Eco-Rant

As I was driving to work today, I spotted a dark, wide cloud of smoke hovering above the car in front of me. I looked at it and peered around to see if maybe there was a nearby fire. No fire. I then peeked around the front of the car. Of course. A huge semi-truck with a smoke stack (hereby referred to as a spout) on the side which was continuously releasing gas into the air. I get really steamed up about these trucks. I once called the cops because there was a huge truck in front of me on the highway (which of course was also spouting clouds of smoke right in front of my car) with a ton of cardboard in the back of it. As it sped down the road, big pieces of cardboard just flew off of it and on to the grass. I was livid. When I called the cops, they didn't seem to care much. They took the license plate and asked where the truck was headed, but I doubt they ever did anything about it. So anyway, after I see this pavement truck ahead of me on my way to work, I started counting to see how many I could spot on my way to work. Come on, it's a 40 minute drive each way, and especially in the morning when I'm half asleep I have to do something to keep myself busy. I counted 12 semis (with the big spouts) and 5 large trucks (significantally larger than my little Mustang) pulling large piles of things. I meant to blog about this awhile ago, but on my way home from work a couple of weeks ago I was stuck at a red light. I glanced to my left where one of the schools was letting out. The parents were waiting to turn left as I was waiting to go straight ahead. Every single vehicle waiting to turn left was either an SUV or a full-sized mini van. There were nine of them. I felt like I was watching the opening scene of Weeds. Which, by the way, is turning out to be a fantastic show. I just recently picked up on it, and I'm very glad that I did. I just started Season 3.

So my question is this: Why can't they work on some type of hybrid semi-truck? I know it may take a long time to develop something like that (since most, if not all, semis take diesel), but don't you think that's a little more important than some of the hybrid cars they've been creating? Plus, all of the hybrids are so expensive that most of the people in the lower/middle class who are driving around beaters to save a few bucks that are also putt putting around, spitting out smoke can't exactly afford to swap them out for a brand new Toyota Prius. So what kind of good are these cars doing? I truly feel like these cars were made because of the recent "green" trend. Yes, in the process of developing ideas to boost car sales, they came out with some nice cars that are very efficient on gas and the environment, but that wasn't their main objective. If it was, they would've also come out with some more affordable cars so that everyone (who cared) would be able to drive one. Don't get me wrong, I would love to hop into a Prius and only have to fill the tank once every two weeks, but who can afford that? /end rant

A Family Get Together.

This is just a tiny portion of my huge family.

Some of my family came in from Chicago yesterday for ONE day. They own a house in Cape Coral, so they spend the majority of their time in Florida there. So in order for my Mom + kids and my Aunt Caryn + kids to see my Aunt Cathy + kids, we all had to pile into my house. I then proceeded to give them a delightful tour of the house. We ordered five ginormous pizzas from Pizza Hut which ended up coming to us as 10 small pizzas because they didn't have large boxes. Needless to say, we'll be eating pizza leftovers for a few days. While all of the girls sat at the dining room table and caught up, all of the guys (and Brooke) engaged in playing Rockband. I think my favorite part of the whole Rockband experience was when Tyler, my four-year-old brother, sang That's What You Get by Paramore. He knew every word. Needless to say, it was a great night. I love family get togethers.

Problem: I'm sure you've all ran into this problem at one point or another. You want a big group photo... But who will take the picture? You're not somewhere where there's a large crowd of people where you can just grab a random person and ask them to take a photo for you. In fact, you're in your house with none other than the people you actually want in the picture. Solution: Have two people take the same picture and then ask me to Photoshop it.

Our Son, The Weedeater.

Yes, you read the title correctly. Who needs a weedeater when you can get your two-year-old to hand pick them out, roots and all? Gavyn's new hobby while playing outside is to pick our weeds. He grabs ahold of them, scrunches his face up (as if he's having a difficult time pulling them up), tugs them out, and says, "YAY!!" He then proceeds to look over at us and wait for us to clap and say, "YAY!!" back.

Funny thing is, no one ever taught him to do that. He's a natural. I took a few pictures of him today and I'm really proud of the one to the left. Mainly because I think I hit the focus dead on, which is something that I've been trying to work on. If you click the image, you'll see a larger version of it. You can practically make out every little hair on his adorable little face! I got a few good shots of him smiling, too, by letting him throw magnetic letters at me. Go figure.

I woke up this
morning with a stiff neck and it remained that way all day. Of course it had to happen on the day that I had 67 check outs. 50 of which happened within the time span of an hour. So if I had to turn to someone, I had to pretty much turn my whole body at them instead of just looking their way. I will really appreciate the flexibility in my neck from now on, once I have it back that is.

I feel like I spend way too much time in front of the computer and the TV. I'm in front of a computer all day at work, and even at home when I'm uploading photos and/or updating my blog. Then I'm either watching one of my shows, instantly streaming movies with Netflix on my XBOX, or playing one of the many new video games we've recently purchased. James is playing Lego Batman right now, which Russyl let us borrow. I'm about to join him because it's a lot of fun, but first I must induldge in a real lime popsicle! They are so delicious, try them. Eddy's. You'll thank me.

Food? Food, food. Food!

James and I have marked every other Thursday as our official grocery shopping day. Today is that day. Here's what's on the menu for this week:

• Party Chicken (It's a party in your mouth!) with a side of potato dish
• Baked Teriyaki Chicken served over brown rice
• James' delicious marinated steaks with asparagus
• Sloppy Joes with chips
• "Potato Delish!"
• Creamy Potato Soup with bacon and green onion
• Hamburgers on the grill
• Meatloaf with homemade scalloped potatoes
• Homemade Lasagna with breadsticks
• Ham steaks with homemade mashed potatoes

Typing that made me so hungry it's unreal! I'm especially looking forward to trying out the Teriyaki Chicken for the first time. On an unrelated note, Gavyn managed to poop everywhere a couple of days ago, AGAIN. It was all over his hands and all over the playpen at Tammy's house. Yum. Another random fact, one of my co-workers, Melissa, told me that the other day James said, "There's no one in the world like Ashley. I know that for a fact." So cute. I'm always flattered when people say things like that to/about me. I don't think that there's a better compliment you could receive.

When we get home from grocery shopping I'm doing one of the following: a) Passing out for a nap or b) Playing Toe Jam & Earl on Sega (if it has arrived). And I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about choice b). By the way, I know you might be thinking to yourself... Damn, she talks about food A LOT! You might even be wondering if I'm some kind of fatty. The answer is yes and no. Time to go.

Our Family.

I love our family, that is all.

SuperMom

MUST. STOP. BIDDING.
I can't stop myself from continuously bidding on eBay. Maybe it's because I'm competitive or maybe it's because I want practically everything I see on there. Either way, within the past month I have ordered the following:

Blue's Clues DVD - Blue Goes to School
Blue's Clues Plush Doll
Leap Frog's My First Leappad
Leap Frog's My First Leappad Books
Sega Genesis with two controllers
Sega Sonic the Hedgehog (1, 2, 3, & Knuckles)
Sega Earthworm Jim (1 & 2)
Sega Altered Beast
Sega Toe Jam & Earl
Sega Toy Story
Sega Castle of Illusion
Super Nintendo Goof Troop

I am unstoppable, I almost ordered Gavyn more Leappad books which would've been another $75! I think I need a wiiiittle more self control.

Ah, yes. I also went to PHCC yesterday for my appointment with the advisor. Classes begin on August 24th. I signed up for Intro to Education, Intro to Psych, Microcomputer Applications, and English Comp I. All but Intro to Education are online. I'm hoping that I don't get too overwhelmed, but at least two out of the four classes should be fairly easy for me. Plus, Microcomputer Applications doesn't begin until October and is mainly dealing with programs that I already know how to use. So, if I can survive this (full-time Mom/fiancee, full-time employee, and full-time student), well, then, I'm pretty much SuperMom.

Our Little Blue's Clues Art Project

This morning I decided to start a little art project with Gavyn. Lately, he has been in love with Blue's Clues. He (attempts to) sing the theme song, says "Blue's Clues!", and this morning he saw a paw print on Emma's box of litter and said, "Mommy! A clue, a clue!" So I started to search for some Blue's Clues things on eBay. I chose to bid on a Blue stuffed animal (but lost), looked for a suitable Handy Dandy Notebook, and looked at a few Blue's Clues DVDs. Unfortunately, the notebook that I wanted was a little too pricey since it was an original one. So I dug up my colored pencils and decided I'd make him one.

It's way more original and he got to play with it right away. We also went to WalMart to look for a Blue stuffed animal and some Blue's Clues DVDs. I thought for sure we'd be able to find SOMETHING there... But apparently Blue's Clues has been obsolete since SpongeBob took over. So we ended up buying him a Nick Jr. DVD which had one whole Blue's Clues episode. At least it came with some Wonder Pets and Dora the Explorer also. So he is currently laying down for a nap and watching his new Blue's Clues episode.

I probably wouldn't have bought this one had I known it was Joe and not Steve. Steve is so much better than Joe. I couldn't find any crayons so I let him draw with a green colored pencil, haha. Since I haven't updated in about a week, I have yet to tell you the poop story from the other day. Gavyn was supposed to be napping the other day, and I periodically go in and check on him while he is in his room to make sure that he's actually napping and not just sitting in there and playing with toys. So I walked into his room to discover my little two-year-old covered in poo.

There was poo smeared all over his hands, on his TV, and on his dresser. He had reached into his diaper and decided to finger paint with his poop apparently. Gavyn, I understand that you're the creative type and you like to draw and paint and everything, but really? Really?! I immediately put him in the bath tub and got to scrub the poop off of everything. It seems like every time anything happens involving poop (i.e. this incident, Emma pooping and dragging her butt on our beige carpet, etc.) James is at work and I'm at home.

This was I get to call him and complain while he laughs and says, "I'm sorry" while I clean up the nasty poop. I only have one day off where he works and I do not. This day just so happens to be a Monday. So the next time someone asks you if you have "a case of the Mondays", what they actually mean is "Are you having a poopy day?" Today has been a good day. Tonight I'm making some homemade sesame chicken. I know it probably won't measure up to the Chinese restaurants but I'm hoping it'll be a whole new level of delicious.

Well, there's only 28% left on my laptop battery, and no, I don't feel like plugging it in right now. I have approximately 10 minutes to finish this paragraph, check my email, and reply to Lauren's message on Facebook and then I'm outtie. I think I'll start doing more arts and crafts with Gavyn. If I get <--- that smile out of him each time, it will make it all worth it. Plus, I like exploring my creative side, too! One of the many reasons being a teacher would be so amazing. :) Eh, 19% left.

Seymour No More.

I awoke in a daze. As I glanced to my left the only thing that I could make out were those three, large black numbers. 8:32 AM. Why, you might ask, was I awake before 11:00 am on the day which has previously earned the nickname 'Lazy Day'? I'll explain.

1) James (left) is on a health kick. So he decided to wake up early, slip on his bright red gym shorts in preparation for the jog he would take approximately 15 minutes later, and send Gavyn in the room to wake me up. I turned to James and grumbled, "Why are you awake?" He replied while heading to the door, "I'm going yogging, do you want to come?" I answered, "Sure, I'll start yogging while I'm half-asleep in your boxers." AKA, no. Instead, he took Gavyn with him. I grabbed a yellow cereal stick, a cup covered in Disney decorations which held apple juice, and a Gavyn and placed them in the stroller. I opened the door for James, the cereal stick, the cup, and Gavyn. It was chilly outside. I'm not quite sure how it works in any other state, but apparently here in sunny Florida it can be 85 degrees one day and 33 degrees the next night. No sooner than I could plop onto my beige reclining computer chair to check my email, the door opened. "You're done already?" I asked. "Yeah, it's like my first time, give me a break!"

2) The phone rang. 'The Tide' by the Spill Canvas started to leak out of the speakers of my Blackberry Pearl. I glanced across the hall. Heaven's not a place that you go when you die, it's that moment in life when you actually feel alive, so live for the moment. It was my Mom calling. I didn't get up. About 20 minutes later, that same song began playing. I still didn't get up. About 15 minutes later, I finally got up. I called her back, even though I knew what it was about. My uncle was coming to exterminate our friend, Seymour, today. I wrote out the check, signed, and looked at the 'For:' in the lower left corner. Seymour, I wrote. The picture above shows James squatting on top of where Seymour once stood.

All joking aside, I would like to make a riveting announcement. I am now the first result when I google my name. Previously, Mr Ashley Dennison (shown below my name) held the #1 spot, but with a little help from the social networking site, Facebook, I have conquered it.

Well, I'm off to poke some holes in a rump roast and shove a few slices of garlic in it.

I hope that all of you readers (Mom, James, small group of MySpace friends/lurkers) have a fantastic day, and enjoy this perfect 72 degree weather while you can. Summer is rapidly approaching and I am not enthused.

Seymour Strikes Back.

I felt as though I needed to post this for any non-believers out there. Seymour is almost as tall as Gavyn. That is scary. By the way, I feel obligated to tell you that the first picture of Seymour that I revealed to you was taken on March 31st. So it has been a week since then, but really, it has at least doubled, if not tripled in size since then. I know, I'm ridiculous - I'm posting about our little friend two days in a row. Have no fear, it will all come to an abrupt end tomorrow at approximately 10:00 am.

My Mom invited us over for a delicious homemade asian-style meal tonight and we thankfully declined so that we could come home, lounge on the couch, eat leftover chili, and watch endless episodes of The Office via Netflix on our XBOX 360.

Tomorrow I'll be venturing into the art of roast beef making. I've made so many meals ten times more complicated, and I even have the ingredients to make the roast (I buy rump roast to make my Italian Beef Sandwiches in the slow cooker), but had yet to delve into the roast beef making realm.

I was thinking of a few great benefits of being a teacher today that I'd like to share: 1) Only working 9 months out of the year = being able to spend more time with family. 2) Possibly being able to work on my photography and even pick up a few gigs over the summers. 3) Awesome hours, excellent benefits, guaranteed retirement.


If you think that the journal to the right is as amazing as I do, then you should visit Somewhat Voluble and look into entering for a chance to win it! It's made of leather and suede and I mean, just look at it! It's beautiful! The contest ends on March 17th at 12:00 pm EST.

This reminds me of how much of a slacker I've become in regards to keeping any type of personal journal. I always opt to update online because it's easier and faster to type, but it's so much more personal to write. I've always said that one day I'll print out all of my online entries and put them into a notebook. Seeing as I started my LiveJournal in 2004, I'm assuming that's going to take up a little bit of paper. Anyhow, James finally caught up on The Office, so I'm off to rot my brain by watching TV and vegging out with my boys for the rest of the night. Ciao.

Schnookums.

Today I went to PHCC to take my college placement test. I did great on everything except the Algebra. This didn't come as a surprise to me because in high school I struggled with Algebra II.

In two weeks I have an appointment with one of the advisors to schedule my classes that begin in August. I'm more than likely going to take Algebra, English, and two Psychology classes. I'll probably be sifting through my options once I'm done with this post or tomorrow to see what classes will work with my schedule. I really don't want to have any classes on my days off from work, especially on Wednesday, so I'll probably end up with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The pictures throughout this post were taken a few days ago. Tyler and Gavyn are like two peas in a pod. Seymour (the plant pictured below, James dubbed him 'Seymour' after the plant from Little Shop of Horrors) has also become a part of our family recently. In fact, he has taken up a very LARGE part of our life. He is our little cactus/weed that won't stop growing in our front yard. James and I swear that he doubles in size daily. We're afraid to try to pull him out of the ground because my Mom had Seymour Sr. living in her yard. Rachel accidentally stepped on him so he decided to accidentally stun her with his prickles and leave her foot aching for days.


I apologize for the informality, you should meet him for yourself. I present to you... Seymour! The picture really doesn't do him justice. As I said, these pictures were taken a few days ago, so you see, he has tripled in size since then.

Come Wednesday, Seymour will be no more. We are paying $15 to have our lawn mowed and Seymour laid to rest.

RIP, Seymour.
March '09 - April '09
We will never forget you.

Gavyn never fails to surprise me with the new things that he has learned. Yesterday while Tyler was crying he said, "Aww, Tyler's crying." Today he asked me, "What are you doing, Mommy?" Dare I even mention him POOPING on the big boy potty the other day!

I'm intrigued by how quickly he picks up on everything. I think that he is the main reason I'm interested in going to school to become an elementary teacher. Nothing compares to the look on his face when he learns something new. Except, of course, hearing "I wuv ouu." Right now he is supposed to be sleeping, instead he just walked out to say, "Hertuwees!" which obviously means he needs Hercules restarted on his dvd player. James is parked on the couch catching up on the episodes of The Office that I watched without him today since he was at work. He was less than thrilled that I watched it without him, but really... How could I resist?

Well, I'm going to cut this short because it's now 10:49 pm and we have to leave for work at 6:00 am. Plus, I have to catch up on some much-needed cuddling and posssssssibly search the freezer for a much-needed frozen dessert. I know that I've already eaten all of my Eddy's Frozen Lemonade Bars. Why do I do this to myself? Thursday (grocery shopping day) can't come soon enough.