Changes...

The last few months have been... I'm not even sure how to describe the last few months really. I started school at Le Cordon Bleu of Scottsdale as a Patisserie and Baking student on July 5th. That has been the biggest change in my life so far. I start my 2nd block tomorrow where I will actually be doing some real baking, at least I hope. My love life is actually existent even though it's complicated. I'm a lot happier than I have been in a long time. Though I say I'm happy it is really more collective moments of being happy than before. There are times where I am sad about life. We had to put my dog that I've had since I was in 6th grade down this past week. The house is not the same without her in the least bit. I am also having trouble writing. I've tried to sit down and write but it is either I get distracted by something or I just can't find words. I have what I want to happen in my head but just can't seem to find the right way to write it down. 

Now to get back to staring at my screen as I try to revise.

End of my Spring semester

Just recently a friend commented on my blog. I had a blog? In all the mess that happened during this semester I completely forgot that I had a blog and that I haven't been writing in it at all. All of my non-existent readers will be so disappointed. So to all that read my blog: I am sorry that you have been without my witty banter for so long... hold on a second while choke back a laugh.
One day I do plan on having actual readers read my blog and be fascinated with my life and my writing. Plan may be too big of a word right now; dream might be a better choice though.

So, for those of you that have been long awaiting my return and waiting to hear what has been happening to good 'ol Ashley, I'll give you a run down of the first half of my year.
I went to school. I had to drop my English 102 class. My creative writing class sucked but I have a feeling it would have been so much better if I hadn't taken the class online. I passed Math with a C and Reading with an A. I enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and I start July 5th and graduate March 30th, 2012. There's a whole lot I'm leaving out but I would rather not think back on some of the event that transpired over the last 5 months.

I will hopefully update later when I have more time. Now back to some much needed writing! Woo!

My 2010 and My 2011

So, I've moved blogs. I'm hoping that the change will be a good start to the new year. I should have done this post last week. Since I only have four more days until classes start I figured now is a good time as any to post this. I wanted to look back the last year in my life. It was full of a lot of changes and growing up I had to do. 

The beginning of 2010 was spent up north in Flagstaff and at the Grand Canyon. I ended up going twice, once with two of my best friends for one's birthday. The other time I went with one of my best friends and her cousins. The train below is obviously at the Grand Canyon. You can see it as you drive through the confusing roads. We weren't able to see the Grand Canyon because it was snowing. It was beautiful and I believe that everyone should see the Grand Canyon, both in the winter while it is snowing and while it's not snowing.

 We were able to see some deer frolicking in the snow. I squealed.

 This was taken on the way back to Glendale, towards Sedona. Every time I come back from Flagstaff I love to go through Sedona just so I can go through the beautiful forest.

 I decided to grow a garden this year and here are some of my baby tomatoes. They ended up fried. Fried green tomatoes... yum.

One of my best friends, her niece and myself went to the botanical gardens. Here is one of the statues they have there.

 My friend and her niece in the stroller.

 I took pictures of pretty desert plants and flowers.

 Another fascinating statue

 I believe those are about 40 feet tall. Don't quote me on that, I could be wrong.

 Not a real plant. I forget exactly what it was made out of but this is what we saw on our way to the entrance.

I went to Texas to visit family and to pretty much get away from Arizona and some of my problems. My aunt, my cousin, his wife, their kids, and another one of my cousins and her husband went to a Texas Rangers game. Surprisingly I had fun, considering I don't really like baseball all that much.

 Of course I couldn't miss the family reunion. This is my cousin's sleeping baby. She's so adorable.

 My lovely great aunt and my aunt. Probably two of my favorite people and not to mention the sweetest people you could ever meet.

 Me. I didn't really want my picture taken but I put my happy face on anyways.

 My aunt and her grand-daughter and her Strawberry Shortcake.

 One of my cousin's kids sitting in the drive way of my aunts house waiting for their parents to come pick them up. It was the cutest thing.

 And then I got shot.

I sobbingly had to leave Texas.

 At a picnic rest stop on the way back.

 The nerd that I am got excited by the fact that there is a Dragoon Rd.

 

After I returned home I moved out of my parents house and moved in with my friend and her boyfriend. Since this was my first time moving out, it was a struggle. It felt weird to just be sleeping somewhere entirely different. I finally got the hang of things. 

The roommates and another one of my friends and myself went to Horseshoe Lake. This is a picture of the dam that is there. Usually there is a waterfall there but the day we went they didn't have it going. We still had fun though.

We went fishing and didn't catch anything. 

I started school a few days after the lake. I didn't do much until my friends birthday where we partied hardy. Below is one of my best friends and me at the Japanese restaurant where celebrated our friend's birthday. That night I tried sushi for the first time and liked it. I was pretty proud of myself for not chickening out.

A month or so later, my favorite person flew two thousand miles to come see me. This made me intensely happy. It was the first time he had visited Arizona, so the roommates and me took him fishing at one of the lakes here. Don't ask what lake this is called because I honestly don't remember what it was called. All I know is that I had loads of fun and got sunburned only on my left side.

We continued to see kayakers kayaking down the lake. I was jealous and wanted to join them in their kayaking fun.

The day before he left we took a trip up north by ourselves. I took through my favorite part of Arizona; through Oak Creek Canyon. I have never been up there in the fall and it was beyond beautiful.

The day after my favorite person left, I moved back in with my parents. It felt like a drastic change. And for the record, no matter how long you're out of your parents house, it's a struggle to live with parents after you have to move back in. I continued school and I'm proud to say that I passed my classes with A's and B's. To celebrate that and my friends birthday, like the year before, we went to the Grand Canyon. It wasn't snowing this time like  it was the year before.

Before I show those pictures, I have to mention the night before. My two best friends and me had a little backyard fire where we set marshmallows on fire and made s'mores. I think they forget how hyper I can get when I have that much sugar.

On the way up to the Grand Canyon, there is the neatest barn/house on the side of the highway.

 Me with the sun shining in my eye and the canyon behind me. I was standing right on the edge of the canyon when I took this. There was a family that came while we were at that part of the canyon and the mom told me that I was very brave to be standing at the edge of the cliff. I thought it was fun.

A family was nice enough to take time out of their day to take a picture of the three of us. The three of us continued to take pictures the rest of the day with the bright sun in our eyes.

 I got bored of taking the same picture, so I told them to pose and be funny and this is what I got. I love my friend on the right's face. Epic, just epic. It still makes me laugh.

 This one looks like one is drinking and one is about to punch the other in the female parts.

 Yes, my hand is in my jacket pocket while I'm trying to punch my friend in the head.

 We saw a bunch of elk cross the road on our way back.

 I tried taking a picture of myself in front of the church shown below. The flash on the camera made me extra white and the background super dark.

A week or so later I went to the college and when I opened my front door this is what I saw.

I headed back home around 10:30am and this is what it looked like.

 And here is how we brought in the new year.

I must say that the year of 2010 was a good one. I learned a lot about myself and other people. I made new friends. I had some amazing life lessons that at the time were horrible or just plain 'ol sucked, but I have to say that if I hadn't have experienced them I wouldn't be who I am today.

I start my second semester next Tuesday and I can finally say that I'm more excited than scared this time. I did have my first school dream last night though. I forgot all of my books and for some reason I had my class scheduled tattooed or burned into my forearm. 

To conclude the longest post ever, or at least until next year, here is what I hope to accomplish in 2011.

• Finish my spring and fall semester with A's
• Learn to speak Spanish
• Finish "Story 1"
• Finish "Story 2"
• Complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge
• Be able to run or jog a mile or more

I would put some other "New Year's Resolutions" but some are just typical resolutions like, start eating healthy (I will never stop eating junk food and I love baking and food way too much for this to really happen).