Nice Little Visits!!!!

Well we had the nice pleasure of having Dustin’s Mom and John come stay with us! They came out for a week to visit his Grandma and we got to have them stay with us for the weekend! Friday after the ultrasound we headed out to San Tan Flats for Martha’s Birthday! We met up with Malisa, Jensen, the kiddo’s, Aunt Cathi, Zac, Britney and Nathan, plus Dustin’s Uncle Dave and Aunt Lynn met us there too! We had so much fun! We really do love that place and the kids had a good time! Brinley hung out with us and had a nice time, but crashed as soon as we got in the car! She loved the dance floor, of course!

Saturday we got up and enjoyed breakfast and the Red Mountain Café (Mine & Dustin’s reminder of Show Low) with Martha, John and the kids and they headed home! Having to determine which route to take back to Oklahoma due to road closures from snow wasn’t nice for them! But they left and made it home safe!

Since my mom and Grams are also down, they stayed at our house on Tuesday til Sunday and we sure enjoyed their company! Uncle Matt also came over Sunday afternoon and we all hung out! I have to say I love love love having my Uncle in town! I love his visits, he always makes them fun! I wish he could visit more often, well I should go there too! I love how well we get along and I can tell him anything! I think my mom really liked spending time with him too! We watched movies and made dinner each night! I love cooking with him…he always has some great recipes to make!

Monday, Uncle surprised us by putting up some shelving in our garage that’s been sitting there for a while, because Dustin didn’t know how to put it up! Hahah. It’s sooo nice now and saves a lot of space! You can believe those are coming with us when we move (hopefully soon)! Mom got the rest of the paint needed to finish painting the house and some nice trim to spice up around the windows. The house hasn’t been homey since we moved in, but I think it’s coming along nicely! We did a neutral color on the walls with white trim! I love it! Katrina and I did some Cricut sayings for the walls and of course I’m taking those with me too! I love them!

Saturday we were invited to Uncle Brad’s for a shin-dig celebrating his birthday…which one was it….ummm….35th. Yeah, I think so! Hahah…they made rolled tacos, beans and rice with some yummy dessert! Everyone sat by the fire and had a good time. I of course was running out of steam from painting that morning! The sun was down and when I looked at my mom and said “you about ready, it’s pretty “late”…but noticed it was ONLY 7:30pm!!! Hahah…as Me, Mom and Grams made our way out the door, I called shotgun and Grams proceeded to climb in the back! Needless to say, she’s a safety girl and needed her seat belt! Well I don’t know if it was the fact that all 3 of us were tired, or what but this started a laughing frenzy amongst the 3 of us! Grams couldn’t get her seat belt on, so as we are pulling down the road, we pull over I hop out to help Grams, get it fixed and hop back in. We went no further that 2 feet when she STILL couldn’t get it clipped in! We stopped again….by this time laughing because Grams is having so many issues putting her seat belt on! I pulled out the part to click in the seat belt, hop back in the front and off we go. Another few feet we stop again cause she STILL can’t get it buckled!!! She gets frustrated and moves to the middle….still unable to hook her seatbelt my mom stops AGAIN and gets out this time. Now we are laughing so hard we are crying and Grams moves from the middle to the drivers side….Mom is laughing sooo hard she can’t help her buckle her belt! Finally, she buckles her in and off we go! We must have laughed and stopped-started for a good 15 minutes! It was hilarious!!!! Maybe you had to be there to enjoy the good laugh, I sure did!!!!

Sunday, everyone left me and went home. I felt lost without my family….granted Dustin was there, but it’s not the same when you miss your Mom! I’m going to clean and do some laundry! Hahaha…

8 Weeks & Counting!!!

So…on Friday we went back to our OB for our 2 week follow-up at 8 weeks, for our first ULTRASOUND!!! Dustin’s Mom and Stepdad are in town from Oklahoma so we invited them to join us for the exciting visit to the doctor! Since my Mom, Grandma and Brinley are also in town, they met up with us there too! Brinley was suppose to be going to the Renaissance Festival with her mom but told her she didn’t want to go, she wanted to go to the doctor to hear the baby’s heartbeat! So there we were….all 10 of us in the waiting room!!! They finally called me back and once the tech was able to locate the baby and verify a heartbeat, everyone was able to come back and enjoy this happy time with us!

It’s sooo amazing the little blob on the screen is OUR BABY! While Dustin was amazed and said “that’s it, that’s our baby”…the tech said “Yep, you better take care of it”! We all laughed! She verified that there was ONLY ONE baby in there, with a good strong heartbeat and everything looked well! I’ll try and get some pictures from the ultrasound on here….even though it’s hard to tell what it is! Haha. We were able to hear our baby’s heartbeat and it was soooo loud! It was about 176BPM which is VERY fast, but is a good sign that our baby has a strong heartbeat! I am 8 weeks and 1 day, however, on ultrasound i'm measuring 8 weeks and 6 days, but since it's in the same week my due date doesn't change. 

It was nice to have my Mom, Tanya and Brinley there and I’m sure Dustin loved having his Mom there to experience this with us!  Afterwards we saw the PA, Abbey Coppenhaver; http://www.azmomdocs.com/Providers/Abbey_Copenhaver.aspx .  I was a bit apprehensive on seeing a PA since I was assured we would be seeing our Doc today…but Abbey was just what we needed! She’s very upbeat, outgoing and very very knowledgeable!!! She answered all our questions, plus some! We decided to do the blood test for Cystic Fibrosis since it is on my Mom’s side of the family. We were given information about The First Trimester Screening for Neural Tube Defects, which we opted to do. This will test for Down ’s syndrome and other Chromosomal disorders along with some cardiac defects as well. This will be done between 12 and 14 weeks. Although Dustin didn’t want to have these done, I want the piece of mind knowing our baby is healthy.

I’ve been feeling really sick all day after I take my prenatal vitamins whether it be in the evening or morning. I’m not liking this feeling at all! We talked to Abbey and she told me to start taking Flintstone Vitamin’s that it’s better to not feel nauseous all day long but still get the vitamins in my system! Thank goodness! They make me feel sooo horrible! Aside from sleeping the days and nights away, I’m feeling pretty good. Bathroom breaks and snacks are a MUST about 10 million times a day! Hahah. Things are good and I will come back next month for another check!

So, since the last post….lots has happened!!! I was feeling better after much needed sleep! Was told I had a kidney and bladder infection, got pain meds and some antibiotics and sent home. I filled the antibiotics, but since I was feeling much better and hate taking medication, I told the pharmacist to throw away the rx for the Percocet. BAD IDEA. Since I was feeling better, Christa invited me to road trip with her to Show Low for the weekend! Since I’ve been feeling a little home sick I thought this would be perfect, so I packed and waited for her to pick me up about 4:30pm and off we went. Well we stopped in Payson for food and I couldn’t take it anymore. I was in soooo much pain, so much pain I was crying uncontrollably and Christa’s smelly KFC wasn’t making it any better.

Poor Christa, I made her pull over because I didn’t think I could make it to Show Low. Tylenol wasn’t helping and since Christa has never seen me in this much pain, she called my mom! Haha. I managed to call the Walgreen’s Pharmacy that I went to earlier and had them dig through the trash for my prescription for that Percocet I really could have used about now! Since it’s a narcotic, Dustin had to pick it up then on his way he was to be with me so Christa could go on to Show Low. My mom told Christa to take me to the ER and how thankful I was for that! We walked in the Payson ER about 7pm and they got me started on a shot of Morphine and a dark room! Dustin arrived about 8pm and Christa was able to get to Show Low. Two shots of Morphine, a shot of Delotid, more pain and moaning….then some running to the bathroom in between tears of pain sick to my stomach….I finally got some rest. Next came some more Percocet!

The doctor was great and told me the kind of pain I was having was that pain of a Kidney Stone! WOW….this pain was intense!!! I’ve since been told that Kidney pain is the worst pain a person would ever experience….well they weren’t lying. I don’t wish this sort of excruciating pain on my worst enemy! The doctor in Payson knew what he was talking about…(not surprised anymore that the Payson docs are better than the Phoenix ones, since this is my 2nd time as a patient in Payson). He gave me meds to relax my bladder wall so I could pass the stones he thought was in there. Apparently, the first sign of stones is blood in the urine, that means they are moving around. Since now I only experienced the pain and no blood, that means it’s stuck between the kidney and bladder wall. Just great.

About 4:00am I was wheeled out to the truck and pretty much was out! Got home and fast asleep in pain…slept until about 3:00pm on Saturday, enjoyed some company from Tanya and Dustin. Fell asleep again about 8:00pm until finally coming out of a coma about 8:00am on Sunday. Finally feeling better but still sooo exhausted. The reason for all this pain made it’s way out on Saturday afternoon….2 kidney stones! No bueno! Apparently, kidney stones are VERY common in pregnant women, and are caused from dehydration! Well I know now how to prevent them! Lemons help too!!!! Feeling much better and choking down the water since NOTHING tastes good these days!

Trip to the ER...What a Joy!!

So last night I hung out with Tanya and then watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice...then I headed to bed.  Out of a dead sleep i'm dealing with this aweful abdominal and kidney pain on the left!  I thought maybe it was gas or indigestion or something, so I held off from 11:30pm to 1:30am until I couldn't take it anymore!  I woke Dustin up and off to the ER at Banner Gateway we went.  We got there, waited for what seemed like eternity, got back in a room, waited over an hour til the PA came in and saw me.  Got started on Morphine, Zofran for the Morphine and Benadryl just in case I had a reaction since I'm allergic to Lortab.  Ugh.  I got some IV Antibiotics which I was immediately thankful for!

Then the waiting game began.  Blood in the urine...generally not a good thing.  Then blood draw and 3 ultrasounds.  Finally 6am rolls around and they finally let me go home!  Sooo not fun.  I'm hungry, loopy and still in some pain!  Bed was my best friend until about 115pm today!  Finally feeling better, got more antibiotics and i'm praying everything with this crap goes away.  This MAY explain the cruddy feeling i've had the last week or two.  Who knows.  All I know is this infection stuff is soooo not my best friend.

Hope it goes away soon.

Our 1st OB Visit!!!!

Well today we had our first OB visit!!!  Got an intense medical background; met our doctor Dr. Laurie Allen with Goodman/Partridge OB/GYN http://www.azmomdocs.com/Providers/Dr_Laurie_Allen_DO.aspx . She’s very nice but a little too shy for Dustin and I. She seems to know her stuff though which is OBVIOUSLY a good thing.

My official due date is OCTOBER 28, 2010!!! I’m 6 weeks today! I was given an array of blood tests to get done and a nice little welcome bag with A LOT OF INFORMATION ON WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT EAT! Not happy about that! Hahah. I come back in 2 weeks for the 1st ultrasound! How exciting!!!!

It Starts.....or Continues from the Spokane Trip

Ugh….sickness! So today is a good day; more energy than yesterday, which isn’t saying much! For the last week or so I’ve been EXHAUSTED!!! Exhausted to the point where over the weekend I did NOTHING! I woke up Saturday at 7am, and laid around the house all day. Slept the day away and didn’t shower and get dressed until about 4pm! Sunday, the same thing! I was in bed until about 1pm! The only reason I got up was because I invited family and friends over for dinner at 5pm and my house needed to be cleaned! Haha.

Cleaning or anything that required energy just drained me even more! Haha I picked up a good read “Belly Laughs: The Ugly Truth About Pregnancy & Childbirth” by Jenny McCarthy. Boy am I hoping that half of the stuff she talks about DOESN’T happen to me! I’m praying and praying this pregnancy goes well and there is NO morning sickness. So far so good, just exhaustion; no appetite (although the last 2 weeks I couldn’t get enough food in my belly) and really funky dreams. I’m not sure they are considered dreams because I find myself constantly tossing and turning and waking up with my mind racing 90 mph!!! Maybe that’s why I’m so exhausted when I get up….but I can’t remember what I was tossing and turning about! Haha.

Hoping that the morning sickness that I haven’t experienced yet stays gone! I’m 6 weeks and will start my 7th on Friday! Time is already flying by! I’m ready to start shopping…..look out!!!!

GI bug….I think NOT!!!

So Thursday 2/18 I went and saw my doctor to find out what the heck was going on with my stomach!!! I still felt like crap, but no vomiting, etc. Our medical system is so messed up, and yes, I can say this because I work in it everyday. I can’t stand the offices that you go to that are not customer service oriented, nor are they concerned about “the patient”; the MAIN reason why they HAVE JOBS! Yes, I’m being obnoxious here but really?

Anyhow, my appointment was at 415pm, but I arrived promptly at 4pm, paid my unnecessary co-pay that the lady just made me make! UGH….got checked in and had a seat. Since my normal doctor wasn’t available, I had to see the PA (not happy about this). Anyhow, I sucked it up and at about 405pm I was called into the office for my appointment; the MA took vitals and asked what was going on. I gave her a history as she rushed me through my explanation and quickly said “okay, Gary will be with you soon”. Gary, the PA came in not 2 minutes later asked the same questions that the MA asked, had me hop up on the table barely did an examination and his diagnosis was a “GI bug”. He said it’s just a virus and proceeded to explain to me that his MA had been out for the last 4 days with uncontrollable diarrhea. I was like REALLY…WHY THE HELL DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS? Anyhow, Gary quickly wrote me a prescription for some sort of medicine he said would help me with the abdominal pain if I experienced symptoms over the weekend, says to get it filled and keep it in the medicine cabinet. Looking at him like ummmm okay! I’m not the type of person who takes medicine just to take it, I would rather not take anything and suffer….clearly he gave me no answers to my problems.

He rushed me out the door at about 410pm not asking if I had any questions, concerns, NOTHING!!! I was so upset that this guy who went to school to HEAL people, didn’t take time….but I can guarantee he charged my insurance a boatload. We really need some caring people in our medical offices for sure!!!!

Anyhow, leaving there upset with a prescription that I would not ever fill and paying $10 for NOTHING, I went home. Still feeling crappy, I went to bed early. Friday morning I woke up about to pee my pants, clearly this is HIGHLY UNUSUAL for me! I ran into the bathroom and there was a pregnancy test sitting there….since I was still feeling cruddy and it was just sitting there and me with a full bladder…I took it!

2 minutes later…it was POSITIVE!!!! Glad to know it wasn’t a GI bug….but so sad I worried myself sick trying to figure out what was going on with my belly! Guess it was just the little one on the way trying to get comfortable in there! After I took the test and composed myself I went in the bedroom where Dustin was still sleeping, woke him up and told him to go look in the bathroom. He did and was soooo excited!!! We both were! We immediately called our parents, brothers, sisters, grandmas!!! I didn’t want to tell EVERYONE until we went to the doctor. We are going for our 1st visit on March 4th @ 4pm to see how things are going. On our 1st appointment by calculation I will be exactly 6 weeks along! SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

I’ll give updates after the appointment!!! Unofficial due date is October 31, 2010 (hope I don’t have a Halloween baby…I despise that holiday)

SPOKANE...or San Diego, Oakland, Portland, Seattle...

Well….Dustin and I have been soooo excited to go to Spokane for his dad’s wedding on Valentine’s Day!!! We got things worked out and have been seeing a counselor and come to find out we just aren’t on the same page as far a communicating and listening to one another! So, with that said we both were so ecstatic to spend some much needed time out of Arizona. We decided to change our flight to Thursday night and coming home Monday just in time for our weekly session with our counselor.

Thursday night, Dustin’s kind coworker Ed drove us to the airport and off we were through check-in and security! 1st snag should have given us a clue as to how things were going to play out for our little adventure! Dustin had to go through security, get searched and then go in the x-ray machine! I wish I had taken a picture! It was hilarious! Of all people…of course Dustin was the one to get pulled aside..haha.


We got checked in and listed on a flight (since we fly standby) and waited for our flight to board. Low and behold…apparently MANY people were trying to get out of town on the same night…who would have thought! We missed our 1st flight due to it being full….so Tod tells Dustin how bout try going through Oakland….so off we went. Listed on a flight to Oakland…was surprisingly able to get on, had a stop in San Diego for a bit…got some free drinks! SCORE!!! Finally, we were in the air again…and I started feeling sick. I think I had some food poisoning…UGH! Must have been that nasty Chinese I had for lunch that day! Hoping the Monster and Vodka I had would make me feel better…but clearly didn’t!

We got to Oakland and of course….we got booted off our flight to Spokane! Since it’s about 10pm now and this airport isn’t international, there we NO MORE FLIGHTS going out! We debated getting a hotel room or sticking it out in the airport. Well, after talking to Tod and Oakland being his home base, he recommended if we get a hotel room that we don’t go outside and would be best if we put a chair against the door. After Dustin got done telling me this and finding out that hotels are about $90 a night and we only needed it for about 4 hours…I said HECK NO!!! My life is a bit more important right now than getting a good night’s sleep! Hahah. So nighty-night in a airport chair it was! Great.

By this point the last flight that was delayed about 2 hours finally had taken off…it’s about midnight and I’m soooo exhausted. Being up since 530am is just not fun when you are tired and wanting to crash in a comfy bed! I tried sleeping…while we were the only ones in this place and the security guards kept an eye on us, I still didn’t feel comfortable sleeping; of course Dustin didn’t have any trouble at all….he was snoring away just a chair away. I tried reading, walking, anything to keep me awake….finally I begged Dustin to get up and move to some more comfy chairs. It’s hard to LAY DOWN when then ALL have arms on them! So annoying! Hahah. We could a bit more comfy area, and I was somehow by the grace of God, able to fall asleep for about 1-2 hours. Of course this wasn’t GREAT sleep but it works!

We ran down to our gate, of course at the opposite end of the airport than where we are currently. We listed on a 625am flight at 425am and waited around. This flight was headed to Seattle then to Spokane. I by this time still feeling sicker than a dog with abdominal pain and bloating….running to the restroom thinking SOMETHING would happen. I didn’t care what…just as long as I felt better! Man, food poisoning is the WORST!!!! Up, down, up, down….nothing helped. Dustin ran to get some breakfast and all I wanted to do was die….anything had to make this craziness go away! I opted for a bagel even though it didn’t sound great at all. I had half of a bagel and couldn’t eat anymore! We got on our flight at 625am and Seattle bound we were….THANK GOODNESS!!! We were lucky enough to get some more free stuff and let me tell you, I was pumped full of peanuts and V8 juice for every flight! Haha.

We landed in Portland (I know…we must have stopped at EVERY city in Washington), and had about an hour wait until the plane boarded our Portland friends. While Dustin surfed and uploaded pictures to Facebook…our best friend and communication with a very low battery…since our luggage was patiently waiting for us in Spokane with the phone charger; I passed out for an hour or so….Dustin’s lap and the airplane seats, uncomfortable as they may be, was my new sleeping place! We boarded the plan and by some miracle I didn’t have to get up. Every seat was taken except the one I was laying in! I really really didn’t want to have to share…I already felt like crap.

We landed in Seattle….finally, but still not at our destination and let a nice girl sit by us….she chatted up a storm the ENTIRE way!!! Since Dustin opened his big mouth and told her she could sit with us, I made him sit in the middle! I was soooo not in a mood to entertain anyone! Haha. Our 35 minute flight from Seattle to Spokane was long and uncomfortable. I hadn’t gotten much more than 3 hours of sleep in a 30 hour period, I was sick, needed a shower and wanted to scream! We FINALLY made it to Spokane on Friday and Tod, like a good father he was, was waiting for us outside. Our bags were patiently waiting for us and off we went.

Surprised that there was NO SNOW on the ground in the entire city of Spokane! What happened…how did Arizona get 7-9 feet of snow and Spokane the city that gets on average 81 inches of snowfall a year, not get ANYTHING?? Whatever…I was really to tired and still feeling crappy to care. We made it to Tod’s adorable and HUGE house and were greeted by Dustin’s Nana, Claudine and her hubby Ron. Not really caring who these people are, no offence, but did you read up above??? I just wanted a shower and a nap. So that’s just what I did. I must have really needed that sleep because I barely got myself out of the shower and dressed and passed out on the bed. When I came to, disoriented and still sick…I made myself upstairs to find Dustin and his family going through about 1000 wedding pictures! Hahaha. Glad they enjoyed his commentary!

Tod offered me lunch…I though LUNCH!!! What the heck time is it? I thought it was like 8pm or close to it. My clocks are so off it’s not even funny! Needless to say, it was barely 1230pm! Yes Ashley, lunchtime! Hahah. I made myself a ½ sandwich and tried getting it down. No offence to Tod and his food but it just didn’t sound good. I think I finished about a half of that half sandwich. Cheri and Kaitlyn arrived and we hung out talking about girl stuff while Tod & Dustin bonded in the garage!

Apparently, there was a bachelorette party happening this night and neither Cheri nor I were interested in getting our butts off the couch for. We didn’t even know about it til the last minute. I still didn’t feel well and relaxing sounded more fun that getting wasted and coming home at 2am! Haha…but seems everyone else had a great time! I’m pretty sure I was in bed at a decent time…I think even before Tod & Ron! Haha. Tod threw together dinner for us all and it was sooo good! This made me feel lots better!

Saturday was a new day! We got up, had some of the best French Toast ever and off we went to run around with Lauren! We went to Couer D’ Alene, Idaho and I fell in love with the scenery! We visited a mall, and Lauren’s college! She told us a creepy story about a girl there and I still can’t get the images out of my head. From here we went back to Tod’s for a nice family BBQ just before his wedding on Sunday!!! Still not feeling well I tried to mingle…sorry guys that I wasn’t the most social person there!

Sunday kicked off to Dustin, Cheri and I going for a drive that I think Cheri and I wished we hadn’t signed up for! We got a wedding gift for Tod & Anne and started getting ready for the wedding! We arrived in the rain to the church and things got underway! It was so fun! The ceremony was great, so were the sweets they had at the little reception. Once the reception was over we all went all around town for a nice dinner at the Vintage’s!! Dinner was exceptional and so was the company!

Thinking it could have been the fact that maybe I was pregnant that was making me sick this whole time…so pregnancy test here I come. Low and behold it was negative. Must have just been a nasty GI bug! Great…..just what I wanted on the way home (which was a nightmare too). Monday morning we were up bright and early and off to the airport and jumped on our plane to Vegas since we decided we would have a better chance getting home through Vegas than Oakland again!

Well….we were wrong…way wrong! Keep in mind we have an appointment with our counselor at 745pm and HAVE to be there; he encouraged us to change our plans so we don’t loose any time with him! So we did! Flight after flight passed by and another flight passed by…all of which were overbooked; we couldn’t get on ANY flight! We really really needed to be home by 730pm!!! Needless to say time was running out; Dustin being the friendly person he is approached a couple who was stuck too and we ended up renting a car and DRIVING back to AZ from Vegas! Since WE rented the car I drove the ENTIRE way home….being sick and driving 3 other people in a rental car across state was NOT FUN! Our conversation with Rob & Lori was fun…but I just wanted to be home! As we came into Surprise and looked at the clock, I was sooo happy that we were going to make our appointment at 745pm…that is until Rob said it’s not 630pm…it’s 730pm…the car was displaying Nevada time!!! UGH!!!! So all this mess could have been avoided by just missing our darn meeting and coming home on Tuesday like we planned! We didn’t make our appointment and didn’t get home until after 10pm on Monday night! I still had to be up and ready for work the next day! Soooo the fun and exciting trip we THOUGHT we were going to have was the trip of no sleep, sickness, chaos and exhaustion. All in all we did have a good trip…when we were on the ground! Hahaha….thanks to Tod who let us stay with him, fed us and got us there and home; we love your Southwest privileges’!!!! Thanks for everyone who put up with me….sorry Lauren that we didn’t get to see you much! We hope to get out there soon for a “better” trip!!!

I'll upload pictures some day! hahahaha

Adulthood

I remember how life was when I was 7, 10, 13, 17…and how easy life was. How I enjoyed life with no worries in the world and not having to pay bills, get gas, feed the dogs, worry about food on the table. Why do we all want to grow up so fast? I’ve been having a hard time lately and I’m not sure why. Why do I seem like my life is at a dead end? Why does it seem like I can’t make my husband happy? Why does it see like I’m always grumpy? I like my job. I like my husband…okay I love my husband! Haha. I really have nothing to be grumpy about. I don’t like coming home to dogs. I realize I’m NOT a dog person. How sad, the two things Dustin loves soooo much…I don’t.

There are times where, like today, I just am crabby. I got a good nights rest….I woke up without the alarm yelling at me. What’s wrong? I just feel like crying all the time…like I don’t know what to do. My husband told me he was sick of coming home every night to the same old thing…nothing. He says “this rut we call our life”. He wants more “excitement” but couldn’t tell me what that entails. He tells me he wants to do stuff…but what kind of stuff? He couldn’t answer that. I’ve become a homebody lately and I’m sure he doesn’t like that…but what is there to do in this town? I need a life change! I apparently need some excitement in our lives….not that it’s a bad thing. We really come home from work, eat dinner, check email, Facebook, bank account (always low Haha), etc and watch TV. Then off to bed. I feel just run down, bored. But what to do?

Over the last year I have realized a lot about myself and the people around me. I have realized that you can’t please them all…especially Dustin. I realized that Dustin is a MAN and I’m a WOMAN and we DON’T think alike AT ALL. I realized there are some people in your life you just can’t trust no matter what; no matter how many times I give them the benefit of the doubt. I realized that I vent to the wrong people sometimes. I realized that I should watch what I say in front of other people. I’ve learned a lot about myself. This week has been hard for me and as I sat my butt on the couch last night eating Taco Bell and watching Autumn in New York, I knew there was much more intended for me in this world.

I feel like I need to see a counselor for my frustrations of marriage, but in all actuality, they are very minute. I get upset over the dishes piled in the sink, the laundry that I do most 9 times out of 10. The dogs that sleep in our room at night (I really don’t like that); the creaking closet door in our room that always wakes me up when Dustin comes to bed late; the fact that Dustin waits until 9-10pm when I’m in bed sleeping to shower (its sooo loud in our bedroom). Our yucky yard and no desire on Dustin’s end to pick up the poop or chop the weeds down.

I do love my life, but at times, it’s irritating. I am however excited and looking forward to our future together…getting a house of our own, not relying on a landlord (friend) to come fix something. Paying Dustin’s truck off THIS YEAR! Getting out of debt. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’m just in a slump, the slump we call our life as Dustin would put it. Maybe I need to take up some sort of hobby? I get upset when Dustin doesn’t want to spend every evening with me. I guess just because we don’t see each other during the day, its nice to hang out after work. Is 5 days a week too much, with the weekends too? I feel like he doesn’t like me as much as he did when we first started dating…like my newness wore off. Am I no fun anymore?

I feel like I’m missing something in my life. Is church the answer? Tanya, Scott and I went to church last Sunday and I enjoyed it, not as much as I hoped. I think it was the pastor…I’m going to try again this week at their church. I asked Dustin to go, but he said he’s not ready. I guess I can’t make him go….I guess I can’t push him to do something he doesn’t want to. I just feel lost. Something’s got to push me in the right direction.

Is some of this me? Is it that nothing keeps me occupied anymore? That there is only so much you can do at home. Is it the fact that I feel unpretty? Is that a word? Is it that I need to loose weight that I feel like a cow! Haha. I want to run, I want to get in shape, but have absolutely NO DESIRE. I am at my all time high for my weight…maybe this is why I’m so depressed about life! Haha….

Being all grown up really isn’t fun all the time. UGH. Hope my day and week gets better….

HOBBY LOBBY=LOVE

I've been seeing Hobby Lobby all around lately and haven't heard much about it...but always want to check it out!  So last night my Christa friend and I went!  Let me tell you.....I FELL IN LOVE!  They have EVERYTHING!!! There have everything from lamps, silk flowers, vases, aisles and aisles of scrapbooking stuff, baskets, TONS of home decor, tables, lawn ornaments and TONS of other amazing stuff.  I've now heard about how people think it's over-rated and over priced....but excuse me...it's cheaper than Pottery Barn!  We got a $200 gift card to Pottery Barn for Christmas and Dustin was disappointed when we got there!  He said we got it just as a tease, because in addition to the $200 gift card, you still have to spend another $100 or more! hahaha.....we went home with shelving and tea candles!

is now my new favorite place...I was happy I went on a non-payday week so I didn't blow any money!  I'm in a total decorating mood now!

Time to paint, redecorate, redo and let the spring spirits in!!!  Can't wait for the nice warm weather!!!

Anyhow....

I'm Guilty...

I was just checking in on friends blogs and always WANT to leave comments, but never do.  I got on my blog and went right to see who left me comments.....but not much there.  I should start leaving comments on friends blogs....it makes me happy when I get them!  Sorry guys!

How To Make A Beautiful Life

I found this birthday card from my parents while cleaning and I knew I saved it for a reason!  

Love yourself.

MAKE PEACE with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart. 

If you can't hear what it's saying in this noisy world, MAKE TIME for yourself.  

Enjoy your own company.

Let your mind wander among the stars. 

Try.

Take Chances.

MAKE MISTAKES.

Life can be messy and confusing at times, but it's also full of surprises. 

The next rock in your path might be a stepping-stone.

Be happy.

When you don't have what you want, want what you have.

MAKE DO.

That's a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.

You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.

To know where you're going is only part of it.

You need to know where you've been, too.  

And if you ever get lost, don't worry.

The people who love you will find you.

Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.  

It's what you do with time and with all the goodness and grace that's inside you.

MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...

The kind of life you deserve.

LIFE!!!

LIFE has been insane lately...always GOING going going!  We love it though, of course!  We have alot ot catch up on with the blog....we had a trip to Texas, a wedding in the family (besides ours), Grams Birthday, Trip to CALI.....totally on a WHIM!  Met some AWESOME new friends...decided to go back to school for Nursing!  Went camping...woah!  It's a lot!  I'm sorry i'm a slacker, but will post soon! 

This weekend is the 1st one i've had without any plans in a LONG TIME!  So excited to stay at home and do some landscaping with my MOM!  haha...

Off to lounge on the couch and watch a movie as soon as Dustin gets his butt out of the shower! 

Oh yeah...still no baby news yet!  Darn!!!!

Starting New!

So since my blog has managed to make me mad, i'm starting a new one. For the last several months, i've been unable to change my background...and I'm not too fond of the one that's on there! So from now on, this is my new blog!

For past entries, please visit the old blog: http://dustinandashleysbeginning.blogspot.com/

I'm now more excited to catch up with the new entries and get back on track, life has been insane since the wedding!!!

We love you all!!!

Dustin & Ash

WEDDING PICTURES!!!!

So we got married!  Woo hoo!  I am officially Mrs. Ashley Marie Brown now!  It's exciting!  The wedding was EXACTLY what I wanted and envisioned for the entire year leading up to! I had a great deal of help from family and friends, and my cousin (I can say that now, cause they are married), Amanda helped almost every night with the invitations!  Boy am I happy that she was there! I wanted everything to have a personal touch to it, so I made most of the items in the wedding.  The invitations were all hand-made, the favors.  Dustin and I opted for a SIMPLE, NON-Traditional wedding that was FUN and LAID-BACK!  We acieved just that!  Of course we first started with setting, I knew I wanted an afternoon wedding, OUTSIDE!  Next was where?  I knew it was going to be in the Show Low area since Phoenix was way too HOT!  We wanted my cousin Jesse to be there, but dates didn't work out for everyone, so we had the next best thing....AMANDA!!! The wedding venue we chose was naturally beautiful, outside, GREEN, and FREE!    Pico's Nursery allowed us to get married in the garden area for the most picturesque setting I could have ever imagined!  We wanted things done a bit different than other wedding we had been there.  We knew we were going to spend our money on things a bit differnetly.  First, my wedding dress was a gift from Uncle Matt & Aunt Fran, thank you guys sooo much for all you did! 

The wedding cake was a gift from my Grams!  It was the most bea-u-tiful thing I could ever imagine!  I think I was more excited about the wedding cake than anything else!  It was the first thing Dustin and I agreed on and stuck with!  We had a lot of opinion, but in the end the cake DUSTIN PICKED OUT won us over! We found the cake in a wedding magazine and both liked the simple elegance of it.  We chose the best on the mountain, Shellie Vallery!!!!  The cake looked and tasted AMAZING!!!

It was a 3 Tier white cake with white buttercream frosting and fondant.  The top layer had strawberry filling!  I was PERFECT!  Thank you so much, Shellie, for making this perfect wedding cake!  You deserve an award! 

Next was an idea from my very own MOTHER!  We talked about the date, and she was the one suggested July 3, 2009 which for me was perfect.  It was a LONG weekend, full of activities and fun!  It was perfect for guests, and we didn't have to entertain much!  Dustin and I both knew we DIDN'T want to WASTE the money on fresh flowers for the centerpieces.  When discussing this with my mom, she told us about the EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS!  This was exactly US and exactly the right idea!  Kill two birds with one stone, feeding guests while looking nice!  We made a great deal with the Manager, MATT MEIER at Edible Arrangements in AHWATUKEE!  He personally delivered the arrangements to the wedding, THREE HOURS AWAY FROM THE STORE!

THANK YOU, Matt for making our day beautiful with the wonderful fruit!

Next was the guys attire!  Boy was this the HARDEST thing EVER!  From the beginning, Dustin wanted shorts, white button down and flip flops.  Okay, that's do-able!  Then the opinions started rolling in!  No, that will look stupid, His legs are too white, think of the pictures and that you will have them FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!  It's too casual.  You name it, we heard it!  So then we went with Tuxedo's.  Then back to shorts, then tuxedos!  UGH!!!!  Dustin, Christa, Aadyson and I went to Superstition Springs Mall in search of those PERFECT BLACK SHORTS and white shirt!  Needless to say, that trip went horrible, and ended in Dustin and I arguing!  This was NOT the way it should have happened!  Not at all!  This is suppose to be the most exciting time, the planning!  I knew it was going to be stressful, but not this bad! haha.  Finally, about 3 weeks before the wedding, Dustin made the decision that it was going to be Tuxedo's, mostly to appease me!  Thank you for doing that....the wedidng pictures looked amazing because of that!  I love you babe! 

I loved the black, white, green, pants and the small hint of YELLOW!!

Next we had the flowers!  I had contemplated the flowers for the wedding party really long and hard and for quite a while.  We were going to do them, then we weren't.  In the end, I'm SOOO GLAD we had FLOWERS!  I knew just what I wanted and everything!  Tricky thing was finding the MONEY to pay for them!  My mom and I went back and forth on who was going to actually make the arrangements, so we made our final deicison with DAWN HALL, a long standing familly friend!  I wanted White Roses, Green Orchids (can you tell my favorite color is GREEN?), and Green Monkey Balls.  The guys boutineers were up in the air, along with the girls bouquets.  In the end, Dawn came through with them ALL!  She did the best job I could have ever imagine and was by FAR better than I could have EVER imagined! 

The best part about my wedding bouquet is this:  It's exactly what I wanted!  It was wrapped in White Satin, the small heart attached meant "special person", underneath the white satin was YELLOW RIBBON for our SOLDIER, JESSE FRANTZ who is overseas serving our country and making our wedding POSSIBLE!!!

The girls carried 3 White roses with white and Yellow ribbon streaming down, in appreciation of Jesse.  Again, since Jesse was unable to attend the wedding festivities we had his wife, Amanda stand in for him.  She was the GROOMSMAID!  She stood on Dustin's side, but wore the dress like the girls!  She was the only one without a bouquet, because she PROUDLY wore a yellow ribbon, SUPPORTING JESSE AND OUR TROOPS!

Next we have the ONE thing I wish NEVER happened....that made me the MOST UPSET!  Casey DeJong, Dustin's best friend was suppose to marry us!  But we all drug our feet over the course of the YEAR and never got the certificate to do so.  We went with the Justice of the Peace, which I was fine with.  Casey, I wasn't upset at you by any means!  I had confirmed the wedding date, time, location, cost, etc. more than 4 times with the lady from LAKESIDE JP!  Here it is our WEDDING DAY and there is no ANNA ASH anywhere!  The wedding was set to start promptly at 1:00pm and here it was almost 23 after with NO MINISTER anywhere!  Finally, after making a few phone calls by Elisia (thank you so much Betty), Betty was going to head our way to MARRY US!  We were going to have John, Dustin's step-father do the ceremony and then BETTY WOOD would do the official ceremony with just Dustin and I and 2 witnesses afterwards!  Low and behold, after being late she shows up.  I was furious and in tears!  Uncle Matt set me straight, although I was NOT HAPPY and Anna proceeded with the ceremony!  Another thing, not to dwell or anything...but that lady got off with $170.00 when the cost was only $150.00!  Dustin had the money, then told Uncle Matt that he needed $10.00 change from Anna, I guess there was some misscommunication and Uncle gave her another $10.00, so she made out with a $20.00 TIP!  Not acceptable Anna!  But all in all, she read the WEDDING VOWS FOR THE ENTIRE WEDDING THAT I WROTE!  That made me happier! 

We got MARRIED!!!!

(here I am, crying like a baby)

Thanks Anna for doing a good job, even though I just chewed you out!  Sorry. 

The RINGS!!!

Our rings were bought about a year prior to the wedding!  Dustin picked his out and it was definitely HIS personality!  It's a nice ring!  Mine, was finished about 5 months before the wedding and it was DRIVING ME CRAZY not being able to wear it!  Just sitting in the box, it was killing me!

After all that, I deserved a BIG DRINK!!!!

Here are some random pictures which are my favorite:

There ARE more to come....I have lots more posts to talk about!  I'm excited about this new blog!  Also, thanks for EVERYONE who shared Dustin & My special day!  It meant so much...these pictures are JUST WEDDING CEREMONY!  There are more coming from the weekend!  We LOVED ALL THE PRESENTS AND company!!!!

We are SO BLESSED to have such WONDERFUL family and friends!!!