Failure

I'm such a failure at blogging. I started off doing well enough, a couple of posts a month which quickly dwindled into one a month...and now I haven't blogged since June.

Someone asked me the other day if I was planning on ever picking it up again, to which I responded with the typical "why? no one reads it anyway." Ironically enough, I proceeded to have three other people ask me in that same week when I was going to pick it up again. Even as I just wrote that sentence, I stopped and rolled my eyes at myself because it would happen that as I say something like that sentence, I get proved wrong.

Anyway, my life...what to say about it? It's a little hectic. And a large percentage of the people who are reading this are thinking right now, "What is she talking about? She doesn't have multiple children running around her all day long, she only has to go to work." Okay, okay, so perhaps I don't have children, I'm not married, and I don't even own my own house...well that list is just making this blog post depressing so I'm going to stop, BUT ANYWAY, I do have a career. Hence, the craziness. Right now is my busy season which means absolutely nothing to you. And even if I took ten minutes (yes, it would take a least ten minutes) to attempt to describe what I do, you would just walk away from the conversation thinking that I was crazy in general. So I won't go into details, just know that I am currently mentally, physically (it is tiring to sit in a chair for 12+ hours a day), and emotionally exhausted. So if a sentence is not grammatically correct in this post, give me a break...you're getting your blog post that you all wanted.

It was shaping up to be a pretty normal fall/winter season going into the new year until the "family bug" hit everyone I know. Let me take a few minutes describe what I mean about this so called "family bug":

Ashley's schedule until the New Year:
Nov 2 - Wedding in Kansas
Nov 3 - Baby Shower in Virginia
Nov 10 - Wedding in Oklahoma
Nov 11 - Wedding Shower in Virginia
Nov 24 - Thanksgiving in Florida
Dec 22 - Wedding in Ohio
Dec 25 - Christmas in Kansas
Dec 29 - Wedding in Virginia

NOW DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE "FAMILY BUG"?????

It's ridiculous people. You do not need to get married or have a baby to complete your life...so STOP. I don't care if you have met your soulmate and are so happy it makes me want to vomit. STOP IT. I can't travel to four states in two months for weddings to see you tell each other and you love each other and blah blah blah. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. To the next person who is going to invite me to their wedding or tell me about their lovely new pregnancy, do it, I DARE YOU.

Alright, I'm off the soapbox now. But if you were wondering, I will definitely be flying in to Kansas this Thursday for my first wedding in Wichita. If you want to see me, you know how to get ahold of me.

The latest holiday craze to occur is this thing called Halloween. I HATE Halloween, with a strong passion. Right now you're gasping and saying, "how can she hate Halloween?" It's actually quite simple, I hate scary things, therefore, why would I ever like a holiday like Halloween? I rebelled and dressed up as a Christmas tree this weekend just to prove to Halloween that it can't best me. Although, due to me dressing up, I guess that Halloween made me participate in it's festivities. Dang it.

The last couple of months in photos...because every good post should have photos...right?

Bought a new coffee maker. The ole Keurig wasn't cutting it for a Sunday afternoon. I just needed an old fashioned pot of coffee. 

Guam...was fantastic. There are no words to describe what I saw and experienced. 

We snorkeled, para-sailed, jet-skied, and almost scuba dived

My company's annual golf tournament was on Veteran's Day. 

Homemade chocolate chip cookies...because everyone just needs them sometimes. 

Mini college reunion one weekend in Harrisonburg. Loved getting to see these girls again!

My first pumpkin carving turned out quite successful if I have to say so myself.

The Christmas tree. Booooom. It happened. 

And folks, that's all she wrote. I have nothing else. And I'm afraid I am just getting more and more sarcastic as this post goes on. Something about being able to write about whatever I want does that to me.

Moving Over the Years

As today included me getting ready to move on Tuesday into our new townhouse, this evening was sent bubble wrapping glasses, etc. As I was wrapping each one, I was reminded at how many things we collect throughout our lives; particularly our younger years when we don't think that we can get rid of anything. As a freshman, I was very sentimental to many of my things but as I looked at photos throughout the years of EMU, JMU, and my current life, I realized that I have become very unattached to objects. I can spot several items in these photos that I still have but there are not a whole lot of these items.  For example: 

Freshman Year: I thought that hanging the road signs in our dorm room was a great idea. I have since changed my mind and lost the road signs at the same point. 

Year two: I realized what a big fan of Audrey Hepburn I was and found an awesome framed photo at Kirklands for $30. I still have this photo hanging in my current living room. And yes, I did remember how much I paid for it....not sure why exactly. But moving on. 

2nd year continued: I invested in my flat screen TV then. This TV still resides in my bedroom. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a lot of money to spend on a TV yet when I look at the TV I bought last year...it was peanuts. 

As a side note, I also still have the circle chair in this photo. This chair will be moving with me as well. (Pier 1 people, best $100 I ever spent)

My first Christmas tree was bought with Liz when we lived together our Freshman year. It was 6 feet tall and cost us $20 from Target. It may not be the best tree, but it allowed a little piece of home to stay in our rooms during the holiday seasons. And wouldn't you know it, I still have that tree in my closet. (Go Target!)

Freshman year: (side bar - not sure why these photos didn't go in here in order) Anyway, birthday celebrations in our tiny dorm rooms. Behind these girls, you can see that Liz and I were definitely pack rats. 

Junior year: my own room. More space to fill....okay, perhaps it was only a couple of feet, but did I make the most of it. That comforter was my first feather comforter and it actually just got switched for a new one this past Christmas (thanks mom!). It is still sitting in my closet...(okay I may still be a pack rat)

Looking at this photo from Junior year, notice the extra closet. I blame this year on when my collection of clothing started. In the corner of this photo you can see the M&M dispenser that still sits on my desk :)

Grad school: Got my own APARTMENT. Do you know what that means? Yup, you guessed it, more places for Ashley to become a pack rat. 

It should be noted that during this year, I also had my first large size kitchen. Thus, the tupperware came out. LOTS OF TUPPERWARE. I have a kitchen problem.

My bedroom before it was organized in the townhouse from Grad school. Notice the white cube organizer standing up. I have since this year collected four more of these in different arrangements. (Once again...Target....Do it....no regrets)

And Senior year: I got smart that year. That year it was all about how many things you can fit in a room before it explodes. But the goal was to make it look like you actually didn't have that much in your room. 

I remember moving out and my parents just exclaiming, "How is it even possible for this much stuff to be in a space this size?" Let me tell you, that was all my mother. I'll go ahead and throw her under the bus for that one. That room was probably my favorite out of all college.

Anyway, lesson to be learned throughout this memory down Memory-Lane. GET RID OF YOUR STUFF. Moving will be so much easier down the road. 

Kansas Ramblings

The nice thing about blogs is that you, as the blogger, can post about items whenever you want and the readers (unless they were there) will never know when the actual event occurred.


For as inconsistent as a blogger as I can be, this concept comes in handy for posts such as this one.


I spent about a week and a half in Kansas a couple of weeks ago but am just now getting around to telling you all about it.


Granted, most of you that will read this saw me while I was in KS, therefore, you know that I'm super late to getting around to posting!

Anyway, the auction is over. All of my childhood things, taken away by the local community.

And while your next thought is probably wondering why I'm not going into some sentimental story about how sad the whole process was, its because it truly wasn't that sad of process.

I don't know if it's the maturity level or perhaps I'm just rational but I went through the whole mind set with the back thought that: "I can go out and buy any of these items over eBay later on in my life if I really want them back."
I remember someone asking me at the end of the day if I was sad to see everything gone. My response? "Nope, sitting here on the couch and watching everything disappearing from this driveway is awesome. It represents one less item that I have to clean up and throw away."


If you're somewhat alarmed that we just gave away all of our family treasures, don't be.

Have you forgotten that my parents have a filled house down in Florida?

Everything that needed to be saved was, and most of those items had already been taken to the new house.


I remember coming back a year ago to the shell of the house with Josh. We both just walked around and couldn't believe how empty the place appeared when there was still so many items in there.


While it was a fully functioning house, the small memories had been stored and packed away to begin their journey to the new house in FL.


I believe it was at that time that I felt the most sentimental about the whole process.
I will say though, for those of you reading this and are part of the crew that helped us out, THANK YOU! We couldn't have done it without you. Actually, we could have but none of my family would have been around to enjoy the rest of the year as we would be dead from killing one another. :)

I also wish to thank my friends that traveled from far and near to spend some time with me that week.

Whether you came from Kansas City, Denver, Tulsa, Newton, Manhattan, and etc...you know I really appreciate all of you.

It was your support and the other people from the community that showed up on Saturday, May 12th, that really made the week complete.

You showed my parents that you support them in their new adventures despite them leaving the community.

You also showed that no matter how separated people may get in our lives, you will still be there when we need you the most.

Upcoming Travels

For those of you who always are telling me that you never know what state I am in...here's the upcoming schedule for me:

May 5-May 14 - Kansas! My parents estate auction is on May 12 so if you read this and miss me...come say holla!
May 18-May 20 - Ohio! I have a wedding for a couple college buddies in Ohio that I am going to attend.
May 31 - REG exam. Boo...probably means that I should start studying!
June 5 - New lease begins on townhouse so I will be moving that whole weekend if you would like to come help :) I'll supply the food and extras....

After that, if you want to see me over the summer...let me know and I'll pencil you in! Its sad when you have to plan at least two months out with me!

Hope everyone's April was full of lots of showers...or is it flowers? Either way, I hope you got whichever one you wanted.

March in a nutshell

I have said this before and I will say it again...I am an awful blogger. I abandon everyone for a full month and still expect you to come check my blog with the hopes that I actually posted something new. Well...here it is, the post to bring you up on the full month of March.

The month itself went by so fast! Between my birthday celebrations, Brit coming to visit, and my company's all-hands meeting...I didn't sleep any of the weekends. So, as I have done before and shall do again in the future...I'll play show and tell with you in this post and simply show you my month of March.  (Please note this disclaimer: I hosted a mustache party (hahahaha) and will be uploading a post of that quite soon, that is the only thing missing from this post but it really deserves it's own post)

Part of the travels that consisted of going to Michigan...I posted this one only due to the fact that I found out I shall be going back to Detroit for two weeks in April. Goody.

I discovered my favorite cupcake place in all of DC, Crumbs. Now, if you know anything about the cupcake scene in DC, it can be quite competitive and a little crazy. While places such as Georgetown Cupcakes have all the hype...they just suck. If you come visit...I will take you to the real good places! The two in this photo are the Good Boy and Salted Chocolate Caramel. 

Won my company's tickets to the court side seats to see a NBA game...okay, so it was only the Wizards but we did sit by Rick Ross...just saying.

Shamrock Festival 2012!!! The DCers love to celebrate St. Patty's Day. I believe I celebrated it for three weeks in a row. My green clothes are all dirty and will probably not come out of my closet for a very long time because I'm so sick and tired of that color. But the Dropkick Murphys were there live and for some reason so was this banana man...I have no idea why we even took this photo...it seemed like such a good idea at the time!

I invested in a fisheye attachment for my iPhone which is demonstrated in this photo and the one below it. I seem to have this sick addiction with the fisheye concept.

Girls! These are a few of my lovely friends from work that occupy my time on the weekends...I honestly would die a lonely girl without them!

This photo just rocks. And it's green. An appropriate way to end this post.

Fisheye Time

Its finally here...the latest piece in my collection: the Fisheye lens. I honestly can't tell you when I first decided that I loved fisheye photos. Probably when I saw the first one and realized how unique they are from regular photos.






And if you've ever taken photos with me, you also realize that I usually don't take the most classic ones. Anyway, after much debate (and help from friends), I picked the one that I wanted to start with. It's obviously not the top of the line but considering that Canon only makes two fisheye lens, I didn't have that much to work with.

Now, for those of you who are wondering exactly what a fisheye does, I am adding a few photos throughout that I snapped around my apartment. It allows you to get 180 degrees and puts a circular frame around most of the photos. Therefore, straight lines are no longer part of the photos. The photo I think that shows the effect the best in this set is the one of the outside of my apartment complex. Notice how there are no straight lines?







If you follow me on Facebook, you will also know that I post a ridiculous amount of photos. So, for more of the awesomeness, check out the next album that I post. I can guarantee that all but three or four photos will be with this lens. It might as well be permanently attached to my camera body :)




 Oh possibilities. Ignore the random things that I captured. I didn't have a lot of subjects in my apartment just screaming, take a photo of me!

Many people think that fisheye = wide angle lens. This is actually not really accurate. Both types are out there for sale but the fisheye allows me to get more of the dark circle around the outside going.

 I look like a midget. It kills me.

This is a great one where you can see the 180 degree factor coming into play. There is no way I can get that angle with a regular lens.

Sailor happy vs. Neon Craze.

It seems to be that the month of February, while short and sweet (no pun intended), seems to be taking its lovely time getting to the finish line. Perhaps I find that it is going so slow due to the exciting things that are happening in March but really, February, you're killing me here!

Today marks the last Monday of my three week jaunt in Michigan. While the population in this State are friendly and nice overall, I am greatly missing out on the weather DC has been having in our absence. Just the other day it was 70 degrees there! Its like God woke up one day and said, "I'm going to show those global warming fools who is boss."

These past few weeks have been up and down for several of my friends. While these issues are not my business to repeat, it has still been a wake up call for me to realize that scary things happen to good people.  If you people, you know who you are, are reading this: my prayers are with you and your families. :)

Among holidays for the spring, the next several look to be some fun celebrations. St. Patty's Day is coming upon us quickly, and I will be participating in my company's float for a parade! Easter is still up in the air, I am not sure what is happening with that holiday. And before long, hellllllllllo summer!

I have caught the summer bug it seems. My fingers are no longer painted dark hues such as reds and blues, the colors have turned into hot pink and neon yellow. Which, speaking of neon yellow, I would like to discuss this new fashion craze: NEON.

My senses are overloaded in malls currently with the new displays showing only bright pinks, yellows, and oranges. For all of you who don't believe in these bright colors, I urge you to not judge those who are wearing them. I mean, think about it, if you start to judge those colors at the end of February, just think about how angry you'll be at people wearing those colors at the end of May. This spring and summer look to bring us two main designs. Which path you decide to take is up to you, but choose wisely, there really is no detouring between the two patterns. The two patterns, you ask?

1. Sailor happy
2. Neon craze

While many of you think that you know me and believe that I'm very excited for this year's fashion lines...you are correct. Considering that I love bright colors and my closet is almost all reds, blues, and greens....I would have to say that the Sailor happy phase has captured me within its grasp. I seem to look like I'm stepping off of a yacht whenever I leave my apartment lately. This leads me to ask myself, perhaps God is telling me to look for a boyfriend in a yacht club? I mean, I do have a lot of student loans....just saying, God :)

Michigan = Allergies

I have come to the conclusion that I am allergic to the state of Michigan.

I know, I know, you're thinking to yourself, "Gee Ashley, that's kind of a ridiculous bold statement." If that was going through your head, then I would like you to explain how I feel fine traveling to and from Michigan, I even feel fine days leading up to the travels. HOWEVER, the moment that plane touches ground in Michigan, my face turns into a blubbering mess. I can't breath, I can't smell, I can't taste, and today, my throat has decided to develop a cough.

When looking at the stupid-ness of this whole situation, at least I have something cool to say to people when they tell me that they're sorry I'm not feeling well. I can turn to them and say, "ya, who would have guessed I was allergic to the state of Michigan?" Even saying that out loud makes me feel silly inside.

If you've made it this far in this post, you are guessing that yes, once again I am living in Michigan. This time my team is here for three weeks. There are many positive things one could say about this state although I would prefer to leave those things to people that actually enjoy this state. I would prefer to mention things such as its cold, snowing every day, and has lots of yucky things that I'm allergic to.

In conclusion to this rant...I am sitting in my hotel room working with a Kleenex stuck up my nose.

Life continues to go on. I have several exciting weekends coming up in March. We fly back to DC (!!) on my birthday and Brittany arrives a week later! I'm extremely excited for her to come visit and I'm not just saying that because she will be reading this :) Being able to show my friends the life I am living in DC is something I am very grateful for. Once these people see everything I have going on, they often stop asking me when I'll be moving back to Kansas...or Florida as my father asked me last week. Now, just to be clear, Brittany does not bother me about when I'm moving back. Let's not confuse this.

After March comes April then May. May arrives with excitement as I will be traveling back to Kansas for a week!

Happy Valentine's Day

In case you ever ever need to know...this is what the whoopee pies (Valentine's-Day-style) look like. 

They were pretty yummy...thanks Farah :)

So how does one celebrate Valentine's Day best? Make amazinggggg cupcakes? Check yes.

As you can see by the previous photo and this one, I spent HOURS on these cupcakes.

I have pretty good cracking skills...not gonna lie

I got nothing for this photo.

I have mad macro skills...and like the color red

FROSTINGGGGG

The pretty cupcakes without the frosting

oops, snuck a picture of the chicken I was frying at the same time. That's right people, I'm a baker and a cooker.

Ta-Da!

If you didn't get one of these...they wish they could've have been welcome in your stomach

And at the end of every great baking experience is a clean kitchen.