WARNING: No Day Dreaming on the Train!

SO.... guess who is the total dork who wasn't paying attention on their way to work this morning and managed to ride the subway ALL the way to 96th street when she meant to get off at 42nd? That would be me. Word to the wise: don't day dream on the train while listening to relaxing music, or you'll miss your stop!(I've always secretly been afraid that this would happen to me. But at least I didn't end up in Brooklyn!)

OMG

Marathon. Vegas. Two days.

AHHHHHH!!!

I've only worked out THRICE since deciding to run in the Make a Wish 5K and I am FREAKIN OUT! I have been sick and therefore unable to work out. And I've been AVOIDING IT! but... THERE IS ONE POSITIVE ASPECT: I have lost 10 POUNDS in the last month, and I am going STRONG on WEIGHT WATCHERS. IN FACT, 5 other people in my office have joined the WW this week! We are like a litle interoffice club! It is really fun. We email eachother all day long and give eachother support! I am going to start going to the actual Weight Watcher meeting next Saturday, and I am very excited. WOOT WOOT!

My favorite blog to read...

is called The Rules Girl!
If you haven't heard of this blog before, and you're a girl (or a curious guy) then you should TOTALLY check it out!

Rules Girl is funny, and SMART, and talks all about living life to the fullest! I basically love her - not to mention we are bunk-mates ;) Do yourself a favor and check out The Rules Girl, and tell all your female friends they should do the same!

XOXO
Ashley

Darwin Awards

A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer was just $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?]

Saturday Movies

This is a great show... very compelling!
And THIS is a BEAUTIFUL love story! If you haven't seen it, you should!!

Where are the Gitmo prisoners going to go?

Here's an article about how Republicans don't much care for the closing of Guantanamo, cause where the heck are they gonna put the prisoners?? Seriously, where are they gonna go?

Excerpt:
Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told Politico that he’s written a letter to Obama “telling him, ‘Don’t move these dangerous terrorists to Texas – we don’t want them there.’”

“I think governing is a lot harder than campaigning,” Cornyn said. “I think he needs to be very cautious about precipitous action that could well endanger American citizens.”

Very interesting...

Tom Hanks Apologizes for Calling Mormon Support of Prop 8 'Un-American'

I didn't even know this happened in the first place, but I saw this article and thought I would post it. Click on the above link to see the full article on People.com

Below is Tom Hanks apology, and I think it was very nice.

Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California's Proposition 8 as "un-American." I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination. But everyone has a right to vote their conscience – nothing could be more American. To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are "un-American" creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use "un- American" lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have.
Sincerely,
Tom Hanks.

I very much agree with his viewpoint that calling anyone "un-American" for their opinion "creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement."

I object!

I was chatting with my cubie/co-worker Mark over lunch about whether or not a Hybrid car is better(as in cheaper) than a standard car over a long period of time. This convo splintered off into me telling Mark about the car I used to drive that I loved... which prompted me to pull up a picture online of the model of car to show him. I typed in Jeep Wrangler, and clicked on the first picture that looked like my car. And get this... the website that popped up was titled:

Stuff Dumb Chicks Like

Funny, yes. But accurate? After Mark and I got our giggles out, I decided I should probably check out what else might qualify me as a "dumb chick" according to this random blogger boy. Let's start at the top:

#6 Burt's Bees
you know, the chapstick! I don't use this brand specifically, but I think chapstick is a necessity. You'd think random blogger boy would prefer a girl who moisturizes!

#5 Jeep Wranglers
Strike one. I always thought driving one of these was a sign of a free spirit! Especially with Buddha chilling on the dash... right Shelbs?

#4 Donnie Darko
Uh oh... that's strike two for me. Why is liking a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal and a giant bunny rabbit from the future a bad thing? Boys like time travel too, ya know... well, nerdy sci-fi boys anyway...

#3 "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey
Since when is enjoying a Journey song, or two, a crime? I find myself asking myself... anyone who loves this music is obviously not dumb, but very intelligent.

#2 Babysitting
Who likes babysitting? I'm 25, I like men!
(I know ONE of you blog readers likes babysitting... you know who you are... that's another strike for you!)

And last but not least....
#1 Diet Coke
Nothing wrong with enjoying a little soda without the calories! I think girls who drink Diet are probably smarter than those who drink regular... and probs thinner too!

This guys blog is SO funny... he spins philosophical on all this shiz! My conclusion: blogger boy got burned by some cool chick that was into all these items.

Dare we forget about...

!!!!

I can get a little carried away...

Courtney asked for a Busterbama...So I made one! Then I thought, we should have a Courtney and Matt version too...While I'm at it, Jon deserves one!
And then this one is my fave! Okay... I think I might be done now... :)

Obamiconme!

This is so fun. Have you seen the red/white/blue obama posters? You can make your own here: http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/
(i TOTALLY copied this from Britt's blog!)...

Stella Smiles!

Cause I was giving her a good neck scrub!

Free Admission to DISNEYLAND?!?

You Better belive it! Disneyland is offering FREE admission on everyone's B-day in 2009! You just have to sign up ahead of time... I signed myself up today! No catch. D-land is just the happiest place on Earth. So if anyone wants to go to Disneyland on my birthday with me (July 7th, 2009) I'll see you there!
8:)

xoxo
Ashley

The Jonas Brothers love Benton Paul!

So on this video cast that the Jonas Brothers did recently where fans could email questions, one fan asked Joe (the middle bro) what his favorite song is currently, and he replied, "My favorite song right now is a song that I think you should all download, by Benton Paul, the song is 'I only see you'. That's a great song, it's really good, you should go check it out." How exciting for Benton!! (FYI, Benton studied in the same program as my brother Jon in college, they are still good friends).

Check out Benton's music on MySpace! My favorite song on there right now is "Jen's Song". I've loved that song since first hearing Benton play it years ago at the Border's in Provo... good times!

Here is that Jonas Brothers clip (pay special attention to the 2 minute mark):

A plane crashed in the Hudson

Crazy, right? It crashed about 2 blocks away from where I work (see the map- the plane crashed at the top red dot, and the top red X is where I work). I'm sure all of you have heard the news, all the passengers and crew survived, thank goodness. But how scary, right?? WELL, my roommate Ash and I were watching the news tonight, and the news guy said the plane had floated down the Hudson and finally stopped and was anchored in Battery Park City (see map- the lower X is where we live, the lower dot is where the plane stopped floating). We decided it might be a good idea for us to go check it out... so we did! Here are the pics! (pretty crappy, but you can see the wing sticking out of the water) This was the first view we had:There were a ton of emergency vehicles all around the area, plus TV crews, and a few people like us trying to see the plane (not too many though, it was 17 degrees- with a "felt like 5 degrees" on weather.com- freezing!) Here you can see the wing dead center, sort of behind a light post:
The wing is center/right in this pic (sorry these pics are so crummy!) Those are all emergency workers down there, we couldn't get that close as everything was roped off.The whole thing was a miracle, if you ask me. Amazing that no one was hurt.

ode to sue-sue

Big Brother is watching.....but not commenting....

Not a big surprise...

According to my most recent National Geographic Magazine, "vicious velociraptors are relatives of today's turkeys." Not a big surprise considering a crazy tom turkey tried to kill me when I was 9. Nasty, ugly things... at least they taste good!

RE: American Idol...

Was I the only one who saw Ryan Seacrest try to HIGH-FIVE a blind singer on AI? LOL- I'm posting this video once it's available...

At the Park.

Stella has a new TRICK. It goes like this: she plays NON-STOP at the dog park, and then when it is time to go and she is panting a lot, we have to walk down a hill to get to our car and she lays down flat on her belly- and stays there. Dave will tug and coerce, and then a few steps later she will lay down AGAIN! And give us a look like I'm tired (but then a dog will approach, her tail will waggle, and up she springs!). Tricky little pup.(artwork by Ashley)

My NEW Dream!!!

I can't stop thinking about the Amazing Race! I HAVE to be on that show, I am in love with it. Can't you just see me and Shelby racing around the world??!!Look at our determined faces!!! We'd be the hot/smart/awesome identical twins in matching pink track suits, ready to bungee jump, eat whatever, climb whatever, and outrun the beekeepers, lesbians, older married couple, mother and son duo and/or best friend models!!!

Sunday Night Dinners

Every Sunday, wonderful Brenda makes a bunch of us dinner. My personal favorite Sunday Dinner's are those that include our dear friend Jenn. Because without a doubt, this is the hilarious scene I'll see from across the table.Thank you, Jenn, for being the Ying to Brenda's Yang! And for saying the most irreverent things and making Brenda's face match her hair. :)

The End of an Era

Well, Stargate Atlantis has come to an end! The series finale was really good, bringing the city of Atlantis back to Earth in an attempt to stop a mega wraith ship attack. Of course, the humans won! The end scene was my favorite, as Atlantis came to rest in the San Francisco harbor (cloaked, of course) with a fab view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Gotta love it!

Girls Night Out!

And boy did we have a great turnout! 19 chicas gathered at Battery Park for a Friday night showing of "Bride Wars." (Top Left: Carly, Becky, Alicia, Lyndee, Crystal, Brenda, Kathryn, Maria, Rachel, Sami, Katie, Shauna, Libby, Kim, Ashley, Brittney, Heidi, Ashley, Courtnie)
Funny flick, I think we all enjoyed it!

Today was WINDY!

This is me walking to work this morning. The big flat plastic Gristedes bag might as well have been a sail, it tried to carry me away!

Training for the 5k

So I just finished my second day of training for a 5k! At the end of January I'm flying to Vegas for Kendall Tenney's 8th Annual 5k 'Run for a Wish'! I am very excited... I may have attended this run once before... and I may have walked the 1 mile fun walk instead of running the 5k... and everyone might have thought I was a wimp... so this year I'm making up for it!

I have been inspired for this run by three people:
*Firstly, Kendall Tenney, who also happens to be my bro-in-law and all around awesome guy...

*Secondly, my sister and twin Shelby Greer... if she's going to do it, you bet I'm going to do it too! What's better than one skinny twin? TWO!


*And lastly, Brittney Cramer, without whom I would not have been able to tell my roommates I was going "Wogging" tonight.


I've never particularly enjoyed anything about running, but these past two days have been very nice! I can already feel the endorphins (I've always thought that word looks like dolphins) I can already feel the dolphins! They are happy little things, and they make me feel good. A good reason why you should run too. :)

Beauty

The full article is much better, but if you're short on time, read below:

In January of '07 a man walked into a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six classical pieces for 43 minutes. During that time, over a thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After the man had played for three minutes, a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in his case and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

One who tried to listen was a 3 year old boy. His mother tugged him along, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. His mother deftly moved her body between the boy and the violinist, cutting off her son's line of sight. The child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 43 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.17. Between each piece of music there was silence. No one applauded him, nor was there any recognition.

Only one person in the entire crowd knew that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces of music ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.00 each.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station. His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment in context, perception and priorities -- as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a commonplace setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?

Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent or beauty in an unexpected context? How many other things are we missing?

Don't Stop The Music

Why didn't I know about Rihanna? I LOVE HER. I took that itunes gift card I won, and got on itunes last night and went a little crazy... in a good way! I don't know a lot about music, so I just started clicking on the "Top Songs" section (in addition to giving Jon a call) and found, to my excitement, that there IS a lot of great music out there these days!!! I don't have many chances to listen to the radio, and when I'm home (as I was over the last two weeks) I couldn't find any station that didn't play 90's music, blah. MY WHOLE LIFE HAS CHANGED. Here is a list of the music I added to my collection. Any suggestions on other music I might also enjoy??

EAT ME

I grabbed a left over chocolate from Christmas, unwrapped it, and almost took a bite when I noticed what it actually looked like! Isn't it cute? I thought, if he could talk, he would smile and say "Eat me!" :) So I did (along with a couple of his brothers...)

It's the little things...

Welcome home to me!

I just got back to NY this morning from over two weeks in Sacramento. Here's some pics from the trip!

Dad and baby Maverick taking a nap... precious!
Mom with cute baby Conner!
My Grandma's...

Me and Grandpa...

While at home I made a couple acquisitions... check me out!
Motion sickness wrist bands:
I tested these out this morning on my taxi ride home from the airport... they work great! (and yes, I realize I'm a nerd... but at least I'm a "no longer sick in taxi's" nerd! I love these things!)

Plus, I finally got a new cell phone! I upgraded from the "duct tape to hold the battery on" model to the "slides real cool but accidentally sends texts before I'm done writing them" model. I think I just need to get used to the new buttons.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this clip to my sisters Shelby and Courtney... because sometimes you come to a fork in the road, and all you can find is a ladle!