Remember the time a few weeks ago when we melted a plastic plate with a leaking popcorn bag? Well, this is what happens when two college educated people decide that the SECOND best idea for cooking a popcorn bag that appears to possibly have a hole in it is to put it on one of our glass plates: It explodes...

... into three large pieces, one small piece...

... and a bunch of tiny pieces.

Posted in: on Friday, November 30, 2007 at at 9:34 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

We listen to my iPod alot in the car driving to get (and waiting forever for) their sister, so the boys have learned some older songs. The last one is NOT my fault though. They knew it before I met them. I know. Highly inappropriate. They don't know its real meaning. The first one is my favorite mostly because of his rockin' out face he adds to it. And the surprise at the end. (He did it on purpose.)

Posted in: C Man, D Man, video on at at 7:04 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

Yeah. I totally came up with this idea all on my own. Feel free to copy next year.

Posted in: Christmas, creativity on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at at 11:14 PM 5 comments Links to this post    

I forgot to finish doing this. I started it a few weeks ago. Here are Part 1 and Part 2. These are just the rest of the pictures that I love that I've taken. Most of them are the dog and the niece.

Candice, my sister-in-law, and I took D and Alyssa Kate to the Big Dam Bridge a few weeks ago. I got some really cute pictures. Something about this one is just amazing to me. I don't know why.

She just looks so grown up in this picture.

This was on the beach next to Santa Monica Pier in 2005. It was pretty cold.

Jack and Alyssa Kate talking to each other. Love it!

This is what happens when you try to spell out "27" in candles and put them a little too close together. It was obviously very funny.

This was just a few days after we got him. So cute!

He looks like one of those big nosed dogs on cards.

This is hilarious to me!

I think was one of the first times they really met and spend time together.

Carving the thanksgiving turkey a few years ago.

Look at that vertical! Alyssa Kate is amazed!

I think this one has been on here before but it is SO worthy of being up again. Our neighbor kid called me over one day when I stepped outside... "Hey! Ashley! My frog likes cereal!" I was laughing for HOURS!

Posted in: D Man, Jack, niece on at at 10:31 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

...when you get back into town from Thanksgiving last week, the milk gets dropped outside the apartment and makes its way down the parking lot.


Hey look! I've had over 1,000 visits in two months! Yay! Thanks Sarah, Johnna, and Mom! And for those of you lurking out there not leaving comments, please say something. I'm curious who's reading and not saying anything. I know there must be a few of you. According to my Feed Stats, as of Tuesday I have SIX subscribers! That's the most I've ever had. I usually average 4. Who are you?

Posted in: oops on at at 10:16 PM 2 comments Links to this post    

Jack has always been a cuddler. He snuggles up next to me any time I'm lying on the couch. He LOVES my sweatshirt blanket and often claims it as his own if I'm not using it.

This is how he looked when I came in the room the other day. I love his little tail nubbin.

He peeked out from under it to see me.

On the way back from Thanksgiving, he got to ride in the front with me instead of in his box as usual because he was cold from getting out of the car in the 40 degree rain. He was chillin' in my sunglasses. (Notice the blanket again.)

When we got back home that night, he climbed up in my lap and nuzzled up UNDER my sweatshirt. It was crazy cute.

Then curled up on the pillow on my lap later. Cutie.

Posted in: Jack on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at at 12:15 AM 2 comments Links to this post    

I got all of this for absolutely free at New York and Company. Thank you, day after thanksgiving coupons. I think I now have a slight understanding of how Pigs feels with all of her bargains.

Posted in: cheapness on Sunday, November 25, 2007 at at 10:19 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

If you saw what I said last month, you know how much I love the Easter candy, especially the creme eggs. Well, for as long as I can remember (ask my mom) I've said that they need to make creme eggs for each month of the year. New Year Eggs, Valentines Eggs, St. Patrick's Eggs, Easter Eggs, Mother's Day Eggs, School's Out Eggs, Independence Eggs, Summer Eggs, Back To School Eggs, Halloween Eggs, Thanksgiving Eggs, and Christmas Eggs. Well it seems that somebody out there started listening as I got to the end of the list because guess what's been invented. Yep. CADBURY ORNAMENT CREME EGGS! Just like the original, but wrapped in red and sold at Christmas! Sweet cookies!

Jack's exited too!

And last year they started selling Christmas Mini Eggs too. Way to go, Cadbury!

Posted in: candy on at at 10:06 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

Here are about a month's worth (or more) of funny pictures. Off we go!

Dedicated Sweetener Trailer? Meh?

When I think of Jack in the Box, I often think of Marilyn Monroe.

Don't forget my buddy!

That is a very permanent sign for a very temporary need.

Hurry! They just have one!

This van tells the truth!

"OK!!"

Sometimes captioners don't know grammar.

Sometimes captioners type "coke bottle glasses" wrong.

Silly Super One Foods.

Where to begin... Stylish? Holiday? Fun? Cool? Nomad?

This is the creepiest Nativity set ever.

I wonder how they decided which words would be all capitalized and which would be lower case.

Violator's what? Legs possibly?

I really don't know what that means.

This sign is missing some punctuation or possibly clarity.

I don't think you're supposed to put a fact within the statement of a myth.

For Health's Sake!

Funniest License Plate Ever!

Three weird cereals at the Kroger's:

This is just gross.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Wha?

These road workers can't measure.

No, seriously. Can't measure.

Posted in: bumper stickers, funny things, license plates on at at 9:15 PM 2 comments Links to this post    

(This Montage of Collapsing Pumpkin would have been much longer, but this was at the house I work at and the 10 year old kicked over the guy after two days.)

Posted in: gross, Halloween on at at 6:48 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

I hate it when people call it Turkey Day. How hard is it to say Thanksgiving? We're going to the Fort Worth from Tuesday until Friday to see my fam. I'm super-excited since I haven't seen them since Labor Day. So until then, here's a link to this year's Homestar Runner Thanksgiving Cartoon. "It's true too. Funny and true." (Bonus points to anyone who can name that quote!) Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in: on Monday, November 19, 2007 at at 5:58 PM 7 comments Links to this post    

When D likes a song, he pretends that he knows it really well. This video is a prime example. We were at the pottery painting place (which is awesome, by the way) and Hey There Delilah came on the radio. Here he is attempting to lip sync to the song. I'll tell you it gets a little boring in the middle, but stick around because he really starts performing near the end.

Posted in: D Man, funny things, video on Saturday, November 17, 2007 at at 12:36 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

Posted in: movies on Friday, November 16, 2007 at at 11:58 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

Is this a new word I've never heard of?

Even Google is confused:


Have YOU ever heard the word baskart?

Posted in: funny things on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at at 12:22 AM 3 comments Links to this post    

Posted in: Countdowns on Sunday, November 11, 2007 at at 2:49 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

Some of my old students (who are now in 5th and 6th grade) are on MySpace and they post some of the most ridiculous bulletins, but sometimes they are funny like this one posted by a 5th grade boy tonight:


um oh well thers this guy and he said honey whers our wedding serteficat she said why because im looking for our exsperation date on it !! hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! IHOPE YOU THINK ITS FUNNY BECAUSE IT TOOK ME ALONG TIME TO TIPE THIS. THAT IS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I love how he says it took him forever to type it, yet he still managed to spell half of the words wrong. Maybe that's connected to the fact that only 35% of our 4th graders at our school last year passed the state tests. You think?

Posted in: on at at 12:15 AM 0 comments Links to this post    

I just decided to do one of those Love Languages tests online (although I already knew what mine were) but at the end of it, there was this question:

Lastly, besides your Personality interest, which phrase best describes you today?
Pet owner.
Parent of an infant.
Opinionated.
Black person or person interested in African-American culture and news.
Entrepreneur capitalist.
Clean clothes enthusiast.
18 years old or younger.
18 to 40 years old.
Older than 40 years.
None of the above.

These are extremely random things that, if I had taken the test on this particular page, I would have trouble choosing. "Well, I do own a dog and am throwing his ball for him as I'm taking this test, but I'm also in the middle of doing laundry, however, I AM 26 years old too. Hmmm..."

Posted in: on Saturday, November 10, 2007 at at 9:50 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

D loves Star Wars. D loves Legos. D loves Legos Star Wars videos made on YouTube. His favorite one is the one someone made to Weird Al's parody of American Pie, Jedi Knight. It's actually a pretty well done video, but he wants to watch it all of the time. Therefore he now knows many of the lyrics (after I looked some of them up and corrected his mumbling) and sings along...

And this is the video that he was watching, in case you care:

Last night I saw online that the awesome new movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium was supposed to be playing here at the theater today. I decided, since it's rated G, we were going to go. When we got to the theater, however, we found out the movie hasn't even been released yet and nothing else was starting soon. (We're going to try again next week when it actually comes out.) So I decided to take him to my apartment to watch a movie, play original Nintendo, and play with Jack. Here was the fun that happened...

Little boy in a big chair.

Jack welcoming him to the place.

They both enjoyed playing with Jack's toy.

Little boy in another big chair.

Grrrrr...

Jack was waiting patiently for D to throw the ball again.

This game is approximately 6 times older than the child.

I don't know what was going on here.

Jack started to drag him around.

This is the video of them wrestling. I know the first thing you'll notice is the music. He and his brother love Johnny Cash, so I was playing him one of my records. And I will be the first to say that I greatly prefer the Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon version of this song.

Posted in: D Man, Jack, video on Friday, November 09, 2007 at at 11:15 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

I want to start a new thing. Ashley's Awards. No explanation except I'm always allowed to invent new words. Here goes...

Cool Ranchiest Chip

Biggest Steeple Ever

Funniest Way A Lemur Has Ever Sat

Most Oversized Shipping Box In Relation To Its Contents

Posted in: Ashley's Awards on Thursday, November 08, 2007 at at 10:05 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

This is what happens when two college educated people decide that the best idea for cooking a popcorn bag that appears to possibly have a hole in it is to put it on a very cheap plastic plate in the microwave. And so I present Eight Pictures Of The Same Thing:

Jack's checkin' it out.

Mmmmm! Popcorn butter!

Jack's still eating it, but the real focus is WHAT THE CRAP IS WRONG WITH MY THUMB?!

He's sticking his tongue out again!

Yep. It's a hole.

My favorite Survivor character is in the hole now.

THE END.

And in case you were wondering, the popcorn DID have a hole in it, but popped anyway.

Posted in: oops on at at 9:38 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

These are some of my favorite pictures I took of my students when I was teaching. They are in chronological order, starting with my two years of first grade then moving to my two years of fourth grade.

This kid was a clown, but one day he just couldn't stop laughing and I managed to capture it.

This was on pajama day and we were playing Around The World (flashcard game) to pass time. They would always have their fingers ready to add or subtract. (These were also my two favorite students of all time.)

I just really like the sweetness of this picture during our Easter egg hunt.

I was proud of how well this picture came out. It was my end of the year shot of my favorite class I ever had. (In all four years! :))

Just a sweet picture of two of my boys reading together with their beanie babies my second year.

Almost all of my girls were front-toothless at the same time.

This was on a field trip to the Museum of Science and History in Fort Worth. They seem to be really interested in what they were looking at.

The perspective and colors in this Field Day picture are really fun. They had gotten their hair spray painted and were showing it off.

I turned around on the last or next to last day of school my second year and the whole class was doing this. It was so cute and hilarious.

The fourth grade field trip to Shreveport where they were learning about the Solar System.

I love this picture! It was on the way to Space Camp when many of these kids were seeing the Mississippi River for the first time. They have such great faces.

Crazy Sock Day! (They waved on their own initiative.)

Reading outside in the courtyard.

I like his look of awe at the model shuttle.

Posted in: on Wednesday, November 07, 2007 at at 12:27 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

I wanted to post just a few of my very favorite pictures that I've taken. I'm going to do this in a few parts. Part 1 is my favorite pictures of nature that I've taken. It was hard to just pick a few, but I manged. I don't have a super great camera yet, so these are the best I could do. I've done a post before about my pictures of the sky, but here are a few more other parts of nature, starting with probably my favorite sky picture I've taken.

This was right after Hurricane Rita came through Texarkana. The sky was amazing.

I was getting gas one day in Arlington, TX on a very busy street and this little family of ducks came crossing the main street and then headed here down the side street.

The sunlight on this one really made it come out very well.

This is the most unique flower I've seen. A bunch of them bloomed in the bushes across from our apartment in Texarkana both summers. I'd love it if someone could tell me what it is.

This was on a field trip to the butterfly exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth when I taught first grade. My student wouldn't move out of the way of the picture, or it would be better.

At the US Space and Rocket Center (where we took our students to Space Camp) in Huntsville, Alabama. I really like the moon in the background of this old rocket.

Beautiful clouds from a plane.

This was last fall on a garage on a house by my old school. I just thought it was really pretty.

Posted in: Creation on Tuesday, November 06, 2007 at at 12:42 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

D is not very good at throwing a 7 pound ball down a bowling lane. I was taking a video of him bowling and this is what happened.
Things to notice:
1. How he gets tired of waiting and sits down. (He did this or laid all the way down on his stomach almost every throw.)
2. His shoulders slumping when I said the ball had stopped.
3. His immediate knowledge of what we needed to do to solve the problem. Perhaps this has happened to him before?

Posted in: D Man, video on Friday, November 02, 2007 at at 11:44 PM 1 comments Links to this post    

D (the kid I nanny) and I met Candice (my sister-in-law) and Alyssa Kate (my niece) to walk across the Big Dam Bridge (that's its real name) this morning. Then this afternoon I took D bowling. It was an adventurous day. I posted all of the pictures on Facebook, so here's a link to the album, if you want to check it out. There are also a few funny signs in there.

Posted in: D Man, niece on at at 11:34 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

File this one under "Stories I Should Have Told When They Happened, But I Wasn't Blogging Regularly At That Point In Time."

Today is Jack and my cat attack-iversary.

I got home from work and went to take Jack outside to do his business as usual. He likes to chase anything he sees. Squirrels, birds, a leaf - you name it, he wants it. We saw a cat way down the sidewalk and he started to run after it. I stopped him on his leash and went to pull him back inside. We got right to our door and he turned around and started barking again.
The cat came flying around the corner and jumped right onto Jack. He screeched like a sound I've never heard from him before. A screech of pain. He turned around and looked at me and he had blood coming out of his eye. I freaked out and bent down to try to pick him up and the cat jumped on him again. I was screaming at it and kicking at it while trying to pick up Jack. Somewhere in the middle of this the cat jumped up on my leg. Luckily I wore pants and knee boots under them that day. After excessive kicking and screaming the cat finally ran away and I got Jack.
The extremely kind maintenance men came flying around the corner on their golf cart because they heard me screaming. I couldn't look at Jack's eye so I asked them how bad it was. They said it wasn't too bad but I knew I had to take him to the vet. We got in the car and I was crying thinking that my dog was blind. I drove to our vet only to find that our vet was freakin' "Closed On Thursdays!" I called my friend Sarah to find out where her vet was and she said she would meet me there since I couldn't get hold of Jon.
On the way to the vet I realized that my leg hurt. I pulled up my pants leg to see quite the injury. At the vet I asked for something to clean it off for now. They checked him out and gave him eyedrops and some pills for two weeks, neither of which were fun. I went back to the apartment, dropped off Jack, and Sarah drove me to the medical clinic for my leg. Since it was just scratches, and not bites, and since I had updated tetanus shots, all they did was clean it, and give me a prescription for antibiotics or something, but it sure hurt for a bunch of days.
The maintenance men told the apartment manager who called Animal Control. They had me give them a description of the cat and apparently set out a trap. Either they never caught anything or never set the trap. Nothing came of it, but I was scared to go outside for a while and had Jon take Jack out. He always carried a bat.
So here are the pictures...

In the medical express clinic waiting room. It was a really nice place. You can see almost all of the scratches I got in this one.

This was later that night back at home. The bruises were already starting to show. You can see I also had scratches below my knee and three smaller ones up on my thigh. All this from one jump on my leg!
(I had to wear windpants to school the next day so it wouldn't put any pressure on it.)

24 hours later

Three days later - This was probably the worst it ever looked.

One year later. These are my scars now. Not too bad.

And for anyone who was wondering, Jack has no lasting effects except a heightened fear of cats.


If you have also been attacked by a cat, I have made a group on Facebook for us victims. My friend said she thinks that a bunch of people have been attacked by cats so I made the group to find out. Join us!

Posted in: gross, injuries, Jack on at at 9:50 PM 0 comments Links to this post