Happy Birthday Gray!!

Happy Birthday to Gray! 

2 years old....I can't believe it.

You are incredibly smart, clever, funny and sweet.

You love to laugh. You love cars, trains, pianos, balls and Pepe.

You love to watch Sprout, Mickey Mouse Club and the Little Einsteins.

You're already a great counter (perhaps you have a future in accounting like your uncles?)

You love to take things apart and you study how things work (perhaps you have a future in engineering like your dad?)

 You LOVE the water. 

You have loved baths since you were a baby and you LOVED the ocean and the pool in Mexico. 

So far, you don't like sand.

You are very neat. You like your hands to be clean.

You are all boy and a pleasure to be around.

You say "Thank you" to everything. You are very polite.

You love your family and you have NO idea how fiercely we love you.

Thanks for making me Aunt Ashey.

Happy Weekend!

In the immortal words of Rhianna: CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN' WEEKEND!!!

Wil says, "You go on, I'm gonna sleep in."

Matt's still in bed. It's 10:30. Me and the dogs are about to wake him up. Perhaps he'll take me to Hobby Lobby? Stay tuned!

July 2011

I looked through my photos and discovered nothing interesting happened in June 2011. Or at least if it did, I didn't take a photo of it. So I figured I would skip ahead to July 2011. A lot happened this month. Starting with my parents coming down to stay with us for a long visit. We made an epic weekend out of the 4th of July weekend. 

We went to EPCOT.

We ate dinner in Mexico.

We tried on hats in Morocco.

And in Norway.

We went to Weeki Watchee to see the mermaids.

They were very impressive.

But not as impressive as the one we found outside.

Later in July Matt surprised me with a trip home to Alabama to be a part of my Grandma's birthday party. We grilled out and had a wonderful time.

Grandma and her cake.

The Burns/Willingham/Riner/Sockwell/Crockett Family 

(minus Matt and Robert )

We played Frizbee.

The grankids.

(minus Matt)

The goofiness is obviously a family trait.

As evidenced here.

Petunia. These are blooming here in Tampa right now! Crazy.

P.S. I am creating new pages with About Me information, Photos and other stuff across the menu bar below the 2 Blondes graphic. Check em' out!

1. Lean Cuisines taste pretty good.

2. My sister is getting married in May. Andrea...we need to order your invitations.

3. We also need to order/pick out my bridesmaid dress pattern and fabric.

4. Saw George Clooney in The Descendants this weekend. It was pretty good.

5. Excited about the Oscar Viewing/Birthday party planned for this weekend.

6. Hates to run errands during lunch at work, but hate fighting more traffic after work to run them.

7. I need to go to Target during lunch.

8. Wish I didn't have to wait a year for Downton Abbey Season Three.

9. Spell check thinks I misspelled "Downton", but I know the truth. It's not Downtown Abbey.

10. We cancelled our cable service last week. Thanks to Hulu, Netflix and YouTube we don't miss it at all.

11. Matt planted a yellow rose for me in his spring planting this year. He also planted 4 different kinds of tomatoes and some jalapeno peppers. I've got to learn how to can veggies (specifically tomatoes).

12. My birthday is only a few weeks away and Matt has planned a special weekend. I am very excited to get my agenda.

13. Today is pancake day! Enjoy a delicious pancake. Here is a mickey mouse pancake creation I made several years ago....also kinda looks like a bear.

14. Hmmm...kinda wish I had a pancake for lunch instead of a lean cuisine.

15. Pancakes > Lean Cuisines

16. Does Lean Cuisine make pancake meals?

17. They should.

18. Did I just give away a billion dollar idea?

19. Never mind.

20. Back to the wedding.

21. I need to do the programs too.

22. Andrea? Call me.

Love, Ash

A Smile for today

I love the Disney movie, Lady and the Tramp. I loved the story of the young couple who got a dog and spoiled it and then had a baby and the dog and the baby were friends. I love dog neighbors of Lady's - the Scottish schnauzer and the hound dog who talks about his "grandpappy Ol' Reliable". It's just a great story all around.

In fact, I told Matt shortly after we got married that we needed to get a dog because that was the right order of things: Marriage, Dogs, Kids. So we got Stevie. She's been an amazing dog. When I saw this video Disney released ahead of the BluRay edition of "Lady and the Tramp" I smiled and had to share it.



Too cute, right?

Happy Thursday!!

Valentine's Day

Hope you are all having a wonderful Valentine's day. Here's a shot of my desk at work from this morning....notice my sweet Valentine gift from my best Valentine?

My sweet hubby left this for me in my car this morning. Made by hand. He's such a sweetie!

Hope you get surprises from your Valentines today as well!

May 2011

In May we went on a Crockett family vacation to a resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. It was a great week spent with family enjoying delicious foods, the beach and relaxation.

On the beach. Gorgeous water, sands and sun.

Gray was a fish. He loved the water.

The guys spent a lot of time jumping off of this high dive area.

And playing Frisbee.

It was incredibly relaxing and replenishing to be there. Can't wait to go back in July!

Catching up: April 2011

Time to play "catch-up" with the lives of the crazy Crocketts. First up: April 2011. What exactly happened that month? I blogged about my birthday (which happened in March) and then I blogged about sushi (which was delicious). Let me dig back in my memory for what happened the rest of that month.

First, good news! I had been unemployed since October 2010 due to some cutbacks at the job I got when I moved down to Tampa. This was a huge bummer. I enjoyed that job, liked the location and especially liked the steady paycheck. We had been cutting corners and praying a lot since October. After many interviews and job applications, I was offered a job at the University of South Florida in April. What a blessing that came just in time.

Before I started working at USF, I baby sat this sweet puppy, Lily. She belongs to a good friend of ours and I was more than happy to stop by his place everyday to take Lily for a walk. 

I went home for my birthday and had some delicious sushi with Matt's family and was named the official "Queen of Aunts". Thanks Gray!

While I was home for MY birthday THIS little dude had the audacity to continue growing and turn one. We had a frank discussion and I asked him to stop turning into such a big boy. No luck, now he's talking and calling me "Ashey" - I melt. Seriously, I melt. 

He turns two this month. This has GOT to stop. 

Celebrated my day a little early with my favorite birthday treat. Strawberry cake. 

And my favorite birthday guests, my family.

Took some photos of this awesome family. Little dude kinda cooperated. Hard to look back at these photos now and see how much he's grown.

Goofed off with my sister in my Pawpaw's 1950 Ford. We joked about taking a photo of us laying on the hood of the car like in automobile magazines. Andrea was reluctant as she didn't want to hurt Pawpaw's car. Daddy assured her it was ok. She hopped up, posed and then we heard a thump. I cracked up and Andrea turned red and slid down. Luckily she did no permanent damage - unless it was to her ego. 

Enjoyed delicious food off the grill along with my strawberry cake. Doesn't get much tastier. My mouth is already watering thinking about my dinner at home for my birthday this year. 

Hmmm...most of those photos are actually from February. I looked through all my old photos and could find NO photos from March or April of last year. Bizarre. Normally I'm always snapping away. Guess I took a photo taking break when I started the blogging break. 

Anyways, back to the April updates, I started working at USF and was relieved to get back into the swing of working. When I'm at work I romanticize being at home all day and getting laundry, cleaning, errands and other household stuff done. I imagine all the crafts I could do. All the thrift store shopping and clothes making I could be doing. But in reality, when I HAD to be at home all day I was bored. I had no extra money to go to the thrift store or the crafts store. There's nothing like losing a job to make you grateful for a 9-5 gig. Even if it does keep you away from your home way too long. 

We also settled into our new rental place in Tampa. We finally had enough space to move ALL our belongings down here and completely empty our house in Tallahassee. Another blessing came: we were able to place the Tallahassee house up for rent. We had it on the market to sell for a year with no bites. We had it on the rental market for less than a week. It was a month for us to be incredibly grateful. 

Long Time - No Blog

Wow, my last blog was April 7, 2011. I haven't blogged in 10 months. Why? I really don't know. I guess I just lost the desire to post things on here. Was it lack of time, interest, topics? I really can't explain it.

2011 was an awesome year in some ways and a challenging year in others. I plan to do a quick recap of what's been going on in our little world since last April. Those will come later. Baby steps that will get me back into this blogging thing. It's funny that I need them as I really do enjoy writing it.

Ok, to get me back in the spirit of writing and blogging. Here's a little questionnaire I pulled from the Pink Pistachio's About Me page. These questions made me laugh when I read over these questions her husband wrote for her about me page and thought it would be fun to answer them myself.

Here goes.....

If you were an animal what would you be?

A pet dog. Hopefully belonging to me or one of my friends or family. I must gravitate towards pet folks. Especially dog folks. There are some fortunate canines that I know of that are completely spoiled and loved. Plus, I could sleep all day and bark at stuff. If I were a dog I'd also want to be a small one that folks put those cute outfits on. That way when people saw me they'd go, "Awwww... LOOK!", and I'd just priss around like I owned the place. Because, let's face it, as a pet owner myself, I know who really owns the place.

What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is blue. Blue like the ocean. Blue with a bit of green. Blue like the sky during a sunset. Blue like the pale gray blue paint on my kitchen walls. I am a fan of pretty much any variation of blue. It's my favorite color to wear. I'm Blue da bu dee da bu dah.

What is your favorite drink?

Hmm...I love milk and sweet tea. Milk would probably be my favorite, though, as I can drink milk with just about anything. Milk and PBJ? Heavenly. Milk and leftover spaghetti? Yes, please. Milk and Doritos? Aw, yeah. Milk and a turkey burger? Of course. I love sweet tea, but I have to actually make it. So I def. drink milk more as it comes in these ready to go gallon containers...then again so does tea, but that's neither here nor there.

What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

Since I went to the grocery store yesterday you will find some boring things like margerine, yogurt, lettuce, cucumbers, eggs, milk, and cheese. You will also find a TON of condiments, marinades and other tasty add ons. Blue Cheese dressing, Dale's sauce (my kitchen is never without this), buffalo sauce, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, BBQ sauce and tons of others. I'm bad about forgetting what I have and buying duplicates. 

What was the last movie you went to see?

The last movie I saw was Moneyball with Brad Pitt. But that doesn't count as we rented it from the Redbox. It was good. I'm not sure if it's best picture quality...but it was def. fun to watch. I guess the last movie we actually went to see was the new Muppet Movie. I loved this movie and have always been a big fan of the Muppets. This movie did not disappoint. Great acting, great use of the Muppet puns and gags that have been used for years and great songs written by my favorite Flight of the Conchord, Brett McKenzie. He's actually up for an Oscar for best song (Man or Muppet) so I will be cheering for him later this month. "Man or Muppet" was nominated as best song, but Matt and I think the best song from the movie is "Life's a Happy Song".  Great lyrics. Watch it: 

How many gas stations would you say there are in the United States?

Ok, I will try to work this number out like Matt would. 50 States, I'd say at least 1 million per state. So I say 50 million? Not scientific, but easy enough math, which is not my forte.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?

Probably Melissa Joan Hart. My whole life I have been compared to Clarissa from Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All. Plus her voice sounds exactly like mine. And we have similar mannerisms. She probably wouldn't have to act all that much, come to think of it. I smell an Oscar.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

I'd want to fly. I'd fly home for visits all the time. I'd fashion a harness for Matt and Stevie and Wil to come along. I think I'd probably need to be pretty strong to hold all them up, but that's doable too since I'm a superhero and all. I'd fight crime for sure, but mostly I'd fly around and visit all the places I've always wanted to see, dragging Matt along with me.

If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?

I think I'd fly around, but in a plane, visiting all the places I want to see and dragging along all my loved ones with me for the first 3 months. Then I'd relax at home and try to enjoy every second, every laugh, every tear and every conversation. I'd spend a lot of time with God and find a hideaway in the mountains.

If you were a type of food, what type of food would you be?

Probably something southern or Italian. Those are two foods that I love. I'm a people pleaser, I like helping and I like to think that I'm classic and elegant in my own way. My first thought is chicken and dressing. I also like the Italian classic Spaghetti and Meatballs. Reliable, simple, crowd pleasing and comforting. I don't know if I actually come across that way, but that is the way I would want to come across to friends and family.

If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you have?

Ranch. It's my favorite. It's classic like a white oxford or a little black dress. It's simple. It can vary things up with buttermilk, jalapenos or chipotle. Just like me. 

How would you design a spice rack for a blind person?

I first think of Braille labels on the bottles. I'd also do different shaped bottles for different types of spices so they could tell by feel which bottle to pull down and read the braille. I'd also make it long and narrow so the bottles can't get too deep and fall over when they reach for a bottle.

What makes you angry?

People who think too highly of themselves. I'm a fan of modesty. People who talk about themselves too much, which I realize is ironic as I have a blog to talk about myself on anytime. Whatever, I'm not making you read this. :-) But, I think you understand what I mean. People with a sense of entitlement. And the biggest is people who take themselves too seriously. 

What’s the most important part of a sandwich?

Bread, sauce, cheese.

On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you?

I'd say any given day I'm around a 8 to an 8.5. When I'm at work it's probably lower, but it shoots up when I come home to my puppies and my hubby. Weekends are def. higher, especially when we go to DisneyWorld, shopping, beach or do just about anything that isn't going to work.

What’s your favorite article of clothing? Makeup product?

My favorite article of clothing has to be my jeans. I love them. They are comfortable and work well with any shoe or top. My favorite makeup product is mascara. I usually buy the cheap stuff and I actually never wear it that often. But when I do bother with makeup I do my eyes up nice and all purty like. Mascara is a great tool for a light haired person like myself. 

Finally, tell me about the love of your life?


          He's funny. He's great looking. He's a nice dresser. He's kind-hearted and affectionate. He's smart and well rounded. He has cool hobbies that surprise people. He's musical. He reads. He loves his family. He loves  the dogs. He makes sacrifices for the good of our family. He's the nuts to my fruitcake. He laughs at the same things I do. He watches college football. He cooks. He takes care of himself. He gives great hugs. He knows me better than I know myself. He loves me anyways.