Ashley isms...

Happy Friday December 18th, 2009

Only 13 days until the Year 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today In History
December 18, 1865 Slavery was abolished throughout the United States with the ratification of the 13th amendment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fact of the Day
Designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel introduced her first perfume in 1921. She gave it the name “Chanel No. 5.” According to Chanel, she jumped straight to number five because it was her lucky number. To add luck to the fragrance, she introduced it on the fifth day of May, the fifth month. Chanel No. 5 became the world’s best selling perfume.

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Have a safe weekend! Watch out for all the crazy last minute shoppers, like Toni Blizard. :-)

Did You Know?

Did you know that “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was conceived by author Robert May in 1939? Two other names he considered before deciding on Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo.

~from John Tesh http://tesh.com/

Happy 18th Birthday COREY!!!

Today I officially feel over-the-hill. It is my oldest newphew’s 18th birthday. He is now legal and I am old. Here’s a little look back at my little hommie, Corey.

Looking stunning with my little man…

His first set of wheels…

Not really sure. I think I was blowing in his face through the snorkel and finding it funny

Aunt Ashley probably explaining how to ‘Save the Princess’ in Super Mario 1… He is such an intent listener…

Another set of wheels…

Here to save the day…

Pimpin’

My little helper…

Summers in Kentucky

 Cutest little kid there ever was…

Mr. Athlete

 My buddy

My #1 fan killing time with me before a football game

At my deb party my senior year of high school

Corey always helped me keep in shape during the “off season” haha

Corey and his cousins… (those are the twins that just turned 13 and their little sister)

My little Pimp at another Deb party…

And here he is with my mom and me on Thanksgiving ‘09

Last weekend with his dad (my bro)

Me and all of my neices and nephews last weekend celebrating Christmas early

Opening Presents Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Here’s some holiday news designed to keep you out of the Emergency Room - opening presents can be hazardous to your health! According to the Pennsylvania Medical Society, almost 20% of us have been injured while opening gifts during the holidays. The problem isn’t gift wrap or ribbons. It’s the plastic and blister packs that manufacturers use to protect merchandise. Blister packs are those that have clear plastic molds around the shape of the product inside - so you can see what you’re buying. These molds are usually attached to a cardboard backing. Toothbrushes, for example, come in blister packs. Although getting hurt opening a present may sound silly, packaging causes more ER visits than skateboards or swimming pools, according to Consumer Reports. So, here are a few tips to help you get to your gifts, without getting hurt:

• Use scissors instead of a knife, and make sure you cut away from your body.
• Give yourself plenty of elbow room. Many injuries that require medical attention happen when a sharp object slips and cuts an innocent bystander.
• Don’t clamp packages under your arm or between your legs to keep them steady while you cut. This is a recipe for stabbing yourself.
  
  

By the way, that feeling of frustration you get when you can’t get through the packaging has an official name. The American Dialect Society calls it “wrap rage” - and anyone who’s ever tried to get an action figure or pair of headphones open, understands why.

~Brought to you by our buddy JOHN TESH!! http://www.tesh.com/

Happy Friday, December 11th, 2009

Only 20 days until the Year 2010… Can you believe it?! Hope your Christmas shopping is almost done!! :-)

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Word of the Day
wraith
Pronunciation: /rayth/
n : the supposed image or apparition of a person that appears just before or after that person’s death; ghost
“This house is occupied by me, my brothers, and a few miscellaneous wraiths.”

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RANDOM FACTS:
New York City, named by Americans as the most dangerous, least attractive, and rudest city in a recent poll, is also, strangely enough, Americans’ top choice as the city where they would most like to live or visit on vacation.

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I know more people with Birthday’s in the first few days of December than in any other month I think…

Happy Birthday to EVERYONE celebrating a birthday this week (and last!)

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So… sorry for the hiatus I’ve been on… been a tad bit busy, as the season goes. THEN, all 3 of my old college roomies (aka, the 321) flew in for ANOTHER reunion before 2009 comes to a close. (We had a record number of get-togethers this year, considering we’re from all over the country. I digress…

Molly, a.k.a, Mrs. Dr. Pepper, scored us some tickets to the ACC Championship game and pre-parties this year (as she did last year) even though we could care less who was playing. We had our fingers crossed that Florida State might actually make it this year (as we thought last year) but when they didn’t, we decided to go for the heck of it. Besides, a weekend in Tampa, sponsored by the fine folks at our favorite soft drink…SUUURE! We decided AGAINST decking ourselves out in FSU gear and giving everyone around us crazy looks when they told us, “Uh, you know your team isn’t here, right?” …as we did last year. “Wait a minute… where’s Florida State?” Another shot from last year… Just letting the BC and VT fans know that FSU was in the house… for no good reason.

Pictures of the shenanigans below…

Did You Know?

Did you know that 56% of Americans sing holiday carols to their pets?

~From http://tesh.com/

ACC Championship Weekend

Finally doing the Dr. Pepper blind taste test after Bug ordered cans from Dublin, Texas where they make Dr. P with imperial sugar (pure sugar cane)… the way it was originally made, vs. with corn syrup, the way it is made now.

Dalester set it all up… and we were getting ready…

Dead serious…

Pics on the dock before we left…

Now festive with Lindy…

Finally in the car heading to the west coast for the Dr. Pepper/ ACC Championship weekend

A view of the backseat…

At the Dr. Pepper Welcome reception.

Party Pass? CHECK!!

Refreshments…. CHECK!!

Quads: Double, Doubles… CHECK!

Picture happy

A quick stop to squeeze Santa…

The next day at the Aquairum…

 Neon Jellyfish

A behind-the-scenes meet and greet with some PENGUINS!!! Seriously… this guy LOVED my shiney sandals and exposed toes…

Here’s my cousin and here’s the Penguin creepin’ up on her

Taking a break…

We found a photobooth… So like moths to a flame…

Although we were warned by NUMEROUS people with detailed stories as to why drinking Four Locos was a bad idea… My cousin decided it was a good idea since it was going to be such a long day.

Finally at the pre-game festivities at the Dr. Pepper tailgate! WOO!!

Jim n Jim, keepin warm in the tent while half of the population was in another area, freezing, watching the FL/Alabama game.

The official DP photographer spots us again…

Thank you Dr. Pepper and Molly for making it all happen! :-)

We bought Snuggies before the game… they came with free socks with grips on the bottom. Since it was cold, we wore the socks on our hands… the socks got stuck to our drinks… hilarious.

After ripping off the snuggie socks… A hairy cup

Since we didn’t really care for either team, we took some of the schwag and used it as costumes

The last stop before putting Jimmy on a plane, per her request, to get a Publix sub to take back to Reno… where there isn’t a Publix for thousands of miles… :-(

XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL

(I’ve already done this once… DO IT!)

 
If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/    you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.
 
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!    It is FREE and it only takes a second.
 
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?    Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.
 
This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you.    Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do.  We can never say enough thank you’s.
 

Protect Yourself From Holiday Scammers

Retail stores make most of their money between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Well, that’s true for scammers, too! According to ABC News, cybercriminals steal about $6 billion a year from Internet users, and they tend to pull out all the stops during the holidays. So, here are a few tips to help you avoid becoming a victim, courtesy of David Marcus, director of security for the computer protection company, McAfee Labs:

• Beware of requests for charitable donations. You may get emails - or see links on websites - that appear to be from legitimate charitable organizations. However, they’re actually scams designed to trick you into revealing credit card information. If you want to make an online donation, use a search engine to find the real charity website. They’ll end in .org – not .com. Look for a tiny padlock in the corner of the address box that indicates it’s a secure website.
• Also, beware of emails from delivery services – like FedEx or UPS - asking for credit card information, or telling you to open an online invoice. Know this: A valid delivery service will never ask for a credit card. The package wouldn’t be in the system if it hadn’t already been paid for. Clicking on a fake invoice will often download a computer virus that steals passwords and financial information.
• Never do online shopping or banking on an open Wi-Fi Network, or a public computer at a library or Internet café. It’s easy for hackers to steal passwords and credit card numbers as you type them in.
• Also, if you use Wi-Fi at an airport or hotel, make sure you connect to the right one. Scammers often set up look-alike Internet networks. So, look for a sign on the wall that spells out the name of the appropriate network. Or ask someone if you’re not sure.
• Finally: Beware of websites offering discounted luxury items from stores like Cartier, Gucci and Tiffany. Most of them simply download viruses and steal financial information. If you want to buy a high-end item, type the company’s address directly into your Web browser. For real holiday deals, stick to respectable, well-known sites, like Amazon or Overstock.com.

Brought to you by our buddy JOHN TESH!!
http://tesh.com/