Oh life.....

Does it ever slow down? No.

Here's my update:

Opened a store.

Took a leap of faith.

Still Primary President.

Tate is 2 and he is the epitome of "terrible two's."

Noah now runs his own Daddy Day Care.

The NBA started again.

AnnaBelle is a good little girl.

Her little sister Desi is sweet too but is a stinker at times.

Using the "Santa is watching" thing is working...

Sometimes life is overwhelming and hard but trials and hardships make us stronger.

Good things come to those who wait.

I love all of my family members and pray for them every day....all day.

I am grateful for wonderful parents and a wonderful Mother in Law.

I get to shop for a living. It's awesome.

Merry Christmas from Ashley, Noah, AnnaBelle, Desiree, and Tate McKinnon

Election Update

I went to Meet the Candidates night last night. I didn't have much time because I had a baptism to hurry to. I did have enough time to talk to a few candidates. My mind wasn't changed on who I am voting for though. It's clear there are people there for their own ego, and there are people there with genuine desire to help the city. I also have a hard time with Candidates that re-think their positions on things and say they need to "do more research." Really?? If you're running for city office, you'd think you would have already done your research. And how many City Council meetings have you been to? None? Ok.

I spoke to Mike Southwich (who is quite literally one of the most amazing people ever!) and he told me that he does support the Arts Council. He even went on to say that he thinks we need a larger facility and he would support that if voted in to the City Council. Well shoot dang! You've got my vote! He suppors all existing programs that promote community. Love that!

I also read an article from the Daily Herald today that gives the stand of each candidate on the issues that were discussed the most at the Meet the Candidates night last night. Mainly the initiatives on the ballot, and the Lehi Main Street construction. Here are the responses:


Lehi Candidates

Mike Southwick

Downtown Lehi resident
Against initiatives
Main Street Renovation Project position -- I really like it because I think we need something to enhance our Main Street and hopefully that will have people want to come and be there

Johnny Revill

Southwest Lehi resident
Against initiatives
Main Street Project -- It needs to be revitalized to attract people back into downtown Lehi by doing what we are doing the businesses on Main Street will thrive

Ted Peck

Downtown Lehi resident
Against salary cap and reconsidering residency requirement
Main Street Project -- I want something functional, something that will work for businesses

Clay Peck

Downtown resident
Against salary cap and for residency requirement
Main Street Project -- I would have preferred to do something different, a bridge over the tracks, more parking

Curtis Payne

Downtown resident
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- From my surveys it's hurting businesses and the businesses don't like it, not every business. Frankly, I think it affects them the most and they should have the most say in how it's to be done.

Mark Johnson
Northeast Lehi

Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- I think the Main Street project is critically important for the survival of our business area and to enhance our community

Paul Hancock

Northwest Lehi
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- I don't think it's going to give the benefits that they think it is. It would have been funds I would have spent differently. I think it will beautify the city but not much else.

Dale Gibson

No show

Mary Eka

Southwest Lehi
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- It is affecting businesses because of construction going on. Was it necessary? Citizens were they aware of it ? We need to find ways to involve the community

Ryan Dooley

North Lehi
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- A lot of people are unhappy about it. I will have to do more research. I think Main Street needs to be developed and in a reasonable manner

James Dixon

Northeast Lehi
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- Important. It's critical to the future and the viability of the area

Chris Condie

Northwest Lehi
Against the initiatives
Main Street Project -- I think the intent behind it is good but I think we committed a lot of money not knowing what the return is

Clint Carter

Northeast Lehi
For the initiatives
Main Street Project -- Terrible because it ain't wide enough to do anything with and we're blowing $8.75 million

Reldon Barnes

Northwest Lehi
Against the initiatives, for changing or enforcing the law
Main Street Project -- I think it was handled poorly personally, I'm afraid it's going to hurt the businesses.


Really Clint Carter? You couldn't even use proper English for your statement to the paper? Go to Lehivote.com and choose for yourself. I know who I'm voting for and I know that I am definitely voting NO on the 2 initiatives on the ballot. If you want more info on that, search "Vote No on Lehi Initiatives" on Facebook. Great insight there!

Political Post

I'm not one to get too into politics and such but if you're running for city council or other public office and you're running your mouth about all the things that are done wrong in your city, state, or country....you might want to vote in the previous election. Just sayin: No Vote, No Voice. Know your candidates and ask them if they have voted in past elections.

Since this election obviously is biased because my brother is going for city council, I will be posting about the election, the initiatives on the ballot, and the other candidates. I will be voting for my brother (ovbiously) but the other 2 votes I get are up for grabs. The other 2 incumbents don't automatically have my vote. My neighbor, Mike Southwick is running for city council and he is a GREAT man! One of the best so he as of right now, has my vote. I need to hear his insight on the things I care about. Whether he supports the Lehi Arts Council, The Miss Lehi Pageant, and other programs I love and use like the Rippy Literacy Center. I plan to get information from each candidate and their views and post it on here. Have you heard about the initiative they are trying to pass on the ballot this year? Do your homework. It was presented by former Lehi city disgruntled employee and current candidate Clint Carter. This will affect your neighbors and their jobs. Read about it here:

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/north/lehi/article_95928091-0781-5907-b0a9-ef57b0596046.html

It puts a salary cap on city officials and requires that all city employees (including police and firemen) would have to live in Lehi City limits. We would lose over 30 policemen alone if this initiative is passed.

Again, do your homework. That's all for now but I'll be posting in the future.

xoxo

Update

Yeah, I suck. I know. I've let time get away from me. I have good reasons though. June is the worst. I hate it. I love all the things that go on in June but it's just stressfull. Here's what we've been up to:

June 11th- Miss Lehi. Awesome show! Wonderful contestants. No problems at all. Only mistake: forgot the Lehi's Lady cd. Luckily our new 2011 Miss Lehi is awesome and didn't care :) (thanks Alex!)

June 21st-25th- Round-Up/Miss Utah. Sucks when they land on the same week! Monday was Lehi's Got Talent. Show was great. Ended on time and we had happy and good finalists. Thursday was family night at the Rodeo. I sang the National Anthem. Always a great experience. Leisel came up to me and said good job. Then he asked me if I was a Mormom. I said that I was and then he asked if we believe in Adam and Eve. I said that we do and that they are actually very important and he said "Good! I have a good joke about them but didn't want to tell it if ya'll wouldn't understand." Ok. Awesome. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night, I was at Miss Utah. Cheering on the beautiful Sabrina, Miss Lehi 2010. She did fantastic and represented Lehi so well. Extremely proud! My mom and the Miss Utah committee did a great job and it was an amazing pageant!

And then we got to rest a little bit. Just enough for the 4th of July and family vacations and for the production of Joseph. Please PLEASE come to see the show. It's going to be AMAZING! It runs the 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th, and 30th at 7:00 pm. You can buy tickets online at http://www.lehiarts.org/ or at the doors at the highschool. I got lucky enough to be cast as one of the narrators and I'm so excited. The brothers in the show are hilarious and you won't be dissapointed! Promise :)

Emotions

I am not a crier. I rarely break down. That's not very convenient when I want sympathy. Because I can't even muster up a tear to get it. My lack of emotion does come in handy because when I do get emotional, my husband takes me serious. Sometimes he calls me a robot. I never cry. Truly, I don't. There are few things that get me. Something spiritual, cute things my kids say, and when someone is suffering. Obviously the loss of someone makes me emotional. I really am not a complete robot.

I cried a lot this week because we lost our dog Chaquita. She was such a cute little dog. We already miss her a lot. I cried for my kids. They were there when it happened and it upset them so much. They are doing great though and I just love them!

Today I cried while watching The Biggest Loser and during a Hallmark commercial. What is going on? Sheesh!

Milestone

Do you have something you struggle with? A funny quark or bad habit? I do. I have a really bad one. My sister struggles with biting her nails. My mom twiddles her thumbs. Just the little things that make us who we are. But mine is not glamourous and it affects me. I pull on my hair. Mainly my eyelashes. I hate it and I have done everything to stop it. But I usually end up failing and lashless. I've talked to doctors and they have told me that it's an anxiety disorder and there is medication. I don't need medication. I know I have anxiety but I like it. I keeps me ticking. So no medication please. So, I am left with self motivation. Having control over myself. So here you go:



I did it. I have not pulled a lash in over 2 months. Are you proud?

Are you righteous enough??

Have you ever met someone that automatically assumes they are "more righteous" than you? That they are better than you? That they believe in more than you or believe more than you? That somehow they will be in front of the righteous line in the end? I read something today from our ward newsletter and I really liked it. It was from our wonderful Bishop. He wrote: "The great measure of a man, his heart, his very being, is not found in his knowledge of the gospel, it is not found in the amount of times he has shown up for church, it is not found in what callings he has had, it is not found in his accomplishments in life, but it is found in the way he treats his family and neighbors!" Some people automatically think that they are better than you....that they have more food storage. That they have everything figured out. Not true. This post isn't directed at anyone in particular. Just my rantings at some things I've witnessed throughout my life. As my wonderful Grandma Revill would say: "She thinks she's so righteous, she probably wears 2 pairs of garments!" (Directed toward a lady in her ward.) Get over yourself and serve.

Grandma Revill

I had a hilarious Grandma. She was the funniest person I'd ever met. She always had a story and such a talent for telling them. I'd like to share some every once in a while. Today I was thinking of the time an improptu visit turned into a day trip. My sister and I were in a boutique up in Bountiful, and before heading up there to check things out, we decided to stop in Murray and say hello to our Grandma. When we realized we needed to leave after hours of laughing, we asked her if she wanted to go with us. So we all loaded up in the car. Me, Cyd, my mom, and my Grandma. We got there and she was so excited to spend the rest of the day with us. She looked at every little thing and kept saying "I wouldn't miss this for $100!" I'm glad that day she thought our company was worth more than $100. Miss her today.

CWACOM

Kinda like SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance.)

Except this time, it's Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.

Please tell me you've seen it?! Funniest kid movie ever. If you haven't seen it....RENT IT! Netflix lets you watch it instantly. It's a crazy hilarious movie.

Funniest part? When he does an anagram for his invention. He calls it his:

Flint

Lockwood

Diatonic

Super

Mutating

Dynamic

Food

Replicator

Or the FLDSMDFR. I laugh out loud every time.

I also LOVE Megamind. Such a great movie. And I cannot tell you how excited I am that Will Ferrell is the new boss on the Office. My life is now complete.

Sewing

Sometimes I like to pretend like I know how to sew. Which is hilarious because I know I thread by bobbin wrong but my machine doesn't seem to mind. I sure wish I was better at it. Or more patient.

But I want to make this http://simplesimonandco.blogspot.com/2011/02/5-fridayproject-2-with-white-kona.html


I know I could make some really fun things but there are 2 problems:

A: space. I hate getting crap out and having to put it away. I need a perminent spot for it.

2: I am not a patient person. I know I would have mess ups and un-stitching and just the thought of that makes me want to punch my sewing machine in the face.

I have a bunch of lace to make that skirt. And is it so selfish that I want to make one for me and not for my girls? They have enough crap. I need a cute flirty skirt out of mustard yellow stretch lace. Yummy!

xoxo

Tetris

Sometimes late at night, I like to play Tetris on my original 1985 Nintendo. Let me tell you something very important....Ashley is a master Tetris player. If there were a national competition for Tetris, I would so enter and probably win. I am the Yoda of Tetris. (win you will!)

So last night, I was playing my nightly Tetris and I got to level 11. A level I have never passed. But honing all of my amazing skills and after eating a well balanced late night bowl of rice crispies drenched in sugar, I was all sorts of ready. I passed it. It. was. amazing.

I got the high score and then as I looked at the "computer chosen" high scores and names, I realized that I am not of middle-eastern descent and I had still beat them all. All of the names where similar to Shaheed or Roheim. Cool. I guess you don't have to be necessarily smart to get to level 12, just have awesome stacking skills and lots of time on your hands. Oh when that music gets faster and your heart beats like crazy. I love it.

Twins??

Is it just me....or does Scotty McCreery from American Idol look EXACTLY like my awesome nephew who is on a mission in Argentina??? Seriously?? Separated at birth!

Tucker Don Bush

Scotty McCreery

A little creepy.

High Float anyone?

I bought these balloons on March 4th for Noah's birthday.
They are still going strong 13 days later. I bought them at Pioneer Party. You should shop there for balloons. Good Grief!

New Job

For the last 9+ years of our marriage, Noah and I have been lucky to get to spend a lot of time together. Self employment has its perks. You can work as much (or as little) as you want. If you need to make more money, you work harder to find jobs. Plus Noah could take any time off he needed. (There are definitely crappy parts to self employment too.)

So we were very blessed last year with a lot of work. Noah was busy all last year with 2 homes and a lot of remodels. He is EXTREMELY talented. For the past 2 months we haven't had any work come our way. Lots of bids and work for my parents but nothing substantial. Until his brother Abe called him last week. He told him that they are hiring where he has been working. Noah thought about it a little bit and asked me what my take is on it. I immediately told him that there are people out there looking for work, and we have it handed to us. So he thought more about it, prayed about it, and worried about it. We are so used to the idea of him being able to do what he wants that this is a big change for us. He's never had a boss, a set schedule, or a real pay check.

We weighed the negatives with the positives and he (with some answers from above) decided to take the job. He is now an employee for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is extremely excited. The church is building a full size replica of Jerusalem. Essentially, it is a huge movie set that Noah will be building. You can read about it on the church website. I'll post a link at the end. The best thing about it is that he is with good people with his same goals and lifestyle. He'll even have interaction with the First Presidency and General Authorities (Pres. Uchtdorf is set to come check it out next week.) He had to have a current temple recommend for the job and they are even paying him more than other workers because of his experience. He LOVES it so far and I am so happy for that! It is a drive to get down there but another perk is that he gets to carpool with his brother, and build that relationship.

The job will only go until July but we have hopes that it will turn into other jobs for the church. That is his dream. Building temples would be the ultimate and we never know where this might take us. So that's my good news for the day. No negativity. I am happy as can be even though we miss him being around. I am so blessed in my life. I love the gospel.

http://newsroom.lds.org/article/Church-Constructing-Replica-Set-New-Testament-Film-Projects

Bra-less wonder

Today I left my house fully clothed to head to Costco to buy all of the food for the Scout Blue and Gold Banquet tomorrow night. I finally realized about 5 minutes later that I forgot my bra. Nice. So I headed back home. If you've ever wondered if I've ever considered a breast enhancement, that should answer your question. When you leave your house, run down stairs, and don't even notice a lack of support...that is defiitely on your mind.

Yard Sales and stupid people

Why do I have to be so negative you ask? I'll tell you why...because people are stupid. I do have good things to say about my recent "spur of the moment" yard sale. We made some sweet $$ to spend on.......let's see......nothing. Savings I guess.

But one aspect of our recent yard sale experience got me thinking. Why would one lowball someone when they have more than enough money? I had a lady offer $8 for a gigantic stack of items. Now don't get me wrong, I wanted that SHAT out of my life and garage so I'm happy she wanted to buy it. The approximate value of the items was around $20 but she said "will you take $8 for it all." I of course said "sure" since I just want the SHAT out of my life and garage. So I kinda thought to myself "well, she probably only has $8." But then she pulled out a huge wad of bills. $20's and $10's. But she offered $8. Not that I need her to pay the actual amount but if you have a $10, just say $10...why $8?? Noah and I were both boggled and laughed after she left. If she had children without clothing and food, I would have just given it to her. But her wad of cash and her Cadillac Escalade suggested otherwise.

Then I had another lady offer $8 for a huge box of scrapbook paper. Old nasty scrapbook paper that I had marked at $10 for the whole box. After I had said "sure" she said "what about $7?" Really? $1 less. Wow.

Yard sale folk never cease to amaze me. I LOVE me a good yard sale but I usually pay what it is marked at. I wasn't aware that people would come and bid me down on items. If I'd have known that, I would have marked them up more so we would agree on the price I originally wanted. This isn't Storage Wars or Auction Kings or the flea market in Honolulu for heaven's sake! It's my white trash yard.

Mom Jeans

To answer Miss Natalie's question (or Aunt Natalie if my kids are referring to her,) here are Mom Jeans.

Never.

Adventures in Walmart

So today I was at Walmart and the Crazy Cat Lady was in line ahead of me. She had a cart full of cat supplies. Huge bags of cat food, a giant box of kitty litter, and 100 cans of kitty food. An entire cart dedicated to cats. She also had another cart with bananas, apples, and tortilla chips in it. Then when she tried to pay with her debit card, it was denied. Might want to get rid of a few cats lady. I got allergies just looking at her.

Stupid Moms

That is not a knock on my own mother! Just to be sure (my mom is amazing and I want to be her when I grow up!)

I can't stand stupid moms. There are 2 different kinds that I can't stand.

Mom example #1-

-Mom jeans.
-She lets the child dress themselves (the girl is in a princess dress, sweats, and hair not done. The boy is in basketball shorts, a cape, and slippers.)
-refuses to spend ANY money and wants everything on sale or at a discount. (HATE this mom at Swiss Days!)
-Says she'll just make it herself.
-Thinks their child is perfect and would never EVER believe that their child would hit or bite.
-Goes to her child's class to read and likes to make other moms feel guilty because they don't.


Mom example #2-

-Drives a crazy expensive SUV and thinks she owns the road
-Talks on her cell phone where ever she is and it's really annoying to hear about her local gossip in the line at the store.
-Wears designer skin-tight jeans, an obnoxious hat, and blinged out shirts to the school dance festival. Really? You think those pants are appropriate?!
-Puts on make up to go to the gym. Seriously?
-Talks with her friends and doesn't watch her kids.
-Dresses her children to the max and creates crazy hairstyles that are completely age inappropriate.

Ok, so I know that you're thinking. You just completely contradicted yourself. But my point is...isn't there a happy medium?

Treadmill Man

So, I did a whole huge post about this guy that goes to my gym. It was not so much a nice post. Turns out he has been ridiculed for his not-so-traditional workout style. So much that it ended up on the news and a youtube video was the reason. So after I hit the "publish post" button, I had second thoughts and did some research. Turns out he was very hurt and embarrased by the harassment and it made me feel bad. So I deleted it. I'm bummed though because I so want to share the hilariousness that is "Treadmill Man." What do you think? Do you think he would somehow magically find out about my blog post and read it? I'm totally anonymous in it but he would have to know it's him. He's the only one in the gym doing backbends on the lat pulldown machine in full Rocky gear.

He is from Lehi afterall and I know I have like 500,000 followers so there is a chance.....

My kids are cute

That's all.

Really?

I know right? Really? I haven't posted in how long? Well, I could do a big HUGE update post but we'll save that for another time. For now I'm just glad to be back in the blogging world. A lot has happened, good and bad, but there a good times ahead!

First off, I would just like to say that from now on, I'm going to post from the heart. No bells, no whistles. Just truth. Take it or leave it. You are being warned though right now that they may include an obsentity every so often. I try and contain myself but sometimes you just have to say "OH MY HELL!" I know, I know. That's no way for a PP to be speaking.

Secondly, this is a healing time for me. I have been burned by people. Some I considered really good friends, and some I could care-less about, but I need to heal and forgive. When you truly believe in the power of forgiveness, and you are asked to do so, do you still believe in it? And are you willing to? That's where I am now.

Sometimes I'll be spiritual (but not sappy, cross my heart.) And sometimes I'll be funny (or at least try.) And sometimes I won't follow grammar rules (don't judge me.) Because it's my blog.

Random thought....living in the past sucks. Let's all move forward. MmmKay?

xoxo