Thursday

It is a good bit cooler here today, but it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside.  Clear, blue skies, breezy, sunny, and about 65 degrees - I really HATE being stuck inside working. I am looking forward to going home and cooking on the grill tonight - that is the perfect end to my day - sitting on my back porch, watching my husband cook, with just a glass of wine and the sunset.

Speaking of Brent, does anyone know anything about Lyme Disease?  Brent is a soil scientist, which means he tests soils for builders/developers to determine the soil type/ classification and then advises them on what types of drainage system would be suitable (that is the most simple explanation I can give - hehe - his work is way over my head).  Obviously, he has to spend alot of time outside on tracts of land and in the woods, so he is constantly getting all kinds of bug bites, posion ivy, etc.  Last night he found a seed tick on him - these things are so tiny, I have NO clue how he found it - I am talking the size of a poppy seed.  Anyway, thisparticular tic is known for carrying Lyme Disease. He was feeling kind ofsickly last night and the morning, and  I am trying to convince him to go to the doctor, but he is being stubborn.....

I actually sat down last night to start the first entry in my "series," but had absolutely no inspiration to write.  I will have to wait until the writer's block leaves me to begin that series.  I have always gone through these phases; sometimes the words just pour out of me, and other times I feel at a loss.  Hopefully, I will feel inspired soon.........

 

Some Day Off!!

Well, I had the day off today.  Sort of.  Let me rephrase that.  I did not have to go into my job today.  I slept in (which is actually about 8:15 - I cannot sleep late anymore!)  Brent decided he needed new tires for his truck and, since I was home, he thought that this morning would be a great time to do it.  Oh well.  Forget lounging around in my p.j.'s  We took his truck and dropped it off, got some breakfast, went to Kroger to pick up his allergy  meds and my eyedrops (the pollen is KILLING us), went to one of his job sites, and back to pick up the truck. 

After returning home, I proceeded to clean out the garage (swept it out and rearranged some things to make it easier to park in), cleaned out my downstairs spare bedroom, dusted/mopped/and vacummed the entire downstairs and upstairs except for our bedroom, cleaned out the fridge, made more hummingbird food, and cleaned out my car. WOW.  So proud of myself. And let me just tell you, my downstairs spare bedroom was a job in itself!!  It's a small bedroom off the kitchen that I am looking for a daybed to go in, to kind of turn it into a cozy little space.  However, for the 13 months that we have lived in this house, it has instead served as a catch-all room for anything and everything that we have felt like throwing in it.  For instance, a few of the things that I moved out of it this morning;  Brent's bow and arrow, a Magic Bullet (one of those food processor thingys that my sister gave me for my birthday), cushions that go to the boat, two cans of paint, a box of old cards, some of Brent's old football stuff, a mop, and a dog bone. I mean WTH??  I hate disorganization and my goal is to get the room decorated so it will not continue to collect things suitable for a garage sale.  Ahhhhhh.   It is now almost 7:00, and I am about to go tackle our bedroom..........or maybe I will just pour a glass of wine, run a bubble bath, and forget about it until my next "day off"  ..........

Thoughtful...

Think I will start another "series" in the next day or two -how my life has come to where it once was; to where it is now; to where it will go ...... I have been thinking alot about that lately - all of the stages I have been through in my 32 years -happy, independent, bored, unhappy, in love, depressed, dependent, addicted to this or that at the moment, uncertain, ecstactic, complacent, completely  crazy, creative, quiet,  predictable, unpredictable, uncomfortable, miserable, manic, depressed,  to happy again and back - all of the places everyone else has  experienced.   Hmmmmm.....  My dream job would be Carrie from "Sex and The City" - just write, write, write about the everyday drama of life, love, and family ;)

Monday

Snagged this tag from Jackie -  loved the colors!  I really,really despise Mondays!  It was such a beautiful weekend here, I would have loved to have another day off.  Oh well, I am off tomorrow, but I have to clean house all day, as I decided to boycott cleaning all weekend.  Ahhhh it was so nice, but my house is a MESS and that drives me nuts.  Had a very uneventful weekend, just pretty much hung around the house.  Brent is soooo busy with work right now, which is a GREAT thing, because it means more money for us.  He worked a little bit Saturday and Sunday, we went for Mexican one night, and grilled steaks the other night.  I love it when the weather is mild enough to just sit out on the porch, grill dinner, watch our hummingbirds, and CHILL!  Pretty soon it will be too hot here to do that, so I am enjoying it while I can.

I will post some pics of our trip to Florida as soon as Brent emails them to me.  We ended up getting there really late Thursday night, settled in, had a drink, and got to bed about 1:30. Needless to say, when that alarm went off at 4:45 somebody who shall remain nameless was in NO mood to go fishing hehe.  Brent said it was fine, for me to stay and sleep in, so that is exactly what I did. He was back about 11:30 that morning, and I was already basking in the sun by the pool.  He had come upon a beautiful secluded beach while out fishing , and he was so excited to take me to see it.  We spent the afternoon alone at this beach, and I have never seen Gulf water look like that -turquoise blue and beautiful, more like the Caribbean.  We spent the whole weekend doing about the same - leisurely days at the beach, him surf fishing, me sunbathing.  Went to several great restaurants and had good seafood.  Our anniversary was Easter sunday, and I got a little Easter basket and a dozen peach roses.  All in all, it was a pretty perfect weekend, and one we really needed.  It is funny how going away just sometimes helps you reconnect with each other - I am ready to go back!!!

Oh well, here I sit at work instead.  I can still daydream I suppose.......  Happy Monday!

And The Party Begins...Final of A Series

Well, I am officially sick of looking at my wedding pictures.  I actually had to go through them on disc to note all the numbers I wanted to take to Wolf Camera and get copies (yes, it has taken me a year to do this.) 

More About Me

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: Ashlee Katherine
Nickname: Ash, Aunt Ashlee, Ashee
Birthday: November 29
Birthplace: Marietta, Georgia
Current Location: About the same
Hair Color: Blonde ;) going with that, Lelly
Height: 5'9"
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right Handed
Your Heritage: Irish, Scottish, British and some Indian on my mom's side
The Shoes You Wore Today: Black thong sandals
Your Weakness: ShoppinG and Brent
Your Fears: I have several - big bugs being one
Your Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni, extra cheese, extra done
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Can't tell just now
Thoughts First Waking Up: I want to sleep
Your Best Physical Feature: Hmm, you'd have to ask my husband, but I say my eyes
Your Bedtime: I usually get there around 11 but it should be earlier
Your Most Missed Memory: High school days
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King: Neither
Single or Group Dates: I like both, depending on the mood
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee: Cappuccino (cold only)
Do you Smoke: Yes, and I hate it
Do you Swear: More than I should
Do you Sing: Oh yeah!! Especially in the car
Do you Shower Daily: Ummmm, yes
Have you Been in Love: Yes
Do you want to get Married:  I am married
Do you believe in yourself: I agree with Lelly, not enough
Do you get Motion Sickness: Yes
Do you think you are Attractive: On occasion
Are you a Health Freak: No
Do you get along with your Parents: Yes
Do you like Thunderstorms: As long as I am not out in one
Do you play an Instrument: No
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: Yes 
In the past month have you Smoked: Yes
In the past month have you been on Drugs: No
In the past month have you gone on a Date: Yes 
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: Yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: No
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: Gross no
In the past month have you been on Stage: No
In the past month have you been Dumped: No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: Well, I did just get back from my anniversary in Florida - I'll let you guess ;)
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: No
Ever been Drunk: Yes.
Ever been called a Tease: Yep
Answer truthfully do you have a crush: Yep
Do you prefer green beans or carrots: Green Beans
How many kids do you want: 1
What is your favorite piece of clothing: My olive green cargo pants from Victoria's Secret
Do you like llamas: I wouldn't know
Song are you listening to: Not listening to music right now

I got this one from Lelly, who got it from Amanda.  That was fun!! (It takes so little to entertain us, Lelly ;)

I Do... Part 3 of a Series

The ceremony....  My step-brother actually did the photography for us as a wedding gift.  He is an "amateur" photographer, but I think he did a "professional" job - these pictures are my favorite wedding gift of all.  He did a wonderful job at capturing so many perfect moments of us as well as every one of our guests.

Here We Go...... Part 2 of a Series

Getting ready and heading down the aisle, looking nervous the whole time......

I heard on the news today that Tom and Katie have a new "Tomkitten" (such an annoying term) and that Brad and Angelina are possibly having their baby in Namibia and giving it an African name.  I just wanted to say...................................................

 WHO CARES????

This is a man who jumps on couches, criticizes women for seeking medical help for postpartum depression (Tom) , a man who walked out on his wife for another woman (Brad), and a woman who will sleep with another woman's husband (Angelina).  Hmmmmmmmm

I am sure many of you disagree with it, but just felt like putting my opinion out there....

Twas The Night Before Our Wedding.... Part I of a Series

These are pictures from the night before we got married.  We had about 80 friends and family members to a dinner party, where my dad invited the surprise guest.....an Elvis impersonator (Brent is an Elvis fanatic). Everyone had so much fun and it was just a great party.  First of a series.....

OK - this is just a picture of a really big fish that my hubby caught.  I am just experimenting with adding pictures to my journal - I know most of you are not interested in 30 pound fish - maybe some more interesting vacation photos later LOL

Tuesday

I came home and had over 200 emails - mostly comments and alerts - a bit overwhelming.  I will hopefully get caught up over the next few days!  More later....... first day back to work.......Happy Tuesday!

Back From The Beach

We're ba-aack - more later -exhausted (isn't that funny how you come back TIRED after vacation? hehe)

Eye Candy

 

All I can say is YUMMMMMMMM!!!!! 

Oh, and he can SING too ;)

Impatiently Waiting on Thursday.....

Baytowne Wharf, is where we will be spending our anniversary. 

My mother has a condo in SanDestin, and Baytowne Wharf is right across the water.  It is a really neat little village of restaurants, bars, and boutiques.  It sits right on the Intracoastal waterway, and is a perfect place to spend the day walking around and looking in shops, sitting around people watching, or having lunch and a frozen margarita.  They have a really neat nightlife as well, with everything from upscale restaurants, to a dueling piano bar to really laid back beach-style seafood restaurants.  The neat thing is they have a ferry that is within walking distance of where we are staying that will pick you up and drop you off so there is no need to drive. 

Brent asked me the other night if there was anything in particular that I wanted to do over the weekend. He knows my perfect vacation is sleeping in, going out for a good breakdfast, maybe some shopping, spend the afternoon at the pool / beach, and go out for dinner at night.  Somehow, he has managed to talk me into taking a fishing trip with him on Friday morning.  He loves to deep sea fish, but i don't think I could withstand the sea-sickness, so I have never gone with him.  He booked us for a short (3-4 hours) trip that only goes in the bay, so the water will hopefully be nice and calm.  Because we chose to go on Friday instead of Saturday, we get the boat all to ourselves.  I am actually kind of looking forward to it - even if I have no luck at catching Redfish or Spanish Mackerel (no, I didn't know this is what we were fishing for before he told me LOL), I will enjoy being out in the sun on the water with my hubby.

Ahhhhh, I wish I were there now.........

Daydreaming

This is where I was one year ago next week....

 

 

 

Literally.  We were in a room just like this, where the pool water came right up to the steps.  It was pure heaven...

We got married on the most beautiful Saturday evening you could imagine.  The temperature was perfect, not a cloud in the sky, no Georgia humidity, and the sun was just setting behind us as we said our wedding vows. We were in the gardens of a historic Victorian bed and breakfast, which was also where we spent our wedding night.  Thinking ahead, we planned to leave on our honeymoon on Monday morning, rather than Sunday, so we could spend Sunday opening wedding gifts and packing.

We awoke at about 4:00 a.m. Monday morning and headed to the airport.  Suprisingly, there were no delays at Hartsfield Atlanta Airport (which is a rarity), so we boarded our flight with no difficulty.  The four hour flight was uneventful and quite restful, and we arrived in St. Lucia sometime mid-morning. The airport was quite different from Hartsfield, to say the least.  It was all open-air, packed to the gills, and sweltering hot.  It took quite some time to get through customs and finally board the van that was to take us to paradise. Anyone who has ever traveled in a third-world country with a foreign driver knows the terror we experienced on the two-hour ride LOL.  (Luckily, my husband thought ahead and got us a couple ice cold Red Stripe beers for the trip hehe.)  We spent two hours  flying up and down hills (on the wrong side of the road by our standards, mind you), hanging off the sides of mountains, and witnessing poverty at its very worst. However, we were awe-struck by the exquisite beauty of the lush tropical foilage, the breathtaking mountains, and the turquoise sea.

When we finally arrived at paradise, our luggage was whisked away, we were served a frozen tropical cocktail, and ushered to our room. The nextfive days were spent eating delicious food, having cocktails at hand anytime we asked, sleeping late,and enjoying all that was offered at Sandals.  We spent a day snorkeling, a day sailboating and jetskiing, and alot of time lying by the several pools and the ocean.  The weather was picture perfect all week; hot with not a cloud in the sky.  We ate breakfast every morning at a buffet overlooking the sea.  Dinners were spent at Italian restaurants, French style bistros, and eating all the fresh seafood we wanted.  The last night we were there, we had tiramisu, champagne, and strawberries, while sitting on our balcony looking out at the moonlight shining on the water.  It is a scene I never wanted to leave, and one I go back to in my mind quite often.

After a year of marriage spent dealing with all the stresses and troubles of everyday "life in the real world," I am so thankful we had that honeymoon, the memory forever tucked away in my mind, to remind me what a wonderful start we had to our life together... 

I got this from Lelly - Thirteen things I would like to be eating right now.

1. Fettucini Alfredo

2. My mother's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried okra, lima beans with homemade relish, cornbread, and sweet tea (all lowfat, of course)

3. Japanese steakhouse filet mignon and salad with ginger dressing

4. Ocean Club's (Destin) pecan crusted grouper

5. Henry's deep fried lobster tail with drawn butter (Henry's is a New Orleans style restaurant with a real Cajun chef that serves the best seafood you can get in Georgia)

6. Bahama Breeze's caesar salad

7. My grandmother's barbecue chicken

8. Brent's grilled shrimp skewers with peanut sauce

9. Cool Ranch Doritos

10.  Chocolate mousse cake

11. Tiramisu

12. Homemade steak fries with Krazy salt dipped in ketchup (yummy!)

13. My pot roast that is waiting at home for me...

Better Thursday

Well, thankfully, after a good night's sleep, I feel much better today.  I can't promise I will feel the same at the end of the day, depends on how many idiots I have to deal with between now and then ;)

Brent and I went out for Mexican last night and shared a pitcher of margaritas - just what the doctor ordered.  Feeling all relaxed, I went home, put on my jammies, and curled up in bed. 

I woke up so refreshed and energized this morning, that I actually put a pot roast in the crock pot to have for dinner tonight.  MMMMMMMM  I seared it in an iron skillet on the stove, then transferred it into the crock pot, which had water, french onion soup mix, onions, worcestshire sauce, and garlic.  My house is going to smell SOOO good when I come in from work tonight.  All I'll have to do is whip up some mashed potatoes and green beans, and we will have a yummy dinner. I am getting hungry just thinking about it!

Brent and I are going to Destin next Thursday, as Easter Sunday will be our one year anniversary.  I cannot believe it has already been a year!  In our year of marriage, we have dealt with ALOT of BS and drama - some created by us, some created by family members, work stress, money stress, etc.  I felt kind of bad at first, not being here with family on Easter, but you know what?  I decided WE NEED THIS.  Sometimes you just gotta do stuff for yourself -and next weekend will be just for us.  It will be a much needed vacation and I am sure we will enjoy the time all alone.  Oh well, gotta get back to work. Have a good day everyone - it's almost Friday!!!!

Wednesday's Rant

(Not directed towards anyone in j-land, mind you)

Sorry, had to add this tag (which i stole from Lisa Jo, thanks LJ).  This is the mood I am in today. People are GETTIN' ON MY NERVES. I am having a day where I just want to be LEFT ALONE and it is like people can just sense it and WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE.

And, another thing that is getting on my nerves...

Finances.  Does anyone else stress about money? I get so tired of it - it seems as if one day things are fine, and the next day I am completely stressing over money.  Does it ever end?

Can anyone tell I feel like a real b#*%h today?  Maybe it is just PMS..... I am meeting Brent at the mexican restaurant for dinner - think I need a LARGE margarita....on the other hand, that may just send me RIGHT over the edge.

OK... just needed to vent...

happier entry later (HOPEFULLY) ;)

More good luck...

If there is one place I hate going more than anywhere else in the world, it would have to be the dentist. I never had any cavities as a child, so I guess I didn't have a whole lot of experience learning how to be tough in the dental chair.  I got my first cavity when I was about twenty-six years old and I cried like it was a death sentence.  I had my second cavity about two years ago, and ended up having to get the tooth crowned.

Well, about a month ago, that same tooth began hurting anytime I ate anything hot or cold.  I tried to pretty much ignore it for a while.  I mentioned it to Brent and he said "You probably just need a root canal."  JUST NEED A ROOT CANAL?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I WILL HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY PUT TO SLEEP TO DEAL WITH A ROOT CANAL.  "Well it's better than losing your tooth," he replied. OMG  Needless to say, this was enough to scare me into calling and making a dentist appointment.

I left work about noon today, hands gripping the steering wheel, and headed for the dentist.  I am telling you, I REALLY could have used a Xanax and a glass of wine.  You would have thought I were about to have brain surgery performed.  I arrived at the dentist office, and they began taking X-rays.  I sat in the chair with a large knot in my stomach, hands shaking, waiting to hear the dreaded news.  My dentist finally  sits down and asks me if I have been stressed lately. "Stressed?  Well, yeah, I have been kind of stressed."  (Didn't know stress caused cavities hehe).  "Well," he tells me "I think you are grinding your teeth at night and it has caused your tooth to be sensitive."  AHHHHHHHHH (huge sigh of relief.) My dreaded dentist appointment ended with me being given a plate to bite down on and instructions to brush with sensodyne toothpaste.  

Oh, and me getting impressions to get the trays to bleach my teeth with.  Hey, I figured I went in expecting to have to spend close to a thousand dollars on a root canal, so why couldn't I treat myself to a little something?  (This is what I plan to tell my husband, anyway - wink wink). 

A Sigh of Relief.....

The conclusion to my rental house dilemma......

So after almost nine months of having not only the mortgage payment on our new house, but the additional payment on the rental house, we were financially at the end of our rope.  The tenants (who moved out after living there a decade) were, to put it as nicely as possible, TOTAL SLOBS.  As soon as they moved out, we had to do some extensive work on the house, whether we were to decide to sell it or rent it again.  This included paint, carpet, new flooring, roof work, yard work, extensive cleaning, etc. etc.  After all the work was said and done, and our checkbook pretty much exhausted, I decided I did not want to deal with being a landlord again - the hassle of finding the right tenants, collecting the rent on time in order to get the mortgage paid, cleaning up their mess when they decided to move, and on and on.  That left us with only one other option -put the house on the market and try to sell it.  Luckily my step-brother is a realtor, so that was a pretty easy step.  However, after a couple of months, there had been little activity (it was only shown a couple of times.)  By this time, I thought my husband's pretty blonde hair was going to turn gray or he was going to be hospitalized with an ulcer from worrying about the financial obligations.  After much praying, an idea just popped into my head while driving to work one day.  A co-worker of mine has recently started buying homes that were about to be foreclosed on and selling them right away for a small profit.  I immediately called him, reduced the price of the house (to a little less what I would have profited had I had to pay real estate commission) and offered him the deal.  Amazingly enough, he was very interested.  To make a long story short, we closed on the house Friday afternoon.  I left fairly happy, with my small profit and the relief that we were back to only one mortgage payment.  Thank God that things always seem to have a way of working out.  So, until the next crisis comes along..........

 

Sunday

Let's just say that Friday turned out to be the happy ending of my rental house dilemma!!  I will explain more later;  too much to do right now.  Beautiful day today - my honey just took the dog, the boat, and the fishing pole and headed for the lake, and I am headed to the grocery store.

  Happy Sunday! XOXOXOXOX