Golf and Biking with a Small Chance of Rain

Well today has definitely been an adventure for me. Today is my dad's birthday, so we decided to all three go hit some golf balls this morning in honor of his birthday. Needless to say, I was like a five year old who gets bored very easily and I most definitely commend Mom and Dad for being that patient. I also managed to take two chunks of grass and dirt out of the ground which was good enough for me. I'm not really sure if I will take up golfing, it's probably not a wise idea for me; one, because I can't hit the ball and two, because I talk too much :)

One of the highlights of this was when we were in the car on the way back home....somehow we got on the subject of chicken coops, which then lead to skunks [we were talking about how stinky they were]. Dad proceeded to tell me: "If you ever hit a skunk, get out of the car, set it on fire and report is stolen. Or just have Hilary pop you in the face, say someone hit you, then jacked your car....." I was glad to hear his philosophy of how to handle my stinky car, if that were to ever happen of course....which I pray that it does not, because I will only be the good daughter and listen to what my dad said, and if for some reason Hilary decides to take the route to hit me, she might get hurt :) 

Yea....back to reality; after our golf outting, Mom and I came back and got ready to run errands. We drove all the way to Sandhills to get to Ulta and get makeup....we would really appreciate it if Columbiana would invest in an Ulta. It would definitely save some time for us. We [well I] also enjoyed some Starbucks. 

Once we were done with our errands, I had already planned to go biking with Roy and Heidi later this afternoon. The original plan was to go to the Riverwalk and bike, but that changed and they decided we would ride around their house/Pine Ridge area. Once I arrived at their house, we set off on our ride. Needless to say that ride was a little hilly every now and then, which was a challenge for me at times. As we were discussing the route we were going to take to head back, we heard thunder. We thought for sure we were going to miss the rain. Not. We headed back, and it started drizziling on us. Mom actually drove by us after running more errands and honked the horn at us. Roy said that it is illegal to do that to bikers and he was going to have her arrested for it....when I later told Mom and Dad, Dad said "I would like to see him try." Ha moving on....we were almost back to the house, when the bottom dropped out. I mean literally it was POURING. Heidi was bikerwoman today, and went ahead of Roy and I. Luckily, she made it to the house right when it started, Roy and I on the other hand got soaked. We finally made it back to the house, we were dripping from the rain....I got in the car and went home. I borrowed Mom's car, so I got her seat wet [oops] ha and drove through the monsoon and made it home. 

When I got home, I  came in still soaked, got laughed at by the parentals then changed. Like I said earlier, today was Dad's birthday so we had planned to have a family night and grill out. The rain seemed to interfer with that. Well in the real world it would have, but my dad prevailed, put his Indiana Jones hat on and grilled the steaks in the rain. Our menu consisted of; steak, lobster tails, baked potatoes, corn, garlic bread and salad. It was all delicious and great, except we discovered tonight that I do not like lobster and I will be sticking to crab legs. 

Overall it was a pretty productive day, we were able to spend time with Trip and have some good laughs, just like old times which is always a plus for us :)

OK so Lauren and I being the 12 year olds that we are at times, went and saw the Hannah Montana movie! We actually liked it....a lot. It wasn't bad at all.....though the girl that we purchased our tickets from snickered at us when we told her the movie we wanted to see, we still enjoyed it. The whole point behind this blog and video is to show you the dance that they do in it. Miley/Hannah sings a song called The Hoedown and it has a dance that goes with it. I personally think the dance looks fun so I attached this video for you to see how it's done! Hopefully I will find time to actually learn it :)

Easter 2009

"....and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way HE LOVES US. Oh how He loves us...."

-->WE ARE NEVER THE SAME WHEN WE ENCOUNTER THE LOVE OF GOD.

Well Easter has come and gone once again. But I wanted to touch on the highlights of my day today :)

1.) I woke up to find an Easter basket for me. It consisted of my favorite Easter candy such as butterfinger eggs, a bag of dove chocolate eggs, robin eggs [woppers], reese cups, lifesaver gummies and some other things were thrown in the mix. Then there was the real deal. It was a trifold Disney Princess coloring book. You can color, paint and do games in this thing :) Needless to say the Easter Bunny visited me a little early this year when I got a bike on Friday.....

2.) Of course it was slightly bittersweet for me with there only being one Easter basket and no Trip here to sneak peeks with. When I thought about how I kind of wanted to cry, I just smiled and told myself that he will be home in 2 weeks so no need to be a basket case [haha] yea if you didn't get the humor in that then, um, loosen up a bit :)

YUP moving on......

3.) Mom was able to talk to Trip on the phone this morning before church...lucky

4.) Service was amazing this morning [great job Pastor Tim]

-->"His word is His will and His will is His word. If He says it, He means it!"

5.) We had lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Mayzes house. It was scrumptous as usual. I, of course ate waaaaay too much, it made my biking the day before a little pointless. Oh well.

6.) Mom, Dad and I went to go to Dicks Sporting Goods so I could get some butt shorts, only to get there and find out they were closed. At least we had an adventure for the day.

7.) I made a deal with mom. I told her if she would let me take a nap I would get up before dinner and vacuum the living room and clean off the dining room table for her. She agreed, so I was able to enjoy a 2 hour nap. I was grumpy when I woke up, nothing new there.

8.) I did manage to vacuum the living room, clean the dining room table AND eat about a million butterfinger eggs before the Bauers showed up. In the end eating that candy was a bad idea....my dinner was spoiled, but no worries I prevaled and managed to eat yet another BIG meal making it twice for one day :/

9.) Mom cooked and cooked and cooked, I mean she started cooking YESTERDAY for tonights meal. She means business when she cooks....ha anyways she made an amazing meal that we were able to enjoy with Heidi, Roy, Robbie and Jack.

10.) Mom being the grandma that she is to Jack and Robbie had Easter baskets for them. They LOVED their elmo and cookie monster puppets. And we also learned that the puppets will most likely be BALD by the end of the week because of how much blue and red they shed. Good luck to Heidi with keeping the shedding contained haha.

11.) Mom and I made a bunny cake yesterday that was cute.....until we ate the ears for dessert. The picture gives you a good visual of what I am talking about. I just feel sorry for the poor bunny when we start taking chunks out of his face.

12.) We never took a picture as a family in our Easter outfits. SHOCKER.

13.) Lastly, we learned today that Dad can draw very well :)

What today REALLY boils down to:

Today may have just been another hectic, crazy day in the Holland household but we also celebrated together the Resurrection of Jesus. We had silly moments, serious moments but most of all we had happy moments. I hope you were able to have a great Easter with the people that mean the most to you. I also hope you remember, not just today but EVERYDAY that Jesus did indeed die on the cross for ALL of us. He gave His life for YOU, He was beaten and crucified for YOU. He rose again because He said He would and for that we should be continuously thirsting and seeking after HIM. Thank you Jesus for bringing life more abundantly for all of us.

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. "-->Hebrews 4:12

Bicycles, Boobs and Chapstick

SOOOO I haven't blogged in FOREVER. But I have finally found something quite interesting to blog about. Well Heidi and I find it interesting, so I will share it with you :)



I recently decided that I would much rather ride a bicycle for exercise than run. So, Hilary and I decided that we would start biking at school together. With this, I told Heidi about it and she then told Roy and they seemed to get excited for me. The two of them are like professionals or something like that, so they were a lot of help with me getting started. Well, Mom and Dad took me on Friday to get a new bicycle which made me REALLY excited. Heidi and I talked about me going with her and Roy on Saturday [today] to the Riverwalk to ride. Plans were made and I showed up at their house this morning at 10:03 ready for some adventure. Roy had already left, he rode his bike all the way to the Riverwalk and we drove in the car and met him there.

First funny moment of the day: Heidi has a bike rack on the back of her Xterra, so I pulled my bike out of the car and we put it on the rack. Yea, not as easy as it sounds. My bike is the complicated bike [imagine that one] and wouldn't go on as easily as their bikes do. So Heidi and her GENIUS self figured out how to finally get it on there, and even figured out how to strap it. Luckily, we can be laid back people so we just laughed the whole time we were trying to get it on there. It was just one of those moments where you had to be there, because while we are trying to get the complicated bike on the rack, Jack and Robbie are in the car yelling, MOMMY or ASHLYN can you do this or that or this. Haha. Moving on......

We made the stop and dropped Jack off with his grandparents then headed on to the Riverwalk. Roy was awaiting our arrival when we pulled in. We got out and started to unload while Roy started getting the bikes off the back. Being the girls that we are, Heidi and I have to have our Burt's Bees chapstick with us at all times but we were wondering where to put it. Then Heidi has yet another BRILLIANT idea. I looked over and homegirl [Heidi] was sticking her chapstick down her shirt into her bra. I literally laughed out loud and said that was a great idea. Roy on the other hand said she needed to take it out because he wasn't going to let her act like a 50 year old woman by putting things in her bosom hahaha. I then had to remind Roy that my mother isn't 50 yet and she does it all the time, which is probably why Heidi and I think it's all good to put things in our bras. So, Heidi left it right where she put it, and then I put mine in the same place.

The thing that seemed to "bother" Roy the most was the fact that Heidi is evidently starting to act like an "old lady." If he paid the least bit of attention he would realize that our church is full of women storing things in this certain place haha, PLUS the chapstick fit perfectly right where we put it :)

Needless to say, we had a great ride. Robbie really enjoyed it too. We saw a million turtles and the "famous" alligator according to Roy. We ended the adventure by eating some subs and watching Robbie play on the playground and pee on Heidi's car. Hmmm not sure if I was supposed to say that....but it was funny and if you want to know the whole story behind that, ask Roy :)

OH and the lesson learned for Ashlyn today, don't ride the bike without butt shorts haha.

OMG

WEEEEE GOTSSSS SNOW!!! check it out :)

31 insane things about ME

1. i like to say "sick nasty" and "you know what i'm sayin'?" way too much.

2. i steal/collect coasters from restaurants.

3. i absolutley admire audrey hepburn.

4. i want to be a teacher, but i can't stand capitalizing things [as you can see on this note]

5. i was adopted [by my wonderful daddy]

6. my mom and i look almost exactly alike, except for hair and eye color.

7. i have a marine for a brother.

8. i have to pull up my pants EVERYTIME i get up and according to courtney i say "JESUS" under my breath when i do it.

9. im a little into rob pattinson and eric dane....just a little :)

10. when i play card games, i am ocd about the deck being perfect.

11. disney movies are still my favorite kind of movies.

12. coffee is my drug that keeps me going sometimes.

13. i have a big heart for children and missions.

14. i like to buy coffee mugs.

15. i like to take too many pictures.

16. i dye my hair....a lot.

17. i don't like much change unless it's something like dying my hair [which can always be undone]

18. i decorate my door according to the holiday of the month [it's the teacher coming out in me]19. i like coach a little too much. and my mother spoils me with it.

20. i am spoiled....very much so.

21. i seem to "collect" scarves, converses, makeup, and sunglasses. im sure there are other things but illleave it at that.

22. facebook, and facebook bumper stickers takes up a lot of my time.

23. playing the violin is the most relaxing thing for me at times.

24. luden's wild cherry throat drops are still my favorite when i am sick.

25. i only drink aquifina or dasani water.

26. i have been to australia, peru and getting ready to head to africa this summer.

27. i like to color in coloring books.....yes at the age of 20.

28. eyeliner is one of my best friends.

29. i tend to make a hospital visit once a year for the most random things.

30. my cell phone has to be with me at all times. and i text way too much.

31. last but NEVER least. jesus has my heart and soul. and i fall in love with him more everyday

Time Consuming

Google Docs can go to a not nice place.
Know what I'm saying?

Transparent

My brother called around 7 something this morning.
It was GREAT to hear his voice, and even better to hear that he was doing good.
When I hung up the phone reality kind of hit me.
I then bawled like a baby.
I didn't really know that you could miss someone so much.
I have some kind of emptiness that I didn't know existed.
It really hasn't hit until these past 2 months how much I really miss him.
I am definitely looking forward to April.

Quote of the Day

"Coco Chanel said to always take one accessory off before walking out the door."

The wise words of Coco Chanel, from Courtney Phillips :)

Quote of the Day

"You know, your mood swings are starting to give me whiplash."
-->Bella [Twilight]


Most definitely applies to my life at the moment.

Ready, Set...Oh NO!!!

"Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?"
-->James 3:11

Ok so with being here at Emmanuel we have convocation and chapel services that we are required to attend on a weekly basis. This Wednesday night we had the RD of Wellons hall as our speaker. He graduated last year and he really brought a word that some of us needed to hear.

He was discussing how we have sin in our lives. We know we have it and when we make a change we automatically start cleaning up the outside. For instance if we have a cussing problem, we just start watching our mouths and what we say. Sometimes the full effect never happens WITHIN us....we change the outside but not the inside. That's good right?! Well he gave an example of friends and how they may react to one another. He said we may tell a friend, "Hey guess what I lost 5 pounds!" And instead of encouraging or praising us for it they shoot right back with "Yea, well I lost 10 pounds!" It's almost like they are saying, BEAT THAT! I compared it to the whole one-upping game.....I have a friend that feels like they always need to one-up me....with EVERYTHING. Anything I have done or that I have or that I get, they have it already or had it at some point or they just simply think they have something better. Don't get me wrong, I am only human and I do tend to brag at times, but I believe that I am also aware of other people and their feelings when it comes to things that may make them feel accomplished. I don't like to rain on anyone's parade it's just not that satisfying to me.

As Christians I believe we should learn to humble ourselves and allow someone to have some glory for once. It's not always a competition of who has better or who can do/say better. After all we should not continuously lust after material things to fill our lives. In the end to me, that is all the one-up game is. It is a battle to see who has better things or who has done it already. It drives me insane when I have something to say that I think is worth saying because it makes me feel good, it encourages me and I want to share it so I can encourage someone else and/or get feedback. But what I do not expect is to be told, "Yea, well I have something better......"

I guess for me, tonight was a learning experience with something that I was having a hard time with for awhile. I know some mean well and may not realize it, but I also believe there is a line that should be drawn. People or friends for that matter should not be constantly seeking to "beat you." Your happiness should make them happy. We have become people that are all about ourselves. We become completely unaware of our surroundings and how sometimes our words can be a bad effect instead of a positive one. Sometimes you never know if that person could be struggling and your words can make or break them. So will you decide to have words that can be encouragement or words that are simply said for mere competition? The choice is yours :)



"People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is resless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth....."
James 3:7-10