Texas Potatoes
Posted by Ashleigh on 16 December 2007 at 05:47 PM in RecipesI mentioned that I would post this recipe mentioned in my last entry, so here it is. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes rich, cheesy foods.
Ingredients:
Directions:
PS. You don’t have to use those exact brands. I just wrote them out because they are what I usually use and I wanted to link to some nutritional facts for them.
Singing The Snowstorm Blues…
Posted by Ashleigh on at 12:20 PM in Family, Personal, RantingEvery year, my mom and I always have our annual Christmas party on this Sunday in December with a small group of family and/or friends. It’s just an intimate gathering of great people with great food and a chance to open a couple of your very first Christmas presents that year. I always enjoy myself and love spending the day cooking our famous dish of Texas Potatoes (will post recipe later!). 
But of course, things can’t always go so smoothly. Like this year.
I woke up this morning to white. Literally white snow everywhere. My tiny town is in the midst of a gigantic snowstorm. None of our guests want to travel in it and who can blame them? I’m staying inside for the day myself. But it just really throws a damper on the whole day. And my mom and I don’t even have the ingredients for the potatoes as we were going to go get them all this morning. So I can’t even cheer myself up by making a hot and gooey batch of the best potatoes on the planet.
Ever had a Christmas holiday plan go awry due to weather? It’s kind of ironic that Christmas is in the winter. The days when you should be spending time with family and friends but sometimes can’t due to the overwhelming mounds of snow that Mother Nature feels the need to pour down on us.
Wait A Minute… Who’s Ashleigh???
Posted by Ashleigh on 14 December 2007 at 04:25 PM in Coding, Design, PersonalThat would be me. You may remember me as Braeden. While today I’m here to tell you that Braeden was an online alias, created to keep my mom from acting paranoid when I used the internet. Of course, she asked me to use a fake name back when I was 14 (almost nine years ago!) but I had been continuing to use it. The reason: I was familiar with that name online. People already knew me as Braeden and I had been creating websites under the alias, so it just seemed best to keep with it. Plus I liked how it sounds.
But alas, here I am, announcing to my online world that my real name is Ashleigh. Why? I just felt it was finally time to shed the alias. At times, I’ve even confused myself with who was who. Especially since a friend of mine offline also used an alias online and we sometimes even gave each other Christmas gifts using our online names. Weird, I know.
You are probably wondering about the new domain as well? I just decided that when I dropped the alias, I would need a fresh start. I have been a huge Jack’s Mannequin for a really long time and one of my favorite songs by them includes the words remove my splinters. It’s cute and I like it. I know you were probably expecting some long explanation about why I chose this name and how it makes me feel and blah blah blah. I’m afraid there isn’t one. I just like the name. End of story.
I am extremely tired from spending the last three days working on this site. I have been learning about the benefits of a Strict document type and trying to train myself to code in XHTML. I gotta say, it hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be. I definitely like the fact that Strict has more rules to follow. It is so much easier to stay organized with. But it definitely takes time to get used to. And when you change over from Transitional, you really see that the coding you used before to style a layout won’t work anymore. So, the last couple of days I’ve been literally retraining myself on everything I thought I knew about web design. And I plan to keep learning. A List Apart is my new best friend. 
No Time For Dancing…
Posted by Ashleigh on 01 October 2006 at 10:43 PM in Fansites, Personal, WorkThings have been so beyond hectic lately. All of my websites are suffering. I’m having to close a few or step down as coweb. It sucks, but I just don’t have the time anymore. School started back for me and I also started to look for a job hardcore. So it has been rather crazy. But I finally succeeded in finding a job. I got hired at my local grocery store, in the deli/prepared food department. So yay for that! I actually just got hired on Friday. Tomorrow is my first day of work and I am a little nervous. It has been so long since I had a real job, other than teaching the Babysitting Course, which is also starting again next week. Gah! But I should be fine.
I am going through my websites and really looking at each one. Really deciding if I want to continue with it. I have very limited time now, so cutting back is the only option. FerreraFan.com is staying. I couldn’t close it if I tried. It is my baby. My hockey/sports site is still being decided upon. I really don’t want to toss it, seeing as how it has still yet to open, but it is a huge undertaking and the fact that I’m going to be doing a lot of evening shifts cancels out me watching a lot of the games I normally do. We will see about that site. I already junked my Channing Tatum fansite (it hadn’t opened yet). I came to the realization that there are already enough great resources for it and my half-assed attempt wouldn’t be necessary. I just emailed Jenny from Sophia Bush Central to step down as coweb. 
And I think I’m going to close my designs site. At least for now. I don’t have the time to work on my own websites that much, let alone other people’s websites. Plus I’m gonna be making money with my new job, so the little amount I did make with designs isn’t too important now.
All this tossing is just so draining. Seeing that work flushed down the toilet really sucks. But I guess in the end, it will be worth it because then I can dedicate my little free time to stuff that is really important.
I miss all my online friends. I rarely get on messengers anymore as I find them very distracting when I am trying to accomplish something on my fansites. It’s a vicious cycle.
Anyways, I’m off to bed. Up early for my first shift! Wish me luck…
Woah!
Posted by Ashleigh on 27 August 2006 at 10:46 PM in Family, PersonalWhat a week. I feel so drained from all the crap. 
I haven’t had any time to blog. I have been so busy online and offline. Okay, so here’s a breakdown.
August 20
4:10am: Wake up to hear my younger sister screaming and crying downstairs. Both my mom and I jump out of our beds and race downstairs. We find out that her boyfriend (whom she recently moved in with) has went on another coke bender and has freaked out. Kicking in the mirrors on her car, throwing her down the stairs. Just being an all around asshole. But who isn’t while on cocaine?
7:00am: Wake up from the shitty sleep I have had since my sister returned home to see my mom on the phone with my aunt. She is asking them to come in and help us move my sister home. I get dressed and get ready for the move.
7:30am to 9:30am: Go to her apartment and start packing her stuff. Her boyfriend is pleading with her to stay. He’s all cracked out. One of his friends is there, who actually tried to prevent us from coming in by blocking the door with his body, but was no match for my mom who pushed the door open. Haha. This guy just more or less sat around while we moved my sister out.
10:30am: Back at home with all of my sisters stuff. Trying to find places for it. My aunt is calling around for apartments listed in the papers. My sister doesn’t want to move back home now that she has had a taste of being on her own. We hear about an apartment that is available. My aunt knows the owner and may be able to get her the place.
The rest of the day is spent lazing around because we are all exhausted from not sleeping and then moving. My sister has A LOT of stuff. Haha.
Monday through Friday
It was just extremely hectic. My sister’s boyfriend has been calling non-stop pretty much. I’ve been trying to catch up on all my websites and design orders as I will be starting back to school soon and won’t have as much free time. Plus I’ve been calling the bakery all week to find out if the permanent part-time position is still available and when they will be interviewing. I finally find out on Thursday that it is already filled. Nice… Didn’t even get called for an interview. Time to start back at square one.
My sister also goes to see the apartment my aunt mentioned. She plans to move in with a family friend. He’s a male and a total redneck. Haha. But he will keep things mellow and be there for protection in case her boyfriend tries anything. So they move in this Friday coming. Which I am sure will be hectic again. But I’ll be happy because I can finally have my room and computer room back. Haha. Her stuff is everywhere and it has been so frustrating.
August 26
My mom, sister and I woke up for 7am. We have to head to another city for our nephew’s birthday party. My sister grew up knowing this girl. They were best friend’s all through school. Anyways, she is like a sister to us. So when she got pregnant, we automatically started calling her new son our nephew. 
But anyways, it was his second birthday. So we drove to where he lives which is about two hours away. Then spent time helping her get ready for the party and playing with him. Then the party where about 40 of her relatives showed up with all their children. So by the end of the party I was just so drained. We then had to drive back home, which of course took another two hours.
My sister and I then had the bright idea to do some drinking. We got wine and coolers. Wine makes me very sleepy though, so on top of already being exhausted, the wine did not help. Haha. Although it was very good. We polished off a huge bottle of Strawberry Zinfandel. 
And some Strawberry Swirl coolers. It was a strawberry kinda night.
So this week has just been so hectic. And next weekend doesn’t look all too bright, what with helping my sister move to her new place. So I’m hoping this week is kinda mellow. Haha. Although I doubt it.
