Hey. My name is Ashley and I'm a procrastinator.

What else can I say? I haven't posted anything since February. I have great intentions of being a regular blogger, but something always jumps in the way. If you know me, you know that I am not the most punctual person in the world. I always forget things unless reminded by my friends, family or Blackberry calendar and even then I'm not guaranteed to follow through with plans. I misplace things, but have ever intention of becoming more organized. It is just who I am.
So, let's see.....the things that have gone on in my life since February.....

1. I went to Hilton Head Feb 11-13th. It was Aaaaaaamazing! The amount of stoopid money spent there is, well, STOOPID. It has breathtaking views, immaculate landscaping and wonderful places to shop. The only problem was this: Every business has to abide by the laws of advertising. Signs must be on the ground and neutral in color. This makes it VERY difficult to find places like the Harris Teeter. I'm looking for a big green sign marked with the familiar name, but ohhhh no. Not there. Not familiar and certainly NOT green and neon.
Fast food restaurants were the same way. We almost gave up on finding Wendy's. Our GPS said it was on the right, but for the life of us we couldn't find it. After circling the block 2 times, we finally saw the sign, partially hidden by spanish moss. It was a learning experience for sure.
We stayed at the Palmetto Dunes Marriot. Let's just say they spare no expense for any detail. I've never stayed somewhere so elegant. The doormen were wearing knickers and golf hats. It was adorable. Salty Dog Cafe was probably the highlight of the weekend. It reminds me of Duffy's at Cherry Grove. Open air place to eat with cold drinks and awesome t-shirts, all surrounded by the boatdocks. Very cool!

2.Tball! Jordan started t-ball in March. He enjoyed playing fall ball, but was very distracted, after all he's 4! He's more interested in dirt and grass than waiting for a ball to come his way. He's cute as a button though. When we went for the first practice, we learned that Zac's friend, Eddie Josey, was going to be coaching along with "Bubba" Rumburg. At least we would have some familiar faces at the ballfield this spring! Zac has really helped Jordan learn some key skills in baseball and it really shows on the field. Eddie has been a tremendous help most of all, encouraging and keeping Jordan in line when he needs it. He doesn't tolerate laziness or unattentiveness. Jordan loves him so much and just soaks up all he can from Eddie. How awesome!

3. My Scentsy business has been on a roll lately! I've had quite a few shows and given a lot of FREEBIES to my hostesses which is wonderful. I'm so glad that I decided to sell it last year. I do need to bump it up a notch or two though :-/

4. March 15th - One of the saddest days I'll ever remember. It started out like any regular Tuesday. I had a Scentsy show planned for my BFF's sister and Meredith was coming along to sell Thirty-One. We have fun just getting together no matter how many people show up at the party! 1 or 20, we make it a great time! I invited my good friend, Melissa Loftin to come since she lived fairly close to Missy. She was unable to make it but excited to order the new "Dotty" warmer for herself. We closed Missy's show and went home. I woke up to my cell phone ringing off the hook. It was my sister. I knew something was wrong because she had already called once. I picked it up and heard the sound of her screaming, "She's dead, Ashley. Melissa Loftin is dead". I couldn't make sense of it, so I calmly asked her what she was talking about. She told me that all over FB were posts of Melissa Loftin being killed in a car accident.
I thought she must be confused so I hung up and dialed Melissa's brother and mother's cell. No answer. I logged on to FB myself to read the posts. It was true.
Melissa had been killed earlier that day, around 4pm, on Old 52 in Davidson County. An 18 wheeler crossed the center line, hitting her head on, killing her instantly.
I was in shock. I couldn't cry. I couldn't do anything. I was numb.
I've known Melissa her entire life. Her brother, Brian, was my best friend since Kindergarten. Her parent's went on their first date with my parents. We were as close as could be growing up. She was like my little sister. As we grew older, we drifted apart. Having our own lives separated us, but I was so glad to reconnect with her after hosting a Premier Jewelry Show and watching her husband race @ BG. She is the most precious person. So loving, kinda, funny, sarcastic and witty. It was hard to imagine her gone.....forever.
She left behind a husband and 3 year old son. Her family will never be the same without her.
It's becoming easier as the days pass, but still hard. I do miss her and love her very much. I know we will be reunited one day. The peace that passes all understanding has surrounded us all.

5. April - Bowman Gray!
Woooo hooo....I was never so excited to get to see the Famed Quarter Mile again. I've only been to one race so far though, so I'm slacking! HAHAH!

6. May - Is it really May? Wowzers. Time flies when you're having fun. May's been a very difficult month for me. My pawpaw, Jack, was diagnosed with a rare type of bladder cancer years ago. Up until March, it was treated and he remained in good health and spirits. After experiencing some complications in March, the doctors discovered the cancer was spreading. Liver, stomach and kidneys were all becoming diseased by cancer and his health declined fast. Our family made it a priority to spend as much time with him as possible, knowing his days were numbered. Nanny has tried her best to keep him healthy and just doesn't understand why he refused to eat. We explained that this was just a progression of his disease, but she remained optimistic. That's Nanny for you! After losing my Papa Red in 1989 to cancer, you can imagine my awful attitude towards the disease. I watched one grandfather lose his battle and I didn't want to have to watch this rerun. Thankfully, God knew that we did not need to witness this for a long time so He called him home today, May 20th at 2:22am. He was surrounded by his family just hours before and we felt a peace in his hospice room unlike any I'd ever experienced. When my Papa Red died, I was only 11. As a child, I was shielded from much of the ugliness of death and as an adult, I'd not experienced losing someone so close to me to a progressive illness. I wanted to be there every minute. I wanted to witness the hand of God taking a loved one to heaven. I missed it by only 4 hours. We made a decision to take my Nanny home for the evening to rest, as she had not been taking care of herself over the last 6 days. My dad and uncle Eric decided to stay the night with Jack. My phone rang early this morning and when I answered, I heard the soft voice of my dad say, "He isn't suffering anymore, AshPash. He's in heaven." I couldn't even cry (and if you know me, you know I am a CRIER!) I smiled and told Daddy that I was so thankful to know he was resting at the feet of Jesus and told him how glad I was that he and Eric stayed. He told me that Jack's passing wasn't easy but once he took his last breath, the room was filled with the Holy Spirit and the peace & comfort only a Heavenly Father could give. Dad followed it up with the sweetest comment: "You know, it isn't everyday that a man has 2 wonderful fathers, but I'm blessed to have been one of those people who did."
What a wonderful testimony. Jack will be missed by many and was loved by all he encountered during his 84 years. He will never truly know what a blessing he was to all of us and how he filled a void that we thought no one else could. Thankfully, God knew and sent him just in time.

Meltdown Monday

A "meltdown", as defined in Webster's Dictionary, is a breakdown of self-control (as from fatigue or overstimulation). That's exactly what I had yesterday. Let me set the scenario for you if I may:
I went to work as usual. It was a Monday, of course, which meant our schedule would be heavier than any other day of the week. There were a lot, and I mean OODLES of patients on the schedule, but we know that we can all work together to get the job done. By 7:50am, Susan, our "Master In Command" for the day, had already been to the front desk to make certain that we were all made aware that we were "under minimum staffing". In other words this meant that they let too many people off at the same time and/or too many people called in sick. By her supurb managerial attitude, the tone for the day had been set. Our department manager was asked to scan patients also to help with workflow issues. Fast forward this story by one hour. Around 9am there was a patient who had waited over 45 minutes for his test and still had not been called back. He had a meeting in High Point at 10am and needed to reschedule his test. When our manager saw that he, along with another patient by this time, had left due to a delayed wait time, she hit the roof! She immediately wanted to know why WE (the front desk idiots) had not informed the patients that they were understaffed and behind on tests! (BTW, that's not MY "the idiot" JOB!)
After being yelled at, which I can assure you goes over like a turd in a punchbowl with me, I heard all I cared to from her. She didn't bother to come in and say, "Good Morning" or "How's things going today?". Oh no, she just managed to jump down people's throats and act defensively when approached with a crisis. Some things will never change.
I managed to trudge through the day with a horrible attitude. FINALLY 3:30pm came and I clocked out as fast as I possibly could. I had to meet Zac so he could drop the church bus off for repairs and headed home shortly thereafter. All I wanted to do was clean my house. That's MY (the idiot's) therapy. :)
We walked in to door and Zac ordered me to lay down and rest. He could tell that the day had taken its toll on me. He could see it in my eyes. Again, ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS TO CLEAN MY HOUSE! Bless his heart, he has such good intentions of wanting to do things for me but after I bawled my eyes out and pitched a fit, he was scrubbing the tub and toilet while I cleaned the kitchen like nobody's business. He explained to me that he thought I had a problem with accepting authority. Hmm....maybe after reading this blog, I do have a problem!
My BFF in the whole.wide.world sent me a note saying that I needed a vacation. A REAL Vacation! Not one that I worked my fingers to the bone or was responsible for chaperoning youth, but a real-rootin'-tootin' vaca where I was just lazy! I'm going to work on scheduling that, but for now, Hilton Head with Lori and the other fun SCENTSational women will definitely do the trick! I'm looking forward to the road trip with Lori, talking, laughing....just getting to know her better. Road trips are my fave! I love the ride down almost as much as I do the vacation itself :) I'm weird, I know. While we're in HH, we're going to shop, walk around and (Squeals with excitement!!) we're going to SAVANNAH!!! I've always wanted to go there to soak it all in. We won't have long to do much, except eat at "The Lady & Sons", Paula Deen's restaurant, but I'm going to absorb all I can. Pictures will be uploaded to FB accordingly ;)
That's the highlight of my week. Just praying the panic attacks and nerves keep away for the remainder of this work-week. YIPPEEE for great weekends!

Surprise Party, Sleeping Late & Super Bowl

Shew! What a weekend already and it is only halfway over.
I'm sitting in my pj's on this cold, rainy Saturday with Pete laying across my feet (giving me NO wiggle room), Ellie snoring across the room as she basks in the heat of the living room register and Zac lounging on the other couch, wrapped up like burrito baby. I honestly can't believe that we slept until 10:30 this morning. WOW! I was just complaining yesterday about how I could sleep all day on a work day, but on Saturdays I wake up at 6:30am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Guess I proved myself wrong......is that possible? Anyway.....it is now 12:45pm and I've made no great strides. I've decided that laundry must be done so 2 loads have been completed. That's about all the effort I feel like putting forward today. Good times......being lazy. :)
Last night we went to East Coast Wings for Karlee & Kaytee's surprise 18th birthday. We hid in the backroom and when they came in we of course yelled the proverbial, "SURPRISE" thus scaring them along with everyone else in the back of the place. Kaytee turned around as if to head BACK out the door because she got nervous and then started to cry, while rubbing the "knot" out of her throat. It was hilarious. Karls didn't feel well as she's been sick all week, but she was happy to see everyone. I made a new BFF (sorry Jenn & Mer) while at the party and we talked hair, nails, boys and music. She loves Mt Dew, the color white and singing. We were meant to be friends. Who is the new-found friend? Katie Rowley. Well, excuse me, her given name it Kaitlyn Brooke Rowley. "I am 9 years old, in the 4th grade at Piney Grove Elementary and my favorite color is white. I have a boyfriend named Brock and he is cute, but he does not go to school with me. My brother doesn't like the fact that I have a boyfriend but he's just jealous."
These were her exact words to me after she ran up to me and hugged my neck.
She said, "I know the last time I really saw you, I was throwing up at VBS but I promise not to do that this year". I died laughing. She was a hoot.
After eating some of the best wings I've ever tasted and birthday cake, we left the party and headed to WalMart...on...a...Friday....night. I was quickly reminded WHY I avoid said place on Friday nights after we drove through the parking lot and spotted a nice, redneck family of 5 arguing to the top of their lungs. Surprisingly enough, not one of them dropped the cig that dangled from their mouths. Amazing, I know.
"We just have to get a few things for the week,.....ya know, bread, milk, cereal..." are the famous last words I spoke. With good intentions aside, our total came to $90. Now explain to me how bread and milk multiplies into a bamboo plate rack (for a Scentsy display idea) and much more groceries that I had no intentions of buying? I believe Sam Walton put some sort of voo-doo on that place that takes over your debit card without your knowledge. It is what it is and the groceries have been bought.
Today, we are headed to church around 2pm to get the bus ready for WinterJam tonight with Ignite Students. I'm very excited to go! The only downfall is that my BFF isn't going because the "sickness" has invaded her house and she and D have decided to lay low. Understandable but "BOOOOOO". WinterJam is our thing, ya know? I'll have to find a new "sangin' partner" to blare out my mad vocals with. I love concerts because no matter how badly you sing, you can belt it out as loud as possible and NO ONE cares because the music will always be louder than you!
Tomorrow is church, praise team, lunch, Scentsy meeting and SUPER BOWL PARTY, ( I made my very own Cheese-Head hat!)
I just wish the the weather would warm up.
More to come later....with Super Bowl updates of course.

Long Time, No Blog...

I know what you're thinking, "She is finally posting something to this ol' blog after almost 2 years?" and the answer is, "Yes!" I know my BFF will be so proud of me. She is an avid blogger and I love reading her blogs whenever I can. I, on the other hand, am not. "Hi! My name is Ashley and I'm a SLACKER."

After being invited to a new blog for us SCENTSational Gals called, "Shoot For The Moon", I thought that I'd pick back up where I left off and start blogging again.

First off let me say this. I can't figure out for the life of me how to set up my background, headers, footers, Gadgets....UGH!

Hopefully I will get this figured out enough to post a nice, long blog later! :)

Friday the 13th!

Would you believe that we ACTUALLY have patients that refuse to keep appointments on Friday the 13th? I am amazed! For the last 2 days, people have called in to reschedule for different reasons, but the old superstitious women who say, "Oh hunny, I just CAN'T come today! It's Friday, the 13th! Can I reschedule?" I just want to say, "Really? You're going to let a stupid old wivestale keep you in the house?" What do they think will happen?
My Nanny is one of the most superstitious people I know, so I can't be too hard on all of these others. She firmly believes you have to exit the same door you entered, you can't open umbrellas in the house, you absolutely positively CAN NOT for any reason wash clothes on New Year's Day, because you're washing "for a corpse", of course and other silly little things. She is so funny. I've tried to explain to her that there is no such thing as luck: good OR bad, but she is stuck in her ways. Her momma always abided by those rules and so will she.
She is supposed to be selling her old car today. She called last night to tell me that she will be picking it up this afternoon because she is to meet James at 3:00pm about the transaction. See, my Nanny's car WAS parked in my yard because we have a really good track record of quick sells on used cars! HAHAH! If only I could get commission for these cars!
When she called to tell me this, I immediately thought, "I can't believe she's going to do business on Friday the 13th." She didn't mention it, but I'm sure it crossed her mind. She was already in a tizzy over selling it to someone she knows. She doesn't like to do "business with friends" just in case something went wrong. She worries too much, but we all know that.
I guess I will see how her car selling went today. I'm sure I'll get the full scoop tonight at the party.
Take your precautions! Don't let Friday the 13th "git" ya!

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!"

Last night at church, we had a girl party for all of the youth. We started out the evening with worship and singing with Driven, the youth band, then we split up and went to our "Girls Secret Room" to start the party. We had to dress up with all of the garb Nikki and Casey provided and then we had to dance around. There were feather boas, masks, hats, spoons (for microphones, of course), skirts, shirts and wigs. It was hilarious!!! We all dressed up like the biggest goobers you've ever seen. I had on a clown hat with polka dots, a lime green sash, and pink pom-poms for my pigtails. We sang and danced around to Family Force 5, Barlow Girl, Jeremy Camp, MercyMe and acted just as silly as girls can act. We've never laughed so much either and sadly enough, we have pictures to prove this. I just know there will be some that show up on Myspace or Facebook. It is coming, I'm sure.
After acting silly and nerdy, we all had to fill in the blank with our own word. The statment was: "I Am Not _____ Enough". Most wrote: skinny, pretty, cool, smart, tall, loved, worthy, spiritual. Nikki taught a little lesson on how Satan gets into our head through tv, radio and friends and makes us feel completely unworthy of anything. In other words, he loves to make sure we know we aren't "Good Enough." God's word specifically says that we ARE worthy and "good enough". God made us in His image. He created us especially for man as a mate. He formed us from Adam's rib and formed Adam from the dust of the ground. He made us in his glory and honor. Isn't that awesome? We are perfect. We are beautiful. Just as the song says, "...we are precious in His sight...".

I Am Here...To Stay!

Well, I'm back to Blogger. I had a blog years ago on this site and decided to change to Xanga because at the time, it seemed more user friendly. I have recently decided since I know a lot more people on Blogger, I might as well make the switch.

Today is Wednesday. This has been a great week! I have really tried to start my day off with prayer more than I have been. It is the one area I slack in, prayer. I think sometimes I am so busy that I put praying on the back burner along with cleaning the bathroom. I never seem to "get around to it". I've made a committment to start each day off with prayer on the way to work and I can FEEL the difference. People at work have even noticed that I am more bubbly, as if that is even possible, than before. I attribute it all to prayer!
God is awesome! I am having a party on Friday for all of my girl friends and I am so excited! I have never hosted anything at my house like this, other than a chicken stew or birthday party. Last night, Zac and I were rearranging things and cleaning like no one else. I have thrown away and donated so many things to Goodwill just since January! Next year, at least I will have a little more to deduct! HAHA! I called mom last night to ask her to make some dip and sweet tea and called Meredith to make her famous buffalo chicken dip to bring. I know we are going to have a ball on Friday night! I hope the weather stays warm because I plan on having the party in my sunroom/porch thingy...I really don't know the name of it. Well, I hope this day is wonderful for you all too.
Until next time...