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! :}

I Step on Cigarettes

Ever have things you ALWAYS do? Almost like OCD rituals that appear to be random to everyone else, but it always seems so purposeful to you? For example, I step on cigarette butts - but not all of them, just the ones that look like they could be used again. I also avoid cracks in the streets - not because I'm afraid of bad luck, but because of the movie Land Before Time :}

Thanksgiving and Free Shipping

This year I was in charge of stuffing - this is a family tradition on my dad's side of the family. Every 'kid' (my dad and his siblings) gets an assignment for food/dessert and their kids (my cousins) also get assignments for sides and such.

I've never made stuffing before so when I looked on the back of the Stove Top box I got a little nervous when it was calling for things like sour cream, frozen mixed vegetables and diced chicken - but hey people make stuffing every year, and I have never heard of someone dying because of it, so I got all the necessary ingredients and headed for home. What I should've REALLY been nervous about is my reading comprehension.

Stove Top Stuffing is far too simple. I realized after I got home and filled a pot full of water and oil, waited for it to boil, and then dumped my package of stuffing into it; that THAT is stuffing...and all the chicken and sour cream stuff is for a stuffing casserole. In that moment it hit me that THAT is why it said 'stuffing in 5 minutes' on the front of the box, because - to be honest - until then I was super confused that it said 5 minutes on the front of the box, but then it was going to take 30 minutes for the recipe on the back of the box....soooo....yeeeeeah...

Um, I love getting stuff in the mail. It's like Christmas and my birthday wrapped into a sweet little package or card AND when I order things online I feel like I'm being a very good citizen because I use the mail system. :} Another thing I love is Costco. I love everything about Costco, but to be honest I have never ordered anything from Costco.com, until now. Today I bought myself a blender, an air compressor and a fruit basket (hehe) all online and all without shipping and handling (which isn't entirely true, the S&H was just added to the original price so it feels like it's free shipping - which I think is almost better). With all this free shipping I feel like I'm shopping from Amazon.com without having that $25 limit - heaven! :}

I guess

If a baby can learn to walk, then I can learn to move on.

Have You Thought to Pray?

This is the song that is in my heart tonight:

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain...

The tune came to me suddenly this evening when I was praying - I didn't even plan on praying... I had just finished bathing Bleeker (which was an ordeal), dried him off and was getting myself ready for bed; when this overwhelming feeling hit me. 


I didn't know what to do or where the feeling had come from, but suddenly I found myself kneeling by my bed but then I didn't know what to say, so I started thanking my Heavenly Father for my friends and family and my dear little puppies that love me no matter what. And then this  emotion came up again and I just started crying - I prayed for Travis and as I knelt there sobbing with relief and sadness, the song came to me.


I know my Heavenly Father loves me. I know he knows me. I am so grateful for the unexpected humility I felt tonight and for the chance to express my heart to the one person who understands it the best. What a beautiful life this really is, and I am so grateful for the prompting. I have never been brought to my knees like that before, but it was exactly what I needed to do.

My Therapy

Writing is good therapy. Therapists usually suggest writing down your feelings and significant life events...typically nothing extraordinary happens externally (unless you're Mike Birbiglia), but that emotional connection that occurs when pen meets paper is priceless and 100% intrinsic. So here I go, but I am pre-warning you that I will probably ramble and not make sense at times.

A while ago, when I had a moment of clarity, I wrote about the importance of knowing yourself: how you think, how you feel love, how you give love, and how events affect your individual perspective. But I think I left off one important piece we need to find personal understanding with and that is our intuition and how to act on it.

My intuition is a complicated feeling of peace. It has a compilation of emotions and memories from my childhood. In an instant it takes me back to Washington in the rain, it has a smell that I can't quite place, it has an anticipation and excitement that I used to feel when other people were opening their gifts and I wanted to help, and the laughter from when my mom or dad would tickle me silly. This intuition is so familiar and powerful that it shakes me a little when I feel it unexpectedly. It has only been recent that I have tied this feeling directly to personal decisions. It's not like a 'yes/no' answer to some random question. It's something I feel when I have been pondering something important to me. I think the reason I am only just starting to act on this feeling is because I have kind of given up trying to fully understand what the prompting means. I have had too many experiences where I knew what I should do, but didn't act on it because I didn't trust that my intuition knew what the ending would be.

But you know what? Whenever I act on it, I am more at peace even if the decision was harder. Since I know who I am, how I think, how I feel and give love, I need to start trusting my intuition with my most sincere and important needs. I'm not going to settle on something else because I don't know what the outcome will be, I'm going to start holding myself to the standards of my intuition and cry through the hard times, and hope for the best times.

So when things don't feel right, I am going to start listening to those promptings.

Duck, duck, goose!

I'm a good citizen, for many reasons, but this post has been inspired by a recent act of goodness. My neighborhood roads have been getting re-surfaced this week and so there are all these reflective barriers in the middle of the streets. Today on my way home from work after the sun had gone down, these two little girls were out in the middle of a dark street playing with the reflectors and waiving at passing cars. So I rolled my window down and said strongly, 'get out of the middle of the road it's dangerous!' I probably saved those girls lives and I hope I scared them enough to make them never do that again.

I feel so blessed to come from a family and religion that puts family first. I was able to share a little bit of the testimony I have in families tonight with a guy  I am working with to move his mother into our community. He was asking me if the transitional time was for the elderly to get acclimated to the new environment was 2 weeks and if he should plan to visit after 2 weeks to make sure it's easier for her (she's not all there and doesn't recognize him half the time any more). Immediately, I was responded with, 'No. I think family is the most important thing to her right now. No one would be better suited to help her with this transition than her own family. No one knows her better, has your family smell, tone, and attention. Transition will be hard enough with the support of family." I felt just a great sense of comfort between him and I for that moment. Like he was thinking about a concept he had never considered before, but something he probably believed in his heart without realizing it. It was a cool feeling.

Some cute stuff from work (I work in an Assisted Living for the elderly):

A couple times a week little old ladies chatting in wheelchairs smile and say hello to me as I pass them in the hall and turn to one another and say loudly (because they are both going deaf) "Wow do you think she could get any taller?"

Mary is a lady I say hello to a couple of times a day, take her to meals and help her find things that she has misplaced.
Mary: Excuse me young lady you have very good posture. I used to be a therapist so I can tell and you do*smile*!
Me: Thank you Mary! My mom always told me to stand up straight.
Mary: How do you know my name*concerned face*?!
Me: Mary I work here.
Mary: You do?!

What's New Baby Boo?

Yay! I got a new job. One that I actually think I could make a career out of. I have a company cell phone and my own office (with a door), I interact with people, and it's just up the street from me! The change of pace is something for me to get used to still, I have never worked in a position where I couldn't leave my work at the office. The cell phone and interaction with people make my position a little more demanding on my time, but I'm adjusting and I'm grateful for the change!

Outside of work life is as normal as I can make it. Though my house has been neglected since I am finding I have even LESS time to do necessities like laundry and general house-keeping. My laundry is so overwhelming, that I don't even have enough baskets to contain the piles. Bleeker (my standard poodle) is highly fascinated with my dirty laundry - so much so that Travis and I found ourselves giving him hydrogen peroxide the other night to induce vomitting after he swallowed my panties!

Gross as that may be, it has definitely raised laundry and house-keeping to the top of my priority list. What I really need is someone to come over and oversee my organization in each room. I did that once with Amy and she sat there while I organized. I have discovered something about myself - especially as I get older...I am co-dependent when it comes to cleaning or shopping. I rarely ever go shopping alone and when I do it's only because I have put it off so long that I will either starve or run out of toilet paper. Cleaning is simple to do, but deep cleaning and organization seems to be much too hard for just myself to concur (or even start). :}

Life is good, when I get stressed Travis takes me to get a pedicure and we watch a funny show or go see a movie. Recently he expressed interest in clipping coupons and starting to shop more and eat out less. We still eat out, but we are starting to collect tons of coupons so we can get things super cheap and maybe we'll eventually transition dining out, to staying in. If anything, we'll always have toothpaste we got for free on hand! I'm so glad Travis wanted to get into coupon'ing, 'cause it's kind of a dorky thing, but he is ALMOST too cool for me, so I think with this little bit of dork he's got going, levels the playing field quite nicely ;}

Until next time!

Kisses,

Ashley

Being Tall is a Disorder

I would like to point out that if you are 5'9" you're still 'short' - I'm on the short end of who this applies too, and maybe I wouldn't apply at all except I have exceptionally long legs. I'm sure there are many short people out there who wish they were taller...but you never hear of people growing taller as they get older...no, the only direction is down.

Since this is the case I wanted to share with you an epiphany that came to me today as I entered the ladies' restroom. Toilets are not all built the same. Sure they all have the same function, but can anyone tell me what the most significant difference between the handicap stall and 'normal' stall is? Seat height! I walk into the restroom at work this afternoon and some shorty is occupying the handicap stall so I try out a 'normal' stall... I mean, seriously girls use those stalls all the time so it shouldn't be too bad right? Wrong, when I squeeze into the stall and shut the door I felt like I was looking at my niece's potty. You know, that small plastic thing that is a foot off the ground?

I take a deep breath, turn around and start to sit. After my knees start to reach my belly button I start to get nervous...did I miscalculate?! Quickly I turn around and simultaneously my cheeks hit the seat. Well, (I think to myself) this is comfortable - as my knees are almost level with my boobs! How any woman taller than I could have managed such a position I don't know, but I have definitely decided I can’t do that again. I needed the help of the toilet paper holder as leverage to get myself into standing position. I bounced off the stall walls like a pin ball, as I maneuvered my way around the door and freed myself from the stall. I have never felt more handicap than when I was using the ‘normal’ stall. Which must mean I too am handicap.

So, to all my short friends: remember me and my story before you take the handicap stall in a public restroom. Remember the power you have to help others; it is, and always be through simple yet profound choices. Choose the normal stall and you may just save a life.

Seat Belts and Economics

So I haven't been wearing my seat belt as much lately. In fact I didn't even notice that I wasn't wearing it as much until tonight when I was driving home. You see, the connection to my car battery is loose and instead of taking 10 minutes to tighten it, I just wiggle the wires under my hood when the car shorts out. Well, for a couple of weeks my check engine light was on, then my windshield fluid light came on too, they would beep at me, but all of a sudden the check engine light went away, and there's no more beeping. There hasn't been for almost 2 weeks...and it just hit me this evening that I haven't been putting on my seat belt as much because my car isn't reminding me to do it when I forget!

I decided that my brain was shrinking, so I signed up for an Economics class at UOP. It's a part of my MBA program so it's not some random class, but I'm a little nervous because Economics is intense. Wish me luck over the next 6 weeks (since the class started this week), I'm gonna need it!

Three Days in One: My Trip to the Great Lakes

Let's start this day off with a trip to the zoo. Minnesota has been BEAUTIFUL so far and the zoo at perfect weather. The clouds in the sky toned down the sun and was the perfect back-drop to the tall trees and green grass. We went on the Minnesota Zoo Monorail, and lucky us, it was the Dr. Seuss edition so the whole time the tour guide was reading in rhymes. Scoti (Travis' niece) was really good during the monorail, but didn't actually take much interest in the animals. Whenever I go on 'explorations' like that, I always anticipate a dinosaur jumping out of the trees and eating the train - though no such thing happened on this trip, but most of the animals were just as scarce as the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Right after the monorail tour the Dolphin exhibit put on a show, it was SO fun!!! There was a boy dolphin that was 48yrs old, a momma dolphin that was 24yrs old, and her baby dolphin that was just 10 months old. Super cute family and very talented. We visited the grizzly bears after that and I have never seen bears this active. One bear kept swimming back-n-forth in front of the glass with a curious expression. At one point two bears started to rough-house a little bit and the third bear came over to regulate, slapped one of the bears on the shoulder and growled - it was pretty cool.

We came home after spending the morning at the zoo to take a nap before we headed out to a Minnesota Twins game. I don't know how long I'd been asleep, but all of a sudden Travis is shaking me awake and telling me Prior Lake, MN was just given a tornado warning. Not much longer after that did we hear the sirens. That was a pretty eerie sound, not like the movies, but not something I've ever experienced before. The storm passed us, but it got pretty intense there for a minute. You'd think 'oh we have a tornado watch, so the game is SOL' but actually the sun came out, the sky cleared up, and we were off to the ball park about an hour after the storm passed.

Baseball in Minnesota is NOTHING like baseball in Arizona. Minnesotans actually cheer for THEIR team and there is definitely a strong sense of spirit in the air. The park was huge and had some tasty food! Travis went to town on the most amazing nachos I've ever seen, and I enjoyed a foot-long hot dog - yummy. The umpire ejected the Twins coach in the 7th inning but other than that, the game was pretty eventless. We left at the end of the 9th still 0-0. On the radio we were able to enjoy the final minutes as the Twins win the game 1-0.

This day felt like 3 totally separate days. Probably because each event was separated by a nap and each event was so different. I love Minnesota! The people are nice, the scenery is beautiful, but I love the weather most of all. Rain, clouds, cold breeze...sign me up!

Summer Time and the Livin's Easy...

With summer just around the corner I thought I'd jump in and say a few things.

Travis and I have at least two fun trips planned. At the end of May we are going to Minnesota to do some sight-seeing and general fun! :} Travis' oldest brother lives there, so lucky for us we have a place to stay and people to do things with! On May 1st they had a snow storm, so we are looking at semi-cold weather (when compared to AZ's mid-to-upper 90s) when we are there at the end of the month.

Our next trip will be in June when we go to Disneyland! Travis' parents are taking the whole family to Disneyland, and I'm super excited. As I was cleaning out my office today, I found my VERY OLD Disney autograph book...and I think when we go in June I'm going to bring it and get as many autographs as I can. I have a few from when I first bought it, but not enough.

Some other exciting news, I got moved to a different department at work - same old role, but new environment and management so I'm excited to see how this helps. With the change came a change in schedule and attitude. I get off earlier, and I'm a lot happier - which is fabulous.

Bleeker is set to have his man-hood removed early June and no one is more excited about it than me. He runs around like a crazy-dog and humps anything that will let him - it can get pretty embarrassing when I have to carry my niece around so my dog won't continue to trip her up trying to get the best position...

I have blue in my hair, as extension pieces - it's a new thing and takes a little getting used to, but my hair dresser does a great job at making the pieces peek-a-boo through my hair so it's very subtle. My hair is getting longer, and I LOVE it!

Pandora

I love Pandora, because it gives me that window into a different world. I get to listen to Big Band and swing music whenever I want...well, as long as I have wifi and the best part is that it's free! Amy Winehouse Radio is my favorite station as of late - she may be crazy, but I love her voice and the variety of music that plays with her music.

Check it out if you can.

Kisses!

Ashley

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Today has not been the best of days. And as I sit here with tears in my eyes trying to decide why I feel this way, a series of unfortunate events flash in my mind.

I know this is pathetic, but it all starts with being laid off from University of Phoenix. Some might say "it's just a job, you'll get another one!" "You have so much to offer, don't worry about it - it's just one of a million jobs." But it was so much more to me than just a job. Besides the fact that I was amazing at it and loved what I did. University of Phoenix was my first real job after I got divorced. UOP saw me through 3 heart breaks, a Bachelor AND Master degree, countless friends, disappointments, successes - for the last five years my life has changed drastically, but my one constant was always UOP. So to be thrown to the curb when my life is now in the process of changing again and making big decisions, I feel like the carpet has been pulled out from underneath me. The sure confidence I once had is injured. What's worse is I got a job in the same field doing the same thing, and I hate it. It's seriously like I just went through a traumatic divorce (UOP) and instantly jumped into another relationship that is exactly the same, except worse (new place).  :{

Earlier this week (Tuesday) I was rear-ended. The line of cars ahead of me stopped quickly so, as I quickly slow down, I automatically look in my rear-view mirror and was shocked to see and instantly comprehend that the car behind me wasn't going to stop in time. I quickly looked forward and let go of my break petal, in the next instant she hit me and I slammed on my breaks. Luckily I didn't hit the car in front of me and my car is okay for the most part besides a few scratches that will get fixed through her insurance. But now my back and neck hurt and - again - I am reminded that the health insurance that had been so easily accessible through UOP is no longer around and the COBRA insurance hasn't processed. I go to the ER by myself on Wednesday night to get an x-ray and some medication.

Today, the trainers at my new job let us go an hour early, and I'm thinking "Life is good!" but as I'm merging lanes on the I-10 a truck changes his mind about letting me in and slams into my back tire wheel well. His bumper gets stuck on my wheel well and separates a chunk of my wheel well from the body of my car.  He doesn't stop, I can't get his information because he changes lanes and is behind me...lovely.

So, where am I at? Oh right, no job, no insurance, got hit, hurt my neck, got hit again, hurt my car - oh and did I mention that it took almost a month and a half to get my severance (which was supposed to process in no more than 30 days) - that one was my fault, but due to mistaken information relayed to me on the day I got laid off.

I know that sometimes I'm a cynic, but I would like to think that I'm genuinely a good/fun person. I guess right now I just don't feel secure. So what does one do when you feel this way? Vent through a blog? Go see a movie by myself?

I hope something works.

Kisses to all who got through that mess of a post.

Angry Birds

I started this week off with three chickens; but now I am down to two. Chicken #1, #2 and #3 were great layers in their day, but it has been months since they have earned their keep. I have been keeping them around any ways because killing chickens is serious business (mess-wise) and I just can’t bring myself to kill a perfectly healthy animal. Chickens #1 and #2 somehow escaped the coop while Bleeker and D.O.G. were outside.

At the time the terrified SQUAK from chicken #2 rang out, I was chatting with Travis. When I ran out to see what the matter was, she was huddled in a pile of her scattered feathers. Bleeker alert to my arrival ran up to me, excited to show me what he had discovered. He was quickly shuttled into his crate so I could evaluate the damage done. I couldn’t see much because it was dark so I ran back inside and shuffled through my rooms looking for my flashlight.

I couldn’t find my flashlight so Travis came over with his. #2 wasn’t doing good, there was a large chunk of feathers missing and she wasn’t going to heal so Travis and I were left with the responsibility to stop her pain. I felt so bad for her, and the last thing I wanted to do was botch her execution…so Travis and I threw some ideas around trying to determine which would be the best. I don’t have a hatchet, so we used a scraper I had.

The scraper was on the end of a 5ft pole; so I held the pole in place while Travis took a heavy swing with my rubber mallet…unfortunately, his first swing missed the pole entirely and instead fell on my hand. OUCH!

Travis was able to carry on without me and I am happy to say he did a clean job of it. I think this was Travis’ first ‘farm-life’ experience, but he was a natural :} Chicken #1 disappeared for a day but was roaming around two days later, so I’m just assuming she was in hiding.

I hope I don’t have to do any more executions for a long time! They are not fun! But I’m glad Travis was there to help me, he was fun to watch – since it definitely freaked him out a little, but I think he was trying to be brave for me :}

Sorry this was so long!

Kisses!