Happy Thanksgiving!

I figured I wouldn't get the chance to write tomorrow, so to anyone who may be reading this, Happy Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am thankful that I have wonderful family and friends. I am glad that Casey found a job that he likes, and that he will officially be Dr. Hetrick next month. I am thankful that we have moved to a neighborhood that we really enjoy. I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have in front of me, and I just hope that I make the right decisions this year. I am happy that so many people we know have either had babies or will have them soon. So many things to be thankful for... and I'm going to keep this short because I could probably make a huge list... I just don't want to bore you. Just know that I am very thankful, and have a very long list of things to be thankful for.

Love,

Ashley

PS: Keith (my father-in-law) wanted me to tell whoever I'm writing to (you) that "Menards is great, and if you don't know what it is, you're really missing out." LOL... he cracks me up. :-D

Productivity

It sure doesn't feel like Friday. Last weekend went so fast, I can't remember hanging out with Casey much at all. I'm thankful that we have this weekend to spend time together, and get the house ready for company next week for Thanksgiving. I've got quite a bit to do, but if all goes well my motivation level will stay the way it is right now and I'll be more productive.

So after a 2 hour conversation last night with Casey, and after a lot of thinking and encouragement from those around me (esp. Mom!!) I have decided to definitely go to school next semester, and have enrolled in one class. I may add another, but at the moment I figure it will be a good way to get my foot in the door, and also have enough time during the week to work full time. That will at least 1) earn money so I can take more classes in Fall 2009, and 2) if the job is within the school district, I can get a big discount on courses, which would be great! So, as of right now, I am taking my first Photography course since high school. I feel good about the decision- hopefully I will be able to learn a lot and do well next semester. I'm glad to finally have something set in stone now!

Other than that, I went to the DMV to get our license plates today, which was by far the quickest and easiest experience I've ever had at a DMV. South Carolina was an absolute NIGHTMARE and I'm glad I don't have to go back there anytime soon, if ever.

I also went to Starbucks and got a free coffee today. I sat down and started chatting with a lady named Nicole, and we hit it off pretty well. I may never see her again, but at least I was out of the house and socializing. Hopefully that doesn't sound as pathetic as I think it does. ;)

Casey's home now, so I'm going to go... just wanted to update! I'll write again soon...

-Ash

Dogpile Blog; Too much info?

Wow, where to start. Last Friday morning, we left Plainfield to drive back to Topeka for Keith (Casey's Dad)'s 50th birthday party. We arrived at my parents' house around 3 pm on Friday, so we made pretty good time. The sad part was, I had all week to plan for the trip, and instead of making a list and planning ahead, I waited until the last minute (shock!) and ended up forgetting a number of things... including my camera. I know, I can't believe it either. If it indicates where my mind was at the time, I also forgot Charley's collar and leash. That's pretty ridiculous. We made it through the weekend, but I had about 8 hours in the car to think about all of the things I should have done before I left home. Not one of my brighter moments. Anyway, we made it there safe, and we were able to do what we needed to do by borrowing things from our families. It all worked out in the end, no thanks to me!

Friday evening, we spent time with my parents. Mom made her amazing chili, and we sat and chatted with my parents until about 8:30. At that point, Lindsey and Sara came over, and the four of us went to Applebee's for drinks. It was great to see them again! I never seem to have enough time at home when we go, but even a few hours with the girls always makes me feel better. I haven't laughed that much in FOREVER. :)

Charley didn't sleep well that night. He must have gotten too freaked out about being in a new place, or he was scared because Casey and I were away from him for a few hours... who knows. All I know is that he was up just about every 2 hours, needing to go outside. His stomach was upset, and whenever he gets that way, he wants to eat leaves or grass. I didn't know until Sunday that he'd managed to eat half of one of Mom's plants that was in the living room!! I wish I could have gotten a picture of it... I'm surprised he didn't get extra sick from devouring the plant. Crazy kid!!

Because I didn't sleep very well, I ended up sleeping in a bit on Saturday morning. We got a call from the Hetricks, saying that they were waiting for us to come to their place so we could run errands for the party that night, so we headed across town in a hurry and made decent time. I went with Leslie and De to get party decorations and the cake, while Casey and Keith ran other errands. We went back to the house (I got a little nap in before people started arriving) and we decorated the house. Around 4:00, Keith wanted to go out and shoot his new gun. I stayed inside to stay out of the cold and stay away from the shooting, but I was quickly talked into trying a few rounds by Keith. I had a bad experience as a child when my uncle got drunk and made me shoot a rifle while he stood behind me. The rifle kicked me back into him, and I have been scared of them ever since. Shooting with Keith and Casey did make me feel more comfortable around guns... although I still don't feel very comfortable with having one in our house anytime in the near future. I don't feel like we would need one around here anyway.

Around 5:00, the guests started arriving. It was nice to see family and friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. After eating, we gathered int he living room for a 'roast'. Keith is a really tough person to roast. Casey and Valerie were the hosts, and both of them started to tell stories about Keith, but they both ended in compliments more than teasing. I decided to seize the opportunity to tell a story about him. I have to say, I was pretty embarrassed to tell it, and I believe my face was bright red the entire time, but it got some good laughs. Okay, I'll tell you too, so you're in the loop.

A few years ago, Keith and De were in Columbia visiting us, and we had just gotten finished with dinner at a local restaurant. We all stood up to leave and were walking to the door, when I feel someone pat me on the butt. At first I thought it was Casey, but when I turned around, I realized it was Keith. Apparently he had thought that I was De. We both realized what happened, and quickly walked away to our separate cars without saying anything. I found out later that we both brought it up to our spouses as soon as we were out of the parking lot... we were both so embarrassed that we didn't want to address it and embarrass the other. So the next morning we go out for brunch, and one of the first things De says is, "Okay, something happened last night, and I think we need to talk about it." Keith and I both turned beat red, and I'm pretty sure I put my head down on the table because I was so mortified. Telling the story at Keith's roast was the first time I've said anything about it since that day... and again, we both turned 12 shades of red. But ti got a lot of laughs... and for embarrassing the crap out of him, I thought I would end on a good note, too, so I said that I was lucky to have him as a father-in-law.

So anyway, the party went well, and Keith was happy. So was Charley Brown. He met SO many people, and got to show off his tricks after dinner. He was completely wiped out when everyone left. He also got to play with Jag, the 2 year old Great Dane, and was down for the count on the way back to Illinois. :)

Before we left Topeka, we met up with Aaron Brumley, Casey's best friend since Kindergarten, for breakfast. It was great to see him again and chat for an hour or so. He and Casey get into some pretty interesting philosophical discussions, so I happily listen and try to keep my blood pressure down. ;) It's really not bad, esp. since I've gotten stronger in my political views recently... I just tend to let my emotions get into the discussion and after awhile I realize I'm a little tense. But they really seem to enjoy challenging each other, as they have the entire time I've known them. I think they could spend days like that without getting tired. :)

We left Topeka a little later than expected, but made decent time and got back to Plainfield around 8:00. It started snowing about 45 minutes away from home, but not enough to accumulate. We were both pretty tired after the drive, so we went to bed fairly early that night.

Monday night, we decided to go purchase a Nintendo Wii. I LOVE IT. We also got Guitar Hero that came with 2 guitars, so we have been able to play together, which is a lot of fun. I really suck at that game, but I'm slowly improving. Last night I think we played for about 2-3 hours. Along with Guitar Hero, we also have Wii Sports, which came with the system. I have been doing pretty well on Bowling (and to those of you who have seen me bowl before, I do NOT do that stupid little kick thing, thank you VERY much!!!). The sad part is that I decided I would do the fitness training that came with the Sport game, which judges speed, stamina, etc. The game says I'm 50 years old. How depressing. LOL... I knew I was out of shape, but seriously!! I'll try it again tomorrow and see what it says. I think I may have pulled a muscle in my rear end on Tuesday, too, because I was hobbling around the house all day yesterday. Maybe 50 wasn't a bad estimate....

I'll move on to today. Today was the first day that new students at the College of DuPage could register for classes. I had asked for my previous transcripts to be sent to the College to assess if any of my previous courses would transfer and count toward my degree. Only Washburn sent a transcript, so I wasn't able to get copies of my classes to take to an advisor. It turned out fine, though, because my advisor told me to start taking the basic Photography courses I would need to get the degree anyway, and then next semester we could look into the other courses and see if I can skip any. Now my dilemma is the cost of two classes... since I live out of district, I have to pay $296 PER CREDIT HOUR. I think this is pretty extreme, but there are ways around it. If I can get a full-time job within the district, a letter from my employer can make me eligible for a large discount. So, tonight I'm going to talk to Casey about what to do. I guess the worst case scenerio would be that I wait for one more semester, get a full-time job, and save up money for the Fall. Most responsible people would have looked into this ahead of time. Obviously someone other than myself. I reap what I sow, though... procrastination is nothing new for me, I just have to learn from my mistakes and realize that this situation is much different from my previous college experiences. This time I'm not relying on other people for support; I'm relying on myself. We'll see where I go from here.

I guess that's about it... and it seems like plenty. Casey and I will talk tonight, and I'll try to update again before the weekend is over.

-Ash

Start of 27

So far, 27 hasn't been too bad. I can't say that I've gotten dressed yet today, but I've gotten a lot accomplished. Today I have been talking with people from USC, helping them find things I left behind so they can go to Philadelphia and recruit for REU and Grad school. I realize more today than ever that I really miss it there. That job made me feel very important, and I look forward to finding one in the future so I can fill that void. It's nice to be here but be able to help out there, too. It's nice to feel needed! :-D

Although I can't say that I don't feel needed at home. I'm currently eating pineapple curry, and Charley is telling me that he needs me... to drop some of it on the floor! He's 'talking' to me, and putting his face on my knee, trying to look ultra cute. It's working, but he hasn't gotten any food yet. ;)

Tonight, Casey's taking me out shopping, and then we're going somewhere for dinner. I don't know any details, I just know I need to get showered and dressed up soon. Then when we get home, we get to pack for our trip to Kansas tomorrow! We're only staying a few days, but we're going back to celebrate Keith's birthday. It's supposed to be SUPER cold there, but I guess I'm getting used to that these days... I'll be layering, as usual. It's pretty windy here today. Speaking of that, I just realized that one of our trash cans is trying to roll down the street, so I'd better catch it before it gets away. That's all for now! I'll try to update when we get back from Kansas on Sunday.

Love,

Ash

Goodbye 26

I will officially be 27 in a few short hours. Every year around this time, I sit back and think about the way I "should" act at this point in my life, and how I do act. I have come to the conclusion that I am the most consistently inconsistent person I know. Seriously. I can't seem to get into a good habit of doing anything these days. I didn't feel well earlier in the week, so I pretty much slept through Monday and Tuesday. I started feeling better this afternoon and actually got up and was fairly productive. I've allowed myself to sleep too much and if I don't get a good handle on it soon, I'll have Hades to pay when I go back to school. Motivation would be greeeeeat.

I need to get out of this house. Just running to the bank to deposit a check today was pretty exciting. I treated myself with a cup of coffee (and I had hoped Charley would get a "Puppy Latte" out of the deal, but the Starbucks chick apparently didn't know what that was... boo!)... anyway, the coffee helped me out the rest of the afternoon. I got five loads of laundry done, dishes done, clothes folded and put away, and the kitchen straightened up a bit. This is a vast improvement over the rest of the week. I have plenty more to do tomorrow... I'm going to start my day off with a non-Starbucks cup of coffee and see if liquid motivation helps me out some more.

I have officially become one of those people I used to make fun of; someone that dresses their dog. We bought a sweater for Charley on Sunday, and I'm pretty much enthralled with how cute he is in it. I really want to get him another one. I wouldn't have done it if Casey didn't think that it might be better for him during the cold winter months; Chuck doesn't have much of a fur coat. And heck, he's a South Carolina boy- he's not one for the cold. It would also help if he didn't like it, but every time I go to put it on him, his little butt starts wagging. I guess the pictures I've supplied of him don't really show him looking happy- I think he gets tired of the camera. I would too if I were him... but he's a good model.

It just proves to me that I need more of a life when I spend the majority of my blog blogging about my dog. And laughing at myself because I made a little rhyme. I also laughed at myself the other day when I tried to throw our newspaper from the driveway up to the steps by the front door, but because of my terrible aim, it landed in our tree. I just looked up at the tree and thought, 'Did I seriously just do that?". If I would have tried to throw the newspaper in the tree, I probably never would have made it. It surprises me that I used to be so good at the Nintendo game, Paperboy. Those days are long gone.

I guess as another year goes by, it's time again for me to think about growing up. This year should do it, though- we own a house, I'm going back to school, Casey's got a great job... a lot of responsibilities to look forward to. Forgive my random thoughts... I always do this around the time of my birthday. I let myself put everything off until the end, and then I think about all of it at once and freak myself out. Enough of that, though... I've come to the end. Goodbye 26! Bring on 27!! It's time for a change.

-Ashley

Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot express how it felt to watch the election results last night and find out that Obama won. That was one of those goose bump-inducing moments... when you know you are watching history in the making. That is such a cool feeling. His speech was amazing! I really wish I could have gone downtown to see it live! But I'd probably still be there with a crowd that large.

Some of my friends are frustrating me a bit with their reaction to Obama. I know we cannot all agree on one person, but the way they're verbalizing it is kind of scary. I've seen too many words like Communist, Socialist, Terrorist... do they honestly think that, or were they brainwashed by hearing it throughout the election? It is obvious that the majority of people in our country want to get out of the rut we are in right now- that Bush put us in- and turn things around. And I honestly don't think anyone I know makes enough money to have to worry about paying more taxes under Obama's plan. Get real, guys! Calm down and accept the fact that when people get out and vote, when they take things seriously and are tired of being in the situation we are in right now... GOOD things happen! I believe our country is not as "stupid" as some people have claimed it to be because McCain lost- I think for the first time, maybe ever, people realize that we can really make change happen. Could things get much worse for us right now? Doubtful. And the scariest thing of all to me is, if McCain had won and something had happened to him, do people honestly think Sarah Palin would be a good President!? It's those people that make me nervous. I won't go far enough to call them 'stupid', but I will say that no matter how quickly Obama moved up the ladder, he is far more qualified to run our country than she is. Hopefully things will cool down now that it's over, and the McCain supporters will stop fighting it. I know they can't all think he's a terrorist, but from the comments that were shouted during McCain's concession speech last night, there are some scary people out there who don't have their facts straight. It's people like that that make me a little worried for Obama's safety; the extremists who booed him and shouted lies about him. They compared him to JFK last night- I guess that's what made me start to think about that side of things. I truly hope he will be safe and no one will try anything stupid. Okay, I think it's time for me to cool down a bit and let my blood pressure go back to normal now...

In other, very different news, today is the last day of nice weather. From here, it starts getting cooler, windier, and now they are saying it may SNOW on Saturday!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Hopefully it won't stick. I'm not ready to drive in snow... I haven't done it in years and I'm not quite ready now. And oh, that wind!! It's crazy!!! We raked leaves this weekend and you can't even tell now! I'm glad some of the trees still have leaves on them- otherwise it would be bare and a little depressing! Fall here is beautiful, I will say that.

Anyway, I will quit rambling now. I'll update some more later... and will try not to let other people get to me and go off on another tangent. :)

-Ash

Downtown Naperville

Last night, Casey and I decided to go to a bar called The Lantern in downtown Naperville for 10 cent wings and football. Minus the football (and the slightly spicy wings that cleared my sinuses!) it was a pretty good time! I have to say, I would love to explore downtown Naperville more. It reminds me a bit of downtown Charleston or maybe Savannah with all the little shops around. And maybe a bit of the Plaza in Kansas City. Anyway, we got there late enough that most of the stores had closed, but we are considering going down there for a day on the weekend to shop and check things out. It looks like there are a ton of things to do there, so I expect we'll do that soon. It was fun to get out of the house and hang out with Casey. Next time we might meet up with a few of his work friends.

In other news, I'm pretty anxious about the election today! I really hope Obama wins! I'm afraid of what would happen if McCain wins... he reminds me too much of Bush and I honestly think the country would be worse off it he were in charge... or if something were to happen to him an Palin were in charge! Ahhhhhhhh! I just can't take her seriously. We'll see tonight. It would be neat to go to Grant Park downtown and be at the Obama rally, but it's going to be absolutely insane! Think I'll stay home and keep a safe distance.

I'm sorta ticked at Ben & Jerry's. They are giving away free ice cream today, but only if you have an "I Voted" sticker. What about those of us who voted absentee?! We still voted, darn it! I honestly don't need ice cream that badly, but it's just the idea that I voted and can't take part in the celebration like others can. And honestly, I wish I WOULD have gotten a sticker anyway, because this is such a huge election that it might be nice to have a small momento of it. Lame, I know... it's not a big deal... I definitely will remember the election even if I don't have a sticker. Again, it's just the concept that is a little frustrating... I won't lose any sleep over it.

The weather here is going to be in the 70s for the 5th day in a row! It's wonderful! The bottom is going to drop out this weekend, though- it's supposed to be in the mid 40s on Saturday as a high... so Charley and I are going to go for a walk soon and take advantage of the nice temps while we can. I've been inside so much lately that I feel I'm paler than I have been in years. I didn't think it was possible to get more off-white than I already was, but I'm proving myself wrong. Time to get some Vitamin D from the sun instead of a bottle!

I guess that's about it for now. Write more soon!

-Ash

Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year! It was quite a bit different from previous celebrations, because this time we 1) own a house, 2) dressed up the dog, and 3) had a TON of trick-or-treaters!! Another strange thing was that the weather was wonderful- it hit at least 70 that day, so we sat outside with our neighbors Carrie & Jason while the kids came by to get candy. We saw some great costumes and had fun introducing the neighborhood to Charley Brown (as Charlie Brown). The kids really liked him. He hated his costume, but once he started getting a bunch of attention, he seemed to deal with it pretty well.

Honestly, not much else is going on around here right now. I would definitely write more if there were interesting things to write about. We mainly did house work this weekend, and a lot of leaf raking. I promise to update more when I think it won't totally bore you! :)

Love,

Ash


Dressing Charley in his Charlie Brown costume... I was Sally.


With "Linus"


Charley was not happy with me at this moment in time... but he got over it quickly once the little kids came by. :-D