PARK!!

There are 2 words to describe the experience of taking my dogs to the park: Wild and WET! I made the unfortunate decision to take them early in the morning when the dew was still fresh on the grass so, of course, they were soaked by the time we left. It was so much fun though! Suzie is wild on a normal day but at the park she lets it all out. Siera (the white one) just follows Suzie's lead.

Fujifilm Finepix S1500

I got a neeeeeeeeeew camera!!!! The Fujifilm Finepix S1500 is a big upgrade from my Kodak. Don't get me wrong, the kodak was great and served me well.. but I love this one sooo much more. Now, I am no photographer and I don't aspire to be one, but I do love pictures of the things and people I love. And having a good camera makes it so fun to document events and changes in your life. This is definitely going to kick start my blogging again because I am going to be taking this camera everywhere I go and snapping pictures like crazy and I know I will want to share them. The pictures of Sadie in my previous post were taken with the new camera. I could go on-and-on about all the cool features but I won't bore you.. even though I am sorely tempted to do so :)..... Thank you Chase for helping and encouraging me to get it!

Sadie

Everyone remembers their favorite childhood pet. My family had several through the years.. two hamsters, a mutt named Lacy, two german shepards Katie and Kasey, Tiger... But the favorite by far is Sadie. My Mom bought her the summer before I entered my sophomore year of highschool. She has been a joy ever since! She is a jack russell terrier and turned 7 this year. Her sweet brown eyes just get me everytime!!

My parents went out of town for the day yesterday and I went over to let her out. She still gets exited when I come over!

Sadie definitely holds a special place in my heart because she reminds me of highschool days and growing up. To her I say "Come to Sissy". To my schnauzers I say "Come to Momma".. :)

She has gotten chunkier in her old age lol :)

Spear Fishing

Everyone knows how much Chase has been enjoying scuba diving. BUT now I can benefit from this new hobby of his!!.. He bought a spear gun recently. It looks something like the picture above (I don't get too close. I'm wary of it... something about spears...).. Earlier today Chase went diving with a friend from work and he called me to let me know he "caught" two walleye!!!!! Now this is where I get the reward- fresh fish that my man caught!! I went to wal-mart today and got stuff for baked potatoes and sweet corn on the cob in preparation for dinner tonight. So excited!

This is a picture of catfish caught in Bull Shoals Lake with a spear gun.

Love you babe!

In a rut....

I have nothing to blog about... I have racked my brain of something the slightest bit interesting to talk about and.. nope, nothing comes to mind.

I have been to the lake a lot recently.. got some nice sunburns to show for it. Chase has been scuba diving with his Uncle Kirk and loooves it. My older brother find out their baby is going to be a BOY!! I'm so jealous that it is borderline sinful. I spent the day with my mom and she gave me my birthday present early- Nike shoes (from my "I Want List".. Go Mom!!) and a cute pair of pj's (a classic favorite). I performed CPR on a patient for the first time the other day at work. It was my patient. They didn't make it and I cried... My 22nd birthday is this coming thursday. Woo hoo! Birthday's are a great excuse to spoil yourself.. I have got to stop tying.. This randomness is getting to me. This blog has been like a Seinfeld episode.. about nothing at all.

Birthday Present

Yesterday was suchhh a good day!! I woke up early so that I could tag along on a dive trip with Chase. It was fun watching the little kids learn to dive. I have problems with my ears so I did not dive but I grabbed a pair of goggles and played in the water.

About 2 pm we headed back to the dock and my in-laws were down at their houseboat just hanging out and relaxing. I hung out with them for the rest of the day. My mother-in-law Karla and I floated on a tube in the water getting some sun and watching the grandbabies swim and go down the slide on their houseboat.

A few hours later, my sister-in-law Eva Lauren and I rented Obsessed and bought cream soda, popcorn, and chips and dip to veg out and watch the movie.

AND my husband surprised me with my birthday present early....dun dun dun.... AN IPHONE!!!! (yes we did get each other the same thing for our birthday's). I absolutely love it!!

Sooo, I went home with 2 bottles of cream soda, a sunburn on my back, and an iphone. Oh yeah, that's a good day!

A Little Perspective

"So how did you know my name?", I asked.

"No big deal, really," he shrugged. "I been watching you for a long time. I have been around."

I watched him for a moment, considering his answer, then slowly nodded and retreated into the darkness for his coke. Returning with two cans, I handed one to the old man. Popping the top, Jones shifted in the sand and crossed his legs. "All right," he said, taking a long pull from the red can, "let's get started."

"Get started . . . what?" I asked flatly.

Jones set the can on the sand and said, "We need to start noticing a few things. We need to check your heart. We need to gather a little perspective."

"I don't even know what you are talking about," I said. "And I don't know who you are." "Fair enough," he smiled. "Well, let me see now . . . How do I explain?" He leaned toward me quickly. "As for who I am, call me Jones."

"I am a noticer," he said. "I notice things that other people overlook. And you know, most of them are in plain sight." The old man leaned back on his hands and cocked his head. "I notice things about situations and people that produce perspective. That's what most folks lack—perspective—a broader view. So I give them that broader view . . . and it allows them to regroup, take a breath, and begin their lives again."

That is an excerpt from Andy Andrew's new book The Noticer. It is about the simple people in a small town called Orange Beach, Alabama. They all have their share of problems—marriages teetering on the brink of divorce, young adults giving up on life, businesspeople on the verge of bankruptcy, and many of the other obstacles that life seems to dish out to the masses.

Fortunately, when things look the darkest, a mysterious old man named Jones has a miraculous way of showing up. A man of indiscriminate age and race with white hair and wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and carrying a battered old suitcase, Jones is a unique soul with angelic-like qualities. Communicating what he calls “a little perspective,” Jones explains that he has been given a gift of noticing things about life that others miss. In his simple interactions, he speaks to that part in everyone that is yearning to understand why things happen and what they can do about it.

If you choose to read it, and I urge you to, prepare to gather a little perspective!

My night at work...

My night at work went like this...

1900 Float to ICU.. get a patient that has enemas ordered every 2 hours...yep, that's no joke.

2100 Two doctor's for this patient come in and order all kinds of things.... some of it I still don't know what it is or how to do it.

2130 Amid the chaos, I find out I will be floating back to my home floor (SDU) because there are 2 patients coming in that I will need to take care of.

2145 Both patients come at the same time...excellent.

2300 One of the above mentioned patients is looking like they are headed to the cath lab stat..

0100 After a lot of conversing with the doctor, patient does not go to cath lab, but I do get a transfer from another floor, a patient with extremely high blood pressure.

0300 Get another transfer, a patient with extremely low blood pressure.

0500 Start the morning rush with a.m. meds and accu checks.

0700 HOME!!

I did not go into all the gory details, just the highlights. Sometimes I feel like I have been run ragged when 7 am rolls around...but I get to come home to my good-lookin' hubby and my two sleepy schnauzers and somehow I forget. I forget how tired I am and how stressed I was. It's funny how that works...

Happy Birthday Chase 8-2-09

Happy Birthday Chase!!! I remember sitting next to Chase on the school bus and him telling me he was 14 years old...Now he is 23! My, my how time flies. Chase and I decided to spend his birthday together in Springfield. Nana and Papa agreed to watch our two schnauzers for the day so we headed out of town..!!
I got Chase the iphone 3G S for his birthday. He also received money from his dad, his mom, and my mom. I think he made out like a bandit.
The first place we hit in Springfield was Planet Coral. He spent about an hour and a half picking out the coral he wanted. I tried my best to stick by his side and help him pick out cool stuff, however, I didn't make it the full hour and a half. I ended up waiting...patiently... in the car playing with the new iphone!!
Then, of course, we hit the mall... I headed straight for Starbucks and got an iced latte and Chase went to Lids and bought two hats with his birthday money. He is holding one and wearing the other.
At the end of the day, we ate dinner at Lamberts!!! We had to wait about an hour to be seated but it was worth the wait! We rarely get to spend a whole day together because our work schedules don't really allow us to so we really enjoyed being able to be together all day. I really had a great time but most importantly the birthday boy did too.

I love Weddings!

Me and the groom

My mom and the groom

My first time meeting Caleb Joe Carney. I fell in love!

How can you not love a face like this?!?!

My cousin Daniel and I

Nick's Wedding

My cousin Nick got hitched over the weekend. I took soooo many pictures that it was hard to decide on just a few to go on here. The photographer requested that no pictures be taken during the ceremony so these are all pics from the reception. It was such a beautiful wedding!! Congratulations Nick and Megan!

Oh goodness...not again

I get on baby kicks. I go baby CRAZY and it usually lasts a couple weeks and then I get over it. During this, I forget about my plans and the order in which I have always wanted to do things. College, work for a few years, travel blah blah blah... I think getting married, buying a house, settling down in a career, having two dogs makes me forget that I am only 21 (22 next month!). I feel much older. Right now this is the worst baby kick I have ever had. It has lasted much longer than a few weeks and I am scared that it will never go away!!! What if my priorities have changed? This would not be a good thing because my better half has not changed his..
When you decide to have kids its about making the transition from married couple to parents. It's about suddenly dedicating a huge chunk of your lives to this beautiful little creation. When you have a baby, you are not just creating something to cuddle and to fulfill the requirements on the biological clock, you are creating a person. This person will have wants, needs and desires. Does any women really know if she is ready for this responsibility?? How can you really understand the rewards, the frustrations, the anxiety of parenting until you are knee deep into it? Hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps it is only later, when you are looking back, you know whether you were ready or not.... Hopefully, I will just get over this.

Jason

For those of you that don't know, I actually am the middle child. I have a younger brother Justin (17), whom most of you know, and an older brother Jason (27). Jason decided to stay in Texas with his mom when the rest of my family made the decision to move out-of-state. I came across this old picture in my photo album. We look like polar opposites, with his dark skin and mine stark white!! Jason has always been such a kind-hearted person and I love him bunches even though we haven't seen each other in years. He called me a couple weeks ago to let me know that he is getting married sometime before November. The lucky girl's name is Tabitha and they are working on setting a date. Also, I am going to be an AUNT!! They are expecting a little bundle of joy in 4-5 months. Not sure whether it is a boy or girl. I'm very excited for them! I love you, Jason.

Love

These are all pictures from about 2002. I was so in love!! We look like sweet little kids.

Big hugs!

He is bending his knees. He is acutally much taller than me.

I love looking back at old pics. The first love of a teenage girl, I can assure you, is so very fierce and strong and loyal. Brings back those rush of feelings just looking at these pictures. Sweet memories!

Scuba Diving

Chase is taking diving lessons at BSLB. He has possibly one more dive before he becomes certified!! He absolutely loves it and the instructor told him he is the best one in the class and that he is so relaxed down there it's just unreal. Of course, I'm not surprised. Chase is amazing at everything he puts his mind to.









Also, I have figured out where I could possibly want to go with my career as a registered nurse. I want to be a Flight Nurse with a company like Air Evac Lifeteam, for example. I have been looking into it lately and I am really interested. It would be a challenging and rewarding job. Something in the future. I have so much to learn before it could even be possible. But the coolest part is.. I CAN DO IT!!! :) I can do it because this is what I went to college to do. I would need the following:

• Minimum 3 years current experience as an ED or ICU Nurse
• PALS (American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support)
  
• PHTLS (National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Pre-Hospital Trauma Life support OR
• BTLS (Basic Trauma Life Support)
  
• NRP (National Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Program)
• And Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support which I will have because they are required for the job I have now.
  

So I got to thinking...Chase loves saltwater everything. He loves diving here at our lake so I imgaine he would be thrilled at diving in the ocean. I LOVE the ocean.... We can live in Florida. He can work as a Rad Tech/Diving Instructor and I could be a Flight Nurse/Beach Bum. Could life really be that perfect?

Survey for FUN :)

. What time did you get up this morning? I work nights so I have been up ALL morning.

2.. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Hangover. Sooooo funny!

4. What is your favorite TV Show? I almost hate to admit it...Big Brother.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I usually don't eat breakfast.

6. What is your middle name? Elizabeth.

7. What food do you dislike? Asparagus.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Do people still buy CDs?? I have downloaded a lot of Carrie Underwood songs lately.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Saab

10. Favorite sandwich? Sun-dried tomato turkey and swiss.

11. Characteristic you despise? Dishonesty.

12. Favorite item of Clothing? Dresses or ripped up jeans

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy.

14. Are you an organized person? I have to be.

15. What if you got abducted by aliens? That's just silly.

16. What was your most memorable birthday? Sweet sixteen!

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Go to the library for a good book to read and then hunt down an iced latte.

18. When is your birthday? August 20th. I'll be 22. To be honest, my birthday's could have stopped at 21. I don't want to get any older!!

19. Morning person or a night person? My job has made me a night person.

20. What is your shoe size? 8

21. Pets? Miniature Schnauzers... Suzie Q and Siera Beara aka "Tequila"

22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'm pregnant ....... hahaha just kidding. I know my husband will read this and his heart just stopped.

23. What did you want to be when you were little? Lawyer, firefighter, and teacher. I did not want to be a nurse lol... and now I am. I love it! Go figure.

24. How are you today? Just got off work. Sleepy but in a great mood.

25. What is your favorite flower? Love them all.

26. What is a day on the calendar to which you are looking forward to? July 25th. My cousin is getting married. Wedding crasher!!!!!

27. What are you listening to right now? It is completely quiet in my house.

28. What was the last thing you ate? Ravioli's and a salad

29. Do you wish on stars? Nah ...

30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink.

31. How is the weather right now? Overcast.

32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Momma.

33. Favorite soft drink? Pepsi.. but I try not to drink them.

34. Favourite restaurant? Pasada's in Tyler, TX....mmmmm:)

35. Haircolor? Blonde with red and brown highlights

36. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies!

37. Summer or Winter? Summer.

38. Fish-Fresh Water or Salt? Salt.

39. Chocolate or Vanilla? Can I have Bunny Tracks?

40. Coffee or tea ? Iced tea

41. When was the last time you cried? Can not remember.

42. What is under your bed? Nothing.

43. What did you do last night? Worked.

44. What are you afraid of ? Heights.

45. Salty or sweet? Sweet. But I really like salty and sweet together.

46. How many keys on your key ring? 4, I think.

47. How many years at your current job? As a BRMC employee- 2years. As a RN- 6 months.

48. Favorite day of the week? Wednesday and Thursday's because Chase is off.

49. Do you make friends easily? Yes.

50. Three jobs I have had in my life: Cashier, Nurse Assistant, and RN.

51. Three places I have lived: Texas, Tennesse, and Arkansas.

52. Three countries I have been: Just this one.

53. Three places I have been this week: Wal-Mart of course. Hospital and the library.

54. Three likes: I like being at the lake, comfy pajamas, and nail polish... very random.

55. Three people who e-mail me regularly: I'm not into the email thing. I would rather just text. But I get forwards from a lot of ppl.

56. Three places I'd rather be right now: near the ocean, in Texas, or...Italy :).

57. Three things I am looking forward to this year: hopefully a vacation of some sort, my birthday, and next trip to Texas.

Justin

My brother is 17... I was browsing his myspace page and it said he was 17 years old. No way. I remember the first day I saw him. I sat in a chair at the hospital and held him. I see his face clearly in my mind, like my brain knew this was a special moment and snapped a picture. I was 5 yrs old. From that day forward, he was a hellion... I remember feeding him bottles. I remember the 5 yr old boy who would beg me to sleep with him at night because he was scared. I remember the 7 yr old boy who didn't want me in his room without "permission". The 9 yr old boy who listened to me talk on and on about a boy named Chase. The 13 yr old who refused to wear a coat to school in 30 degree weather because he would have to keep up with it all day. I'm not so sure he remembers the name-calling and hair pulling, evening basketball games, neighborhood softball, riding our bikes together, allies in thinking out parents were crazy .. But I do. I don't have any of his baby pics on my computer to share. But I do have pictures of the man he has become. Meet Justin.

Tubing With The Girls

The first video is me and the dogs tubing. The second video is them drying off after tubing lol. Thought they would be fun to share!

Chase's Reef Tank Update

As I have mentioned before, Chase's tank is constantly changing. It is even hard for me to keep up with the daily changes. I haven't posted any pics in a while and I wanted you guys to see the HUGE difference between the first pics and the most recent. He is very proud of it!

This was ONLY a little over a month ago.



This is what it looks like now!!


Chase had one of his reef friends come over to help him arrange the rock. He drilled holes in the rock and inserted fiberglass rods to make the arches. He also added A LOT of rock and A LOT more coral. If you have any questions about what is in the tank just ask Chase. I am sure he will tell you more than what you want to know about it.

Goal

Goal: Weigh 120 lbs or less

Reward: Breast augmentation

My Plan: Exercise daily, No carbs- at least for now, very small portions on a small plate, post signs in my kitchen reading "Ashley, do you want to eat or do you want fake boobs?". My plan may change as I go along.

This should be interesting.

Love the words to this song...

DO I - LUKE BRYAN

Baby what are we becoming
It feels just like we’re always running
Rolling through the motions everyday
I can lean in to hold you, or act like
I don’t even know you
Seems like you could care less either way
What happened to that girl I used to know
I just want us back to the way we were before

Do I turn you on at all when I kiss you baby
Does the site of me wanting you drive you crazy
Do I have your love, am I’m still enough
Tell me don’t I, or tell me do I baby
Give you everything that you ever wanted
Would you rather just turn away and leave me lonely
Do I just need to give up and get on with my life
Baby, do I

Remember when we didn’t have nothing
But a perfect simple kind of loving
Baby those sure were the days
There was a time our love ran wild and free
Now I’m second guessing everything thing I see

Do I turn you on at all when I kiss you baby
Does the site of me wanting you drive you crazy
Do I have your love, am I’m still enough
Tell me don’t I, or tell me do I baby
Give you everything that you ever wanted
Would you rather just turn away and leave me lonely
Do I just need to give up and get on with my life
Baby, do I

Happy 4th!!

I wish I could be out there with you guys celebrating. However, I will be working 7p to 7a. :(... I know you guys will party it up and have a good time!!!!!!! Enjoy those fireworks!

I was trying to get a good picture of Suzie. I really do think that dog deliberately avoids looking at the camera!






















Cute booty

A-MAZ-ZA-ZING

The other day I woke up with a hemp anklet on my ankle. AND a couple nights ago, Chase came up to the hospital and brought me an iced mocha with nonfat milk at 2:00 am!!!!! Now, in case you don't remember, those are two items off my 'I Want' list. I really do have the best husband in the world!