General musings on the ups and downs and ins and outs in the life of a 30 something, unmarried, life loving, some times interesting and sometimes not, mostly happy girl just trying to figure it all out!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Busy Weekend

My weekend is PACKED! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Or maybe I'm just exhausted from the week I've had. Either way...

I am FULLY looking forward to these things:

Tonight
Dinner at the Global Grill (where they serve my absolute fave dish: Lamb Lollipops!) with my LOVE, AC, and my crazy Mama and Aunt Karen with whom nothing is ever dull! Then we will stroll around Gallery Night.

Saturday
LSU and Auburn are the only two undefeated teams left in the SEC (and, arguably, the only two undefeated teams that matter since the others have crap schedules). T Hamm (sadly) in an Auburn fan. I'm not sure why we're friends at times like these, but we are and so we are trekking out to Daddy's for a tailgate party on the sofa, cookout, and the big game between LSU and Auburn at 2:30. There is just no better way to spend Saturday afternoons that watching football!

Sunday
I will be taking miss Van swimming and sleeping it up!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Fall

So, I must admit that until recent years my Southern roots have not given me the greatest opinions of fall. I mean, we don't really HAVE a fall here. We have a few glorious weeks of summer New England Style (85 degrees) and then suddenly it's raining and cold. But I have traveled some the last few falls and thus have come to understand why the rest of the country loves fall so much. These are a few of my new fave fall things:

COLOR!
Who knew- leaves actually DO change color! And pumpkins and squash come into season and apples are pickable. Color color everywhere!

OKTOBERFEST
SO, I didn't even know what this WAS until last year. This year I went to the Oktoberfest put on by the German Naval Wing at Pensacola NAS and drank too much German Beer. Come to find out, it's stronger than American brews. We got into a pretzel food fight with the next table that ended up being shut down by a German Naval Officer. Kinda scary. I drank more beer to get over it.

PUMPKIN CARVING!
This year T and I carved pumpkins together and had a ball. I carved Van from a Better Homes and Gardens stencil, but notice I shortened that left ear so it was really her. I think it came out pretty well.

SCARVES & WRAPS
I have recently become a major fan of scarves and wraps. It's like getting to wear a little safety blanket!

And, of course, my all time Fall fave...
FOOTBALL!
Specifically, LSU Football. And we're undefeated so far, so HELL YEAH, GEAUX TIGERS!!!



Friday, October 15, 2010

Vaycay!!

So sorry I have not appropriately posted about Boston. I have been swamped every second since I got off the plane. It was fabulous and I adored it. A few pics...

"The Beach" in Boston, which is Aurora's favorite place. I would knock it except you can take your dog. So I'm won over. Because I can not take Van to the beach in Pensacola.

Apple picking, which is my new obsession. It is so incredibly fun! We went home and made caramel apples and apple cake. YUM!

Bedford Farms where they make their own ice cream. It's so incredibly yummy.

My sweet namesake, Aurora Lane. This was at Plymouth Plantation, which is a recreation of the original Plymouth Colony and surrounding Indian settlements. We had so much fun, and it was absolutely beautiful.

My BFF Shannon. Say your prayers for her, please. She's 8 months pregnant, pulled her back muscles, is in almost constant pain and the Air Force is making her move NEXT WEEK! She literally has the worst luck of anyone I know.

New England is one of the most beautiful places on earth in the fall. The weather is perfect and everywhere you look there's a breathtaking view. 

And... the face I adore! Aurora Lane Cothran. This little princess will always hold a piece of my heart. She has no idea how much she got ME through when i was helping her parents take care of her the first year of her life. She is priceless.

All of the pics from my trip are here, and feel free to check them out!


Friday, October 8, 2010

Travel Time!

It's official, I am off to Boston today! I leave in an hour. And I'm ridiculously excited. I've been packed for a week. Seriously.

And speaking of packing, I came up with a great new airplane travel tip.
I have a ton of product I just have to have with me at all time- especially for my face. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but I have an entire face regiment I must keep up with.
Plus there's hair gel, etc, etc...And I'm not checking a bag, so all of it must be with me in 3oz or less quantities.

So I saw this pill organizer in CVS the other day and thought- GENIUS!
I filled each container with a little of what i needed, slapped the labels that cam with the organizer on there and Voila! I am travel ready.

Have a good weekend and early week loves! See you on the 14th.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Naps

I am an obsessive, compulsive napper! I can nap any day, any time, and almost anywhere. I absolutely adore sleep. I used to nap on my horse when I was a kid. Unfortunately there were no digital cameras then, but if I find an old pic I'll scan it later. And in college on any given day you could find me, Niki, or both of us curled up together in one of the twin beds in our room napping. I have carried this habit as far as possible into my professional life. I usually take 1 or 2 naps per weekend day to make up for lost naps during the week. And if I am having a particularly awful day at work, I'll put my head on my desk for five minutes to regroup. I have considered getting one of those kindergarden mats for my office but haven't gone quite that far yet. Although, I can promise you that nothing I do could possible surprise my boss.


<--- Teaching Nathan the art of napping early. And it worked great- the kid takes two or three hour naps. Amazing. Of course, his mother is a champion napper as well.










<--- I tried with Aury but she ended up being a really bad sleeper all around. I blame S for this and not myself.

Can we discuss how I seem to be smiling in my sleep in both these pics? I wonder if i always do that.














Lately I have been hearing all about the fabulous health benefits of napping and getting enough sleep at night (I'm an 8 or 9 hour girl myself- 10 if I can swing it!). A 60 minute nap can improve your alertness for up to 10 hours.And I find myself in very good company- Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, JFK, Da Vinci and Napoleon were all religious nappers.

A few other benefits of sleep:
A 43% - 54% productivity increase
Improved learning
Improved memory
A healthier heart
Stress reduction
Inflammation reducer
Weight loss
Better vision
Better judgement

These are obviously the reasons I am as intelligent and beautiful as I am today. So take a tip from me and GET MORE SLEEP!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I was attacked by a chair

Sometimes, I truly believe I attract odd events. It probably doesn't help that I currently live with a crazy old lady.


<--- see crazy old lady.











So, this morning I was leaving for work and trying to be on time. This was slightly difficult has Sal has just returned from her 50th high school reunion and was getting me up to date on the guy who took her virginity. So fun.

I finally made it out the door to find that someone had lost a large, blue velvet recliner in our driveway. I use the term "lost" loosely as there is no way that thing could bounce out of your truck without you noticing. So I go in and get Sal, laughing, actually, because she just told me last week she wanted a new recliner. We headed out to move it; me in my work clothes, her in a loosely attached bath robe. As we drug it across the street (she refused to let it sit in her front yard and preferred it be in the neighbor's) we noticed its "innards" seemed to be falling out of the bottom, and as I took a step I jabbed my big toe onto the end of one of the springs and cut my toe. All this while the traffic is backed up by about 5 cars of kids on their way to the high school around the corner. Finally, we got the chair situated in the neighbors yard, the cars passed and I hobbled back across the road to clean up. Who knew a toe could bleed so much???

Obviously, I was not on time to work this morning.
I found another piece of the chair farther down the road and left it alone.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Mrs. Rose Update

Thanks to all for the prayers!! The precious Mrs. Rose is now home and resting well in her own bed.

Still no word on the cause or exactly what needs to be done going forward. But she was released from the hospital (which is huge!) and is doings quite well, all things considered.

I consider prayer to be the most powerful medication- especially in situations like this one. So thank you for your doctoring efforts!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Our Relationship is not up for Negotiation

Our relationship is not up for negotiation... 

I read this quote last night in a book I was reading and fell in love. The chapter was talking about the importance of friendship and looking out for one another, and also about the need to have people in life you know you can fall back on no matter what you have done or what has happened.

I think about my friends constantly, rely on them always, and am thankful for them daily. I pray for them, and am grateful for the prayers I receive in return.

I also happen to love quotes, saying, snippets...here are a few more faves.

A friend stops you to ask if you're OK. A best friend yells, "MOVE! She's PISSED!"


Tell me who you're with, and I'll tell you who you are -Spanish Proverb


A good friend is cheaper than therapy. 



Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.  You know whatever you do, they'll still be there.  ~Amy Li

Friday, October 1, 2010

Dreaming of Boston

It's been quite a week! So long!
Next Friday I leave for Boston to visit the Cothrans. I am PUMPED and looking very, very forward to it. I haven't wrapped my arms around Shannon (which I may not be able to do since shes 7 month pregnant!), Chip and my baby-girl, Aurora in too long.
I'm glad to be going back in Fall so I can see a bit of the season change.
Some pics from last year...

Apple Picking... I've blogged about it twice now. Think I might be looking forward to it?

Yes, Kendall, I will be pulling out my scarves and wraps!

My favorite jazz musician and the funniest guy I know.

Boston Clam Chow-dah!

Fall leaves!!!

All About Ashley

My photo
Spring, TX, Southern, United States
Playing with and keeping up with my nephew and niece take up a lot of my time. Van Geaux takes up the rest of it. Work is an afterthought most days! I like to be outside- but not when it's too hot. I get bored at my desk all day. Niki keeps my world spinning and without her and AC I'd lose it. My work ethic crashes at 4 p.m. daily and I live my sweet puppy and my hedgehog whenever I am not at Niki's. I truly believe naps are quality pass-time events, and sometimes I say bad words at work. I'm pretty sure I'm insane on multiple levels and I believe rules don't apply to me.
It seems that my life is quite entertaining. I didn't realize this myself, but was informed of it by my friends- who are rather entertained by tales of my life occurrences.

I'm far from a professional writer. These are just stories, comments, and other items for simple amusement. Hopefully it's a fun read, as Shannon plans to edit it into a book one day! Maybe we'll become famous, and maybe we'll just have some good laughs at my expense (and some other characters in my life). Either way, happy reading!