Pinspiration - Paleo Food

I could talk till I'm blue in the face about this Paleo diet boyfriend and I are doing.  This is the first time in my life I've ever "dieted" and what a lifestyle change.

 

What do you mean I can't eat blue doritos and Annie's Mac and Cheese?

 

After my epic Pancake Meltdown, I've made it a mission to find food I like and enjoy so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of what I love: Food.  I'm realizing that I can do this and still be healthy, I just have to get creative.

 

Enter: Pinterest

 

Half of the Paleo recipes I've tried (and LOVED) so far have come from Pinterest.  It's my motivation and inspiration to eat yummy things and be creative.

 

Below are some of the new ideas I've found and plan on trying!

 

 

Pumpkin Pucks

Source

Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies

Source

These are very similar to a recipe that my aunt gave me!

Almond Chicken Bake

Source

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Source

 

 

Paleo Meatballs

Source

 

 

These are all gluten free options too if anyone has Celiac's disease or a gluten allergy. 

 

If anyone has any recipes they've tried or found, please share! 

Friday Letters #6

1. Dear Car - I don't appreciate the check engine light, and I sure hope cousin Steven is right that all I needed was an oil change!  And not a head gasket (which is $2,600 by the way!!).  I think the mechanic saw me coming like a deer in the head lights.

2.  Dear WAHing (Working at Home) - It's harder than it sounds!  HELLO DISTRACTIONS!  Fridge full of food.  Puppies that way to be played with.  Laundry that needs to be done.  Focus Ashley, Focus.  Good thing it was only for two days.  I'm happy to be back in the office today.

3.  Dear Broccoli From Last Night - my stomach STILL hurts and it's the day after.  What gives?!

4.  Dear Leftovers for Lunch Today (Broccoli) - I'm screwed

5.  Dear Pollyanna - You're the worlds cutest dog.

Sorry it's kind of blurry!

 

 

Hurts so...good?

So because boyfriend and I are doing the Paleo diet, I've been trying to incorporate new recipes to keep the same ol' same ol' food interesting.

Enter:  Broccoli

I've never been a broc fan.  I love all other veggies: brussel sprouts, salad, carrots, spinach. 

But broccoli has never been my favorite (other than my amazing broccoli salad I make!!).

So I saw this post on Pinterest and decided I'd give broccoli a try (minus the cheese).

Now this recipe is YUMMY!  It agreed with me! 

...until 15 minutes into it and my stomach made a noise.
A grumbly noise.
And another grumbly noise.

And here I am, sitting with a grumbly stomach wondering what went wrong.  Boyfriend tells me too much broccoli can be hard on the stomach.  Good to know now.  My stomach feels like it's turning in a million different directions.

Because of broccoli?!  I'll stick to brussel sprouts :-)

And on that note - since I've been working out with my trainer and doing this darned Paleo diet, I've GAINED two pounds.

GAINED.

What gives?! 

I have no mojo

Dear men - turn away now and don't read this post.  It's girly.  And y'all won't like it.
Dear Ladies - Y'all might not like it either, but I know there are some of you out there who can relate so read on if you like!
Dear Dayna - Don't you like that I'm saying "Y'all" like my most favorite little country bumpkin?

I'd like to preface this with a declaration of my love to all of my friends: 

I love you. 

But right now, I don't have to like some of you.

Let me tell you the story of my sister

She has mojo. 
Tons of it. 
I'm not sure what secret sauce she adds to her relationships, but my sister has game.  Men fall madly in love with her.  My sister has been engaged on more than 1 ocassion.  She's that girl that a boy immediately thinks, "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her!" 
and BOOP
There's a ring

I think she has been engaged 3-4 times?  Don't quote me on that.


SO these past two weeks I've known 5 people who have gotten engaged.  And not one, but TWO of those five people have gotten RE-engaged.  HOLY MOJO!  Hats off to you ladies - you've managed to reel in multiple men to request your hand in marriage.

And then there's me.  Secretly, yet seriously, contemplating sending them a message and asking for the recipe to their secret sauce. 

Don't get me wrong.  I love boyfriend and he's AMAZING.  And especially lately I could go on for days about the presents I've been getting.  Workout pants, AT Bindings, TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT TICKETS. 
Tells me I'm beautiful.
Thanks me for everything.
Holds my hand when it's slippery and picks up heavy things so I "don't break a nail."
A real catch I tell ya. 
But if I had this secret sauce, I probably also would have had a ring 3.5 years ago.

I'm completely happy with where my life is right now.  I'm not complaining one bit.  I'm just saying I wish I had more mojo like some of my friends out there. 
You know, the kind whose new boyfriend falls madly in love with her, tells his entire family about her, tells his jeweler about her, and 6 months later throws a ring on her finger. 

These are the same girls who get secret admirers who send them chocolates and flowers

All I had was a secret stalker who sent me pencils and Hello Kitty notepads

Creep

It's A-Game vs. B-Game
Chocolates and Flowers vs. Pencils and Hello Kitty notepads
Ariel vs. Ursula
Annie's Mac and Cheese vs. Store Brand Mac and Cheese
Mojo vs. No Mojo

 

I call it, "No Mojo-itis." 
It's not contagious
Not that I know of

Tell me you love me!!

First off, does anyone else have a ton of "blog drafts" but never publish them because you haven't uploaded the pictures yet?  Yes?  No?  Just me?

I used to be so good about uploading pictures.

Then my macbook died. 

And I'm too cheap to buy a new one.

$1000 for a computer when I'm not in school anymore just isn't justifiable.

Anyhow, on to more important things.

Like my boyfriend and his video games.

He's in love with Halo.  I wish I could play it with him but those controllers have a million buttons and joysticks that I find myself spinning in circles pointing at the ground.  Party foul!

So one of the "cool things" about Halo is you can talk to people on the other side.  I don't say anything because I talk to my bloggy people like they're my bffs. 

So he can have Halo bffs.

No big deal.

So he uses this little ear piece, and as he plays I randomly shout

"I LOVE YOU BOYFRIEND."

Just so he knows I love him

Because I do

I started to notice he would pause and put his hand to his ear

Then with a delayed response he'd say, "Love you too baby!"

Then it hit me.  He didn't want his Halo-bros to hear him shout his mushy-gushy-comments back!

So I went on a mission

A mission to get him to declare his love to me without turning his earphone on mute

And tonight, my friends, I won

I shouted "I love you bo-fran!" a few dozen times

And then it happened

"Love you too."

WINNING!

P.S. Don't mind my bare empty walls. 

I'm getting on that. 

Next paycheck.

My girls!

For part of my Christmas vacay, I went to my dad's house up at Serene Lakes.  It was amazing the entire time because it didn't stop snowing.  Not even once.

WINTER WONDERLAND!

However my favorite part about Christmas at dads is the girl time.  Sorry dad, love you too, but I love me some girl time.

Between my Aunt and my cousins, I get plenty of chatting in.  With pre-teen cousins, this year was all about Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, and other "hunky" prepubescent boys.

I adore my little cousins and I'll let them "style" my hair ANY DAY!

This is an older one, but I love it

...And can we talk about how my 12 year old cousin has the same size feet as me (keep your eyes off my cankles)??!

Better late than never

So I finally got a chance to watch The Bachelor: SEAN LOWE! 

 

Since we don't have cable, I watch my shows via Hulu which air the following day.

 

When did I become such a Bachelor junkie? 

Theta.

Theta did this to me.

 

Anyhow, I fell in love with Sean on Emily's season.

 

WHY MIGHT YOU ASK?

 

Let me show you. 

Let me just show you.

In fact, when I uploaded this picture google proceeded to ask me to tag each person and to confirm,

"Is this the same person?" based on facial recognition.

 

And I know I'm not the only person that feels this way. I got numerous texts on the Season Premier saying, "Have you ever seen the Bachelor... because Sean Lowe looks like..."

 

TRUE STORY

 

I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing blogger recaps - I know I sure am

 

However I wanted to put in my two cents about a certain individual

 

Lindsay Yenter

This girl went to UNR so I was so excited to see the show and watch a fellow UNR alum!  I was a little embarrassed, for her, based on her one-on-one time.  "Kiss me baby gimme a kiss."  It's one of those times you shake your head and think "There's no way he's picking her." 

LO AND BEHOLD Sean Lowe is forgiving. 

And I'm pretty positive she makes it fairly far in the show! (I'm convinced one of the "I love you"'s came from her voice - you can't miss it)

FACT: You apparently can recover from first impression disasters!

GO UNR!

 

The time I cried in a restaurant

Remember how I mentioned boyfriend and I are doing the Paleo diet?

... it's harder than it sounds.

Keep in mind I'm powered by pasta and bread.  So this is really hard on me to give up all grains, bread, rice, etc.

So here's the story:

Boyfriend and I haven't been to breakfast once since I've lived in Portland.  It's nearly impossible to go to breakfast when your boyfriend works on your weekends, and vice versa.

So we've never been.

For the next week, boyfriend and I have a brief Sunday together (that's if he doesn't sleep the entire Sunday) so we decided to go to breakfast.  I figured it would be okay.

We went to breakfast and I was reminded of how much I don't like eggs and how much I crave pancakes and Belgian Waffles (preferably with whipped cream and fruit topping.... on top of the butter).  After seeing these massive pancakes the size of sedan tires topped with melted butter passing by my table, I pouted.

All I wanted was pancakes.

With butter.

Boyfriend and I kept talking about the new diet. 
He was so excited and talking about how great it will be for us
And all I see is a plate full of eggs (covered in Tobasco sauce to drown the eggy flavor) in front of me
And plates full of pancakes all around me
And I broke down.
Yup.  I cried.  In a restaurant.
I'm such a baby.

As I sat across from my boyfriend crying and looking at my phone to distract me from being so pathetic, boyfriend kept insisting I stop as it looked like he was breaking up with me in the middle of a restaurant.  He was getting death stares.

... and I was giving my omelette the death stare.

I've never been an egg fan, so riddle me this.  What does a non-egg-eater eat for breakfast on this "only meat, veggies, fruits, and nuts" diet?

I can tell you it's not pancakes covered in butter.

Boyfriend Brownie Points

I'm convinced my boyfriend is possibly the world's sweetest boyfriend.

Keep in mind only four short years ago this was the same boy when asked,

"How was your day - what did you do?"

He'd respond with:

"WHY???!"

Then mutter something about not having to tell me what he did if he didn't want to.

I could go on with how far boyfriend has come as far as opening up, realizing there's more than 1 person in a relationship, and thinking of others.

Big steps, kids, big steps.

Last night was a little reminder of how far he has come.  See, I typically do 95% of the grocery shopping and cooking.  It makes me happy knowing boyfriend is happy.  And he's always so grateful letting me know how much he likes my food (even if it's icky).

But last night I arrived home to a home-cooked DINNER.  Boyfriend cooked up steak, sweet potatoes, and a mushroom/bell-pepper-sauteed piece of heaven.

It absolutely made my day.

...And to top it off he made me my favorite egg-breakfast-taco for me for breakfast also!

Either someone is trying to butter me up, or I just have the world's sweetest man-friend.

Resolutions?

Get skinny
Get rich
Become famous

BOOM

 

Just kidding.  I've never made resolutions.  Why wait until January 1st to make a change?  Also, I feel like most resolutions I see floating around facebook are doomed for failure from the beginning.

"Run at least 1 mile every day"
"Tell someone I appreciate them every day"
"Create a budget and stick to it"

I don't know about you, but I can barely cook myself a meal every day.  If you feel like you can run 1 mile every day for an entire year, it's time for you to get a full time job.

I'm not going to wait until January 1st to tell people I appreciate them.  I appreciate you.

I think creating a budget and "sticking to it" is something I do on a weekly basis.  Then I see something like new AT boots that I absolutely need.  And buy them.  Then break my budget.

So long story short, I've never been a new-years-resolution creater.  I know I'll break it.  What's the point of setting myself up for failure?

This year boyfriend and I have created a "goal" to begin at the new year.  We mostly picked this time because I refused to start this goal during the holidays.  With scrumptious fatty foods and all.

This year, we are going Paleo.  Or rather, he's going Paleo and I'm being an awesome girlfriend and supporting him.  Let's be honest, boyfriend doesn't do much of the cooking. 
Or grocery shopping. 
So in order for him to be on a new diet I also need to be on board.

Goodbye pasta/toast/bread/grains
Goodbye cheese/milk/ice cream/dairy
Goodbye cookies/chocolate/that-time-of-the-month-soothers
Goodbye everything except meat, veggies, fruit, and nuts

The paleo diet is also known as the "Caveman" diet.  The main idea is to eat the way hunters and gatherers ate: Meat, Veggies, Fruits, and Nuts.

If you can't hunt it, and if you can't gather it, don't eat it.

This eliminates all grains.
This eliminates all dairy.
This eliminates Annie's Mac and Cheese and Dairy Queen cherry dilly bars.

Source

It's a huge crossfit fad.  And because my boyfriend is loyal to his crotchfit crossfit, he felt it was time to step it up a notch and jump on board the Paleo wagon.  A lot of people speak praises about Paleo and how it has changed their life, so we will see if we like it!

Is anyone else Paleo?  Or does anyone else have a new diet resolution?

Christma-giving Update!

My goodness I've been absent from my little bloggy for quite some time now.  I have no idea how those mega-blogger manage to continue blogging during the holidays!  Studs. 

You all are studs.
I have a million updates, and I don't even know where to start.

One massive blog post?  A million outdated mini posts?  Quick anti-climatic synopsis? 

Here's the skinny:

• Hosted my first Thanksgiving!  My family came to Portland and helped me break in our brand new kitchen and brand new mattress.  
• Gym Gym Gym - at some point I decided getting a personal trainer was necessary.  Actually, I didn't think it was necessary.  Boyfriend on the otherhand insisted.  Talk about developing a "does my butt look fat" complex!  But really, I've really enjoyed having my personal trainer and I'm certain he's the only reason I can still squeeze into my skinny jeans after Thanksgiving and Potlucks and Christmas.
• I went home!  I took 4 days off work and traveled back to Reno to celebrate "Christmas" with my family!  I spent a few days with my mom and my mom's family, then spent a few days with my dad's family up in Truckee.  Then just in time for Christmas eve and Christmas I flew back to Portland to spend some time with my honey.
• One of my amazing friends from college got engaged.  Finally.
• I "met" my niece and nephew.

What a life.

 

I feel like I could write for days about my amazing past month, but I'll leave it short and sweet.

 

MERRY-BELATED-CHRISTMAS! 
HAPPY-ALMOST-NEW-YEAR!

Friday Letters #5

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

I've had a horrible time all week thinking it was a day/time that it really wasn't.

For example - I work with a lot of East coast clients.  When I work in their servers I'll ocassionally look down at the clock and see something like "4:00pm."  To me, this means it's almost time to go home.  In reality, this means it's 1:00pm and I'm looking at the wrong clock.

Face palm.

Anyhow - happy Friday!!

Dear Boyfriend - You're such a good friend to go in to work today at 3:00am for a co-worker who needed some sleep.  I'm not sure how you'll manage to work from 3:00am-5:00pm, but I'm so proud to be dating such a caring person.  LOVE YOU!

Dear Thanksgiving Dinner - I CAN'T WAIT!  I've got my shopping list planned.... and that's about it.  Need to clean house, clean car, clean dogs, clean more things I'm sure, shop, clean, eat, and be merry.

Dear Family Coming for Thanksgiving Dinner - Get here already.  I'm ready to show off my mean cooking skills (Store-bought pie ok?  Canned corn?  Good.)

Dear Sunny PNW Days - HALLELUJAH!  I've heard November is supposed to be one of the rainiest months in Portland, and we have been blessed with sunny cool crisp days.  Please hold out for Thanksgiving!!

Dear LA Fitness - You're not half bad.  I've actually enjoyed the gym these past couple of weeks.  That doesn't happen often.

Ok that's all I can think of - have a lovely Friday friends!  If anyone has some delicious Thanksgiving recipes they like the share I'm all ears!!

Whole Wheat Donut Holes?!

Yesterday one of my coworkers brought some goodies to work.

I LOVE GOODIES.

She picked up some donut holes from Trader Joes. 

As if I'm not already one of the biggest TJs fan, she reaffirmed my loyalty with these donut holes.

After one bite, I looked at my donut hole and noticed WHOLE WHEAT SAY WHAT!

I thought I'd share this amazing treat, which I naturally justified with "they're whole wheat."

Mega Update

I considered making several small posts with a bunch of updates since I have been a little absent lately, but I decided to just make one mega-post.

Because that's easier.

And I'm lazy.

Mom visited for a few days! (hence the blogging hiatus)
We shopped.
And watched TV.
And shopped some more.

Isn't that what moms are for?

She bought us THIS gem we found from heaven Home Goods.

 

She also babysat the pups while I was at work.

And sent me this text message.

Bad Ibo!

Tube = Lipstick Tube.  You get the picture.

 



 



Polly got spayed.
This is her.
All high on pain killers.
Stinky little pill popper she is.

 



And this is Ibo - hanging out like he owns the place.

 

Aaron went back to Reno to visit his mom and brought me back a present!

WOLFPACK YOGA PANTS!

He's a keeper.

Who needs a ring when you've got YOGA PANTS!

 

And last but not least, thanks to Tabitha at My Cliffnotes, I found an awesome hair stylist and got my HAIR CUT!  I needed it - I was getting headaches when I put my hair in a pony tail.  This girl did an amazing job, so if anyone in the Portland area needs a hair stylist I'd highly recommend her!  Just ask!



Instagram!

@AshleyACray

 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours

(that's my way of soliciting new people to follow)

(for the creepers out there, don't take that creepily)

 

(and stay away)

 

(kthanks)

My Go-To Food

I'm skipping Friday Letters today, because I was having a hard time thinking of my letters!

So instead, I'm making a foodie post.

I lovelovelove zucchini.  I hated it when I was younger, but one day something switched in me and I can't get enough of this veggie.  I never leave the grocery store without a zucchini!

On days where I don't feel like cooking or making a fancy dinner, I'll cut up some zucchini, add some garlic, and sautee. 

MY FAVORITE.

The other day I had some extra wild rice, so I added my zucchini/onion/mushroom mixture to my wild rice.

... and you can tell it's a lazy day with the paper plates.

 

It really was delish.  It doesn't quite look yummy in my "after" picture, but it was simple and easy and I got my zucchini fix for the day :-)

College Halloweens

I miss Halloween in college.

So in honor of college-costumes, I decided to post my two favorite costumes:

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Little Mermaid (a given for all redheads)

You know when it's time to cut your hair...

I cut my hair about 2x a year.  Horrible, I know.  But it's not a priority in my life.

If it weren't for a specific reason, I'd probably NEVER cut my hair. 

But 2x a year, I have a problem.

A big problem.

My hair gets so long. 

So heavy. 

I get headaches. 

Does this happen to anyone else? 

Especially if I put my hair in a pony tail, it's instant-head-ache.

Nevermind the nasty split-ends and grown out layers.  I'm talking HEADACHES that not even caffeine can cure.

With that being said, I'm looking for a stylist in Portland/Vancouver.  If any PNWers have any recommendations, please feel free to pass them my way.  Because this girl needs a hair cut, pronto!

Friday Letters #4

Dear Waffle Friday (@ work) - I love that we keep running into each other.  I don't care about trying to "eat healthy" or eat less sugar.  I'm going to cover you in whipped cream and jam and get a little wild this morning.

Dear Warren Miller Tonight - I AM SO EXCITED!  Boyfriend bought us tickets to get a little Warren Miller action in to officially kick off the ski season.  Who cares if I don't have a ski pass this year?  They're $1,000.  And that's ridiculous.

Dear Podcasts - Thanks for keeping me company during my commute home from work.

Dear Air Conditioning (@ work) - Be nice, or leave.  There's no reason you should be acting up at 6:30am.  I'm freezing, and it's your fault.  Go away.

Dear Miss Kimmy - Thanks for lending an ear this week to let me VENT.  You always get me.  And understand me.  And I miss living down the hall from you.  LOVEANDMISSYOUTONS!

Dear Unborn Twins - Not my twins, of course.  But this girl just found out she's going to be an Aunt to both a little boy AND little girl!  Best of both worlds!!



Happy Friday, folks!

Speaking of podcasts, does anyone have good podcast suggestions?!  I'm always looking for new ones.  It's nerdy though - I understand.

Bloggy Peeps

Like any type of hobby/profession, blogging involves networking.

You surround yourself with blogs you enjoy reading, and that you can relate to or learn from.

With that being said, I've had the opportunity to connect with some amazing ladies lately!

 

Miss Tabitha was my first Portland Bloggy friend!  And homegirl is crazy funny - check out her blog at My Cliffnotes.  You'll love her posts, and she lives in Portland, so she's pretty rad.

Dayna is adorable and I feel like I've known her for ever!  I can relate to her on so many levels.  Her bloggy is on the top of my list of blogs to creep on each day.  Her blog is Pearls, Curls, and All Things Southern

Kayla at Simple Bliss and I had a "moment" today.  I've been down lately, and going through some personal stuff and feel like I have no one to talk to.  I found out today that Miss Kayla is in a similar boat.  Needless to say, we vented to each other, and bonded :-)

Did you know?



I need this!



1. Your brain responds to sugar the same way it responds to drugs/alcohol.  It's a real addiction.  And I'm addicted.
2. In Portland, it's legal to be naked in public.   
3. The average couple gets engaged after 2-3 years of dating, and 75% of women are willing to end the relationship if no rock has been received.  I'm apparently part of the 25%.
4. Vodka Tampons - you can get drunk from not drinking, but rather inserting alcohol through the rectum.  I learned this from a nurse - it's a real issue!
5. Redheads are hyper sensitive and require more anesthesia.  If you don't believe me, ask your Wisdom Tooth Doctor.  They cringe when a redhead walks in.

Mouses have wee wees?

Has anyone heard of the Bad Lip Reading youtube videos?

They're a hoot-and-a-half.

Boyfriend first introduced me to the Michael Buble video, but recently this weekend we were introduced to the Twilight video.

If you need a Monday laugh, watch this bad boy:



25 Going On 80

Boyfriend and I are slowly moving into our new house.

 

And by "slowly," I mean we have unpacked the kitchen. 

And our closets.

And that's it.

 

One thing that we needed to do was contact paper the kitchen cupboards/drawers before we could put things away.

 

My Aunt Peggy is a contact papering maniac.

 

You see, back in the olden days where computers don't exist and a handshake still means something, people used to use this thing called "contact paper."

 

It protects your cabinets and drawers.

Duh.

 

Guys would help their friends move the heavy shit items.

 

And girls.

Girls would help each other contact paper the cupboard and drawers.

 

So whenever I would move into one of my many new apartments, my Aunt would always say, "Wish I were there to help you contact paper!"

 

So you might remember me contact papering here.

I basically turned into an old-timer and contact papered the crap out of that apartment. 

HELLO SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK!

 

So when we moved into our new home, you bet your butt I made sure to contact paper!

 

But this time was different.

This time, boyfriend wanted to help.

 

I don't know what possessed him. 

But he was in a saucy mood. 

And while pestering him that he didn't know how time consuming this old-lady skill took, he decided to lend a hand.

 

And by "lend a hand," I mean do it himself.

 

....so I photographed the moment. 

Because it's worth a million bucks to me :-)

 I know with the newer cabinets/laminate interior, you almost don't need to.  But I still don't like to risk things spilling.
Has anyone else ever contact papered?

Frolicking in Washington

As I've mentioned so many times before, boyfriend and I don't have the same days off so we don't get to go on as many weekend adventures like we used to.

That's okay.

So we both planned to take a few days to go explore Washington.
You see, boyfriend has a love affair with mountains, and up in Washington live the Cascades. 
Google them. 
They're badass. 

So we decided to go on a couple little hikes, explore Bellingham (a coastal college town), and Leavenworth (a Bavarian themed town).

Our hikes were dependent on the weather - and due to tons of rain, we stuck with short hikes. 

No backpacking adventures for us!  I may get dirty with the boyfriend, but I refuse to camp/backpack in the rain.  Sounds like a muddy nightmare to me!

You'll see the colors were
AH-MAZING
TO DIE FOR
BEAUTIFUL

I adore Fall more than any season, so I was in HOG-HEAVEN the entire time.

We car camped the first night. Car Sweet Car

Boyfriend's Instagram creation.  Cold & Foggy Summit

Another one of boyfriend's Instagram creations

It was a lovely little trip, and while the rain put a damper (no pun intended) on some of the things we wanted to do, we didn't let it hold us back!

Watch out boyfriend, I've got a taser

When boyfriend first joined law enforcement, he was required to be pepper sprayed and tased.  Neither of which he ever, ever, wanted to do again.

Sure enough, his work needed a victim volunteer to help with a community educational program to inform the public about the different tasks and challenges law enforcement faces.  The volunteer they needed was for a tasing demonstration.  That super-smart boyfriend of mine was enticed by overtime hours and signed up.

So I joined him.

... to watch him get tased of course.

His Sargeant jokingly asked if I'd want to tase him instead.

You bet your law-enforcement-ass I do!

Up until he handed me the taser, I was expecting him to say,

"HAH Just kidding you naive little girl.  We would never let you taser your boyfriend."

But that never went down.

Instead, he handed me the taser, showed me the laser and instructed me to blast my boyfriend with two-prongs of electrical goodness.

So I nailed him right in the spine. 

With an audience. 

And a Sargeant as my instructor.

I mean, I could do this Deputy Sheriff thing. 

I'm a natural.

P.S.  Does anyone else think taser should be spelled with a "Z" instead of an "S" ??  Google told me it was "S", so I believed it.

Friday Letters #3

I've been a slacker blogger lately.  I have so many posts I've written, but I'm a lazy lady and can't find the cord to my camera for the pictures.

So the posts go unposted.

Stupid camera cord.  When will they start making cameras that can wirelessly sync with our computers?!

Dear Sushi From Last Night - Please stop making my stomach hurt.  And PLEASE no food poisoning!

Dear Boyfriend - I can't wait for our little trippy this weekend + Monday + Tuesday.  It's not often we get to have an entire day together, so I'm excited to have the entire WEEKEND!

Dear 5am-2pm Shift - Today, we're done.

Dear Foggy Mornings - I love you.  The foggy mornings make me love living in the Pacific Northwest

Dear Polly - I'm so proud you learned to use your doggy door in less than 24 hours!  I pup is smarter than your pup.

Hopefully today goes by quickly so I can run home and PACK!  Boyfriend and I are road trippin' through Washington to go to Leavenworth and Bellingham and go HIKING!  We haven't had many days off together since I work M-F and he works Th-M, so we are STOKED.

Shenanigans of a Deputy Sheriff's GF

All I have to say is that I have a couple of posts coming up that I am SO EXCITED ABOUT.

One is about my recent ride-along I did with the boyfriend.

The other is.... priceless. 

I got to use a weapon, and that's all I'm saying. 

As soon as I get the video from the boyfriend's iPad

it's going viral

HAPPY MONDAY!

Friday Letters #2

It's Friday and I couldn't be happier!  This girl is ready to throw on some comfy clothes, a good TV show, and eat everything I can get my hands on.  Last night I was so tired that I pretty much skipped eating dinner because it was too much work. 

My Priorities clearly need adjusting.

Dear Stomach - please stop growling/gurgling/whining.  My co-workers can hear you and it's really embarrassing.

Dear 3:00am Alarm Clock - only one more week!  Then we're done.

Dear New Ice Maker - I love you.

Dear Grimm - I'm happy there was finally another episode!!  Now if someone could just tell me where in this city to find Grimm, I'll be happy.  I know he's here.  Filming.  And I'm dying to see him.

Dear Real World, Cast Of Portland - I also kind of want to see you too.  #KeepPortlandWeird

Dear Boxes - Please unpack yourself.  I don't have the motivation this week to put everything away.  KTHANKS.

House and 3am Alarm Clock

I've been a little MIA.  But I have a good reason!

Boyfriend and I finally moved into our new home!  We received our keys and within 24 hours, we were completely moved into the house.

...now unpacking is a different story.

In addition to our new move, I've been working the morning shift at work.  Working 5am-2pm makes for a mega-super-tired-Ashley.

But can we talk about how much Polly loves her new yard??!