This just in

I have officially given up on making my own background.  I can make it, i just can't make it fit right.  What looks good on my computer doesn't fit on other computers.  bummer.  But I found this cute background, so I'm almost over it.  And I've decided that header-making is good enough for me.  Maybe one day I'll venture back to backgrounds (haha), but for now, I am fed up with the whole thing.  Kudos to those of you who can do it successfully.

I am no longer job hunting.  I am in school again.  That was a last minute decision if there ever was one.  I'm talking the day before the semester started last minute.  I'm only taking 8 credits, but 5 of those credits are an organic chemistry class that goes from 8 am to 3 on Fridays.  Sometimes I wonder why I do the things I do.

I have a meeting with the bishop tonight.  I feel a calling coming on.

On Sunday and Monday there was a moth the size of a bird hangin out by our apartment.  I would show you the picture, but Sam is hogging the evidence on his phone.

My water is about to boil over.

last one! (for now at least) =]

The background is done! Complete with a new header.  I am quite pleased with myself.  What do you think?

another post about....

my background.  i know, it just makes you want to scream and rip your hair out, right?
or is that only me? probably.
well, my blog is no longer naked, but it's not dressed properly, either.  I figured out that i just need to make it a little shorter. which i have. But obviously I haven't shortened it enough, because the top and bottom are still cut off.  It's going to stay like this for a while though, and my reasoning is twofold.
1.  I have remade this background at least four times. Three of those attempts have happened in the last hour. (at least i'm getting faster, right?)
2.  I'm sick of my blog being plain old white.
so bear with it for a while. i promise it will look better once you can get the full effect.  And rest assured that my background (in its entirety, of course) is cute.  I know this because Kourtney helped me and she is crafty.

I know, I know...

my blog is bare. naked.  don't judge its nakedness, it's not the blog's fault.

want to know why my blog is naked?

because I tried to make my own background.  and i was sooo close to being successful! It's all photobucket's fault! ok, that's not entirely true.  But it seems like such a good idea to blame it on photobucket.  I mean, you don't expect me to take the blame do you? I followed the instructions to the T, and still... disappointment.  it was just too small.  and of course i had to delete my old background first because I was so excited that i had finally put together a background that I actually liked.  Always jumpin' the gun. sigh.  so my blog will be bare for a while, because it's late and there is no way in heck that I am re-doing that entire background tonight, and we're on the road again this weekend for a missionary farewell and a trip to jc to visit my family cuz it is possible that I miss them. a little... ok a lot. so i won't get around to it for a couple of days... possibly until sam goes back to work when we get back from our little road trip.  please pray for my sanity in my attempt to become more crafty and have a one of a kind blog.

A Learning Experience

I have been married for two months. What? Already? Wowza. I'm proud to say I've learned a few things.

• Wax + carpet = bad idea. and a HUGE mess.
• Sam has A LOT of clothes.
• I really can cook!
• If anything says it is wrinkle-free, it is lying to you and can't be trusted.
• Just because I've seen pretty much every episode of Friends doesn't make them any less funny the second time around (or maybe third... or fourth...or...)
• Nutella is delicious. Why wasn't I introduced to it much sooner?
• Laundry and dishes are never-ending chores.
• I am sick of apartment living.
• Grocery shopping is ridiculously expensive.
• Tucson is a long way away from Joseph City.
• I am the messiest cook alive.
• Job hunting is lame.
• The brother-in-law is a nice visitor to have, but not so fun as a roommate.
• People think newlyweds need 5 million towels.
• I really want a puppy.
• School causes me lots of stress.
• Sam is much more of a morning person than I am.
• Kevinandamanda.com is fabulous
• Sam LOVES movies from the 80s. Particularly if they star Arnold Swarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. Bad acting is a plus.
• We always want ice cream.
• Hulu saves me from many hours of boredom.
• Sam likes Japanese cartoons. I do not.
• I am capable of changing the oil in a 1991 bmw.
• graveyard shifts are not fun.
• I'm not as good at playing video games as i thought i was.
• The bank we go to is lame.
• Once Sam opens a cupboard, it usually stays open. until I close it.
• I don't exactly like being the center of attention.
• Two microwaves is one too many for us.
• Sam likes to bark at the neighbors' dogs.
• I married an amazing man and I love him very very much.

pretty impressive list, right?

oh, and sorry for the cheeseball at the end...

what a weekend

this weekend we went to safford to spend some time with sam's family. saturday we went to the temple. it was great. this was the first time sam and i have been able to go since we've been married, and the first session sam's done in this temple. it was awesome. i married such a great guy. seriously, he just keeps getting better =].

i LOVE going to the temple. it's a pretty amazing place.

after the temple we went to cluff ponds with sam's brothers. ok, i've heard of this place before, but i never went in all the time i lived in thatcher. it is so cool! it's just this lake surrounded by all these trees out in the middle of nowhere. if i would have known where it was when i lived in thatcher, i probably would have been there just about every day. sam's brother wyatt (aka diggy) bought an air mattress from wal-mart and we just floated in the middle of the lake for a while and watched people do belly flops off of the rope swing. the red neck encouraging these belly flops was kind of entertaining, too. after we got back to sam's dad's house, sam taught me how to change the oil in his car. i was awesome. uncle virgil would have been so proud of me =]. we were going to go to tanner's house that night to watch the cardinals preseason game, but we found it on tv, so we decided to just order a pizza and stay where we were. which was a good thing, since i was feeling lazy and didn't feel like making myself presentable for other people. saturday equals good day.

sunday morning we left safford and decided to take a detour through sonoita. sam has been telling me ever since before we were married that he wanted to live in sonoita, and i wanted to see why. well, i definitely saw why. it is GORGEOUS. i'm a small town girl. i like the conveniences of the city, but i'm not gonna lie, i miss the small town feeling. sonoita is just this little town surrounded by all these mountains and grassy fields. we picked the perfect time of year to go. all the monsoons have made that little town so incredibly green. beautiful. as we were leaving town, we came to a border patrol station.... and we broke down. so the bp guys pushed us forward. one of the guys said "i get paid to do this?" hahaha we thought it was pretty funny=] So we called diggy, told him to bring some jumper cables, and just kinda waited. I decided that one of the border patrolmen could have been my friend cuz he told Sam that he needed to get a chevy and ditch the foriegn car. hahaha, he was so cool=]. I tell Sam that all the time. i'm always makin fun of his german car. Anyway, Sam figured it had something to do with the battery, so he checked it out, and after a couple more minutes, he tried to start it again, and... it worked! so we took off, called diggy again and told him to just kinda be on standby, and rolled down the windows and turned off the ac to save battery power. we got almost to the i-10 junction and it happened again. ugh. so sam pushed while i steered, and the car coasted pretty far... and sam had to walk a while to catch up. gosh, you wouldn't believe all the people who just drive right on by a stranded woman! sam came walkin up about 15 minutes after i rolled to a stop, called some more people, and we sat down and waited. in 100 degree heat. i was wearing a black shirt. bad idea, ashley. After about 10 or 15 more minutes, this old guy and his buddy pull up in a truck and offer to take us back to tucson. turns out we weren't too far out of their way. it was kinda crowded in the back seat, but we were just glad we didn't have to sit on the side of the road anymore. they dropped us off at the apartment, and we got into my trusty american-made car and headed back to the german car.

silly germans, they put the battery in the trunk! oh, and by the time we got back to the car, it was POURING. we had to just sit in my car and wait for a good ten minutes so we wouldn't get soaked. after the rain, i busted out my handy dandy emergency kit from my trunk, hooked up the jumper cables... and the german car still wouldn't start. sigh. so we took the battery to checker, charged it up, took it back to the car, and headed back to tucson. sam kinda took off once we got off the freeway, and when i pulled into our apartment complex, the car had stopped right before he got into our parking space. dang german car.

oh, and btw, i didn't mess up the car when i changed the oil, cuz i know you're all just dying to tease me about that.

mindy

i was looking at blue lily's photography blog the other day. they had recently taken pictures of mindy gledhill for her album. i figured i should check it out, cuz i looked at her pictures and she looked fun. there i go, judging a book by its cover... but let me tell you, i am in love with her music. it makes me feel... blissful, i guess. it's just good music. sadly, i have not been able to download it for myself yet. sigh. so i will just have to make due with keeping her blog open to listen. go there. you will not regret it. she's not kidding when she says her music will leave you floating like a scoop of ice cream in strawberry soda... which sounds delicious, btw....