Oh, Wally World

I generally make it a rule of thumb to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. When you go there, it's almost like entering a complete new universe. My local Wally World is the worst of the worst. It's small and it's always crowded. No matter what time you go, what day of the week- the masses are always there. And of course, there are only 3 cashier lanes open at any given time, so the line is always 20 people deep to check out.

I always pick out the rickety buggy with the one bum wheel that squeaks and moans like it's going to fall off at any given moment. Plus, it pulls to one direction or the other, so you have to push it sideways to make it go in a half-way straight line. It. Never. Fails. Then you have to drive like a Nascar driver to get around all of the oblivious people that must make Wal-Mart their one weekly activity that they relish- and take their dear time getting what they need. When I go in, I have a mission. I get in and I get out. No messing around to browse and shop. No thank you. I try to be courteous and get out of people's way if I am in front of something they need. I don't park my buggy in the middle of the aisle and chit chat with someone else, blocking the whole aisle. And don't even get me started on the children in there. It's like parents around the world feel that Wal-Mart is the discipline free zone and allow their kids to go buck wild in there, and harass the other shoppers. It's pure madness, I tell ya. Those Finding Bigfoot people should change their tactics of where they look for those things. I have a feeling there is probably a squatch or two lurking around a random Wal-Mart somewhere and the sad thing is, that no one would even notice. Heck, I bet one of them is actually featured on that People of Wal-Mart website. It's the perfect place to go purchase some Jack Links for a squatch. I digress.

I say all of this as a preface, just so you know- I don't do Wal-Mart. So, the fact that David and I went in there on Saturday is kind of a big deal and pigs were probably flying overhead while we were in there. The only reason we went in there was to go get the new Twilight DVD. I never saw it while it was in the theater and David was going to be sweet and watch it with me. Needless to say, there wasn't a single one on the shelf. Zip. Nada. None. I would say that they had sold out, but I really just have a feeling that someone was too lazy to restock the shelf. Strike one for this Wal-Mart adventure. Strike two was it taking 20 minutes to check out. Ridiculous.

However, there was a couple of redeeming things about this trip. One of those redeeming qualities really, had zero to do with Wal-Mart itself.

Yes, you see that correctly. It's the happiest time of the year! Girl Scout cookie time! Sadly, we were informed that there were no Thin Mint cookies to be found in Thomas County. They were all sold out. But I was still thrilled with our loot nonetheless- sans Thins Mints and all.
If you also notice in my picture, there are a few yellow colored drops of joy included.

I was so delighted to see that Wal-Mart had some Meyer Lemons for sale. Totally made my day. I love these bad boys. They are sooooo much better than the regular lemons that you normally buy at the grocery store. Usually, you have to beg some off of people who have a Meyer Lemon tree in their yard to get your hands on these things. So that really made the horrendous trip to Wal-Mart worth it all. I turned the proverbial lemons into lemonade, but for real!

Miss Me?!?

Well, howdy strangers! I have taken quite the blogging break, have I not? Life is just clicking along rapidly here lately, and I haven't taken the time to sit down and blog. It's a habit that I have gotten out of, but hopefully, I will try and get back in the swing of things.

I figured that I would just do a quick little post about what's been happening in my neck of the woods lately. Which I have to admit, isn't much!

Let's see...I've traveled to Dallas for work. It was a quick 3 day trip and boy was I a tired pup when I got back! We got a lot accomplished while we were there.

 We met with two of our biggest clients, whose headquarters are both based out of Dallas. One of our meetings went very well and it looks like I will get to be in Vegas for my birthday, since we are going to be a sponsor of their annual GM conference. Think that should be a good way to ring in the big 3-2. Thunder from Down Under, anyone? I kid.

 We were able to find a new office for the Dallas staff while we were there. So basically, lots of meetings and lots of looking at properties. The office we finally settled on is quite "Texan" as you can see in the picture below.

When you have a longhorn in your hammered sink- you are quite the fan! I got to pick out some furniture and stuff for the conference room and we are going with a nice southwestern theme since the interior flooring, etc has that vibe. I almost pulled the trigger on a cow-skinned rug for that room, but decided not to get too crazy. (that made me think of Bon Qui Qui for some reason. "Welcome to King Burger, where you can have it your way. But don't get crazy.)

So that's the work front.  Oh- my boss decided to play a prank on me.

Yeah, he got his tow truck buddy to come act like he was there to repo my car. It was one of those situations that I knew there was no way my car was up for repo, but it still freaked me out. Randy even took the time to type up a ghetto looking repo notice. We all had a good laugh, and now I'm racking my brain to think of pay back.

David and I have been taking things easy here of late. About the only big thing we have attended was the Rattlesnake Roundup back in January. We are wild! We have had a few warm weekends and we do take full advantage of those when they come along.

We invested in a yard golf set. David and I can get pretty heated during a match! Moxley on the other hand hopes we miss, so he can steal the balls!

We have also enjoyed taking the pups for nice long walks around Ft. Pulaski. I love it out there. So pretty (and historical to boot!).

Speaking of dog walking, I have a new project. Operation Brutus Maximus. That is because his gluteous maximus is at a maximum. He is a chunk. Mimi has fed him well. Between the all you can eat buffet and him not letting JJ eat, he has grown quite large. So, I have him at the house and he is now on a diet and exercise regime.

He doesn't look too bad from this angle.

The aerial view tells another story. He's a sweet boy and enjoys his walks. So he will be back on track soon, even if he feels like I'm starving him to death!

My favorite moment from last weekend was watching my mom teach Barrett how to make biscuits. It was so cute.

There's just something about watching grandmothers teach their grandchildren that is so special.

Well, that's all that has been happening in my world of late. Hopefully this post will light a fire under my butt and make me blog more.

ta-ta for now!

Hunka, Hunka Burnin' Love

Happy Valentine's Day from me and my hunk of burning love!

I decided to update this post, since I've had the best Valentine's Day today, and it's only 3:00! I got to spend some time with my favorite valentine, my mother! She came all the way to Tallahassee to come eat lunch with me and to bring me and Oscar our Valentine Day gifts. Yes, I'm 31 and my mom still buys me stuff for V-day. I'm a lucky girl, what can I say? But the best present she gave me was simply herself. I'm glad she came to see me today and she got to have lunch with me and Oscar.

Mom went all out. Chocolates, ring pops (one of my personal faves), nerds, chocolate dipped pretzels, lollipops, and a gorgeous pair of earrings. You name it, it's in the bag! My sweet, sweet daddy knows his baby girl and made sure mom had packed me in some Peeps cause he knows I love them. (Love you, daddy!!)
Mom wasn't the only one who spoiled me, David sent me 2 dozen roses to work. I'm such a lucky lady. Oscar and I are headed straight to Savannah after I get off work to spend a long weekend with my main squeeze. 

So I am truly feeling the love today.

xoxo,
Ashley

It's Never Too Late

Or maybe it is too late to share a few Christmas photos with you all! Whether it's too late or not, that's what I'm offering ya today. I don't think I ever even posted a picture of my Christmas tree. #epicfail

So, here are a few shots of my tree. I was really excited to put up a Christmas tree again this year, since my last one I put up was 2010. So I was overdue to pull all of my stuff out and get crackin'. Sadly, I lost a few large ornaments due to all the moving those things endured.

It's really hard to take pictures of a Christmas tree in the middle of the night, I tell ya! It was way more beautiful in person than these pictures give credit for. I boycotted the ribbon on the tree this year, simply because it made me mad when I went to redo the bow for the top and it ended up looking like it had been maimed in some horrendous accident. Nope. Just me and my lack of Martha Stewartness.
David got into town on the Friday before Christmas. So, we were able to have a little Christmas time on our own.

 If you notice, Oscar is very interested in what David is doing. He's waiting to open a present himself!

 Finally, he gets his opportunity to open a present. I'm sure he was very thankful to David to let him open his present!

Oscar had been a bad boy a few days prior to this. While I was at work, he got into the presents under the tree, found the ones I had wrapped for him, Moxley, Brutus, and JR (yes, I wrap dog toys and yes, it's weird, but they love opening them!). Needless to say, when I got home, there was wrapping paper everywhere, two bones eaten, and the stuffing pulled out of a toy. He got put on the naughty list :-)

Oscar was all into the opening of the presents this day, until he realized that all David had gotten was a toothbrush. Not interested in that one!

Ok..guess due to picture overload, I will break this up into several posts. So you may see the next one today, or you know, June sometime.

Lazy Dog Days

My time for blogging has really taken a back seat. This is the reason why:

Work keeps me super busy. So busy, I usually end up taking it home with me in the evenings. Hence, not a lot of time for blogging. But I need to rectify that! I still haven't even blogged about Christmas yet. (Sorry mom!) Anywho....

I thought I would blog about our little trip to the marsh this weekend because I want to remember it. David and I have become very geriatric and hermit-like it seems. We are perfectly content to stay at home and relax on the weekends and I am perfectly a-ok with that one! We did take the boys out for an adventure to the marsh. David lives right on a tidal marsh and when the tide was low, we took the two dogs out and let them run around and explore.

I am a true Florida girl through and through and thinks that my part of the world is the prettiest, but I do appreciate the beauty of coastal Georgia and its marshlands. Moxley and Oscar really appreciated running through the mud, rolling around in it and chasing the fiddler crabs!

I think Oscar has missed being at his grandparent's house and getting to be a "country" dog and getting dirty. He had an absolute blast. I have never seen so many crabs running around in my life. I wished I had brought my good camera to capture all of them and the pictures I took with my phone didn't really capture them that well.

Thankfully, neither he nor Mox ended up with a crab clamped down on their noses! After our romp in the marsh, they of course were filthy! Luckily, a quick swim in the pond out front rectified that and they both came out clean enough. Oscar did have to get in the tub due to his short status and the grass he picked up on the way back from the pond, which he was mad about, but I think his trip was worth the dreaded bath! I too got a little muddy, but it was worth it to walk around such beautiful scenery with some of my favorite boys. Plus, I got a good mud exfoliation on my feet. Added bonus. That's a spa treatment for free, my friends!

Ferris Bueller Called and He Wants His Glasses Back

Glasses? Glasses? Glasses?

An empty case. That's all I have to show. Because what goes in the case has now disappeared. Vanished.  Yep. I am filling out a missing persons report on my Wayfarers as we speak. I'm praying the worst has not happened.

The only explanation I can come up with is that Ferris Bueller magically appeared, went through my purse, and stole them. The two deviants are now enjoying a fun day off from school together watching ball games, dancing at parades and the like. It can't be that I lost them. Nah! Not just two short weeks after I bought them. Impossible!

I think that after this incident, I have learned that me and Mr. Ray Ban are not compatible. The last pair I purchased were aviators and those wound up committing suicide by jumping off my head and shattering the lenses into a million pieces on the tile floor. Now these have decided to up and walk off. I give up.

I've had colds that have lasted longer than those sunglasses. Sigh...

How is it already 2013?!?

I saw this ecard and it made me laugh. It is so me! So, this year no lists were made, resolutions decided upon, or goals that I want to accomplish. I appreciate having a new year and the thought that it is kinda like a restart button. To stop, reflect, regroup, and refocus. I have done those things to some extent, but not to the point where I feel like I have to make some unrealistic resolution to accomplish the things I want to do. So, I'm boycotting this year. We will see how I feel in 2014 :-)

I can't believe how quickly 2012 passed by. I remember as a child, the year seemed endless. Summers stretched on and on and the school year, stretched even longer. But the older I get, time clicks away with a furious pace. I'm sure 2013 will fly by as well!

So, here's wishing you all a very happy {belated} New Year!