We Have A Solution

You know how I've been trying to find ways to keep myself busy lately.  Some of you are in the same pickle.  Isn't that a funny expression?  In a pickle.  It makes me wonder its origin; however, that is another blog post altogether.  Well, we finally have a solution (not to the pickle problem...I'm back to the dilemna about how to spend my waking hours...since I already know what to do about the sleeping hours).  I was talking to my undoubtedly wise 5 year old niece and she pointed out the very obvious solution.  In the middle of our somewhat confusing conversation about doorknobs, she asked, "Can you do a sommersault?"  I replied I that I could.  She said, "You should probably do a sommersault every day in the afternoon."  Of course I should.  Why haven't I been doing a sommersault every day in the afternoon?  If only I could take a picture...

...oh wait, I did!

Differences

I've noticed some definate differences between Lu and I.  Let's take a look shall we?

His computer screen

My computer screen

His workbooks

My workbooks

His homework

My homework

His lunch

My lunch

(Okay, so we're tied on the lunches.)

His outfit


My outfit
(You already know I wear pajamas...sometimes.)

What he does

What I do

Do you see what I mean?

Letting Myself Go

Remember that seminary object lesson about a frog?  You know the one.  Put a frog into boiling water and he'll hop out.  Put a frog into warm water then slowly turn up the heat and he'll boil to death.  Well today I'd like to liken that to my life.  You've all heard the phrase "She's really let herself go."  Some of you have probably said the phrase yourself.  I used to think, how can people do that?  One day trendy.  The next day sweatpants.  And then it hit me.  No one wakes up one day and says, "Yeah, I think  I'll let myself go today."  It just doesn't happen like that.  It's the frog thing.  It's a process that happens gradually and slowly. 

Well, I woke up recently only to find myself on that slippery slope.  Now, please don't go looking for evidence in my blogs.  It's just that...well...I've been telling myself, it's normal not to put on makeup EVERY day.  To tell you the truth, that's been happening more often lately.  To feel better I've been reminding myself of all the money that saves.  I've even been venturing out into PUBLIC without makeup.  Some days, I've found myself wearing pajamas until noon.  One day this week I didn't even get dressed.  Then, a couple of days later I look down to find myself in sweatpants.  When did that happen?  I don't bother with anything more than side ponytails.  I used to hate ponytails.  I stop messing with contacts.  A box of Twinkies are hidden under my bed.  I start buying reaching sticks and frozen dinners at the grocery store.  I STOP grocery shopping and order my food online.  I get a cat.  A little later down the road I stop showering.  And then it happens.  Someone, a close friend probably, sees me and has that thought.  The thought that stereotypes me as THAT girl.  The thought that we've all heard and said.  "Boy, she's really let herself go."  The water is boiling, people.

ENOUGH!  I won't buy frozen dinners.  I will go grocery shopping.  I won't get a cat.  I will keep showering.  I won't buy twinkies...well, at least I won't hide the twinkies.  I won't buy sweatpants.  I will get dressed before noon.  I will wear makeup every day.  I won't be that frog!

Lookin' Good

I made this...I just thought I'd share.

Now We're Cookin'

Luis and I have been bummed for the past few weeks because we haven't been able to barbeque.  Then, Luis made this fantastic discovery at the nearby park.  Grills!  Free ones!  So, Saturday night, we bought some charcoal and lighter fluid, packed up our food, and headed over to the park.  As I began documenting our BBQ, I tried getting a good picture of Luis and the flames.  Don't ask me what Luis was doing with his face...or his hands. 

I tell you people, I married a very strange person. 

Once we got the charcoal briques nice and flamin' hot, we began to grill.

Oddly enough, I was really excited about eating my hot dog (I hate hot dogs).  But this frank had a mind of his own.  Not 5 seconds after this picture was taken, he slid off my plate into the dirt.  Sadly, we only had 3 hot dogs to begin with so...

Luis had to sacrifice.

We ended the night with, well, what else?  S'mores!

Overall, this BBQ was a roarin' success.  And what, may you ask, was the factor that provided this success?

Of course!  Antibacterial Wipes.

True Love

We, as in Luis and I, have been craving dutch oven peach cobbler.  Sadly, we have no available said oven.  However, there are recipes to make cobbler without a dutch oven.  I happened upon one of these such recipes recently.  It was called Peach Cobbler.  I found this recipe in my Crock Pot book which means, (if you are following along quickly enough you'll have already made this next conclusion) you use the Crock Pot to bake the cobbler.  So, I took out my baking supplies, donned my frilly apron, followed the steps, and voila!  Mush. 

Luis ate some...and said he liked it.  The next day, he continued to eat some...and said he like it.  The day after that?  You guessed it.  He ate some...and said he liked it.  My theory?  True love.

Healthy Eats » Archive » Zucchini Bread, Lightened Up

Healthy Eats » Archive » Zucchini Bread, Lightened Up

Carrots

So, I've had conversations with people where I thought, "Boy, this guy needs to get a life."  You know these people.  They are the ones who think ironing is relaxing.  (If that's you don't worry...I must be talking about the OTHER people who think ironing is relaxing.)  Well today, I was peeling carrots and I heard myself thinking, "I like peeling carrots.  It's pretty relaxing."  Then, as I was taking pictures of the carrots and then me with the carrots I thought, "Yep, I sure do need to get a life."

Quakes Stadium Laughs

Last Saturday Lu & I went to Mormon Night at Quakes Stadium.  To start off, let me introduce you to one of two very awesome mascot dudes.  This guy is called...wait for it....wait for it....

TREMOR!!! 

I know right?  I even got two shots of him.  He had some great moves.  I wish I would've taken video of him.  He actually was really fun to watch.

This was one of the most exciting moments of the game.  Do you see a bunch of guys in white standing on the field?  It was wicked awesome!

Meanwhile, here is an unfortunate picture of me and always photogenic Luis.

Then...we got up close and personal with...wait for it...wait for it...

AFTERSHOCK!!! 

This is mascot #2.  He saw me with the camera and threw me a "you rock" pose.  It was thrilling. 

You know how sports arenas always play fan games between innings?  Well, Rancho Cucamonga is no different.  One of my favorites was when they challenged two contestants to seperate their garbage pile into trash vs recyling bins.  I can just picture a bunch of event staff behind the scenes 5 minutes before "go time" saying, "Okay, we're short one game, can anyone think of anything?" 

Someone suggests shoe tying.  "No, too complicated for our crowd."  Someone else suggests speed knitting.  "No, remember the granny that grew wild and attacked the other one with her blunt needle?

 So someone else says, "Well, we do have plenty of trash cans.  Let's have the players sort the garbage."  "Brilliant!"

My idea?  Obviously, I would have suggested drinking water out of a cup using licorice.  It's a fav.

We got to sit with some members of our ward and it was nice to get to know them better.  Afterwards, there were fireworks.  They lasted a grand total of 5 minutes, but were an unexpected surprise to us.

Licorice!!!

Wouldn't you agree that there are so many wonderful things one can do with licorice? 

Serious endless possibilities. 

However, the best, in my opinion, is using it to extract liquid from a cup.  I call it "using the licorice as a straw." 

Preposterous enough, Luis had never had this experience.  The good news was: we had licorice, a cup, water, and my expertise.  AND...I documented the proceedings.

He enjoyed the experience and even discovered the magic of holding the water in and then slowly letting it trickle through the air. 

I couldn't be prouder!

And to finish my post, I have this picture of licorice that I just took.

Newport Beach Temple

This is yet another beautiful California temple called the Newport Beach Temple.  I had to look up the name just now since I wasn't sure if it had the word beach in there, but alas, it does. 

It is amazing how peaceful it is on temple grounds in the midst of busy cities.  As we were walking around, I felt like we were in some kind of country gardens.

Look closely...we even saw bunnies on the lawn!

Megan & Blake

I tried to be the first to blog about the wedding, but Jennie beat me to it...AND she has more pictures.  C'est la vie!  It was an awesome day.  Lu and I were so glad we were able to come down for the weekend.  I loved this pose Steve Barrus, her photographer, took.  It was a bit uncomfortable for Megan though, as you can see from picture #2.  She slid right off the wall.  Blake looks unconcerned.

It was nice to get some pictures of us that are not taken by ourselves at point blank range.  Amber was gracious enough to snap these.  For a full narration of events, see Jennie's blog.  She did a fabulous job!  (If you are Jennie and you are reading this...you've already seen the blog.) 

Luis the Stud

Okay, so I've been a little dramatic about Luis starting school.  It is not my fault - I blame Mom and her emotions, which I inherited.  Needless to say, Luis has been so patient with me.  He understands this whole situation is hard for me.  Especially after this weekend trip to Utah and not knowing when we'll get to see everyone again.  So yesterday, he surprised me with these sweet flowers.  It was very unexpected and I loved it!  The best part?  Look carefully at the tag.  (I'm not sure which anniversary we're celebrating either.)  Isn't he a STUD?

All By Myself

Well, Lu has finally begun school here in California.  Technically, this week is only orientation, but it has still begun.  So, "What is Ashley doing?" you ask.  Well, yesterday, I bought dishwasher soap.  Today, I cleaned bird droppings off our balcony.  And tomorrow?  Let's just say other great things are in store.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough to rearrange the cords plugged into our surge protector.

Our Pet the Pig

Meet Wilbur.  He's our pig.  We decided to bring him into the family because of his groovy looks. Later, Amber gave us a great idea.  She has a friend who has a "family home evening" piggy bank that collects moolah until there's enough for a special activity or to buy a little something special.

He was getting pretty jingly, so we decided to count up our change to see what we could buy.

Sadly, after shaking out the coins, we found there was a large one stuck inside that required special extraction, so we had to perform surgery. 

After the whole ordeal, Wilbur was feeling a little under the weather; however, we had over $20 in change and were able to purchase Stratego, a family favorite amongst the Ferguson clan.