Washington DC

Brian and one of his least favorite presidents, he kept asking why there was a memorial for FDR, i couldnt answer the question, but it was really pretty
Korean War memorial, one of the saddest memorials in DC
The lincoln memorial
World War 2 memorial, this one is my favorite
The view of the capitol from the washington monument
the presidential motorcade!
Getting ready to move to texas
my favorite button in the smithsonian. It's true I am a hilary fan (just an FYI they had buttons for all of the first lady's)

cooling off in the WW2 memorial- not ture why I thought putting my shoes in was the best idea
Semi frightening WW2 poster we saw in the smithsonian... it seems a bit extreme 
Little Chinese place we ate at in february, we made the trek back and it was worth it 
fish tank in the ocean section at the natural history museum- i do have to say the NYC ocean section was better than the dc version - yes that is a nemo fish
the diamond alphabet- i didnt know what to say to this
brian in the rocks and gem sections, his inner nerd was so happy!
that national mall! I think they need the BYU grounds crew to help  make it a bit nicer

We spent this last weekend in Washington DC. We figured that we might as well go now while we live so close so we packed up the car and headed down.

Our trip was basically uneventful (once we crossed the New York State line). Some of the highlights of our trip included:

-seeing Camille and her amazing ring- yes I did get to see it, I feel like I should get a little badge or something for being so special

- Finally meeting Jimmy and his cute family- I have heard tons about Brian’s cousin Jim since marrying into the family, but never had the chance to meet him, now I have a face to put with the stories

- lunch in Chinatown- I went to the same place when I was in DC in February, I made it there with about 1/3 of the people I went with last time, but it was fun to take Brian since I have talked about it so much

- Nice people- people outside of NYC are so much nicer than those living in the city, it was so nice to see normal people, with normal kids, in normal places

-Dinner at chilis- say what you want about chain restaurants but sometimes it is just nice to go somewhere familiar- thanks Randy!

- the presidential motorcade- yes that’s right we saw the presidential motorcade, it  was pretty big, I didn’t realize the president traveled with is own ambulance

- the protest- as we were walking the National Mall (right after we saw the motorcade) we saw a protest, pretty exciting.

-WW2 memorial- this is my favorite memorial in DC- not only is it beautiful but it is located about halfway down the mall and they let you put your feet in the cool water- it is a great place to stop and take a break.

Other less exciting highlights included paying more in tolls than we paid for gas, finally seeing the “rocks and gems” section at the natural history museum (it is closed in NYC), seeing the FDR memorial with the waterfalls, riding a clean subway (seriously it is immaculate compared to NY), and eating a Chick fil A (or however you spell it).

 

 

I miss my kitchen...

I really love to cook, but I hate cooking in New York. In Utah we had a lovely well stocked kitchen (thanks to Grandma Suker), we had nice pots and pans, sharp knives (I never thought this would be a problem), more wooden spoons, spatulas, and whisks than I could ever use, tons of bakeware, pyrex, and dishes galore. We  had these lovely little glass bowls to put chopped herbs in (before you add them to the larger mixing bowl), lovely metal, plastic, and glass mixing bowls, and of course my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer, these are just the items I miss and dream about at night- oh yeah did I mention the old kitchen had a full size stove and fridge… yeah this one doesnt. Here we have one pot, one large frying pan, one stock pot,  4 bowls, 3 plates, one wooden spoon,  2 knives so dull they no longer cut, and… that’s it, there is nothing else. I never thought I would miss my super small, poorly lit wymount kitchen, but I do every day.  My dreams alternate between our old kitchen and our kitchen in Dallas, hm… maybe I need something else to occupy my time.

 

My iPod

Do you ever see someone listening to an iPod and wonder what they are listening to? I have the privilege (yeah right) of riding the train for about 90 minutes each day, and as I look around it seems like everyone is listening to an iPod, I always wonder what they are listening to, granted there are always the people who you don’t have to wonder about- their music is so loud you have to turn yours up to hear it, but in general I wonder what people are listening to. I wonder if knowing what people were listening to would make life seem more like a movie (because there is always music in movies), but mostly I wonder if the music people are listening to matches what I would imagine they are listening to. I wonder if the businessman sitting next to me is listening to Celine Dion instead of NPR podcasts everyone thinks he is, or if the “gangsta” sitting across from me is actually listening to the Beatles instead of rap, or if the hippie girl standing across the aisle is listening to George Strait instead of the Grateful Dead. Mostly I just hope everyone is listening to country. I wonder what the people on the train think I am listening too… well I guess to be realistic they don’t care, it is just me that has way too much spare time.

What am I listening to you ask… I am listening to country. I love country music, I honestly and truly do. I am not sure what it is about it that appeals to me, Brian thinks it is the songs that tell a story, I’m not sure what it is but I love it. Maybe it is the twangy guitar, maybe it is the occasional banjo (although I did have a boy serenade me with a banjo when I was a freshman and it was not nearly as romantic as you would think- well it was actually just weird), maybe it is the accent, maybe it is the insane amount of cheesiness packed into 3 minutes, whatever it is I love it.  I was introduced to country by a good friend’s mother who LOVED 92.9 KFRG, I cant listen to that station without thinking of her.  There is something appealing about music that talks about falling in love, kids, living down south, and summer picnics- oh well I guess it is time to accept and embrace my backwoods nature.   

Just in case you were curious I DID listen to country while I wrote this post, and just in case you need some country music in your life here is a nice list to get you started- beware if country isn’t your thing you will hate these songs so avoid them, and if you like country that talks about trucks these aren’t the songs for you.

She’s in Love with the Boy- Trisha Yearwood (this is my all time favorite song)

Check Yes or No- George Strait

Chattahoochee- Alan Jackson

Sweet Southern Comfort- Buddy Jewel

Wrinkles- Diamond Rio

Two Pump Texaco- Diamond Rio (if you have driven from SLC to Dallas you have experience this and need the song)

Little Houses- Doug Stone 

Make Up In Love- Doug Stone

The Secret of Life- Faith Hill

I Saw God Today- George Strait

Heartland- George Strait (my aunt loved George Strait in the early 90’s and this song reminds me of that, plus it is such a texas song, watch the video it is just… awkward)

When I think About Angels- Jaime O’Neil

Ruby Shoes- Jessica Andrews

Red High Heels- Kelly Pickler

I Go Back- Kenny Chesney

The Woman with You- Kenny Chesney

Independence Day- Martina McBride

Love is a Beautiful Thing- Phil Vasser

Everyday Love- Rascal Flatts

Then I Did- Rascal Flatts

Some Say- Rascal Flatts

My Sister- Reba

You’re Gonna Be- Reba

 Four-Thirty- Sara Evans

Aint that the Way it is- Tim McGraw

My Next 30 years- Tim McGraw

 

Playing House

I hate transition and I hate change, maybe that is why I don’t enjoy summer vacation.  Brian and I have spent the last few months, and even the last year discussing what life will be like “in the future”, for us the future refers to life after graduate school, life after provo, life after NY (thank goodness for that one), life after exams, life after paying tuition (who thought that would end), and life after low paying or no paying jobs. We are months away from that transition, Brian starts his first real job in 2 months from today, by then we will be moved (well by we I mean brian and our stuff) to Dallas, we will be away from NYC, we will have good dental, health and vision insurance, and we will be making actual money, these are all of the things that we (and by we I mean Brian) have been working towards for so long and now they are finally within reach. I feel like I should be excited, bt I’m not. It’s not that I am not happy that all of our (and by our I do mean Brian) hard work is finally paying off, I think it just hasn’t set in yet. It hasn’t set in that our carefree days in Provo are over (not that they were ever really that carefree we are a little uptight), it hasn’t set in that in January I wont be counting pennies to pay tuition, it hasn’t set in that we are getting a house,  and it really hasn’t set in that we are getting a washer, dryer, and dishwasher.  None of that has set in yet. Right now is seems like we are playing a really expensive version of “house”, you know one where everything is sorta real but not really and in the end everything goes back to normal. It feels like after we leave NYC we will head back to provo, go back to school, wash our dishes by hand, and haul our laundry in the snow, it doesn’t feel like it is time for us to be grown ups, mow our lawn, and clean our house (not apartment, house). It looks like September is going to make my head spin. 

Household chores and Malaria

I don’t enjoy ironing. I just don’t like it, I would rather wear wrinkled clothes than take the time to iron them, and as for ironing my husband’s shirts, I know it sounds awful but he is 25 and knows where the iron is, if he wants ironed shirts he can do it. I am sure you are all (all one of you) scratching your heads and asking why is Ashley writing this?, well it could be for a number of reasons- but if I had to choose just one I would say it is because I recently read something  about how “good” wives iron. Let me start again- I don’t consider myself a bad wife because I don’t iron- I just consider myself someone that doesn’t iron. I am secure enough in my personal identity not to feel threatened by this ironing comment. Saying I don’t like ironing doesn’t mean I don’t think it is a worthwhile endeavor, it doesn’t even mean that I don’t iron (in fact I am about to), it just means of all of the things I can choose to do with my time, ironing isn’t high on the priority list.

My dislike for ironing doesn’t mean I am advocating shunning all household tasks, it doesn’t even mean that I am going to push them all off on Brian in the name of feminism and women’s liberation, it just means I hate ironing. There are some aspects of the  June Cleaver persona that I have worked to maintain- the love of butter for one, a clean and organized home for another, and on the rare occasion the pearls (you know like for weddings and funerals).

Why in 2009 we are calling women bad wives and mothers  because they choose to express dislike for one household chore, why in 2009 is Mrs. Smith’s laundry our business? Personally, I think there are larger problems facing the American public (have you seen what Congress is doing?), don’t we have more important things to worry about, like caring for our own families, building stronger communities, and working to maintain some order in this crazy world? Why do we as women see our neighbor’s dislike for one task as a character flaw on her part? Maybe this is a woman thing, maybe we tear each other down for the simple reason of justifying our actions- Mrs. Smith doesn’t iron and I do so it’s okay for me to feed Timmy and Susie McDonald’s tonight- is that why we do it? Or do we do it simply to prove to ourselves that we are doing a good job? Whatever the reason, why do we care about something so menial? Hm… well that’s it for now.

PS. I have 11 (yes 11) mosquito bites in a 2 inch area around my elbow- who knew there were so many bugs in Queens! Yes the purpose of this little section was to get you to feel bad for me,- I am just so darn itchy! (and yes I think I have malaria)

New York 0 Texas 1

I am convinced New Yorkers hate their lives. I know this is a pretty bold statement coming from someone from the west coast, but I honestly think they do. I think those New Yorkers that tell you they actually like it here are kidding themselves, trying to believe that if they say it out loud enough times they will actually like it, it’s either that or the one’s that are saying that can actually afford to live here, either way the people that like it, I mean honestly and truly like living here are in the minority (kinda like the people that think Obama is putting the country on the right path). Why do New Yorkers hate their lives, well let’s think about it, it is filthy here, people are rude, some of the nastiest people I have ever met live here, everything is really really expensive, they pay insane taxes, and they are all crammed together all of the time- who would like that? Sure it is fun to visit but living  here is a huge hassle, something simple like going to the grocery store takes twice as long, is twice as difficult and costs about three times as much- who wants to do that? In the midst of that you have to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, and when you come home, you live in a crappy studio apartment where everything is falling apart. Yes I know that many New Yorkers live in better conditions than that, but really, living here it is a hassle. Granted I might be spoiled, I am from suburbia, I went to college in suburbia, and I am going to move to suburbia in a few months- NYC is the opposite of that so maybe I am just outside my comfort zone but it seems like people are miserable here. The people here don’t smile, they aren’t friendly, they don’t seem to have any enthusiasm for anything (except being “green”), it seems like they need a little bit of sun, some open space, and to be honest a nice refreshing Dr. Pepper (have you ever noticed how much Texans love Dr. Pepper?), personally I think the people in Texas have it a little bit more under control (I know, shocking) than the people in NYC- they seem nicer, happier, and a bit less downtrodden than the New Yorkers.  Oh well, 6 weeks left, right, then I can go drink my Dr. Pepper in peace (not that I really ever drink Dr. Pepper, but you never know I might become a Texan after all).  

502 Austin Drive

We went to go and visit the site of what we thought would be our future home... and it turns out that it IS going to be our future home! We loved the house, the neighborhood, and the lack of New Yorkers everywhere. I am sure that none of you actually want to hear my commentary on the house so here is what you have been waiting for... pictures. celebrating our house like true texans, with ribeyes

brian's dinner
the tile for the entry way, kitchen, and dining room
the tile for the bathroom floor
backsplash tile
the carpet and counter tops
this is what our house will look like, this is the model and the type of brick (texas used) that we chose
the water park
the pool- sorry you cant see it well
the club house
502 Austin Drive
this is what our yard will look like
the office, the red thing is the front door
the view of the office from the front door
view of the house from the front door
the view from emily's room
emily's bathroom
emily's closet
Looking out from the second bedroom into the hall
emily's room
The larger of the two additional bedrooms
another view of the pantry, sorry it isnt in the right order
washer and dyer- the pantry is on the other side
more of the kitchen, i love it! we are going to have the same cabinets but lighter counter tops
the dining room 
The master bathroom, view from where our bed will be 
The family room, this is where our tv would go
The dining room and kitchen
the kitchen it is amazing!
Kitchen and dining room

pantry- the laundry is on the other side
more of the kitchen, i am just happy to have a full sink and stove
The dining room
the view of the family room from kitchen room
the view of the master bedroom from the kitchen
The family room- the fireplace, not our favorite feature but oh well we are keeping it. By the way this is the same color carpet we are going to have in our house, and the same color walls come to think of it. 
The master bedroom walk in closet- it's not inside the bathroom- which is odd but workable. 
The windows in the master bedroom- our bed is going to go against the wall- the part of the wall that you cant see is the entrance to the bathroom
The shower in the master bath- we decided we wanted a linen closet i