Mad Hatter Tea at O.Henry Hotel

I was invited to a Mad Hatter Tea Party this afternoon. I joined Diane, Caroline, & Ella for a belated birthday celebration. It was so much fun. The food and all of the decorations were out of this world!

O. Henry hotel brought the story of Alice in Wonderland to life today. We started with story time in the lobby of the hotel, made our way through the rabbit hole for a tea party in Wonderland with Alice, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter. We enjoyed special treats, crafts ,and seating at Tweedledee's whimsically decorated table surrounded by flowers and giant mushrooms.

"Don't Quit" - inspiration needed to make it through tough times!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.

"Don't Quit," Author Unknown

This really hit home for me today. In general, my life, especially in the last year has been very tough. It seems I have been faced with many challenges and heartache. Recently, it feels like my world has come crashing down. Monday was the breaking point for me. It started with an unexpected trip to the vet for Jackie Chan and ended with a flooded kitchen! I need to step back and take a look at what I have and where I am going. I found this quote on the Internet and it will be something that I will keep in the back of my mind to help push me through these tough times. I think it is human nature to give up when it seems like everything is going wrong. When I wake up in the morning I thank God for my husband, Jackie Chan, Miss Kitty, my family,friends, and strangers. If you ever are in this position just remember the quote above!

I am taking Mark to Durham tomorrow so he can get settled and prep for his epidural steroid injection he is getting in his neck on Friday AM. I hope this will help him in his recovery and keep him far far away from neck surgery. It just makes me nervous to think about a big needle being inserted in his neck. I am a chicken when it comes to a needle or anything medical!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week/weekend!

Ashley

Always know your independence........

The meaning of wedding vows is to be committed with your partner. Looking back on our wedding vows, to me it is a sacred promise between me and Mark in front of God, that we love each other and be committed to each other, in ALL THICK AND THIN. With this in mind, things that have happened in the last couple of weeks have really reminded me of our wedding vows! Let me just tell you I have done more things on my own in the last three weeks than I have in a lifetime! As you may know, my husband has a herniated C6/C7 disc in his neck. Friday I put together a collapsible hammock, cleaned the entire house, cleaned the garage, & detailed my car. On Saturday I could not stand looking at the jungle in our yard so I mowed the front yard and edged it with garden scissors! Mark stood out there while I was mowing to make sure I didn't mess anything up or take a body part off! Sunday after lunch with my parents I finished the back yard. Much larger than the front but it is done. I must say I am very proud of myself. Kind of forgot that I am capable of doing things on my own but it is nice to have help! Mark has definitely helped me so I do not mind doing this. We go to another specialist on Wednesday and really hoping we do not get another surgery solution!

MerleFest countdown.....................

The countdown is on! I am super excited to start my second year of marriage to my wonderful husband listening to bluegrass! I am really excited to see Sam Bush (pictured above), Little Feat, Taj Mahal, Zac Brown Band, The Avett Brothers, Donna the Buffalo, The Waybacks, & Steve Martin. Those are just a few off the top of my head! I know he is not going to be at Merle Fest, but Ben Harper, is coming to Wake Forest University the week before and we are going! I am definitely going to fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions to see more live music in 2010!!! Hip Hip Hooray!

2nd attempt at running

On Saturday my husband, Mark, decided he was going to go for a run. So instead of being lazy I decided I was going to take a stab at it. Just a little scary if you ask me because this is officially the second time I have run in my life and the second time with Mark. Any good runner stretches. Right? We stretched our muscles in the driveway. Probably pretty funny if you were one of our neighbors. We started out walking and picked up the pace once we headed down the road. Suddenly I felt like I was being tortured. I thought to myself how could anyone possible get pleasure out of this! I didn't want to over do it so I switched between a fast paced walk and run. Of course, Mark left me in the dust! That is okay because I am still in my training wheel phase! I ended up running/walking 1.5 miles. It is a start but I am definitely not the track star my Wii Fit tells me during a workout! I was a little tired after this because before the run we had done a bunch of spring cleaning/organizing! Yesterday I woke up and every muscle (and I mean EVERY) in my body so sore! Yep definitely worked muscles I never knew existed in my body. I woke up this morning milking the sore muscles and Mark just told me to get my rear back out there and RUN! I will attempt it again this week! Happy Monday!

Tofu

Who knew I would fall in love with tofu! I was always a little scared of it but I knew that it was in some foods I love. The turning point was at Mellow Mushroom on Friday evening. We usually get two small pizzas to split and this leaves just enough for leftovers! Mark picked out the pizza. I think the first one was a mighty meaty. He knows I love veggies so he chose the mega veggie. Veg out on a pizza covered with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, broccoli, feta, banana peppers, artichoke hearts, and TOFU!!!!!!! It was delectable! The light bulb went off while I was enjoying this semi-new ingredient. On Sunday, while doing my weekly shopping, I decided to purchase a block of tofu. Last night we made our weekly veggie stir fry and added tofu to the mix! It was really good. I encourage all to try it. It seems to be a very versatile food because it takes on the flavor of what you are cooking. One last perk of tofu is that it is very healthy - low sodium, low calorie, low fat, and high in protein!

Praying today my mom will receive the best news of her life!

In a few short hours I am meeting my mom to get her mammogram. This is a year after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope my prayers have been answered!

I hope everyone gets out and enjoys this beautiful weather!

Ashley