Slap me

Wow…it has been a while since my last post so again, I deserve to be slapped for my blog slacking! Here is a summary of what has gone on…

#1. Last week at work was soooooooooooooooooooo busy. It was almost unbelievable and to add to that we are now down a person in our department so this week has been even MORE insane.

#2. The three day Memorial Weekend was awesome! We did nothing but hang out by the pool and relax. There was a ton of delicious food as well as one of my favorite drinks, rum punch…yum! My step-brother got leave from the Army to come home for a few weeks so we spent some time with him listening to crazy stories and laughing about old times. Here are some pictures of us at my mom’s house.

#3. As of today, I am FINALLY done with Invisalign FOREVER and I couldn’t be more excited! I might as well have a mouth made of gold because many, many dollars have been spent on perfecting my teeth. THANK YOU MOM!!!

#4. This weekend Drew and I are going to San Antonio for more fun in the sun. My mom, step-dad and step-brother will all be there and we are staying in a fabulous hotel! I don’t want to say where are of fear that a crazy person will come find us (me being paranoid) but I will take pictures, of course.

I hope all of you are doing better than ever and I can’t wait to catch up on everyone’s blogs!!! I will be back to regular posting soon!!

XOXO

Bring it Back!!!!!!

So I was flipping through a cook book that one of the ladies brought to work today when I stumbled across the dessert section. Anyone who knows me knows that I would MUCH rather eat something salty than something sweet but I figured I would give it a look just in case. I saw some pies here and there that looked good…and then it happened.

I saw this JELL-O recipe that looked a little strange, but it sparked an INCREDIBLE food memory for me. Anyone remember JELL-O 123??? It was this awesome thing that came in one box. You mixed it all together and then poured it into individual glasses to let it set up. It had three delicious layers: layer one was regular JELL-O, the second was like a creamy custard and the third was like a JELL-O foam…sooooooo good.

I remember them taking it off the market because I was devastated when it happened but I was secretly hoping that it had made its return. When I typed this into Google, a ton of hits popped up. There is actually a petition to bring it back and the Kraft Company says that this is one of the most asked about products!

I hope they bring it back!!!!

Don't make me do it...

Must vent…

My apartment complex is gated of course, as usual, and I have not yet bought the automatic gate opener thingie. So, each time I want to go into the gate I have to pull up to the key pad and punch in the code. It might be good to mention that the key pad is WAAAAY up there and my car is WAAAAY down here so it is quite a reach to be able to punch in the keys, especially if I am trying to avoid popping my tires on the curb as most people would.

Anyway, more often than not I will pull up to the key pad, struggle to punch in the code and look to my right only to see cars blowing by me to get into the gate before me. EXCUSE ME?? You are telling me that I have to go through all the trouble to get the damn thing open and then YOU are going to peel out in front of me!! Oh, hell no…

But what am I to do? In my perfectly illogical and irrational dream world I would gas it and cut them off (their car is no match for this V8), all the while smiling of course. ;) BUT this would be rude (hint to the masses) and I would feel bad for doing it, not to mention the damage it may cause. Wouldn’t it feel good though?!?! I guess I just have to let it go but this only confirms that some people are incredibly out of it.

XOXO

My "Blogiversary"

Silly me, I forgot to celebrate my ONE WHOLE FRICKIN' YEAR of blogging!  I can't believe it...I started out strong, had some ups and downs and in the end, I still love this blog and everything that comes with it.

I went from having ZERO followers to 202 and I feel so unworthy!!  I have met some fabulous ladies and will continue to do so, I'm sure.  So to everyone who reads this little old blog - THANK YOU!!

Check this out!  It is my very. first. post. (written May 12, 2008) and one of the posts that means the absolute MOST to me!  Go on - check it out!  

I Heart "The Mouse"

I can safely say that it is beyond impossible to choose just one Disney movie to call my favorite. I have often thought about it and have come up with several favorites to choose from but I still can’t pick JUST ONE!

Here are my favorites:

*The Lion King – this ALMOST edges everything out to be the favorite but would cause loyalty issues for me because I love so many others. I have awesome memories surrounding the first time I saw this in theatres so maybe that is why I love it so much – that or because it was ridiculously cool…

*Beauty and the Beast – I wanted to be Belle so badly…

*Aladdin – I love this one for many reasons and none of them make sense…

*The Little Mermaid – this, again, is ALMOST my favorite but like mentioned before, I go back and forth. Ariel was the bomb, I was scared of Ursula so I was happy when she blew up, Sebastian made me laugh and I loved trying to memorize all the songs. I even had the Sing-a-Long-Songs video! I was radical.

Basically, the list could go on and on and on and on and on. I was strictly sticking to animated movies but of course there are many others to consider, including the new Disney/Pixar films. None of those can compare to the good old animated flicks though.

Can you pick a favorite???

Wild and Crazy SNACKS!

I have already accepted that there are certain food items that I need to stay away from while I am trying to get in better shape.  This gives me some excuse to act the way I do, but nothing prepared me for this...

OK, so call me crazy, insane, weird...whatever you got...but I refuse to give up some of my old favorites so today, I invented a more friendly version of lemon meringue pie.  IN NO WAY AM I SUGGESTING THAT YOU TRY THIS but it turned out pretty damn good and made me laugh hysterically in the process.  Only I would be so ridiculous as to mix together the following:

Ridiculous Step #1: I crumbled some low-fat graham crackers into a bowl.

Ridiculous Step #2: I added in the Yoplait Light (thick and creamy) Lemon Meringue yogurt.

Ridiculous Step #3:  I topped it all with my old standby - Fat Free Reddi Wip!

This is silly, I know but I couldn't help myself.  Alright, so confess...I know at least one of you has a crazy snack that you eat!  Let me hear about it!

The Nail Polish Throwdown of 2009

A classic case of varying opinions in the office: nail polish at work…yes or no?

The whole thing started because I mentioned that I needed to go get my nails done after work and that I was a little burnt out on the whole French Manicure thing. One of the ladies mentioned that I should switch to painted nails for a time or two which I am not opposed to as long as it is not something extreme. Another lady spoke up quickly and said that it is absolutely unprofessional and rather unacceptable to wear any kind of nail polish to work no matter what color it is.

I have always been told that something light is fine for the office but apparently I missed something along the way.

What do you think? Is it unprofessional to wear nail polish to work??

Random Survey - I've always wondered...

All health implications aside...

Are you a mayonnaise person?

Or a Miracle Whip person?

I am a die hard mayo fan but that's just me!

Facelift Complete!

Happy Sunday!  I have finally completed my blog re-do with the help of my sweet husband, Drew P!  The drill went as usual...I come up with what I want it to look like (the easy stuff) but then he goes to work on Photoshop/Illustrator and creates it all for me (the hard stuff).  He is so sweet to help me with all of my "girly blog stuff!" 

So, I hope you like the new "summer-ized" version of my blog.  Thank you to everyone that gave their suggestions and I hope everyone has a fabulous evening!

XOXO

Ashley

Oh, what you'll sacrifice for a bikini!

So what I really wanted was a hot fudge sundae from Cold Stone Creamery but instead I came home and had a Skinny Cow Bar...it was really good actually and I feel pretty damn proud of myself!

The chocolate truffle is my fave so you should check it out!!

XOXO

Scalpel!!!

I have lasted as long as possible...it is time for a new look for my blog! I have kept this look longer than any other but as mentioned before, I am a creature of CHANGE rather than habit.

Here is my problem though - I can't decide what I want it to look like. I'm at a creative dead end and I need help!!! Maybe you can help with a few questions that are dancing around in my brain:

*What colors fit me/this blog? Should I go light and bright for summer or should I stick with the darker shades?

*Should I stick with the "vintagy" look or should I go more modern?

*Any suggestions at all??

Hopefully, someone will mention something that will get my creative juices flowing. AND THEN I will ask sweet Drew P to help me with the old Photoshop and Illustrator...I just now he loves creating blog headers for me! ;)

XOXO

Having Withdrawals...

OMG. I try to do something to something semi-healthy for once and guess what? IT BACKFIRES!!!! Let’s start from the beginning…

On Monday I decided to stop drinking as much caffeine, in fact I didn’t drink ANY caffeine…no coffee, no Coke, no chocolate…nothing! I was fine at first but then I started feeling pretty bad – headache, my shoulders and arms ached, stomach hurt a little. I didn’t think too much of it at first and then I convinced myself that I was possibly getting the flu.

Sooo…for the last four days I have been pill popping non-stop (only Advil, no need for an intervention) but nothing has worked. Advil never fails me so this time I knew something was up. I have been moping around at work and home because my head/shoulders/arms will not stop hurting and finally I mentioned it to my boss today…a revelation occurred!

She said those oh so obvious words that sent me running straight to Wikipedia. “Maybe you are having caffeine withdrawals,” she said. Hmmmmmm…SERIOUSLY!!! Why did not this occur to me??

So I pull it up on Wikipedia and this is what I find:

“Withdrawal symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption.”

Needless to say, I went directly to the coffee maker and got a huge cup of coffee. I am feeling better already and I am crossing my fingers that this FINALLY gets rid of this everlasting headache.

XOXO

Biscuit Link!!

Hey!! Work is soooooooooooooooooo (times 2000) busy today so I am unable to write until later but I did want to give you ladies the link to Paula Deen’s version of “Fudge and Biscuits” since a few of you had asked earlier. I’m not sure exactly how my mom makes it but this looks pretty similar!

Check it out!!!

Chocolate at its finest!

*Read this too, if you can.  You may remember a friend of mine that was new to the blog world over at In My Pink Paisley Boots.  She has had a rough month or so and is back on the blog scene.  I no longer work with her but I know that she needs our prayers!

yayayayayayayayaya!  I am sooooo excited and I can almost guarantee that when I finish writing this post I will want to immediately delete it but I won't!  I hope that it makes SOME sense in the end!

So all my life my mom has made something that we call "Fudge and Biscuits" -  homemade fluffy biscuits with butter and chocolate gravy on top (the part we call fudge).  TRUST ME...I KNOW HOW CRAZY THIS SOUNDS BUT YOU MUST TRY IT!

I have never met another family that makes this but everyone that has ever tried it at our house has absolutely loved it.  I have always wondered where on Earth a recipe like this could have come from and I am convinced that it is definitely a Southern thing.  

So there I was, watching the Paula Deen show today and low and behold...guess what she makes???  FUDGE AND BISCUITS!!  I am so happy - it must be a real thing if Paula makes it.  She called it Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy but to me, it is all the same thing.  I wish I could eat it right now!

OK, so here we are at the end of this post and I am almost completely sure that no one will care about this particular topic but I just HAD to post about this!  No idea why this excites me so.

Anyone ever had this???  Let me know!!

It Never Gets Old

Dude, I don't care how old I get, I will NEVER stop loving koolaid.  Sounds crazy, huh?  I know...but it is sooooo good.  It is completely ridiculous but I have random cravings for various flavors of koolaid...cherry, lemonade and grape are among my favorites.  I used to love the blue flavor but I can never find it anymore.  They make little "to-go" packs now that are sugar free to I don't feel quite as childish as I did before.

I loooooooooove it and will not stop!

Any koolaid lovers out there???

Alcohol is my friend...tonight

Ladies, meet my friend for the evening...margaritas!  While Drew P enjoys his Miller Light, I will be partaking in these magnificent creatures!  

Happy Saturday Night!!!

The most hilarious outfit ever seen...

This ensemble kills me!!  The GINORMOUS snake skin scarf is especially heinous...

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Stuffed Animals and Hula Hoops

When I was little, I used to pretend that I worked at a pet hotel and that I was the receptionist. This, to a little girl of course, seemed like the most glamorous job in the world and besides, what could be more fabulous than working at a pet hotel, right? I would answer the phones (there were a lot of clients), take the payments (our services were expensive), and of course play with the animals (my stuffed animals including a Simba and Mufasa set) all day long.

Now that I am grown and have a “real job,” I hate doing paperwork – I basically despise it! Most things in this day in age can be completed and stored digitally but according to law (who cares) there are some things that must be handwritten and FILED. I can almost stand the writing part but it is the filing that kills me…

I wish I could go back to the days where my job was to play outside all day and pretty much do whatever I wanted. My best friend and I would spend countless hours doing the following:

*rollerblading (while putting on shows for which we charged our families to watch)
*hula hooping (badly)
*swimming (excellently)
*developing a lawn raking service (failed)
*riding bikes (with streamers, of course)
*eating popsicles (delicious)

I wish I would have known then how endlessly awesome all of that was but when you are little, all you want to do is grow up. Maybe I could take a few days off and do all of those things all over again…but I guess I have to work. Forget all that though, that receptionist job paid a million dollars so I should be set for a while. J

But I wanted it...

So today is my boss’s birthday and to celebrate, our whole department got to go to Maggiano’s! If you do not have one of these restaurants close to you, you need to move…immediately! This is my all time favorite place to eat and I usually can never say no to the obscenely huge BLOCKS of lasagna they serve but today, I prevailed!

I have been doing soooo good with eating right this week. The hardest part is over – you know those first few days that your stomach is just DYING for more food?? I have made it past that and did not want to send myself flying backwards just because of one incredibly delicious yet totally unneeded piece of lasagna…so I got a grilled chicken dish instead.

MAKE NO MISTAKE – this was not at all as delicious as I wanted it to be but I think/hope my waistline will thank me later. Now that we are back to the office (after a 2 ½ hour lunch…oops), I am dreaming of that lasagna and trying to pretend that it is repulsive and never worth eating.

Yeah, right…

XOXO

A Love/Hate Relationship

As I have mentioned before, I love getting my nails done (solar nails!!) but have I ever told you that I hate getting my nails done? Whoa, hold up – this may sound like a complete contradiction but it is so entirely true for a person like me.

Let me explain…I love the look of having solar nails and they could not be easier. Go in, have them done and then forget about them for 2-3 weeks until you have to get them done again. That last part is the source of all of my anxiety though…the actual sitting there and getting them done part.

This SHOULD be a relaxing experience but for me it is torturous and can literally send me into cold sweats. They use this “buzzer” thing, not sure of the technical term but its purpose is to quickly file your nails down so that they can be refilled. I give the nail technicians major credit because at the place that I go they are VERY careful with this particular tool but in the past I have had horrible experiences with it!!! This little bastard of a tool can seriously cut you if the ladies aren’t careful and believe me, it has happened more than a few times to me.

Picture it…I walk into the nail salon, everyone is relaxing in their massage chairs getting mani-pedis. The lady tells me to take a seat and for a while, until the dreaded tool shows its face, I am OK. The minute I see it though, relaxation is out the window…I sit straight up, monitoring her every move. If I even THINK that it is about cut me I jerk my hand away causing an embarrassing yet hilarious scene which causes me to have to quickly act like nothing happened.

The logical question is this – if I am so scared of having my nails done, then why don’t I just STOP DOING IT?? I can’t…I love them too much. They are effortless, minus this ridiculous reaction they cause, and I just like them. There you have it!

Am I insane?

Honesty - Read All if Any

A crazy thing happened...I stopped caring about the blog.  At all.  I was asked today why I was blog slacking and you know what - this is a perfectly legitimate question that should be answered.

Here are some reasons why:

#1.  Life/work has been so incredibly busy - not really an excuse but thought I would throw it out there

#2.  I lost my inspiration.  I got tired of posting about purses and fashion and things that to me, are not all that important in the scheme of things.  BUT it seems like every time I posted something less then hilarious or with a slightly unhappy tone or too sarcastic or too personal, I would get horrible anonymous comments that in all honesty, would really piss me off.  I know that these people don't really know me and that I shouldn't care but let me let ya'll in on a little secret - I am an INCREDIBLY  sensitive person and I really take what people say to heart - even if I don't know them.  Everyone has a bad day once in a while and since this is my blog, my place to let it all out, I want to be able to write about things that may be a little less than happy-go-lucky and I don't want to be scolded for it.

In spite of all of this, I want to reiterate how much I love this blog and how much it has allowed me to experience.  I have gotten to read about people's happy times, sad times, hard times...you name it.  The blog world is HUGE and allows for all sorts of emotions.  I have seen people get berated because they wrote about something that went against the grain and I have seen people unite to pray for babies, children, moms and dads and you can't deny how incredible that is. 

Sometimes my posts will be thoughtful and other times they will be completely brainless...but they are my posts nonetheless.  I am coming back into the blog world with a promise to myself - I will be me no matter what.  I will not shy away from posting sad stories nor hold back my happy times in fear of sounding self indulgent.  I will post pictures of my husband and I drinking on 6th Street with friends and not think twice about those who let me have it in the past because I had alcohol...God forbid.  

My BEST friends in the world read this blog and if they were the ONLY ones that read it I could care less.  That said, I appreciate wholeheartedly every single one of you that read this blog and let me be...me.  I thank all of you for letting me read YOUR posts and being so brave as to never back down from who you are.

I love my blog friends and I have missed this!!  It really is a great part of my life and the perfect place to let it all hang out.  Thank you for encouraging me and thank you for reading!