Politics Again.

Check out this story from the Nashville Newspaper:

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/1/20/memo_documents_allegations_of_sexual_harassment_by_new_house_speaker

Picture fun

I've been very productive today...can you tell...I made two of these fun images. I just love playing with pictures. Just had to share these.

Finally SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning as I peered out the window I was pleasantly surprised to see it finally snowed! It is absolutely beautiful outside and the snow is still coming down. It is a winter wonderland outside and I hope it keeps it up all day. Ryan and I have the day off and I am grateful that we get to stay home and enjoy this gift mother nature has finally blessed us with.

Weekend TV

Well this weekend was too cold to do anything but stay inside and watch TV. Brian, Ryan and I are loyal watchers of the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction...we watch it every year...this year being no exception. I was curious. Could anyone possibly be willing to spend as much money as they have in the past on collectible cars? With the economy in the shape that it is would there be enough rich people left to dole out ridiculous amounts of money for a car that is only going to sit around in their garage and possibly be driven once a year? The answer is yes...there are still rich people out there who want a collectible car...but...and that is with a big BUT...they were not willing to dole out as much money as they have in the past. Bidders were very conservative in their bidding. Welcome to 2009. I was however very impressed with the amount of money that was raised for various charities. For instance the Darryl Gwinn Foundation raised a lot of money auctioning off cars to be able to provide children with power wheelchairs, Hendrick was able to raise a lot of money for Bone Marrow Transplant Organizations, and the list goes on. Of course as usual Ron Pratt was the big dog in the race he purchased a Ford Triplane for over a million dollars then moments later donated money to one of the charitable organizations. It's always interesting to watch Spanky Assiter do the auctioneering and his wife Amy work the crowd. I personally love the fantasy bidding which you can do online through Speedtv.com. Its fun to see if you can guess how much the Fantasy Bidding cars are going to go for and go up against others in the US for prizes. We came close on a few but still no big prize for us...maybe next time. Stay tuned.

Enough cold already!!!!

I am sooooooooooo ready for spring! Enough of this drastically cold bone chilling weather I say. It's too cold to even walk the dog down to the woods, too cold to go out and get in the car and drive, too cold to even go out and get wood in for the fire. If it's going to be this cold it should at least snow or something. Our power kicked off and back on over 20 times last night. I should call the electric company and tell them that I don't want to pay for the time that the power was off. I don't know why it kept kicking off other than possibly they were so overloaded on demand that they couldn't keep up. Thank goodness for the fireplace...at least I am able to keep the heat turned down to a normal level when it gets down to zero. I hope everyone is keeping warm...bundle up baby!!!!

Disgusted by Politics As Usual

I am sorely disappointed by the latest news from Nashville concerning my friend and State Representative Jason Mumpower. If anyone deserved the House speakership it was he. Jason goes above and beyond the call of duty and in my eyes he is the only deserving person for that position. I am proud to have Jason as my representive and I know that in time he will take his rightful place at the capitol. Kent Williams is a disgrace and no doubt karma will catch up with him.

Exercise

After a weekend of feeling really low on energy, short of breath, and generally anxious I have come to the conclusion that it is time...time to get back on the exercise path, change my diet, and get back to my healthy self. There's no time like the new year to start this regiment...I have already cut back on smoking and am sure that I will be wanting to eat more because of that. So I am going to buy tons of healthy snacks and meals to munch on, and try not to purchase any sugary drinks. I am sure that the guys are going to hate it but it will be for their own good as well. I am not going to say my goal is to loose weight...I have never been one to pay attention to weight or a scale. I just vow to get healthy. Guess I'll go visit Cheryl at Gwen's Herb Shop today and get some herbal supplements as well. Wish me luck!

Some exciting news on the homefront though. I was talking to my little nephew Noah on the phone yesterday and he finally said my name! My name is very hard for most little ones to say but he finally got it out there. I was so excited I started to cry! He's a sweetheart! Anyway...good job Noah Aunt Ashley is proud of you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just had to send a shout out to my Mom and tell her Happy Happy Birthday! I hope it's one to remember! I love you!

Momma came to visit.

Saturday I was thrilled because my mom came down from West Virginia to visit. It was a great day. Me, Brian, Ryan, Mom, Mike, Amber, Taylor and Noah all had a nice time enjoying each other's company. We went out to eat and when we got back Mom's friend Teri and her new grandbaby Zoe were here to visit too. It was a wonderful day. I was sad to see Mom and Mike head back home. I know my hometown is only 2 hours away but sometimes I really wish my Mom were here close. Later our friend Pat came by and it was a welcomed distraction from the funk I was in after mom left. Pat brought shrimp cocktail, which he was supposed to bring on New Year's Eve but he got side tracked by a certain female companion and wasn't able to make it, but all is well...we devoured the shrimp anyway! MMMMMM! Gotta love the shrimp. Thanks Pat! The shrimp is on me next time!

Happy New Year

What else can I say about New Year's Eve 08...it was a ton of fun! Great food, fun, friends and fireworks! I especially enjoyed the games...I laughed until I thought I'd peed myself. Thanks to everyone who helped Brian and I celebrate and Happy New Year Everybody!

Happy 14th Wedding Anniversary Brian!

Today as I look back with happiness and pride upon the 14 wedded years that you've spent by my side, every memory that we share of dreams we've seen come true,
make this Anniversary Day so special...and I love you!

Noah's First Catch

Check this out...when the weather was pretty last week Noah got to go down to the river with his Daddy where he got to fish. I just love this picture and had to share it. You can also check it out on WCYB.tv in the weather pictures section.

Gladys cracks me up! Watch this!

Click on the link below or copy and paste it to your browser and check out this clip from the Ellen Show...this older lady Gladys is hillarious! Enjoy!

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/ellen-gladys-hardy-p1.php?emf=1

4 Commitments for 2009

At church this morning Preacher Phil gave a really great sermon and challenged us all as a congregation to make 4 commitments for 2009:

1. Forget your failures.
We need to forget the past and not dwell on our past mistakes. We can learn from them and gain wisdom from them but we shouldn't beat ourselves up for them...our enemies will do that for us.

2. Give up your grudges.
Grudges destruct you, forgive yourself and then you will be able to forgive your enemies. Turn loose of it and free yourself.

3. Restore your relationships.
We should try to make right any failed relationships, our time here is too short, the fact is that you may not be able to trust some people and this doesn't mean you have to hang out with them, but you can forgive them and show people how Jesus works by overcoming evil with good. Usually evil working in our lives is what causes broken relationships.

4. Turn your back on sin which easily besets us.
We should try to leave sin behind us...we shouldn't continue to be sinful because that is what we are used to, it's what we are familiar with. We should try to live the way God would have us live. It's easy to get stuck in the "norm". He used an interesting example to demonstrate how people stay with what they are used to by telling the story of how in history when the Civil War was over and the slaves finally freed...many of those slaves went back to the masters they worked for and continued to work as slaves...because that is what they were used to. We as Christians should try our best to be free from sin. None of us will be perfect but it gives us something to strive toward.

I just loved his messaged this morning and felt it blog worthy. I know I could work on all of the above and am going to do my best in 2009 to fulfill this commitment.

Christmas 2008 was AWESOME!

Well it looks like Santa was extremely good to me this year...see it truly pays off to be a good girl! What started out looking like it may be a bleak Christmas holiday with my brother in law, Ed, in the hospital with a heart attack and then him having to undergo a heart cath to insert a stint, then him having to go back into the hospital due to some sort of complication that they never did figure out. I did however get to keep my nephew Noah overnight while his Daddy was in the hospital and we had a blast. He was soooooooooo much fun! I have the funniest video of him laughing and dancing. I almost never got him to my house though because everytime we passed a cow field on the way here I had to stop because he was in the backseat saying look look! stop! Moo moo! It was hilarious! He's a cracker jack. The good news is that Ed got out of the hospital just in time for Christmas!

Of course we did our normal tradition of opening all of our presents on Christmas Eve since Ryan is now 15 almost 16 there's no need to wait on Santa, put out cookies and milk and reindeer food, which is kind of a bummer. But I was so surprised to see all of the wonderful gifts Santa brought me this year. I got a bunch of much needed things from my momma in WVa, things I wouldn't buy for myself but truly needed. Then of course money from Dad. Doug and Betty got me the huge roaster oven I've been wanting for 2 years now, and clothes. Brian bought me my favorite expensive perfume, a sweet foot massager, an Airport Express wireless system for my laptop, and a DVD burner for my laptop...so now I can make all the movies and slideshows, etc...on my IMovie and IDVD programs and burn them to disk. It's soooooo awesome! I got the sweetest gift from Whitney it was a picture frame with a pic of us in it that says Our Friendship is a True Blessing...right backatcha girlfriend!

Christmas Day we went to Betty's for an awesome meal and then we were off to visit Mamaw Fugate and let her open all of her presents. I got some really good pictures of her and Ryan, Brian, Doug and Betty. Then Christmas night Jr, Whit and Daniel came by and we ate good food, enjoyed some drinks and all got a big kick out of watching Whitney's and Daniel's DVD that I made them. JR loved his present but if I told you what it was I'd have to kill ya!

All in all Christmas 2008 was a huge success! Thank you to all of my family and friends and I'm looking forward to a momentous 2009!

Little Ones At Christmas...So fun!

I had to repost this picture of Noah on his first Christmas sitting with Santa...this year he has grown so much and is really into opening his presents as I witnessed last night. It is so much fun to watch the little ones as they tear into each gift to see what amazing thing awaits them inside all of that fancy paper. I loved watching him check out each toy and figure out exactly how it worked. It was no different with Eddy's kids at Dad's the other night. Oh how I remember that excitement as a child...somehow it looses a little of it's luster as an adult. I wish I could freeze the kids at this age now so they would never loose that feeling of excitement when opening their Christmas presents or waiting on Santa.

Christmas at Dad's House.

Last night we gathered up everything and headed to Dad's house for Early Christmas. Dad is leaving for Hilton Head this week and not all of us were going so last night was the night for the kids to open their gifts. Nanny ordered pizza and made brownies and the kids couldn't wait to open all of their presents. It was great to watch Eddy's little ones and all of their excitement. I bought Dad a Barack Obama action figure and gift certificate to his favorite book store and the DVD of the movie Radio (he met the real Radio a couple of years ago). He seemed to enjoy his gifts. Afterward we headed downstairs to play pool and the Wii...I tell you this game system is amazing! I will have one. Brian and Ryan loved it and Sarah is awesome at it. We really enjoyed the evening it was great to spend time with that side of my family.

Dedicated to Whitney!

Check out this video I made with my adorable little Christmas squirrel for Whitney! Don't forget to pause the music player first and turn up your sound. Ha ha.

Enjoy
Check out this video: Merry Christmas

Christmas Cookie Night

Friday night was a hoot! Whit and I got the big idea to make Christmas cookies and play cards. I really had a lot of fun. We made oatmeal no bake cookies and sugar cookies. We made blue snowmen, gingerbread men and women, red stockings and candy canes, and green Christmas trees. They turned out great. Daniel and Whitney kicked my but at cards but I'm a big girl I can take it. Just a few more presents to buy and I will be ready for Santa!

Christmas Partytime!!!

Good times! Brian and I always look forward to his company Christmas Party at the Meadowview Ballroom. Great food, good friends, yummy drinks and live music. What more could you want?