Mmmm.

You know what this weather makes me want to do?

Put Colbie Calliat on repeat.

Grab a good book.

Sit on the porch in a rocking chair.

... with a tall glass of lemonade,

curled up in my favorite sweater.

Yes, that sounds like a perfect afternoon.

-Ashley

Post-Hurrication

Whew! The week after "hurrication" is over! Can I just say it's been a crazy one? Plus it was the last week of the six weeks... which means grades are due on Monday. And we only have one test grade. So I have a few students failing. No bueno.

So, yesterday I joined Jazzercise! Teresa's a member there and this week was their Open House, so you could bring guests for free. Well, Sammi and I decided to go with Teresa for their Friday night Express class. It was so much fun! So, we joined! There was a special running that if you joined before the end of the Open House, you didn't have to pay the joining fee which is $75. Sign me up! We all just got back from our Saturday morning session, and I have a lot of energy now. I think I'm going to go clean the apartment! Well, maybe that's going too far.

[1 hour later...]

We have a clean bathroom! We couldn't take it anymore. So that's that.

I'm a bit famished, so I'm gonna go find some lunch.

-Ashley

I Can't Believe I'm Telling You This

Well, today was the last day of "hurricane vacation." I spent the day... in my pajamas. It was just grand! I watched several episodes of Veronica Mars Season 1 and played cards with Sammi. It's been kind of a surreal week. We just started school and then we got a week off. I feel like when we go back to school on Monday, it'll be the first day of school all over again. But I miss my students, so I'm excited to see them and (briefly) exchange Hurricane Ike stories.

Tonight, we're having a little get together at our apartment. Catherine and Josh are coming over and we're going to do a little wine tasting, chocolate chip cookie eating, and Apples to Apples playing. It should be really fun. We haven't seen them in about a month!

I can't remember if I've mentioned it, but I carpool to work with my co-teacher who lives about 3 minutes away from me. It's been such a blessing to have someone to share the drive with. In fact, the other night I went over to Carina's (my carpool buddy) house to hang out with her and her husband, Andy, and 2 of her other friends. We had so much fun. We played Pictionary, boys vs. girls, and the girls prevailed 2 out of the 2 games that we played. That's 100%. It was crazy! Tomorrow, Sammi and James are coming with me over to Carina's house because she's having another little get together. Her house is so cute. She sells Southern Living, so every room in the house looks like a room you'd see in the Southern Living magazine. I think I might duplicate all of her ideas when I get my own house. I hope she doesn't mind...

Okay, so now it's time for Ashley's embarrassing story of the week (I should really think about actually writing a blog about my embarrassing story every week because we all know that I have plenty of those moments every day):

So, Sammi and I went to the mall the other day specifically to go to New York & Company to spend the City Cash we earned by buying stuff a while ago. I had $45 of City Cash so I was grabbing anything and everything to take back to the dressing room with me to try on. As I'm trying on each thing (I only grabbed shirts because that's what I need mostly), I'm making mental notes about the shirt: whether or not I liked it, if I needed to go back out and get a different size or color, etc. After I tried on each shirt, I would go out of my dressing room to look in the big mirror in the "dressing room hallway." Okay, so after I finished trying on all the things I had brought back with me (I was still wearing the last shirt I had tried on) I was trying to recall all of the mental notes I had made. I still had my dressing room door open when I decided I needed to change back into my shirt to go get all the other sizes I needed. Did you catch that? THE DOOR WAS STILL OPEN WHEN I DECIDED TO CHANGE BACK INTO MY SHIRT!!! In my defense (sort of), my mind was reeling with all of my mental notes that I just... lost my mind. Thank GOODNESS Sammi was the person who walked by my dressing room as I was standing there in my bra. Yes, I really was standing there in my bra. She gave me the most CONFUSED look ever, and I think I gave her the most CONFUSED look back. I couldn't understand why she was watching me until, "Wait. What the heck am I doing???" "I was just about to ask you the same thing!" We laugh about it now. Actually, we cracked up then too. Apparently, I really feel myself in the New York & Company dressing room. Good thing, because I bought just about every shirt that I tried on!

***I hope no one random reads my blog. If you're reading my blog for the first time, I apologize that you had to get to know me and my blog in THAT way. I promise, the next time I post, it will be about something (relatively) normal.***

On that note, I need to go clean up before our company gets here!

-Ashley

A Dog's Life

**SIDE NOTE: I apologize in advance for my goofy laugh and random outbursts. I never really realized how I sound to the world... but now I do.**

Right after Ike went away, we let the dogs out because they were very antsy. Our neighbors had a bunch of their family staying with them because they're from Galveston, and they all brought their dogs. So that means for 48 hours, we had 10 dogs in our backyard, and this little video will give you a little idea of how hyper Abbey, Amber, Reb, Jaxxx, Jessie, Homer, Dixie, Duke, and the 2 daschunds (don't remember their names) were.

Also, I'll do a more thorough update tomorrow. Right now, the pillow is calling my name.

-Ashley

Houston, Meet My Good Friend Ike

I'm at my parents' house right now, ready to ride out the storm. School districts all over Houston closed for today. In fact, yesterday during 5th period, I completely lost my mind and said to my kids, "So, since we don't have school tomorrow..." They were like, "WHAT?!?!" Oh no. What did I just do? Luckily, my kids know me pretty well, and they knew that if they went crazy, I would not be a happy camper. But after that, the rest of my classes were a little rowdy.

My neighbors are boarding up their windows right now. The news said the wind gusts are supposed to reach 85 mph. I'm getting a little worried, but I'm a little calmer now that I'm at home. My parents aren't going to board up the windows, but I'm not sure if they're not going to tape them up. My dad just went to Lowe's to get some more screws to reinforce our wooden fence pickets. He might get some tape while he's there.

I haven't been in a hurricane in a while. Not too long after we moved to Texas, Tropical Storm Allison came through and our neighborhood flooded big time. That was pretty much the last storm that I've experienced. When we lived in Baton Rouge, we survived Andrew's wrath. I still remember that like it was yesterday. My family and I played Uno the whole time (we were without electricity for a few days) and listened to the radio. My dog, Kate, stayed in her crate that was wedged between the cars in the carport. My dad would have to go outside several times to let her out to go to the bathroom... during a hurricane... with tree branches flying everywhere.

Thankfully, Amber and Abbey will get to come inside to hang out with us when the storm comes through. Abbey will probably pace the entire house during the storm, while Amber will probably sleep through it all. She's much more mellow than Abbey. It's quite funny.

The storm surge in Galveston is already REALLY high. It hasn't even started raining there, and the city is already flooded. A reporter on the news interviewed some people she came across there who are refusing to evacuate. They kept saying, "Yeah, we're just going to ride it out. It won't be that bad." Uhh, I'm thinking if the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation, you might want to listen! They were saying that anyone who doesn't listen to the advice and instructions of the mayors and judges will face "certain death." Whoa.

In other news, Katie called me last week and surprised me by asking me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! I am so honored and excited!! And, she's going to be moving to the Houston area when she's married... possibly Katy! (You know I'm going to play up Katy, right Katie???? Haha!) I'll be so glad to have her close by again. I miss hanging out, drinking hot cocoa (even if it's not cold yet), and watching The Office. (Speaking of, when does the new season start??)

Well, I guess I should go get things ready for my good friend Ike when he comes to visit. Pray for us!

-Ashley

A Whirlwind of a Week

I survived my first week of teaching.

Actually, I more than survived my first week of teaching. It was actually a very successful (and, dare I say it, FUN) week. My classes are great so far, and I haven't encountered attitude problems... yet! I have a few "interesting" students, so we'll see how that turns out. Open House is this Thursday, and I think I'm more nervous about that than I was the first day of school.

I gave my kids a quiz on the first day of school and a "test" on the second. They probably think I'm the meanest teacher ever.

Actually, probably not. They all seem to like me even though I am very strict with them. But I'm also really goofy too. I want them to enjoy coming to math because not a lot of kids like it.

I'm teaching an 8th grade math block. That basically means I'm teaching 6 kids who failed or almost failed the math TAKS. I was pretty nervous about teaching it when I found out about it, but now it's one of my favorite times of the day! I know that this is why I went into teaching. I have such a passion for teaching small groups of kids who don't understand math. The most satisfying part of my day is when the light bulb goes off and they all exclaim, "OHHHHHH!" It's so much fun.

The other day we had "carpet time" like you do in elementary school. They LOVED it. We all sat in a circle (myself included) and, with a deck of playing cards, added and subtracted integers. They also love to play "integer war." I really hope I can help make a difference in their lives because they are such awesome kids!

My 7th graders are pretty amazing too. They're just still in that "6th grade cute" phase. They stress out about not understanding a concept or the amount of homework I assign. In fact, I got an email from one of my students this weekend saying that he left his homework in his locker and was wondering if there was any way he could get into the school to get it. I don't accept late work and if the kids come to class without their homework, they have to fill out a "Missing Work Report" stating why they don't have their work and what they're going to do to fix the problem. I hope this idea hold them accountable and I don't have too many problems with kids not turning in their homework.

All in all, I love teaching so far. I even got my first paycheck on Friday! And I get to enroll in insurance benefits! Yay! I love my math department teachers... they are so fun, helpful, and friendly. And my mentor is awesome. She is the other 8th grade block math teacher so she basically does all the plans for me. It's pretty great.

On that note, I need to go import next week's lesson plans online! And I should also enter my grades in the gradebook (Katy is pretty awesome that they have all the stuff accessible online so you can get work done at home!).

I hope everyone fairs Gustav well!

-Ashley

Start the Countdown.

Exactly one week from now, I will officially be a math teacher. How crazy is that?

For the past two weeks, I've been in different sorts of workshops and inservices and meetings. Today we had "Bear Olympics" at the school. It was basically a bunch of team building challenges that were at some points very frustrating, but still fun. We also got the afternoon to work in our rooms. My room has been a disaster for about a month because teachers keep bringing me all these resources (that I'll never get a chance to look at) and setting them all over my student desks. But I'm pretty much finished with hanging things on the wall.
Tomorrow I need to rearrange my desks because I didn't take into account that we're getting Smart Boards and I have nowhere to put the cart that holds the laptop and projector. So that should be an interesting challenge.

Speaking of interesting, during lunch today a car caught fire in the school parking lot! One of the parents of a student stopped by the school because her car was smoking and she thought that a parking lot would be a lot safer than at her house (which is true). Well, while she was inside calling around to get ahold of whoever could help her, her car burst into flames! And from what I heard, it wasn't just little baby flames; it was like someone lit a can of hairspray on fire. So, the principal called the fire department and they came just in time. The fire was traveling very fast and was causing the tires to explode, so it was a good thing that it didn't get as far as the gas tank. I saw the car after the firefighters had put the fire out, and it was completely torched. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Well, I think I'll go get ready for bed and finish some laundry. I'll post some pictures of my classroom when I get it finished. I think it looks cute so far! :)

Night!
-Ashley

Oh, Johnny Boy.

As promised, here are some pictures from the John Mayer concert that was... amazing!

This was pre-amazingness. We had really great lawn "seats" but that wait was almost unbearable because it was SO hot. But, of course, in the end it was totally worth it.

My favorite "bear" Teresa and me pre-concert.

The fianceed couple at their norm.

Colbie Caillat! She is so adorable and her band is pretty darn awesome!

Colbie and her "dread headed" ukelele-er.

I think she was playing one of her new "not-so-heard-of" songs, and it was really great!

IT'S JOHN MAYER (!!!)... in all his shirtless glory? I suppose he's not used to the Texas heat like we are. I actually thought it was pretty pleasant around this time since the sun had gone down. Haha.

One of my favorites. I had my mini-binoculars and I could take pictures with my camera through them and they came out pretty good.

He did a lot of improv-jam session stuff, and it was-what else?-AMAZING!

Not only did he play the guitar behind his head, but he played it one-handed, and then he laid it on the ground and completely rocked out. I'm pretty sure my jaw was on the grass.

Another one of my favorites.

He and Colbie played "pranks" on each other that night because it was their last night on tour together. So, during her set he totally snuck out (like, no one even saw him on the stage whatsoever) and started singing her song "Realized" with her. When I heard his voice I thought he was backstage or something, but there he was wearing a plain old white tee and some regular-looking shorts. Then they "dueted" "Your Body is a Wonderland". Sweet!

I hope you're not tired of seeing these pictures. Almost finished...

This was right before he sang "Gravity"- my absolute favorite song of his. I was actually really surprised he sang it because it's not like one of his most popular songs, so as soon as I heard the guitar intro I totally screamed... like a little school girl. Yes, that's right, I admit it. I have a huge school girl crush on John Mayer. Sue me.

So, there's my pictorial of the John Mayer concert. I hope you felt like you were there with us, although, it was a sold out crowd so there really wasn't much room to groove. But it was totally fine with me!

Now I really must go continue studying for the GRE. Only a few more days until it's all over with!

-Ashley

Best. Concert. Ever. Seriously.

John Mayer was absolutely amazing. Colbie Caillat was amazing. We had amazing "seats." John Mayer was shirtless the entire time which was amazing.

Amazing.

That's pretty much all I can say right now.

I took lots of amazing pictures.

... which I will post at a later date because the GRE study guide is beckoning me.

-Ashley (amazing!)

Gravity

JOHN MAYER CONCERT IN 2 DAYS! I am so excited. We're going because it's Sammi's birthday on Sunday and Teresa's birthday on Tuesday. It's going to be pretty awesome. We may even see Jennifer Aniston there because she's been going to his shows. That would be sweet.

In other news, I go back to work on Monday for a math inservice. Then, I have Tuesday off, Wednesday is online lesson plan (a.k.a. KMAC) training, and Thursday and Friday is New Teacher Academy.

I brought Sammi out to see my classroom yesterday. She gave me lots of good ideas, and she's going to help me make some curtains for my shelves. So we went to the fabric store and I got some green gingham fabric, some maroon fabric to make a bulletin board by my desk for my friends and family pictures, and some paw print fabric for "Beckendorff Bear Facts" and to make another small little bulletin board for my Amber pictures. It should be pretty cute, but I can't really put any bulletin boards up yet until I know where my SmartBoard is going to be. Yes, I said SmartBoard! I already went to my training for it and I'm really excited about having one in my classroom.

Oh, and they put our names on our doors already. I was so happy to see it because it means that that's really my classroom!

It's says "Ms. White" but it's kind of hard to see. I'm getting really nervous about having my own 150 students... how crazy is that?

Lunch time!

-Ashley

New Dwellings

I am now officially all moved into my apartment with Teresa and Sammi. It has been kind of hectic getting things settled in and organized, but I'm loving every minute of it.


Can I just say how much I love my roommates? They are so amazing and so much fun. Ok, that's just my little blurb on that.


Today, Sammi and I went to the Harry Wong conference. If you're not privileged to have been an education major and sit through the hours of video lectures given by him, Harry Wong is the classroom management genius. He wrote a book called The First Days of School, and it's pretty awesome. The conference was about 6 hours long, and most of the time he spent talking about classroom procedures... which was actually really helpful. I feel a little more confident now about heading into my first days of school. But enough about that...


So it's really rather weird being all moved out of my parents' house. I stopped by this evening to eat dinner with my mom, and it sort of felt like normal but then sort of not. It was good to see my little puppies. I really miss them.


Ok, I'm sort of rambling so I think I shall go to bed now.


-Ashley

What do you think?

How do you fancy my new blog layout? I thought it was pretty cute.

P.S. I went swimming today! In my clothes! And it was so much fun. I really miss swimming and the great workout that it is. But I'll have a pool to use as much as I want in less than a week!

Family Dinners

I miss family dinners. What happened to the times where you turn the TV off, sit down at the kitchen table and enjoy a meal with your family?

I'm sure there are families out there who still do this (maybe even yours) but my family rarely does. We usually sit at the bar with the TV on (and it's usually ESPN because that's what my dad wants to watch) and hardly have a conversation. It kind of makes me sad because it's pretty much the one time during the day when we can all come together as a family and be in the same room.

Unfortunately, I'm moving out in a week... and my dad's going to Denver tomorrow and he'll be gone through Sunday. So, there's not that many chances left for us to a have a family dinner unless I come over to relive Mom's home cookin'.

Speaking of moving out, I can't believe I'm doing just that! Sammi and I have already started getting our room organized at the apartment (we're sharing a room... it's so much fun!). Yesterday, I went with Teresa and James (Sammi's fiance) to Gallery Furniture so Teresa could buy a couch for the living room. When we got there, we immediately saw Mattress Mack! I heard his voice and it sounded so familiar, so I turned around and there he was. He was on the telephone, though; otherwise, I would've totally asked if I could take a picture with him. Hey, a celebrity's a celebrity even if he's just a snappy "commercial" celebrity.

After doing some setting up at the apartment, my parents took me out to dinner to Sullivan's for my graduation dinner (speaking of family dinners). Yes, I know, it's a little late, but the day before graduation, my friend invited me to go to Boot Dance on graduation night, so we had to postpone. It was the most delicious meal I've had in a long, long time. We had yummy bread, seared ahi tuna, a wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing, filet minion, spinach with garlic, white cheddar au gratin potatoes, crab stuffed shrimp, and for dessert, black bottom peanut butter pie. Don't get scared, this is all the stuff we all had and we kind of shared. I didn't have all of that for myself! That would be scary. But it was all so good.

Well, I think I'm going to go pack up some more stuff to take to the apartment. Have a splendid day!

-Ashley

Where has the time gone?

Time sure has flown by.

I miss the days of being a carefree eight year-old. You have nothing in the world to worry about except making sure your Cabbage Patch Kid doll has on the right outfit to go out and play in.

I miss being able to wake up super early on Saturdays just so I could catch the Saturday morning cartoons.

I miss wearing sundresses and going outside to twirl and watch my skirt float up like a balloon.

I miss playing "house" and "teacher." (Although I am a teacher now, it won't exactly be playful.)

I miss playing dress-up. Oh how I miss it! I used to be the princess of dress-up. My grandmother would give me her old high heels that she didn't wear anymore. I would prance around the house in them, thinking I was a model.

I wish I could just briefly feel like a little girl again. The older I seem to get, the more I wish that I had savored my childhood. It's like it went by in a flash and I'm having trouble remembering it all.

Wouldn't that be neat to be a little girl again knowing what you do now?

Even if it were just for a day, I can't begin to tell you how much fun I would have.

Well, that was a random post. Off to read in bed!

-Ashley

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've updated. The summer has been crazy busy recently, and I feel like I'm just now able to take a breath.

I had a wonderful time in New Orleans/Baton Rouge/McComb/Canton. We met up with my aunt and uncle who are from Oxford, MS in New Orleans and we had a blast. It felt like we walked all around the French Quarter about 4 times! My feet were so sore but it was totally worth it.

That's Aunt Frieda, Uncle "T", my dad, me, and my mom at Pat O'Brien's with hurricanes! Don't worry, my mom and I split one, and we didn't even finish it.





The famous Cafe Du Monde. We ate beignets here for breakfast one morning. It makes me miss living in Louisiana! I was covered in powdered sugar when it was all said and done.

We rode the street trolleys all around the Quarter. This is my aunt and my parents getting off the trolley before going to Harrah's.

The main reason we were in New Orleans was because my dad had some business meetings to go to. So while he was doing that, my mom and I headed to Mississippi. First we stopped in McComb to see my great-aunt Elouise (my grandmother's twin sister). We were actually there a couple of days after Jamie Lynn Spears had her baby at the McComb Hospital (the town was buzzing with paparazzi).

That's the hospital from a distance. I felt very... "Beverly Hills."

Aunt Elouise and me.

So after McComb, we headed up to Canton. My mom and I hadn't been there in several years (because there's really no point anymore since my grandparents have passed). The town square is still really quaint and small town-ish, so I thought I would take some interesting pictures to have printed in sepia to hang up in my room.

This is the Mosby home, a very prominent family in Canton. They own several businesses in town, and no one but a Mosby has ever lived in this house. It's actually been standing since the Civil War.

This is the Presbyterian church in town. My mom said it's one of the first churches, if not the first, to be built in Mississippi. I think it's beautiful.

This is the court house. If you've seen A Time to Kill, then you've seen the court house. They actually play old timey jazz music outside the court house so that when you walk around the square you can hear it. I felt like I had flashed back to the 1940s.

This is my attempt at being artsy.

This is part of the square. Isn't it cute? You can actually see a Mosby Drug Store on the far right.

It was really good to be back and to see Canton. It was exactly as I remembered it.

In other news, I went to my school on Monday with my mom and we started setting up my room. I know it's early, but one of the girls on my team called and said she was going to start getting things ready (she's also the math department chair) so I thought, "Why not?" It took me 2 hours to finally decide on a seating arrangement and how to position my desk, and I'll probably end up rearranging it before school starts. I got a few posters and some border from the teacher supply store, so I'm really excited to actually put it up on the walls.

Time to clean!

-Ashley

A Few Photos of My Classroom

So there's my classroom! I can't really do anything to it yet because it has to be cleaned. I'm really excited about decorating it, though. If you have any suggestions, let me know please!

Sorry this is a short post. I have to go blow dry my hair and then I'm going to one of my coworkers' houses to plan. Yes, they are overachievers like that and are trying to get the entire first six weeks planned before school starts. I have to say I'm glad we're doing that since it's my first year. Plus, 3 out of 4 of us are new to the 7th grade team, so that's probably why we're doing this. Wish me luck!

-A

Daddy 'n Me

Happy Father's Day!

I asked my dad a couple of weeks ago what he wanted for Father's Day, and he said he wanted my help with projects around the house. This didn't come as a surprise to me because he usually responds to that question with a resounding, "Nothing." So today, for my dad, I went outside with him at 1 o'clock in the afternoon (peak heat time) and helped him trim tree branches off of our roof. I can honestly say that it was wicked hot, and I don't know how we lasted out there for as long as we did (which was a whopping 1 hour).

After we had finished clearing all the branches, I asked him what he wanted me to do next. The way he started talking, he made it seem like we were about to dive into another grueling project. But then he said, "Ok. Here's what you can do next for me. Get a cup. Put about 5 ice cubes in it. Then fill the rest of it up with water and bring it out here so I can drink it." I was thinking to myself, Oh, thank goodness, that's all. But I told him, "That's something I can do!"

It was a fun day with my dad even though it was blistering heat and the activity wasn't really something I consider "fun." Since my dad travels most of the time, we don't "hang out" like we used to. Even sometimes when he's home, he's working.

I remember when I was little, he and I would get up super early on Saturdays and have "Breakfast Club." (When I was 5 or 6 I didn't yet understand the 1985 movie reference.) It really only consisted of cereal and chocolate milk, but I would still get so excited for it. He would come into my room when I was still asleep and whisper, Breakfast Club! I would then whisper back, [gasp!] Breakfast Club! Fun times!

Something that we still do, to this day, is if we're going by the grocery store, or my mom has sent us to get something at the grocery store, we'll buy a quart-size carton of chocolate milk and drink it on the way home. But we had to make sure to finish it before we got home because my mom always thought it was gross for us to drink straight from the carton. Oh well, it was fun.

I love that my dad and I do quirky things together because they're things that I'll remember about him forever. My mom still talks about her dad and the funny things they used to do. I can still remember the little "jig" he would do to this song he made up. My mom and I just laugh every time we start dancing to the music in the car (yes, we do that) because we automatically start dancing the way Papa used to.

So, I guess that's all I have to say about Father's Day.

I do I have a new favorite drink at Starbucks, though. Passion Tea Lemonade, sweetened. It's really refreshing on a really hot summer day (especially if you've just come out of the sweltering heat). And it's a pretty pink color! So, thanks to Hailey for getting me on that boat!
I'm off to take a shower now... another one. It's pretty much my new favorite thing to do. I'll be posting pictures soon of my new apartment, so get excited!

-Ashley

Family Matters

I've been thinking a lot about big families recently. I, myself, come from a small nuclear family... I am the only child. None of my extended family lives here in Texas. My dad's side of the family is from Pennsylvania, but he has a brother that lives in Denver. I only know of his brother, sister, my 2 cousins, and my grandparents on his side of the family. So that's like, what, 6 people?

My mom's side of the family is a different story. Her family is from Mississippi. She grew up in a really small town, and I can pretty much say with confidence that I'm probably related, in some way or another, to every person in the town. Every time we would go visit, I would get introduced to some other relative. "Ashley, I'd like for you to meet your fourth cousin, thrice-removed times seven, Billy Bob." "Umm, hi?"

Most of my mom's family still lives in Mississippi, but a lot of them live in Louisiana too. In fact, we're going on a MS/LA trip in a couple of weeks.

But that still leaves us here in Texas. I hear people talk about going to see their grandparents for the weekend, or they're having dinner with their aunt and uncle, or their cousins are going shopping with them for a can opener. I don't know; it sounds silly, doesn't it? I've never had that luxury, and sometimes I resent that.

I've always said that when I get married, I don't want to have more than 2 children, and 1 would really be sufficient. But now I don't know. Being an only child has been somewhat difficult growing up. All of my parents' attention is always on me, and as "wonderful" as that might sound, it gets really annoying sometimes. My dad is constantly asking me, "What are you doing?" It's as if I can't not do anything. Like right now, I'm sitting in my room on my computer at 1:47 in the afternoon. And, do you know what? I'm perfectly content with sitting in my room by myself, doing nothing. These past few summers I've worked so hard, and it's been really stressful, so now I think I deserve a break. I think my parents are slowly starting to realize that I deserve this "break" before I hit the real world.

I promise, there's (somewhat of) a point to this post. I wish I had brothers and sisters. I know I've been truly blessed in life, and some of the things that have happened to me probably would not have been possible if I had brothers and sisters. But just imagining what my life would be like with siblings is really exciting! For once, the attention wouldn't constantly be on me, I would have life-long friends, and, for once, I would come from a big family.

So maybe I'm having a change of heart about what kind of family is in my future. Maybe I would like to have 3 or more children. I know it's in God's hands and whatever kind of family He blesses me with is going to be a full and happy family.

-Ashley

A Little Bit of Everything

I have to say, I am quite pleased with myself and my ability to keep up with my blog so well. I guess I'm trying to get as much in as I can before I start teaching because I probably won't have that much time on my hands then. So, enjoy this while you can!

My herb garden is doing quite nicely. The basil is dominating the parsley and chives, but everything has sprouted. I get so excited when I see plants grow from scratch, especially when I'm the gardener. I'm proud that my thumb is a slight shade of green.

My friend's (Teresa) husband, who's in the Army, deployed to Iraq on Saturday. Teresa is doing well considering the circumstances. She is one of the strongest women I know. She and Craig (her husband) have been so completely optimistic about the situation ever since they found out he'd be going to Iraq. She tells us that she's fine with it because Craig is fine with it. What a strong marriage they have, and they've not been married for a year yet! I'm looking forward to sharing my life with a strong, God-fearing man and having a marriage that is totally Christ-centered like the Banners'. If you would, please be in prayer about Craig's safety, for Teresa, and for both of their families during these next 15 months.

For some reason, I'm not tired yet but I really should be getting to bed. Night!

-Ashley

I Have a Big Girl Job

Ok, so here's the low-down on the job stuff that I promised from my previous post.

I had my interview at Arnold this morning. I went into it with the notion that coming out of it I would know for certain whether or not I should be at Beckendorff. I've been praying all week that God would give me clarity about this decision.

The interview went ok. I didn't really feel comfortable during it, not like I did during my BDJH interview. So my answers weren't really on point with the way I wanted them to be. Even though I already had an offer from BDJH, I still wanted to do my best during this interview just in case. The position Arnold has available is a 7th/8th grade split math position. When they told me that, I knew immediately that that wasn't where I was supposed to be. As a first year teacher, teaching two different grade levels would be very difficult on top of everything else.

After I got home, I got a call on my cell phone from the principal at BDJH. He wasn't at my interview, come to find out, because he was in the hospital with pneumonia. He seemed so very nice and encouraging. He told me not to be worried about being a first year teacher and lesson plans and everything else because that is what my team's there for. He just made me feel so comfortable about the position, and he was really impressed with my resume, yada yada yada. I knew at that point that God has me at this school for a reason and it's going to be a great experience for me. The phone call was so reassuring. (He even said that my classroom is ready for me whenever I want to start getting it together!)

So there you have it. I am now a Beckendorff Bear! Grrrrowllll! :) I am so excited. Even though it'll be a bit of a drive, I think that's a small price to pay for being at a reputable school for your first year of teaching. I'll post pictures of my classroom when I get it all set up, but that won't be for a while.

I need to start planning everything, and I should probably go to the teacher supply store to get bulletin board stuff. That reminds me of that quote from You've Got Mail: "... bouquets of sharpened pencils..." I used to love school supply shopping, so I guess now I'll love teacher supply shopping.

That's all I have for now. Love!

-Ashley

Q&A

Katie posted this questionnaire thing and tagged me to do it too. I have news on the job front, but I'll do a separate post for that after I finish this.

Here we go...

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing 5 years ago?

Let's see. Five years ago was the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. That summer I had just started a job as a receptionist at an insurance agency. I babysat for the man who owned it, and one time after I had babysat for their son, he asked me if I wanted to be a receptionist for him. I was so excited because, at the time, I was a cashier at Randall's (a grocery store) and I was about sick of it. God was so good because I worked at The Freeman Agency for about 2 years and the people I worked with/for were amazing people. That was probably my favorite job up to this point. Other than that, I was probably hanging out with my friends a lot, getting ready for senior year. I had just "broken up" with my first "boyfriend" around this time 5 years ago. That's a long story in itself. He's married now, and he and his wife are so adorable together!

What are 5 things on your to-do list today (not in any particular order)?

It's still morning, so I haven't done a lot:
1. Interview at Arnold Middle School (I just got back from this... more on that in another post).
2. I really need to clean my room. My bed is made but I have a lot of things scattered around because I was doing a "craft" project... I turned a bulletin board into a monthly calendar. It's so much fun. Actually, I think cleaning my room will always be something on my to-do list because I can always find something in my room to clean or organize.
3. My dad asked me to spray paint 15 shovels for him for a ground breaking he's having for work.
4. I'm going to go to PetCo to find some sort of water bowl contraption because my little "angel" Amber keeps dumping the water bowls over (I think she thinks it's fun), but then all 5 dogs don't have any water. Yesterday, I'm confident that I refilled their water bowl 10 times.
5. I would like to drive out to show my mom my new school! (Again, read my next post.)

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1. Hard-boiled egg whites
2. Chocolate chip cookies
3. Kettle corn
4. Since it's summertime... WATERMELON! I like the ones with the seeds because, if I'm outside, I like to see how far I can spit them! Haha, yes I know I'm weird.
5. Flip Sides- they're these new crackers that are a cracker on one side and a pretzel on the other. Tasty!

What 5 things would you do if you were a billionnaire?

1. First, I would probably buy myself a house. Completely pay it off. Then, I would probably want to buy furniture to go in my house.
2. I would donate money to a few charities: The American Cancer Society (my grandmother died of colon cancer after finding out she had it two weeks before), St. Jude's Children Research Hospital, and The American Heart Association (Heart problems run in my family).
3. I have ALWAYS wanted to travel, especially to England. So, I would probably have to plan a trip there for me, my tour guide Katie (I hope you're up for it!), friends and family. And why stop there? Since I'd already be in Europe, why not make a trek out of it? France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. Bring it on!
4. I might have to steal Katie's idea on this one. I would love to help sponsor mission work abroad.
5. I would probably save a lot of it. I'm a big time saver. I really do hate spending money, so I would probably save most of it for the future... get a head start on a college fund for my children.

What are 5 of your bad habits?

1. I'm a nail-biter. I've let my nails grow out several times, but if one breaks, I bite the rest off. It's horrible and I wish I didn't do it.
2. I pop my knuckles... all of them. Fingers and toes. Blah.
3. My parents say I mumble when I talk. I wish I could speak with a little more eloquence.
4. I fall asleep in the bath tub. I get so relaxed when I take baths, so I just fall asleep.
5. I procrastinate like nobody's business. I hate that I procrastinate (and unintentially rhyme). I would probably get so much done if I didn't. I think that's something that I'm going to work on this summer.

What are 5 places you have lived?

1. Essington, Pa- I was born here. My parents and I lived in a one bedroom apartment. My play pen was set up in the kitchen, that's how small it was.
2. York, Pa- We lived with my grandparents for a few months while my parents got things ready for us to move.
3. Atco, NJ- I lived here until I was 5. My dad's an engineer, so he gets transferred a lot.
4. Baton Rouge, La- I lived here until I was almost 12. We left while I was in the 6th grade.
5. Las Vegas, NV- Oh yeah. This was an interesting home. We lived here while I finished 6th and 7th grade... about a year and a half.
6. Cypress, TX- My home for 9 years now (with a little detour to College Station for college). This is, I have to say, my favorite place that I've ever lived. I honestly can't imagine leaving Texas.

What are 5 jobs you've had?

1. Cashier at Randall's
2. Receptionist at The Freeman Agency
3. Tea kettle intern at Chantal Cookware Corp.
4. Reading Room student at Cushing Memorial Library (on TAMU campus)
5. 7th grade math teacher at Beckendorff Junior High School (I know!! :) )

What are 5 people you want to tag?

The only person that I know who reads my blog is Katie, and she was the one who tagged me to do this questionnaire. If you read my blog, I'd love to know who you are! So, leave me a comment, and I'll tag you. :)

Ok, I think I'm going to take a blog break, and then I'll post about my job. Later gators!

-Ashley

Why do people steal?

This evening my mom and I went to the Wal-Mart by my house to get some milk and bread. I drove and parked next to a car who had people sitting in it, no driver. This doesn't usually seem out of the ordinary.

When we were finished shopping and came back to my car, I specifically said to my mom, "You keep a lookout while I put the groceries in the car." My gut told me to say that because this Wal-Mart parking lot is becoming notorious for robberies.

So, after I had finished putting everything in the car, I watched as my mom went to put the cart away. While she was doing that, I noticed a guy running frantically through the parking lot, looking over his shoulder as he went. I saw that everyone who was in the parking lot was looking around to see what was going on. That's when I saw another man following the running guy with a pair of shoes.

As soon as my mom got close to the car, I yelled at her over and over, "Get in the car! Get in the car!" I didn't want the guy running through the parking lot to suddenly take a turn toward us and rob us too. Right when we got in the car and locked the doors, the guy started running toward our car, and got in the car that was parked next to us with the people sitting in it. At this point my mother and I are starting to panic, but I still had enough composure to copy down his license plate number. Besides writing it down to give it to security to report them, as he was speeding off, I was really afraid he was going to hit my car.

So then we started driving through the parking lot, and we saw the security car heading toward the entrance of the store. When I pulled up next to him, the guy who was following the "criminal" was there and come to find out he was a Wal-Mart employee. The shoes turned out to be the "criminal's." He was running so fast that he ran right out of his shoes!

I hope they catch them. When we were driving home, my mom and I drove all through the neighborhood to make sure no one was following us (I know, that sounds weird, but my mom was paranoid that maybe they saw us talking to the security guard). So, that was kind of a scary experience. I just kept thinking over and over again, What if I hadn't told my mom to keep a lookout? What if we hadn't gotten in the car right when we did?



Ok, on to something a little less... intense. I had my interview at Beckendorff Junior High this morning, and it went AMAZINGLY (is that a word?). The three 7th grade math teachers and one of the assistant principals were on my interview panel. We actually talked about relevant things... like math stuff! They were really relaxed and welcoming.

When I got to the school, I found out that I wasn't the only one interviewing for the position. There was a girl sitting in the waiting room with me and she told me that there were two more people who had already been interviewed before and she was next. When she went in for her interview, two other people came in to interview for the same position as well. At this point I'm thinking, "Wow, my chances are getting slimmer by the minute!"

When I left the interview, I had a message on my voicemail from Arnold Middle (in Cy-Fair... the middle school I went to) wanting me to come for an interview on Monday. I guess the hiring freeze is over. So I called them back and scheduled my interview.

Later on I was running errands with my mom, and the assistant principal called me. Now, the way I heard it, she told me that she didn't have a job to offer me, but that she passed my resume on to human resources, and I should be getting calls for more interviews. At least, that's what I thought she was telling me.

A few hours after that, I got a call from KISD human resources and... they offered me the job! I'm still a little stunned after all the competition and the aforementioned phone call from the assistant principal. They want an answer by tomorrow... and I have my interview with Arnold on Monday. You do the math. I really like what I've heard about Beckendorff and my interview was a good sign, too. The only thing that's a downside is the distance. However, 35-40 minutes really isn't that bad when you think about it.

I'm just praying that I'll know for sure that this is the job for me after my interview with Arnold. If the interview doesn't go as well as the one for Beckendorff, I'll definitely accept the offer with BJH. The TAKS scores for Arnold are very mediocre, whereas for BJH they are exceptional, so that's a major plus.

I really do appreciate all your prayers during this frustrating/confusing/anxious time. I find comfort in knowing that I'm not alone in this. I know what's meant to be will find a way, and I hope I'm not blinded when I choose a path.

(If you've made it through this entire post, I applaude you. I wrote all this because I needed to get it out somehow, and there's really no one else to talk to here besides my mom... and she's heard about all of this already. So, thank you.)

-Ashley

The Next Food Network... Flop

I just got these new Rachael Ray knives today. I am so excited about using them to cook. I'll feel like a real live chef. I might even have to start my own cooking show. However, probably the only things I'd be able to "demonstrate" are boxed brownies, chocolate chip cookies, spaghetti, and taco soup. Hmm, that may not get me good enough ratings.

Yesterday, I had my own "craft project day." I have this huge bulletin board that has been cluttered with junk for the past 10 years. So, I decided to turn it into a big calendar so I can post appointments and things to do on it. It looks pretty cute, I think.

Well, I don't suppose I have much of anything interesting to say today. Sammi and James are on their way over to hang out tonight. We'll probably watch a movie and cook some dinner. Maybe I'll get to use my new knives!

-Ashley

P.S.

I just got a call from Beckendorff Junior High a couple of hours ago asking if I wanted to come in for an interview for a 7th grade math position. BJH was one of the schools in Katy ISD that I emailed with my resume letting them know I was interested.

I'm very nervous about this interview, but God has totally provided. I know that if this is where I'm supposed to be, the interview will go well, and I'll have a good vibe about it.

I am excited, though, because from what I can tell, this is a great school. The only downside about it is that it's about a 40 minute drive from where I'll be living. However, I think if I do get the job, I'll tough out the drive for a year, and if I know I'll be there for longer, maybe then I can start looking for a place that's closer to the school.

Your prayers about this are very appreciated! I know that I got this interview for a reason, and I'm excited to see where it takes me!

Bloom Where You're Planted

I was just reading my devotion for today about thriving where God has placed you. This has been so true for my life because I've moved a lot. I've had to learn how to sort of restart my life every time I have moved. That is something that I would not trade for anything. I know that I'm the person I am today because of the places I've lived and the people there that I've met and formed relationships with.

But then I started thinking about something else. For the longest time I've wanted to kind of go out on my own and join a church where I felt "at home." My parents have done a great job thus far at raising me to be a strong Christian woman, but I think that now I'm at the age to make my own decisions about the church community that I should be a part of. I don't necessarily feel connected to the Catholic church in an emotional or spiritual way. That's just where my parents go to church, and since I've grown up Catholic and I now still live with them, that's where I go to church.

So, I'm a little confused about what I should do. If we're meant to bloom where we're planted, does that mean that I've been going to this church for almost 10 years for a reason, and I should just try to thrive there? Or should I get up the nerve and "transplant" myself in a community that I feel more connected and where I can form more accountable relationships with people my age, or even people not my age?

Please pray that God will help me sort this out, and that I will bloom where I'm supposed to be planted.

On a completely different subject, I'm about to run a recovery program on my computer that's going to make my computer like the day I bought it... none of my pictures, music, or documents. One of my dad's friends came over and looked at my computer yesterday to try to figure out why my wireless card isn't working. He suggested that before I send it back to HP that I run recovery on it. I'm always very nervous about doing stuff like that just in case I've forgotten to save something and it'll be erased forever.

But other than music and pictures and documents like my resume, I can't think of anything else that I need to save. Actually, other than those things, I don't think there's anything else on my computer to save. So, after I post this, I'll probably go ahead and do that. Wish me luck!

Yesterday evening my mom and I washed her car, my car, and my dad's car. We did all three in about an hour. We are car wash powerhouses! I love having a clean car. It makes it more fun to drive. I'm actually supposed to take my car in to the place that my parents bought it from so that they can do some touch up painting and make it look even more new (to me)! So that's pretty exciting.

Well, I think I'm going to go get dressed now. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing today, so I'd better go figure that out.

-Ashley

Herbal Essence

I've started growing a mini herb garden. It consists of sweet basil, chives, and parsley. I've always wanted to grow my own herb garden because it would be neat to enjoy the "fruits of my labor." Right now, nothing has grown yet (I only planted the seeds two days ago) so I'm just looking at a pot of dirt. But I will be very excited when something finally starts to sprout! I love gardening even though sometimes I forget to water the plants I'm growing. This time I'll really give it my all.

I was browsing through my pictures on my computer, and I came across this photo from my high school graduation. It honestly feels like it was just yesterday because I can remember the day vividly. I remember that I drove down to Reliant Stadium with a whole bunch of my friends at like 7 in the morning because we had to be there at 7:30 or something ridiculous like that. I remember that it was so humid and I was sweating so bad in my gown... at 7:30 in the morning! I remember that we all got patted down by the AP's because they wanted to make sure that we weren't bringing beach balls into the ceremony. I remember that the shoes that I was wearing had 4-inch heels and I was paranoid about falling off the stage.

I can't believe I've graduated a second time. I don't feel like I got to soak up everything about college because it went by so fast. If I could go back and do some things over again, I would probably cherish every moment, good or bad, that I had in college. It's crazy.

So, my wireless internet in my computer doesn't work. Actually, it hasn't worked for about a month now, but I still haven't sent my computer into HP because I haven't had time to back up all the documents, pictures, etc. onto a jump drive. The help guy that I spoke with on the phone said that I should probably back up all of my information just in case they have to perform a full recovery on my computer which would mean erasing everything and starting over. Blah. I really haven't had great luck with computers. My first computer's hard drive got completely corrupted and I had to wipe everything and start over fresh on that one too. What a mess. So, hopefully they can fix everything without having to erase everything. However, maybe this would be a good time for me to clean out my files... pictures and documents I haven't used in forever.

I checked out Season 1 of Alias from the public library yesterday (how cool is that??) so I think I might go snuggle up in bed and watch an episode.

-Ashley

You can't change the cards you're dealt, just the way you play the hand. -Randy Pausch

I got a call from my dad today saying that I get to help him repaint the fence this weekend. Can I just say this: three times. This will be the third time that I will have painted this darn fence. I'm so over it. But of course, I kind of got a guilt trip from him about it, so I felt bad saying no. I was going to go up to College Station tomorrow and hang out with Hailey and Lauren and come back home on Saturday, but we'll have to postpone to another weekend I suppose.

I had my interview today at McDonald. Needless to say, it was interesting. I sort of got a weird/bad vibe from what the panel interviewers were saying to me. Apparently by "challenging" they meant 10 hour work days, no social life, difficult students, and lack of support. I'm just not sure that this will be the job for me, but at least I've gotten my "first interview jitters" out of the way. I know that the Lord will place the position for me right in front of my face, and I'll know that's where I'm supposed to be.

It's getting sort of late, so I'm going to go to sleep. Happy almost Friday!

-Ashley

I'd like to thank the Academy.

[Ok, so I had this big long post written, and then I decided to cut and paste it into a Word document so I could put a picture in, but I forgot to do that whole "paste it into a Word document" thing. So, I'm going to try to write this post again and we're just gonna leave the picture out because it wasn't that important anyway.]

So, now that I've graduated from A&M, I've officially really begun my job search. Since I did my student teaching in Cy-Fair, I obviously applied there. Also, I live in the district, so it's really convenient. The only bad thing is they're in a hiring freeze right now, so for people like me who are first-year teachers, we're kind of out of luck for now and we're playing the waiting game.

Because of that, I didn't want to wait around on Cy-Fair to [maybe] get around to me to have an interview. I've already had my general interview with the district to be cleared so that principals can start interviewing me. I even had an interview scheduled with the middle school that I went to when I first moved to Texas. However, the day before the interview the principal's secretary called and cancelled it. I later found out from my mom that the reason it had to be cancelled was because of the hiring freeze and the budget cuts that are being made. So, what I'm trying to get at (I seem to be very long-winded tonight... sorry!) is that I applied to Katy ISD and I'm almost finished with my application for Klein ISD as well.

So this is all leading into something, I promise. Mrs. Strickland, one of the owners of the tutoring company I'm working for this summer, is a math teacher at a middle school in Katy, and she emailed me the other day asking if I wanted her to give my resume to her principal because they have a math position opening. At first I was a little skeptical because she said in the email that the school is a little "challenging" and I really wasn't sure what she meant by that. But after doing a little research on the school, it didn't seem- statistically- that bad.

Today, I got a call from the principal at the school and he was very interested in interviewing me for that position. So to make a long story longer (again, my apologies) I have an interview tomorrow morning. I'm very nervous because this is my first ever interview for a teaching position, but then I'm also excited to see what it's like out there in the real world work force. So, your prayers are always welcome!

Ok, I guess I better go paint my toes so these people don't think I can't give myself a decent pedicure. I'll let you know how it goes!

-Ashley

I want to be a part of it!

I have this incredible urge to go to New York City. Well, maybe not just go, but actually live in New York City... for a limited period of time. Maybe like 6 months. I just love everything about the things I hear about NYC. I've only been there twice and that was a long time ago. I would just love to go and live in a loft or a brownstone and walk everywhere to shop, meet up with a friend for coffee at an outdoor coffee shop, spend an afternoon in Central Park on a park bench with a good book and a journal, take the subway to Brooklyn, or buy a hot dog from a street vendor and eat it as I walk down the street toward... Times Square, maybe.

Doesn't that sound like so much fun?

I need to just plan a vacation on my own without waiting around for someone else (like my parents) to do it for me. Maybe it wouldn't be something as lavish as New York City, but something easier to start out with. I just need to sit down and make out a plan to go somewhere and then present it to my parents and that will be that. Hahaha. I'll do it someday, I just know it.

I'm a little sad and lonely now that American Idol is over. My Tuesday and Wednesday nights are a little less eventful now. I have to say that given the circumstances, I'm very glad that David Cook won over David Archuletta. Of course since I'm an Aggie, I rooted for Jason Castro like nobody's business. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that at some points during the voting process I had two phones to my ear and another one hanging in the balance if my cell phone battery died. How cool would it have been if an Aggie was the American Idol?

I finished the last book of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I've just started The Lovely Bones. So far, it's... interesting. For Chapter 1, it's somewhat alarming, but I think it might be an eye-opening book to read.

Ok, my tummy is growling. FOOD!

-Ashley

One Crazy Life

Have you ever watched that show on TLC called Jon and Kate Plus 8? Well, today there is a marathon of it on TV, and I've been watching the last few episodes.

Frankly, I'm exhausted just from watching it. I don't know how the parents do it. They have 6 year-old twin girls and 3 year-old sextuplets- 3 girls and 3 boys. All of the laundry, the potty training, the trips to the grocery store, the grocery store bills, the car rides to go anywhere... WHEW! But they do everything in a very organized and efficient way (considering the circumstances). I hope I'm able to do that when I have just one kid (because I'm not planning on having multiples... but we'll see what God has in store. Knowing my luck...).

I just finished writing my thank you notes from graduation gifts. I didn't realize how many friends and family members sent me gifts until I actually went through and wrote the notes and then put the stamps on the envelopes. I used an entire book of stamps plus half of another book! That's a lot of gifts. Isn't graduation wonderful? :)

-Ashley

Barnes & Noble

I love Barnes & Noble. Every time I step foot in that store, I feel like I've kind of departed from my life for a brief moment and entered a world of dreams and fantasies.

I've gotten really into reading lately. So, when I got 2 Barnes & Noble gift cards for graduation, I couldn't wait to get there and spend it all! I went the other day after substituting at my mom's school to browse and stock up on my summer reading material. I walked into B&N knowing that I definitely wanted to get the fifth book of the Left Behind series and the last book of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (please don't make fun of me... they're actually pretty good books and they're quick reads). After I have these books in my hand, I realize that that's too short of a Barnes & Noble trip to fulfill my quota. So, I decide to do a little more browsing, and I stumble across the "Former Bestseller" table. I found a book called The Lovely Bones. The only reason I picked it up is because it had a very bright, pretty blue color cover. I skim over the summary and it seems to be about a girl who has passed away and the story is about how the lives of the people who knew her have changed since her death. I have to say that even though it sounds a little morbid (my mom picked up on that too when she read the summary and was surprised I had bought the book in the first place), I was very intrigued. I always end up reading fiction books with a plot that is very predictable, so I figured I would branch out a little. I'll let you know how it turns out...

I think I'll go read about some pants that travel. Nighty night!

-Ashley