Just Another Monday

Wow, Mondays always seem to be the craziest day of the week. We have to get back into the swing of things about an all-too-short weekend of sitting around and being lazy!

So our Monday today was particularly crazy. We started out the day working on laundry! Mom did it all today, so we don't have any to worry about the rest of the week, which is really nice! I don't mind doing laundry, but I'm so glad that it's done and I have stuff that I can wear all week.

Then Mom and I spent almost all day working on cleaning the entire downstairs. Most of the day I listened to music while I worked on the dining room! Now Mom and I have what we call our 'office'. It's a place for both of our computers and our calendars and planners and such.

I should have really cleaned my room today, too, but I didn't feel the need to since we worked on the whole downstairs. Although, I did clean off the landing up to my attic-bedroom. It had been full of clothes and shoes forever now and it was good to get all the stuff off of it. So now all I need to work on is getting my room all the way finished.

Tomorrow I'm working all day. Not sure of what I'll be working on tomorrow, but most likely I'll be answering the phones and doing receptionist work.

Wednesday, I'm going away with a friend and hopefully getting the rest of my Christmas shopping done! I am usually done by this time of year, and for whatever reason, I'm not! So I really would like to finish it up.

Thursday is Thanksgiving! I'll be sure to post about that later on in the week! :)

~Ashley

Beautiful People - Holiday Edition

I think that this month, since it's the first "real" book that I've ever written by myself, I'll focus on writing about my NaNo book so the questions will be focused on that. :)
My main character's name is Lainey.

1. What kind of holidays do they celebrate, if any?
I almost always have the Christmas season in my books. If there's not Christmas, there's usually one of the other major holidays, such as Easter or Fourth of July. There always has to be some sort-of holiday in my book because it just adds spice to the book.

In Lainey's book, there is a Christmas season, and a couple of birthdays that are celebrated.

2. What are they most thankful for?

I think that Lainey is most thankful for the family and friends that she has been blessed with. She knows that she couldn't live without them & that they were given to her for a reason.

3. Do they have any family traditions?

Hmmm....well, her family gets together on Christmas day to exchange gifts and have a large lunch together. In the story, her brother, Kent and his wife Kaelyn, had just had a baby, so it was something fun to add to the story - having a baby around at Christmastime.

4. What is their most memorable holiday memory?

Mostly just having the time to spend with her family & being able to be with them during the season.

5. What is the most memorable gift they have ever received?

Lainey would say it was her guitar. She doesn't play it much - but when she gets the chance, she loves to. And toward the end of the book, she picks back up her guitar and starts strumming again, finding her love for it once again.

6. Do they consider it important to be with family during celebrations?

For sure! Lainey doesn't have an amazing relationship with her family, but she does think that it's important to be with them. She doesn't get along with her family a lot, but she does love them.

7. Do they usually wait till the last minute to purchase gifts, or do they buy them ridiculously early?

No, Lainey is definitely a planner. I think it's because I mostly based her off of me. She's so much like me, actually, that sometimes I even get surprised by some of the things that she does! I'm thinking 'um...am I gonna do that sometime?' Well, anyway, the point was, she's a planner and she always buys her gifts early.

8. Favorite Christmas song? For fantasy authors, is music a part of their celebration?

I'd have to say that it's a toss-up between Hark the Harold Angels Sing & Silent Night.

9. Do they celebrate for religious reasons?

As Christians, yes.

10. How do they celebrate the beginning of the new year?

Huh, I didn't even think about bringing in the new year in the story. Maybe I'll have to add that in a second draft. Gives me some ideas!

Week One = Finished

NaNoWriMo.

I didn't know what to expect when I started it. I was a little intimidated by it, to be honest. I didn't know if I'd be able to make it to the end of the 50K in the 30 days that I was allowed to finish it in.
I was scared, too. I had my plot down, but not very well - just the chapter summary, and a little about the characters. Not really enough to truly start a story and actually keep it going.

But when I started writing, I really got into the story. My characters came to life right away - the main character, Lainey, was really easy to get into (she's very much like me),and my best friend character, Taite, is very interesting in her own ways.

My plot is eh. I like it, but it's not coming along the way that I necessarily wanted it to. What I've learned about NaNo is that the point isn't for the story to be perfect, but for writers to get themselves writing. To actually sit down and write like crazy and not stop for any reason except to eat and maybe sleep?

At any rate, I'm loving it. Within the first two days, I had 20K but I'm starting to slow down some.

Total Word Count: 29,827

If you're a NaNo-er, comment and let me know what you're word count is, and how NaNo is going for YOU this year.

Also, if you'd like to find me on the NaNoWriMo website - my username is AshleyStraws

Monday Randomness

So to start out the morning, I had a cup of coffee. Because if usually if I don’t have coffee, I don’t have a very good day. It just doesn’t work very well in my favor.
Interestingly enough, if you know that we’re Disney fans in this house, you’ll know why I used this particular mug. But as I was drinking out of it, I realized just how weird it would probably look to a random person just walking by or who just happened to see me drinking out of it.

So then we did school, of course. I had a couple of things I needed to get caught up on and I did just that.

When Mom came home from the post office, she brought home this:
This book hasn’t even come out yet, but Mom asked for a review copy of it, so we got it early. I can’t wait to read this and see what happens! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Jenny B. Jones. I can only HOPE to be anything like her as an author someday!

Then later, Mom and I dropped Gracie off at her orchestra practice and did a little bit of shopping. Because shopping is just a lot, lot, lot of fun! I got a pair of jeans. I think that’s it.

Then I came home and decided that before we ate supper, I was going to play my guitar. I haven’t been playing it much but the last two days I’ve played it. My fingers hurt because I haven’t played enough but it’s nice to get back into the swing of things.

That’s my Monday.
And the rest of the week is going to be JUST as busy.

~Ashley

Upcoming CSN Stores Review

Spring is going to be coming into the air and my siblings and I are getting antsy to head outside. My siblings enjoy playing on our swing set, although, it is slowly deteriorating and breaking down. It was minefrom many years ago, and from much play-time from me and the two neighbor boys, it's definitely gotten worn down.

We've been thinking about getting a new outdoor playset for the last couple of years, ever since my little brother was born. The CSN stores have many choices for outdoor playsets and would be a great place to start looking for one.

After looking through the above website, it appears that they have a great selection of playsets, and that, with the right amount of money, my family could easily find one (or twenty), that we would thoroughly enjoy having in our backyard!

Wow..it's been a while...again

I think I either need to give up fully on blogging or actually start posting more, because every time I actually get around to posting, I always say 'it's been a while'. I think I'll stop doing that, and just post, because, well, even though it's been a while, I don't need to dwell on that.

It's only 30 days until I head to Kylie's house. I am so excited to actually be getting on a plane and flying out there. if you read my last post about it - the only nerve-wracking part is the idea of being on the plane for the first time, by myself. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I'm still a tad bit worried about that. But I WILL be okay!

Yesterday, my family and I went to the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg.It was fun, because we had just finished up reading about the Civil War in History and were able to remember a lot of the things that we saw yesterday - especially people and what part they had in the war.

Fall is definitely in the air in central PA. It has been cooling off, and I love getting into hoodies and jeans, and my converse! I also enjoyed wearing my 'faux' Uggs yesterday when it was dreary and rainy here.

I have youth group on Sunday and I'm supposed to be playing the guitar, so I have to get some worship songs ready - and quick! I haven't been able to play the guitar at all this past week, I've been so busy and it just so happens that youth group has to land the same week that I'm busy and not able to play my guitar. It's like all my life works like that. Ha.

~Ash

Random Pictures Post

Hello everyone.

We're just about finished with school for the year. I am finished with everything, except my research paper. I'm an avid writer, but when it comes to writing a paper like this one - I am intimidated. I write thousands of words in my stories I'm writing with my friend, Kylie, in just a day, but when it comes to doing a research paper, I never know what to do.
Lame, I know.

~~~~

Lately, I've come to love photo editing. It's so much fun! I know that a lot of you see these pictures on my facebook, but I'm going to repost some of them on here, for those of you who aren't my facebook friends.

But before I post them, I have to share this picture that my friend drew of me. She is amazing! :D

Now for the edited pictures.
I listen to a ton of Christian rock, pop, hip-hop music. So I love to take pictures of bands and add lyrics to the pictures. :D

What Faith Can Do by Kutless


Fm Static (above)


I am going to see Stellar Kart in concert on Sunday. I am so excited! :D They are definitely one of my favorite Christian bands. :D


Hawk Nelson (above)


With Jon Micah Sumrall of Kutless.

I'll be sure to post again here, pretty soon. I am going to the Stellar Kart concert, so I'll probably post pictures from that.

We are also going to FL in a couple of weeks, so that'll give me something to post about, also!

~Ash

1. What's your favorite time of the day, and why?

Definitely evening. Like anywhere from 9 o'clock to 11:30. I like to stay up late, and read. It's always fun to be up...and than sleep in...if I can get away with sleeping in! :P

2. If health wasn't an issue, what food could you live off of?

Oh, definitely kettle cooked barbeque potato chips!

3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?

Probably being about to meet up with my two online 'best friends'! They are awesome girls - Suzanna and Kylie - and I love them both dearly. It's just too bad that they live far away from PA!

4. What's one thing that you get teased about a lot?

For HAVING an obsession with the Jonas Brothers. (That having is past-tense, btw.)

5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?

I like so many different kinds of TV shows, that I would LOVE to be in any of the ones that I enjoy watching. But I think that my favorite show, is Full House. And i think that I would like to be either Becky (Jesse's wife), or DJ.

6. If you could have one talent that you don't already have, what would it be?

Um, this one is really hard. I don't know - I think that it would be neat to be able to play the drums. Call me weird..

7.If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?

I would probably go to somewhere WARM! IN the WINTER! :P

8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?

Um, probably Christian Contemporary/Rocky (not really rock, but harder than Christian Contemporary), or possibly country.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?

I think Amazon.com :P You can buy EVERYTHING there.

10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?

The 1800s..

11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?

Brown.

12. If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?

(Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, or Dopey)
Sleepy! :D

13. What's the last album you listened to?

"It is Well" by Kutless. (I'm wearing Kutless T-shirt, right now, because I bought one at the concert last night! )

14. What's something we'd be surprised to know about you?

Um...I can listen to almost any kind-of music, except for rap, and screamo.

~~~~~

Also, if you want to see pictures from my Casting Crowns concert - they are on facebook -so if you're my friend, you can see them there. :)

~Ash

Wordless Wednesday

Me, with a friend of our's baby. He's the cutest little guy!

I can't seem to...

... be consistent about posting. I thought that moving over to blogspot would make me want to post more, but apparently, I was wrong.
I guess that nothing much interesting has happened lately. I've been doing a lot of writing, both for myself, and for Kids of Faith, and Beautiful in Christ. That has kept me busy.
Reading hasn't been something that I've been doing as much lately. Usually, I go in this phases, where I'll write a lot, and never read, or that I'll read a lot and never write. It's like I don't have time for one of them, when I'm doing a lot of the other.

School has been going well since I started back up after the holidays, but I really don't like math. I never have really liked math - probably since around 4th grade, but I really don't like it this year. I'm doing accounting this year, and I really am not enjoying it. I thought that it would be something simple to take before I take geometry next year, but now I wish I would've just gone onto geometry.
Accounting really isn't easy. My dad is an accountant, so that does help a little, but it's pretty difficult, as well. It's hard for me, a person who doesn't like math, at all, to really understand it. Okay, enough of that. :P

So, this week, there isn't much going on. Tomorrow, we go to the dentist- oh joy! Haha. Other than that, that's about it.

Hopefully I'll have something GOOD to post about soon!
~Ashley