The Original Ashley

So my weekend was eventful! Unintentionally so as well. But as busy as it was, it was a very good three days. Certainly worthy of chronicling in the blog! Friday I was invited to go see a Toronto Rock Lacrosse game with my dad and youngest brother. It was originally a christmas present from both my brothers to my dad, but unfortunately Matt had to work and I got the extra ticket. Having never been to a lacrosse game before, and only vague memories of high school gym class, I didn't really know what to expect. I certainly didn't expect the players to start hitting each other with their sticks! But I ended up having an amazing time! The game was energetic and fast like hokey, and it took a while but between the three of us we managed to get the basic rules of the game. The game went into overtime and we won 15 to 14, with my throat pretty raw from all the hollering I was doing. Christian was most embarrassed. Saturday night I invited Dan, a guy I've been dating since christma...

A facebook friend posted a link to this article, and the more scientists mess with my perceptions of space, the more I just want to go back to watching the magic school bus where they went on a trip to all NINE planets... God I miss pluto... Why your zodiac sign might have changed If you're incredibly invested in calling yourself such-a-Leo or attributing your stubbornness to being a Taurus, you may want to avert your eyes. Folks from the Minnesota Planetarium Society are reminding you that the astrological signs we follow today are out of whack with the originals. The ancient Babylonians based zodiac signs on the constellation the sun was "in" on the day a person was born, but during the ensuing millenniums, the moon's gravitational pull has made the Earth "wobble" around its axis, creating about a one-month bump in the stars' alignment, according to a piece in the Minneapolis-St-Paul Star Tribune . That, and we've dropped a sign, "Ophiuhus,...

I've worked retail and similar customer service jobs since I was sixteen, that's ten years of dealing with some of the most aggrivating, high and mighty, rude people imaginable. But because of my experience, I find the newspaper comic Retail to be genius. Not to mention dead on. Just the other day I had been complaining with Marni (who also works in the customer service position) about head office and their never ending quest to please every customer even if it means going against store policy. For a perfect example (one I've personally seen many times) see the comic below.

We got a deep fryer for Christmas, as a ‘to the whole family’ kind of gift. My first thought of this gift was not ideas of French fries or fish. It was deep fried Bananas. Quite possibly the BEST dessert in the world, not to mention the only cooked fruit I actually like. I asked if I could make dinner for tonight, and invited Marni and Granddad over. Marni was my Sous Chief, and after researching several recipies online, I picked a slow cooker Garlic Chicken dish. A garlic chicken dish that calls for forty cloves. With the help of my sous chief (and I mean a lot of help) the dinner turned out amazingly! And then, the best part, the Bananas. I used a recipe from a new dessert book mom got at Christmas to make the batter, chopped the bananas into smaller pieces, coated them in the batter than dropped them into the new deep frier. They ended up looking like deformed alien eggs than the nice round toasted balls in the recipe book, but served on vanilla ice cream with a touch of honey… Oh ...

As per family tradition, on the first night of the new year I always look forward to our annual dinner at the David Duncan House. Amazing food, familiar surroundings and company who (after I started driving) began to be a little more liberal with the liquor. And as usual, the subject of new years resolutions came up. Now I was all prepared to list off the usual (lose weight, read more, try new things) but this time I found myself promising to write more on my blog without even thinking about it. Maybe it’s the fact that my Dad now has this perfect record of the past two years published into books, honestly I still love going back and reading his posts. But I’m going to make an honest effort to try and post here more often. I think I even said once a week but we’ll see how long that lasts… Either way, I know this year I’ll have lots to write about! Happy New Year!!!