Josh and I went inside of a Wendy's today. Very rare because why would you go inside when you can stay in your car and not be seen in public. I wasn't even eating but I told him I would go with him but we had to go inside. Again, why? I guess so this sweet man could change my life. A man in his early 70's walked up to the cashier and handed her a five dollar bill while saying, "I just wanted to give you this tip because you really deserve it. Thank you." The girl's countenance changed. It was like a little blessing of happiness now rested upon her. All from this man's gesture of $5! But it changed me as well. When do you ever tip the lady at Wendy's who takes your order? Never. When are you that gracious to strangers? Never. I just want the world to know that the kindness of one stranger to another changed me today. Forever.
Just an added note: the man ate alone inside the restaurant and seemed so happy.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
NO, NO. IT CAN'T BE BOTH
Really? I think it's either a headband OR a garter, not both. No dual purpose with an item like this.
Friday, March 19, 2010
COMPARISONS
I love to look back at my life and compare where I am today verses where I was in times previous. As Leslie well knows, this can be in any time reference. "Can you believe _____ ago...." Week. Month. Year. Yesterday. Whatever it is, I just like to see how much my life has changed. And I especially love the game, "if someone would have told you a year ago that ____ was going to happen would you believe it?" Here are a few things I have been thinking of lately.
1. One year ago (March 14) I went through the temple. Now I am an ordinance worker at the Provo Temple. I love it!
2. Two years ago this weekend 8 people gathered together in Disneyland for one of the greatest and funniest weekends of my life.
3. Three years ago I was bringing home the bacon from Deer Valley. Man, that seems like centuries ago.
4. Last weekend I was skiing at Deer Valley
5. Last year at this time I didn't know if I would have a job. Now I am thankfully still at Orem Junior and hope to never leave.
6. For the last 6 years I have rented and lived in 9 apartments. Now I get to be my own landlord because I am buying a house.
7. Sadie died five years ago this month.
8. Seven months ago I was gearing up for my 2nd year of teaching to start. Now its almost over.
9. 995 days ago mom and dad still lived in Kaysville
10. One year ago I successfully recovered from my little bout with Bells Palsy
11. If you would have told me two years ago that Corey Mounteer would be married to the other Ashley and have a kid I would have easily put $5,000 in a bet against you
12. When I first started working with Allison if you would have told me she would marry Kyle, I would have laughed so hard for a really long time
13. If you would have told me when I was 14 that I was really going to become a teacher I would have cried tears of joy
14. If you would have told me two months ago that I was going to buy a house I would have slapped you in the face for being stupid
15. If you would have told me three years ago that I would actually enjoy Mom and Dad's mission and be happy for them I would have told you I hate you and I hate missionaries.
1. One year ago (March 14) I went through the temple. Now I am an ordinance worker at the Provo Temple. I love it!
2. Two years ago this weekend 8 people gathered together in Disneyland for one of the greatest and funniest weekends of my life.
3. Three years ago I was bringing home the bacon from Deer Valley. Man, that seems like centuries ago.
4. Last weekend I was skiing at Deer Valley
5. Last year at this time I didn't know if I would have a job. Now I am thankfully still at Orem Junior and hope to never leave.
6. For the last 6 years I have rented and lived in 9 apartments. Now I get to be my own landlord because I am buying a house.
7. Sadie died five years ago this month.
8. Seven months ago I was gearing up for my 2nd year of teaching to start. Now its almost over.
9. 995 days ago mom and dad still lived in Kaysville
10. One year ago I successfully recovered from my little bout with Bells Palsy
11. If you would have told me two years ago that Corey Mounteer would be married to the other Ashley and have a kid I would have easily put $5,000 in a bet against you
12. When I first started working with Allison if you would have told me she would marry Kyle, I would have laughed so hard for a really long time
13. If you would have told me when I was 14 that I was really going to become a teacher I would have cried tears of joy
14. If you would have told me two months ago that I was going to buy a house I would have slapped you in the face for being stupid
15. If you would have told me three years ago that I would actually enjoy Mom and Dad's mission and be happy for them I would have told you I hate you and I hate missionaries.
Monday, March 8, 2010
GRILLED CHEESE
I really like grilled cheese sandwiches. Some (okay, a lot) of people believe that I am what you might call picky. I believe I am precise. Basically, there are quite a few "rules," as Heather calls them, in my world. One of the rules is that I will eat a grilled cheese from basically anywhere. Its hard to ruin and easy to make delicious. I am sure my love affair with grilled cheese started as a little kid going to the Bountiful Drug Store with Grandma Moss and company for the earth's most delicious G.C. sandwich. It probably helped that I also would eat french fries, mashed potatoes, chocolate malt, roll, banana cream pie, and a Cherry 7-Up. All at once for one meal? Yeah. From that point on I have always trusted the grilled cheese. Because of my preciseness or rules, I have a somewhat difficult time when eating out but the trusty grilled cheese always has my back. You can pretty much order it anywhere and it is pretty much always amazing. Maybe one day if I get up to the task of generating a list of my rules, I will post it on here. I guarantee you would all be amazed at how I make my eating/snacking/drinking/dining decisions.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Luc
Four years ago today Shanna and I put school on the back burner and decided to take a joy ride because it was a freaky warm day in Provo. We had to get away from campus and out amid the warmth of the day. Only problem: we didn't have any bicycles. We decided to rent some beach cruisers from Bingham Cyclery because they let you do it for free. That is where I met Lucy. I fell in love instantly, refused to giver her back to the store so I took her home and she definitely wasn't free. Boy, what a great 4 years we have had together. Here is a "cruise" down memory lane of her birthdays:
Day 1 our time together
1st Birthday
2nd Birthday where Nessle and I started the dual Lucy/Josh Groban birthday party
3rd Birthday
4th Birthday
Day 1 our time together
1st Birthday
2nd Birthday where Nessle and I started the dual Lucy/Josh Groban birthday party
3rd Birthday
4th BirthdaySunday, February 14, 2010
RANDOM LIFE STORY: POLICE CHASE
I forgot about the random life story series I used to do on this blog. A conversation I had with my roommates yesterday reminded me of a run-in with the police I had in high school. Let me share it with you.
It was the first day of summer after my 10th grade year. All was quiet on Sunset Drive until we heard sirens in the distance. Everyone in the house went outside to see where the cop car was coming from because that was like big action at the time in West Kaysville. Soon enough we could see that it was not one cop car but a line of cops and they were in a car chase! It got even more exciting when the car they were chasing crashed into a mailbox two houses down and the people got out and ran for it. Soon, Sunset Drive was flooded with law enforcement.
We got the scoop on what was going on. Two convicts had escaped from the jail near by, stolen a car, and went on their merry way to freedom - until they crashed into the mailbox. So the Police were searching the fields for an escaped convict. Why were they only searching for one when there were two that escaped? Well this part is hilarious and true, get ready. One of the men was wearing such baggy pants that he tripped trying to run into the field and was run down by the police. So his buddy got away and was hanging out somewhere in the 50 + acres of farm land that surrounded him. Police helicopters were searching from the air and every access point to Sunset was cut off so this guy couldn't go anywhere unless he wanted to swim across the Great Salt Lake for freedom.
My sister Heidi and I were convinced that if we could just get some binoculars and climb on top of the silo, we could find this guy. My worry wort mother locked the house and turned on the alarm just to make sure the convict wouldn't get into to our house to take a nap or eat any of our food. My mom thought I was inside the house as well but little did she know, I was out playing detective. My cousin came over to the house and the alarm went off but she didn't know. Soon the police scanners got word that our house's alarm just went off and my mother told them I was inside.
The Police barged inside looking for me everywhere thinking the convict man had broken into the house and that I might be in there as well. They didn't find me. And no, the convict wasn't in their either. My mother was convinced I was stolen by convict man or something worse (she is the type that thinks her keys were stolen when she can't find them in her purse). So the Police are now looking for convict man and a teenage girl that might have been taken. While all this is going on, I am in the back pasture trying to hunt down convict man for myself. Heidi and I didn't have any luck so I decided to return to the house. When I came around the corner of the barn there were five police officers there that quickly surrounded me AT GUNPOINT! Officer Red Mustache yelled at me, "are you Ashley Belnap?" Thoughts swirled in my head, "no," "yes," "why do you know my name," "I am not the convict." I was finally able to mutter out that yes, I was indeed the girl in question. The officers lowered their guns and I was ordered to go find my frantic mother because she was looking for me. Whew! Dodged that bullet (literally).
At the end of it all, I was not murdered by the Police and they did find convict man. He had been sitting under a tree in the field trying to figure out his next move. It made for a great story and a great start to my summer. And shockingly, I am not afraid of guns at all. I quite like them actually.
It was the first day of summer after my 10th grade year. All was quiet on Sunset Drive until we heard sirens in the distance. Everyone in the house went outside to see where the cop car was coming from because that was like big action at the time in West Kaysville. Soon enough we could see that it was not one cop car but a line of cops and they were in a car chase! It got even more exciting when the car they were chasing crashed into a mailbox two houses down and the people got out and ran for it. Soon, Sunset Drive was flooded with law enforcement.
We got the scoop on what was going on. Two convicts had escaped from the jail near by, stolen a car, and went on their merry way to freedom - until they crashed into the mailbox. So the Police were searching the fields for an escaped convict. Why were they only searching for one when there were two that escaped? Well this part is hilarious and true, get ready. One of the men was wearing such baggy pants that he tripped trying to run into the field and was run down by the police. So his buddy got away and was hanging out somewhere in the 50 + acres of farm land that surrounded him. Police helicopters were searching from the air and every access point to Sunset was cut off so this guy couldn't go anywhere unless he wanted to swim across the Great Salt Lake for freedom.
My sister Heidi and I were convinced that if we could just get some binoculars and climb on top of the silo, we could find this guy. My worry wort mother locked the house and turned on the alarm just to make sure the convict wouldn't get into to our house to take a nap or eat any of our food. My mom thought I was inside the house as well but little did she know, I was out playing detective. My cousin came over to the house and the alarm went off but she didn't know. Soon the police scanners got word that our house's alarm just went off and my mother told them I was inside.
The Police barged inside looking for me everywhere thinking the convict man had broken into the house and that I might be in there as well. They didn't find me. And no, the convict wasn't in their either. My mother was convinced I was stolen by convict man or something worse (she is the type that thinks her keys were stolen when she can't find them in her purse). So the Police are now looking for convict man and a teenage girl that might have been taken. While all this is going on, I am in the back pasture trying to hunt down convict man for myself. Heidi and I didn't have any luck so I decided to return to the house. When I came around the corner of the barn there were five police officers there that quickly surrounded me AT GUNPOINT! Officer Red Mustache yelled at me, "are you Ashley Belnap?" Thoughts swirled in my head, "no," "yes," "why do you know my name," "I am not the convict." I was finally able to mutter out that yes, I was indeed the girl in question. The officers lowered their guns and I was ordered to go find my frantic mother because she was looking for me. Whew! Dodged that bullet (literally).
At the end of it all, I was not murdered by the Police and they did find convict man. He had been sitting under a tree in the field trying to figure out his next move. It made for a great story and a great start to my summer. And shockingly, I am not afraid of guns at all. I quite like them actually.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN "CHASTITY" IS THE TOPIC FOR SUNDAY???
This is what happens:
1. boy giving talk: " you see, men are like microwaves and women are like ovens. Men go right to heating up and women take a while."
2. congregation: giggles
3. boy giving talk: "no, this isn't to make you laugh, this is to make you ladies understand the difference between you and men when you are in a... umm...situation."
And the Chastity day continued on with combined 3rd hour Priesthood/Relief Society. The Bishop was in the middle of giving a really great lesson on quite an awkward subject when behind me this conversation is going on in a surprisingly super loud tone:
1. boy: [leaning forward to reach across the people sitting nearby says to girl sitting three seats down from him] "so, do you have a boyfriend?"
2. girl: "no."
3. people sitting around me: shock in their eyes because this is what he chooses to say during the chastity lesson and at such an easily heard decibel (I mean the Bishop up at the front even heard it)
4. boy: "well I would like to change that. Lets definitely hang out."
1. boy giving talk: " you see, men are like microwaves and women are like ovens. Men go right to heating up and women take a while."
2. congregation: giggles
3. boy giving talk: "no, this isn't to make you laugh, this is to make you ladies understand the difference between you and men when you are in a... umm...situation."
And the Chastity day continued on with combined 3rd hour Priesthood/Relief Society. The Bishop was in the middle of giving a really great lesson on quite an awkward subject when behind me this conversation is going on in a surprisingly super loud tone:
1. boy: [leaning forward to reach across the people sitting nearby says to girl sitting three seats down from him] "so, do you have a boyfriend?"
2. girl: "no."
3. people sitting around me: shock in their eyes because this is what he chooses to say during the chastity lesson and at such an easily heard decibel (I mean the Bishop up at the front even heard it)
4. boy: "well I would like to change that. Lets definitely hang out."
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
HAVE YOU HEARD...
Image this scenario: awkward red-headed 7th grader who has to share every thought that comes to him raises his hand to ask me if I had heard about this health care thing going on with Obama. I obviously was confused as to why this was his question while we were in the middle of a discussion on mapping Utah's mountain ranges. I told him that of course I knew but we needed to get back to mapping. Then he proceeds to inform me, as if I truly just didn't know, about Obama trying to change health care. It doesn't stop there. He goes on to mention that "some guy in another state just won something after another guy died and it's making the republic [aka the republicans] really happy and it's going to stop this health care business." I am all about kids being informed on current issues. However, things that are as heavy as public option health care and and the stunning republican turn of the Massachusetts Senate should wait a few years to be discussed at the breakfast table. Try starting the class back onto mountain ranges after that crazy tangent.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I REALLY SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED
That stupid television show Big Love is somehow still on the air and starting a new season. Obviously, I am completely offended by that show for numerous reasons - religious and historical. But a new low blow hit today when I was reading an article on People.com about the new year line up for TV shows. They had a little blurb on Big Love starting up again and apparently one of the polygamist people is opening up a casino. One of their (they probably only have 7) fans commented on the article and said, "isn't gambling against Mormon law or something?" Yeah douche, and so is polygamy! They are NOT Mormons on that show. Screw Hollywood. I am so glad this person's only issue with the show is that they are not accurately portraying the gambling beliefs of the LDS faith. Stellar.
(just a little end note, gambling is straight up illegal in Utah, where the storyline supposedly takes place so...)
(just a little end note, gambling is straight up illegal in Utah, where the storyline supposedly takes place so...)
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