some on my list

i really have a lot to be grateful for. i hurt my foot a bit, and while i was laying in dad & mom's room, i got a little teary eyed for the wonderful sounds in the house, dishes being done, the picture of christ, laughter, little pitter-patter of feet, the priesthood, traditions, smell of a pine tree, cooking/baking, those serving our country, movies, snuggling, the smell of wonderful food, shelter, football, my comfy bed, my paul, my ears, ben & jerry's, taste buds, the declaration, pilgrims, the origional settlers who had a wonderful vision of this country, water, aunts, uncles and cousins, friends, neighbors, my job, transportation, my home, recipes, my mountains, cloudy weather...etc

-ash

what did i do?

i have always wanted to make english toffee...so i did...i will say though that i am such a mess. i really dirty every dish in the kitchen. i think the best decision i made was toasting the almonds before using them. a much deeper taste. one thing that is very important is DO NOT LET THE SUGAR BURN...i was stirring my little heart out when i smelt the beginnings of something burning. so i stirred faster and faster. i bumped the thermometer, it flipped out of the pan and 300* sugar candy flipped onto my skin. i know that you are supposed to treat the burn asap, but i just couldn't let my sugar burn (paul thought that was a very stupid decision) my arm stings...really bad, but i will make it...linds brought us home some pumpkin seed brittle from williams sonoma. it has good flavor, but it is like $25.00 for a small bag. paul wanted me to recreate it, so i tried. it has cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice and bourbon in it. it turned out good, but paul says that it is missing something. i will say that paul has developed snotty taste buds...i think i would rather have peanut brittle and english toffee, but it is always fun to try new recipes. (by the way, this burn is like the 4th or 5th i have gotten cooking, and paul says i am "this close" to loosing my cooking privileges. he is threatening to do the cooking...i am laughing inside right now)

-ash

dibbs

paul and i have this really childish game called dibbs. it goes a little like this. paul says..."dibbs, ash you have to make the bed" or "dibbs, you get to pick the game"...ashlee says..."dibbs, you get to do the dishes tonight" or "dibbs, you're being a meany face". sometimes (i hate to say this), we call dibbs on who gets to pray...eek, i know! what i am trying to say is the person who calls dibbs wins! dibbs has way more power than paper, rock, scissors, physical strength or manipulation. getting into bed is a whole new level of crazy... we both stand at the foot of the bed, because we know the first person to touch the bed will say..."dibbs, i get to hold you", and usually you get to choose the best position to fall asleep in! sometimes i will try to sidetrack him just so i can say it first and win. by now he has caught on and he is very fast at saying dibbs. sometimes it takes us half an hour to get into bed...(while we both are giggling). our poor children...

-ash

i won!!!

so paul and i have the electronic version of the classic game, battleship. i love hearing the sound of the missile traveling, the pause and then brgggg…awesome. i find myself getting giddy about it. i sunk his submarine first, then he sunk three of mine, i sunk another of his and then another, and another. he sunk the fourth one. darn we were tied…i wanted to win so badly. paul kept asking me if i had a system to my game…should i? i just punch in numbers and hope that i get one. paul has a way of making me crazy. he tells me (of course after i miss one of his ships) that i was really close, then i try to hit every available target around the last target, wasting time, while he gets another ship! frustrating. so, we are tied…he hits mine (mine is a three ship) and i have to find his (two ship). he tells me that i was close to getting his last ship. my next target was a hit! i was woohooin!!! paul was trying to find the direction of my ship, and i hit the other target!!! I WON!!! then i come to find out that while paul was stretching his neck, he looked and saw two of my ships…what a cheater face! anyway, i won and that is all that matters!

-ash 

dishes helper?

i wish i could convey to everyone how darn cute conrad is! there is no way that i can...i don't know if he is teething again, but he likes to be where i am, doing what i am doing. i was getting some dishes done, and i had him up on the counter with me (sorry katie, i started a bad habit). i took his shoes off and he took a whisk and whisked the water around. this boy loves, loves, loves water. when he hears the sound of water, he gets this grin on his face, and i know where he wants to go. before i knew it, his feet were in the water splashing around (a lot). for better access, i am sure, he then decided to stand in the water. now conrad is really strong and determined when he knows what he wants, and he knows he is sooo close to it. he plopped his cute butt into the water, clothes and all! i wished so badly i had my camera in hand. i giggled, he smiled at me with his two teeth grin and whisked away. i so look forward to my thursday's with him. he really has a way of making life so clear and adorable...to say the least, i didn't get the dishes done...

-ash

wonderful

my aunt becky finally blogged!!! i am so excited to stay caught up with her through everyday life. she is my favorite aunt...when she and mom get together, nothing but childishness comes out happens. i love how she lives what she believes, she is so funny, a great example of a wife and mother, and a loyal friend. next fall, paul and i are hoping to fly out and see our family members in tennessee. i love you becky...

-ash

it came!!!

i couple months ago, i had seen a recipe box in the hallmark magazine that i fell in love with. it was an antique box with the recipes burned into the wood. i still love it every time i look at it. my recipes now are in a big binder that is really heavy and not practical. i thought it would be great to get a box to put them in...that is where my search began. i looked on ebay, ksl, google, etc., and didn't find what i was looking for. finally one day, i came across a website with a box that i looked at and knew (you know when you just know?). i called and talked with tom. he said he had to finish a couple projects before starting my box and then it would take him a week or two from start to finish. it came today!!! it is so pretty and my recipes fit inside so nicely. i now want to find a wood burning place to finish it up. i am so in love!!! it totally made my day. this is another project that is almost done... the best part is, the money i spent on this has been the only money i have spent in a few months...(only $40) thrilled!

-ash

to a point

i don't know what has taken me so long to get to my breaking point...i wonder if it is the heartburn, the cupcake look, the 'chin' in some pictures, not sleeping well, breaking out, or just plain tired of looking the way i do...but i have hit it. i really want to take care of myself, eat healthy, eat at the dinner table (which we have done maybe twice our entire marriage), get a good 8 hours of sleep, be more active, enjoy life to the fullest, develop my talents, and just be me (in a healthier way of course). i guess this is really for me to remind me of my goal, to take better care of myself, create good habits now, and enjoy all that life has to offer. i am not really over weight, but i am uncomfortable...needs to be solved

here is my discovery...i was at a work meeting tonight talking about our food weaknesses. mine is totally bread and butter (much better together). i can eat chocolate/sugar sparingly (i made chocolate mint chip cookies and didn't have one...see the self control?), but put me in front of shirley's cinnamon/orange/raspberry roll and i am out of control. i can eat easily two or three in one sitting. mind you, not pasta...but flour, yeast and butter...hopefully realizing my problem will help solve my problem...crap, thought of one more BIG weakness...ben & jerry's half baked icecream!

-ash

i don't get it...

i have never seen the movie the nightmare before christmas, so on halloween, paul and i borrowed it from scott and jill. we sat and watched...what did i think?...i had my friend natasha in utter shock that i had never seen it, and audrey told me she listens to the soundtrack while she studies...hmmm. i don't think i liked it. i am a very traditional christmas lover! i love santa claus, the bright red and green, twinkle lights and eggnog. i love the holiday season. plus, i didn't like the characters of halloween town. they were kind of creepy. to top it off, one of the kids in the movie got a head for christmas! a head!!! granted it was a creative movie, but i don't think i would ever watch it again. not a fan... i did love big fish. that was an adorable one. now i can at least say i watched it...

-ash

spider web thing?

so i was at work and my co-worker started talking about a spider web thing...supposedly it helps write papers etc...i had no idea what they were talking about. after a rough lesson, a homework assignment, this is what i came up with.... i hope i can remember to teach this to my kids so they aren't as "far behind as their mom"!

-ash

the perfect day

today, paul and i woke up to the most perfect day. i wish everyday was like today. we could hear the rain, the wind in the trees and feel the crisp air. it was wonderful. we didn't want to get out of bed...but we headed off to church and had a wonderful sunday school lesson. i taught my beehives a lesson on loving themselves and others. i had a vase of bright daisies and one dull colored carnation. i asked them to point out differences between the daisies. i turned the vase around and asked what the differences were between the daisies and the carnation. the main point i wanted to stress was to be tolerant and loving towards those who seem different. i also know that some of them aren't getting along and it breaks my heart. i want them to love and support each other, because life only gets more challenging. i know that the more people you have around you to lean on, helps a lot. i hope they try hard to be better friends. paul and i got home, he read to me while i made a raspberry cream tart. delicious...and so easy. we each had a slice before we ate dinner. thanks williams sonoma!

-ash

Halloween Float

This year, mom challenged a couple of us to float the Provo River on Halloween day. I still can't believe we actually listened to her and did it. It was mom, Kelsie, Josh Mackey, Lindsay Bowerman and myself. Dad would not float, but he walked the train tracks a long the river to take photos. It was a beautiful warm afternoon without a clout in the sky...NOT! It was cloudy, there were at one point snow flurries and a bit of wind.
When we first got to the edge of the water, I really thought we would back out, but we didn't. We plunged ahead and got into the freezing water. It took me a a good 10 minutes to get my breath back. I would get used to the numb feeling in my back, then I would get splashed higher up and loose my breath again. About 15 minutes into it, it really wasn't that bad. We had a lot of people honking at us, and I'm sure they thought we were nuts!
I went as a prom date from the 80's, Kelsie was a hula girl, mom was Pat from SNL, Josh was a biker with tattoos, and Lindsey was Lucy from Charlie Brown. We sure did bond, and now I can say proudly that I floated the Provo River on Halloween! Thanks mom for an incredible memory.
-ash

halloween

halloween has come and gone...i can hardly believe it. i woke up this morning to a beautiful brewing fall sky. i love mornings like this. i do however have a couple regrets about this halloween...paul and i didn't carve pumpkins and we didn't watch charlie brown and the great pumpkin like we have the last 6 years. what the heck? it felt like halloween came so fast this year. when your a kid, there is a feeling of anticipation in the air. when you grow up...you get busy with work, you loose that feeling. my goal this next year, is to enjoy every single minute and get that feeling back. one thing i must say i did that was fun (for the first 15 minutes) was floating down the provo river in my costume. i went as a prom date in the 80's. i had my hair ponytail slicked to the side, a disgusting dress with a huge bow...the only thing i wanted to have but didn't, was lace gloves. like i said, it was fun for the first 15 minutes, then it started to rain and the wind started acting up. i went with kels, mom, and josh and lindsay from work. we were ice cubes. (pictures will come later) i had a lot of hot chocolate when i got home. the rest of the day was nice. went to costco to get candy, and went to mom and dad's for the traditional chili and breadsticks. (i of course didn't have chili, i made potato cheese soup) paul got home really late, and we headed home. next year will be different...i want that holiday feeling back...

-ash