Goodbye June, Hello July

There was no better way to spend the last day of June than with a day off!

It was one of the best days ive had this summer. I worked out in the morning then laid by the pool all day. I know, it doesnt sound all that great, but to me it was wonderful. I got some great quality "me" time. Im back on my exercise kick and still on my reading rampage. I spent the night in with my parents, sharing stories and a few drinks. According to my dad, " A family that drinks together, stays together !" I cant imagine a better motto for our family haha. Needless to say, it was a great night! I feel more relaxed and stress-free than i have been feeling, just in time for a crazy work week. I will be working the next four days, a day off, and then three more days. In other words, i will be saying goodbye to my sanity!

July starts tomorrow! June just flew by and im hoping July does the same. And before you know it, ill be back to my CSUMB life. But for now, im enjoying summer! Heres to hoping July proves to be a much more sunny, joyous and eventful month than June.

Love, Ashley

By and By

"Oh, I'll tell you that I
I love you by and by
I don't know if I'd survive
without a friend like you in my life" - "By & By" Brett Dennen

This summer I've had the most fabulous time catching up with friends. I haven't been home long and I'm going away for the next three weeks, but I am so thankful for the amount of time I've gotten to spend with them. Listening to Brett Dennen's song, "By & By" just made me think of how lucky I am. I hope everyone takes time to appreciate the wonderful people in their lives.

Take it or leave it

Over the years i have not only made many great friends, but i have lost some as well. Ive never lost friends to a devastating fight or an unforgivable situation. It has always been over the fact that we have grown up and moved on. At the time, being that persons friend seemed right, but at ages 8,10, and 14, anything sounds great. As we grow up, you discover not only more about your supposed friend, but yourself as well. Im 20, going on 21, and i can tell you that i am such a completely different person than i was at 16. Im more comfortable with myself, i seen and done more things, ive learned who i can and cant rely on and ive accepted who i am. Im ashley, just a girl, who loves to sing, dance, eat ice cream, smile, laugh, talk(sometimes too much), read horoscopes and do crosswords, watch cheesy chick flicks and dress cute. More than that i want to see the world, live without limits, make a difference in someones life, be a good friend, and love honestly. Its simple really, this is what youre going to get with me. Im happy with who i am! And its taken a few lost friendships and many new ones to realize that. But those friendships have made me who i am and with each one i have learned something. So thank you. "You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your 'friends.'”

Now you know more of what makes me tick. Im hoping all of you can appreciate yourselves and be comfortable in your own skin. Just please dont be hot and cold with me. If you want to be in any part of my life, than be in it, if you dont, than dont. Choose your pick- hot or cold, yes or no, in or out, up or down, wrong or right, black or white. (Thanks Katy Perry) This is who i am, take it or leave it :)

Honestly yours, Ash

Open your heart to me

What a week! I survived four longggg days at the aquarium! Working in the gift shop is much harder than youd think, especially when it involves screaming kids, rude parents, a build-a-fish machine(similar to build-a-bear) and airbrush tattoos. That pretty much sums up my life 40 hrs a week. Thankfully tomorrow is my day off :) Enough work talk, here are a few thoughts-

1. Communication is key. With that said- call me, beep me, if you want to reach me.

2. I dont like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. But i will eat them separate any day.

3. I miss Monterey. Things were much simpler there. This past month has left me wondering, confused, excited, bored and wanting more. I have realized that my life is no longer at home with my parents in San Pedro, but rather up at school where ive built the more recent part of my life. All im home for is work, work, work, and more work. I cant tell you how much i miss the college life. Dont get me wrong, i love being home with old friends and family, but im longing for the life of a free bird. Also the distance between me and many friends makes things that used to be simple, much more complicated. I dont know what it will be like when we all return, but im excited and hopeful for the upcoming semester.

4. Oh and i must say i had a wonderful time with a few of the best people around last night. Duane, Denver, Anneke, Chelsea, Sam and I all met up for dinner in Downtown Disney. It was so fun to have Duane and Anneke in SoCal!

I think that about covers my midnight blog, which i must say replaced a midnight snack. This working girl is off to cuddle up with her latest book, Slightly Single. Unfortunately, thats about the only thing ill be cuddling up with for awhile.

Love always, Ashley

Boys Are Cheats and Liars, They're Such a Big Disgrace...

I don't know why I have that silly song stuck in my head. Its the one where all the girls would stand in a circle and slap their hands together (I'm not sure slap is the right word choice, but whatever) and sing about how stupid boys are. Mind you, this was in elementary school and I'm STILL singing this song. It just comes to show that even though we're in college and thinking about careers and our futures, we still believe that boys are, for a lack of a better word, stupid. Who knew that a silly song that has probably been passed down for years and years could relate so well in our lives today? Now, I'd like to think that I'm classy. I don't plan on writing about specific boys on this blog (only because this is public, and if they're smart enough to find it then they're smart enough to figure its about them) but I've had some minuscule experience this summer with dating. Some of it fantastic, some of it wasted on stupid guys who don't feel the need to pick up a phone. Either way, they keep giving me ammunition to sing that very tune. Hopefully though, in the distant future, I'll be singing a much nicer song about boys.

Love,

Chelsea

Summer Days Are Easy

She is going to kill me for posting this, but here is the lovely Hannah Fischer on one of our lovely beach days.

The past two weeks have been filled with summer fun and laziness. Lately, our second home has been Newport Beach. Hannah and I have a great routine: grab Subway sandwiches, head to the beach, float around in the water, and look for hot dads (they're there, I swear).

I'm going to miss her when we go our separate ways this summer. But we will definitely be squeezing in another beach day before we head back to school.

Hope you're having a fabulous day!

Love,

Chelsea

My First Post

Sadly, Ashley and I did not dominate in beer pong. We came close, we tried our best to trash talk, but unfortunately we were beat. But that did not break our spirit. No, if anything, we are coming back to Monterey with more force and ambition to win.

I have had a great time visiting San Pedro. Mind you, I am a bit happy. But it has been a great break. As Ashley mentioned, we did excellent shopping. I purchased three pieces in which I am extremely happy about. I am more than excited to wear them when I head back up to school in less than 10 days. Also, to get away from these awful Riverside guys.

Love always,

Chelsea

California Girls

So here it is, my first attempt at blogging.

What a nice day today has been! Chelsea came up to San Pedro last night and we've been having a blast! I luckily had the day off, which meant a day of eating and shopping for us. I took Chelsea to one of the best restaurants in town, Nosh. She loved it, just like i knew she would! The best part was the mint lemonade and the chocolate chip banana bread. We definitely plan on trying to make that next year, we'll see how that goes!

And anyone who knows us knows that when we are together we love 2 things- shopping and ice cream. Whether it be online shopping, window shopping or "shop til you drop" shopping, its one of our favorite hobbies. As for ice cream, i dont think theres anything we dont enjoy, maybe except Cherry Garcia. Bleh! I took Chelsea to our nearby mall and of course we found our way to Forever 21. I must admit we bought very cute pieces that add so much to our fabulous wardrobes. It makes me so excited to get back to Monterey and show them off! :) And we managed to keep it under $ 100, go us!

Tonight we will of course be eating out of our favorite pints of Ben and Jerrys and playing a little BP. Like always me and chels will dominate!

Tomorrow it will be back to work for me, while chelsea drives home to Riverside. Tanning will be put on hold for the next three days as I spend my days inside shark shack and the gift shop at the Long Beach Aquarium. To those that read, I simply ask that you tan a little for me! :)

~Ash

Here we go!