DEBUT

I have been contemplating a way to make my busy schedule mesh with my desire for blogging. So, I've come up with an organized system that should limit the amount of time needed to make a blog post happen: standardized weekly installments


For example, today, or Monday, will be the first chapter in a weekly (hopefully) interval of Memory Mondays. I'll try to pick interesting, crazy memories from my life to keep all you blog readers entertained. But as usual, I'm selfishly doing this for me. I need to get these memories recorded anyway--before I get old and senile, that is. And doing it here will keep me motivated and accountable.


ANYWAY. Hopefully, it will make sense over the coming weeks. So without further ado, below, is the debut of Memory Monday...triggered by my recent random browsing of some OLD cell phone pictures...
.
.
.
.
.

Some old pictures brought me back to some good times with an old friend.

Has it ever been obvious that you were supposed to have known someone? Jess and I were thrown together so much when I moved to Rexburg that it was obviously so: same ward, FHE sisters, serving in the same Relief Society Presidency, same early morning janitorial job, and eventually roommates for a year.

.

She had a huge impact on my single college years. HUGE. But this may have something to do with the type of person she is, because I suspect she has had a huge impact on A LOT of people.

That's Jessica among some of my other good-hearted roommates.




Mostly, I was remembering the spring break that Jessica took pity on my lack of plans for the week, and invited me to go home with her. Her family opened their arms to their daughter's shy, awkward roommate.

It felt like treading on sacred ground to be welcomed into the life Jess was so passionate about: meeting her parents and siblings, exploring her beloved home nestled in the rocky hills of Wyoming, walking through the family business and sensing the saturation of hard work, sacrifice, and pride attached to it, and watching her lovingly play the grand piano in the living room. Especially when witnessing especially personal events, like visiting the grave sites of her two little brothers, witnessing the desperate love her father has for his family, and visiting with a beloved grandmother literally on her deathbed.

What a trip it was! All the love, laughter, and tears made a significant impression on me.

At one point in the visit, her little brother wanted to embark on a hike near their home. I will never until my dieing day forget that hike.

I had been on hikes with Jessica before. Hikes that included some form of hyperventilation.

.

.

I'm the take-my-time-and-admire-every-rock-view-and-creature-along-the-way type of gal. She is more of the I-will-CONQUER-this-mountain-immediately-or-die-trying! kinda gal.


I reckon that describes Jessica's take on life in a nuthsell.

.

.

.

.

But a hike with her little brother? It wouldn't be so bad, right?

*snort*

Jess proceeded to conquer the landscape in earnest, as I expected. But the little guy who was supposed to keep me company during his sister's endeavor, conquered the terrain with a furor unmatched even by Jessica. And then there was the dog. The dog who did not stop RUNNING the entire trek.

The comical image our line made as we marched across those hills is all that kept me going 'til the end: Galloping dog, followed by rugged, energetic boy, followed by fiercely determined young woman, followed by panting, desperately-trying-to-appear zealous roommate.

Otherwise, I may not have made it. But I did. And we were able to return to Rexburg as friends. =)



.

{Jess and Amy J--honorary roommate extraordinaire--whose guts I love}

Back in our little brick house in small-town Idaho, Jess eventually found her George...er John...and moved ironically, to my home ward in Gilbert, Arizona. At about the same time, I found my George...er...Andrew...and moved back up to Rexburg. But despite our moving on, this friend has permanently changed me for the better.
.

So anyway, I was just rememberin'...

Jess and her crazy, mature, playful, grown-up, alarmingly intense, youthful, focused, story-tellin', sincere, sweetheart of a self.

.

.

.

CELL PHONE SERIES

Here I am...

Driving home from work...

Looking very stressed and tired.

A stop on Main Street.

My name is Rachel Ashmore, and I am addicted to shaved ice. I must have my daily 75 cent fix.

Turning onto our street...

Looks like that tree turned yellow in the nine hours I was gone. Which means every leaf on that tree will drop in our yard in the next 24 hours.

Walking through the front door...

Messy house, laundry to put away, homework to be done, dinner to prepare, meeting to be to in an hour.

Feeling an inexpressible gratitude for my single working mother. I mean, I have my Andrew. And no kids to care for...and I am utterly EXHAUSTED. How did you DO it??

OUR CARS

I seem to remember mentioning that we name our cars. My family has since I was little, and I suspect others do the same. Here is a family photo album of the cars that have come and gone in my life.

My first car was an old 2-door Toyota Tercel. She was good to me. She was loyal, hard working, and all mine. She was my baby. I can't count the number of times I had to encourage her up a steep hill with cries of, "C'mon, Baby! You can do it, girl!" She and I went on many drives together, when I needed to escape...working that stick shift like a race car driver. I loved her like an old friend.

Sadly, this is the only picture I have of the ol' girl...which is really only a picture of me...six years ago...looking very orange.


Despite her old age, Baby let me put an insane amount of miles on her until one day, she just kind of melted from the inside out. I had to actually pay someone to take her and give her a proper burial.

Within a month, I met Andrew. He was working full-time, and living the high single life. As such, he could afford his brand-new Dodge Ram. Her name was Roxy.

.

Roxy holds a special place in my heart, because she took us on our first date, was around for the long good night kisses of engaged life, traveled with us on our honeymoon, and to our new home in Rexburg. However, Roxy was too expensive for newly-wed college students to keep long-term. And we needed two vehicles.

So we traded with Andrew's sister for a more affordable Toyota Camry, and then bought a beater Dodge Dakota pick-up for Andrew. The Dakota was quickly dubbed: Dusty. It just seem to fit. The Camry, luxurious beyond anything I had ever driven, was named after what she appeared to be in my eyes: Porsche. Power windows and a working air conditioner?? I had never owned such a vehicle in my life!

About a year later, again seeking smaller payments, we traded Porsche in and got a Dodge Status. She has been my mode of transportation for a couple of years now, and we are getting along swimmingly. But I still haven't gotten over the power windows and air conditioning bit. It still blows my mind. I call this one Lexus.

.

.

What if I actually end up with a real Lexus one day, you ask? I don't know, I'd probably name her Bessie or something. Or Butch.

But speaking of Lexus, I got in the car this week after work, and happened to notice that she was at exactly 50,000 miles. I thought it was worth documenting...even if only with my cell phone camera.

About the same time that we got Lexus, Andrew traded Dusty in for a more reliable, and actually, a more affordable truck. Andrew picked the name: Candy. I realize that this isn't the toughest of names for a big, manly truck, but Andrew is very adamant on the fact that all vehicles are female. So "Candy," she is.

.

.

On a side note, we will own Candy free and clear after one more payment. What a beautiful feeling...

This accomplishment was made possible in part, by the sale of Mia the Miata! (Click HERE for more of her story.)

Anyway. What is your car's name and personality?



DROPPING OUT

Between work, school, church assignments, housework, errands, and marriage...life has been kind of INSANE lately. How am I supposed to find time for everything that I need to get accomplished in a day? I recently came across this quote that helped put things into perspective.


Ezra Taft Benson said:
.
"When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue and the order of our priorities..."


As life has gotten busier with the school year, I was curious to see what would be the thing to naturally "drop out". Sadly enough, it seems to have been...blogging. I just don't have the time that I'd like to put into it at present. But I enjoy blogging too much to give it up yet! My goal is to get at least one post out there a week. We'll see how it goes. Just don't give up on me, okay?


Completely Frazzled,

Rachel

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS

.
.
.
It was recess time for the preschool class I taught during the summer. As usual, the kids exploded through the door to the playground with unrestrained joy.
.
But soon, things calmed down. The boys clamored on to a miniature plastic jungle gym, lost in their world of mechanical, pyrotechnic sound effects. The girls, crawled under the slide whispering their secrets in privacy. Minutes later, however, the girls are bored and crawled out to look around. After a moment, one of them turned to the other and said:

Pretend that we are princesses and that we are best friends, okay?

The other agreed before declaring that they must now find themselves a prince.

Both of their eyes fell on the boys across the yard, who meanwhile, had become engrossed in an epic battle with an unseen enemy (sound effects included). The girls grasped hands, smoothed their hair, and walked together across the play yard. Looking up at their four-year-old classmate, one asked:

Prince? Which one of us do you want to marry?






The boys continued their mission without so much as a glance at the hopeful faces below.

Un-phased, the little girl with the golden curls, asked again:


Prince? Which on of us do you want to marry?


As if suddenly aware of the females, the little prince pondered them for an instant before pulling out his imaginary machine gun and showering them with bullets. The two-year-old boy, upon noticing their new enemies, joined his brother comrade in shouting:


BANG! BANG! BANG!


The girls faces fell.


I guess the prince doesn't want to marry either of us, one said.


Hmmph. Come on...let's go! stormed the other.

The girls stomped back to their play castle, and climbed to the top of the tallest tower. And then, as the boys celebrated their victory, the girls entertained themselves instead, by ad-libbing a ten-minute-long pop song that went something like:

"We didn't want that prince, anyy-waaay!"




Just another summer day with the toddler class. Entertaining as always.

MIGHT AS WELL BE LIVING ON THE SUN

.
.
.
As promised, here is the story of our very impromptu adventure to the first BYU game of the season.
.
.
.
.
We picked up our free tickets at the gate, and made our way to the sunniest seats in the stadium.
.
I'm sorry. Did I say sunniest seats? I meant the sweatiest, stickiest most miserably blinding-est, seats from HELL.
.
.
I don't know if I'm allowed to use that word in relation to anything BYU, but no other word comes to mind at the moment.
.
It was over 100 degrees, we were facing directly into the sun...and I guess we Idahoans have forgotten what 100 degrees feels like.
.
(Why does anyone live in Arizona, again? I forget.)
.
.
.
.
I don't know who this guy was sitting next to me, but I very nearly murdered him for his makeshift sunshade.
.
I'm telling you...the heat was brutal.
.
.
.

I sat for the first half, glaring at the sickeningly happy people in the shade on the other side of the stadium.

Punks.

.

.But then, Andrew bought me this highly overpriced, highly delicious frozen lemonade from HEAVEN itself--and my body began to return to a somewhat normal temperature.

.

.

From then on, I was finally able to relax and enjoy the game.

.

.

GO BYU FOOTBALL!!!
.

.

The only thing to annoy now were the Huskies' fans. There weren't very many of them, but they sure made their presence known to the world.

At least the event staff made these guys put their shirts back on in the first quarter.

.
.

.

They would be sure to high-five each other after every single play that was good for them and bad for us. It was so deliberate and so consistent that it became quite comical. And if they were especially cheery after a play, they would go so far as to taunt the BYU crowd around them.

I found myself rooting for BYU more than ever...just so those guys would sit down and be quiet.

.
.

.

But we did win. And everything was right again.

.
. .

Totally worth the trip. Once the sun went down, that is. Happy way to kick off the college football season!

.

.

.