Giving the IndieVida a rest, Moving on to a Cloud in my Coffee

Well, this is it. The beginning of a new era. This crafty, earth loving, Nova watching, star trek following and thrift store wearing girl has gone digital. My name is Ashley, meaning "from the ash tree"  which I guess could be fitting, as  I am sappy at times, get myself into sticky situations and have been described as an absolute "tree hugger". In any case, the sixth most popular name for girls doesn't do me justice....average, I am not.  But wheres the fun in being average anyway? I grew up a farm girl, moved to the city and never looked back... until I was ripped from my beloved city and thrown into a world unlike anything I would have been prepared for. Ohio? Really?!  So whats a girl to do but stir up a little bit of trouble? So.. Here I will be documenting my somewhat A.D.H.D ramblings. Make sure to watch out for my crafts, and random posts to come. This blog boasts a new name, and a new, exciting, sometimes uncertain future.

This should be interesting...

Death Shark, Protector of the Night Shark

I recently renamed my dog.

The three pound warrior poodle who was once named  Amy, has traded her sissy, middle america name for something a little more fitting for her three pound poodle frame. The new name for my beast of a guard dog being...

DEATHSHARK

Amy was a name that implied pink sweaters and bows that would make a full grown pit bull quiver with fear. A dog who attacks the heels of any full sized human, who threatens impending doom, who can breakdance and play dead like a hoodlum from a 1980s sitcom, is a dog who could have only one name. She could defeat any squirrel that enters our yard [if by defeat you mean chases it away before it attacks her] Not to mention dragons and stray plastic bags.

I think Deathshark is much more fitting. 

She responded to the name the moment it was awarded to her...that says it all.

Once a beast always a beast. 

I opened my mouth to tell her how tough she was....

She already knew. I have a feeling she's known all along.

Past in Present

This is one of my first blogposts in 2009. I think I was onto something...

Today I realized that I do not belong here. This small Ohio city is too small for me. The humidity is nothing more than the sky closing in on me, relinquishing my ability to breathe, wear stylish jeans, and find my sanity. I couldn't be any less like a square peg in a round hole here. Social norms are...well, the norm here... and back on the other side of the states where i resided every year of my young life, defying the ordinary and the shock and awe factor were my friend. I need to be somewhere that dries my tears [ a desert, maybe?] not somewhere that dampens them. 

Where is that place? Honestly, I have no idea. Its not that I don't know WHO I am, I am an artist, a chef, a sister, a student, a collector, an animal lover, a borderline vegetarian, a music lover, a musician, a traveller, and an outcast. I am no different than most people out there. Just trying to make my way, and finding where I fit in, in this big ol' world. So just as Abraham Lincoln once said, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." So until I find that place, ill be scrawling down the random and sometimes rudimentary thoughts taking me to it. 

So here's a nod to the past and a salute to the future,

Ash

It took a bit of time, but I know where I'm going now, just as I had assumed. My room is still lined with boxes ready for departure. But this time I will be taking on the dorms. So begins my adventure to the west. Home again, at last.

Through a Kitchen Window

This is a post from a couple of years ago. I was happily working in the kitchen of a convent. It was a delightful job, and this sort of takes me back to that. Since then, I've quit working in preparation for the move out west and have begun to consolidate my old blog onto this one. :] enjoy!


So.. Today I went to work at six thirty... A.M, meaning in the morning for those of you who need further clarification. While most people were waking up out of a coma, I was watching the morning unfold from behind a kitchen window. Contrary to my belief prior to today, morning shift kicks a lot of arse. Serving delicious meals to old [gracefully aged] ladies is substantially cooler in the morning, more so than at any other time of the day. There was not a single thing that could've made my day better. [not including large quantities of money, fame or butter pecan ice cream.]  


Being the first into the kitchen has an odd and calming effect on a person. Maybe it's the oven whirring, or the coffee's 'drip, drip'. I can only describe it as being assigned the privilege of cleaning the slate in the front of the classroom, and clapping out the erasers before life's tasks dirty it once again. You may not look forward to it at first, but you secretly love watching the remnants of past words and symbols fly away into the playground air, making room for a new day. 

There is nothing like brewing a fresh pot of coffee [ or three] while watching the dew drip from the awakening trees, or while watching mother nature slowly open her eyes to the day ahead. unfortunately I think a large portion of this awe and wonder was caused by my sudden 'cease in fire' shall we say, against my addiction to caffeine. Just when i had kicked the coffee.... i started firing again. And when i say "firing" i mean that my brain probably went into a frenzy sending neurons into motion, creating the awe and amazement of everything that came my way. Regardless of whatever caused it, I like it....i REALLY like it,And if it takes large quantities of caffeine and waking up a few hours earlier than the average 20 something... i am willing. Sign me up for that, I dont even need to read the fine print.