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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Perth Telethon

I want to draw your attention to the Perth Telethon that is currently on, raising money for sick children at Princess Margaret Hospital. This is such a worthy cause and I think they will top $10 million dollars raised this year. Please donate - the lines are only open for one more hour :) support the kids!

It's our Telethon people!

Here's a photo of me watching Telethon, as I have been all day. I donated $50.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Why You Should Not Be A Bridesmaid

Hello dearest readers

I am writing this post to warn you.

I am a bridesmaid in The Boyfriends sisters wedding next Saturday and to be honest, I don't think I can hack being a bridesmaid again.

Your life will become about nothing but The Wedding from the moment you are asked, till the time you leave the reception - and possibly after. 


Yes thats right. NOTHING but The Wedding. You have to rearrange your life to fit in with The Wedding preparations. Bride gives you 2 hours notice to do some invites? Better drop what you're doing. Want to shave your legs? Not so fast - if you do, they will be the improper length for waxing the week before. Better to be a furball.

It will be bloody expensive.

Yes, yes it's priceless being asked to stand next to your friend/sister whoever while they get married. But, especially if the bride and groom are on a tight budget themselves, you will need to fork out a shedload of money. Example:
Dress (that you will NEVER wear again) - $300
Alterations - $125
Shoes - $80
Spray tan x 2 (tester and real) - $120
Hair - $50
Makeup - $50
Underwear - $50
Hens night - $55 (not including other drinks)
Kitchen tea - $40
Waxing - $70
TOTAL - $940

Now I could have got away with not doing the waxing (defuzzing myself) and 1 spray tan. Still thats a total of $810 dollars that came out of MY pocket for someone else to feel good. I'm a student dude.

The lovely person known as The Bride, will turn crazy. Actually crazy. Don't say 'oh but we are such good friends and she's so level headed and lovely'. Its a lie. It will turn bat shit crazy.


I have been told to gain weight, cut a fringe in my hair, dye my hair blonde, put shit in my bra to make my boobs bigger. I have been lectured on not wearing jewellery to the wedding (apparently its a hard concept to grasp), not going orange from a spray tan (because apparently I desire to look like an Oompa Loompa), on making sure my hands are nice. Let it be known, I have done none of these things.

You have to deal with the other members of the bridal party - who will also go bat shit crazy.


Maid of honours are really good like that.

By the time The Wedding comes around, you will be so sick of it, it will be hard to enjoy.


One of the biggest lies ever told to bridesmaids is - you can shorten it and wear it again!


Bull crap you can.


So you see. Next time you are at a wedding and think, I wish I was a bridesmaid, or I should have been a bridesmaid, or even, gee those bridesmaid look lovely and happy - think again. It has been utter hell to get here (not to mention airfares to hell are getting expensive), and you should be glad that you can rock up in a dress from your wardrobe, in a colour you like, with shoes you like, and have a great time without having to deal with Bridezilla over there.

Monday, August 15, 2011

21

So here I am, take 2.

It feels like forever ago was my last post, but when I checked it had actually only been 2 weeks. I have to confess, I've actually been thinking about closing the blog. I felt like my heart wasn't in it, you know? But, I have decided that no, I will not close the blog. It has been such a comfort to me over the past year, just being able to write down thoughts, no matter how stupid (yes even the one of the validity of the word panties) and know that people are reading what I say.

It was my birthday 4 days ago. I am officially over 21. As my dad would say 'When you're free, white and over 21, you can do whatever you want'. Yes it may be a bit of a racist comment, but it does seem to ring true for me. I don't feel much different for being over 21, although I do seem to think I should be a bit more 'adult'. Uni will be done in a year, and its time for me to knuckle down and get some good grades and hopefully have a graduate position lined up. I have a couple of interviews this week for vacation work so we will see where that goes.

I have a house. Rent gets paid every fortnight. I worry about turning the lights off. I own a slow cooker (albeit a birthday present). I don't actually want to go out partying. Am I old? Or mature? This is not a sudden change that has taken place, its has been happening for a while. Maybe I'm just realising it more now.

Or maybe, I'm being one of those really annoying people who blather on about how old they are, when in fact they are pretty young, and how much more mature they are, when really they continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Yeah thats probably what I'm doing.

Until next time,

(slightly older and no wiser)
Ashleigh


Sunday, July 31, 2011

Thanks for not abandoning me

Wow.

I've got to say, when I finally got into Blogger for the first time in 23 days, I was expecting my follower count to be severely depleted. But your all still here and thats so lovely!

I do have reasons for my absence. I moved house finally, and we have no Internet. Its difficult to do anything without the Internet these days. I feel like one of my fingers is missing - I'm still functional but it would be so much easier if I had that finger.

I start uni again tomorrow so hopefully I will blog some more in the coming week. I realise I haven't shared any Europe stories or photos with you, so I will endeavour to do this as soon as my computer is all connected at home.

Until then, much love
Ashleigh

Friday, July 8, 2011

Honey, I'm Home!

Did you miss me?

Did you?

I bet you did.

Even if you didn't, I missed you.

It's true.

These weeks went by so fast and all of a sudden I'm back at "home", trying to figure out the next steps of my life. For once, I'm not planning stuff, and its ok. I think before I left, I was so stressed about everything that was going on that I started manically planning everything I could. Which stressed me out more.

Although, its early days so it might just be a post-holiday lack of planning mode, and we will be back into full force.

Let me catch you up. I'm not going to tell you about Europe in this post, because I'm still ridiculously jet lagged and you need to know what happened before I left.

So you know I had a crazy couple of days ahead of me, and I had to plan everything crazy so I could get it all done? And on top of that, I had a photo project planned?

Well.

Friday went well. Finished my exam, had lunch, packed stuff, partied etc. Good times.

Saturday was when I lost it. Packing and cleaning my room was hard. Really hard. I hadn't quite comprehended how hard it was to leave the place I had lived for the past 2.5 years, even though I hated it at the time. Plus I had so much fricken stuff!

My brother-in-law didn't arrive with his ute until 4pm, so I didn't leave for ages.... which stuffed up my getting ready for party and drive an hour for said party plan. I was so stressed, that when at The Boyfriends house, I yelled, cried and proceeded to give myself a blood nose that didn't stop gushing (not dripping, gushing) for an hour and a half. I ended up in the doctors office and didn't get to my party. I felt so incredibly guilty about this - I have never made it to this friends birthday parties and now I've missed her 21st :(

It all turned out good in the end though. I made it to Europe and had a wonderful time.

Which I'll you about next time ;)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

What to Eat When Moving in 2 Days

It is getting intense around here. 


I just finished my second last exam. I have one more tomorrow morning and then life gets crazy for approximately 36 hours and then I can relax. Let me tell you my schedule:


Friday 9.30-11.30 am - Psychology Exam
Friday 12noon - 2.00pm(ish) - lunch with family for mothers birthday
Friday 2.00pm(ish) - 5.00pm - packing up bedroom, cleaning bedroom, being sad about leaving the Village, drinking
Friday 5.00pm - 8.00pm - dressing up for the pirate party (my costume is 'Why Women Weren't Allowed on Pirate Ships' a.k.a sex bomb, hanging with Smoochy Fox, drinking
Friday 8.00pm - 12midnight - at Pirate Party, drinking
Friday 12 midnight - Saturday 8.30am - sleeping off previous drinking
Saturday 8.30am - 12.30pm - packing room, cleaning room, loading cars with stuff from room, scrubbing bathroom, checking out of Village
Saturday 12.30pm - 1.30pm - drive with Smoochy Fox to airport (so she knows the way), then she will drop me off at The Boyfriends house
Saturday 1.30pm - 4.30pm - pack for Europe, ensure The Boyfriend is packed, repacking The Boyfriends poor packing, have all documents photocopied and distributed to the appropriate people, putting together a Tarot Reader costume
Saturday 4.30pm - 5.30pm - drive to Mandurah for a 21st party
Saturday 5.30pm - 12 midnight - PARTY!!
Saturday 12 midnight - Sunday 1.00am - drive home, go to bed
Sunday 1.00am - 3.45am - sleep
Sunday 3.45am - 4.20am - wake up, final Europe preparations, shower etc
Sunday 4.20am - 4.30am - drive to airport
Sunday 4.30am - 6.50am - check in, breakfast, hang out in airport
Sunday 6.50am - FLY TO EUROPE!!!!


Yes, I am a control freak. But with that many things to do, I really don't see how it could be any other way.


So, at the moment I'm trying to study for my final exam (I'm on lunch break right now), pre pack as much as I can for Europe and for moving and of course, eat everything in my cupboard. There have been some interesting menu options in the last week, including one very appetizing 2 cups of soups with a tin of mustard mayo chicken. But I am quite proud of todays lunch, not only the fact it tastes reasonable, but also the amount of stuff I managed to use :). I thought I would share the recipe:


1 packet of beef 2 minute noodles
1/2 bag English spinach
3 carrots (slightly old)
1 bread bun
1 packet of parmesan sheese (the one you find on the shelf, not in the chilled section.


Make noodles on stove according to instructions. Throw in 2.5 chopped, peeled carrots (I say 2.5 because I had to chop off about 1/2 a carrot worth that had gone funny). Slice your bun into well, slices. Top with copious amounts of parmesan cheese. Grill. At the last minute, add the spinach to the noodles. 


Ta daaah!!! 




Aren't I ridiculously clever? And yes there is a bucketload of food there, but I figure, the more I eat now, the less I'll need for dinner :) 


I have decided on a project. Given my life is going to be so hectic in the next couple of days, I thought I would document it. So, starting at 12.00noon tomorrow, I will be taking a photo every hour until I fly to Europe. Yes that means waking up every hour to do this as well. I wasn't going to be sleeping much anyway. I'll post them while I'm in Europe, or possibly at the airport. Exciting for me? No exciting for you! You will get an exclusive look at a day (and a half) in life of Ashleigh. Opportunities like this do not come around every day. Seize it! 


Until next time, stay happy :) 



Sunday, June 5, 2011

More Questionnaires....

I have discovered memes.


This is going to be painful for you. Here's some background info: I am super organised. I am super anal about filing, and other organisational type activities. I'm also a control freak (example - I must, must, must have in my hands all the relevant documents when we go on holiday. The Boyfriend also likes to hold them. We have had full on arguments over holding the documents before - while on holiday). So it follows logically that I like to fill in forms. And I discovered memes. For more info on memes, click here.


So for today, I am once again going to answer a whole bunch of questions about myself. This also ties in with the I'm-so-fricken-busy-and-stressed-I-cry-at-random-times-and-can't-string-a-decent-post-together-to-save-my-life vibe I have going on right now. So here is my latest meme, stolen from a blog called Sunday Stealing.

TRUE OR FALSE

Q: Kissed someone on your friends list? Friends list? I'm not sure what this means. Probably I have ;) 

Q: Been arrested? No, I'm far too much of a good girl 

Q: Held a snake? Yes a few times. But they still freak me out!

Q: Been suspended from school? Nope, see above 

Q: Sang karaoke? Yes! This was on my list of things to do before I'm 30 and I did it! It was awful. I feel very sorry for the people listening - Bohemian Rhapsody will never be the same. 

Q: Done something you told yourself you wouldn't do? Plenty of times. I have no willpower. Don't eat those chips, don't watch TV all day, don't deliberately provoke The Boyfriend, don't drink so much - did them all. 

Q: Laughed until you started crying? Yep - I went to the zoo with my mum and sister the other day and we were narrating the animals antics. It was hilarious, but I think you had to be there. And also, last night I watched Love, Actually and the line 'He's Colin Frissle and he's GOT A BIG KNOB' brought me to tears. 

Q: Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Nope, I've never seen snow - one of the blessings (curses?) of living in Perth 

Q: Kissed in the rain? Not that I remember, but it could have happened 

Q: Sang in the shower? Yes, but I try not to if other people are home - I am a terrible singer

Q: Sat on a roof top? You know, I actually haven't. I should though. Maybe at my new house...

Q: Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? No, but my dad threw me into a river fully clothed once. It was in New Zealand and it was fricken freezing

Q: Broken a bone? Nope. I thought I did a couple of times, but it turned out to just be major bruising and soft tissue damage

Q: Shaved your head? No, I'm too vain about my hair. Although, its something I've been thinking about lately. 

Q: Played a prank on someone? Probably at some point, but I can't remember specifics

Q: Shot a gun? Yep. I was awful - no aim whatsoever

Q: Donated Blood? I was supposed to when I was 17, but the Red Cross messed me around a bit, and I've never gone back. I will though - just have to get off my arse and do it. 

LAST PERSON...

1. You hung out with? My flatmate, Peter. He's a sweetie who always watches movies with me 

2. You texted? Smoochy Fox. She brought me dinner from work - it was delicious!

3. You were in a car with? True Blue Kangaroo - we went out for breakfast yesterday. It was good to catch up

4. Went to the movies with? The Boyfriend, to see Pirates of the Carribean 4. And before that, Smoochy Fox to see Water for Elephants

5. Person you went to shop with? Smoochy Fox - are you seeing a pattern here?

6. You talked on the phone? The Boyfriend. He's away right now, and he called me to say goodnight <3 

7. Made you laugh? Peter my flatmate

8. You hugged? Peter my flatmate :) 

IN THE LAST 48 HOURS HAVE YOU...

1. Sang? Yep, I was singing 'Take me aawwwaaay, a million miles awway from here'. 

2. Listened to music? I'm doing it right now! I've got Howie Day's 'Collide', John Mayer's 'Your Body is a Wonderland', Jewel's 'You Were Meant for Me' and 98 Degrees 'I Do (Cherish You)' going. Yeah I'm in romantic mood.

3. Danced Crazy? Mudrock! Its the big end of semester party at Murdoch, and I danced like crazy. 

4. Cried? This morning. I woke up feeling awful, almost hungover, but without the fun drinking the night before. Peter thinks its fun to provoke me when I'm feeling delicate like this. 

FIRSTS .....

1.Who was your first prom (or homecoming) date? A boy named Tom. I thought I was so in love - don't we all at 13? 

2. Who was your first roommate? At boarding school, a girl named Sophie. And Flying Monkey when I moved to uni. 

3. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk the first time? Oh god, probably something like Vodka Cruisers. Good ol' lolly water 

4. What was your first job? I was a checkout chick at the local service station. Plus I did food prep and sometimes cooked. 

5. What was your first car? My Hyundai Getz. I still have it, and I love it. Its one of the best cars around  

6. When did you go to your first funeral and viewing? I went to my friends mums funeral in 2008. It was awful, she was far too young to be taken. 

7. Who was your first grade teacher?  Miss Temme 

8. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? 18 months old :) My dad is from New Zealand so we went every 2 years or so - I'm an experienced little traveller

9. When you snuck out of your house for the first time? When I was about 14. The fly screen on my window was broken so my friends and I used to sneak out. But we didn't actually do anything, bar talk to some guys who lived near us. It was the least rebellious sneaking out ever.  

10. Who was your first best friend? Natika - we don't talk anymore though 

11. Who was your first Best Friend in high school? True Blue Kangaroo. We've been best friends since we were 13

12. Where was your first sleepover? Probably Natika's house. Or possibly Julia. Someone. When I was around 6 or 7 

13. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day? The Boyfriend, Smoochy Fox, mum. In that order

14. Who's wedding were you in the first time you were a Bridesmaid or groomsman? I was a flower girl in my uncles wedding when I was about 8. And I'm a bridesmaid in The Boyfriends sisters wedding in September. And my friend asked me to MC her wedding in October :) 

15. What is the first thing you did when you got up this morning? Washed my face, then sat on the couch and cried 

16. First time you tied your shoe laces? Maybe I was 4 or 5? Who remembers that stuff?

17. Are you Facebook friends with your first crush? Uh no. That was probably Tom. And yeah, I haven't seen him in years

18. Who was the first person you met from the blogosphere? Jono from Inside a Students Mind. That's what got me blogging actually

19. What was the first music album that you bought? Something like So Fresh probably.

20. Who was your first celebrity crush? I can't remember. I wasn't really a celebrity crush kind of girl. 


So there is me.... again. I will try and give you a proper post soon, I just can't right now. Too many things in my life and in my head. 


Stay happy :) 

Saturday, June 4, 2011

ABC of ASHLEIGH



Hi guys

Sorry, I'm neglecting you awfully at the moment. More separation is to follow as well. If you cast your eyes to the right of the screen you will see a lovely pink countdown box. What? Its into the single digits now? No way! Yes, dear followers. That is the number of days until I go on the ultimate Europe adventure. So I won't be posting much - but I promise copious pictures and stories when I return :) 

So, as a consolation prize, and because I don't have a lot of time, I ahem 'borrowed' this idea from Steph at The Odd Duck, who borrowed it from Deer Donna, who borrowed it from Elycia, who probably got it from somewhere else. Yes, if you also follow The Odd Duck, I did just blatantly rip off that paragraph from Steph. What can I say? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. 

So here it is. The ABC's of Ashleigh. 



A. Age: 20 and soon-to-be 21! 

B. Bed Size: Currently a king single, which is awkward when The Boyfriend sleeps over - snuggly, but awkward and down-right awful in summer. BUT - given that I'm moving in a week, I will be getting my lovely double bed back! I bought it with my very first paycheck and I LOVE it! 

C. Chore that you hate: Oh god, where do I begin. Dishes, washing, cleaning in general. When I'm rich and famous, I plan on hiring a cleaner 1 day a week (preferably Friday so I come home to a clean house) and having a dishwasher :) 

D. Dogs: Can't stand them. I don't think I have a more hated animal **shudder**


E. Essential start to your day: Coffee. I cannot live with my coffee.


F. Favorite color: Pink! Actually I'll go with almost any bright colour. I love expressing myself with colours, as shown in the pic above

G. Gold or Silver: silver

H. Height: 5'4" or 163cm - I'm only little :) 

I. Instruments you play: I played keyboards in the school band in primary school. But I haven't picked up an instrument for years, and don't really have the inclination to. I'm a hideously uncreative person. 

J. Job Title: Administration Assistant: Human Resources and Special Projects. Although I prefer to think of myself as Awesome Go To Person who Rules the Office. 

K. Kids: Not a fan. Don't have any myself, and I struggle with them anyway. Maybe this is the stage of life I'm at, but I can't imagine having kids. My current favourite blog is STFU, Parents

L. Live: Life To The Fullest and In Bright Colours? I reside in Perth, Australia. I can't imagine wanting to setting anywhere else either. Why would I leave The Lucky Country? 

M. Mother's Name: Amanda

N. Nicknames: Ash, Ashy, Smashleigh, Lobster - the last one is what The Boyfriend calls me, and the second last is my drunken alter-ego :) 

O. Overnight hospital stays: I've been in the emergency room twice overnight, both times for this weird chest pain I used to get. They never figured out what was wrong with me, and they let me go, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to die. I'm tougher than that. 

P. Pet Peeve: Oh so many. Probably people not being considerate and polite. Like, if you want to cancel a plan, just tell me. Or if you fuck up, a simple apology is all thats needed. I'm a reasonable person, and I generally don't hold grudges, unless someone doesn't behave appropriately and apologise. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "If you're a bird, I'm a bird'" The Notebook

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: 1 younger sister. 

T. Time you wake up: Usually around 9/9.30. Unless I have to work. But I find it hard to get up in the morning :)

U. Underwear: Comfortable. Usually Bonds. Black, white or grey. Sometimes I splash out though - I just bought a pair of Superman underwear oh yeah :D

V. Vegetable you hate: I like pretty much all vegetables. I HATE mushrooms. **gag**

W. What makes you run late: Other people! I'm never late, unless someone else has done something or delayed me. I value being on time. It's almost sacrosanct 

X. X-rays you've had: Quite a few actually. There was my chest when I was in hospital, and my teeth at the dentist, and my foot when I nearly broke it on the bus coming back from rowing at school, and my hand when I jarred my finger so badly at basketball it swelled for like a week. 

Y. Yummy food that you make: Everything I make is good. Cooking is actually one of my hidden talents. I have to say, my risotto kicks arse though - pumpkin, spinach, chicken and feta - om nom nom nom nom. 

Z. Zoo Animal: Um, elephants, otters, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, lizards, penguins. I LOVE the zoo! I want to be married at the zoo. I went to the zoo yesterday actually. One of my favourite places ever :) 

So there you have it. The ABC of Ashleigh. Hey that rhymes. 

Okies, I will be back later this week - I will post before I go on holiday I promise :) 

Until then, 
stay happy :) 


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Even the Best Fall Down Sometimes





Ever feel like you're drowning, yet you don't quite know why? 


I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately. Really truly, I am sorry. I've fallen behind on all my blog reading too, so I hope all of your lives are good right now. 


Its 2.5 weeks until the end of semester. 2.5 weeks until I finish my exams. 2.5 weeks till I move out of the Village. 2.5 weeks until I go to Europe. 2.5 weeks to cram a semester worth of knowledge for 3 units into my head. Its gonna be a big 2.5 weeks. 


I'm also tutoring at the moment. And trying to go to the gym (not happening so much lately, but I need to keep going. I feel ridiculously fat right now). And feeling like I'm failing at everything I do.


Logically, this isn't true. I mean, to an outsider my life is great at the moment. Exam wise - I've done so well in one of my units I have passed it without even sitting the exam. The other one, I only 7.5 marks to pass it. The last one, well, I sort of crashed and burned in that one. 18 marks needed. Yeah yeah, it doesn't sound like much, but I did really crap and only got 32/50 for the semesters marks. The final exam is worth 50%. 


Apparently, I have lost weight. I'm not so sure about this, but I'm beginning to think I have a really fucked body image. Or everyone is lying to me about how I look. I float between the two. I hurt my wrist at the gym before though, because just like I am prone to do, I pushed it too hard, and when it started to hurt, I just kept going. It was very strange, because even though I knew I should stop, I somehow couldn't make myself do it. It wasn't until I literally could not lift the weight anymore that I stopped. And even then, I felt like I hadn't had a good work out. 


Anyway, so on the surface, lifes good. Remember a few posts ago, I mentioned YASI's? The subset of depressives who are Young, Attractive, Successful and Intelligent? I feel like it applies to me a lot. Not because I'm depressed per se, but more that I feel like I am only just keeping everything afloat. Like any moment, that water that I'm so desperately treading is going to swallow me whole. But everything on the outside is so great, that I can't really express how I feel inside. And I'm not sure anyone would believe me anyway. Then I feel guilty, because my life is awesome. And get angry at myself for being so spoiled and self indulgent. It could be far, far worse.




I need a fricken holiday. I can barely bring myself to get out of bed in the morning. I studied in the library today, went home and curled into the fetal position and hid under my doona. My poor flatmate keeps trying to make me laugh and I feel like I'm on the verge of tears the whole time. 


Wow, this is a poor me post. We haven't had one of these for a while, have we? 


I guess it was just time.


I'll try and post again soon.