Ashley Running | Life's Adventures One Mile At a Time

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Updating Blog Layout!

I'm updating my blog layout! Sorry for the mess! Will be done soon!

Pictures That Crack Me Up and Life Updates

I went through pictures on my iPhone the other day and was cracking up about some of the pictures I had on there. I decided y'all might get a kick out of them too!

Warning: Most are of Zoe and my sister's dog

Riley, my sister's Boston Terrier...her bug eyes kill me

Zoe hated her Easter ears. I put them on her and she put her head down and just laid there. I called her name and she wouldn't turn to me. This is the most I got...

Just the eyes!

Zoe is very nosy and invades people's bubbles

Riley gets dressed in little doggie dresses...and likes them

We have rolly stools in the lab...waiting for an instrument to startup + Friday = Lab Superman

Zoe hides under the bed...but leaves her feet out

She looks cross eyed in this picture hahahaha

I kept trying to hand her her rope toy...she wouldn't take it so I put it on her nose...and she stayed like that!

She was sitting the strangest way...like a person! And had her arms draped over Zach...cracked me up

Oh hello

Creepin'

Cuddling with her gator friend

Momma makes her pose with her friends...but she stayed like that!

We saw this fella in the Popeye's drive thru

SANTA!!!! Santa here? I know him!

Obviously Kris Kringle likes some Louisiana fried chicken and Mississippi humidity as a break from the North Pole

I borrowed a beaker from the lab to bleach my shells

Zach judged.

I know I already posted this one but it's my favorite

Bathpup

Last week Zach's little brother Jonathon came to visit. We watched movies, went for a walk, went swimming, and cooked yummy food. J and I went swimming on Thursday and Zach went to Kroger to get some groceries for supper. He was gone so long I thought he got lost crossing the street to the store. But he wasn't lost...he was surprising me with these:

Crack cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He BAKED them HIMSELF!!

I was so surprised!!

They are double chocolate chip cookies and they are addictive...which is how they earned the "Crack cookies" nickname

We spend the weekend in Jackson doing a little bit of shopping (not fun shopping...like Petsmart and Target groceries) and also went to a fun going away party for Zach's cousin Shawn. He got a job at the University of Kentucky. We ate barbecue chicken, green beans, potato salad, homemade ice cream and blueberry cobbler. So good!

Yesterday we started our "official" training for the half marathon in November. We've been doing our normal runs for forever now but we started the Runner's World training plan. The run was ok...felt fine running but it was just SO hot. The heat and humidity was unbearable so we've had better days but hey we were out there!

Zoe: Dang it's early. I'd rather be in my zebra bed cuddling with my gator friend. But I like running and my pink harness so game face on.

I'll recap the first week on the training plan this weekend!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Four Things and What I've Been Up to This Week

I saw this on Hannah's blog today and I thought it was such a cute idea and I wanted to try it too!

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life

1. Ice Cream Scooper- my first job. I was 16, and I wound up getting fired haha. In my defense, I was running high school cross country, had asked for a weekend off months in advance for a race weekend trip, was told I could have it off, then he gave a girl who started work after me the weekend off instead. I picked XC. Oh well haha.

2. Starbucks Coffee (baristas then shift supervisor)- I started working at Starbucks the summer before I started college and left a week before I started graduate school. Best job ever. Now don't get me wrong, some things were a massive pain and I felt like I was babysitting adults, but I loved this job. Awesome pay. great hours, and I loved the people I worked with.

3. Undergraduate Researcher- I worked for one year as an undergraduate researcher. I looked at the effects of fluorocarbons (like Teflon) and their effects on pulmonary lung membranes. I got to play with liquid nitrogen, which was cool. I wish I took more advantage of this job though and presented at a conference or tried to get co-authored in a paper.

4. Graduate Research Assistant-the worst paying job of your life will be grad school. Sure, I get a stipend, but the amount I work makes my hourly rate about...$2 an hour? Maybe $3 on a good week. But I have to say, best decision of my life was to come to grad school. I am a way better engineer, I think on my own more, I will have publications by the time I leave, and I met my Zach here :) Like I said...grad school sucks, but it has made my life better in lots of ways.

Four Movies I Would Watch Over and Over

1. Sex and the City (the first movie)

2. Sweet Home Alabama

3. Anchorman (kills me everytime)

4. Legally Blonde (no judgement)

Four Places I've Lived

Like Hannah, I don't want to share all my life's details publicly ( haha ), so I'll do 2 places I've lived and 2 places I would like to live

1. Starkville, Mississippi- I moved here for grad school at Mississippi State. Aside from the lack of Target, Ann Taylor Loft, J Crew, TJ Maxx, and any type of craft store, I like it here a lot. I love State. Oh and the beach. Not being by the beach sucks.

2. The always fabulous Jacksonville Beach, Florida- Home is where your heart is. And part of mine will always be in Northeast Florida, no matter where I live in my life.

3. Savannah, Georgia- Zach and I are REALLY hoping that this is the next place we move to. We've heard awesome things about it and it seems to have lots of opportunities for chem e's. If anyone in the Savannah area wants to offer us jobs, by all means we are on our way!

We are going here Labor Day weekend to check out the place.

4. Key West, Florida- My favorite place of all time. I'll live there as a beach bum engineer. Are there beach engineers?

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch

1. My favorite- Sex and the City. Who could not love this show

2. Weeds- Little boxes on the hillside little boxes made of ticky tacky...

3. Law and Order: SVU- I love this show.

4. Cooking shows like Chopped and Challenge

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation

1. Cozumel, Mexico- I don't love Mexico, but I do love kayaking in their oceans

2. Key West, Florida- Obvi.

3. Grand Cayman, Bahamas- Went here on a cruise with my 2 friends, Amanda and Brianna. The water is awesome but the enormous stingrays are freaky.

4. Charleston, SC- Zach and I just spent a weekend here and we loved it. Will definitely be re-visiting in the future.

I would love to see y'alls responses if you decide to fill out these questions so let me know!

This week...hmm...I've been running in the morning as usual. This morning it poured with about a mile left...Zoe is a princess and is not a fan of rain, but she got over this quickly. She did not get over the rushing water into the drainage on the side of the road though and janked me around them. I felt like she was pulling me the whole time! Baby steps for my furry baby.

I hope my shoes are dry by tomorrow morning!

I've also been working in the lab, also as usual, reacting some films, same story, different day.

Tonight we are going out with the other grad students in our lab group to celebrate my and Zach's birthdays. We usually all take out the birthday person for their birthday, and since Zach and my birthdays are 2 days apart, we are combining. I guess I can share with him :)

Hope you all have been having a good week! Almost Friday!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Zoe's First Birthday and Weekend Recap

I had a very good weekend! It was mostly relaxing, even though I feel like I did a lot!

Saturday Zach and I decided to take Zoe for a walk outside somewhere we hadn't been before, since we had been away from her during vacation and her birthday was Sunday. We picked Lake Lowndes Park in Columbus, MS, which was about 25 minutes away.

Zoe and Zach at the start of the walk. The weather was slightly overcast and there was a breeze on the lake.

All ready to walk!

We picked out the nature trail, which we saw on the map was 3.5 miles.

Zoe and her momma walking :)

Zach tried to take a picture of us but when he said her name so she would look at him she just ran towards him. Oh well haha.

We wound up running a lot of the trail since it was so nice out (although humid...I was sweating like a stuck pig). We got to the end of the 3.5 miles and saw a sign that said Nature Trail Exit...too bad we were 2 miles from the car! We wound up trail running/walking for 5.5 miles, which was ok with me (it paid for the high-calorie supper I ate!)

My pink and green trail runners...love them :)

After we brought Zoe back to the apartment we got ready and went to Tuscaloosa for the evening. We ate Hooter's wings for supper (I'm telling y'all...if you haven't been...go. They are amazing. I know you're thinking ugh Hooter's....but I promise the wings...so worth it).

Then we went to TJ Maxx and Target before heading back home.

Sunday was Zoe's first birthday!

I'm the only one who liked the party hat...Zach refused to partake in the party hat wearing and Zoe hated hers...she kept putting her head down

The best picture I could get

Then Zach and I gave her the birthday doggie cupcakes I made...judge away.

It was made out of flour, vanilla, carrots, an egg, and peanut butter. I put peanut butter as icing.

She was kind of confused by the birthday cupcake and us singing happy birthday to her and she kept looking around.

Zoe with her candle! (I swear Zach isn't choking her haha...just trying to get her to look at me)

Her pink sparkly "1" candle!

Next we gave Zoe her birthday gifts!

She cracked me up with the gifts part. She peaked in each bag as I opened it and sat right there beside me and looked at each gift. So funny!

A Kong!

Her new Gator friend!

(She isn't much into stuffed animals so she doesn't chew them up...just lays on them which is why we got her an alligator...if she chewed them I would have gotten something else...like a Seminole or something (haha!))