What I've Been Up to Lately

84/365: Watching my husband attempt to dig our car out of my parents' driveway. We ended up needing a few extra sets of hands. Thank goodness for friendly neighbors.

85/365: My dog is amazing.

87/365: Jimmy John's is so good to me. Unwich = Gluten free happiness.

88/365: Birthday present to my hubs. Awesome concert! Joshua James is good to his fans!

 89/365: Saying good-bye to my sweet puppy before we leave for Detroit, Michigan. Also, doing homework. Always doing homework.

90/365: My favorite place in Detroit is Joe Louis Arena. Thanks to our amazing friend, Terry, we got to tour the locker room, walk out on the ice, and see Gordie Howe on his birthday! What a weekend! Still can't believe it. 

 91/365: Rediscovered this picture of Adam from when we first started dating.

92/365: Ruben, rug surfing through the dining room. 

93/365: Trying to do homework at my house is a joke. 

94/365: Watching the hubs play some hockey.

95/365: Celebrating warmer days by opening the windows.

96/365: First time using the mixer for some gluten free goodness.

97/365: The sunbathing basset is never satisfied.

98/365: Enjoying our first Bats game of the season at Louisville Slugger Field! 

 99/365: New book from Sojourn Community Church.

100/365: Reunited with my front porch. So happy (and the pets, too).

101/365: Charlie after a nice walk.

102/365: Duncan doing a little cactus surfing.

103/365: This guy following me everywhere.

104/365: Love finding new (and delicious) gluten free snacks!

105/365: Rainbow after a storm...

...followed by the most delicious burger I have ever tasted.

106/365: The most ornery cat I've ever met. I took him for a walk once and now he spends his days trying to figure out how to get back outside.

Sorry for my major absence. 365 Projects are hard work! :) I'm getting excited as my first semester of grad school comes to a close. Although, I will be starting right back up with two summer classes. I need a nap just thinking about it. ;)

What have you been up to lately?

Snowy Sunday

83/365: Woke up to this:

...and my heart melted.  And then, as we made our way downstairs, Charlie discovered it had snowed.

He loves the snow.

I can't say that I hold the same love. But, I do like seeing him so happy. Enjoy your Sunday, friends! I am excited to have some lunch with my dad today. Traveling isn't always fun (although the hubs and I are working on making it more enjoyable), but seeing family is the best. Do you have any travel tips for long drives in the car? Our usual commute is three hours, but next week we will be making a seven hour trip (14 total!). So far, we like asking each other random questions and sometimes learning something new about one another. Seven hours of questions sounds a bit more like a punishment than an enjoyable car ride. ;)

Relaxing Weekend

39/365: Friday was a day full of reminders of my love. Those days are the best. It started with a morning coffee in this mug. I received it from Adam right before he proposed to me. Random, but beautiful. I love it so much. 

Then, this song came on Pandora while I was working. This is the song Adam used to tell me how he felt about me ( over 5 years ago!). 

40/365: Saturday, we took a small trip back to our hometown to see family. I'm pretty sure I could have made it on to People of Walmart during our morning outing.

And, for some reason I ended up at Walmart multiple times that day. Which is horrible because I had ceased going to Walmart a few months ago. Hmmm. Well, at least we didn't actually make any purchases. Just played with some toys. And, again.

Then, later that night I had my first experience playing Risk. Have you ever played? I'm finding out I have a secret love of strategy games. I'm not very good at them yet (I'm team Yellow), but I really, really enjoy them.

41/365: Sunday was a great day of catching up with family and friends. I was finally able to give (and receive) a Christmas present to my nephew. He seriously lights up my life. What a sweetheart. 

Then, we headed back home to Louisville. :)

42/365: Today has been calm. I worked a short shift and read some tough material for class. I'm still working on managing my time better. I'm sure it has nothing to do with this cutie.

What are your best tips for managing time? I've been trying to put the computer away as much as possible when studying. But, it's kind of difficult with online education. ;) I welcome any advice! 

GF...On the Road

I don't think this gluten-intolerance could have happened to a worse person. That sounds like a complaint -- it's not. I promise. I think it'll be really good for me. But, more on that later.

I hate confrontation. Hate it. I sometimes imagine myself as Steve Carrell in 40-year-old Virgin whenever he has to do something unsettling. Sweaty palms, quiet voice, darting eyes. I'm sure this isn't how I appear, just how I feel. I don't like causing issues or problems (or things that I perceive as issues or problems). Few things make me more uncomfortable. So, on a road trip home we decided to stop at Jimmy John's for lunch, and I got that uneasy feeling. Yes, I had Googled plenty of gluten-free options. Yes, there were several things for me to eat. But, there is always a risk of cross contamination. New gloves and spatulas would be a must and I was going to have to request them. 

"Maybe I'll be okay with just getting an unwich and not asking for new spatulas," I suggested to my husband. 

"Ashley, you're asking for them. You have to. You've got to get better about this."

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband? Always pushing me to better myself. I truly appreciate it (although, in this moment it made me want to hide in the car and let him make the request for me).

As we approached the counter, Adam ordered first. Then, it was on me.

"Hi (I smiled way too big, trying to make up for my obnoxious request). Can I get a Turkey Tom…unwich, please? And, um, sorry about this, but could you please use a different spatula that hasn't touched any bread? I'm sorry, I have this allergy thing…" I kind of put my hands in the air as if to say, I don't know (which I don't -- I have no clue what I'm doing). 

"Sure, no problem. We'll hook you up," the cashier reassures me. She turns to the kid manning the sandwich counter and tells him to get a new spatula and new gloves (I had forgotten to ask!) to make my unwich. I resist the urge to watch them make it. I probably should have watched, but this was enough "trouble-causing" for me. I walk to the restroom to wash my hands. When I return, my unwich is waiting for me at the table along with my smiling husband. Make-believe confrontation over.

Truth be told, the whole situation wasn't so bad. I know I'm a bit neurotic about these things. I also know it's a restaurant's job to tend to a customer's needs and provide quality service (which they did very well). I just need to remind myself that my health is not an inconvenience (mine or anyone else's). Oh, and for the record, my unwich was quite tasty. And, more importantly, it didn't make me sick. :)

Our First Encounter

This post was originally written in June of 2011. Rather than retell the story, I decided to copy it from my tumblr. I love reading about how I felt when I dreamed of living here.  Little did I know, we would be purchasing a home in our dream city just 6 short months later. After having lived here now for 6 months (if you're a math person you'll catch a gap in there--I'll explain later), I can honestly say I feel the same way. I still love this city and wake up every morning so excited that we're here.

About 3 years ago, Adam and I wanted to take a vacation.  However, we were on a very tight budget, so our options were limited.  Adam suggested we go to Louisville because neither of us had ever been and because it was the only feasible thing he could come up with.  So, we budgeted our trip and made plans to see all the great things that Louisville had to offer (Macaroni Grill was on this list.  Don’t judge us.).  We had no idea what we would find. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our trips to the distilleries.  Bourbon chocolates quickly became something we craved often.  The zoo was great.  I took pictures of everything (literally).  And, we eventually made our way to 4th Street.  We loved 4th Street.  Good food, tons of bars, and a really sweet bowling alley (I don’t think it is there anymore).  We thought this was it.  I remember waiting in line at Howl At The Moon (chain) and a guy in front of me turned around and asked Adam and I what we were drinking.  Next thing we knew, this guy has purchased our drinks and apologized to us for having to wait.  We had waited 5 minutes.  We were sold.  Now, it may have had to do with the drinking involved, but in that moment we were sure that Louisville was the place for us.  Ridiculous, right?

It wasn’t until Adam started researching the city that we discovered the real reason we love Louisville.  We began planning another trip to the city, and Adam wanted to know what pizza Louisville had to offer.  He posted on a forum and within a day had many replies.  Most people agreed that we needed to try Wick’s.  So, on our next trip out there, we set the GPS to take us to Wick’s.  This is when we discovered Bardstown Road. Not only was Wick’s amazing (and a reason for many future trips to Louisville) but we found an area dedicated to everything we love: music, art, books, antiques, coffee.  It was all there. Not to mention some of the friendliest people you will ever encounter.

I cannot wait to move to Louisville.  Until then, thanks to that guy for the free drinks.