Gone to Carolina in My Mind.

I'm back from a lovely vacation with Mike's family (his parents, two brothers and their wives, and five nieces and nephews) at a beach house in South Carolina. What did vacation look like?

It was...

• Waking up early to the sun streaming in through our shutters and lilting children's voices. Both a blessing (more time at the beach!) and a bit annoying (last vacation without kids!); we got our days started early. 

• Relishing what may very well be my last beach vacation before I become a mother, I was as indulgent as possible. I alternated between lying on the beach in a lounge chair, floating in the pool, and reading in the sun on the porch landing. My biggest decision up waking up each morning (after fixing myself breakfast) would be, “Where shall I start today?”

• Falling in love with our two-year-old nephew. With straw colored hair and big blue eyes, he is absolutely adorable and so happy. I wouldn't mind having such a sweet little child myself. He followed Mike around with his toy guitar and played with him.

• Over thirty total hours of driving. Of which I did none, and slept for only a few of them. It was long. But not terrible. Because, uh, we were going to a beach house. Can’t really complain about that. 

• Building sandcastles and burying children. (Mike and I may get more into sandcastles than the kids. Is that a problem?)

• Being, once again, mystified by the South. The culture and the accents combined make me feel like I'm in an unfamiliar country. It's bizarre – and, at the risk of being dramatic, even culture shock. (And I don’t use the term lightly – I have actually lived in foreign countries!)

• Alternating between reading a novel about a couple who opens a coffee shop in New York City and a book about natural childbirth. A bizarre combination, perhaps, but I couldn't justify not reading a 'fun' book on vacation, just as I couldn't justify not reading as much as I can about childbirth since I'll be doing so in, oh, EIGHTY TWO DAYS. (Approximately, of course; give or take a week or two.)

• Being woken up at three-thirty in the morning by tornado sirens and Mike’s dad rousing us out of bed, bleary-eyed and delirious. The tornado didn’t end up hitting the neighborhood, but there was a quite a bit of destruction in northwest Ohio where his parents live. Sad. Scary. Bleh. 

(Obviously not in northwest Ohio, but at the beach there was also some creepy weather. This photo is not edited and was taken at 5pm. Yikes.)

• Waking up at 5:45 the last morning we were there to see the sun rise with Mike. It was all kinds of beautiful, even when we'd gone to bed only four hours earlier.

• Sandy hands!

• Family photos taken by a professional photographer. And, yes, we all wore khaki and white. It was cliche and awesome.

• Watching Mike with the kids and getting all the more excited to see him become a father. 

Cue: overly emotional heart melting.

The One with Too Many Photos.

Today ends my twelve days of spring break.

I know, you probably don't feel sorry for me. I spent most of these twelve days sewing, watching shows on Hulu while cleaning, updating my Etsy shop, apartment hunting, going for really long walks in the sunshine, cooking myself real breakfasts, feeling the baby kick, and hanging out with my husband. It's been delightful, low-key, and exactly what I needed.

Oh, and spending Easter weekend with my family.  My grandpa turned seventy - so seven of his eight kids and twenty of his twenty-six grandchildren gathered to celebrate his birthday with a fabulous brunch. Which was followed the day after by a delicious Easter dinner.

I am blessed with some beautiful, wonderful family - who I took far too many photos of:

My sister with her favorite child in the universe.

My sister Emmie on my mom's old (as in, 43-year-old) tricycle, which required some major muscle to power.

My grandma's dining room wall - photos of all her grandchildren. My grandpa is a total handyman and built her the shelves. I love this. 

These girls are sweet, adorable, and not squeamish around frogs (toads? I don't know which is which). Just lovely.

Freckles run in the family.

After ten consecutive grandsons, my grandma finally has another granddaughter! (Who was originally seen here.)

Does this not look like an ad for Radio Flyer wagons? I love how all the toys at my grandparents are well-used.

Cousins are the best. (Even though I am much older than most of my cousins, the girls still act like I'm a kind instead of an adult. I LOVE IT.)

Boy with his toys. I see these in my future. :)

So much joy. (And they let the little brother join in. Sweet.)

Saying goodbye.

(In case it seems crazy that my uncle is Mike's age and my cousins are young enough to be my children - let me explain.  My mom is the oldest by five years, her youngest sibling is eighteen years younger. She had me when she was only twenty-one, which meant my oldest aunt was sixteen. Thus, my aunts and uncle are more like my siblings than my aunts and uncles. Just for the curious among you - I know I'd be one!)

I Wanted to Blog to Tell You How Awesome You Are.

I wanted to blog to tell you how several people have shared this article with me and that makes me happy.

I wanted to blog to tell you how I went to the dentist for two cavities and ended up getting four filled.

I wanted to blog to tell you how a drunk girl told Mike he looked gay.

I wanted to blog to tell you how wonderful and sweet my dentist is, despite the inordinate amount of Novocaine.

I wanted to blog to tell you how three out the four new emails in my inbox last night were about freelance design jobs.

I wanted to blog to tell you how absolutely hilarious our staff and faculty Christmas party was - and how I won the spa prize. Free manicure and a bottle of White Zinfandel!

I wanted to blog to tell you how excited I am about break. Two weeks of no work and pure family time and laziness.

I wanted to blog to tell you how I'm going to pick up my sister from college today to start our break.

I wanted to blog to tell you how I have another giveaway. It's a big deal and I'm swallowing my Apple snobbishness to do it.

I wanted to blog to tell you how I'm a bit sick of finding out about people's Huge Life Changes via Facebook.

I wanted blog to tell you how I am more obsessed with the idea of giving birth than a squishy little baby face.

I wanted to blog to tell you how brunch is the best meal ever.

I wanted to blog to tell you how wonderful getting cards in the mail is, and how I seem to have misplaced our stack of Christmas cards.

Instead, I'm going to pack up, pick up my little sister, drive 2.5 hours and pick up our other sister. There is a possibility that much baking will ensue. Family time, commence!

A Gift Guide with Heart.

The holidays are rapidly approaching (hurrah!) and I put together a few ideas for those who haven’t finished their gift shopping. This time of year can be a lot of fun, but can get out of hand when we think about how much stuff is consumed. From the gifts no one really needs to the insane amount of wrapping and cards to the numerous big family dinners, there is a mass consumption of stuff.

I think a bit of indulgence is allowed, and I certainly don’t want to be Scrooge. But instead of feeling like we need to get bigger and better presents to express our love, we can still buy gifts, but ones that are more thoughtful and in line with our values. Sprinkle this season with a few gifts and lots of family time.

And copious amounts of hot chocolate and cookies, of course.

Fair Trade

Last year, along with making most of my presents, I got lots of Fair Trade goodies to give to my family – chocolates, teas, and coffees. It was my little way of supporting Fair Trade with my money and introducing family members to Fair Trade goodies. If you’ve been trying to convince your dad for-ev-er to drink Fair Trade coffee, this might be your chance to introduce him to it! Equal Exchange has put together some baskets – some fabulous, last minute deals! (Although, they expire TOMORROW, December 15th, so you’d better order fast!)

Eco-Friendly

Think reusable. Reusable shopping bags, reusable water bottles, reusable travel coffee mugs (or, if they shun drinking from reusable coffee mugs, get them one of these), and reusable towels (boo to paper towels!). Break your brother's disposable habit by filling a (reusable!) bag with lots of these goodies.

Local

Got a friend who's addicted to big box stores, chain restaurants, and corporate coffee shops? Introduce her to what your town or city has to offer with some gift cards to a local business or two. Soon she’ll see how much more fun shopping local can be!

Healthy

Maybe your mom keeps talking about going on some crazy fad diet (as she does every year) – encourage her to eat healthy (and eat, period! Crazy diets…bleh) by purchasing a share of a CSA. Depending on the CSA, she’ll get some form of delicious, local fruits and vegetables every week or month. Check out Local Harvest for more information or to find a CSA near you.

Clean & Green

Is your sister a tad OCD? As in, you’d rather eat off her bathroom floor than your kitchen table? If she’s using lots of bleach and other nasty chemicals, help her break the habit and keep a healthier home by giving her a basket full of fabulous cleaning supplies without all the nasties. Some of my favorite are this, this, this, and this. She will appreciate it, I promise.

Et Cetera

A few more ideas that may be a bit more sustainable than the average gift :

• A donation to charity
• Soy candles
• An experience – a concert, dinner at a nice restaurant, or a play.
• A microloan on Kiva.org.
  
• Essential oils
• An iTunes gift card – digital music is less waste than a hard copy.
• Shop around on Etsy and support handmade!
• Paraben-free make up or nail polish without formaldehyde (um, ew)
• Anything from Heifer International.
  
• Homemade anything – from food to pampering kits.
• Wood toys are much better than plastic ones for the kiddos in your life – they last longer and are more durable. (Bonus points if it’s sustainably forested!)

A note on waste

During the weeks from Thanksgiving to New Years, about 1 million additional tons of garbage to our landfills each week in the US. EACH week. As in, in ADDITION to the waste we already create. That is just crazy ridiculous. To help reduce this waste, give your gifts in reusable gift sacks or wrap your gifts in newspaper or other reused material. I promise, with a little creativity, they will look even nicer than those glossy wrapping papers!

Thanksgiving + Black Friday in Five Photos.

I am thankful for...

A husband who plays music. (Especially when he learned Falling Slowly for me.)

A husband who can cook.


Peanut butter. Chocolate. Especially together and in fudge form.


This post-Thanksgiving breakfast.


A sane Black Friday wherein we got this for $8.99.


Enjoy time your family, friends!

Her-My-O-Nee.

A few weeks ago, Mike and I were on a walk and I saw a perfectly straight, twelve inch long stick on the ground.

“It’s a wand! I should be Hermione for Halloween!” I proclaimed. But I dropped it back on the ground, thinking it was a bit too early to go wand-hunting. Surely I’d find another in a few weeks. We continued our walk, and I continued chattering away about what a perfect wand I’d found. And maybe I shouldn’t have dropped it. I mean, perfectly straight sticks don’t just grow on trees, you know!

Mike finally interrupted me, “Do you want me to go back and get it?”

I smiled and he ran back and got it for me.

Yes, we are 17-year-olds.

And yes, I was totally Hermione-Granger –slash-Hogwarts-Student (from Harry Potter, duh.) for Halloween:

I dressed up for school on Friday and ran a few errands before work – Dunkin’ Donuts, a grocery store, and Starbucks. I got the range of reactions – from “Are you, like, a hair dresser?” to “Hermione!” to getting spit on to nothing. Which was probably worse than getting spit on, because, seriously – I am wearing a freakin’ gown, people.

The girls loved it, though, and were stopping by my office all day because they heard I looked “just like Hermione!” Halloween WIN.

Halloween itself was spent with my family – parents, brother, sister, Mike, Korean exchange student, and my brother’s friend watching a ridiculous scary movie from the 80s – The Fog. That is, ridiculous AND scary, not ridiculously scary. The kind of movie where you scream and hold your sister’s hand, and then laugh at how silly the movie is. Perfect for an overactive imagination like myself. Mass amounts of candy and pumpkin-flavored goods were also consumed – making it a Halloween DOUBLE WIN.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Don't forget to enter my Starbucks giveaway! (It's a contest for me, too - so not only will you get FREE coffee, but you'll make me happy. Thanks!)

Nubbins of News.

• The mouse saga continues! Oh, wait...I haven't told you about our mouse saga? (Unless you follow me on Twitter. Which you probably did and stopped following me after I made you nauseous when I told everyone I found a frying pan FULL OF MOUSE DROPPINGS in the drawer under our stove.) Call me nasty, cheap, or too sympathetic, but until I see one in my bedroom or they eat my food, I'm not calling an exterminator. Because chemicals are scarier than mice, in my book. Unless they are in my bedroom or eating my food, then all bets are off. Until then, we live in peace, little mice.
  

• Work is beginning to feel cozy and homey. My coffee mug, my candy jar, and my friendly coworkers are becoming routine and familiar. This new positive outlook may have something to do with my coming in an hour later. An extra hour in the morning is making a gigantic difference in my sleep and attitude. I finally got up the courage to talk to Boss about it, and she was more than amenable to my remaining a sane, cheerful individual. Hooray!
  

• I went for over two weeks without a cell phone before activating a new (to me) phone last night. It was glorious. Minus the pouring-my-water-bottle-in-my-purse-and-ruining-my-phone part. No one could contact me through my phone was so nice. Being overly-connected is tiring, yo! (We won't talk about internet/Twitter addiction just yet, though. I'm still in denial.)
  

• The last time I can find proof of getting dressed up for Halloween was in 2005. I haven't carved a pumpkin in years and I've never decorated for Halloween. I'm not anti-Halloween, I'm pro-lazy. (And pro-food. I've baked tons of pumpkin waffles, bread, and muffins and made my own pumpkin pie spice lattes. I even sucked it up and ate a few maple donuts.) Since I work at a high school now, I can dress up for work this year and am considering Hermione Granger. Possibly overdone, but I have frizzy hair, a graduation gown, and a stick that is totally wand material. Done and done.
  

• Several new items are listed in my Etsy shop - including new earring colors and designs. I also have some new packaging. I'm seriously excited to start sending out new orders. Whee!
  

• Free Starbucks goodies - five whole prize packs! - are still up for grabs over here. (Did I mention it's a contest for me, too? So I will continue nagging you!)
  

I'm Not Good with Goodbyes.

I haven't posted an eco-post in quite some time. I was all set to post about organic food and corn subsidies (enthralling, truly!), but in honor of summer officially ending today (in the northern hemisphere, at least), I'm going to share some photos from Labor Day. Since Labor Day is also known as: Last Week Day Off Work Until Thanksgiving, it only makes sense to spend as much time as possible outdoors. My grandma had a picnic at my grandparents' lovely home in the woods, where bubbles, bonfires, and boys abounded. It was fabulous.

My favorite curly-haired cousin.

Riding in Grandpa's tractor. I love this - Dominic gripping his dad's neck, the big earmuffs, Justin trying to catch up...And the insanely lush trees. Mmm, greenery.

Normally, I'm not a big Crocs person. But these tiny, two-year-old sized ones are just plain adorable. (As seen on curly-haired cousin.)

There was much tetherball playing to be had my grandparents' beautiful, green backyard. Tetherball simultaneously reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite and third grade.

Grandma has a green thumb, obviously. (I, on the other hand, killed the rose bush Mike bought me last summer. It was pathetic.)

No matter how gorgeous or full of pumpkin-flavored food and cute clothes fall may be, I will always love summer the most. Sunshine, tan lines, and iced tea make me happy.

Fall is filled with lovely things, though. Particularly my birthday, crunchy leaves, sweaters, apple cider, a trip to Hocking Hills, and pumpkin donuts.

Fall, I adore you. Just don't let winter come, okay?

On Ikea, Etsy, Babies, and No Candy for Easter.

A long weekend is a glorious gift. A long weekend with a holiday? Even better.

My weekend, in bite-sized morsels:

- Ikea. Need I say more? The nearest Ikea is two hours and nine minutes away in Pittsburgh. Mike's parents are merely an hour away from an Ikea in Michigan, so we took a little trip up there on Saturday so I could satisfy my fabric obsession. We also stopped by Ann Arbor, a delightful little college town complete with cupcake shops, a fair trade coffee shop, and a gigantic paper store.

Yes, my first trip to a real, live, HUGE stationary and bookbinding store with an entire room with floor to ceiling shelves of paper.

Heaven. I may just learn how to bind some books, watch out.

- Etsy. I spent most of Thursday and Friday off work and sewing. Lots and lots of sewing. Most of it is up in my store now, including four little boxy pouches, a card wallet, and my proudest accomplishment - a hobo bag. (Look, Ma! No pattern!)

I also had my first pick up order last week - I met her at a coffee shop and we ended up talking for nearly two hours. Turns out we're both fairly new to Cleveland. I was afraid I was going to have to make a policy, "Shipments only, no local pick ups" if it turned out badly. Now, I think I will say, "Let's be friends! Come pick up your order!" Etsy is all kinds of wonderful.

Even though this has been a rather slow Etsy week for me, it's still quite exciting that when Mike and I are making plans for next year, I can seriously consider working less than 40 hours a week and supplement with my Etsy and design work. Amazing.

- Babies. At Ikea, every third woman was pregnant. Another other third were pushing strollers with adorable, mushy little babies. Pregnant bellies are amazing to me, and I try not to stare, but they are SO BEAUTIFUL. Mike had a dream where I was pregnant and then we played his adorable twin niece and nephew who are almost two-years-old. And THEN I started doing math in church (Sorry, God) about how old I could have baby before I'd feel like an Old Parent (as opposed to a hot, young mom in yoga pants.) (I hope you know I'm kidding - I'm not really that superficial.) (Mostly, anyway.)

So, we pretty much want a little squishy child of our own now to cuddle and kiss.

(Don't get too excited - we still have the reality of health insurance, grad school, and general poorness to face. But, yes, babies are cute. And, yes, we want one, eventually.)

- No Candy. That's right, my very first year without an Easter basket. Apparently I'm a grown up or something? Whatever. My mother-in-law apologized for the lack of Easter treats, but I brushed it off.

This is good, I thought, I can focus on the real part of the holiday now. Candy, shmandy.

Two hours later we were at the grocery store, with Cadbury cream eggs, Reese's peanut butter eggs, Mounds, Jelly Bellys, and dark chocolate peanut M & Ms.

Guess I'm not ready to grow up.

Hope your Easter/Passover/weekend was fabulous and full of relaxation! (And...candy!)

One Minute and Four Seconds of My Video-Induced Lisp.

Please note:
* Mike is not that grumpy in real-life.
* I do have that annoying laugh in real-life.
* It was seriously icy. And my back muscles were sore for a few days after this ice-picking extravaganza.

Happy New Year's Eve, friends.

Hope your 2009 starts off just the way you want it to - whether it's surrounded by friends, family, clanging pots and pans, drinking champagne, or watching the ball the drop (does Dick Clark still host that? He was looking a little...plasticy the last time I saw him on New Years. Hmm.)

Nothing Says Christmas Cheer Like Funfetti.

It's 2pm and we haven't even opened our presents yet.

Christmas as a grown up sure is different than Christmas as a child, eh?

I still want to leave cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer - that was one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Oh, the magic, mystery, and wonderfulness of Christmas. It's not quite the same, but still such a wonderful season to spend time with family, which is far better than imagining Santa wriggling down the chimney while you sleep.

Merry Christmas, friends. May your day be filled with joy, love, hope, and magic.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Love.

I've decided to almost not shop at all for presents this year.

Which means, I had to take today and tomorrow off work to actually MAKE all these presents, since I was busy starting an Etsy shop this past month.

{If you are a sister of mine, and want to be surprised when we do our gift exchange, stop reading this now....}


...


{Really! I mean it!}


....


Okay, so as I was going to say - I am busy pretending to be a stay-at-home wife and making lots and lots of gifts.

Want to see?

I made several sets for my gift bags which will include the rice heat therapy bag, cold therapy headache pillow, candy cane sugar scrub (made by me), a box of Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joes (better than Thin Mints, if I may say so.), and some fair trade hot cocoa, coffee, and tea. Relaxation gift bags. Woohoo.

You can also see some personalized makeup pouches that I'm creating for mes soeurs.
.
I bought Mike's presents, but added my own touch to them:

The sewing is a little embarrassing, but the important part is: Look! I got him an iPod! I rock!

It's a Simpsons reference - this episode about M[apple], with myPhones and myPods. Anyway. Carry on.

I also got him this cup he's been bugging me about FOREVER. It's called, "I'm not a paper cup" and it made of ceramic with a silicone lid. I made him a little argyle cuff to keep his hands from get burnt.

By the way, since I'm throwing pictures around like a madwoman, I've added a few things to my shoppe over the last few weeks -

1. flowery delight tote 2. black and green flowers boxy zipper pouch. 3. purple love felt pouch 4. pretty zipper pouch

Whew! My sewing machine and I are like BFF now, you guys. Oh, and can't forget Seinfeld DVDs, where would I be without them?

Hope your Christmas/Hanukkah/last-full-week-of-December week is going well!

Oh, and I Haven't Got Any Christmas Presents Yet.

As promised, it was a busy couple of days. I jetted four hours down to Dayton for a work retreat, then jetted back in time for our party. And now, I'm safely nestled back home for the next ten days.

Wait. There's only ten days until Christmas?!

Highlights include:

• A thousand cries of "Ms. Ashley!" when I walked into the room.
• Swarms of children hugging me...the ultimate mood boost.
• "Ms. Ashley, will you come back? The new teachers are boring."
• Drinking several bottles of wine with three of the finest people I know.
• Not having a headache the next day. (I get "hungover" after ONE glass of wine sometimes. ONE!)
• Work gossip, five months I leave the place.
• Seeing a friend before she left to move across the country to Portland.
• One of "those" nights. {The kind of night when you hang out for hours on end, just talking. Change in on the horizon, but for now - a cozy conversation and laughter is perfect.}
• Taking a personality test and finding that "art director" and "graphic designer" were in my top ten career choices. Score.
• Continuing to be "middle of the road" in my personality. I'm a little bit of everything, really. It doesn't make me wishy-washy, it makes me adaptable!
• Playing hide-and-go-seek with an adorable 5-year-old with dimples and a blonde braid.
• Etsy! What a blessing Etsy has been - both with my lil' shoppe as a creative outlet, and with all the other awesome shops that inspire me and that give me hope for being my own independent business someday. (Not to mention, give me awesome gifts!)
• Getting into a huge, long discussion/intervention with Mike about my future career (er, lack of direction.). I ended up crying and completely depressed. I'm so pretty.
• UGLY SWEATER PARTY! My first party, outside of college, that I helped host. And, in true Ashley-style, we only decided a week beforehand to throw it.
• Amazing baked brie. Amazing, people.
• Turning two friends onto green olives and cream cheese, aka: The best snack, ever.
• Opening a wine bottle sans corkscrew. With a butter knife. I am awesome, huh?
• My new scarf from the scarf exchange from Sarah:
  

She's so adorable and thoughtful. She picked this one out because it was natural colors and small "so as to not overwhelm" my small frame. Adorable! (She also bought it from Etsy, to support "small business owners like yourself" and recycled all the packaging! What a doll.)

{FAQ 3} On food, homemade gifts, and black sheepdom.

Stephanie wonders:
(1) What's your favorite Thanksgiving food? (I'm also a vegetarian and everyone always asks me what I eat on Thanksgiving... hello?! Have they not seen all the side dishes?)

I love to eat. I mean, I know people say that - but I ate more at Thanksgiving this year than my husband did. I'm serious about eating. But I get fully really quickly, so I annoy my family and friends by complaining every five seconds about being full. My sister and I contemplated the benefits of having four stomachs like cows do. It could be great for me. (Not the vomiting part. That would be awful.)

Also, I completely agree with you - being a vegetarian is no punishment on Thanksgiving! Fifty bajillion wonderful side dishes means I don't have to eat any of that gross bird. {I don't even eat Tofurkey, because I don't like the taste. But that's another story.}

Back to your question, I'd say my favorite side dish is sweet potatoes if they're done right. Mashed potatoes (I eat them with homemade cranberry-citrus sauce) are delicious, too!

(2) Are you planning on making Christmas gifts again and, if so, what do you plan on making?

Yes! I'm all about handmade - less packaging, less expensive, less commercial Christmas stress, and more personalized! Since my sisters usually read this blog (hi guys!), all I'll say is I'll be making things similar to what is in my Etsy store, food and bath salts in jars like last year, and even trying to make soap! (The internet has so many resources. It makes me happy.)

Steph (Corwin) asks: When was your first break-away-from-the-pack moment? You know since you're such a crazy compared to your family ;) Is there some defining moment in your life when you realized you were different from your family, or were you always that way?

My parents always really supported me when I was growing up. I was very much their "golden child," {I'm not just saying this, it's true. Very silly, but true.} because I was into my faith and did well in school. They'd tell my siblings to be more like me. {Weird, right?}

A few distinct moments stand out when I thought, "I...don't...agree...with my parents?!" Slightly panicked, to be honest. As a people-pleasing, teacher's pet kind of girl, not agreeing with your parents is really, insanely difficult.

Once when I was in middle school, my dad and I were discussing the Nike brand. I expressed concern over sweatshops, to which my dad explained that their wages weren't that bad for that area of the world, and that "at least Nike is creating work there".

"But...just because it's somewhere else doesn't mean they deserve to live like that," I said, surprising even myself for disagreeing with Dad. Intelligent, knows-everything, always-right Dad. We talked about it for a while longer. It was an odd feeling, coming away realizing that, for once, my dad didn't convince me.

My senior year of high school, The War started, and I was honestly confused as to why we were fighting. I asked my dad to explain it to me.

And, again, I came away from the conversation genuinely surprised to find that I still thought it was...not right. I wasn't convinced.

Then I went off to college, where I learned a lot. A lot. I was pushed, challenged, and confronted. I questioned my beliefs and values. I came to conclusions. I grew so much. I did what you're supposed to do in college.

I got to meet crazy, liberal hippies who were religious and so cool and not at all as evil as I had heard. I did a ton of service and then learned about the root causes behind injustices. I tutored immigrants for their citizenship test and wrote letters to my legislators about immigration reform. I went to an immigration rally and was confronted by neo-Nazis. A crazy, radical Christian came on campus and I read his book about Jesus' message of justice, not judgment. I wrote a letter to the Pope about fostering a consistent ethic of life (for a class, I'm not that much of a weirdo!), I led a small group about faith and justice - I was fiercely and wholly passionate.

I took one class called History of Catholicism in the US, and learned that liberalism has always been a plague on the church. It has always been feared. It has always been loathed. And...it lead great things. (The priest faces us and we can understand what he's saying!) I stopped thinking of "liberal" as a bad word because of that class.

I still feel a twinge of guilt when I come to conclusions that are different than my parents, but honestly - I am also very thankful to have such a different view in my own family. It makes me less likely to make sweeping generalizations about people I disagree with, it makes me more willing to find common ground, and it makes me appreciate agreeing with my husband. :)

I'm also proud of myself for staying true to who I am and not burying my real thoughts and feelings in order to stay the golden child. It's hard stuff. And most people will never experience what it's like to firmly disagree with their parents. I don't recommend it, but I do recommend being who you are!

We all want a better world, we just have different ideas of how to get there.

You So Knew This Was Coming.

Today held two rounds of dinner and two rounds of dessert at three different houses.

Whew.

Bring on the cuddly, cute babies:

Truly happy.


Grin.


I got to feed him his first pumpkin pie. What a milestone. [He ate a lot.]

And, the token corny couple picture, of course.

Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous. (Unless you're not from here, in which case, hope your random Thursday was great!)

Just curious, anyone braving Crazy Shopping Friday?

Do You See What Etsy?

Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch for a pun, but I have some news I've been hiding from you for ONE WHOLE WEEK.

(I'm terrible at keeping quiet, so I'm surprised that only Mike and my sister have known about this at until now.)

I want to humbly introduce my blog to Joyful Star.



Say hello.

I call my little friend Joyful Star because stars are my favorite shape ever. Once I learned to draw them, I've never stopped doodling them all over everything. And joyful because we could all use a little more joy in our life. And I truly feel joyful when creating these things. (Except when they frustrate the bejesus out of me and I throw my bobbin at the wall. But, that never happens, right?)

When I first heard of Etsy, I wanted one. I felt like I had no skill or talent compared to the amazing work on Etsy, but by golly I wanted one.

I forgot about it until Renee left me a comment, "Etsy that shit, Ashley!"

And so, I did.

I decided on a name last Monday, scoured dozens of Etsy newbie guides, and have been working insanely to get some things in my shop.

Here are a few of my offerings (and all very reasonably priced, if I might say so)


The best part? Before I've even posted about it, before even a week had passed after I started putting items up....I SOLD SOMETHING (that little blue star pouch, if you're curious).

I grinned for a good twenty minutes after I saw that little email in my inbox.

[Many thanks to my adorable husband, who has been ignoring the mess that is building up, the thread strands everywhere, and the fact that I haven't taken a breath away from my Etsy stuff. Also, thanks for getting that beard trimmer. Very cute. Too bad you are a hippie and don't want to have a trimmed beard.]

[Also many thanks to Jamie, for hosting yet another awesome giveaway on her blog. I actually won her last giveaway for an adorable soy candle from this Etsy shop. I'm beyond excited. Plus, I got my free Starbucks Gold Card in the mail Saturday. Even though the whole election/family thing is getting a little much, life is really going swell.]

Let's Play a Game...

It's called:

Where's Ashley going this weekend?!

If you've been following my tweets, (and if you aren't, why not?!) you know I've been struggling to figure out what to do for my husband's birthday/Labor Day weekend/last weekend before he starts classes and we never see each other during the week.

Last year, he took me camping, to a play, to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch and to an adorable little hippie-ish college town replete with tons of cute little coffee shops.

I? bought him killer brownies, Ben & Jerry's, and some Magic Hat beer and called it a [birth]day.

I was definitely feeling the pressure this year: Camping? Zip line-ing? Going back to Ann Arbor? Chicago?

Everywhere I looked, hotels, bed & breakfasts, and campsites were booked.

Then, it dawned on me, the answer was right under my nose:

Does that help?

How about this:

Not so much?

Okay, I'll give you a hint: it's six miles away.

Yep! I decided we're going to make the most of the bittersweet, last official weekend of summer and explore this city of ours a little more: It's Cleveland, baby!

I reserved a suite at the only place with available rooms:

We'll spend the weekend hanging out in University Circle -Home of the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. (They have a special Tropical Garden right now. Fresh banana smoothies, anyone?)

We'll also hang out in this park:

Visit the Cleveland Museum of Art:

Eat at the delicious trattorias and bakeries in Little Italy:

And check out the Museum of Natural History:

We might even venture a few miles downtown for the Taste of Cleveland and the Air Show! When there's so much explore here, why leave?

We'll save gas, explore our own (new) city, and get to stay in a hotel! (You have no idea how ridiculously excited I get about staying in hotels. The beds! The fresh, clean sheets! Cute little shampoo bottles! Every thing's SO CLEAN! And a cable TV! A telephone in the bathroom. I might not actually need to leave the hotel...)

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and make sure to spend lots of time r e l a x i n g . . .

______________

Dana asked where I've been lately. Guess I should explain: Our Mac Powerbook's hard drive crashed. We lost all of our music, pictures, and documents. Worst of all, I lost the Adobe CreativeSuite that I'd gotten for free.

Actually, worst of all is our loss of ability to get on the Internet at home. That means my blog time has been restricted to work hours. And I don't like to spend too much time doing personal stuff online at work (plus, they keep me pretty darn busy here!). Oddly, I haven't missed the distraction of the laptop while I'm relaxing at home.

But I have missed the blogging world.

Mike got a new hard drive and is hoping to perform a transplant in the near future. Just so ya know. :)

(And? As if all of this wasn't awful enough - I've gone and lost my camera. Boo.)