Marrying Off My Best Friend ;-) Hawaii Posts Part I

Like the best man said as we were walking back down the aisle, "Well all my friends are married now." Yep, its true. I married off my best friend. But she got herself a good one, and I guess we'll keep him. ;-)

Unit, you looked amazing!

BestFriendsForever

She only looks a little nervous, but absolutely gorgeous ;-)

Aww how cute are we!

Well it's done.......

And they lived happily ever after.....

Unit always remember what I told you on the night you got married, you will always be my best friend and I am here for you no matter what. We are a unit and no one can change that...not even a husband! :-)

True Story

Preface: After leaving my part-time job today, I decide I will go tan at the tanning salon. I told myself driving in the parking lot, "Self only tan in the level 1, you are out of upgrades. And you can't afford any more." I repeated this over and over.

Now on to the real story....

Tanning Boy: Hi welcome to (the place where I tan).

Me: Hi. (I hand over my scan card thing and scan my fingerprint)

Tanning Boy: Would you like to purchase any upgrades today, I see you're out?

Me: Umm.......

Tanning Boy: Level 3, 4 and 5 beds have new bulbs

Me: Ok you talked me into it. (I proceed to hand over my credit card)

Tanning Boy: Great, level 4 room 10 is all ready for you.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I am such a sucker. I have ZERO self-control! All someone has to do is dangle something in my face and I pay up.

I tell you what though, I do love me some new bulbs. And the level 4 bed is my favorite. Yes, that is how I will rationalize this in my head. It is all worth it to be tan.....right?

Merry Christmas Y'all!

I pray that everyone had a great Christmas and that you are looking forward to the new year!

Love Y'all!

Blogging From The Tanning Bed Part 2.0

I don't know what it is lately but every time I get in the tanning bed, I have the urge to blog. I know that I said that I was going to give more details of my Hawaii trip (and I will) but right now I'm going to share some Oh My Goodness moments I had this past week.

First, I have made it through half of my first year teaching! I cannot even believe it! I am so happy and proud. I could not be happier with my job and I truly love my kids. I am so thrilled with all of it. :) So here's to us, Amber and Sarah, we did it!!!!!! We are teachers! It is still weird for me to say that! ;-)

Secondly, I feel like Christmas snuck up on me and bit me in the butt. I am so not prepared. I'm not ready. Can Christmas be next month, please?! I mean come on, I don't even have my tree up!

Thirdly (is that a word?), I'm old. I don't know when it happened but I'm old. I saw someone I haven't seen in like 6+ years and he looked older, and then it dawned on me that I must look older too. Because we are old. I know what you're thinking, but honestly I have been in denial . ;-)

Lastly, while I may not be ready for Christmas I am so ready for 2010. Bring it on new year! I'm ready!

Back To Reality

I am home safely from Hawaii. I have SO MUCH to update on but it will have to wait until tomorrow. But for now here is a teaser pictures. :-)

I'm Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Tomorrow I am heading off to Dallas for the night, then on Tuesday I am heading off to HAWAII!!

I am so stinking excited on so many levels to go to Hawaii! It is cool just to be going, but it is even more exciting that I am going to be the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding.

So for the next week I will be in Maui! Be prepared for lots of pictures when I return!!!!!!

I Cannot Believe It

Dear Time,

Please slow down. Each day goes by faster and faster. I need a minute to catch my breath please.

Thank you,
Me


Seriously y'all when did December get here? I am not ready......I can't seem to catch up....

Oh So Thankful Thursday Thirteen!

Things I am thankful for:

1. I serve a loving God who saved me.
2. My family is amazing.
3. I have fantastic friends.
4. My life is full of people who will do anything for me and give me unending support.
5. I have a job.
6. My job is a joy.
7. I love going to work everyday.
8. My life is changing for the better every day.
9. I have a beautiful home.
10. My cats bring a smile to my face.
11. I can have a Dr. Pepper every day. ;-)
12. My bills get paid every month.
13. I am learning something new every time I turn around.

So Good!

I saw New Moon, and it was AWESOME!

The End!

Wordless Wednesday- It Still Aches

Resisting Temptation

New Moon came out yesterday. And I haven't seen it.....yet......

I resisted the urge to be one of those crazies at the midnight showing only because I didn't want to sit in a crazy crowded theatre.

But don't you worry fellow Twihards, I will see it. I even talked Sarah (Hi Sarah!) into seeing it with me. :)

Hopefully by next weekend I will have seen it.

Blogging From The Tanning Bed

Is it weird that I really am typing this from the tanning bed? I hope not! ;-)

I have been meaning to post something for a while now and this moment seemed like a good time. There has been so much going on lately that I'm going take any chance I get to blog and read other people's blog.

And I will be honest, I have been cheating on blogger/blogging with Vlogs on YouTube. I am hopelessly addicted to a couple of daily vloggers. Y'all should check out the Shaytards and Charles Trippy....seriously so funny.

On an unrelated note I am really sweating in here! I'm ready for my time to be over! One of the reasons I am tanning is because I am in a wedding in December! IN HAWAII!! Woohoo!

Alright I'm done baking, off to work now!
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Wordless Wednesday- I love me some Bubba

Filler

You know things are bad on your blog when your mom tells you that you need to update. But lately my life has been consumed by teaching, and I am just not sure y'all want to read about my students. So basically until I can come up with something fantastic to blog about, I will tide y'all over with some pictures from this weekend at the ranch.

Today Is Brought To You By Random Wordless Wednesday

To Vlog or Not To Vlog, That Is The Question

I am thinking about adding the occasional vlog (video blog) to my blog. I actually made my first attempt at vlogging tonight. I uploaded it to YouTube, but not to here for some reason. I don't know why, but I am hesitant to put them on here.

So any thoughts? Vlog, yes or no? Lame or cool? Give me some thought peoples. And by peoples I mean all 2 of you who actually read this. Anyways, I digress....

I am a big fan of some "famous" vloggers on YouTube and I hate to stalk other peoples blogs or vlogs then not have one of my own. You know what I mean.... I think I am over-thinking this whole thing.

Well we will have to see how the vlog thing goes. Give me some feedback or thoughts. Who knows you may see my first vlog up in the next couple of days.

Wow this might go in the most random post hall of fame. Sorry for the randomness!

Love y'all! :-)

The Song I Have Playing On Repeat

Matthew West
All The Broken Pieces

Did you feel, feel it break
From all the weight of your mistake?
You never knew how much it cost
Feels like your innocence is lost

So much for the perfect life
So much for the perfect day
It's like no matter how you try
Perfection's just too far away

So lift them up to Me
All the broken pieces
All the broken pieces of your life

To Me
All the broken pieces
All the broken pieces of your life

Did you hear what I said?
Did you read the words I wrote down in red?
I was broken once for you
And no one loves you like I do

And that's the beauty of this grace
It can put the pieces back in place
And shine reflections of forgiveness
In a million different ways

'Cause I can take even your greatest mistake
Every scar, every tear, every break
And I can turn it into something
More beautiful than you have ever seen

All your broken pieces
I'll put them back together, yeah
Are you broken, are you broken?

Just lift them up to Me
All the broken pieces
Give all the broken pieces of your life

Lift them up to Me
Let Me carry you
I will take your pieces
And put them back together

Dear Lord,

Take all my broken pieces. Only You can carry their weight and turn them into something new. Help me to seek You and not search for perfection. Lord, show me Your grace. The grace that I deserve. The grace that You give without question. Let Your love shine through me.

In Your Holy name I pray.

Amen

New Week

So I am finally over the flu. I was out of work for 4 days and my first day back was Thursday. I was so happy to go back, I really missed all my kiddos. And I am happy to say that they missed me too! I have never gotten so many hugs in one day. :-)

That flu really kicked my butt and I am really glad to be rid of it. I hope no one I know gets it! Thankfully I didn't give it to anyone....I don't think! ;-)

Tomorrow starts a new week and I am looking forward to it. Its gonna be a busy one but being busy is good.

I guess that is all I have. Have a blessed week y'all!

Well it's official

I have the flu.



Type A Flu to be exact.



This is horrible timing. I have David Crowder Band tickets for tonight, and now I'm gonna miss it!



Pardon my language but this is super sucko!

Wordless Wednesday

Where Has the Time Gone?

I'm sorry y'all, my blogging has been seriously lacking. But honestly I am so busy and so tired, that I don't even realize that I am not blogging. I know I know, that is a pitiful excuse but it is the truth. (And I mean cut me some slack, I work 2 jobs!)

Lets see here, what can I do to catch y'all up........ I know.... I will make a handy dandy bulleted list! ;-) So here is the condensed version of my life as of late:

• Still teaching 3rd grade (duh!)
• Still tutoring @ the place where I tutor (again, duh!)
• Still loving my job (Thank Goodness!)
• Still EXHAUSTED (Teaching makes me a tired girl...)
• I think my house is making me sick (more to come on that...)
• My house is a disaster and is desperately in need of a clean up (and really when is my house not a mess)
• My water got turned off because well.....I am just cool like that....who knew you have to pay your water bill to keep getting water! ;-) (BTW my mother is going to die when she reads this. Sorry Pick!)
• Sarah and I are going to see the David Crowder concert on Saturday. (WOOHOO!)
• This here bloggie is in desperate need of a make-over. (I really need to get on the ball and get a 3 column design done)
• NEXT WEEK IS MY BIRTHDAY! (again, WOOHOO!)

I guess that is it for now.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

I Thought I Was Prepared

When I became a teacher I was prepared for the possibility of a kiddo throwing up on me or having to fix bloody booboos....but I was not prepared for lice and oozing staph infections! YUCK!!!

Seriously I came back today after the long weekend and I had 2 kids with lice and 1 with an open wound infected with Staph.

I felt icky all day! I know it was all in my head but I felt contaminated and itchy!

I am secretly hoping my lice infected kiddos don't come to school tomorrow. ;-)

Vomit and blood I can deal with, bugs and ooze I cannot handle!
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I Think Someone Might Need to Do an Intervention

I am having a serious TV watching identity crisis. Seriously, someone might need to step in and bring me back to reality.

Currently the majority of my TV watching hours are spent on The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon with a little ABC Family thrown in.

My favorite shows are: iCarly, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Suite Life on Deck and Secret Life of the American Teenager on Monday nights.

Come on, I am 26! I cannot watch the same shows as my 3rd graders!!
I think I need help....no for real.....someone come block the Disney channel from my TV and DVR! :-)

Don't judge me y'all! ;-)

Right Where I Need To Be

Wow, so I don't really even know where to begin. I guess the best place to start is by saying:

I have never been more certain that I am exactly where God has destined me to be. And I am doing exactly the thing God created me to do.

It is a very surreal experience for me to living in this moment. I am in total awe of how the past few weeks have unfolded for me. Every step I have taken, every thing I have done, and every person I have met had clearly been planned and chosen for me by God. I feel it deep in my soul that God's hand has been guiding me to this moment all along. It was all for this.

I wish that I could say that I trusted God and remained faithful through all my struggles that brought me to this moment. But I am not too proud to hit my knees and beg God to forgive me and then offer praises to Him for His grace and faithfulness.

I have so much more to say but I am still trying to wrap my head around. All I can do right now is relish in the feeling of knowing that I am right where I need to be.

Wordless Wednesday- Yikes, I am a teacher

Remember When....

Do y'all remember when I was a blogger? Some would say even a good blogger....

Yeah me too...

I don't know what has gotten in to me lately. I have plenty of things to blog about but no desire to put it all together into a post. Maybe the problem is that I have too much going on for it to come out in any sort of coherent post.

So dear readers (aka: Pickle, Sarah, and Pawpaw) please check back soon for some very wonderful blogging.

I promise I will get back to my regular blogging soon, I hope......

Pray For This Little Guy

Be on your knees in my prayer for this baby.

Updates and Announcements and Blessings

First, my brother came out of surgery fine and everything went well. It is still a little early to tell if the results have solved the problems but we have high hopes.

Secondly, it is time for me to make my announcement about the good things I eluded to a couple of posts ago. For the 2009-2010 school year I will be a 3rd grade teacher!!!! Praise the Lord, I got a full time job and a full time teaching job at that!!! I am so excited! The school district I will be working in is awesome, and I have heard nothing but good things about it. I am terrified and excited all at the same time!

Thirdly, I am all moved into my rent house. I am loving having my own house. No more sharing walls, no more screaming kids outside my window, and no more hearing my neighbors cough at night. Basically having a house rules! I am totally on the "my first house" high right now!

Basically, all I should have written for this post was: I am blessed. God has truly knocked me to my knees lately. I don't know what I did to deserve all these blessings but I am doing my best to show my gratitude. All the praise and glory belongs to God. I am just so excited to see where life is going to take me in the next few months!!!

Prayers Please

My brother is having surgery right now. It is a major deal.

I would appreciate prayers please!

Wordless Wednesday- A Couple of My Favorites

Blogging Break

With my move in process, I am going to be on a blogging hiatus.

So until my Internet is back up and running check these out:

• Resolved 2 Worship
• CF Husband
• Moosh in Indy
• Bossy
• Perez Hilton
• Mckmama and her Charming Kids

Big News

First, you have less than 24 hours left to enter my giveaway. Go to my review blog to enter!!! (See link below the header) Seriously y'all, go read all about the awesomeness of Smartfood and enter for your chance at 100 bucks!! :-)

Secondly, tomorrow I am moving into my first house!!! Granted it is a rental and I don't own it but still it's a house! Woohoo!! God willing I won't have to live in an apartment again!!!!!!!!!

Sorry this is a short little post because I am super busy, but check back on Thursday when I announce the winner of the giveaway. :-)

You Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Yesterday was a big day for me. Something good finally happened and I achieved a goal that I have been working toward for a while.

But the point of this isn't to toot my own horn and say how awesome I am. I bring this up to say that when something good happens to you, you find out who your friends are.

When sharing my news yesterday I was able to see who in my life really supports me, rejoices in my successes, understands me, and who will be there to help me along the way and who isn't going to be there to share in my joy.

I am blessed to have amazing people in my life and I am thankful for them. My friends and family really showed me that when I struggle they struggle with me and when I'm happy they are happy with me. Even people I wouldn't have expected to reached out to me to offer their congratulations and let me know they are there for me. I had friends share my news with their friends, and then those friends sought me out to share in the excitement.

It really made me feel happy/proud/humbled/loved/respected/(basically every positive superlative you can think of) to know I have the people in my life who will catch me when I fall and lift me up when I succeed.

I am incredibly grateful that God's grace has placed all these awesome people in my life. And I am so thankful He will continue to bless me with each new friend I make.

Psalm 128:2

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Dearest Bloggy,

I am cheating on you with Facebook.

Its just a fling, it won't last.

Love,
Ashley

Guess What....

It's Almost Time for X GAMES!!

I love X Games! I am so pumped! Yippee!!!!

Wordless Wednesday- Stealth Deer Cam @ Rancho De Vielle

Watch DFW

I am going to visit my bestie tomorrow and I am so excited. I will be in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for like less than 24 hours but I am still really pumped to see Best Friend Laura.

It is going to be a jammed pack 24 hours of wedding planning and dress shopping plus a random stop at a 5 yr old's pool party! Woohoo!!

And to make it even better, I am going to count this little excursion to Dallas as my trip for June. I made a vow to take one trip a month for as long as I can keep it up. So this is my June vacay!

Ladies, Check This Out!

My bloggy friend Becky is having a super fun oh so girlie giveaway!

Go check out all about this beauty giveaway!

Seriously y'all go enter!

Good Intentions....

I had every intention of posting something of substance tonight but life just got in the way. After a fight with my wireless printer (which after months of battle I finally won! HA Take that Brother WiFi Printer!!!!) and watching the Twilight special features on my new 2-disc DVD, I totally forgot about my blog plans.

So dear ones, this is all you get tonight. :-)

(Did anyone catch that I was channelling my inner Beth Moore with the "dear ones" reference? I *heart* her!)

Alright, Night Y'all!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

I have the best Daddy in the whole world and I am so lucky that he is my Daddy!

Giveaway! Giveaway! Giveaway! Yippee!

Go here to enter my giveaway brought you by Smartfood and BlogHer!

You will have a chance to win a $100 gift card!

Check out my review blog to enter!

Only Comments on my REVIEW blog will be entered in the contest!

Big Boil Bash

This weekend we had a big crawfish boil at my parent's house. It was way fun! It had all the elements of a good time:

A Great Location

Good Food

Good Bugs ;-)

Yumm!

And creepy crawlies to take funny pictures with!

Things Change In An Instant

Just when you think you have things all figured out, they change.

Trust in God.

Yep, that's all you can do.

Yep, that is what I am doing....OK well....trying really hard to do.

Wordless Wednesday- Purging Sale

Hurricanes and More Hurricanes

I am having a surreal experience tonight; I am watching a news special about Hurricane Ike and it is just devastating. I lived it but I didn't really live it...if that makes any sense. We were so directly affected by the hurricane that we missed what really happened.

We went without power, phones, and obviously cable so long (we are talking weeks, not days) that we were completely isolated. We couldn't see the damage besides what happened in our neighborhood, we could only imagine all the devastation.

Well tonight, we are finally getting to see all the footage of what really happened. The before, during, and the after.

I knew it was bad, but because we were isolated I could never imagine how bad. It was horrific. After the 2 or 3 weeks of of no power and stuff, it seemed like it was over and everyone moved on. We never really heard about it and it was time to move on.

So that is what we did, moved on. Those of us of were isolated in our own little bubbles just had to keep going with never really knowing what happened.

Now tonight, I know what happened. And it sucked. Hurricanes suck. The funny thing is that it is now time to face another hurricane season.

All we can do now is pray that if it is our time again, that we are as lucky as we were this last time. Yes, I said lucky. We were lucky, it can always be worse.

I'm So Excited And I Just Can't Hide It

I have something really cool coming up.

Stayed tuned for more details!

It's big y'all!! Be excited! I'm excited!

I Am A Motorcycle Ridin' Fool

I mean seriously folks, how cute am I on my bike?!

This weekend my Daddy and I took my motorcycle to the ranch to ride for the first time. And let me just tell you, I did awesome! (Again please note, the humbleness in my tone!) OK, I didn't get out of first gear but I didn't fall down or run into a tree so that means I did AWESOME!

Please note that my yellow helmet matches my yellow bike. And when my pink plastics come him, I have a pink helmet to match those! ;-)

It was really hot out there (you know, it's Texas and summertime which equals crazy hot!) but it was so much fun and totally worth all the sweating!

I can't wait to go out there again!

OMG I Totally Forgot!

In my list yesterday I totally forgot to mention that:

I read all 4 books in the Twilight Saga. Yes that's right, all 4 books. And I loved every second of it! Becky, aren't you so proud!

I read the entire saga consecutively so it was like one long story for me. And it was awesome! I couldn't help but be enthralled by the story and the characters. I know some people are judgemental about the whole Twilight phenomenon (and I admit, I use to be one of those people), but seriously the books are very well written. The characters, plot, and the themes are highly developed and intense in every way. I consider myself well read (please note my sense of humbleness here! LOL!) and I am no longer ashamed to admit that I am a Twilight lover!

Like I said I read all 4 one-right-after-the-other so when the last book was over, it was tough. An old friend of mine told me that she thinks there needs to be a Help Line you can call when you finish the saga! I needed some emotional support when I knew that there would be no more to the story! I was completely wrapped up in it and when its over people need some reassurance that life will go on when there is no more Edward and Bella! HAHAHA!! :-)

At least I have the movies still to come! (But I bet the books are better than the movies!)

Long Time No Blog

There has been so much going on and nothing going on all at the same time that I haven't had the chance to catch up on this here bloggie.

So I must resort to a good ole bullet list to touch on the things that I haven't blogged about.

• I am trying to buy a house. I am desperately trying to get out of apartment living but we will have to wait and see what is God's will on this matter. Keep my living situation in your prayers please!
• I started teaching part-time at an after-school tutoring center. I love it but it is hard to get back in the swing of working a fixed schedule. Truly I love working with students, especially with students who are struggling academically and need help gaining confidence in their abilities.
• I am still looking for a permanent job. Whether that be teaching in a classroom, working in the homes, or doing whatever it is that God leads me to. I am working on letting my control of this go. I know I have to trust in God's plan and I have faith in this plan. But in all honesty, I just want a little peek at his plan so I can relax about the future! ;-)
• Best Friend Laura has moved her wedding location and date so it looks like in December I will be the Maid of Honor in a wedding in HAWAII! Whoohoo!! HAWAII!

I guess that is all for now. I am sorry for this supremely boring post and I accept the "World's Boringest Blogger" title with grace! ;-)

Vegas Baby!

This past week Best Friend Robbie and I were in Las Vegas...and let me just tell you, I love me some Las Vegas! No seriously people, I LOVE VEGAS! I love everything about it: the hotels, the flashy-ness, the good food, the crazy people, the gambling, the crowds, the shows, the non-stop aspects, the shopping, the weather, and even all the general over-priced craziness that is Las Vegas.

The trip was awesome. I got to gamble and came home with even money. Anyone who has gambled knows that to come home with even money is a success. :-) We saw 2 Cirque De Soleil shows (Love and La Reve), ate way too much food, people watched, and did a lot of walking! (HAHAHA Robbie!) I loved every second of the trip! The only bad thing is that my pictures turned out HORRIBLE...hopefully Best Friend Robbie will send me his pictures.

We stayed at the Venetian. It was a beautiful hotel and the rooms were AMAZING. I would stay there again for sure (even if Robbie disagrees with me on this, I would stay there again even if they don't have a buffet).

I spent a lot of time at The Wynn. I love this hotel and it is a GREAT place to gamble. When I go back to Vegas (which is hopefully soon) I want to stay at The Wynn.

At Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum, I had to take a picture with my NASCAR boyfriend ;-)

And a picture with Snoop Dogg

Me and my golf buddy, Tiger.

A Long Lost Not Me! Monday Post

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It has been a long time since I did a Not Me! Monday! so I hope that I can get back into the swing of things!

First, I DID NOT neglect my blog for an entire week and I DO NOT have a TON of stuff to get caught up on. Also I DO NOT have to wait another week to catch up on those things because I am NOT going to Las Vegas tomorrow!

I DID NOT have these delivered to my house on Friday...

I am NOT ridiculously excited to ride these new toys!!

This week I DID NOT forget how to do simple division and have a third grader show me up, then proceed to to tell me that "I got served". And I DID NOT continue to secretly check his work with a calculator.

I DID NOT beg the nail salon to stay open late for me and my mom so that I could get my nails, toes, and eyebrows done before my trip, and I DID NOT have them paint dice on my big toes to be all theme-ish for Vegas!

I DID NOT begin the hellish process that is looking for a house to buy and I am NOT already tired of the whole thing after 1 day of "shopping". I am NOT desperately praying to God for him to lead me to the right house before I have to resign my apartment lease. And finally I am NOT asking you fine folks in the Blogosphere to pray for me while I am traveling this week!

When The Sun Goes Down, We Be Groovin'

Last night I went to the Kenny Chesney concert with some friends. The weather prediction was dismal to say the least. I fully expected to be standing in mud in the pouring rain. But the weather was perfect! And as a nice bonus, there was a breeze that lowered the temp so much that you would never know it was a May night in Texas.

I love going to concerts as the sober one. It is so fun to sit and watch drunk people act a fool. We were sitting next to some characters. One lady was so drunk that she fell into the group in front of her before Kenny Chesney even started! The guy next to us was so inebriated that he told me his whole life story. I did not need to know that this guy is separated from his wife (who he was at the concert with) and that after 16 years and 2 kids they were breaking up. I mean seriously guy, TMI!

So moral of the story is that it was an awesome concert. :-) I attempted to get some good pictures but didn't get any good results! Oh well!

Rancho De Vielle

We went to the ranch....and then it was a little muddy....and then we got stuck....and then we got a flat tire....and then we tried to fix it....and then we had to call AAA....

No but seriously it was still a good day at Rancho De Vielle