spots! The biggest was right down the middle seam in the back and the other was on the seam of my back, left pocket. I have no idea who had to endure my indecent exposure, but I didn't realize my pants were ripped until I was sitting on Becca's couch with my legs crossed!! Man, that was embarrassing and sad, because I have had those jeans for almost 10 years. So it was sad to throw them away.

Becca and I spent some time at Sunset Beach? (is that right Becca?)

 

Construction of Our Castle

The completed master piece!!

Clean up! Hurry the waves are coming!!

I got soaked when a huge wave caught me off guard.

Look it's my birthday on my phone!! On a side note: isn't Olivia so cute? When I took that picture I was like, "smile Olivia..." and she totally leaned into my face and smiled. Aweeee

Becca has this Amazing budget that honestly isn't much different than most budgets I have seen, expect that it's on Excel (which I love) and it requires me to keep track of my receipts (which I'm not used to) and enter my purchases into different columns as I watch the balances fluctuate (which I love!!). So far, so good. I wasn't used to collecting my receipts but I have managed nicely and love the detail and task-oriented platform of this budget. 

If you are interested in trying it out I have a blank copy I can send out. 

Until next time!!

Kisses,

Ashley 

Sleeping

It's really hard to go to sleep early when the sun doesn't go down! What's worse, I wake up when the sun is already rising. I wear sunglasses on my way to work! ...for someone who loves dark, stormy weather, this is the hardest part of the year for me.

Kisses,
Ashley

Love Isn't Just a Word

Love is not just a word. Love is not a strong connection between two people. Love is not a physical act. Love is complicated and I think it would be better described as a symptom from the will and determination to progress with someone else. Family, friends, children, spouse...love is given through the actions needed to keep the relationship progressing. That doesn't mean all my actions are lovey-dovey. That doesn't mean all my decisions are right vs. wrong. What it means is that love comes from the desire to keep that person in my life, but love is definitely not easy.

I have learned for myself that distance, does not make the heart grown fonder. I have found that the majority of people fall out of love with each other, because they put distance between each other through career choices, life-style ambitions, or past experiences. Love can only exists when people have the desire to be together, no matter what career choices, life-style ambitions, or past experiences try to get in their way. This is why love is a growing process, not an instant state of mind.

What was a cloud of infatuation, does not just turn into a bubble of love. In fact, that fun cloud of infatuation typically evaporates into clear blue skies of reality...which is not always as fun as the cloud I started out in. But again, love is not fun; love is not pain. Fun and pain are only byproducts of the desire to keep a person in my life (love) and both are necessary in the long progression of my life.

But a relationship is not one sided and so the only people who remain in my life, are the ones who are willing to continue that effort in their life. And I want to take a moment to tell all the people in my life, who have been there for me when I needed them - and even when I didn't need them :} - that I love you.

And then there were none...

So I spoke too soon about my neighbors not complaining about my goats. I received a letter from the City of Mesa last Friday telling me they received a complaint about the bad smell and the increased number of flies. I wanted to protest both counts, but they also determined my backyard was too small to have normal size goats. Apparently, if I had dwarf goats they would be viewed the same as dogs, but my normal size goats (the same size as a Great Dane, mind you) need 35,000 sqft of land; which I just don't have.They gave me the option to get rid of them or pay a fine of up to $2,500 - ugh. It's a bit frustrating because I don't even think the complaints are valid! I mean if my neighbors had compained about the noise, that I could understand...but smell and flies? I don't think so! They don't smell and there hasn't been an increase in flies...the problem is, I was being proactive about flies and got these really effective fly traps from Home Depot and they really, really smell after a while, and I wonder if that's what my neighbors actually smelt...what a twist of fate. I wonder if God is preparing me for something else?

Any ways, I found someone to buy them from me, and in all honesty, it's kind of a relief. Don't get me wrong, I liked my goats - I made a fenced in space for them and everything, but they are a lot of work...and loud. :)

Pinkie Fingers

I love being a girl. Girls get to have so much fun, we can be cute, glamorous, innocent and enjoy simple things of life and that's okay, because we're girls! For example, I have been working on my 'nail maintenance' which means, I have been taking extra care in the length, strength, and cleanliness of my nails. And as I was tending to them this morning, I just had to say...I have really cute pinkie fingernails :) They are the perfect shape and they look so dainty at the tip of my long pinkie fingers.

Hello From Arizona...

So a few things have happened in the last few months so I figure I should spend sometime to update and reflect...

Life

So my life hasn't changed all too much, but I did successfully complete my first MBA course. Yay, one down, 12 more to go...I'm attending with my friend Summer (who I met and remained friends with through my Bachelor program). In other news, my calling in church is going well. Lori (my only Mia Maid right now) successfully pulled off her fashion show - which was her Value Project - and I think all the girls had a blast! All the girls (except Esther) got their hair and make-up done by the leaders and most of them did all the categories. The categories included: School, Date Night, Sunday dress, Prom, and Wedding. Sis. Rogers (our YW President) wore her wedding dress, which was almost 30 years old and it still fit!...In fact it was a little loose! I like my calling mostly because Sis. Rogers is really glad I am in her presidency. She tells me how helpful I am and how grateful she is for me, and I really appreciate that and it makes me more determination to continue to be involved and committed to my calling. Ben got married so he wasn't around for Mother's Day (because he was on his honeymoon), but me, Amy, Jason, and dad wrote letters of appreciation to mom and read them out loud to her on Sunday. Dad basically listed qualities he most admired and appreciated and read them off, expounding on each one. Amy's was hand-written, but she too expounded on other things. Jason didn't write his down, but he pretty much thanked mom for being the person she is, because he can see of a lot of her in Amy and he was grateful for that. And I...well I wrote a long letter and was crying when I wrote it, but I couldn't even start reading it without tears running down my cheeks I love my mom. I am glad Amy thought of this as a Mother's Day idea, because it really gave me a chance to sit down and think about all the reasons I love my mom - and I think it is exactly what she needed too. Now she can (on her own time) read and re-read the letters and know she is loved.

Liberty

Give me liberty, or give me death!...I think this is what my goats yell at me, whenever I pass by my French doors, get out of my car, take out my trash, turn on a house light, go out to feed them, or make any movement/noise that they are aware of. :} I cannot tell you how many mornings I am awoken by these passionate calls for freedom - luckily the neighbors haven't complained yet...maybe they are worried about their own freedoms they are illegally borrowing, to be concerned about my obnoxious goats.

Pursuit of Happiness

My house is slowly coming together...no I still haven't fixed my window, and no...my plumbing hasn't been fixed either. But, dad did help me move my fridge and island around to give me more function in my kitchen. My home teacher has been so helpful with my yard! He came out and cut all the weeds down in the front and back. My goats (when I let them) also do a great job at eating my backyard weeds and I do a pretty good job at moving my chickens around so they continually work at my weeds. To be completely honest, I haven't really done much with my house because I do not make the time necessary to work on even the most simple projects (like making my chicken feeder). When I do do something though, it's a big deal! Like the most recent accomplishment, I swept my back patio! It has been really windy, and with all the hay my goats eat/have in their pen, the patio needed it badly. It definitely looks better - I can't wait for Memorial Day weekend because I'm planning to get a lot more stuff accomplished! I've already started my list...

Until next time!

Ashley

Free-Shipping Dilemma

So, I got onto Amazon on Monday to pre-order the next two 39-Clues books that are due to come out soon. Turns out I was 5 bucks short of getting the free shipping deal, so I decided to get the movie The Blind Side, which completed my order and I got the free shipping I wanted!

Well...Tuesday came around and my coworker reminded me that the new series by Rick Riordan (author of the Percy Jackson series) came out that day, so I immediately jumped onto Amazon and put it in my cart! Well...my problem is Amazon is so cheap sometimes that I needed to get something else in order to qualify my order for the free shipping. I decided to get the movie Sherlock Holmes and can you believe that I was still 4 bucks short of my free-shipping limit...but I couldn't think of anything else I wanted or needed....so I bought this chalk reel for $4...it was the cheapest thing I could find...

I only wish I would have realize on Monday that the new series was being released so I could have added it to my Monday order to make it complete...instead, I have The Blind Side, Sherlock Holmes...and a chalk reel, just so I could get my 3 books with free shipping...I have a problem.

I love Amazon because they have everything I need, and Amazon loves me because I give them all my money. 

Catch Up

So, I went to a LA Dodger's Spring Training game with Glenn, Bri and Glenn's mom. Glenn won a Twitter competition and got to throw the first pitch at a game of his all-time favorite baseball team!

Glenn, Bri, and me!

They had SO much Dodger paraphernalia, that they were able to dress me head to toe in Dodger colors so I was well prep'd for the game! The game was a lot of fun, I took video of Glenn throwing the ball, and I think I did a pretty fantastic job of it!

This is totally unrelated to the Spring Training game, but I made this pie and it was so delicious and looked great! So of course I had to take a picture!

Goats!

Hello! Meet Two Dot and Billy, my new goat and doe-ling. I drove up to Congress, AZ on Friday afternoon, accompanied by my grandma and picked these babies up from LPA Farms in my dad's truck.

Two Dot (the mom) follows me just about everywhere when I'm in the back yard. Billy (the baby girl) is still nervous, but she'll get more comfortable the more she's around me. I practiced milking Two Dot today...it wasn't too bad I just need to figure out how to aim better so I can collect the milk and drink it.

A little R & R

I gathered up my blanket and pillow from my bed, grabbed my clean kitchen rug (for a barrier) and laid out on my cement slab in my backyard and watched the clouds go by. I even took a little nap out there on the ground, it was nice just being able to relax and enjoy some of the earth's beauty.

Life Update

So, I started my CFP classes...and I'm starting my MBA at the end of the month. The CFP classes are kinda freaking me out - I know they just started - but the idea that I'm going to have to take a standardized test is nerve-racking for me...I'm much more excited for my MBA because I'm going to minor in Small Business Management. Those classes looked really fun, so we shall see...

I also got my clutch fixed this past weekend (finally!) it was a long time in coming, but I'm grateful to my family and friends for being there when I needed a ride :}Speaking of rides, I took my parents to the airport last Friday because they're going to Rome!! I told my dad that he needs to use the phrase "when in Rome..." a lot, because you know...when in Rome...

Any ways, my house is coming together nicely, my chickens are getting bigger, and D.O.G. is doing fabulous. I have contacted a few places that sell dairy goats because I'm looking into getting a couple :}We shall see how it goes, though.

'til next time! See ya!