i've been...

...tagged.
never thought that would happen. i feel like i have just barely existed in this "internet world" and actually enjoyed just "lurking" around (not in a creepy way, i just don't feel like i am a very eloquent commenter...so...)
anyway, my friend rachael marshman tagged me to tell six things about myself. six unspectacular quirks. i also need to tag six more bloggers and leave each of them a comment. and from there, the madness should continue...
without any further hesitation...my unspectacular quirks...

1. i am not a morning person. capital n. capital o. capital t. a huge part of me desires so very much to be the early riser who accomplishes much before lunch time arrives but the reality of the situation is that i am not...i know that God can mold me throughout my life to be that person, and don't doubt that that is something planned for the future ashley.
2. even though i have some hideously messed up knees, like since junior high, i love to run...i don't do it very often because it is wicked painful, but there is just something about it that i find so electric. it's like you get to connect and disconnect at the same time. i would love to participate in marathons (any length actually) in the future. it's kindof hard to explain. since i don't get to run, i like to get out and move other ways. i have been riding my bike, with hannah in tow, for a few months now. i average around five to ten miles a day, for most days of the week. we all ride to church together on sundays, which is super fun. hopefully we'll get geared-up for the "winter" down here, so that we can continue our biking throughout the year.
3. i spent a summer living out of a tent/under a porch. it was at a camp in arizona that i worked at for a few years. the summer before, i slept on a porch. the summer after, i did a lot of porch sleeping again. the first week was always a bit creepy, getting used to the sounds and never knowing if you'd wake up to a javelina sniffing aroung your sleeping bag. but it is the best, sleeping outside. once a week, we'd sleep out in the woods with the kids. then i slept right in the dirt. i love to be dirt-dirty. not, you know every day. but, i worked in the camping industry for almost seven years, and camped for fun. i'm down for three weeks with out a shower. smelling like campfire smoke, swimming in a lake. i feel like there will always be something about "civilisation" that i just won't get.
4. i hate wearing shoes. my feet need to be free. i need my feet to be free. i have three pairs of sandals that i wear, two are "everyday" and one is for riding my bike. even then, i can't really stand to have them on. i loved lifeguarding because you don't need shoes to do that. i love southern california weather because in the "winter" i can wear long pants that cover my feet and most people don't even notice that i am not wearing shoes. i fell like my feet are really wimpy since i have worn my sandals regularly, for like, the past big handful of years. i used to be able to walk around in the woods barefoot without a problem.
5. i'd like to start a little business from home. i like to sew and "make stuff." i am not very profit-minded, so i haven't made a whole lot of progress on this front. but someday...
6. i really don't like technology. here i am, telling you that on my blog. but really...there's just something about a notebook and a nice sharp pencil. something about a card catolouge and a book shelf full of encyclopedias. something about stamps and knowing you just have to wait for a reply. something about a tape deck...casettes, vhs...something about a corded phone and having to be intentional about time for conversations. i think it's the part of me that is romantic. i idealise those days before everything was happening at 100 miles an hour.

so, there's a glimpse into my unspectacular, quirky life.

1. debra, my sister.
2. jessie, a central coast friend that i met through my sister
3. hope, high school friend living on the east coast
4. mike, the husband
5. jen, from the seattle years
6. emery, a really honest blogger i learned of through my sister

here is your charge:
-link to the person who tagged you
-mention the rules
-tell six unspectacular quirks of yours
-tag six bloggers
-leave a comment for each

can't wait to learn something new...

...that's the way i roll...

...slowly, sleepily, and finally back to my own house.

hannah and i were gone on our grand adventure for almost three weeks. (just a few days shy)

we made it back to buffalo from north carolina safe and sound. and a little bit quicker with the help of grammy's new gps. it was quite a trip.

the next day, mike, josh, and my dad arrived around noon. that was last thursday. we left friday morning for pennsylvania. my cousin ali's wedding was great. i did miss the reception, though. i made the executive decision to stay at the hotel with hannah and take some "down time". we'd been going so hard for so many days and she was way past her limits of being able to handle things and function without a regular nap. (although, she was a champ during this whole trip. capital c. h. a. m. p.) the reception would not have been much fun for me or for hannah if we had decided to go. i'm sad i missed it, but it was the right choice to stay back. monday morning, we left pa and headed back to buffalo. we got to visit gettysburg and amish country in between the wedding and heading back. it was a lot of fun.

tuesday, we went to niagara falls and spent most of the day at the park. it was a lot of fun. mike and hannah had never been to see the falls, and i hadn't been there since high school...
God is so amazing. everyone should get to experience seeing the falls in person. they are awesome.

wednesday, we went to the erie county fair. that was also an "all-day-er". hannah got to ride on some of the carnival rides, which was very exciting, for all of us. she's never really been on anything besides a carousel, especially with out a grownup. her most favourite was the giant bouncy, blow-up slide. she could have spent all day on that thing. we saw some so-so "competitive place setting" displays. (that's what my brother decided to call them. they are like table-scapes i guess. it's my mom's favourite part of the fair.) we found the ag building where the maple booths were. (my favourite! i got maple cotton candy and a maple snow cone. i know, overload! but the products were from local, western new york farms...and what sort of local maple sugar farms am i going to run across out here?) saw some historical reinacters...soap makers, wood carvers, broom makers, potters, iron forgers...it was really cool.

thursday morning, the boys left at, like, four in the morning.

friday night, we left to come home. hannah and i "spent the night" at my folks' last night. we didn't get there until three this morning. guess who was awake for the two hour car ride and then decided to stay up for almost an hour and then decided to wake up at seven-thirty this morning...?

i'll get some pictures up this week...

i am so glad to be home.

we have..

..done a bit of traveling during the past few days.

friday morning, we left buffalo around nine a.m.
we arrived in winchester, virginia around eight-thirty that night. after dinner, we took the kids swimming for about a half an hour and then off to bed.

this morning, we hit the road at about eight-thirty and we rolled in to godwin, north carolina a bit after six.

i drove the whole way. it was a lot of driving. i got to spend all of that time in the car with my sister. it was great, even when the kids were throwing food and toys and fits. i haven't seen her in a long-ish time.

it's been good.

i'll be sad to leave on tuesday.

i love you, debra.

we shuffled off...

...to buffalo. tonawanda, actually, but it's just outside, so...

we'll be here for two more weeks.

that's a long time without my bike.

and i most likle will not be on the computer again untill i get home.

the wheels keep turning...

so, sunday and monday were both twelve mile days. tuesday i rode a little over seven. and yesterday, about the same, a bit over seven. today we are going out of town so it will be hard to fit some bike time in. will hopefully make up for it tomorrow.

one month later...

gee, i wish it was something exciting, but it's really just another month.



i have been on my bike a lot lately. since i started riding instead of driving most places, i have clocked almost eighty miles. yeah. eight - zero.



we cut our car gas bill by more than half of what we had been spending on average. that was super exciting. the tough rides are getting easier. the only thing that sucks is my pants are not getting any smaller yet...we'll see...



we have also been swimming a lot more recently. our complex has a pool and we (which would be hannah and i) try to go out a few times a week. i am really sad that i have missed out on getting hannah into swimming lessons this summer. (i may have a last minute chance, but am not holding my breath.) she's doing great in the water, not swimming on her own, but feeling safe and getting more comfortable.



today, we rode 12 miles...5 total to church and home this morning and 7 total to some friends' house for a fellowship dinner this afternoon/evening. hannah fell asleep in the trailer on the way home tonight. she was so exausted! we had a really good time with some new friends and some friends we don't get to spend a whole lot of time with.

here's the girl...practising one of her new skills, winking. this photo's from a few weeks ago, she's gotten quite proficient at it since then. although, it's still really funny

we went camping up in idllwild a few weeks ago with lots of families from our church. here are a few shots...nothing too grizzled, but for the kid's first trip, not too bad.

walking with dad

stopping for a shade break and posing with the friends.

our last morning. she actually cried after i woke her up and told her we were going home that day...that's my girl...

"operation grow tomatoes so hannah will like to eat them" has been deemed a huge success. maybe it should only be a partial success, since i haven't tried to get her to eat any tomatoes besides the ones from our plant. but she inhales the ones we've grown like i just sat her down with a bag of sugar and turned my back on her. it's really cute.

so, maybe our month has been pretty exciting. i just don't notice it while it's happening.

oh, my aching bones...

...well, muscles really.



yesterday, i biked almost 8 miles with hannah in tow. it was a great ride.



we rode up to the house of some friends for our first summer playgroup. there were pools to play in things, to climb on, lots of friends, and some shade. the kids had a picnic lunch, well, we all did... and played some more.. then they did a quick-popsicle-stick-picture-frame-craft for father's day.



the trip up was a little grueling. it took me about 40 minutes. it was uphill. the whole way. by the time we reached the last street, i was seriously contemplating getting off and walking. but i pushed through, literally, and we made it there. my bike was in some little gears and i was spinning my way up the last hill. but i felt great. when i was done!

here's a picture of hannah from january...it's my new wallpaper...

nutella is sooooo tasty!!

here's a shot of our grape tomatoes. our first batch, harvest? there are probably abround forty or fifty green ones still on the vines and three or four bunches of flowers.

here's a close-up or the tomatoes that hannah picked from our plant. she ate them like candy.

operation: "grow our own tomatoes so hannah will eat them" is a success, so far...

this one's a bit harder to see, it's the first flowers on one of our bell pepper plants. there are three... i wish there were a LOT more because we go through bell peppers like nobody's business. they make for some good snacking.

this plant is supposed to produce purple peppers. i am a bit excited to see them all grown up and ready to be eaten by me.