Back At It

Hey all,

Well I'm back at work and it feels good to have the garage sale over with and to put my focus back on my program development. Sometimes it seems like the task at hand is incredibly daunting. Starting a program from the ground up to create a job skills training program has such a large amount of detail and preparation sometimes I don't know where I'll begin. The other things that makes everything so much more challanging is that our organization itself is still in its beginning stages so to create majoring programming simotaneously is quite the task. I have found a wonderful organization in Houston that I am looking to model my programming after. It has all the components of skill training, placement, concentration on ELS (english as a second langugage) training and naturaltional for immigrants, and an incrdbile success rate. This is the website for them if you are interested. I'm hoping to one day make The Almond Tree programming as sustainable and successful.

http://www.cetweb.org/index.php

I'm also spending part of my day today going through all the leftover clothing from our garage sale to separate the pieces that I can put in a interview clothes closet of sorts. This way when people come in for job skill training, etc. they will have acces to nice clothes to the interview. Pretty neat huh? I'm going to try and get donations from al these rich little debuntantes in town too :)

I think my mom and I might head to the First Monday Trade Days in Canton. It is one of the biggest flea market, trade festivals in the world! I hear it is a really cool experience. It started over 150 years ago when people would meet once a month to sell their wares in town while the judge held his monthly court hearings. Check it out!

http://firstmondaycanton.com/Default.aspx

Thats all for now gang. There's work to do!

Enjoy this beautiful day,

Ash

Wanna Hug it Out?

I have had the last 2 days off and it has been WONDERFUL! I've been sleeping in, going on walks with Casper, studying in the park and getting all my spring cleaning-eque type stuff done. Oh, and it's supposed to be 80 here tomorrow. I will be found in nothing but sun dresses and sunglasses too big for my face from now until October thank you very much.

Hey, here are all my sweeeeeet buys from our community garage sale I had to work this weekend. I spent a total of 2 whole dollars---look at my splurge on my VISTA budget right ;)
I thought this T-shirt was really cute. I'm such a poser though having never been to the Smoky Mountains.


This little floral number kept catching my eye and I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. But I work it with a belt and leggings and have a feeling that I pulled it off at least in East Texas.

Isn't this a pretty floral clutch? I loved all the colors. I also bought the tank dress I'm wearing and the bright pink fingernail polish I'm sporting at the garage sale too :)

I finally got my painting easel! There it is all nestled in its new home, my painting nook.


Family 411:

I can't wait for my sister to get back so I can Skype with her about all the fun she had in CO this past weekend. There is just something about being able to see someone that makes missing them so much more bearable.

I get to see my mom in less than 3 friggin' days!

I miss my dad's hugs. If I could order anything right now it would be my dad with a side of hug, pronto.


"Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." ~Anthony Brandt

Love.love.love.

Links & Photographs

Hey all,

Since a picture is worth a thousand words I thought I'd shut up and just share some fun links and photographs with you I enjoyed. I plan on blogging some pics of all the great steals I made our garage sale this weekend. It's funny because some of the stuff is so old that its true vintage that has come back in style. You'll have to let me know YAY or NEEEEEEY on my picks :)

Peace N Love N Stuff

I stole this link from the Cup of Joe blog I love. Its all about the obsolete jobs of yesteryear. I wonder how many jobs I'll see become obsolete in my lifetime?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124251060

I first saw Shelby Lee Adams work in a photo-documentary I watched in my Black and White Photography class at Valpo. He has photographed the backwoods people in the hollers of appalachia for the last 30 years.I love the honesty of his work and the light he shines on a forgetten group of American society.

http://shelby-lee-adams.blogspot.com/

Sometimes I wish I came from the laaaaand down unnnnndaaaa

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100327/ap_on_re_as/earth_hour






And if today you just aren't feeling your prettiest, these pictures might help...

Woooork It Girl

Hola la familia y amigas,

Wouldn't it be wonderful to learn a different language? I wish Mrs. Leib, my high school Spanish teacher, wouldn't have let us just play UNO for my 3 years so that I could have maybe learned something. Ofcourse I had the opportunity to learn German in college but it was at 8am 4 days a week so that wasn't happening. Oh, and because learning German is completely useless unless I moved to Germany which again, isn't happening.

In other non-biligual related news...

We won our co-ed game last night, woot woot! The Playmakers are officially 2-0 this season. It was fun because a few of us went to a bar that is right by the fields, called The Parking Lot. Talk about knowing your customer, a bar by a slowpitch field is equivilant to striking oil. It was fun to just hang out with some of the team members besides Kalen and Stephanie and get to know them more. I'm also playing in a tournament tomorrow with a bunch of the same players too which will be a fun time. It is a great group because everyone is competitive but is all about having fun too.

Our garage sale has started! I volunteered to come early and help set up since I'm the strongest one in line after Derick who informed everyone that his muscles were "just for show", haha. So far everything has been selling like hot cakes!When we had some down time after setting up yesterday I put on a fashion show better known as the "most hideous clothes on earth" collection from the stuff donated to our garage sale. They actually took a picture and it can be found on our website. I joked that this outfit is the result of 2 months in Texas...you HAVE to check it out!

www.almondoutreach.org

Have a wonderful weekend with whatever you or wherever you may go!

Ash

Num Num Num Num

Hello lovelies,

People here love donuts. I don't remember if I talked about this already but if I haven't I have been meaning to. If I already did I am emphasizing how insane this donut fetish is...Every morning I come to work someone has brought donuts, oh, and Dr. Pepper. This nonprofit doubles as a fatty factory. Plus, everywhere you drive, Texas Donuts, Star Donuts, Worlds Best Donuts, Donut Palace, it's insane. The thing that is so irritating is that I don't even like donuts that much but their prevelancy is too overpowering.I feel like Homer Simpson these days...

How is the week going for everyone? We have been gearing up for that garage sale and getting settled into our new location all week. I could probably tag clothes, dishes, and "what nots" as my co-worker Linda calls them, in my sleep now. I have made some great finds though with a man donating an artist aisle for $1. I have been searching for one since I moved so I was very excited. It will complete my little artist nook at my place. Oooo such a grown up these days eh?

Other great discoveries:

~The Discovery Channel has started airing its LIFE Series the next 11 Sunday evenings and its awesome! It is some of the best documentary filming I have ever seen and it totally got me hooked this past weekend.It makes me want to start a bucket list of all the places I want to visit before I die. The great lakes of Africa, Bora Bora, Australia, etc. etc. etc. If you could pick anywhere in the world to travel where would it be? Maybe the show will help inspire you. Here is the link to check it out.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/life

~It has come to my attention that if I wear a white V-neck shirt with some sort of accessory I seem stylish. Do you realize how great this wardrobe trend is for me? All I have are white tees and accessories! I guess it is just redemption for that skinny jean phase I couldn't partake in because the skinny happened to quickly for this girls calves..Cross your fingers for men's size sweatpants being the hot new thing.

I always watch "watch instantly" netflix at night before I go to sleep. You remember me telling you about the nerdy documentaries I am always watching, right? I have moved on to watching LA INK with Kat VonD.It really is an incredible artistic skill that they have. It makes me want to get another tattoo but I can't begin to think of something that would ever match the one I already have. I love some of the tattoos my friends and family have gotten. My best friend Steph's tattoo to symbolize her parents and my brother in law's tattoo of my nieces 3 footprints going up his side. I think it is so important for them to be special and personal. I'm so glad I'm not one of those idiots that got a tribal symbol on my lowerback or something ridiculous and regretable. Sorry to all those reading this and cringing because of their tramp stamps :-/ but you know I'm correctamundo on this one. I told my sister that the only other tattoo I would think about doing is a sister tat with her. No clue what it would be but I know that it would have to be with a connection to her. Here are some tats that may have missed the mark a little :)







So remember, Discovery is wonderful, Donuts are the Devil, and when in doubt just rock a white tee with a scarf ;)

Lots n lots n lots of love,

Ash

Spring Sprang, Do Yooo Thang

It's officially spring! I celebrated on Friday by going and studying in the park by my house in a nice sundress. My leg hair was still in winter mode so it was a good thing I was by myself, eh? Studying, studying, studying. It feels like that is all I've been up to lately. There is a lot riding on these GRE scores and I know they are the first step toward my goals. Enough about that. I think about that too much these days.

I've been getting some painting in this past week to break up the monotony of all the book learnin'. I've asked me landlords if I could use some of the old wood they had piled in the garage to make some Lowercase Living type signs to sell at the garage sale The Almond Tree is putting on this next weekend. I figured it would be a fun way to paint and help the cause. If they don't go I'll always have some stuff to decorate my place, right?
I have been thinking about the blog lately and how I really wish it was more interactive. There are so many things I post that I would love your opinions on especially since I know the only people creeping this thing are my close friends and family. Soooo, here is my plea for feedback!Any thoughts, comments, loooove, let me know :)

And for some lovely randomness...

~I really love headbands lately. I wish I could have been 23 in the late 60's. I think everyone has an era they think they should have been apart of. I think my Dad wishes he could have been alive back in the pioneer days when the land was wild, expansive, there for the taking.


~I get to see my mom in 10 days! I couldn't be more excited or thankful to see her.


~Down here they have something called "texas country", ofcourse right? Texas has to have its own everything. Either way this is a song I heard that I really liked and it just exemplifies how much the people here l-o-v-e Tejas. If any of you are music pirates you should download She's like Texas by by the Josh Abbott Band. Here are the lyrics...
shes as free as the blue bonnets in the summer
shes as hot as the padre island sun
most of the times shes as warm and friendly
like the hills that surround austin

shes as bright as the Dallas Sky
she always holds head high
she love the company of her family
she has faith in God's greater plan
she trusts im a good man
and that why i'll always believe
shes like texas and she likes me

her eyes are green like the trees in Nacogdoches
he teeth are white as the cotton in the fall
and when she laughs youll always take notice
cause her hearts charm will shine right through it all

shes as bright as the Dallas Sky
she always holds head high
she love the company of her family
she has faith in God's greater plan
she trusts im a good man
and that why i'll always believe
shes like texas and she likes me

Her moods can change like the weather out in Lubbock
but if you show her love man she'll return it. :)

shes as bright as the Dallas Sky
she always holds head high
she love the company of her family
she has faith in God's greater plan
she trusts im a good man
and that why i'll always believe
shes like texas and she likes me


Health and Happiness wherever you are,

Ash

Roadtrippin'

Well, overall, I think my first Texas roadtrip can be deemed a success. It was beaaautiful weather, I got to see a friend, and I can now say I've been to Rattlesnake Round up in Sweetwater, Texas. The town of Sweetwater is actually quite small and it was nuts to see all the influx of people headed there for the roundup. Once Casper and I found a parking spot we were off to check out all that this thing had to offer. I've become one of those moms who has toys, cheerios in a container, and a sippie cup in their purse at all times only in dog-version. Because of the heat down here I've started keeping a bowl and a water bottle in my purse any time I go somewhere with Casper. Bag lady or awesome mom? Guilty of both I'm sure. The roundup was set up like most other festivals or town fairs with rides, a big flea market area offering all types of southern food and people selling their wares. I got a couple really neat bracelets(for cheap!). They are probably my only weakness when it comes to jewelry. I think rings would be with these caveman hands the men size rings just don't offer the type of variety to rev my engine ;) Finally, we made our way to where all the rattlesnake madness was going on. They had big bins where they were extracting venom, measuring them, and the oddest and definitely grossest station, skinning them. They had a station where you could seriously pay your hard earned dollars to skin a snake, keep the skin and then put your bloody handprint up on the wall with your name underneath it. I'd say only in Texas but this sounds like the type of stuff that would happen in Wyoming too. I know how to pick em, right? I actually touched a live rattlesnake though, right in the rattle. The whole trip was topped off with me actually EATING some fried rattlesnake and buying an awesome souvenir t-shirt I can laugh about 15 years from now. Those of you who know me know that I'll still be wearing that ratty T-shirt too. For the record the rattlesnake was like eating a piece of fish with a million bones in it. Definitely more work than it was worth but I'm glad I tried it. Here are a few pictures and videos so you guys can get the full effect of this crazy experience. The first video is of a big bin of rattle snakes. It sounds like there is water running in the background but that is actually the sound of all those rattles going at once. Pretty cool. Ok, and the second video is not for the squimish(Jess). It is of the station where they skin the rattlesnakes and yes, I know I am creepy for video taping it but it HAD to be documented. The guy is actually holding a snake heart that is still beating somehow. Gosh, I realize how creepy this sounds now that I type it all out..O well, you've been warned :)


In other brief news...

*Met with my Program Advisor at UT Tyler. It went incredible and the program is one of the top 3 in the state of Texas. As soon as I get him my GRE scores I will be a provisional student for the Summer of 2010!

*Co-ed Softball league starts tomorrow. Go Playmakers! I couldn't be 14 but got 44 in honor of the old man ;)

*I'm going to a crawfish BBQ with some real cajun cooking this weekend at Kalen and Stephanie's friends house;the place I normally play cards. It'll be fun to try some new food.

*And ofcourse, HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!



Love love love for you all,

Ash

5 more minutes?

This springing ahead is kickin my a, people. I think my long weekend, soon to be blogged about complete with awesome snake videos, plus the loss of an hour is taking a toll on my pep this morning. Even after all these years of getting up early for practice, etc. I still haven't mastered being a morning person. I'm the type of person who sets my alarm with the complete intention of snoozing it 3 to 4 times and then plans accordingly. Either way, this short little blog this morning is probably more for me than you, dedicated to all the great things about mornings, right? Hope they help get you through this period of springing into sleep deprivation...







~Ash

Some Summa Lovin'

Howdy family, friends, and blog creepers alike!

Today I am in a wonderful mood and I'm pretty sure it can be attributed to the 80 degree weather and the fact that it is my last work day of the week. Woo hoo! In honor of my great mood brought on by these two things I'm dedicating today's blog to wonderful weather and wonderful weekends! I know summer weather isn't as prevalent as it is for others right now...you guys(cough) compared to meee(cough) but who can turn down some great pictures to jog our memories of the beauty of life during the summer months, right? Plus, maybe if I give you all the nice weather bug you'll have to come visit me to be cured :)

Ok, roll that beautiful summer footage...









**retro bathing suit photo by Yosohiro Ishimoto

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

A few other tidbits...

The link to the website The Almond Tree where I work :)
http://almondoutreach.org/

***I booked my flight for Mal's bachelorette party in April today. I haven't seen her since September and I have a feeling it's fixin' to be a hilarious, fun, beautiful time spent together among friends.


Happy sun and fun searching this weekend!

Ash

Rooound Em Up!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Is it possible to have a case of the Wednesdays? I'm so tired. I think this is just a preview of how busy I am going to be if all of this grad school mumbo jumbo works out. I have set up a meetig with Program Advisor on the 16th and want to have all of my stuff ready by then. Im' currently in the process of rounding up letters of recommendation, writing my Statement of Purpose, applying for scholarships, and studying for the GRE test. This is all happening while at work we are planning our move to our new building next week, creating the programming guidelines for my position, and coordinating a garage sale for a revenue stream. Busy stuff! Its ok though, I love working on things I really enjoy.

I don't think I blogged about it but on Monday I went to my first 360 H.E.A.T class at my gym. I wish I would have taken a picture so that I could post how absolutely sweaty I was. I don't even know what the HEAT stands for but it was about a billion degrees in there while I did circuit training and cycling. It felt good to have a workout that really pushed me though. I haven't really had that since I was playing some VUSB. I'm heading back tonight for another ass whoopin'. The beach season comes sooner down here people.

The good news is I think this weekend is going to be really fun! I am going to meet up with Elise in Arlington at some pointand then head to Sweetwater, Texas for their annual Rattlesnake Roundup! Thousands of people from all over meet and they have all these events, including a huge flea market, beard judging contest, fried rattlesnake, and rattlesnake weighing contest. It will be my first roadtrip. Sweetwater is close to Abilene where Coleman is from so I may get to see him too which would be a nice surprise.Can't wait!

Health and Happiness,

Ash

The Charmed Life...

Hey Ladies and Gents,

I'm sleeeepy today. I accidently stayed up late watching a documentary I had the full intention of falling asleep to. NEEEERD ALERT! I think I'm getting less and less cool as I get older... or maybe I just care a lot less if people think I'm cool?It was a really interesting documentary called, "Born in Brothels" about these children who live in the red light districts of Calcutta. A photographer went in and started teaching photography classes to the children, simotaneously capturing images that could only be taken by the unsuspected children and creating an outlet for them to escape their situation. It was amazing to see some of the photographs these children created and to see the lives they came from. Here are a couple photographs taken by the children...

http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/bornintobrothels/





I get so busy that I forget how much I love art and photography. I want to start dedicating more time to both. I have a whole little "studio" area set up at my house. I think I'll start dedicating some blog space for the artists and photographers I appreciate. Pictures are always more enjoyable than all my rambling on too I think, right? Right.

I'm so glad I got a charm bracelet for christmas. I am always on the lookout now for little charms I can add to it. I wish I would have gotten a WY one while I was out there to symbolize that time in my life. I really need to track down the charm bracelet I started when I was younger to add those charms to my current one. I know it was so special for my mom to give her charm bracelet that she started when she was 16 to my sistr this past Christmas. I know I will never be a big jewelry wearer but I think it would be such a special gift to give to a daughter of mine some day. If I don't have a bunch of rowdy boys that is :)

Oh, and it has been thunderstorming all day! I love, love, love thunderstorms and have missed them so much while I've been away from home. It rarely rained in Wyoming dry climate and this girl hasn't witnessed a good downpoor since July.


"Don't wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain"

From all the love in Texas,

Ash