no i did not fall off the face of the earth
but i do have a new blog. sorry wordpress.
http://soverythankfulformylife.blogspot.com/
check check check it out
25!
I posted this on facebook, and I figured since I haven’t blogged in oh, three months, this could be my first lame attempt to get back into the blogging world.
25 Random Bits about Me!
1. In seventh grade I broke my wrist….running backwards.
2. There is a bridge on Tatum that goes over the golf course that my brother and I call the Ninja Turtle bridge, and we call the hill that’s on THunderbird “Hurl Hill” cause when I was little we were driving and my mom had to pull over so I could barf.
3. I’m slighly obsessed with my job. Ok, I’ll say it: Often I would rather be at work than lots of other places. I <3 Sheatum.
4. I get really antsy when I don’t have a trip planned. Last year I went to Mexico, California, Minnesota, Seattle, Tennessee, and Colorado. Oh, and I’m going to Portland next weekend!
5. Chicago is next on my list of places I want to go.
6. I have Mary Kate and Ashley’s autograph. I wrote them a letter when I was 7.
7. I went to Ground Zero two months after 9/11, and met President Bush, Mayor Guiliani, and Hilary Clinton.
8. I could eat quesadillas all day, every day.
9. A perfect afternoon involves sunshine, coffee, and friends.
10. I was on the track team for like 2 days in High School. Also, I got fifth place in a basketball shoot-out in 5th grade. (Why do they give a ribbon for 5th place?)
11. I’m taking classes again this semester-for fun! Yea Business Organization and Management!
12. I love to read, but don’t do it enough.
13. I have the best family ever! Beautiful nieces and nephews, awesome parents, crazy aunts (love you Fran!)
14. My brother is wayyyyy cooler than me. He’s in a band.
15. I’m obsessed with Tennessee- the people and the place.
16. I want to experience total solitude sometime in the near future.
17. Apparently, I have chronic hives? I don’t know but for the first time in my life I have allergies, and I have to take Zyrtec daily. It’s weird.
18. My car’s name is Blurple.
19. I never call my closest friends by their real name- always a nickname.
20. I don’t think summers in Phoenix are really that bad. I think more often than not, people use it as a conversation starter. “How ya doin?” “Well, its gonna be 110 today…” but it’s really not that bad. Heck, it’s January and I’ve already laid by the pool…
21. My dad is one of the funniest guys I know.
22. My mom and I talk on the phone in pairs and triples. Meaning we hang up and call each other back multiple times.
23. I want to get a dog in the next year.
24. I want Sheatum (that’s Starbucks Tatum and Shea) to start a bike club. We just need a clever name.
25. I have never been more convinced that I live a dream life. Thank YOU for being a part of it.
i’m excited.
Sooooo many great things are happening!
- the muffins I am baking smell AMAZING….mmmmmm….whole wheat banana flax muffins, makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?
- Taylor Swift’s new CD comes out in 2.5 hours. I’m contemplating staying awake and buying it on ITunes at midnight.
- I don’t work till 11am tomorrow…livin’ the dream, I tell ya.
- Friendgiving this Saturday night!!! Good friends, good food, what could be better?
- My sweet friend Kiley is getting married next weekend.
- Going to Seattle in a few weeks with my BFF. Gonna see family and my so cool cousins.
- The weather is beautiful! Finally! It’s like 70s in the day, 50s at night. Perfect for bike riding, hiking, sitting outside and drinking tea and reading a good book at night.
- Oh, and I have really great roommates and we love each other. It’s the best.
And the timer went off….YUMMMMMMM.
“We look like runners with aprons…and cookies.”
Here is the blog I just wrote from the Wall Street blog… wallstreetplace.blogspot.com
Can I first just say how lucky I am to be the “Unofficial Roommate” in the Wall Street Apt.? Seriously, this is not a title I will take lightly. It’s an honor, really.
So Launa and I are on a Lady Date tonight. We started the evening off by debriefing on our weekends, we were both out of town. After the chit chat we went for a run. We are currently training for the PF Changs 1/2 marathon in January. Run/walking with someone else is so much fun. Ok, really, it’s not fun, but it’s definitely easier and way less boring. Every good run is followed by some guilt-free cookie baking. So we are making peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-secret-ingredient cookies. We are listening to “vinyls” and she is currently wooing me with her Simon and Garfunkle collection.
Here are some pics from the evening:
Gertie wanted to help. She is trying to be all domestic since she met Meow Meow.
Ashley 
The Itch
First, can I just start out by saying that I love when I go to log in to Word Press it says, “need an account?” then you can sign up for one there. Or else it says, “Already Hip?” and THAT, my friends, is where I sign in. Thank you Mr. Word Press for making me feel cool, accepted, etc. into the blogosphere. Ha ha ha, why I am so lame?!?
Ok, this blog is not about the fact that I seriously am convinced that I have developed an allergy to the sun, because when it gets super hot outside, my skin starts to itch. This has never happened before in the past 20 years I have lived in the Zona, but for some reason it does now. (I just had to pause to itch my arm.)
Every few months or so I have a desire to just move. The Moving Itch, we’ll call it. It happened again today, and I’m really seriously considering moving to Seattle. I have visited there a few times, and have loved it. I’ve only visited in the summer months though, and I wonder if the rain really would get me down. (Note: Last time I had the Itch, I went on to Amazon and purchased the Seattle Survival Guide: An Insider’s look to Living in Seattle. By the time the book arrived in the mail, the itch had subsided. Ridiculous, I know. And my wise friend Joe informed me that it is Seattle, not the Alaskan Wilderness. Do I really need a “Survival” Guide? Ha.) And job-wise, it all makes sense. We all know how much I adore my job, it would be like the Mothership calling me home. It just seems like a sweet city to live in, with tons to do and explore.
Now I get to thinking, what is it that gives me this desire every so often? Am I discontent with my life here? I really don’t think so. I have the greatest friends and family a girl could ever ask for. Maybe it’s just me longing for adventure, and not looking hard enough to find it here. Or maybe there is some pre-wired desire in my 24 year old body that every one has, but few act upon. I just don’t want to live having any regrets, but I’m also not one for making rash decisions. Get it…rash…Itch…
So who knows…I’m just throwin in out there…
And now, a joke.
What do you call a cow after it has a baby?
Decaffinated. BAAHHHH HA HA HA.
Happy Sunday, Everyone.
Clear Creek Trailhead 117
So yesterday after a quick opening shift at work, I headed up to Williams, AZ to escape the heat and hang out with Miriam and others. I hadn’t been up here in almost two months, which is pretty much a record for me, since I’m basically obsessed with the Property Staff at Lost Canyon, the camp itself, and Miriam and Jon’s newborn baby, Grayson. Oh, and Wilco the Wonder Dog too.
The plan was to have no plans, right? I got there at about 130, and soon after than I road along with MIriam to pick up Jon, and three other guys who work at the LC. They had been hiking for the past three days, so we were going to pick them up about an hour south of WIlliams. They requested we have an extra large pepperoni pizza, a bottle of Coke, and lots of water with us when we got there. We drove through tons of bumpy terrain (Gray-man slept the whole time, how do babies do that!?!?), when we got a call saying, “Hey, it looks like we might be a little bit, more like 345.” OK, well no biggie, cause me and Mir hadn’t seen each other in forever and would love the extra time to chat. We saw a herd of elk (like 40 of ‘em!) and then we waited. And waited. And then decided to take a walk in a little bit, because she remembered a pretty view being near the area. But then we came back because we lost the trail, and thought it might not be the best idea to venture out too far with half a bottle of water and a baby. So we waited some more, and decided to listen to music (Counting Crows! I’m seeing them in concert on Wednesday…WOO HOO!) while we sat in the bed of the truck.
Now its like 5 o clock, where are they!??! Well thank the Lord for cell phone reception in the middle of nowhere. (Note: Both of ours were on the verge of dying.) They called and had gotten a little turned around, but would keep heading North (or East, South, or West…heck if I know) until they found the little road we drove in on. Cool. We started thinking about what we would have for dinner when we got back. Thai food, DEFINITELY Thai food. We decided that honking the horn might help them find us…the horn wouldn’t honk! The car battery had most definitely died. Nooooooo….. We made some calls, and eventually a Super Hero by the name of Jeff Walker would come to save the day.
The boys got back shortly after we realized the battery was dead, and didn’t even care, because we had the pizza for them. They smelled like boys who had been in the wilderness for three days, and started chugging the Coke, Capri Suns, anything with sugar. It was pretty funny. After about an hour the sun started to set, and the mosquitos came out. We wondered where Jeff was, but he was in Flagstaff when we talked to him the first time, so we knew it was gonna be a while. We started a fire- wait, and by “we” I mean Josh, Jon, Ryan, and Mike, next to the side of the road (“I’m sorry Mr. Forest Ranger…Is this trailhead pull off on the side of the road NOT a campground??”) The fire kept the bugs away, and my body warm, so it was pretty much the greatest thing ever. We waited a while longer, as there was some miscommunication in directions to the middle of nowhere. We feared that the Thai place would be closed when, if ever, we got home. Haaaaa. So Super Jeff’s partner in saving the day, Super Amy Smiley went and picked up 10 orders of Pad-Thai to have waiting when we got home.
It was such an awesome, random day getting to spend time outside in beautiful weather, with great people, laughing and loving life. The quick pick up trip ended up taking about 7 hours, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way
Don’t mess with Texas…
I know what you’re thinking….TWO BLOGS IN ONE DAY!!!! YIPEE.
Wish I could share in the excitement, but I can’t, because I’m stuck in Dallas. Boo you, bad weather, late flights, missing connecting flights and looooonnnnnggggg layovers! Seriously though, I really can’t complain, I love flying. I was telling my boss the other day that I love it so much, I am the girl who actually CHOOSES to sit in the middle seat because then there is DOUBLE the chance of talking to some random interesting person. She said that I am the reason she puts her headphones on immediately after boarding the plane. Ha ha… Too bad the guy next to me on the way here slept (and snored) the whole time.
I figure as long as I’m here, I might as well enjoy a good meal at TGIFridays. So here I sit, thankful for my chicken fingers, free Internet pass code (thanks Starbucks!), and my sweet friends I will see in a few hours! And once I hear those sweet Southern accents, it will all be worth it. Yeehaw.
Leavin on a jet plane…
Wooohooooo I’m going to Tennessee for the weekend!
Seriously, can’t wait. I looooooovvveeee all things Tennessee. Great people, Smoky Mountains, Dollywood. I have spent some of the best 11 months of my life there and can’t wait to go back for a few days.
Oh, and I just learned that Sky Harbor Airport has one of the largest airport museums, was rated “America’s Friendliest Airport.” Good to know.
yea, first blog pic!
Note: People look at you funny when you take a picture of yourself in the airport.
Christmas in…August??
So the soundtrack for my day has been so incredibly random, but so great! I have had tons of time to listen to music today, between the three hour plane ride when I organized my ITunes and Ipod (YEA! I’ve been wanting to get that done for a looooooonnnggg time) and driving to the airport and then to Gilbert later on this evening. My playlist has included, but is definitely not limited to: Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin, Akon, Taylor Swift, Colbie Calliat, New Kids on the Block (yes, I admitted it.) the list goes on…
Then I randomly came across one of my favorite Christmas CDs, Third Day Christmas Offerings, and I thought, what the heck, let’s give it a listen, it’s been awhile. And I laughed at myself for listening to Christmas tunes when it is literally 100+ degrees outside.
But seriously, I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC. It gets me in the holiday spirit, and just thinking about baking cookies, red cups at Starbucks, turkey dinners, Christmas Eve service at church, our family’s Christmas craft tradition, white elephant gifts, scarfs…it’s all coming so soon! And most of all, I love the opportunities that Christmas time brings…whether we like it or not, we are (hopefully) a bit more gracious and forgiving with one another, we have even more opportunities to serve our friends and family, and strangers we encounter. My greatest desire is for these little things, traditions, songs, etc. to be ways for people to come to know Jesus, and why there is cause for celebration! And yeah, of course I wish this would happen year round, and I do realize all the stress and $$$ that is dropped on so many material things, but I really just love seeing people love each other. And I can’t wait.
Enjoy the day
minnesota
So, as much as I love Phoenix, and all it has to offer (besides the feeling of being trapped in an inferno from May till September), I really LOVE LOVE LOVE getting away. This weekend I am up in Minnesota for my cousin Tara’s bridal shower.
Tara and I are super close, even though we only see each other maybe once a year. She is only 14 days older than me, our moms are only a year apart, and we have so many memories growing up. My parents used to send Ben and I up for months at a time in the summer to see our cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. GOOD TIMES. I wish I could take a month off life in AZ and come up and do it like the old days- go up to Lake Superior on Grandpa’s boat, watch Grease and Steel Magnolias more times than I can count, ride bikes through the neighborhood (and maybe NOT run into some guys care this time), go up north to my aunt and uncle’s cabin, play board games and Truth or Dare late into the night, wear matching clothes and tell people we were sisters Oh yeah, and the time we decided that we wanted to free the horse at the local park. We named him Willy…get it, Free Willy? We grew up together, and after we graduated college, our godmother took us to France for three unforgettable weeks. And throughout that time, Tar told me she was falling in love with a boy named Mike…and you can guess what happened next…wedding bells!
I see the love and respect they have for one another, and it makes me excited for their marriage, and I’m so lucky to be a part of their special day. Plus, the dress is pretty darn cute too…
