Ashley Robison

(No, you don’t need to sing the rest of that part of the song.)

I decided to write a blog letting you all know what I have been obsessed with lately. (Warning: This is my feeble attempt to keep from studying)

Freecycling: as explained on wikipedia Freecycling “also known as Free Recycling, is the act of giving away usable unwanted items to others instead of disposing of them in landfills”. Genius. When I have a house I want a wood shop area and a welder so I can make art from people’s trash. I think it would be so incredibly fun!

River Monsters and Man vs Wild: I have been watching a lot of tv lately (obs) and I am obsessed with River Monsters and Man vs Wild (and even Man Woman Wild). River Monsters is about this man named Jeremy Wade who goes on search for large animals in rivers. He covers anything from shark (yes, some can live in rivers, scary right?!) to stingray. He catches these monsters, measures them and get info about them and then throws them back in the water. Thats the part I love best. He isn’t catching these monsters to hang them on his wall, he actually respects them so much. Look at this Goliath Tigerfish:

SCARY!!!! So the other shows, Man vs Wild and Man Woman Wild, are survival shows. They are feaking nuts (and by nuts I mean AWESOME). The other day one of these guys caught a huge snake then broke its neck using his mouth. It doesn’t get any more hard core then that. Oh wait, yes it does! Bear Grylls (the host of Man vs Wild) got a dead sheep, skinned it and used the wool as a sleeping bag to get through the night. Oh and he ate part of the sheeps heart…raw. Oh the things I am watching.

Zentangles: It is better to show a picture rather than explain it:

So much fun to do. The one above isn’t mine but I don’t feel like sharing my zentagles on my blog… sorry guys

Consignment Shops: I spent a whole Saturday in Richmond,Virginia shopping at consignment shops. There were some really awesome things at all of them. I can’t wait to go shopping there for homegoods once I finally get my own house. I bought some awesome Asian vases and old jewelry for next to nothing.

Scrubs: Brandon keeps on buying me new seasons so I have been going through 7 seasons of Scrubs with only 2 more to go.

The Hunger Games: My sister told me to start reading this book series and so I started the first book last week. It is pretty good so far. Reminds me of a Japanese movie called Battle Royale. I recommend this movie to anyone who doesn’t mind gory scenes.

Mixed Media Artwork: I love it and that’s all I want to do these days. I like the idea of not having to just use paint, or just do photography. Mix it all together and throw some ribbon in the mix! If you have time, try it. It is very therapeutic.

Big Brother and Project Runway: 2 tv shows that I enjoy watching every week. I will be so sad when these shows are over.

So that’s my obsession list. I was going to add that my laminator was my current obsession but I fear that I won’t be using it as much lately. Brandon and I are no longer in the Nursery at church . I will miss hanging out with all those cute little kids every Sunday. On a happier note, we got called to be ward missionaries. That’s right, listen out folks cause we might be knocking on your door!

Happy Monday!!

So I know what you are all thinking:

“Why hasn’t Ashley written a blog lately?”

I wish I could give you a cool answer like I have been busy with finals, or I am having a baby or I have had all of my appendages chopped off. Unfortunately those aren’t the case. My picture capacity has maxed out on my website so I haven’t been able to blog about my life. ‘Cause what’s a blog without pictures? (Answer: a boring blog).

So once I figure out my picture solution, then I will tell you about all the crazy/awesome things I have been up to and what is going to be happening in the next few months. To get you a little preview, my blogs will contain words such as crabs, wedding, purging, family, quitting and moving. Yes I know, I am such a tease.

Until then, don’t fret. I shall return.

This weekend Brandon and I went up to NYC to visit my sister and to see one of Brandon’s favorite bands: RX Bandits.  The bus ride there was super annoying, mainly because this lady was yapping on her phone all loudly the whole way and it was freezing outside. Luckily our friend Mona offered to pick us up from the bus stop and drive us to Brooklyn. Um, can anyone say awesome friend?

On Saturday night before the concert we went to a Ramen shop with Larson and Ashley (not shown)

I think it is safe to say that this is indeed an awkward picture

Anyway, we made out way over to the concert venueShilo and I were super excited to find out that there were seats at the concert, so we walked straight to them and got comfy. Luckily Brandon and Mona wanted to go to the standing area so it kinda worked out perfectly (for Shilo and me). The opening bands were Zechs Marquise and The Builders & The Butchers.  Then RX Bandits came on and we enjoyed them thoroughly.

The weekend was pretty fun albeit short. But Shilo and I were talking about how we have reached the point in our lives where we have realized we are getting old. Don’t believe me? Well, I made a list so see for yourself:

1. I sit at concerts

2. I would rather buy comfortable shoes than cute ones

3. I need to be in bed by 8:30pm

4. I bought “fancy pants” (aka: adult slacks for work)

5.  I prefer driving slow on the freeway

6.  I stand in the skin care aisle at the store and contemplate anti-wrinkle cream

7. I drink boost for breakfast (its like ensure)

8. I nap during my weekends

9. Lady Gaga is 2 years younger than me

10. I was talking about In Living Color the other day and some kid had no idea what I was talking about

11. American Idol contestants are a little less that 10 years younger than me

12. I want to wear pants that go up to my belly button, not below it.

Gross huh? So yeah, I am getting old. Guess I better enjoy the rest of my 20′s ’cause I ain’t gettin’ any younger!

Peace Out! (…do people still say that?)

My sister went to India is January and Brandon and I wanted to visit her when she got back. So we made plans to see her last weekend (February 5th). When we found out that there was going to be a HUGE storm in our area that weekend, we were glad we were heading out of town. So we drove up to New York on Friday before the big storm hit.

That night we made lasagna and played Twilight Scene It. We invited our friend Mona to come play with us and she thought she would dominate the game. Little did she know that my sister is a Twihard. Shilo can pretty much quote the whole movie (and by pretty much, I mean she can), give you first AND last names of minor characters and tell you which direction Victoria led the humans.  Yeah. She is that good. And I think she secretly works for Stephanie Meyers and her job is to go on every Twilight related website and read the whole thing. No joke. So, needless to say, she dominated the game. It was fun though…and at times, embarrassing.

The next day it snowed a little and we went out shopping.

That night my sister had a singles activity at her church. Brandon and I went to help out and we also “chaperoned”. Haha, not really, but other than the missionaries we were the only married people there. So it was kinda funny. We played this awesome game where we had tons of balloons and a volleyball net. There were two teams and the goal is to throw the balloons on the other side of the net and the team with the least amount of balloons on their side, wins! It was a lot more tiring that it sounds. My team won, of course. As they did in volleyball too. I act as if it was my experience and athleticism that helped us win, but we all know that’s not true. I just got lucky.

The next morning we went to church with my sister and I forgot to pack church shoes and socks for Brandon and this is what he ended up looking like

And this is a pic of my sister and me

After we got back from church, we ate lunch and then headed home. Little did we know the “damage” that the snow caused in Maryland and Virginia. We were making good time until the freeway we wanted to take was closed. Yeah. closed. So we had to take side streets…after it had snowed about 24 inches. The side streets were not plowed at all. I honestly thought that I would die in a cold, snow grave in Podunk Maryland. After 7 hours, we finally made it home. It was ridiculous. Here is what we came home to

We ventured out on Monday and I slipped and fell in our parking lot. I hit my tailbone pretty hard, bruised my elbow and strained my neck. It was crazy. Luckily I went into work yesterday and my boss fixed me right up.

So that brings us to today. It is blizzard like weather out here. Our office was closed and school is closed all week. They are calling this round two of the storm. It is pretty windy so it does look like a white out.

Anyway, here I will sit all day watching the snow. I just pray the power doesn’t go out. Like my dad said “If you can make it through this winter, you can make it through any winter out there.” So true.

Here is a list of things I currently miss. I am sure there are more, so maybe this will be part one. Anyway, here it goes:

• My Family- They are seriously the best.

• Air Rock- If you are not from Lucerne Valley, then you don’t know what I am talking about. Basically it is a talent show where you lip sing and dance. Pretty much the coolest thing I did in Middle and High School.

• My girls- You know who you are

• Making awesome movies with the Lugos- My sister, brother and I would make movies with the Lugos and man, were they awesome.

• The Happiest Place on Earth

• My extensions- I need to get them again. asap.

• Crystal Clear Pepsi
• Summer Vacation- Remember those days when you had the whole summer off? Yeah, whatever happened to that?

• Las Vegas weather- More specifically the sunsets. Walking out to our parking lot and feeling the heat come up from the asphalt. This picture captures it all. I can even smell it.

• Laughlin- My second home as a child.

• Vogue Night- The best thing ever

• Leo Carrillo/ The Beaches in California. Enough said.

• UNLV events

• Being Young

• Apartment 202- I loved that apartment. Not so much the neighbor below though. So many memories

• Dancing- More specifically I miss dancing classes and being part of a production

• Impromptu Family Get-Togthers

Lets see…the last time I blogged I was gallivanting around NYC with my sister. Since then I have just been hibernating in my apartment since the weather out here has gotten colder and colder. It even snowed 17 inches a couple of weeks ago

Yeah…it was as bad as it looked. It was the first time I had to actually “shovel” out my car. I use quotes on the word shovel because, like the two desert rats we are, we do not own a snow shovel. So we started off using a dust pan and the lid of a big container box.

Clearly that wasn’t working too well. Luckily some neighbors lets us borrow their shovel. Three and a half hours later our car was finally liberated.

The following week was Christmas. Unfortunately Brandon and I couldn’t make it home this year. Although we were severly bummed by this situation, our wonderful families and friends sent us presents so that we had stuff to open on Christmas. My sister also sent Brandon and I matching pajamas (that she also wore too) for Christmas.

After opening our presents on Christmas Day, we went and saw two movies: Nine and Sherlock Holmes. The latter was the better of the two.

So that takes us up to the New Year…where I did absolutely nothing. I have been catching up on sleep and youtube videos. I have also been contemplating possible 2010 goals. Here are my top ten:

1. Make it through the winter (highly unlikely)

2. Run a half marathon

3. Watch the KOL “Use Somebody” video once a week and completely fall deep into Caleb Followill’s eyes

4. Be a vegetarian (already three days strong!)

5.  Take the  GRE and get into the GMU Masters in Public Health program

6.  Finish my  novel

7. Take pictures and paint more

8. Try not to become too obsessed with Michael Mosley and the new season of Scrubs

yummy.

9. See my friends and family from the west

10. Think of one more goal to write on my blog

Thanks for reading! Stay warm. Enjoy life. Watch Scrubs.

Last weekend I went to New York to see Jaco-I mean- my sister. I took the Bolt Bus up to Manhattan and met up with my sister at work. She showed me around her awesome office and then had to finish up some work.

After that we went to Brooklyn (where my sister lives) and changed into our New Moon outfits.

We ate dinner and then made our way to the movie theater to see the midnight showing of New Moon. When we got there, there was a line (of course). We thought getting there at 10pm was plenty soon enough. Boy were we wrong. After waiting in the pouring rain for awhile, they let us into the theater and we got some decent seats.

Shilo and I were both worried that we would have to put up with screaming, immature 13 year olds…but that wasn’t the case. Creepily enough, there were a lot of people our age and older. Once the movie started there were plenty of claps, cheers and drooling I am sure. Whether this be right or wrong, doesn’t matter. We all enjoyed the movie. Enough said.

After the movie we made our way back home (half asleep since it was around 3am). The next morning Shilo and I slept in. We decided that since we already shamelessly watched the midnight showing of a “teen” movie, why not continue the trend? Let’s just say that I now know all the Jonas Brothers songs now. Yeah. We went there. We also watched Celine Dion’s A New Day DVD from her Vegas show. It is remarkable and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Friday was spent hanging out and enduging our middle school age obsesssions. Saturday morning we may or may not have seen New Moon again. We also dyed each others hair and watched a little Camp Rock…what? Lets be honest, we were doomed for the downhill Disney spiral after watching the Jo-Bros concert.

On Sunday I went to church with my sister and then she walked me to the bus stop. All in all it was a fabulous weekend that brought out the kid in me.

“So tell me when you hear my heart stop,
You’re the only who knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There’s a possibility
I wouldn’t know”