hello all!

Sorry about the unintentional bloggy break. It was nice, but it's good to be back. July has come and gone, and here is August!
The Birthday season is past; all of us kids are a year older now! I'm 16, Sam turned 2, then Jake turned 14, and now Joe and Ethan are 9!
We've been enjoying fresh peaches and nectarines from Farmer's Market. Yum!
Our garden is starting to give us tomato's!!! I will post pictures soon.
We have started painting our living room, pictures of that to come too. And, we are having some remodeling work done, but our plumber woes are over I think. Gary, our contractor found some guy named Steve who seems to have staying power. :) A whole post on that to come.
I have some fun things I want to do on here this month, so, stay tuned! For now I will leave you with these ramblings that don't make any sense.

have a wonderful, sunny day!

~Ashley

be brutally honest

And I mean it. :)

Anyways, I put up another poll, and would appreciate it if you would take 5 seconds from your already busy day to vote on some poll that doesn't even matter.

The End.

time waster

I just took this personality test. How rare is YOUR personality? Leave a comment telling me! Mine is "Somewhat Rare".

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISTP)

Your personality type is reserved, methodical, spirited, and intense. Only about 6% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 8% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

the results

So, 29 of you voted on my poll (well, it says 30 because I did too:). Now, can I get those 29 people to tell me in the comments what you voted?

blogger is at it again

they are starting to use words as word verifications. they did this a while back, and it's always so funny!

would you please?

I added a poll to my side bar. Please be sure and vote! Thank you!

handmade gifts

A dear friend of mine celebrated her 15th birthday in May. Her younger sister planned a surprise party for her. It was so sweet, and very fun! She had no idea, and when she walked in the door thought "The house looks pretty." Then we all jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" She set her bags down and was like "Hiii." It was funny. :D Anyways, this is what I made her.

The blue zipper pouch is made of 100% cotton; the outside (blue) fabric and the lining (white) both came from the remnant bin at Joann's. I used a 7in. white zipper, and some white pom-pom trim. I used the instructions in Bend the Rules Sewing. I love that book!

The pink ipod case I made from scraps; the outside is 100% cotton, a fat quarter, and the lining is 100% cotton (pink) flannel (from the remnant bin as well). I used Velcro squares to close it, and added a vintage blue button for decoration. I didn't use a pattern, just made my own. It turned out smaller than I wanted it, only big enough for her nano, and not ear buds. Next time I will do it larger.

Then I made some simple pink earrings. I think they turned out quite pretty!

princess hope

i imagine green fields, it being autumn again. a sweet four year old girl, with bare feet and blond hair. a pretty pink princess dress. blue sky. all the colors making a beautiful photo; green, pink, gold, blue. taking photos of princess hope. i can't wait.

Last night Andi's littlest girlie, Hope, wore a pink princess dress to prayer meeting. Hence, my thoughts turned to taking pictures of her in the fall.

Happy Birthday Monica!

Today is Miss Monica June's Birthday!
Happy Birthday Monica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May the Lord bless you on your special day!


Hey, why don't y'all hed over and wish Miss Monica a very happy b-day, okay?

~hello~

Hello there! It surely has been a long time since I posted anything worth looking at. How I have neglected this blog!

Over Memorial Day weekend I planted our 100 strawberry plants, and we all worked in the garden (pictures to come). We got almost all of the tomato plants in the ground.

Dad finished fencing off the front of our property this weekend. Our dog Sweetie doesn't stay in the goat pen where she belongs, but prefers to slowly walk around patrolling the property. We live on a fairly busy street, and even though she doesn't go in the road, there is that slight chance she might. Now we don't need to worry about her being out when we are gone. How many times we have come home and she has been laying in the front yard, with a look that seems to say "Isn't this where I belong, close to my people? Please, don't make me go back with those goats and my obnoxious brother."

Here are a couple photo's I took the other evening. I was experimenting with backlight (is that the correct terminology?) where the light is behind your subject.

Have a good evening,
Ashley

OhSewDelightful

tis the season for giveaway's i guess. :)

I've been a reader of Shannon's blog for over a year, and have always admired the beautiful aprons she creates. Her Etsy shop was recently "discovered" by {sweeter than me}.



Anyways, they are giving away a cute, Retro Rickrack apron!

bits of home

bright green thread

little one's laundry

cozy bedsheets

tired

The choir I am in participated in a choir festival today. It was fun! We were at a church from 8:45 am to 3:00 pm. Quite a long day! :) But we all had a great time. Fifteen of us did it (there are 18 in our choir). It was great hanging out with some girls (me being surrounded with brothers and all:). We range from eighteen to six, and I think that it's wonderful that we all can spend a day together, everyone getting along and stuff. It was funny changing into our performance clothes in the bathroom, with ten girls chit chattering away. We got a little loud at one point. :) After it was all over, Moriah, Faith, Abi and I were looking for our parents, and Moriah ran strait between a lady who was filming (for TV!) one of the choir directors and her choir! :D Abi and I decided to not go running on to television, and took a different route. Lol.

Now I sit here, worn out. Looking forward to church tomorrow, rubbing my aching feet (you wanted to know that, i know you did) and, um, typing!

and so, goodnight.

Thank You!

To all of you invisible friends,

Who stop by,

Leaving an encouraging word,

Or a simple hello.

Thank you.

And if you don't say anything,

Please do!

I would love to "meet" you.

Love, Me

sick :(

That's what I am.

Sick.

Sick of being sick!

And three of my brothers.

For a week now,

starting with Ethan.

Then Sam,

then me,

then Joe.

Fever, aching body,

sick eyes, and a horrible cough.

Today we seem a little better.

sneeze

But the allergies!

Once the sickness is subsiding a bit,

sneeze

our allergies seem real bad today.

At least mine.

Ugh.

Sweet spring.

But it feels more like summer.

We have our air conditioner on!

sneeze

For the last few days

all I have done is lay on the couch.

Watching movies,

eating when I could.

I must get better.

Soon.

been tagged...

by my friend Jess.


What do you enjoy most? I enjoy many things. One of my favorites is photography.

What are some lessons you have taken? Guitar (a very long time ago.)

Your favorite authors? I like a variety of authors. Jane Austen, etc.

What do you like to sing in the shower? Usually whatever hymn is stuck in my head

Have you ever broken any bones? No

What languages do you want to learn? Portuguese, Sign Language

What Jane Austen movie is your favorite? BBC A&E Pride and Prejudice

What are your favorite books of the Bible? Proverbs, Matthew

Your favorite singers? I'm weird, I don't have a favorite.

Your favorite types of music? Hymns

Your favorite animals? Horses, ducks, birds

Your favorite things about nature? Everything!

If you could go back to any time period, where would you go? Back to the 1930's and 40's.

Your favorite fictional character(s)? Elizabeth Bennett, Anne of Green Gables

What phrases do you say/write most often? Lol, :), "How do you spell that?"

How tall are you? 5'5" ish

Your favorite piece of jewelry? Earrings

Who do you tag next to answer all of these questions themselves? Moriah

a jewelry giveaway

If you like jewelry, you should go try and win some. This lady has beautiful stuff!

a pretty bird

I've stumbled upon this site more than once, and today I did it again. This lady shares the cutest clip art pieces!

okay,

i changed the black background. :)

still playing with colors though.

hmm...

I am trying to find a new blog theme/color scheme I like, so I might change it around a bit. I like the black/pink, but Mom says my photos look better on the white. What do you think? I would love your input! Just leave a comment. :)