THE List

Well, its that time of year again. 

No, not the time that I actually write on this here blog 

(sorry bloggy, you know I wuv you!!). 

It's my birthday! Well, not yet, but soon! Like next week soon! 

Yeah! Happy Day!

So to celebrate I have a made a list of all the things I want you wonderful, generous souls to give me :)

You might think I am joking, but I'm not. I'm fo realzzz yo!

Actually it is a birthday/christmas list which my dear family and friends will refer to when 

wanting to buy me loverly gifts of awesomeness. 

Weird? No! Tacky? Maybe.

However I am lazy and instead of compiling two lists 

to send to my family, I'm just doing it on here for them. 

Because I'm lazy.Did I mention that already? 

And I forgot my book today.

The numero uno most important, most wanted, most needed thing ever in the history of my existence:

preferably cuddling one of these:

or one of these, I'm not picky:

If for some unbeknownst reason you cannot gift me with Aidan Turner 

standing on my doorstep holding a baby/puppy, I will forgive you. 

Heaven knows you tried your best. 

Therefore, the following items will, hopefully, mend my poor romance deprived, babyless heart.

*sigh*

2. Harry Potter Wand 

(mama, you got this right? I hope so!)

3. David Beckham Signature for Her

4. Pearl and the Beard (any cd)

5. Ampersand earrings (found here)

6. Baguette Pan (found here)

7. Better Batter Gluten Free Flour Mix (found here)

8. Move Giftcards

*kloveyabye*

the potter mobile

As most of you know I am a hugehugehugehugehugehugehugeHUGE!!!!! Harry Potter fan. A couple years ago I decided to get a personalized license plate to show my love for the boy who lived. Needless to say this was probably the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Ever.

Soon after getting the license plate my family and I started referring to my car as "The Potter Mobile". Though I loved this nickname but I felt as though it didn't really warrant such a wonderful and magical name. Why? Because it was just an ordinary car with an extraordinarily awesome license plate. 

And so, my journey began as I searched for other awesome Harry Potter stuff that could be put on a car i.e. bumper stickers. It's taken me a little over a year of searching, saving, buying, freaking out about whether I really should be spending my hard earned cash on such novelties and then decided that yes, of course it was absolutely necessary! Although my search has yet to be completed, I think what I've gotten to far is pretty good. 

What do you think?

Not too shabby, eh? I still have some Ravenclaw stickers to put on (once I find them that is) and I really desperately want a cool "Weasley is our King" sticker as well.

Wanna help a girl out? Let me know if you guys find any cool HP bumper stickers for sale :)

tip #1 for the dudes

When it comes to dating, it is always a good idea to ask women questions. I mean, that is the point of dating right? To get to know the other person, to see if they would be a compatible match for you. So how the hell do you think you're going to find that out if  you don't actually ask the girl about herself??? 

Friends of Armadillos Club

Several nights ago I dreamt that I had an armadillo. An armadillo named Dillon. I loved Dillon the armadillo so much that I started a Friends of Armadillos Club where fellow armadillo enthusiast could come together and "dork out" among their peers.

I had set up meetings for the club in a place that resembled that episode of The Simpson Treehouse of Horrors where homer get trapped in a 3rd dimension. The one where he throws a triangle and it punctures the floor and creates a black hole that he gets sucked through just to pop out in the "real" human world. Do you know what episode I'm talking about? It was weird.

Anyway ....

These meetings happened to occur at the same time my alarm clock would go off. Each time my alarm went off I would suddenly appear in the 3rd dimension type room, wait for a few seconds for others to arrive and then leave when they didn't show up. This kept happening over and over again. After a while I got really upset that no one was coming to the meetings. Suddenly, several people appeared with their armadillos in tow. They were not very happy with me because I would always leave just as they were arriving. Once they said this I remembered thinking to myself "Oh yeah, that makes sense". Then we all linked arms and skipped down the yellow brick road into the sunset/rainbow. At least, thats what would have happened had I not woken up.

A decision has been made people

I have finally decided what to name my future kids. Yes, this may be a very silly thing for me to do, but gosh darnit its my blog and I reserve the right to do silly things. So there! Now, if you don't mind my blankie, teddy and I are going down for a nap time before Barney starts because evidently my maturity level is that of a 3 year old.

Boys:
1. Roan Alexander
2. Brandon West (or Garrett for the middle name, not 100% yet)
3. Frederick Nathan

Girls:
1. Eliza Jane
2. Ada Jude

love you, love me

my bucket list

Side note: When I first started thinking about this post I badly wanted to have a picture showing a list of buckets. Get it? A list of buckets cuz this is a bucket list...? I know, freakin' hilarious huh?! Sadly, I could not find any pictures of a list of buckets, only a bucket that had a list in it which, as we all know, is not nearly as funny.

This is my bucket list. I quite like it. I hope you do too. If not that's alright. I just wont be friends with you anymore. Except that I will, because that would be stupid if I stopped being your friend because you didn't like my bucket list. Although, it would be pretty stupid if you didn't like my list. I mean come on, it's a list of totally awesome things that everyone should want to do.

I have issues.

1. Run like Phoebe from the tv show Friends
2. Go on a hiking tour of New Zealand
3. Visit the Black Forest in Germany
4. Visit France, specifically:
1. The Louvre
2. The Champs Elysee
3. Normandy
4. Paris
5. Versailles
6. Marseilles
5. Tour all of Scotland
6. Tour all of Ireland
7. Try haggis
8. Visit Crete and Meteora, Greece
9. Go on an Alaskan cruise
10. Go backpacking in a different country (other than those listed above)
11. Tour the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica
12. Go cliff diving
13. Run a half marathon
14. Kiss a complete stranger
15. Go skinny dipping
16. Learn the entire dance routine for Thriller 
17. Learn the entire dance routine from Napoleon Dynamite
18. Learn how to knit
19. Grow my very own vegetable garden
20. Learn how to reupholster furniture
21. Bake a pie
22. Attend a masquerade ball
23. Learn the tango
24. Audition for a play
25. Be an extra in more movies
26. Write a letter to each of my family member letting them know how much I love them
27. Try Kobe beef

28. Go rock climbing
29. Build a fort in my living room
30. Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving or Christmas
31. Go to the airport and take the first flight that leaves
32. Dance in the rain
33. Play in the mud
34. Skip somewhere instead of walking
35. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (at least once)
36. Attend Mardi Gras
37. Visit every state in the US
38. Create my own super hero outfit
39. Pay for a stranger's groceries
40. Provide Christmas gifts/dinner for a family in need
41. Give $100 to a stranger
42. Spend Independence Day in Boston
43. Spend St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
44. Go snorkeling
45. Get a degree in French
46. Volunteer at a Children's hospital
47. See a Broadway musical
48. Be in a flash mob
49. Learn to snow board
50. Learn to ski
51. Go sailing
52. Visit Stonehenge
53. Learn Gaelic
54. Travel via train
55. Ride a horse bare back
56. Make a quilt

57. Swim in an ocean
58. Have family pictures taken
59. Go on a family vacation
60. Take Archery lessons

love you, love me

serious post about cheese

I would like to talk to you today about something very dear to my heart: my favorite cheeses.

What? Are you laughing? HOW DARE YOU!!!!! Cheese is no laughing matter, sir and/or madame! Cheese is one of the few things that brings happiness to life. Cheese makes everything better. I'll have you know that not liking cheese is akin to hating puppies, rainbows, sunshine and America!

ahem... So without further ado, I give you my top 5 cheeses (in ascending order)

5. Brie

I first came into contact with brie a few years ago at a darling Scottish restaurant located on 1300 East. The brie was served warm and slightly fried, as is Scottish tradition, with slices of green apples and a raspberry puree. To say this dish was amazing would be an under statement. My roommates and I devoured the thing and almost bought another. Although the Scottish restaurant is no longer open :( this cheese has now made it to my favorites list because of their dish.

4. Cheddar

Cheddar - oh how I love thee! I don't remember a time when cheddar wasn't a part of my life. Whether it be medium or sharp, yellow or white I love it. Probably one of my favorite dishes containing cheddar would be my grandpa's tuna fish spread. This stuff is made of legends and we guard it most diligently (not really). My grandpa says he came up with the recipe by "taking all the things no one else liked so I wouldn't have to share it". It  contains the usual suspects like tuna fish and mayo relish but the key ingredients are a sharp white cheddar (must be Cracker Barrell) and a butt load of jalapenos. You would think that with the amount of jalapenos we use that you couldn't taste much of anything else. But you'd be wrong. The white cheddar is a perfect complement to the the jalapenos. It tempers the heat a bit all while adding a tang and creaminess that is just as powerful.

3. Havarti

Not much to say other than I love it! It is uber creamy and has a beautiful light taste that is not over powering but can still hold its own.

2. Muenster

This is probably my favorite sandwich cheese. I'm not a fan of mustard but I like to have a little kick when eating my ham sammiches. In comes the muenster. Just as creamy as Havarti but it has a nice powerful pungent taste that I just love!

1. Chevres (Goat Cheese)

My all time favorite kind of cheese ever. EVER! It is creamy and rich and earthy and delectable! My eyes were opened and my world changed for ever when my mom took me to a spectacular restaurant called Baci's. This restaurant, which has been closed for many years now much to my chagrin, had amazing food. The best I have ever had. On this particular afternoon, my mom and I felt a little adventurous and decided to get an appetizer of rosemary pita bread served with goat cheese and of dash balsamic vinegar. I was a little hesitant at first, but after my initial bite I was hooked. It had the most glorious flavor I had ever tasted. It was earthy, gamey but not disturbingly so. And its creaminess was almost sinful. I ate almost the entire plate, becoming more and more in love with each bite. And that love has only grown. Now, if I ever see anything on a menu that contains goat cheese I order it. Hands down. No questions asked. Because cheese, especially goat cheese, makes everything better.

ummmmm......

So I haven't been around much lately. Or at all, really. It's certainly not because I don't have anything to write about. Because I do. Life has been pretty interesting as of late.

No, the biggest issue regarding the lack of posts comes down to confidence. For a while I was reading several blogs that were extremely witty, funny, intelligent, etc. and it made me feel a little ashamed of my own blog. I started feeling like my blog (and therefore me (or is it I?)) wasn't even remotely funny enough, witty enough or smart enough to write  a blog that anyone would want to read. :(

Sadly, this has been a theme in my life for quite some time. Always comparing myself to others and always coming to the conclusion that I, Ashley Garrett, fall horribly, disturbingly short.

Luckily for you, but especially for me, I am now working through these ridiculous and irrational thoughts and have come to realize this: I enjoy writing. I enjoy blogging. Just because someone else has a funny/witty/intelligent blog out there does not mean that my blog is worthless. Or less than theirs. It's just different. And that is just fine. It's better than fine actually!

So, I guess what I am saying is that I am back people :)


p.s.

After writing this I did a spell check and nothing needed to be fixed. I repeat NOTHING NEEDED TO BE FIXED!! That, my friends, is a freaking miracle!

some of my favey fave videos

Wonderwall by Oasis



covered by the lovely danielasings



Kid History part 2





livelavalive - gotta love these guys!





The amazing wheezy waiter. Very possibly my favorite youtuber of all time!!!





FLight of the Conchords - need I say more? Didn't think so :)





The Sound of Music Horror Trailer!!!




Marcel the Shell with shoes on





Wheezy Waiter with one of my new fave youtubers Duncan Rocks! Watch until the end, it's definitely worth it!!




Hey it's FRED!!!!!!!




Callie Moore a local Utah artist from Provo/Orem area. I'm sure many of you have heard me singing this song. I love it!! Definitely check her out (Zen Garden is my fave song of hers but I couldn't embed it :( )

2011 is gonna rock your (my) socks off!

Oh hello.

Hows it goin? Good? Good.

Yeah things are going pretty well here. No compalints. Ok that was a lie. I have complaints. More like annoyances really. But lets not talk about that. Lets talk about something different. Something that nobody else in the world is talking about right now, nope not one single person. Lets talk about....

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!!!!!!

yay, aren't you so freaking excited?? I know I am!  :D

So I am not going to talk about last year's resolutions because they were a bust. However, I will tell you some pretty kick ass news about something else I posted, specifically about turning 25. In my post I was talking about how I wanted to make my 25th year the best year of my life thus far. I know its only been a couple of months but I can honestly say mission accomplished!!! Booo-freaking-yaaaaahhhh!

I don't know what it was exactly but something inside me just clicked and I realized that I need to stop sitting on my butt compalining about how I never do anything and never see anyone and just get out there and do. Be proactive. I've made  apoint of spending time with my friends and actually like contatcing them. I've made it  a point tio accept invites to parties and to be socialable. I'm even talking on the phone again. For long periods of time. Do you have any idea how huge that is for me?????? I used to HATE talking on the phone. My longest phone calls were to my mom an dthey'd usually last about 5 minutes. But now, I can just talk, and talk and talk. And I like it. It's been so much fun catching up with friends and it's made me realize that I'm not boring. I have things to say, thoughts to share, stories to tell, etc. It's been great!

One of the best things that has come from this is that I a lot more confidence. I don't fee l like some weird loner girl who has no one. I feel like awesome and loved, not just by other people but by myself as well.

It's seriously been fantastic and I cant wait for the awesomeness to continue!

Ok so now for this year's goals:

 1.  Live a healthier lifestyle - this is one from 2010's goals which is still something I need to work on in a big way. As I've always said, I don't want to be stick thin. I don't care about the number on the scale, it is what it is. I care more about how I feel and right now I don't feel healthy. I want to get back to the way I felt in High School. I was still definitely over weight then but I was eating well and exercising regularly. I could drop to the floor and give you 50 sit ups with no problem. And whats more is that I actually enjoyed it! I loved learning new techniques and feeling the burn that comes when you use your muscles.

This year I want to get back to that. It's going to be hard especially with the schedule I have come March but I can and will do it.

2. Be more involved in church - this is also from 2010's list. I have a difficulttime explaining why this one is such a big issue for me. All my reasons sound and probably are petty and ridiculous but they're big enough to stop me from fully committing myself to the gospel. I love it. I do. And I know that my life has always been better when I make it a priority but I am still struggling. I just need to man up and grow a pair. (was that a little too sacrilegious?)

3. Be a more positive/nicer person - part of this is from 2010 again. I'm starting to think I should have put more work into those sheesh! Generally I don't think of myself as bad or mean or negative person but I do find that I tend to swing that way pretty easily, especially when I'm driving. This year I want to be better about taking a breather when I start to feel/get this way and reflect on why its happening and how I can turn it into something more positive.

4. Date more - maybe this should be at the top of my list? I don't if many of you know this but I had a very, very long dry spell in the dating department. Three years to be exact. Well maybe four, but I think it was three. Anyway, it was a long time.

In teh beginning I took a haitus because I was just having one bad date right after the other. It was like all the guys had joined forces to ensure that each date got worse. The final straw was when this guy brought his friend with him and talked to him the entire night, completely ignoring me. Right around the time I was about to start dating again was when things in my personal life got messy and I ended up with some pretty big issues that needed work asap. It took me a long, long time to work through these issues because I was scared. So very scared of living again and opening myself up to people again. Issues that are just now finally being resolved.

I do want to get married some day and start a family. But that day will never come if i don't date more often. I'm now getting back into the dating scene but need to make more of an effort in 2011.

5. Get a handle on my finances - bloody hell I hate money and my relationship with it. I really need to reevaluate my budget and plan something that is more livable than what I have right now. It may mean extending the time it will take to pay off my debt but that is okay if it means I can stay within my means more easliy.

umm ok love ya bye