Hello

Hello, Monday. I'm recovering from another night of insomnia (ugh!) so there's that.

In that vein of thought... hello, coffee. =)

Hello, my sweet little buddy that I got to hang out with after far too long. I love this crazy girl!




















Hello, pretty necklace I'm so happy I bought. (Materialism strikes again.) Also, weird straggly hairs. #awkward


Hello, red cups. Mainstream? You bet. I'll never stop loving caramel apple spice or peppermint mocha. 


Hello, quirky little Christmas panda I found for Amanda. He looks slightly deranged but that's okay. =)

Hello, proof that I got dressed (in actual outfits) three days in a row last week. 




















Hello, best friend pictures taken on the same night five years apart. (Short hair was not a good look for me.)

Hello, gorgeous fall leaves. As eager as I am for Christmas to arrive, I'm kind of dreading all the trees looking bare for the next several months, especially if there's no snow to make them pretty.


Also, hello, awesome church services yesterday, music that just made my heart full, a (close!) win for Bama this weekend, and sweet people we met at our mission service last night. Hello, our annual Christmas list date, progress on my book (baby steps, but still!), and a stack of library books to plow through this week. Hello to Christmas choir music, Christmas shopping, and Christmas movies on Netflix. (Also, You've Got Mail was just added and I might have been jumping up and down like a child. I.love.this.movie.) 

Most of all, hello, my dear friends. I'm so lucky you keep coming by. Have a lovely week. =)


Ash
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Follow Friday

If you're not on Twitter, you really should be. It's probably my favorite social media platform, mostly because you can not only follow tons of cool people but also interact with them. (The day Danielle Fishel from Boy Meets World shared my blog post was an amazing day indeed.) I've also had interactions with some of my favorite authors, Stacy London, Tim Conway (!!!), and Patricia Heaton. I'm not saying any of this to be like, "Look at me and my cool tweeting self," because a ton of people chat with celebrities on Twitter... that's why it's so great!

 Anyway, there's a "thing" on Twitter called "Follow Friday" and the point is to recommend other accounts to your followers. So, here are a few of my favorites that you should totally be following too.


 -Pat Sajak (@patsajak)- not only is he the host of our beloved Wheel of Fortune, but he's a conservative (who knew?) and makes hilarious observations about politics (and really great jokes about Wheel.) 

-Will Friedle (@willfriedle)- it's Eric from Boy Meets World! (Think I'm a fan yet?) He just joined Twitter recently and keeps me laughing. It's seriously like Eric in real life. Ha! I love it.

Best first tweet EVER. (It's like the Feeny call, obviously.)
-Jon Acuff (@JonAcuff)- I could also list Jon under "inspirational" people to follow because there's definitely plenty of motivational talk but most of his tweets are really, really funny. I retweet him obnoxiously but I can't help it. 


 -Laura Guelfi (@LauraMGuelfi)- this is my friend (the one I just had lunch with!) and she is SO funny. Oh my word. It's a shame that everyone can't hang out with her all the time (because she's even more hysterical in person) but Twitter is a good dose of her humor. Also expect a little politics thrown in for good measure. =)

-Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan)- um, one of the funniest comedians ever. Seriously. My favorite tweets of his are always about food (which says more about me than I care to admit.)


-The Honest Toddler (@HonestToddler)- the first time I came across this account I ended up in tears from laughing so hard. Oh my word. I love it and I don't even have kids. It's totally worth looking up and reading through the archives! 

There you go... a few new funny people to follow! And while you're following people, look me up too... @ashleybmcneese. =) (#shamelessplug)


Ash

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Happy Wednesday

Since I'm a hermit not working/going out too much these days, I get excited when I have a reason to put on a real outfit and leave the house. Exciting times, ya know? And yes, I realize that just because I don't have a real reason to get dressed up every day, I probably shouldn't be constantly lounging in my flannel pj's and tank that says, "Sleep is my cardio." (True story.) However, it IS nice to actually have something on my schedule that gives me a reason to plan an outfit. 

Enter my lunch date today, where I met my friend Laura (who is theeee funniest person ever, seriously) at this amazing little Panera-like bakery and we talked and talked and ate massive bread samples and I embarrassed myself laughing. (You know when you're around a really funny person and you know you're laughing so hard that you look stupid but it's so funny that you can't stop so you just sound like a maniacal teenager giggling nonstop? That was me today. I couldn't help it.) We talked about books and writing (she is totally my writing mentor and will be mentioned in the acknowledgments of my first book, whenever that may be) and crazy bloggers and politics and ALL THE THINGS. It was glorious. 

SO I've always been bad about "saving" outfits but I've kind of gotten worse since before I would at least see people at school every day but now I can literally wear something all day and no one will see it... so why bother? I've had this outfit planned in my head for a while though and today was the perfect special occasion for it. (Having lunch with a friend, no matter how special the friend, is considered a special occasion to me so that gives you a good look at my social life these days. Ha!) 

I've been eyeing this shirt for a long, long time. It's one of those things that doesn't really fall into any specific area of my closet (basics, dressy, needs, etc.) but I was just drawn to the colors and the pattern and I tend to get tunnel vision about clothes (there's a ridiculous story along those lines coming to you soon) and this shirt was that way. So when it finally went on clearance I swooped in and snatched it up. I love J.Crew tshirts because they fit really well (not tight but not huge) and last forever. If you can snag one on clearance it's worth the money! I can't wait to wear this one with my many different cardigans. 


I've come to grips with how ankle boots look on me and I've started wearing them anyway. 


Not so flattering without the help of my magic mirror, eh? (#thisismyreallife)

Shirt: J.Crew Factory (cheaper in-store)
Cardigan: Forever 21 (under $9 and they have a ton of colors)
Skirt: Old Navy (similar)
Boots: Belk (last year)



Necklace: Also J.Crew Factory (and an elephant because REPUBLICANS, y'all. Woo!)




And the lady herself. She's the bomb!

It's been a great afternoon, folks. Sometimes you just need to hang out with someone who gets you and makes you laugh, eat yummy food, and laugh at weirdos on Instagram. (And, you know, have an excuse to get dressed. Win!) 

Happy Wednesday!


Ash

Linked up with Lindsay!




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Seasons

If you've been following along for the past couple months, you know that my life has changed pretty radically since August... and that I haven't exactly made a seamless transition into this new chapter. Isn't it funny that in 2013, my word of the year was contentment? I try very hard to keep things in perspective and I know that most of what I "struggle" with is a laugh compared to the trials of others, but it's still been a rocky few months while I navigate the waters of this "new normal." (The following paragraph is plagiarized from myself straight from Instagram, so if it sounds familiar then you've probably already read it. =)




It's hard to believe that today is November 1 and the holiday season is upon us (yay!). This time last year I was directing two programs, teaching, and busier than I'd ever been in my life. I would have given anything for a slower pace! And now I'm definitely on the other end of the spectrum with a whole lot of free time and not very many responsibilities... And I'm missing the frantic rush of it all! This morning I listened to a message called "Seasons" by Cary Schmidt (download the podcast... It's a good one!) and was convicted by the reminder to not only be content in each season of life, but also to love and cherish each one. Wow! That's a whole lot easier said than done, and I have to admit that I have not done a good job of it here lately, but the sermon was just the reminder I needed after a good little chunk of time feeling sorry for myself.

So, instead of being sad that I am literally living the schedule I would have killed for a year ago, I decided to put on my favorite scarf, get a peppermint mocha frap (yes!!!), and explore the beautiful new Christmas aisles at Target (which of course led to a different kind of discontentment. :) The point is that life rarely is in the season we want it to be... But then that season passes and we wish for it back. When I was engaged, I wanted to be married. When I got married, I wanted to have a baby. (Well, I still want that, but all in good time.) When your kids are little, you wish they were bigger and when they grow up you wish they hadn't. It goes on and on! I'm praying not just for contentment but also the ability- with the Lord's help- to love and cherish my current season, the one He's placed me in "for such a time as this."

Season's (see what I did there?) Greetings! 

And expect a whole lot of holiday cheer around here for the next two months because it is CHRISTMAS time, folks! That's a season I can celebrate, no matter what.





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A Successful Library Trip

I wanted to kill time in my endless day go to the library this afternoon totally forgot that my card was in our car, with Jonathan, at work. 

 *Time out- this is AFTER I woke up this morning with blood all over my pillow. There's nothing like coming out of a deep sleep and feeling like you're in a murder scene. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I was frantically trying to discover the source of the carnage and found that it had come from my completely gashed-up lip. Who knows how that happened?! It was a less-than-leisurely way to start the day, needless to say. So maybe I just needed a nice, relaxing outing. Time in.*

 I ran over anyway to drop off my books (just in time!) and hoped that we could come back later. (I say "hope" because for some mysterious reason my husband doesn't really love following me around the library while I load myself down with yet another bagful of books.) Anyway, I persuaded him to drop me off tonight on his way to get a haircut and I was inspired on the way over to look at the movie section, something I've never bothered with before. 

 Our local library in California had, seriously, the most incredible movie section with an unbelievably awesome selection of classics. Every library I've been to since has been a letdown, so I've just stuck to the books. However, I've been in a Broadway mood ALL day (ask anyone who saw me jamming to Wicked in my car) and I was itching for a good musical. (Sadly my actual movie collection is pitifully small... one day I'm robbing my parents blind.) Anyway, I hit the JACKPOT at the library and made myself narrow my choices down to five so that I didn't become a complete zombie for the next couple days. 


High Society, Good News, Holiday Inn, The King and I, and Oklahoma! I could die of happiness. 

If I could add to this list, I'd include State Fair, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. You just can't beat a great musical. (Also I'm enjoying these while Mamaw's out of town since she doesn't like "all that singing." I'm nothing if not a good granddaughter.) 


AND even though I wasn't even planning on checking out books (I already have Killing Lincoln and Life of Pi waiting on my Kindle), I just couldn't help myself and came out with a new stack just like always. Now I've got my coffee and I'm bundled up in a sweatshirt and looking obnoxiously jolly: 


I'm all settled in for the night (and possibly the weekend.) The headphones are because Jonathan is has an unsophisticated entertainment palate and did not want to watch (or sing) along with me. Oh well... his loss! Here's to escaping reality for hours at a time! =)  

Ash

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My Perfect (Non-Scary) Halloween Night

I've never been super into Halloween, mostly because I don't care for bats or spiders and I find even some animated movies extremely scary. I do love a good costume party, though, and I'm a sucker for themed outfits/food/color schemes. (I practically got weepy tonight in Walmart looking at the pumpkin sugar cookies I bought to make for my students last year.) 



Looking festive at school for Halloween '13

 SO with Halloween it's a little festive and silly but still fun as long as it's not scary, and if I could come up with my perfect Halloween celebration it would look something like this: 

 -caramel apples- I guess you could get all fancy and melt the caramel or whatnot, but I always buy those wraps for like $2 and they're fine, thankyouverymuch. Or if you're not into taking giant bites of sticky fruit and getting juice all down your chin (or is that just me being six years old?) you go REALLY convenient and buy those caramel apple suckers.  Classy, right?


-chili- my husband thinks soup is strictly cold weather food, and while I can't always buy into that logic, I do agree when it comes to chili. Try my super easy recipe if you're so inclined. Cheese and crackers on top and WOW. It's insanely good and lasts for days- my kind of food! It seems like every Halloween/fall gathering includes some kind of chili cookoff so this feels appropriate. Mine won't win any contests but it's still yummy. =)

 -candy, duh- I'm usually not a "sweets" person, but come on... it's practically constitutional law to consume obscene amounts of candy this time of year. I'm talking chocolate, though, not that candy corn nonsense. I'm not against eating triangle-shaped molds of high fructose corn syrup and Yellow 5, but it's a little too sweet for me. 

 -a good Halloween episode/movie-I like watching holiday episodes of my favorite TV shows since it's festive but not as time-consuming as a movie so you can squeeze more in/not stay up so late. *old lady alert!* My episode pick would HANDS DOWN be Psych Season 5 Episode 11, "In Plain Fright." Not only is this episode about a Scarefest- and it's the beginning of Shawn and Jules's relationship, SIGH- but it will always have a special place in my heart because it was the very first episode I ever watched and the one that led to a deep and borderline-obsessive love that has been well-documented here. For a movie? You know I don't do scary, so even though there are puh-lenty of horrifying options out there, I'd have to say To Kill a Mockingbird. I know it's not really a Halloween movie but it's just wonderful and it ends around Halloween, so there. Oh, and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! is a given. 

 -the right costume, of course!- A few years ago Jonathan and I dressed up as Rob and Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was awesome. I really wanted us to host a dinner party and sing Mountain Greenery for the guests but refrained. Next time some friends can join us as Buddy and Sally? Blake? Brook? 

Da da da da da da da dum, da da dum, da da da da da da da da da dum. (Trips over ottoman)

 This year I was totally gunning for Lorelai and Luke (ah, what should have been!) but since I planned our trunk-or-treat theme around The Great Pumpkin we went the Charlie Brown and Lucy route. I thought about being Peppermint Patty and calling Jonathan "Chuck" all evening but I think I'm a little better typecast as Lucy, don't you? =)(Also, WHY does Peppermint Patty look and sound like a boy? Hmm?) Other couples costumes could include Fiyero and Elphaba (go green!), Jack Kelly and Katherine Plummer (or Sarah, if you're a bigger fan of Newsies the movie than the show), or Bonnie and Clyde (my friend Georgette did this with her husband this year and it's adorable, plus who doesn't want to dress like a flapper? I'd like to think we could pull off a Laura Osnes/Jeremy Jordan look? Shawn and Jules? Ron and Hermoine? The possibilities are endless.) 

 So, there you have it. Since Halloween falls on a weekend and Jonathan gets off work fairly early this week, I think I'll be able to put together this little scenario quite nicely this Friday. Woohoo! Stay spooky, my friends.
Ash
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A Few Exceptionally Good Books

I've read a ton since school got out last year haven't reported on each book like I intended to. (Plus the note with my entire reading list somehow got wiped from my phone... I'm still really bitter about it!) Anyway, here are just a few titles that I couldn't shut up about. They're worth checking out, I promise!


-The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown: I read this after reading Unbroken since I knew the timelines overlap quite a bit. It's not really comparable in my opinion since there is so much heavy material in Unbroken (even though this book isn't exactly a fairy tale, for sure.) But I loved it and cried like a baby when it was over. It's the true story of the 1936 Olympic rowing team from the University of Washington. I was blown away by the demands rowing puts on an athlete, it seamlessly wove the storylines together (including a subplot about Nazi Germany and the elaborate cover-up of the Jewish oppression that had already begun), and reading all the descriptions of places I've actually been in the Pacific Northwest was icing on the cake.

 -These Is My Words by Nancy Turner: I read this in August and I was heartbroken when the time came to return it. This is one of those books that I reread passages of over and over (and should probably just buy my own copy.) It's a little surprising that I loved it as much as I did, since all I could think for the first couple chapters was, "Does ANYTHING happen in this book that isn't tragically awful?" (The answer is yes.) It's the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, a young pioneer girl who documents her life on the frontier from the age of 17 to her mid-thirties. Apparently there are more books in this series but I'm almost afraid to read them and spoil how much I love this one.... it's just a spectacular love story. I recommended it to Brook and was thrilled that she loved it as much as I did. 

 -The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine: I loved this story about a young girl living in Little Rock, Arkansas, a year after the first high school integration in the 1960's. Marlee has never really dealt with racial issues before, but after her first true best friend is taken from her and she sees the ugly side of racism for the first time, it becomes clear that standing up for right is her only choice, no matter how hard and dangerous it is. A great middle grade novel (and I'd suggest Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith as a YA companion read.)

 -Wonder by R.J. Palacio: I saw this book at Sam's this summer and glanced at the cover but didn't skim enough to get an idea of what it was about. Finally I checked it out before our road trip a few weeks ago and I thought it was excellent. It's hard to write about a subject as heavy as a middle school boy with a serious facial deformity, and while it has its seriously sad moments,  this book is funny and sweet. The mini-sequel, The Julian Chapter, is an absolutely perfect and poignant conclusion. You have to read both! 

 -After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick: After reading Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, which I loved, I checked out the sequel about Jeffrey, a boy who survived childhood cancer, and loved it even more than the first book, written from the perspective of his brother Steven. These books have the perfect sarcastic tone (right up my alley) and since the entire premise is built on a writing assignment in English class, I had a special place in my heart for the story right off the bat. You wouldn't think a book about a kid with cancer would be funny, but I laughed my head off the entire time. Obviously Drums is the first book, but the sequel was my favorite.

 -Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly: I read this at Jonathan's aunt's house and it was absolutely fascinating. I've been on a bit of a WWII kick anyway, so the details surrounding Patton's suspicious death and all the background information about Patton's military career and the way he was treated for his rather outspoken (that's an understatement) views was really interesting. It blew my mind, all the horrible, horrible stuff that happened and the absolutely horrifying way that people were treated. Reading about this time period in general makes me feel like the world's biggest brat for ever complaining about anything when in comparison I have absolutely no concept of human suffering. There were definitely parts that were hard to get through but since it's history and it really happened, I think it's important to be knowledgeable about it. Now I've got Killing Lincoln waiting on my Kindle and I hope it's just as good!

 So there are a few titles you should totally read (and then tell me so we can talk about them... I'm dying to spill my guts to someone other than Jonathan, and he'll thank you too, I promise.) 
Ash
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