Painting With a Twist

Last Thursday I got crafty again with Painting with a Twist.  Essentially you bring your own wine and they walk you through a painting.  I naturally signed up for the Merlot Medley painting a month and a half in advance to ensure I secured my spot.  My kitchen is decorated in red/maroon with wine bottles all over.  I needed this painting.  And after the super stressful week I had, a night of dinner, wine, and painting with two of my greatest friends was just what the doctor ordered!

Carrie and me.

Lauren and me.

The three of us.  Don't mind my peek-a-boo stance...

The only other time I've been to Painting with a Twist was for a friend's birthday so we had our own private room, got to pick our painting (essentially the night was catered to us), etc, etc...so I was really excited to experience this class in a normal group setting.  And it did not disappoint - so fun!

Last time I really wish I would have taken more pictures along the way so I could document the process.  I made a point to do so this time around:

1. Brand spankin' new canvas. And wine.

2. Draw on the wine glasses and paint red.  And then darker red.

3. Add black and mix different shades of red/maroon.

4. Mix different pinks and corals.  Then outline your wine glass.

5. Swirls.

6. Accents and finishing touches.

Personally I like to think it looks better in person because you lose some of the little accents with the camera.  But whatevs.

Such a fun night with my best friends!

It's funny to me that we all three started with the same blank canvas, received the same instructions, and had the same paint and brushes, yet came out with paintings that actually look pretty different...

I'm interested to see how different our next paintings will be!  Because, yes, I think we're all addicted now :)

Float On

The same weekend I went skydiving (read here or, you know, scroll down), I also went and floated the river (one of my favorite things in the world).

We started the afternoon with a little Beer Cart Friday at work...

...and soon scooted out of the office and were southbound 35.  We, of course, stopped at the Czech Stop to get some awesome kolaches and what would soon be deemed a dozen cheesy chubbies (their real name - I'm not funny enough to make that up).

Upon arriving in Austin (and thanks to my consultant friends' top Hilton status) we were soon upgraded to a suite with an additional connected room.  Sure, don't mind if I do :)

Once the rest of our group made it to Austin, we spent the evening snacking, drinking, and enjoying each other's company until it was time to head to 6th Street!

The Cheesy Chubby Car.

Get it together.

As luck would have it, we walked into the first (well, only...) bar of the evening to find a whole group of my Aggie friends!  Always nice to find familiar faces on vacation.

So lucky to have such awesome work friends:

Below is mine and Michael's "grandma and grandpa" picture of the trip.  Although everyone should be impressed (and then eat their words!) that we both stayed up past midnight AND had more than just one drink (after I so determinedly claimed I would stop at one).  AND with minimal complaining about being tired.  Go us.

I proceeded to get absolutely 0 pictures of the group on the river and 0 pictures of the epic BBQ fat-fest we arranged at Rudy's afterwards so I guess you'll just have to imagine the incredible time we had floating down the river on a beautiful Saturday afternoon through the hill country.  It's a rough life I tell ya.

Until my next river trip in August...float on.

The Time I Jumped Out of a Plane at 13,500ft

That's right, folks.  Last weekend I went skydiving. SKYDIVING!  I jumped out of a plane at 13,500 feet in the air.  And it was incredible.

It's been on my bucket list for quite a while but I've honestly been a little nervous to check that one off.  It wasn't until a group of people from my office got together (which dropped the price), that I felt inclined to finally take the leap (pun intended).

I roped Evan into doing it with me as well so last Sunday at 7:00am we suited up and headed out to SkyDive Dallas.

I was just as nervous thinking about jumping out of a plane as I was thinking about running 13.1 miles a few months ago (read: REALLY nervous).  My stomach was in knots and I was honestly a little scared I was gonna get in the plane and tell them to take me back down.  I knew this was something I wanted to do, though, so was determined to follow through.

And honestly?  Once I was there I was completely fine.  And once I started putting on the jumpsuit, getting fitted for my hat and goggles, and stepping into the harness, I knew there was no way I was backing down.  Pure excitement.

During our two hour wind delay...

With my sweet work friends right before they take off!

...and again without Evan and I ruining the photo.

Because all five in our group wanted a videographer along for the ride, Evan and I got separated into another group at a later time.  It ended up being fine but it would have been so great to ride up with all my work colleagues as well!  I'm at least glad I had someone I knew with me to keep me from chickening out ;)

Sweet hat, I know...

One, two, JUMP!

13,500ft. 120mph. 60 seconds of free fall.  Incredible.

I was in awe of how mind-blowing it all was!

Between 13,500-3,000ft it all looks about the same...like a patchwork quilt.

I was continuously praying that some freak accident didn't happen that unlatched me from the four harness hooks that were holding me in place!

Check out our chipmunk cheeks!

Parachute.

More parachute action.  I got a little scared when the harness readjusted here and I slipped down a couple of inches.

Our videographer dropped a few thousand more feet before he pulled his parachute so that he was on the ground and ready with the camera for my landing.  In the meantime I got to steer the parachute and twirl in the air.  Flying is the most amazing (yet slightly nauseating) feeling I've ever experienced.

Back on the ground!

Pure happiness.

My sweet flying partner.

See ya next time.

And then I immediately called my parents and told them the ridiculous thing I had just done.  My dad told me a long time ago (after my brother went skydiving in college) that if I were ever to do something that stupid, I'd best wait until I was back on the ground to tell him about it.  So I kept my promise.  I figured I'd save my dad a heart attack ;)

All in all, I would do it again ten times over.  To anyone who has any inkling of wanting to jump out of a plane, DO IT.  Conquer your fear and go for it.  It's pricey, yes, but it's a memory I will keep with me for a lifetime.

Pizza Practice

Wow.  What a whirlwind of a past few weeks it has been.  I feel as though I have literally been non-stop.  (Oh wait, this is every week for me).  But regardless, there are so many things I want to document via blog so that when I'm old and gray and look back on this, I'll remember how much I loved my life.

As many of you know, I'm super organized and a little OCD.  The outcome of this is that I tend to compartmentalize my life and have lists for everything.  Ev.er.y.thing!  Like all the places I want to eat and the foods I want to try.  One of the things that topped that list was tackling a home-made pizza.

Sounds easy, right?  For most folks, sure.  But read this and you'll understand why this was quite a feat for me!

Last week my college roommate, Zach, came over and we got to work on our pizza masterpiece.  Zach was awesome enough to make the home-made dough the night before (read: I think he just didn't trust me to help with this part) so we were ready to roll right from the beginning:

I was soon gifted the responsibility of grating the fresh mozzarella (read: Zach thought this was something I couldn't screw up):



He was right - I grated that cheese like a champ.  After my boost of confidence with the cheese, I volunteered to spread all the ingredients on after Zach chopped it all:

Yeah.  I dare you to tell me that doesn't look delish!  While we were letting that bake in the oven, I brought out my major contribution to the meal.  Wine:

Any of my friends can tell you I always have wine on hand.  Always.  The one thing I can't seem to master, however, is how to open it without splitting the cork:

But my former roomie knows me well, and has successfully figured out how to beautifully dislodge a broken cork from the bottle:

After a glass (or two...) of wine, the pizza was soon ready to be served.  Yum:

We just added a few avocado slices to this cheese, roasted tomato, and fresh basil pizza and we were ready to scarf down this wonderful home-made masterpiece:

I can now check "make a home-made pizza" off my food bucket list!

Juicing

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to try juicing.  I'm not usually a "join the bandwagon" type of person, but this was one new trend that piqued my interest for a number of reasons.

1) I love juice.  LOVE it.  Jamba Juice in high school was an every week stop.
2) I get no where near the amount of veggies that I should.  Simply because I do not like them.  However, I think in juice form (where a vast majority of the nutrients are anyway) and combined with fruits flavors, I might be able to up my vegetable intake.
3) After eating a big meal for lunch or dinner, I always get so lethargic.  My solution?  A huge thermos of juice and a smaller, healthier lunch. 

I had my first juicing experience last night.  Although I almost broke my juicer (it started making loud noises, vibrating, and smelling like burnt rubber), I fixed the problem and we were soon back in business:

This concoction was: 5 carrots, 2 cucumbers, 3 apples, 1 lemon, and a chunk of fresh ginger root.

Although I've realized I don't like carrots any more in juice form than I do whole, it was overall not a bad taste for my first try!  I think I'll knock down the carrot deposit to 3 and amp up the amount of apples I use.  But considering this made a huge dinner drink for last night and a glass thermos worth of lunch juice for today, not too shabby!

The only downfall is that you have to clean out the. entire. juicer. every time you use it.  And there are a lot of parts.  Womp womp.  The price of being healthy...



Book Review: 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She's 30

After reading the list of 30 things and learning it had been turned into a book, I immediately ordered my copy off Amazon.  This book, a collection of essays on each of the 30 topics, written by such women as Maya Angelou and Taylor Swift, Katie Couric and Lauren Conrad, is absolutely phenomenal.  Some of the essays were better than others, but most of them made me think "wow, that's totally true" or "hmm, I should be doing that."  A lot of them inspired me to keep reaching for the stars, and some of them were a good affirmation that I'm where I'm supposed to be.  And some of them even made me feel I was ahead of the game!  (Hey, I don't still party till dawn and I don't still have an entire apt of hand me down furniture!).

I would definitely recommend this to any woman; whether you're years away from turning 30 or it's a distant memory from your past.  I spent the entire 4 hour plane right home reading it and couldn't seem to put it down!

Thirty.

One of my friends passed along this awesome list of "30 Things You Should Have and Know Before You're 30."  Which then inspired me to forward that to several more people.  The list is inclusive, inspiring, and a huge up-lifter and wake up call.  Written by a Glamour editor over a decade ago, it is just as relevant today and something I think every woman should have pinned to their mirror as a reminder.  See below.

By 30 you should have...


1) One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you've come. (Check!)

2) A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family. (My white couch...)


3) Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour (Wait a minute...is this suggesting the need for me to go shopping!?)


4) A purse, a suitcase, and an umbrella you're not ashamed to be seen carrying. (Hesitant check.  I would still like an excuse to buy my dream Louie...)


5) A youth you're content to move beyond. (I think I'll hold on to a few of these moments a bit longer...ha!)


6) A past juicy enough that you're looking forward to retelling it in your old age. (Workin' on it!)


7) The realization that you are actually going to have an old age -- and some money set aside to help fund it.  (Can I ever fully "check" this off?  Saving will be a constant on-going process; but I've been doing it since day one on the job!)


8) An email address, a voice mailbox, and a bank account -- all of which nobody has access to but you. (I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T do you know what I mean?)


9) A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded. (Why would you ever lie on your resume?  Even if 'dog walker' topped the list?)

10) One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.  (I'm blessed enough to have a couple.)


11) A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.  (Check, Check, and Check!)


12) Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.  (I'll wait to check off both #4 and #12 when I buy my LV.)


13) The belief that you deserve it. (Soul searching is good.)


14) A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don't get better after 30.  (Admittedly, I could do better with this...I often take for granted my youth!)


15) A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better. (Lucky enough to have all of the above!)


By 30, you should know...


1) How to fall in love without losing yourself. (Yes.)

2) How you feel about having kids. (Eek!  I got five more years...)

3) How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.  (I think I have a good head start on this, but it's hard.)

4) When to try harder and when to walk away. (Hi, nice to meet you.  My name's Ashley and I'm extremely stubborn.  I don't walk away well.)

5) How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn't like to happen next. (Ha! Apparently kissing is complicated...)

6) The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town.  (Uhh...)

7) How to live alone, even if you don't like to. (Absolutely.  And I do like to.)

8) Where to go -- be it your best friend's kitchen table or a yoga mat -- when your soul needs soothing.  (I'll take the ballet barre or a drive through the country, please.)

9) That you can't change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents. (...and learn to love it all anyway.)

10) That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it's over. (Mine was pretty great.  But I can appreciate it in the past.)

11) What you would and wouldn't do for money or love. (The age-old question.  I'm not entirely sure one will ever know their answer to this until they're faced with the question.)

12) That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or not flossing for very long.  (I'm an avid flosser.)

13) Who you can trust, who you can't, and why you shouldn't take it personally. (I'm trusting to a fault - because I like to find the good in people.)

14) Not to apologize for something that isn't your fault. (Yikes.)

15) Why they say life begins at 30. (Ah, yes. I'm excited for this.)