Soundtracks for life

Do you ever find yourself listening to a song on the radio, or at home and assigning that song as a theme for something that happened or is happening in your life?

Well, I do.....all the time. :)

I LOVE music, any kind (usually) and its always been a big part of my life.

I remember in high school shutting myself away in my room when I felt depressed and listening to  Counting Crows "colorblind" over and over.

Or the day that a man I thought I knew ripped my heart out after stringing me along. I cried myself to sleep for weeks to Jars of Clay's "frail"

Any Third Eye Blind song takes me back to Jr. High. I was in love with "wounded""God of Wine" and "Good for You." I still listen to them over and over to this day. It makes me think of trying so hard to fit in, my first kiss and all my friends who were just as sad and messed up as I felt.  I felt lost and helpless and went to see a psychiatrist. Those songs also remind me of when I first started writing poetry to let it all out. ( I had a LOT of angst growing up!) :) I don't have these feeling anymore, but I still love the music.

When I hear Brookes and Dunn " Aint Nothin 'bout you" I am taken back to hot Georgia nights when I spent the last semester of my senior year with my grandparents and I met an amazing boy. We would cruise down the long stretches of highway and I would hang my feet out the window while closing my eyes and breathing in the sweet, humid air. He took me on my first dirt bike ride through the forest, going as fast as he could so I would hang on tight. He taught me how to shoot a .22 and would say "Yes Ma'm" with a crooked smile in a southern accent to die for.  When this song would come on the radio he would turn it up and sing the words as loud as he could while looking at me with his blue eyes.  I loved it. We lost touch after I left, ( however, he did become friends with my little sis in college..weird!) but I still think about those few months and wonder where he is right now.

One night after I had been dating my husband for a while we danced in the dark in my living room to "Hero."  It became our wedding song and I cry every time I listen to it. That was the happiest day of my life. I do believe he is my hero. He saved me in more ways than one and I thank Heavenly Father every day that he came along when he did to show me that there were good men in the world. He loved me despite me and still does.

Now-a-days my angst has been suppressed and the songs I label to my life are a lot more happy. When The Boy was born I sang him to sleep every night with the Dixie chicks "God Speed." I couldn't ever make it through the whole thing without choking up. (in fact, I am crying as I write, since I happen to be listening to it!) I can't believe how much he has grown since then. Dixie Chicks " Lullaby" is my anthem for mother hood and I can't hear the Zac Brown Band's " Sic em on a chicken" without laughing, since its my kids favorite song and they have a crazy dance party every time I put it on. :) You can thank The Man for that one!

I guess this post kind of delved pretty deep into some of Ashleigh life, but its good to be real. I have a million more I could name- songs for every grade, first loves, break ups, fights with the husband..make ups with the husband, old best friends, new best friends and friends with benefits, Ncmo's, (ask me about that one if you don't know...) :) apologies, road trips, girls night outs and even giving birth!  In fact a few of the songs on my player have deeper meanings to me. I don't really listen to music lightly, especially the music I really love and listen to all the time, its a big part of who I am.

*This post was spurred on by the song " Heart Break Warfare" by John Mayer that I happened to hear on the radio while driving today. Not that I am experiencing any heart break at the moment, but the words did remind me of when I have and that made me think about all the songs I love and the memories they induce. :)*


What do you guys love and listen to that brings on memories or is applicable to life happening now? :)

P.S.
Sorry if some of that was a little intense TMI! :)

Finally

Warm, sunny weather is upon us! Time to officially break out the flip flops!  (for the kids anyway, I am super stubborn about warm weather and I wear them regardless of how cold it is!)  Just ask Brandi, I sat outside the theater waiting for the midnight showing of New Moon in like below freezing temperatures with my sandals on, a testament to both my flip-flop and Twighlight fanaticism!  Crazy, I know. :) But it was worth it I tell ya!

Hope your all having fun outside today!

Make New Friends Friday-part duex

Since last week was such a blast and I met some adorable new friends, I decided to link up again to Jill @ Barnes Yard for Make New Friends Friday.








(Do you know that I just barely figured out what a MeMe was? Yeah...I don't do these kinds of things very often!) :)

Anywho.....

Today I want to feature Color Me Katie. I don't remember how I came across her blog, but I fell in love with her the moment I saw all that colorful paper pasted up all over her walls! Katie lives in New York with her cat Moo and boyfriend Matty. She is a "street artist" and comes up with the craziest, most colorfully awesome projects using paper that involve passers-by (usually unbeknownst to them, which makes it even cooler!) She is also a freelance photographer and takes pictures for Improv Everywhere. (you may have seen their infamous grocery store musical. They pretty much spontaneously bust out in song in the most random places, which I totally love. Or they ride the subway in their underwear...which is cool too...)

Her blog is so bright and happy. Every time I read a post I walk away smiling. She even had a super cute, totally colorful shoe named after her from ModCloth. (LOVE that store!) How cool is that?

So head on over and take a peek, you will love her sweet personality and vibrant take on life. :)

Sisters

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.  ~Isadora James

The season begins

Its that time of year again! Soccer season has officially started and The Boy couldn't be more excited:

"Is it time to go to my game yet mom?" Ten minutes later: "is it time to go to me game yet mom?" Ten minutes later:" How much longer until my game starts mom?" Ten minutes later: " don't forget I have a game today mom!"

Sheesh! I am glad to see him anxiously engaged in the sport, but come on! I can only take so much of that. :) After a while I just point out the numbers on the clock. "see, when the little hand is on the 5 and the big hand is on the 12, thats when we will leave. OK?"

Ten minutes later " Is it time to go to my game yet mom?"

I just can't win! ha ha ha....


But seriously, the kid is in love and he does awesome. So much better than last year when he was on his butt more than he was actually on his feet. :)

You rock kiddo!

Yummiest green trees

The other night I made broccoli with dinner. Normally with three small kids one would think this was a dire mistake on my part.

Broccoli?

Ha, good luck getting them to eat that stuff! Maybe if you drenched it in cheese sauce.

But, here is the conversation I had with my four year old daughter:


LG: *gasp!* Mom...is that...BROCCOLI?!

ME: Why yes my sweet sweet child, it is. (I really do talk this nicely all the time...I swear! Stop laughing....)

LG: Are we having it for dinner?!

Me: uh huh. *big evil grin*

LG: (pulls her fist into her chest and raises a leg) YES!!!!!! Oh mom.........this is going to be the YUMMIEST day EVER!!




Oh yeah, thats right. My kids can't get enough of the yummy green trees. Jealous much? :)

(P.S. I totally photoshopped out the food smears all over the walls behind baby girl because it was pretty gross....I thought I would spare you all the horror!) :)

I will admit...

Some days the thought does run through my mind....
But seriously! really? Come on now people...
You would never do it, for real!

What is going on in our society? horrible people.... :)


http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/17/1112828/spokane-craigslist-ad-selling.html

Some body's getting old..

Not me of course....:)

It was The Man's birthday over the weekend. It wasn't just a run of the mill kind of day either, nope...my man turned a whopping 30 years!

I still can't believe that I married such an old guy, seriously! Can we say "robbed the cradle" here people!?
(I just say that to stave off the daily panic I experience about my own looming 30th..)

The kids and  I woke up early to make him breakfast in bed. Pancakes in the shape of the number 30, so cute! I wanted to take pictures of him eating them, but he wouldn't allow it..seeing as how he had just woken up and wasn't quite decent. What, I can't put those kinds of pics up on here?  It was hard, but I respected his wishes. :)

His parents came down to celebrate with us and took us all to The Angry Bear for dinner, a recently opened steak house here in our tiny town of not much dining choice. It was delicious. The Man is somewhat of a steak connoisseur and he gave it a million thumbs up. I did try a bite of his and it made me sad to have to finish eating my hamburger! ( which was awesome as well, by the way..)

We also went to the tiny mall that this tiny town boasts under the guise of shopping for new shoes for him. I really just wanted to check out the Macey's women's shoe sale they were having. Any shoe, 20 bucks.

It. was. beautiful.

It seriously brought tears to my eyes. They had so many shoes! Earlier in the day I had gone to check it out, but the line to get in was sooooooo long. They would only let a certain amount of people in the store at a time. Crazy huh? When I got there later though, I just walked right in! I actually didn't find much, since it was so picked through.  I did see a few lovelies and try on a few boots, but with no mirror to judge them in, it was a no go. The Man called in the middle of my bliss to gently ( and jokingly) remind me that it was his birthday, not mine...so I forced myself to leave. Ha Ha! Next year I will definitely hit the sale a whole lot earlier with a few friends and score some awesome finds!

The Man did find two pairs of shoes for him at a different store despite my detour and I managed to get him a new fancy wallet on sale. I know.....big spender huh? :) In my defense, that man is more picky than any woman I have ever met when it come to just about anything. So buying him clothes or "guy stuff" just means you have to make a second trip to wherever you got it to take it all back, unless he tells you exactly what he wants in great detail. Soooooo, I leave all his birthday shopping up to him. Trust me. Its better that way. :)

It was a great day and I am so lucky to have him all to myself. He is the smartest, sweetest, sexiest, oldest man I know!

Happy Birthday babe.....

(dude..look at ALL those candles! That huge flame could almost set the whole house on fire!) :)

Spring is in the air

I like free stuff. Especially AWESOME free stuff!

Tip Junkie is starting their Spring Fling giveaway tomorrow and over 10,000 dollars worth of stuff is being dished out to a few lucky winners every hour, on the hour!






So head over there, check it out and enter! Who wouldn't want some of those grand prizes?!

So. Gorgeous.

Good Luck...I hope I win! :)

You could hear a pin drop..

Its REALLY quiet right now.....

Kind of eery really.

I. am. all. alone.

(technically not ALL alone, since baby girl is upstairs asleep in her crib. But one can imagine..)

The Boy and Little Girl are away at a friends.

I can do ANYTHING I want to and no one would know!

I could clean my overwhelmingly messy kitchen...
I could watch t.v. and eat bon bons... ( because that is what we do all day, right?)
I could take a nap on the couch....
I could make the blankets for the baby shower I am going to tomorrow....
I could run around naked.....

What have I chosen to do instead?

Eat salsa and blog.

Such is life.

Ole'!

So today, instead of cleaning my house...I decided to Make New Friends!!! 







Jill over at Barnes Yard started this last week and I am all for it, since...who couldn't use some more blogging buddies!? Seriously...

I would feature Jill herself, since I just started lurking around checking out her blog, but I think that would go against the rules. :)

So I am going to feature Ana @ Knock Off wood. I know I blogged about her just a little while ago, but I can't help it. Her furniture designs are so amazing and easy to build. If you have expensive taste in beautiful furniture but have a budget for thrift store finds you are going to be so excited when you see what you can build on your own, on the cheap! Plus, she does it all for free, because she is AWESOME!

And can we say model? Seriously..she is gorgeous! And lives in the boondocks of Alaska to beat! My husband is so jealous! :)

I have yet to build any of her plans, since I have been incredibly lazy busy, but one of these days imma gonna do it!

So go...check her out...drool...pick a plan and take it on! You won't be able to resist it when you see all the pictures people have sent in of their own finished creations. So. Incredible.

Here...

Is what I did all day today:

I swear this procrastination thing just doesn't do any good for anybody! Can we say "Momma is stressed"?!
Every time a test rolls around, my poor children are subjected to hours of T.V. babysitting so I can study. Taking classes online is definitely great for scheduling conflicts, but not the best for trying to find a quiet place to get stuff done!

Only one more test to go after this one and I am done! ( for now anyway...) :)

Wish me luck....

Deep Fried Surprise

Bet you can't guess what these beautiful babies are!

They are heaven! Deep fried deliciousness!

Best dipped in Ranch..or a good Thousand Island.

Here's a clue:

Have you guessed it yet? :)

Oh, man...they are sooooo good!

I think this will be an Easter tradition from now on.

For the best recipe click here.

Go on, try it...you'll be glad you did!

Peeps

Mmmmmm.....so good!

I would die for that.

Today I have been humbled, brought down, shamed even...in a way.

The discussion about whether or not to have a baby generated more comments than I think I have ever had on my blog. Everyone has an opinion about personal freedoms, sanity, when the time is right, how many to have, or whether or not to have another baby at all. But what if you don't get a choice? What if you didn't have the ability to even conceive? How important would having a child be to you then?

I think I take my fertility for granted.

When The Man and I decided to have our first baby (very soon after we were married) it took less than two months to become pregnant. I wanted a baby so bad. I craved to have a connection with a life that we had created together, to feel it inside me, to hold it and teach it and love it. I had known that I wanted to be a mother since I was a child myself, I felt it was my calling. Just like my own mother who had felt the same way. The difference was, it had taken them four years to conceive their first, a heartbreaking experience I have never had to go through. My consecutive two children took less than 6 months to create. And with each one, I have grown farther away from that first initial craving to more of a dull sense of responsibility and pressure to multiply and replenish.

Don't get me wrong.

I love my children. I have wanted each and everyone of them, none of them were surprises...in fact they were very well planned out at 2 1/2 years apart. :)  They are a vital part of our family and I can't imagine life without them....

But, motherhood is hard. Lots of work, little recognition. It can make the long run, big picture seem pretty obsolete.... to the point that, instead of being excited to be a part of creating a miracle from our Heavenly Father, I think up all the excuses I can to hold it off.

But what if I couldn't even have a baby?

Imagine those those feelings I described earlier about wanting my first baby going unfulfilled. Craving to have a child so badly that you would give, or do anything to be able to do so.

I came across this video today.

I watched it and cried my eyes out. Cried because of a pain I could never imagine, cried because of how selfish and ungrateful I have been for the opportunity and ability to bring Gods children to the earth, cried because I was thankful for the sweet spirits I have been charged with loving and teaching.

So ladies, go hug your children. Tell them how much you love them. Thank Heavenly Father for blessing your bodies with an amazing gift, and remember those who long to have it. Don't ever take it for granted by lettingt life get in the way of our greater purposes as women.