New Favorite Food

Ok.  It's true.  I go through new "favorite" things like chewing gum.  This evening, I created a fun little concoction that I fell in love with and wanted to share it with you.  It's something of an Avocado Taquito.

I put a tortilla down in a medium-hot skillet and put a thin layer of shredded cheese on top just until it melted.  Then I took it out of the pan and added some sliced avocado and salsa and rolled it up.

Quick, easy, healthy and YUMMY!!!  Enjoy!

Disney on Ice

I had the pleasure of going to Disney on Ice a couple of days ago and wanted to share some pictures with you.  The show was an absolute blast.  It was a last second decision to go to the show and I went by myself, but I'm so glad I went.  It's as much fun for me as an adult as it was as a kid!

A Bar in the Office?

I work in an industry and business where the sky is the limit.  Crazy ideas are brought to life all the time, which is why today I am considering bringing a bar into my office.

We have two "community" coffee makers in our office, but I refuse to drink from them.  Instead, I have my own coffee maker in my office.  I stock at least a couple of types of coffee beans and grind them fresh for each pot.  I also make my coffee with bottled water instead of tap water.  It's not that I'm snooty or high maintenance (though there are a few who I'm sure would beg to differ). I simply enjoy my coffee and I get a certain pleasure and satisfaction from the love I put into making it.

In addition to coffee, I'm a huge water drinker.  So much so that I make trips to the water cooler every 30-60 minutes for a refill.  I also love my protein shakes and smoothies too!  Tea (hot or cold) is sometimes in the repertoire as well.  I guess you could say beverages are my "thing."

Oh!  And let's not forget the cups, mugs, bottles and such that I drink from.  There is nothing better than a nice promo piece that I can drink from.  If your company gives away anything like this, please send me one.  I LOVE this stuff and use it every day!

My little cabinet that holds all my drinking stuff along with my phone, business cards and files is becoming over crowded.  Since I love to drink so much and put a lot of love into the drinks I make, it only makes sense to move in a bar for my office, right?  

Tales from the train

Good morning friends! Yesterday morning I wrote a lovely message to you all, but due to some technology issues, the whole message somehow disappeared into the abyss. Now that I have had some time to cool my jets over that loss, I am ready to write to you again.

I'm in Chicago this week for a trade show and I'm writing to you while on the train for my morning commute into downtown. A couple of days ago I spoke to a friend back in Indy and he asked me if it makes me nervous to take trains, busses and cabs all over the place. It was an interesting question that baffled me for a second. It never occured to me that this would make anyone nervous. Some of you know that I grew up in Chicagoland... Well, now all of you know. ;-) So this method of hopping from one form of transportation to another to get from the suburbs to downtown is not at all foreign to me. In fact, what would make me nervous is DRIVING into downtown.

I love this commute because it is such a wonderful time to relax, decompress and prepare for the day ahead. I have a whole hour of peaceful time on the train to drink my coffee and do whatever I want. (Confession- this morning I had to do a 50 yard dash to hop on the train just before it pulled away. So the first 20 minutes were spent catching my breath.)

Yesterday, I sat next to a man who was wonderful to talk to. We struck up a conversation for more than half the ride into downtown. You never know who you will meet or what you will learn.

This lovely commuting time came to me somewhat by accident. I was supposed to stay in a hotel downtown, but the woman I was to share a room with practically has the plague. When I found that out, I decided to find alternate lodging. Lucky for me, my very best friend in the world lives up this way, so she offered to put me up.

It has been some of the greatest time we have ever spent together. It is nice to come home to one another in the evening and have that time to spend together. In fact, last night she got home early and cleaned her whole apartment and made dinner before I got there. When I walked in, I was greeted with a, "Hey Ash! How was your day? Dinner is five minutes from being ready."

I can't tell you how much love and appreciation I felt for her in that moment. I am so blessed to have had this wonderful woman as my best friend for the past 20ish years.

Have a remarkable day! I will be writing to you again soon. There is so much more to tell!

Confession

I'm a little under the weather tonight.  In an effort to relieve some congestion I broke out the Vicks VapoRub.  It took me back to when I was a kid and what my mom would do when I got sick.  There was this thing called a vaporizer (I''m sure they still make them) and it looked like a little UFO that emitted steam and and Vicks.

Now I have something to confess.  One day, when I was probably 5 or younger, I figured out that if I held a crayon over the steam it would melt the crayon and the colorful wax would drip all over the place.  I don't know how many nights I crawled out of bed and played with that thing.  Many a crayola met its demise late at night in my little room.

I'm pretty sure I tried to keep everything cleaned up so I wouldn't get caught.  And I don't remember ever getting caught either.  If I ever did leave a huge mess, I'm sorry, mom.  ;-)

Homemade Thrill Ride

One day, in my early teen years my friends got a couple of snow mobiles.  The first time we got enough snow to try out the new toys my immediate thought was, "we could do some high-speed sledding if we tie some ski rope to these things."  So I went home and grabbed a ski rope and a tube sled and then directed one of the girls to get on the tube while I took the driver's seat.  

We went to an open lot on the other side of the neighborhood and I wish I had a picture of this lot for you.  It was probably less than an acre and there were a couple of obstacles.  On one side there was a little creek with banks that dropped probably 5'-6' down to the water.  On the other side there were one or two small trees.  Other than that, just a nice little space for us to ride around in circles. 

It didn't take long for me to figure out how to really get on the gas and maintain a higher speed as I made the loop.  Of course, as I gained speed I had to make wider loops.  Before long my friend was no longer on the tube and found her as I came back around on the next loop.  Poor girl, I had smacked her straight into the tree.  

After determining she probably didn't have any broken bones, it was decided that what was most important was to keep her awake in case she had a concussion.  So we got the snowmobiles back home and bribed her not to tell the parents by buying her lunch at Taco Bell.  Then we pumped her full of Mountain Dew  to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep and we were free and clear of trouble!  

Good times.

So let's advance to 2013... Yesterday at half past noon, my phone rang and it was a friend of mine asking me if I thought we could tow a sled behind his four wheeler.  

Heeheeheehee

Boy I'm telling you I hopped out of that bed so quick and found some winter gear to go play in the snow.  

I got over there and he didn't have ski rope, but he had a really long rope and some carabiners.  We made it work.  

Unbeknownst to me, he has a racing quad, not a four wheel drive quad (I didn't know there was such a thing as a quad that wasn't four wheel drive).  Whenever he tried to get the thing to go, the back tires would send snow and then mud flying high in the air trying desperately to get enough grip to move forward.  

Once we got it moving I grabbed hold of the rope, hopped on the tube and we started flying across the field.  There was so much snow in my face I couldn't see a thing, but I was having a blast.  Next thing I knew, I felt a bump followed by the feeling of flying through the air and finally hitting the ground.  I immediately felt water soaking through my Carhartts and looked down to find myself sitting in a giant mud hole.  I couldn't think of anything else to do except laugh hysterically and hop back on.

The tube started loosing air after that so we tried another type of sled that really didn't work out.  I was flipping off of it as soon as we started to move each time.  I finally figured out that if I hung on to the rope after I flipped off, I could just let the quad drag me on my belly across the ground.  Of course that also ended up a muddy mess when the downward force of me hanging on so low behind it caused the back end of the quad to sink again.

It was a good day.

Roll With the Punches (A Message of Hope)

It is New Years Day.  As others make resolutions and think about the fresh start of a new year, I'm remarkably unmoved by the whole thing.  On New Year's Eve, like on all other nights, the sun set and rose again to begin a new day. The truth is, in my opinion, the date isn't what determines an opportunity for a fresh start.  You chose when you want a fresh start and you decide what that means to you.

Today, I have no actual resolutions.  I don't feel any different than I did yesterday.  It's no secret that 2012 was an incredibly difficult year for me.  With my grandparents in and out of hospitals and nursing homes every few weeks, friends and family going through major life changes and struggles, relationships coming and going... and on and on... I cried many tears, lost a lot of sleep, drove hundreds (maybe thousands) of miles to be with my loved ones in their times of need and somehow lived to tell about it.

I'm writing to you today from a Starbucks.  My heart led me here today and I'm not sure why.  Something about a change of scenery and a hot beverage seemed like a lovely escape and that it is. On my drive over here, a Jo Dee Messina song was randomly selected by my beloved iPod and filled my car with a tune I haven't heard in a long time.  It's a song called "That's The Way."  I'd like to share a few lines with you:

My dreams fell out of the clear blue sky

And I was lost in the clouds

Feeling so safe and sound

Then something else knocks me down

That's the way it is

You've gotta roll with the punches

That's the way it goes

You've gotta bend when the wind blows

You live you learn

You crash and burn

It's hit or miss and that's the way it is

Isn't that the way it is sometimes?  It sure has been for me.  The line, "you've gotta roll with the punches" struck a chord with me tonight.  I understand the meaning of the idiom, but began to wonder where such a phrase came from.  Well, by the glory of Google, I figured it out!

Appropriately enough, the act of "rolling with the punches" relates to boxing.  It is a technique in which a boxer moves or rolls away from a punch to avoid a direct hit and if they still take the hit, hopefully by moving away, the power of the blow will be lessened.  (Info found here)

If 2012 taught me anything, it was how to roll with the punches.  I learned to see more clearly, make better decisions and effectively be there for others during the most difficult struggles.  Through all of the challenges I faced in the past year, I never stopped dreaming and never stopped finding things to make me feel like I was really living.  There were times when I felt so loved and had so much gratitude that I couldn't contain my joy.  There were also times when stopping the flow of my tears seemed like an impossible task.  

This is sounding kind of bleak, isn't it?  Hang in there, it's really a message of hope.  I promise!  

I started out this post by telling you I believe you have the power to make a fresh start any day, any time.  If today really is the day for your fresh start, I wish you the very best, from the bottom of my heart.  If you came up a resolution so just so you will have an answer when someone asks you what your resolution is, don't worry if it doesn't work out for you.  When you're ready to make a change in your life, make it.  Don't worry about the date.  

My hope for you in this new year is that you will bend when the wind blows and roll with the punches.  Life is sure to throw some punches at each of us this year, but if you can see it coming, do what you can to move out of the way and minimize the blow.  If you can't see it coming, lean on those close to you.  Find help in whatever form you need it.  Know that every troublesome experience is only a moment in time.  It will pass.  Someone told me that last year and it has become a mantra of sorts for me.  It has proven true 100% of the time.  I hope you will remember it as well.  It has made a world of difference for me.

Finally, in those glorious moments when there's not a proverbial fist attempting to to deliver a whopping blow to you, take a moment to smell the roses.  Go for a walk, have a cup of coffee and catch up on some reading, set out to achieve something, cross something off your bucket list, lay around and watch movies with someone close to you... anything that brings joy to your heart.  Things are never perfect, but when there is a moment to breathe, take it.  Enjoy it.  Savor it.  Smile.  There's a lot of good out there.  Really there is.  And you have an opportunity to be a part of it.    

Thought for the day:  The more time you spend trying to figure life out, the less time you spend actually living.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!