Sew cute.

I am going to make this dress.

And I will use this fabric.

Kennedy will wear it.

I will take a picture.

And then I will put it on here for your viewing pleasure.

You will be impressed.

Or perhaps you won't be.

Because my sewing skills are mediocre at best.

In all reality, this may end up looking very much like a muumuu.

Or like I just took a piece of fabric, cut

a hole in it, and threw it over her head.

Oh well. It's good to have lofty goals and ambitions, right?

... but maybe you could pretend to be impressed?... k thanks.

*(Pattern and fabric both designed by my amazing and incredibly talented and sweet friend, Carina Gardner. Thanks Carina!)

Obedience

I'm going to take a brief moment and give my dog a public shout-out for being so dang obedient.

I had to go pick up Kennedy from the neighbor's house, and told Harley to "stay", since I didn't want her roaming along the street and chasing cats. So she obediently stood there while her eyes intently watched me as I crossed the road.

Losing track of time, I stood there chatting it up with the neighbor for about 15 minutes, and when I eventually turned around, I was so pleased to see this:

She was still sitting there. Watching me. Waiting patiently for me to relieve her of her position.

Can we get a close-up?

Oh it's blurry. Sorry. She's still cute. Well anyway, she was rewarded with copious amounts of praise and treats, naturally.

What a freaking sweetheart. I am so in love with her.

I see a pattern

Do you notice anything interesting about these pictures?

If you said "You guys make a great couple," well, you wouldn't be the first. But that's not the answer. Don't you find it a bit odd that we are on the exact same side(s) in all of these pictures? I sure do. I was able to find a FEW pictures where we've switched sides, but not very many. This is definitely some sort of phenomenon.

And, because I just love them so much, here's a picture of Ivy, Kennedy and Kaia.

Time for some randomness

It's been a while since I've wasted your time with my random word vomit, and I figured it was long overdue. So, should you choose to continue to read this blog post, get ready for your time to be wasted. Sucks to be you.

You know how dogs lick themselves? Well, that sound is the absolute worst noise in the world. I'm just sitting here in the living room, minding my own business, and all of the sudden I hear "slurp. lick. smack. lick. slurp. smack. slurp. lick. lick. smack." And a disturbing chill travels up my spine. It's the one thing in this world that makes me want to rip my ears out and throw them on the ground and stomp on them until they're smashed to smithereens. But instead, after I regain my composure, I kindly nudge my dog so she'll stop making that atrocious sound. *shudder*

(I'll bet you had no idea I was such a good artist.)

I took a "health assessment" quiz at work. One of the questions was "Is your inner monologue positive?" And I don't know why, but it made me laugh. And then my inner monologue said "Ashley- you have a nice laugh." So then I clicked "yes" for the answer.

Does it weird anyone else out that bulbs (speaking in flower terms) multiply every year? The other day I dug up my irises to separate the bulbs, and there were like 20 of them for every 1 I planted last year. I find it kind of creepy for some reason.


I laugh at people who rock out in their car and sing at the top of their lungs while driving. And then I realize that I totally do the same thing. And people probably laugh at me. Because I'll bet I look ridiculous. But hey- at least I'm having fun.

Jack Handey is a genius. Why? He says things like this:

"I hope an animal never bores a hole in my head
and lays its eggs there because I might think I
have a good idea but its really just the eggs hatching."

and

"If you're ever on fire, I think it's best not to look
in a mirror, because that will really get you in a panic."

Genius. Pure genius.

It's getting colder. Yay! But it's getting colder. Boo! I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I LOVE it because it's so gorgeous and the temperature is perfect. But I hate it because it means that the cold, long, tedious, insufferable winter is just around the corner.

I don't like tomatoes. But my most favorite person in the world once told me that tomatoes help prevent prostate cancer. So then I thought that maybe I should start liking them. But then I realized that I don't have to worry about getting prostate cancer. So I shall continue to dislike tomatoes.


Something else I don't like? Riding in an elevator with random strangers. If there is an open elevator which is ready to go up, but someone is already standing in it, I will walk as SLOWLY as I can or I will stop and pretend to be looking for something in my purse so that they will go on up without me and I can wait for the next one. And if I'm in an elevator and see someone coming, my first instinct is to quickly push the "close door" button, but then I realize that might be kind of rude...so I refrain. Usually.

End word vomit.

Seattle

Remember July? It was a long time ago, I know. Well, during that blessed month, we went on a family (plus my adopted-second-husband-and-Justin's-best-friend, Chris) trip to Seattle. Here are some (a lot of) pictures with limited (probably too much) narrative.

*Oh- and all (except 2) pictures were taken by my talented mother. :) Thanks mom!

I think there's a rule somewhere stating that any time you go to Seattle, you must go to Machiavelli's- the best Italian restaurant. Ever. And since I'm a rule-follower, we went.

And ate (inhaled) a deliciously delectable dinner.

And then threw Kennedy in the bushes.

The boys were staying in a hostel in Seattle for the next few nights, so we ladies left them there and drove on home to la casa de mi madre (that's "my mom's house," for all you non-Spanish speakers).

There's another rule somewhere stating that if you are on vacation and within 30 minutes of a beach, you have to go. Not doing so would be an abomination. And, like I said, I like to abide by the rules. So the next day, we met back up with the boys and went to the beach.

*sigh....my favorite place in the world. The beach.

Kennedy busily constructed sand castles.

Chris was trying his best to make this picture awkward. He totally succeeded.

And just look at this house that was across the street from the beach. LOOK! It makes me want to cry because it's so beautiful and happy. One day when I have lots of time and money, this is what my house will look like.

That evening, my mom had a "special surprise" for Kennedy. We had been giving her hints all day, and she was trying so hard to guess what it was. Candy? Toy? Clothes? Pony? Nope.

Aladdin: The Broadway Musical!

As soon as she found out what it was, she was pretty dang excited.

Although that excitement was nothing compared to the anticipation of meeting the actors after the show.

She got autographs from the genie...

..and from one of the other characters who was really cool but I can't remember his name.

We had so much fun. The musical was spectacular and it was great seeing Kennedy so excited. Thanks again for that fun evening, mom :)

Also, sometime during our stay, my mom took Kennedy to the swimming pool. Here's a picture.

Now, I don't think there's a rule about pedicures, but they sure are fun. So the following day, we met up with my aunt, cousin and possibly soon-to-be cousin for a girls' day.

We went to lunch.

And our feet were pampered.

For some reason this picture makes me want to play "eeny meeny miny moe"...

After we were done, we got cupcakes. I don't have a picture of that. Sorry. So instead, here's a picture of Kennedy and myself. No, I didn't get a boob job. Thanks for asking. This shirt just seems to nicely accentuate certain features.

You know how Seattle is like the music center of the world? (Or at least one of them.) Well, since we had 3/4 of our band with us, we decided to go to open mic night at a restaurant near my mom's house. It was quite fun.

Another fun thing to do in Seattle is go take a ferry up through the San Juan Islands. Wow, is it beautiful up there?! Yes. Yes it is.

Look at us! We're on a ferry.

We hung out at Friday Harbor, ate food and browsed some shops. And smiled really pretty for the camera.

On the way back from Friday Harbor/San Juan Islands, we stopped at Deception Pass. Because it's gorgeous. See?

After Deception Pass, it was up to Bellingham to stay with my fantastic, wonderful and hospitable aunt Kristin and uncle Craig. (Thanks for letting us stay with you!) Bellingham is such a charming and beautiful city.

While there, we enjoyed a small hike/walk through Whatcom Falls Park, which is so gorgeous I can't even stand it.

So gorgeous, in fact, that I don't think I took any pictures of the scenery. Go me.

Anyway, we played on the playground, afterwards.

Chris and Justin played "king of the castle" and made all of the children cry.

And guess what else can you see in Bellingham? Llamas.

And that, my friends, is the end of our vacation. I apologize for the length of this blog post. I'll make up to you by showing you another picture of Kennedy.

You're welcome.

[P.S. To all you "I don't like Seattle because it's always raining" people- I'd like you to find any grey skies in my pictures. I dare you.]