Where did my sunshine go?

Sheridan had some lovely thunderstorms today, with some hail and a couple of funnel clouds and flash flood warnings. I'm blogging in the Hoffmann's basement, a blanket over my legs. Silly Ashlee didn't think to pack a lot of warm clothes! In fact, I think my thought process while packing went something like this:

"Going home, yay! What do I need for home? Oh, the shoes for my mom's wedding! And after the wedding...VEGAS! What do I need for Vegas? I need THIS and THAT and THIS and THOSE SHOES and THIS TOP....where did all my room go? Oh well, I'm set!"

I sort of forgot those five days that I would be spending in Sheridan. So I have a lot of shorts, skirts, and cute outfits...but not warm ones! Oh well. You live and you learn. And I've learned that next time I just might fork over that extra cash so that I can have a bigger suitcase on the plane instead of packing only carry-ons!

On the very bright side of things, it was so nice to see everyone again. I got to spend the day with my absolutely lovely and adorable neice. I'll be posting some pictures later. My goodness does she have a personality!

Unfortunately, I need to finish up some of the homework for my summer classes, so I should probably stop blogging for tonight and either 1) get some sleep since we had to wake up at 3:30am to get our flight this morning or 2) work on my homework so that I don't have to do it when everyone else is hanging out.

Oh, and here's to hoping that Titus is enjoying the warmth of our house!

Airport Gates

Well, here we are.

Going Home

It's like the night before Christmas...except over 90 degrees. Instead of sleeping in bed with sweet dreams, we're finishing the final touches to our luggage and making sure our cat has enough food.

I'm so excited to see everyone again!

More Mobile Testing

I just want to get this working. You have my apologies for the posting spam!

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Mobile blog test incoming. Can Ashlee handle this?

Phone Post - Take Two

Sundays

Can I just say that I love the calm and tranquility that seems to prevail on Sundays? After an exciting weekend, there's something that is just refreshing about Sunday afternoons.

Of course, it could just be the whole "calm before the storm" sense that is tingling. After all, tomorrow is Monday and there is a lot to be done. I'm going shopping! I need to buy little Audrey a dress to wear to my mom's wedding. If there's anyone in town who is up for some sort of whirlwind shopping (since there are several things I need to accomplish), give me a call!

Then tomorrow night comes the packing - yes, Mom, I still pack the night before trips. It's a habit I've come to cherish.

You know, as I sit here and write this, I can't help but think of the movie we watched the other night. Julie's blogging had a definitive purpose. Mine...not so much. At the same time, I don't think I'm ready to commit to a goal or focus to my blog. That might constrain whatever natural and creative tendencies could result from this blog. But who knows, maybe someday my blog will be known for its critiques of novels, or its keen insight into political stories. Hmmm...

I rather like the idea of it just being my random little corner of the internet, actually.

Here's to a slow and steady Sunday in preparation for the week to come!

Birthday post

Well, it's now 2:50 in the morning. I tried to post this post from my new phone, but apparently I'm not as adept at it as I would like to be. I'm now on the computer using a good old-fashioned keyboard to type the post. Maybe I'll figure out phone-posting tomorrow. Todd bought me a new phone for my birthday (a Samsung Omnia), which is absolutely great because I really did need a different phone. This one has a touch-screen, which is what I really wanted. And hey, maybe you'll be seeing posts when I figure out how to make it work.

Speaking of posts and blogging, Todd and I watched 'Julie and Julia' last night. It was a good movie and now I think that we're going to buy Julia Child's cookbook. I want to learn to cook all those amazing dishes (although can you really see me boning a duck?).

What I had meant to post about originally was the phenomenon of acting younger on your birthday. Here I am, turning 23, and my day was amazing - but also full of younger activities. For example, we went to a water park in the morning. And then we went clubbing tonight (which is why I'm posting at almost 3am). I guess that just says that Todd and I are young at heart.

Speaking of young at heart...I'm tired now. So I might go to bed and sleep until noon. Because that's how I roll.

Just kidding - I'm sure that my inner alarm clock won't let me sleep much past 9am these days!

More tomorrow on my birthday festivities. Thank you all for your warm wishes. You helped to make my birthday a spectacularly wonderful day!

I love birthdays!

My family and friends have an amazing way of making me feel special. Thank you all so much!

Becoming Nocturnal?

It might sound a little crazy, but I am actually considered returning to my college habit of living a nocturnal lifestyle for the summer. Here's my reasoning:

1) The heat. Oh my goodness, the heat. The weatherman says that we can say goodbye to the double digits for a while - triple heat, from now on! It was 107 degrees here today and it's only slated to get warmer. Now, if I woke up at, say, 5pm, I could go out for an evening swim before starting my "daily" activities. Plus, we don't like keeping the house super cold - it costs too much. So during the summer evenings, the thermostat is set for 82 degrees. During the day-time, when electricity costs more, the thermostat is set for 88 degrees. Now, I don't know about you, but it's hard to get motivated to do housework when it's so hot inside! The hotter is is, the more lethargic I feel. So if I haven't sent you emails recently, you know why!

2) Electricity. Todd and I are doing a "Time-of-Usage" plan for our utilities. This means that we are charged a lower rate when we use electricity in the off-times, and a higher rate when we use it during the high usage times. So, during the summer, this means that electricity costs more between 1pm and 8pm. So, if I become nocturnal and do things at night (i.e. laundry, dishwasher, vacuuming, etc.) I will be using electricity during the low times. 

So, we'll see. There's a lot going on during the day here too, so we might not. But Todd and I are talking about it and he's said that he could go into work later, which would help us to be more active during the cooler evening hours.

And cooler is very subjective. After all, there will be times when the low at night is still in the 90's. 

Lucky us! 

P.S. This post should in no way be taken as a complaint about living here. I still love the sunshine and I still love my pool. ^_^ 

The days of summer...

Summer's here and I'm actually staying pretty busy. I was thinking about it today and, while I have more time to relax, I'm also volunteering for more Teach For America things. Need a volunteer for Induction? Sure, why not! Oh, I have to attend a training for that? Emailing and calling members?Sure, why not! Register the car, hunny? Sure, why not! On top of that, I'm becoming a regular housewife with making dinner and doing chores. Well, sort of. Maybe. Okay, it's kind of hard to dredge up the motivation to do housework when it's so hot in the house but I'm working on it! We minimize the AC we use during the day-time when electricity costs more. But I'm getting some stuff done (like fried rice tonight with chicken and veggies in it, yummy!). 

In a way though, I'm thankful for the different tasks to do, because I think that after days and days of lounging, I might actually get a little bored. I know, those are crazy thoughts. But really, doing chores each day helps me to continue to value my free time. Plus, the sense of accomplishment is kind of nice when I can cross those tasks off of my google-calendar task list!  It keeps my relaxation time relaxing instead of just another routine. That way, I don't take it for granted. 

Speaking of relaxation, I've been doing a bit of reading these last few days. I started reading some books by Cecilia Dart-Thornton. The belong in my usual fantasy genre, but she writes in a very unique way. She spends a lot of time describing details in an eloquent/verbose manner. It seems natural to her, but to me it almost looks like she kept looking in a thesaurus to replace common words with bigger and better synonyms. At first, I'll admit, I was a little put off by the writing style. But now I'm well into the third book and I think that it's alright. It doesn't make for the easiest reading (I actually have to concentrate a bit when I read!) but I have learned some new vocabulary words! The storyline is pretty decent too. I'll let you know if I decide to recommend it. 

And that's it for tonight. Just some little thoughts before I head off to bed. After all, I have to get up sort of early in order to drop Todd off at work and make it to my training in the morning! 

Fixed!

The comments are fixed for now! A more "polished" fix might be coming later.