Music is My Boyfriend

WARNING: Ridiculous amounts of music shout outs in this post.
Get your iTunes ready.

(Always with earbuds in)

I have been trying to write this blog for like the past 5 years. Okay that's a lie since I haven't had this blog that long. It's been a really long time though. I am what some might call an addict. I've got a problem. I admit it. That's the most difficult part I heard. Oh! I admit it! (The Drugs Don't Work - Ben Harper) I love my habit and I have no intention of stopping. He soothes my soul (The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding) and gets me jazzed up.(Cleaning out My Closet - Eminem) He makes me smile(Playin' with the Boys - Kenny Loggins) and can bring me to tears.(Here's lookin' at you kid - The Gaslight Anthem) He is one of the two great loves in my life - sorry bacon, you were not included in the running. His name is music. We have had a love affair since I was about 11(Hit Me Baby One More Time - Britney Spears) and discovered BearShare (remember that one kids) a program where you download music and keep it in stashes on your computer. Now we pay $1.29 per song and get told where we can keep it, oh the good old days of thievery.

ANYWHO. Music and I have gone through a lot together. Lip syncs(Respect - Aretha Franklin) rock outs (The End of Heartache - Killswitch Engage) break ups(My Immortal - Evanessence) love(When a Man Loves A Woman - Marvin Gaye) divorce(Turning Tables - Adele) house remodels(Mr. November -- The National) work outs(Cowboy - Kidrock)- we are meant to be. I have been trying to pick my top 10 favorite songs for like 13 years now. It's difficult because different songs mean different things at different times.(9 Crimes - Damien Rice) If someone would have told me Panic at the Disco would make me cry a few years back I would have laughed in their faces. Maybe if they told me Where Ya Runnin' by Lenny Kravitz would be the anthem of my youth I would have payed more attention. Or that The National would inspire the greatest change in my life I could have ever imagined, I would have had a warning, thanks guys. In any case music has been there through it all, ever faithful.

(What is that another secret bathroom re-do? More on that coming soon.)

There are a few songs though that through all this time have either stuck with me or made an immediate impression on my soul. I'm sure you all have experienced that at some point. If you haven't go listen to Por Ti Volare by Andrea Bocelli, Sara Brigtman or freakin' Will Ferrell and find some sort of feeling.

Ash's Official Top 10 Favorite Songs
1) Hotel California by The Eagles
2) Hurt by Johnny Cash
3) Faithfully by Journey
4) Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra
5) Float On by Modest Mouse
6) Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
7) Bennie & the Jets by Elton John
8) I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables
9) She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
10) Slow Show by The National
--In order

It was tough.
Many close followers.
It has been written.
Know about it.

What music gets you? Or you get? I figure they're one in the same

When I Grow Up

2011 had a lot of good and a lot of bad. I am more than happy to have a fresh start at an old life. This year will bring a lot of changes. Some great trials are coming my way but great rewards will be reaped.

2011 New Years Resolution For Self:
Lose 10 pounds -- DOUBLE CHECK! (lost 20 Lbs)

2011 House Goals:

Apply more of a personal touch in my home -- CHECK!

Have a garden and not kill it -- CHECK!

Rebuild deck off of the backdoor -- UNCHECK!



Remodel Bathroom -- CHECK!



Overall I think I did very well on my goals. I've taken a few days to think of 2012 goals and resolutions(think about it the two are very different) and I think I have picked four very difficult but attainable ideas.

2012 Resolution For Self:
Be the happy that I want to be.

There are so many expectations of females my age. It seems we only fall in two categories; party kid or mother. I am neither and that has been something I have struggled with for years. This year I will do what makes me better, what makes me closer to the Lord, and what makes me genuinely happy and not the happy that people expect me to be.

2012 House Goals:

Update master bedroom
I'm thinking more light hearted and less dramatic.


Repair and dress up the hot tub
I love how inviting it feels.


Rebuild deck off of backdoor- Here's hoping :-)
Love the different directions of the wood. I hope I can be that fancy.

Cheers to fresh starts. Cheers to changes. Cheers to the truth.

Made For You

I would generally say that Joe and I are an "unlucky" couple. Since I don't believe in luck really I believe in preparation and opportunity I guess I would go as far as to say that we are an unprepared couple. We fell for each other in a ridiculous almost embarrassing amount of time and planned a wedding even faster. There was no baby on board the opposite actually we were just ready. I've never really told our wedding story probably because I tried to block it out. It was a crazy ride with filled without any alcohol and too many anxiety pills. Sorry about writing that (mom) but it's true and I am nothing if not overly honest and a bacon lover.

I am a planner to a fault. Ask my poor husband, my parents, my boss, those weird neighbors that watch us while we are in our hot tub ANYBODY. Yet I wasn't that girl that planned her wedding. Mainly because I'm not the marrying type but that's another blog post. So when it came down to it I just sort of winged everything which of course increased the anxiety. You see the vicious cycle here?

Well let's start with the fun stuff DRESSES. I love to dress up so my favorite part of the wedding was trying on dresses here were a few of the contenders.









After about 30 dresses. I chose this one



I would say that the venue is the next most important thing. Funny thing about that. I had that picked out for a long time. It was a large six bedroom house in the Cascade mountains that my family stays at in the summers. Because it was large enough the guests from out of town would be able to stay there as well so two birds with one stone right? Wrong! I had sent the down payment I had spoke to the owner we were good to go as far as I knew. TWO days before the wedding my sister in law called to get the directions and the owner said that she was waiting for a confirmation E-Mail from me. To this day I look for that E-Mail and have yet to find one but whatever. Needless to say she rented the house out to another family. AWESOME. At this point I kind of just decided to not get married. I was so over everyone's drama and all the choices that weren't really mine to make.

I worked up until the day of my wedding I left late Friday to make the journey north to meet a man I hadn't seen in weeks and tie myself to him forever. I remember stopping at a Subway along the way and just watching people, something I do a lot, and just thinking about how I was going to change my life forever. I sat and stared at that engagement ring and people for probably an hour and a half. Which inevitably led to me being late for the rehearsal dinner. Thankfully my BFF Kaelyn was already there telling me to breath and getting me a brown paper sack to breath into. Thank God for her.





I have to show a picture of my bachlorette party cake because it was amazing.

I'm so sorry Grandma and Grandpa please cover your eyes.




The next morning I put on my dress...and it didn't fit. You see I have a tendency to not eat when I get stressed out so in the two weeks between my last fitting and my wedding day I had dropped 14 pounds. Here are the picture to prove it.





To this day the look on my mother's face still cracks me up!

We ended up getting married in the park by the river which was beautiful but it was pooring down rain as it often does in Salem. I had to have four helpers carry my dress so it and I didn't get soaked. SO MUCH FUN!



The ceremony went smoothly and I actually got him to say "I will" which was my greatest fear. I had so many dreams about him saying no which would have uh...sucked.

So here we are two years later to the day and he still says "I will." I wonder often why he picked me. He is such a good man. He would do anything for anyone at anytime. After three years of being together he can still make my knees weak with that smile. I guess unlucky works for us.

Another Year Older and Wiser Too!

A year older I am. One year until my 50 cent insurance break. Whoo! Lookin' forward to it. Yes, 24 years of life I have experienced thus far. I had a little quarter life crisis this year but after a good time of reflection I was ready to actually celebrate another successful year.

Every year I make goals for myself. This year I aimed to learn two things. First, how to keep my mouth shut. Second, to learn to want the things I have. I am a person full of opinions. They are often shared without being asked for or wanted. This year a LOT has happened with family and with work that learning how to not give my opinion has been truly beneficial. I believe it was Mr. Mark Twain that said, "It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open ones mouth and remove all doubt." Turns out he is right.

About a year ago Joe and I started working on our total money makeover. Dave Ramsey wrote a book by that name that has our financial world half way turned. With the purchase of our home as well as the necessary remodels and updates we got ourselves into this not so little pool called debt. After we read the book we decided this guy must have some idea what he is doing since everything in his life he pays cash for. The path has been difficult, especially since both of us are moderate spenders. I think it has brought us closer together having to work harder to appreciate the things we have.

On that note I got to spend a lot of time with people I love this particular day of birth. The weekend before my birthday my family came down and we ate and went swimming, and BBQ'd. One of my nephews got to come and time with him is priceless. I'm not used to having kids around our home and it is definitely different but we got along just fine. It was so nice to be able to spend leisurely time with my family.





On my actual birthday I went to work as usual but when I got there there were surprises everywhere! My desk was decorated, I got a crown, and a wand!. Boy do they know me!



We had a special lunch outside in which I got to try out my new recipe for lavender lemonade. It was delicious and will definitely be a part of our summer routine. They got me a hilarious card with a Home Depot gift card in it. We had a few laughs and just soaked up the sun, it was lovely.



The weekend after my birthday Joe and I celebrated and he made me the rain barrel I had been wanting since we started our garden and went "green." Something about being able to use a natural resource to help produce food and beauty for our little family. I just love it. I also got a visit from my best friend Kaelyn. We went to the lake on Monday and it was absolutely beautiful.

We went on a little hike when we first got there, and found a little dock off the coast line that we would get a HUGE fine for if they spotted us but it was so majestic we couldn't not take a few pictures.



Oh and then maybe some more here.





That night I got another birthday present. This hot little number.



NEW COACH BAG!

Not that this all wasn't fun enough but my new IKEA curtains and picture frames came from my Hanna family in Utah. I know I shouldn't love colored fabric the way that I love these curtains but I just do. Pictures to come when I get the room fully decorated.

Oh yeah, and Kaelyn cut my hair.

:-)

That night we made s'mores in our new to us fire pit and soaked up the sunset. It was a lot of fun and more memorable than any day I have had in a long time. What a great way to start off a new birth year.

Thank you everyone for making my life a little better than it was before I met you.