BirthdayWeek - Part TWO

sorry for the delay in this post. i really have no excuse :-)

THURSDAY
birthday lunch with mimi, ob and abby-abba
downtown stroll
dinner with friends

can life get better??
i submit that it cannot










r&a

Birthday Week - Part ONE

First, a correction:

in my last post, I incorrectly thanked only my mom, Destin and Rob for my gifts.
That sentence SHOULD have read:
"Fueling the fire.... gifts from Destin, mom, DAD and Rob :-)"

Sorry, Dad.

Thanks for reading my blog :-)
And keeping me honest.
<3>
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NOW, onto the birthday recap

PART ONE:
Monday and Tuesday
Extra son for a day and a trip to Wrigleyville to see my friend of SEVENTEEN YEARS (wowww), Geanna (Gigi)







aaand....CHICAGO

Indulgence.

Fueling the fire.... gifts from Destin, mom and Rob :-)

oh yum. just yum.

Today, I read some Eclipse and Breaking Dawn
I beaded
I made gourmet coffee in my new coffee maker (thanks, mom!)
I read up on the latest Twi-gossip. Naturally. :)
And I made banana bread

speaking of which...i think i heard a timer...

ill leave you with this :-]

other freaks like me (that I, of course, love and admire...)

Details from New Moon set

BellaBejeweled

and of course...

Stephenie Meyer herself



soon to come: pics from my birthday weekend.

A Milestone

Attention: Milo has given up his Nuks (pacifiers) for good!

On Thursday, Milo helped me collect all his pacifiers from the house
We wrapped them individually in tissue paper, then chose a pretty bag to place them in.
Next, he made a beautiful card (complete with George stickers)


Bag and card were jovially delivered to baby Abigail

Toddlers don't need Nuks. They're "blech!"

And that was that.

I must say, as a mom, it was a little

Lots to say, little to write.

all week i've been writing posts in my head.

however, by the time i make it to the computer, all such thoughts are gone, replaced by nothing. white static. in fact, by the time i stumble bleary-eyed to my computer most afternoons (during naptime) or (even more rare) at night...i can barely remember my own name.

however, i am a fan of facebook, and in particular, the "status" feature. i love being able to write a one sentence tidbit of wit about my day. (tidbit of wit. you love it)

thus....
Lauren Ashley's Life
(abbreviated version)

Lauren Ashley is playing the "listen to the birdies game" as i drive thru rock cut with 3 children :-)

Lauren Ashley is watching 2 2 year olds and a 4 year old all day...birth control at its finest :-D (day two)

Lauren Ashley has declared this QUIET day with Milo. no fighting, no cleaning, no working, no girls. :) just me, my boy, curious george and Brownie Pops!!! :-)

Lauren Ashley and company are at the ZOO!! :-) then lunch with Grandma at Ella's Deli...oh how I love you, Madison!!

Lauren Ashley had a good fourth. Happy birthday, America

Lauren Ashley was just chased around the yard by a hose-wielding husband. Wee.

Lauren Ashley FOUND HER CAMERA THAT HAS BEEN MISSING FOR 6 MONTHS!!!!!

There ya have it, folks. As you can see, we've been busy, so no time for silly blogs. :)
Facebook, however, I ALWAYS have time for!

right rhapsody

music gives us a peek into our souls.
our every thought, feeling, passion can be explained with the right lyric or chord
so here's a peek into me today,
MONDAY
June 29th
2009




press play to begin playlist.

be sure to listen to Minstrel's Prayer if you're not familiar with it.
(it's first because i'm all about convenience for my readers.) :)

It's amazing. seriously.

voice among many

a necessary experience

that was the "theme" of the sensory experience we partook of at church this Sunday morning.

and it was.

there was so much to hear, to think, to speak, to sing, to love.

there was relaxation, rejuvenation, restoration.

there were tears.
there was love.

i love our band.
jesse, heather, rob, evan, kari and brooke (though they weren't on stage today...loved, nonetheless)....loved.
i love the passion, the spirit, the perfect 4 part harmonies
the harmony of three persons in perfect rhythm, led by a simple nod from a barefooted drummer.

i love our pastor
words flow from his mouth to cause the tears to flow throughout the crowd.
young and old, we were united this morning as we were reminded again to
speak
ask
converse
with our Father.

as if He were standing in front of us.
because He is!

my favorite part of this very necessary experience came at the very end
a song, a favorite by all, but it didnt matter the melody
the spirit was powerful, tangible
i was singing til i grew hoarse, filled with love and passion
though i sang at the top of my lungs, i heard nothing but perfect harmony.

one voice.

HIS voice.



i'll fly away oh glory ill fly away
when i die HALLELUJAH by and by
i'll fly away

Today is Tuesday, June 24

Let me just start off by saying I actually had to hover in my bottom right screen corner to find out the date. How sad.

TODAY, I :

slept in until 930. diiii-vine.
ate DRY cereal for breakfast because I forgot we were out of milk
left our newly-purchased box of diapers under the cart
retrieved the diapers after making a mad dash BACK to wal-mart.
(they were still there! incredible)
skipped milo's nap until 4:00.
participated in Impromptu Swim Party for Isa's Birthday.
it was fantastic. 8/10 grandkids were there. by accident.
taught makayla how to blow bubbles in the water
stayed in my swimming suit allllll day
made Not-Guac Bacon Turkey Burgers.
They were ahhh-mazing. Want the recipe? I made it up :)
Just got startled by a shirtless body bobbing outside my window....
no fear. just my father-in-law. whew.
will be waking milo up shortly.

today gets 4 stars.



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Not-Guac Bacon Turkey Burgers

You'll Need:
1lb. ground turkey
1/2 pkg spicy taco seasoning
5-6 crisp bacon slices
(could use turkey bacon)
1 ripe avocado
1/2 c. sour cream
1 lime
Cheese slices of choice
(I used Pepperjack and American)
Hot sauce (to taste)
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 jalepeno, sliced and seeds removed
Hamburger buns
Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc. to garnish burgers

Not-guac:
Scoop out the insides of the avocado and mash with a fork
Add sour cream, juice from lime, hot sauce, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.
Stir to blend flavors
Chill in refrigerator until serving time

Turkey Burgers:
Scoop meat into large bowl
Add 1/2 pkg of taco seasoning (can be mild - I like spicy!) and red pepper flakes (optional)
Mix together thoroughly and separate into patties
Season with salt and pepper

Grill burgers, turning once and adding cheese last

To assemble:
Spread Not-guac on bottom bun, top with jalepeno slices
Add burger, bacon and more Not-guac on the top bun
Garnish as you like with lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Enjoy :)

3PM on a Thursday

a truce was called.

Oh, what a night! and night! and night....

Oh, what a WEEKEND!

Though, truly, I am a baby-faced, oft-immature 24 year old....I am most certainly not 21. Nor should I act like it.

This was quite the eventful weekend, however. I bonded with friends, devoured Dairy Depot, bruised my butt volleyball (oh I'm hardcore, it's true!), and left a portion of my calf on the Fox's fire pit.

Certainly, none of you need all the details. Chances are, if you read this, I probably saw you this weekend. If it was Friday or Saturday between the hours of 8pm and an ungodly early morning hour....pretend you didn't.

Thank you.

And now, back to my motherly, wifely duties. Today I am cleaning the house. And doing laundry. And taking Milo to the park. If he ever drags his darling, cherub-cheeked countenance out of dreamland, that is :)


Life is Good.

Back to the real world.

I accomplished a bit of a feat this week.



My mother sees it as a bout of insanity....

I read all FOUR Twilight books in a matter of a couple days. Over 2400 pages, I believe. And if I had not given the first one back to Rachel, I would be tempted to start them all over once again.

I'm hooked. It's seriously ridiculous. I just finished the last one this morning, and have had a hard time dragging myself away from Forks, Washington and the Cullen family and back into the real world. Y'know, where my FAMILY lives.


sigh.

Planes! Trains! Lessons Learned!

-.-WEEKEND RECAP-.-

Proposed agenda vs. Actual agenda

Friday night, my mom picked up Milo and me and we went downtown, excited and thrilled at the prospect of
*SOMETHING COOL TO DO IN ROCKFORD*
Well, Rockford, you disappointed us again. The Midtown Market Days' Local Only Farmers Market consisted of a eighteen inch cardboard picket stuck haphazardly in the ground, "surrounded" (I use that term loosely) by a bent card table and two shady looking "artisans" displaying their metal works. In the adjoining parking lot, where the promised and much-anticipated "music, art and artisan demonstrations" were to be was a dirty man playing a guitar with a hippie-looking...person (??) playing a harmonica perched on a stool.

There was not a vegetable to be found.
Oh, Rockford. You are so lame.

Grumpy and disheartened, Milo and I returned home. It was 5 o'clock. All other fun events were over and I was too grumpy to do much.
We made fresh basil and mozzarella pizza for dinner, as promised. That made me feel better. It was gooey, herby and yummy.

Then, Milo had a bath and we played with his new puzzles and read books until he drifted off to slumberland.

I attempted to revive my faith in Rockford's night life by inviting friends to join me for a moonlight tent concert at a nearby venue. After discussion with Jen's hip mom, we determined that
a) the band was an "old person" cover band and
b) there are only 3 tables at this "venue" and that it's in...the ghetto. more or less.
SIGH.

So the night continued with a stop at J and A's since they were home without a babysitter for little E, then out to meet some friends and teach Jon how to dance.
An okay night. Definitely disappointing.

Saturday dawned
with renewed hope and excitement among all, for it was the day of Trolleys and Lofts.
NOTHING could deter us. Except a cloudy, lazy morning. And no one wanting to go see the lofts with me. And Destin, who had an agenda of his own. And a crabby disposition ;-) Yet, I pushed ahead, determined not to be disappointed by my lame town. Again.

We lazed around most of the morning, venturing out into the world finally around noon. We played outside and explored the landscape from an ant's point of view.

Around 2, we piled into the Funage Sportage and headed down to Trolley Station 36.
IT WAS SOLD OUT.
SOLD.
OUT.
for both the 3oclock and 4oclock rides.
I may have said a bad word. Under my breath.

But, as often happens, we ended up having a delightful day anyway. We walked along the river, soaking up sunshine and enjoying family time.



We squeezed in a tour of the most gorgeous loft, then went home to watch the Cubbies (WIN!) and relax on the couch.

Dinner was grilled chicken, steaks, and herbed new potatoes with Z.

Feeling much better about life, but fed up with Rockford, we traveled to Janesville Sunday for Southern Wisconsin AirFEST 2009 with Devin, Rachel, K and M.
Milo loved seeing his cousins and the (stationary) planes and "copters". He was not a fan of the LOUD, MOVING planes, however.





but he LOVED the tractor ride from the car.

We ended the weekend with sunburns, dinner at Famous Daves and homemade carrot cake (thanks mom!)

Lesson learned: Spontaneous fun is better for weekends. :)