My Own Little World

I'm Back :)

2010-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hopefully I can start posting on a more regular basis now...I have computer access all the time (first time, ever, lol), and I do have extra time on my hands so we'll see if I'm able to keep it up or not.

Since my last post, I've moved to Florida. Pretty much anyone who's reading knows this, but oh well, I'm updating. Jay (my boyfriend of 8 months) and I now live together in Bradenton, FL.

I work for a cute little coffee/sandwich shop as a dishwasher, and I really like it :) I've got a good boss and co-workers, the pay isn't bad, and I'm progressively getting more hours each week, so I can't complain. Jay works for Del Monte, at the port where their ships bring fruit in from South America and it gets loaded onto trucks to be transported inland. He works in their check-in and out office, and likes it pretty well there. We're really happy together, and have just been enjoying our time together, which is still very precious to us after doing the long-distance relationship thing for so long.

We're not pregnant, or engaged, and don't plan to be for a while, so don't ask. Lol.

Other than that, life continues on as usual. There isn't a whole lot else new, but I'll come up with stuff to write about :) Please leave comments to help encourage me along the way!

I'm Slacking Again

2009-09-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

I completely ruined my daily posting streak. Oh well. Random:

-Not much new to report on, I'm still working (only day shifts now, no nights! WOOHOO!!!!).

-I've been walking the dog twice a day, after missing her walks for an entire week (pure laziness), I've kept it up for quite a while now so I'm proud of myself.

-In related news, I lost ten pounds, which is always good! I'd given up on weighing myself for quite a long time, so I'm not exactly sure when this occured, but it was very much an encouragement to keep up with the exercise :)

-Official announcement, although I'm not sure who (if anyone) reads this...I'm going to see my boyfriend, Jay, in Florida, in October! I'm completely psyched. It's a much-needed vacation, and is sure to be an awesome visit. I know I haven't shared much about him, for multiple reasons, but inquire if you're curious and I'll email about it. I just don't want to post details on here. Again, many reasons.

-Getting a new cell phone! By far the nicest one I've ever had it's the Gravity 2, and I should be getting it this Wednesday or Thursday. I'm super excited.

That's pretty much it, in a nutshell! Please leave a comment if you actually read this, I want to know how many people do :) Thanks!

Short and Sweet

2009-09-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'm heading down to Phoenix to hang out with friends...I got off work a little bit ago, and I'm almost done straightening my hair, but I didn't want to ruin my (tiny) streak of posting daily, so here I am. No long stories today, just a pic...

I'm going back in time today, so hang on tight...ME! at approx. two years old :)

Awesome Weather, Bad Timing

2009-09-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to keep my word with how I'll supposedly be posting regularly, although today all I feel qualifies as "news" is negative. I don't like posting about negative stuff (also, it's about work, which I also try to avoid), but once in a great while I guess it's okay. I'll keep it short and sweet, since I really need to get to bed (I should've been asleep about an hour ago, but the internet eats time up like a...idk, hungry teenager or something, lol).

Today I worked with someone I'm not particularly fond of, but I won't go into detail on that...what happened is that I just learned to drive the work van on Wednesday (it's one of those huge, oversized vans that has a bus-style door with steps, along with a wheelchair lift...I can't emphasize enough how big it is). I worked 12 hours today, 8 of it with this person. To make a long story short, I got roped into driving on two separate round trips transporting ladies, and of course today turned out to be the rainiest day we've had since I've been up here. The brunt of the storm hit during the second trip, when I had two of the ladies, along with my (critical) co-worker, in the van and several things happened: the windows fogged up and the defroster took forever to clear the windshield, leaving me driving blind and scared sh*tless for several minutes; the rain (which turned into hail at one point) was coming down so hard it was very difficult to see anyways, the lightning/thunder was frighteningly close, which doesn't normally scare me but freaked me out since I was already very nervous; and said lightning had apparently struck some power lines, screwing up multiple (busy) traffic lights directly on my route, unavoidable, thus multiplying our trip time by 2 or 3x (in the worst of it, I think we got about 2 miles in half an hour). It was not the fun, stress-free day I would've liked...wouldn't have been so bad if I'd only been working 8 hours, but as that's not the case with my new "12 hours each, every Sat. and Sun." schedule (which I don't normally mind, as I enjoy the extra days off it gives me), it made life difficult, and gave me a migraine halfway through the day. I can only hope tomorrow goes better.

ANYWAYS...to end on a good note: it's cool outside!!!! Hopefully it'll stay that way now!! :)

I do have more good news for later, so please don't be discouraged by my negativity today. Sorry if it was too depressing, I just had to get it off my chest. Utter frustration.

And for today's pic, the product of my boredom/insomnia last night (drawing on myself while watching That 70's Show):

Yes, I'm alive

2009-09-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! I know it's been forever since I've blogged, but I have my reasons. Mostly laziness, but I promise there are others (such as trying to finish writing up posts about the road trip, so that when I start posting those, they'll already be done, so I can keep up with posting them until I'm all the way through...it's been slow going, though, considering there's 19 days to write about, and each day takes up an average of one page, minimum). And really, with only like a two-reader following, it didn't seem that important. Although, maybe my following is so small because I don't post on a regular basis?? It's possible. Anyways, I really am going to try to post more regularly, regardless of how soon I finish typing up stuff about the road trip.

So, the latest at the A.T. (Ashley/Travis) Crib is a full-on conspiracy of the electric appliances. If the bread machine stopped working, or the toaster died, or something else miniscule took a turn for the worse, I could handle that. Even buying a new one, $20-30 isn't that bad. However, those things are perfectly fine, they're not the ones that decided to break. Yes, ones, with an "S" on the end. Multiple mutiny. Exactly two weeks ago yesterday, the water heater stopped working, out of the blue. It's not old, our dad just bought it last year, but it quit. I went to take a shower, and waited the usual 45-ish seconds for the water to warm up, but it never did. Five minutes later, I finally gave up and tried the kitchen faucet, just to be sure it wasn't some weird problem only affecting the shower. Not a single faucet in the house would give me anything but freezing cold water, so I gave up and took a cold shower, hoping Trav would know what to do when he got home a couple days later. He got home and had a few ideas, which made me hopeful, but he's tried multiple things and made several trips to the store for new parts (four, maybe five??)...it's still broken. Rather than spend upwards of $100-200 on a repairman, we're waiting for our dad to get home (in "a few" weeks, who knows how long that is) and we hope he'll be able to figure it out without a repairman. Anyway, while this was going on, other appliances got ideas from it, too. The water heater's in the laundry room, so we think they were conspiring together, as about a week ago, the dryer joined the revolution. We're waiting for our dad on that one as well. Luckily, the washer still functions, so now whenever we do laundry, the house looks like a giant clothesline, with garments/sheets/etc. draped over every piece of (clean) furniture possible. This also adds to the humidity in the air (already high, due to rainy weather), making the swamp cooler practically useless, so we're having fun living in a hot, humid house. There's also a refrigerator in the laundry room, which isn't our primary one but we definitely use it plenty, so hopefully it doesn't start rebelling, too.

Cold showers and air-drying clothes...it feels like the pioneer days or something. At least we still have TV and the microwave! Although I probably shouldn't say that, or I'll start jinxing things, haha.

I'll keep updating on our dire situation, and more new stuff with us, so keep checking back!

Today's pix=my new (purple) hair! Check it out...

CURLY:

STRAIGHT:

Road Trip Itinerary

2009-06-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is a rough itinerary, that I just put together, based on my entries in the journal I brought (Travis and I each had one, and wrote in it daily). If not for that journal, I'd have forgotten half the things we did by now. It's a bit complicated, as I tried to peg all the major stops, but not minor ones (there's a fine line on some of them), and for each one I separated it with a comma if it was just moving around in the same general area, and a dash if we were going to a different area. Hope it's not too confusing. I'll be starting my posts about the trip soon, but as you can see, there's a lot to write about, so bear with me as far as time goes. We got back this past Sunday, but just finished organizing and loading pictures last night. So, now that I have those ready, I'm going to begin to tackle the million blog posts it's going to take to explain everything we did and everywhere we went. Enjoy!
-Day 1, 05/12- Packed, Dewey-Mom & Step Dad’s in Black Canyon City, AZ
-Day 2, 05/13- B.C.C., AZ-Matt’s in Phoenix, AZ-Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins’ in Big Bear Lake, CA
(Following are all in CA, from 05/14-05/25)
-Day 3, 05/14- B.B. Lake-New Brighton Beach Campground, N of Monterey Bay
-Day 4, 05/15- N.B.B. Campground-Near/in Monterey Bay: China Beach, Rosine’s (restaurant), Monterey Bay Aquarium-Sunset Beach Campground
-Day 5, 05/16- S.B. Campground-Near/in Monterey Bay: 17 Mile Drive-Motel in Salinas-Gino’s Pizza-back to motel
-Day 6, 05/17- Motel in Salinas-San Jose Beach-Big Sur-Pfeiffer Beach-Mcway Fall(s?)-New Brighton Beach Campground
-Day 7, 05/18- N.B.B. Campground-Near/in Santa Cruz: Fisherman’s Wharf, Boardwalk, Natural Bridges Beach-N.B.B. Campground
-Day 8, 05/19- N.B.B. Campground-nearby laundromat-Dry Gulch Campground, outside Yosemite National Park
-Day 9, 05/20- D.G. Campground-Near/in Yosemite Nat’l Park: Bridalveil Fall(s?), Gift Shop, Mist Trail (Vernal Falls), Public Showers, Bear eating on the side of the road-D.G. Campground
-Day 10, 05/21- D.G. Campground-Near/in Yosemite Nat’l Park: Museum, Ansel Adams Gallery, Lower Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Bridalveil Falls, Swinging Bridge, Sentinel Bridge, Village Store-D.G. Campground
-Day 11, 05/22- D.G. Campground-Near/in Yosemite Nat’l Park: Tunnel View, Glacier Point, Mariposa Sequoia Grove-Step dad’s friends Paula and Jerry, in Fresno
-Day 12, 05/23- Lazy at Paula and Jerry’s
-Day 13, 05/24- Lazy at Paula and Jerry’s
-Day 14, 05/25- Fresno-Motel in Las Vegas, NV-motel restaurant, Treasure Island Pirate Show, Mirage Volcano, Venetian-Back to motel
-Day 15, 05/26- L.V. Motel-Ceasar’s Palace Forum Shops, Cheesecake Factory, Bellagio Botanical Garden, MGM lion(s), M&M’s World, P.F. Chang’s, Paris Shops, Eiffel Tower, Stuck in parking garage for half an hour due to Obama being there-Back to motel
-Day 16, 05/27- L.V. Motel-Whiptail Café in Springdale, UT-Quick drive through Zion National Park-Step dad’s friends Wayne and Stacy in Kanab, UT
-Day 17, 05/28- Kanab-Zion (shuttle): Emerald Pools, Weeping Rock, Court of Patriarchs, Big Bend, and last shuttle stop (I don’t remember the name), back to the car-Kanab
-Day 18, 05/29- Kanab-Bryce Canyon: stopped at a bunch of “points” looking out over canyon-Best Friends Animal Sanctuary-Kanab
-Day 19, 05/30- Kanab, UT-Aunt and Uncle’s in Flagstaff, AZ-Grandmother’s cabin outside Flagstaff, AZ
-Day 20, 05/31- Flagstaff, AZ-Dewey, AZ…HOME!

Even the Best-Laid Plans...

2009-05-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

So remember how back in March (on the 18th, to be exact), I went into detail about our road trip? The one that Travis (my brother), Matt (his best friend), and I were going on?? Well, I think God's enjoying messing with us. I can see it now..."You silly humans think that just because you say something's going to happen like 'this, this, and this,' it'll just magically turn out that way? Ha, let me show you how little control you actually have over even the tiniest of details! Hey, St. Peter, come watch what I'm about to do!" Yea. I doubt that's quite how it's going down, but you get the picture. Here's how it's gone:
-Me, Travis, and Matt? It's now just Travis and I. Matt can't get out of work.
-Driving through Yosemite (versus around it)? Now, due to snow causing road closures on the only paved road that goes the route we need it to, we're actually going through Fresno (AFTER camping out at Yosemite for several days-so we're not actually missing the entire Yosemite experience, just the "driving through it" part).
-Taking Trav's car? Something about driving a vehicle through 4 states (that's if you count AZ) while it's got a cracked radiator and a severe oil leak just doesn't seem like a good idea. New plan: We're taking my car instead (thank goodness we had it for back-up, or we'd be SOL).
That's it (so far). Just found out about the car thing today, and seriously feel like taking bets on what'll go wrong next. Not that anything's gone seriously wrong (i.e. Travis breaking his leg-not like that would ever happen, and being the loving sister I am, I definitely wouldn't laugh about it if it did [haha, Travis...haha]), but it should be interesting to see how things end up panning out.
The good side:
-Matt not coming means we have more room in the car for luxuries (including a camp stove for cooking) that we definitely couldn't have fit in there had all three of us been going.
-The detour around Yosemite means that we'll get to stay at our stepdad's friends' house in Fresno (queue fanfare in celebration of hot showers and warm beds).
-And my car instead of Trav's...well, I haven't found the silver lining in that one, other than how happy I am that we (he) discovered this now, rather than mid-trip (the repairs are about $650 total, minimum). It saddens me, as the Zune can connect to a cassette tape to play music on the car stereo (would've worked in Trav's car), however my car only plays CD's, it doesn't have a tape deck. So that's out the window. I suggested to Trav that we could each take one headphone and keep the Zune on the console between the driver and passenger seats...but we'll probably end up just bringing a bunch of CD's (not terribly bad, but that means less space for packing other stuff, since CD's do take a lot more room than the Zune).
Anyways, there's the update on our road trip plans. I probably won't be able to blog for most of the trip (except the first night-when I won't have much to tell about yet). But believe me, when we get back (May 31st), I'll probably have at least 5 posts dedicated to it (I'm thinking one post per site we visit). So, again, brace yourselves! I'm gonna go picture crazy. :)

Zunerooni

2009-05-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

I got a Zune a few weeks ago, and I love it! It makes me feel a little old that I don’t really know anything about MP3 players, but that’s only because I’ve never had one. I would’ve bought a cheap one long ago, if I’d had a computer to use for loading songs onto it. So I have (access to) a computer now, and I’d wanted to buy an MP3 player sometime anyway, but decided now was the time since we’re preparing for the road trip. Two weeks, two/three people (as Matt may or may not be coming), and many miles means we’ll definitely need some musical entertainment. And, since I broke Trav’s MP3 player a couple of years ago (and he hasn’t bought another one), I went on a quest for one. It was pretty easy, though, Travis said “Get a Zune,” so I did! It was more expensive than I expected, but I’m very happy with it, so I think it was worth the price. It also has several games on it (including sudoku), which is awesome. I loaded a bunch of music (emo and country, mostly), and Trav put a bunch on as well (techno, of course). We have a pretty good mixture, and tried to keep it even between stuff that I like (but Trav doesn't), stuff Trav likes (but I don't), and stuff that we both like (neutral).
Anyway, I'm so very, very excited! There's less than a week to go (we leave the 13th, and will be returning the 31st). When we get back, you'll have to brace yourselves for large doses of scenery pictures. Travis even bought an extra memory card for his digital camera, as I expect to fill up the card he already has pretty quickly. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it to a maximum of 100 pictures per day, as that will work out almost perfectly with the amount of memory his two cards have. I'm very much looking forward to it! :)
A pic to get you ready for the onslaught of photos I'll be posting:

Yosemite Falls, at Yosemite National Park

Seriously?

2009-05-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

(seen at the grocery store)

Things I love about living up north, versus in Phx:

2009-05-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

-Looking forward to any time spent outside rather than dreading it.
-Taking walks whenever I want.
-The way my whole body will be warm, but my face (esp. cheeks and nose) is cold…I LOVE that!
-Never hearing “high pollution advisory” on the news.
-How everything moves slower.
-The abundance of plants that aren’t dead.
-Being able to wear beanies!
-The sound of the wind in the trees (my whole life, I think my favorite place in the world has always been my grandparents’ cabin outside of Flagstaff, in the middle of the forest where all you can hear are the animals and the wind in the trees).
-How it can be raining/storming and cold, but there’s tumbleweeds rolling along the ground.
-How you can totally see a million stars in the sky at night!
-The people are nicer (drawback: this is because they're older...which also means they drive well under the speed limit on a regular basis).

That's it for now, but when I think of more, I'll let you know!

Digging My Own Grave

2009-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting here blaring music that’s not exactly kosher (is that the right word?), having a sort of emotional breakthrough. I guess that’s what you’d call it. A certain ex of mine (I’m going to try to avoid names as much as possible here…I’m not sure if it’ll matter or not that I did), he always told me I shouldn’t take shit from people the way I do (pardon my French, but that’s the best way I know of putting it). He thought I shouldn’t guard my feelings the way I do, that I should be completely open and honest in my reaction to anything and everything. I don’t completely see myself as a pushover, but when I do look at myself that way, I normally overcompensate by being overly aggressive. Stupid. I don’t understand most of the emotions I have, so I deal as well as I can. I let certain people get under my skin a whole lot more than I do others, simply because I’m afraid to sever what little bond there is between us. Lately, though, I’m really very emotionally exhausted from those attempts, and scared that it’s not even worth it. Why waste so much energy protecting something that doesn’t actually benefit me at all, as far as I can tell? I think I have it ingrained in me that things are supposed to be a certain way, and I’ll pretty much go through Hell to keep them that way. I have no idea why.
Everyone’s fakeness is the biggest thing that’s getting to me. It’s like a charade. Just when I feel that I know which part I’m supposed to be playing, it all backfires somehow. I don’t even know how to describe it. If it weren’t for me getting stepped on in this process, I honestly would turn a blind eye to the entire thing. Is that wrong of me? It’s like being guilty by association. And I feel that way, regardless. I’m guilty. Always. No matter what. But back to the ordeal…it’s like…it’s one great big show. All of the actors know they’re acting, and they know that everyone else is acting, but it’s an extremely unheard-of faux pas to say anything about it! I can’t deal with it anymore, though, I don’t want to act. I want to feel things for myself, not because I’m supposed to feel them, but because I actually DO feel them. I want to be able to openly express them. And, possibly above all else, I want everyone else to express their feelings to me. Feelings about something other than how wrong they think I am for coming clean about the charade, for living my life, and for not being exactly what/who they think I should be. I don’t know how else to say it. Even as I write this, I’m walking on eggshells, because I’m not being politically correct, I’m not choosing my words for the sole purpose of avoiding offending anyone. And it really bothers me that just by doing that, I feel enormous guilt. I shouldn’t feel that, this isn’t how things should be! It makes me crazy to know that, to feel it with every ounce of my being, and yet to know that no one is going to support me. It’s as if I’m in the middle of a room full of people, screaming, and no one will even acknowledge me, until I sink to their level and play their game. Only then, will I get anywhere. I know the game is so very wrong, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m helpless.
In closing, all I really want to accomplish with this is equality. I want to be seen on the same level as everyone else. I don’t judge anyone if there’s any way possible for me to help from doing so. Therefore, I don’t feel that I should be judged. I can’t live with hearing my mistakes reverberated back to me tenfold. I feel like I’m a strong person, at least I think I am, but I just can’t handle the pressure anymore. Either treat me one way or the other. Don’t let it rest on whether or not my recent (or not-so-recent) behavior has been up to standards. It shouldn’t matter. All that I’ve been doing in the last few months has been because it’s what I want, and I’ve been falling back into the trap of trying to do everything to please everyone else, but I’m catching myself. I’m not going any further. I’m going to listen to the music I like, make the career and romance choices I feel are best, go where I want, say what I want, and do what I want. As childish as that may sound, I’m resorting to it because I feel I have no other choice. I don’t want to lose myself in the drama. I feel that’s the most mature decision I can make, because this amount of drama shouldn’t be found anywhere but in high schools and soap operas. I know that’s lame, but that’s all I can think of to say about it.
Oh, and of course: I’m sorry. In advance.

PS-Thanks Jenn, for the inspiration from your blog that finally pushed me into doing this, what I should've done long ago. You're such an awesome friend.

Our Very First

2009-04-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today's going to be short and sweet. Partially because I'm multi-tasking, and partially because there's not a ton to say about the subject.

On Friday, March 27, Travis and I went with his church group to the Rock and Worship Roadshow Tour at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix. It was the first concert either of us had ever been to, and it wasn't too bad for our first. We drove separately (so we could leave early and go for a hike), so we planned to meet them there, and ended up running into some of his friends shortly after getting inside, which was a miracle considering how many people were there (I think they said it topped twelve thousand people). We went and picked out our seats, then decided since we were hungry (and had time to kill-the concert wasn't set to start for quite a while), we'd go to the concessions area for something to eat. We waited in (a very short) line for 45 minutes...finally got to the front and paid like $20 for very little food and one small bottle of water. It's what I expected, just frustrating to have to wait so long (we were on the main level). Then we sat in the concert for about an hour and a half. By that time, I had a migraine and Travis was also ready to go (MercyMe, the only artist I knew, hadn't even come on yet). So, we left and stayed in Black Canyon for the night (so we wouldn't have to drive all the way home, since it was so late). Everything that happened was to be expected, but for our next concert we now know two things: we're going to eat right before we go; and we're bringing earplugs.

Pure Pictures.

2009-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today I just have a bunch of pictures that I've finally gotten around to organizing, from the White Cane Parade in Black Canyon City on April 4th, 2009. Enjoy!

Several people I know in Phoenix have told me that they don't understand how someone can just ride a quad down the street (they've NEVER seen it happen). So I guess that's one of those "You might be a redneck..." sort of things, hehe.

This float for the archery club was completely awesome!

Only in a small town...

Awana

There were probably around 40 corvettes. They just kept coming, and coming...of course, Black Canyon doesn't have that many corvettes. It was the "Vette Sette" Club, from Prescott. Lol.

This was 4-6th graders, and they were extremely good.

That's my grandma, on the far left.

Celebration!

2009-04-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, yesterday was my first day volunteering at a Montessori preschool in Prescott. I'll be volunteering there four more days (spread out through the rest of April), then working (paid!) for the first half of May (1st-12th), after which we'll be heading out on our road trip (they were actually only looking for me to work two weeks total in May, to get a feel for it before the summer program, but they weren't picky about which two weeks-so the road trip fit in well with that). We get back from the road trip May 31st, and their 2-month summer program starts June 1st! The timing couldn't have worked out more perfectly. It'll be interesting jumping right into the summer program only a day after we're scheduled to get back from the road trip (no time to recuperate), but I'm really looking forward to it.
The Montessori Method is something I learned about when the parents of the girls I babysat in Phoenix were looking into which school they wanted to put the girls in for kindergarten. Villa Montessori was one that they looked into, and although they chose a different one, I found it interesting to know about the different methods and ways of teaching that are out there.
In looking for a child care job here, I discovered two different Montessori schools, and the one I'm now volunteering at is the only one (out of many) that invited me to observe their routine for about an hour, and discussed with me the possibilities of my employment there (rather than just saying, "fill out an application and we'll call you if an opening comes up, which might happen in the summer but we don't know for sure"). They had the same situation as the other schools, possible openings in the summer but none until then, but they were a lot more pro-active about it. So, because of that and being able to observe (and the fact that I really like the Montessori Method), they were by far my favorite of all the places I looked at.
Yesterday went well, they were really helpful on transitioning me into things. I was able to be involved in their activities, without any actual responsibilities to worry about, so that I could mostly learn by doing and by observation of the way they do things. I know about half the kids' names now (no small feat, with a group of 20-25 children), and they seem to like me for the most part. I had a lot of fun, and I'm really glad to have the opportunity to be paid for doing something I love (I haven't really experienced that a whole lot, so far). They made me feel like an asset, too, in that they're teaching the kids Spanish and Sign Language, both of which I know semi-well (I'm extremely limited, but I know enough to carry on a simple conversation, which is all they really need for the kids). In all, it went great, and I'm really excited about the possibilities.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter, all! Now, I know I'm 21...and Travis is 19...so we're not technically "little kids," but I really wanted to dye eggs. So we did. :)

Travis and I went to our parents' (mom and stepdad) yesterday and dyed eggs, then stayed the night last night and went to Easter services with them this morning (and had a very elegant Easter lunch-sandwiches, chips, and dip). I got Travis to buy an egg dying kit (which I later realized was unnecessary, when I discovered recipes online for mixing your own dye with water, vinegar, and food coloring-essentially the same thing the kit came with), and white eggs (I normally buy the brown ones-cage free, all that jazz) last week, and I boiled the eggs. So, when we got to BCC, we were all ready to go for dying!

And obviously, you know what happened next...so I'll spare you the dyed-finger details, and just reward you for reading this far by showing you PICTURES!

Take a Hike, Part 2

2009-04-04T19:10:00.001-07:00

Here's the second half of my hike with Travis at Badger Springs last Friday.

Our best attempt at one of those "trick picture" shots.

Trying...

Close, but not quite. Travis said he feels like he's not good at ordering people around (for posing the shot), therefore he wasn't able to get me to line my hands up just right.

Mosquito larvae. I thought they were tadpoles, but Trav corrected me, lol.

Lunch time!

Travis did a good job with this picture, showing the huge scale of the rock we were having our picnic under.

Looking up the canyon...

...and back down.

How funny that we both did identical poses. I didn't realize that at the time.

It's cool how "block-y" these rocks are, in rectangle and square shapes instead of round like they usually are.

This frog (toad?) was extremely white. And photogenic!

This butterfly was really pretty.

Minnows.

I was telling him to hurry up and take the picture, as my feet were freezing.

I made it! And judging by my posture, I think I was shivering.

I love how the water does this sometimes, it's all dry sand but there's a moist little squiggly going through it.

I panned the canyon, then put all the pictures together after we got home. I love how it turned out!

Take a Hike, Part 1

2009-03-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Travis and I went to a concert in Phoenix with his church group (which will be its own post), and on the way down there we went to Badger Springs to go for a hike (we drove separately from everyone else). It was pretty awesome, and of course, I brought the camera, so here are some pix for your viewing enjoyment...

Our "butterfly porn," lol. We caught them in the act.

Petroglyphs...it's so completely awesome that these are still around. And that we can just go for a hike and see them (versus having to go to a museum).

We thought this one looked like Saturn.

Wading through the ice-cold creek.

He made it!

Wiping the gooey mud off my feet. It's that kind of mud that sticks to your skin really well. It was difficult, because the water was too cold for me to slosh my foot around in it long enough to rinse the mud off, so I resorted to wiping it on the rock.

"We're gonna take a walk outside today...Gonna see what we can find today..."

2009-03-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Since I've been up here, I've made it a point to consistently take Sadie (the dog) for a walk every day. It's been pretty successful, I've only missed a few days in the month I've been here. Almost every day, I see something that makes me wish I'd brought the camera...well, yesterday, I did! So, enjoy the pix...

The setup of these mailboxes really weirds me out...I've never seen it done this way, and I'm not sure why they did it.

The inevitable golf course

I want my house (someday) to have a red door. It just looks so awesome.

A very old mailbox...really cool.

ROAD TRIP!!

2009-03-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've vaguely mentioned this (like once), but I wanted to dedicate an entire post to it, so here it goes...

Travis (my brother), Matt (his best friend), and I are going on a road trip for a little over two weeks in May. It's one of those things that was always sort of a "we'll talk about it, and keep planning for it, but deep down we know it's never going to happen because we don't have the money, or the scheduling doesn't work out" type of thing that we've talked about for a long time (5 years, maybe?). Well, my brother decided to really make it happen, and for months (possibly an entire year) he's been planning out this trip. He's hammered together pretty much every single detail on his own, which totally amazes me and fills me with gratitude at having such an awesome brother. So, our destinations are as follows (in order):

Big Bear City (by Big Bear Lake), CA

Our aunt, uncle, and two cousins live there, so we'll be staying with them while visiting. Which is pretty cool, since almost all of the rest of the trip we'll be camping out. It'll be really fun to visit them (don't tell anybody, but this uncle is probably my favorite out of all of them in both our parents' families...which is saying a lot, cuz we have ten uncles total between the two).

Monterey Bay, CA

Of course, beach/ocean/etc.=badass (soooo!!! many picture opportunities!!!!!! it blows my mind!)...but the main attraction here will be the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I think it's probably one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) of all the aquariums in the U.S.

Big Sur, CA

Miles upon miles of absolutely gorgeous coastline. I seriously am going to be taking hundreds (thousands? maybe?) of pictures during this trip, I won't be able to help myself.

San Francisco, CA

Dude, the bridge...do we honestly need another reason to visit there?!? So very cool. But, we do have another reason...

Alcatraz (island in San Francisco Bay that was previously used as high-security jail, now is a tourist attraction)

We're going here, which creeps me out but is also very interesting at the same time.

Yosemite National Park, CA

I love nature and animals, etc. so I'm psyched to go here. Words cannot describe my feelings.

Las Vegas, NV

As weird as it may sound, Travis and I have quite a few childhood memories of the hotel/casino places in Las Vegas. We lived in Bullhead City, AZ for six years, and Las Vegas is (I think) about an hour away from Bullhead, so we went there quite a bit (with our dad...I don't think our mom ever took us...which is definitive to their opposite natures). We watched the moving statues in Caesar's Palace, saw the "volcano" at the Mirage, went on a boat ride (inside!) at the Luxor, etc. etc. Pretty awesome stuff. I never really thought of it as 'Sin City' as a kid, probably because I had no clue what actually went on there. To me, it was like a permanent circus/carnival or something. So we're going to go there and sight-see (not gamble).

Zion National Park, UT

I don't know much about this one, but it looks very pretty, and will be fun to hike around and take pictures of it.

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

This one's the same as Zion...beautiful, and I look forward to seeing it, but I don't have much to say about it as I don't know a lot about it.

Grand Canyon, AZ

This one's not definite, we'll go there if we end up with extra time at the end of the trip (Travis left a few random extra days that aren't scheduled anywhere specific, so that we can have the flexibility to do more in one place or another if we feel like it). We've all three been there before, that's why it's kind of up in the air. If we do go, that's great since it's so pretty and all, but if not, I'm happy to put the other places in priority since we haven't seen any of them before.

And that's that! Our road trip in a nutshell. Travis has things planned out extremely well, with driving time, money, etc. I'm impressed by how much time and effort he's put into this. It's going to pay off big time for all three of us.

Blogeroo

2009-03-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is the first blog I’ve ever done where I’ve actually written it out ahead of time. I’m very proud of myself for taking the initiative. I want to know…do you guys read blogs of people you don’t know? Like, you’ve never met them, talked to them, etc.? I do, it’s actually the majority of my blog-reading (which is sadly a very long list, as apparently reading about strangers’ lives is more interesting than living my own). Travis seems to think it’s weird that I find such interest in people I don’t even know. Maybe it’s just that he’s not involved in the “bloggy world.” I don’t think I’ll ever convince him to get his own blog, so it could possibly just be a lost cause. Anyway, I just wanted to share a couple of my favorites.

Whatever- I love the pictures! This woman has an insane amount of awesome colors, everywhere on her site, and it’s extremely inspiring every time I visit. It makes me want to go do something artistic. I love that feeling.

Money Saving Mom- Okay, so I’m not a mom. But who doesn’t like to save money? This site definitely helps me be more frugal, and makes me feel good about myself for finding that next great bargain.

Click Chick- Several random links each day. Easily my primary source for game sites (she calls them “timewasters”), which of course I rarely go onto, since it’s unproductive (lol…just kidding…I love being unproductive!).

Today

2009-03-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

I made homemade mac'n'cheese...and pecan pie. And last night I made spinach enchiladas. Now I'm going to go make chocolate chip cookies. Mmm!

Paul Harvey

2009-03-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

Paul Harvey passed away this past Saturday (February 28,2009). I promise not to post about different icons (Dr.Seuss, now Paul Harvey) forever, it's just that both of these two that I'm posting on have had a significant effect on my life.

You know how, when you traditionally do something with a particular person (or, in my case, people), who you care about, in your mind that feeling gets associated with that particular action? Whether you're doing it with them or not? Well, that's how I feel about Paul Harvey.

My mom was a single parent from the time I was six until I was fourteen. Because of this, we visited my grandparents (mom's parents) quite often (in spite of the fact that they lived 2-3 hours away from us for a big chunk of that time period). And with them, the never-fail lunch staple was sandwiches. We never had anything else for lunch. I always had PB&J, passing up the ham/bologna/cheese/etc. they always had available (my vegetarianism, taking root early on?? Possibly!). I don't remember what time it was, but it must've been around noon, that Paul Harvey News came on the radio. We'd always start early, so as to have the sandwiches made before he came on, and then we'd all sit down at the table and my grandfather (Grandaddy, who passed away last November) would turn on the radio. Sometimes we'd have to listen to a few commercials, or a bit of the previous show, before he came on, but you could tell the second he came on. His voice was very recognizable, but his trademark opening phrase was the main thing that alerted me to start listening: "Hello, America, this is Paul Harvey...stand by for NEWS!" I don't know how they picked exactly which news he'd cover, since he only had half an hour (I think), and part of that was taken by commercials. He usually just had top news for the world, the U.S., and then a random story (a section of the show called "The Rest of the Story"). I never cared about the news as a kid, but when Paul Harvey was giving it, I listened closely to every word. Listening to it now (on youtube! How technology has changed...), I naturally want a PB&J sandwich. And I miss Grandaddy.

So, thank you, Paul Harvey, for giving me such wonderful memories and being such a wonderful radio personality.

Happy Birthday, Dr.Seuss!!

2009-03-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

Today, if you didn't know, is Dr.Seuss' birthday. If he were still alive, he'd be 105 (notice the rhyme? totally intentional.). Dr.Seuss, or Ted Geisel (yes, he had a real name!), is by far my favorite author/illustrator. Of course I love children, so the fact that his books are aimed towards children gives them a certain appeal, but mainly I love the messages he sends with his stories...not your average pointless kids' stories, but stories that actually have meaning behind them. My favorites (narrowed down quite a bit, as I have many) are:

The Butter Battle Book,

Green Eggs and Ham (which he wrote in response to a bet that he couldn't write a book using 50 words or less...bet you didn't know that, huh?),

The Lorax,

Horton Hears a Who (which wasn't done justice in the movie),

and The Cat in the Hat (I have tattoos of Thing 1 and Thing 2...it doesn't get much better than that!)

Check out his website for a bigraphy, games, and a store where you can by Dr.Seuss books. And as my one last tribute to him, for today...a poem:

I just moved to the country club [the redneck version of one]
So I can give my brother lots of hugs.
Where after I write on my blog,
I can go outside and walk the dog.
Today I'll find out if I have a job,
Though my boss' name won't be Bob.
And I'm happy to say,
This could be a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR.SEUSS!

PS-Check out Google's tribute to him, as well!

Catch-up

2009-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

So, I know I've been kind of slow with posting...I really want to post, I just lack the motivation for some reason (that must be a side effect of unemployment). I really have no excuse, either...I have all day, every day, to do pretty much anything and everything I want to. And I have a computer with internet right here in the house. Yea. I'm a lazy butt.

Anyways, I might have a job! I'm going in tomorrow to interview for it, but my potential boss pretty much told me today (less than 5 minutes after I'd met him) that I should be ready to work when I go in there tomorrow for the interview. Meaning, he's already offering me the job, in so many words. I'm really grateful for how it all worked out, too: Travis (my brother) works at Subway. His boss (the owner of his franchise location) has a whole group of friends who all own their own businesses. So, basically, Travis just told his boss I was looking for a job, and that was it! Easy-peasy. I'm lucky to have a brother who has connections. So anyway, this morning Trav's boss told us that his friend who owns a hotel just lost a receptionist, which left him SOL. He's desperate to get someone hired ASAP (do you like all of these abbreviations I'm using?), and Trav's boss referred him to me...or me to him. Whatever. So I met with him today, he wants to do an interview tomorrow (since his wife will be there tomorrow, and she takes notes for him during interviews), and then he basically explained everything as far as duties, pay, and such, as if I was already hired. Yay!

Soooo...I'll keep you posted!

Moved!

2009-02-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

So, I now live in Dewey (with my dad and brother). It's so nice to not be afraid of the summer heat bearing down upon me!

I haven't found a job yet, but am not in a huge rush for that (I'm enjoying unemployment at the moment, haha). Although, if anyone does know of anyplace in Prescott/Prescott Valley that's hiring, please let me know. The job market up here isn't too great, from what I've found so far.

I'm doing a lot of sibling bonding with my brother, which is awesome...we're going on a road trip in May, but I think that will be it's own post in and of itself, so I won't go into detail right now.

I love having a dog again! Sadie, our dog from when we lived with our parents (mom and stepdad), moved here with Travis, so I've been having fun with her.

Email me if you'd like my new address.

That's it for now, but I'll definitely be getting back into my posting routine again soon.

PS-It's pronounced "press-KIT," not, as many not-genuine-Arizonans think, "press-KOT." That's just the way it is.

Nostalgia

2009-02-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

As psyched as I am to get out of the desert (and just in time to miss the heat!!), there are definitely many things I'm going to miss about Phoenix. I already posted about my love for the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, but I realized that I needed to do more. I have many memories of my four years here, most of which are focused around specific places (businesses), so here's a compiled list of those (I'm only listing the ones that don't have locations in Prescott) and a little about the awesomeness of each one:

Clothes/Accessories: Buffalo Exchange. What more can I say? I'm not big on fashion, yet I'm definitely picky when it comes to clothes (ie: I don't like most of the clothes I have). This place has never let me down. When I go in there, if I even let myself glance at the clothing (versus just looking at accesories, like belts and sunglasses), I just can't keep myself from buying something, I really do love the style of their clothing.

Shoes: Cowtown Skateboards. Okay, so I don't skateboard (although if I had a bucket list, learning how would most definitely be on it), but skate shoes are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. And Cowtown has nearly every skate shoe known to man, all in great quality. I love their atmosphere, too (they have a couch! in a skate shop!).

Groceries: Trader Joe's. Again, I love the atmosphere (that goes for pretty much all of these places-that's a huge part of why I like them)...there's a lot of variety here, they always have samples for you to try, and almost everything is available in organic. I think I'd like working there. But, sadly, there's none in Prescott.

Restaurants: The Fry Bread House. If you've had Indian fry bread at the state fair...or at a fast-food place or roach coach...you haven't fully experienced it, because this place has the ultimate fry bread, made the way it was supposed to be made. If you live in Phoenix, please try this place out at least once. You can't go wrong.

Furniture: Ikea. Given, I've never actually bought anything here, I love their furniture, and when I have my own place I plan on furnishing it primarily with Ikea furniture. The style and COLORS astound me, they're like nothing I've ever seen before. I want to paint every room in the house I'm buying someday, 2-3 colors per room, with all different patterns: sponged, striped, checkered, polka dots, and solid. Ikea furniture would fit perfect in my colorful rooms!

Fun: Dave and Buster's (A.K.A. Jillian's). I've always liked arcades, and this place is one meant for grown-ups! It has some pretty awesome games, and although I've only been there once (my alcohol-free 21st Birthday) I really like it, and would love to go again. (side note-I went to one of their locations back when they were called Jillians, but it was a thing for work and I didn't really like the people I worked with so it was kind of a dud.)

Tattoos: Liquid Visions Tattoo. Now, I wouldn't recommend them now, but they used to have an artist (I think his name was Mike) who was completely awesome. His prices were very competitive, and the quality was beyond great. All but one of my tattoos were done by him. Sadly, he left Liquid Visions, and apparently it wasn't on very good terms, as they won't tell me where he went (and I don't know his last name). I've been back there for touch-ups since he left, and was extremely dissatisfied with the service. So, I guess I'll just mourn the loss of my artist, and not go back there again.

So that's it! My favorite places in Phoenix!

Puppy Pix Post

2009-02-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

So I know I'm obsessing a little too much over Friday the 13th (maybe I jinxed myself when I posted Friday??), but I have to blog about what happened. Four things. Four. In one day. I'm not superstitious, but geez...I think I may stay in home all day next Friday the 13th! (me, on Friday, March 13th):

My day, on Friday, consisted of:

1) At work, my friend (who was planning to quit in March) decided she'd had enough and basically quit, on the spot. Of course, this isn't a huge deal to me, since Thursday's my last day...but she was one of only two confidantes I have here (I do have a third, but she's not in customer service so I very rarely see her) that I can rant to about BS we deal with (in our department, gossip spreads like wildfire, so if I talk to anyone else about things, I have the possibility of making it worse for myself).

2) Also at work, someone received a promotion. And to make this really simple, there's 4 levels of superiority here. I'm on the lowest level. The secretary (which doesn't really qualify for a level-basically, below me) was promoted to the next-to-the-highest level, as in, two steps above me. In spite of me leaving, this favoritism and hypocrisy still BUGS ME TO NO END.

3) After work, I went to Ross with Krystina (who I LOVE hanging out with-you rock, Krystina!!!) because she needed to buy some clothes. It was my first day of officially having the car in my name (rather than Russell's), and guess what I did?!? I locked myself out of the car, while it was running!! Luckily, Krystina has AAA, so we called them and she went in to shop while I waited (for 45 min.) for the AAA guy to come let me into my car. I was sooo very happy to see him when he got there :)

4) After getting back into my car, I went into Ross and Krystina wasn't finished, so I started looking around and found a pair of shoes I liked a lot (I hadn't been planning on buying anything, but they were perfect for work and I loved them, which doesn't happen much with shoes). So, I decided to buy them...then came my final catastrophe. I was using a $100 bill that had been given to me by the couple who bought our tan truck. Guess what? It was a fake. Yea. As if my day hadn't been harrowing enough already. So I had a fun visit with the cops (Ross wasn't going to report it, but I asked them to call the police on my behalf so I could get a police report about it). How I looked when the cops got there, to prove my innocence:

They were really nice, though (we got 3 cops and a security guard-we must be VIP criminals!)...they made a lot of jokes and really calmed the mood, since I'd been somewhat freaked out about having tried to use a fake bill to make a purchase. They did tell me, though, that I'm pretty much SOL with that hundred dollars I just lost, unless I can get the people to pay me back for it (which I doubt will happen). Oh, and I don't want to point any fingers or sound insanely racist, but guess what nationality the couple who bought the truck were? If you know AZ at all, I'm sure you'll only need one guess (hint: the husband didn't speak English). And of course, that's going to offend someone, so in advance: I'm sorry.

Krystina and I did have fun after that, we made chocolate-covered strawberries (her for her boyfriend, me for myself), ordered pizza, and watched a movie. Fun fun!

PS-I'm moving to Prescott (Dewey, actually, but nobody knows what I'm talking about when I say that) on Sunday, Feb. 22nd!! Woohoo! How happy I am to move out of Phoenix:

I'll be spoiling the 'bachelor pad' that my dad and brother have worked so hard to set up. Throw a girl in the mix, and it's just ruined. :) (yes, I'm just moving in with my dad and brother, and no, they're not extremely upset about this-maybe they'll get to eat some real meals now!)

And in honor of Valentine's Day:

Happy Friday the 13th!!!!

2009-02-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

How creepy is it that Friday the 13th (alleged bad luck, horror movies galore-including the one about Jason that came out today by the same name, celebration of bad things happening in general) fell on the day prior to Valentine's Day (love, love, love) this year??? I guess it's inevitable, since obviously Valentine's Day is the 14th, so the day before will always be the 13th, and eventually that would've fallen on a Friday. I feel like I'm talking in circles about this, but it's kind of funny and ironic.
It's also ironic (not quite funny, but I'm sure I'll laugh about it years from now...maybe...) that exactly a year ago tomorrow, I got married to you-know-who. And now, here we are, laying that marriage to rest. RIP. I know. It's kind of weird that I'm talking this openly about it when it's not even final yet (believe me, it'll be final shortly...the court just has waiting periods that are unavoidable, so it's a drawn-out process no matter how you go about doing it). It's strange, you would think, logically, the legal system would want to make it difficult to get married, since too many people (like me, apparently) go into it without being serious enough to stick to the "'til death do us part" part of it, and easy to get divorced, since obviously it's not working out. But it's the opposite! When we decided to get married, we went to the courthouse (with our two witnesses), applied and paid the fee, and did the whole she-bang with the justice of the peace, all in like an hour. And the majority of that was sitting there waiting (come to think of it, I recently went to jury duty for the first time, and that consisted of a lot of waiting, too...I think the entire legal system likes to make people WAIT! It always seems so easy on Law and Order, though...hmm.) Anyways, so that was that, we were married. Now we want to end that, and geez! There's 50 million forms, first of all. In all, you have to make like 4 trips to the courthouse. There's required waiting periods in between steps. Etc., Etc. Don't they realize divorce is going to be hard enough as it is?? Do they really think making it so much more difficult is going to convince a couple to stay together??? I was discussing this with a friend of mine, and I think what she said summed up my feelings well:
"'So what's the secret to a long marriage?' 'Well, I wanted to get a divorce, but there was just so much paperwork!!'"
It's not going to change our minds, you know?

Okay, well I'm done with my rant. In spite of my negativity, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy it :)

Please Pray...

2009-02-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

...for this family.

They lost their little girl, Cora, yesterday to a very short struggle with cancer (they found out about it two weeks ago, on January 25th).

March 5th, 2009 would've been her 1st birthday. I can't imagine what her parents are going through right now.

I don't know them personally, but I found out about her from another blog, and wanted to spread the word for prayers for them.

My first post!

2009-02-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I could post about how wonderful my new blog is, etc. etc. But I don't feel like that would do my blog justice, because there's not too much I can say about that. Sooo, here's a real post for you!

I've been telling everyone I know about this and the feedback has only been semi-enthusiastic. So maybe this is something only I would be excited about, but I decided to share it anyway. I'm really into finding healthy recipes and healthy foods, and at the base of all that is healthy produce (since I assume that's probably the least-processed of anything I eat). I go for organic-I know, some people say it's just a ripoff, but until I have space for a garden where I can grow my own veggies, I'm going to get the healthiest ones available. I'd like to keep from putting pesticides, antibiotics, and any other gross stuff they spray on those things into my body if I can help it.

Anyway, I think the epitome of healthy, flavorful produce is farmer's markets. They've grown the produce themselves, so there's no middle man. I feel like I can believe what they say, because they're not some giant corporation who has no idea how many hands have touched their product. And it tastes better. Who knew?

Until now, I never really knew about any good farmer's markets in the area, so I settled for the grocery story produce section. But recently, I discovered the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, and let me tell you, I am IN LOVE. They have jams, chocolate sauces, crackers, nuts, eggs, (pita) chips, and veggies galore! They're on the Southeast corner of Central and McKinley (the first street south of Roosevelt), and it's just an open lot where all kinds of vendors (even non-edible ones, like jewelry vendors) set up their booths/tables/etc. There's live entertainment (a guy with a guitar and a sound system, who sits in a folding chair and plays/sings a variety of different types of music) and a book exchange, take one/leave one (for free). They're open Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, but I've only been there Wednesdays, so I'm not sure if anything's different on Saturdays. Anyone who likes some good in-season produce should check it out!