Hey you, wanna catch up?

I know I've been ignoring this little place. I've been putting 1000% in to getting my other blog up and running. I also started school again 5 weeks ago, which has a been taking up a bit of my time. I'm also a nanny for this little girl, which I really love. But I want to breathe some life back into this space. I want it to go back to what it was originally for, keeping friends and family in the loop on what's going on in this life. So here it is:

The Wedding~ Things are starting to fall into place. We're planning it for January of 2012, so we still have loads of time. Eliot and I are both feeling ahead of the curve for the moment. (I'm going to kick myself later for saying that). I'm really excited about it all, but part of me just wants to be married to him already. I know it will be worth it to have an awesome party though...a week long one.

Eliot~ He's gone at the moment to the wonderful land of South Africa. He's been gone for 2 weeks and will be gone another 3. I miss him, but I'm excited for him. While he's there they're going to launch a brand new boat. This will be the first project he's been completely involved in from start to finish, so it will be so awesome for him to be there for the launch. Then he's going to meet me in California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my grandparents.

Florida~ The weather is so nice right now. It's cold in the mornings and you need a sweatshirt. But it's comfortable during the day. I don't want it to get any cooler, it just needs to stay like this. The end of summer here was amazing. We were out on our friends boat Tinky the Reef Seeker, diving almost every weekend, and afterward we would go post up on a sandbar, go swimming and enjoy some beverages. Now the gulf has gotten shockingly cold in just the span of a couple of weeks. But the wind is picking up, so it might be time to get the kite gear out and try and get better at that. One of my best friends Holly is coming to visit in just a couple of weeks. So the weather better stay in place for a little while longer.

Sailing~ Recently I've started racing every Thursday night. I got in at the tail end of the season, but it's been fun to look forward to every week. Looking forward to being more competitive next season for sure.

Just a few photos


building castles on the beach




Diving

100th Post! And back where it all started...

There is something inspiring about this place- Xi Hu. Especially on a day like today, when it's a bit overcast, but the skies are clear of smog because of last night's downpour. The lake really lights up and shines it's magical side. This is what I think of when I think of China. I've come back here after a summer of working to relax and meet up with some friends. But I was captivated today by the lake and am feeling a new energy to photograph it and other lovely things in Hangzhou.

So this is where I spent a year of my life. I never thought I'd be happy to be back here, but I have to say, it feels like coming home a bit. I've walked, cycled, sat at the shore of this lake so many time contemplating living in China and how much it changed my life and my outlook and general attitude. If ever there was a life changing experience, coming to China was it for me.

Although I'm excited to go home (FL home), I'm feeling really content being in Hangzhou right now. This was a long summer filled with hardwork, heartbreak and seeing sides of China that I don't really love at all. So it's nice to be in a familiar place that has taught me so much and to remember the parts of China that I fell hard for. Quite fitting for my 100th post I think, the beautiful West Lake.

The Ring

I've gotten lots of requests to see 'the ring' that Eliot gave to me. It is so beautiful and I'm completely in love with it. But first, I have to say, when I would think about getting engaged it was never about 'the ring' for me. It was always about being in love, and knowing I was going to spend the rest of my life with my favorite person (cheesy I know). Don't get me wrong, it's a nice plus that I get to wear something beautiful on my hand from the only person I would ever want to receive it from. But I never had any grand ideas of what my ring was going to look like. I didn't design it before hand. I hadn't planned it out and left little notes on pictures for Eliot to see so he would know what to get. I didn't even know what I really wanted. Until he gave it to me. And the fact that he picked it out especially for me makes me love it even more. It is perfect in every way, and I love it. So here it is: "The Ring"

Guess What!

So following my previous post, when the most exciting news I could come up with was our new salt and pepper mills, I'm happy to be able to share that Eliot and I got engaged this weekend! He popped the big question on Saturday and of course, it never even crossed my mind to say "no." I am the happiest girl in the world right now. We haven't planned anything yet, and probably won't until I get back from China. But I'm excited to share the great news!

Here's Eliot's reaction after I said yes.


~Look how excited he is to be getting married!~


~After I tell him how much a wedding normally costs.~


~Reconsidering~


~"It's okay sweetheart, we don't have to spend that much."~

The Need to Blog

Hey blogging world. I'm getting really good at ignoring this area, and I feel bad about that. I don't know why. It's my blog, it should be here for me for whenever I need it. But I like to keep it updated, so someday I can look back and remember what was going on during this time in my life. Maybe that's just it...nothing is really going on. Well, things are always going on, but not like a few months ago when I was living in South Africa and every day was a completely new discovery, and I had plenty of reasons to come here and share what it was.

Life is good and I'm feeling really content with things right now. School is stressful, but I'm feeling like I have a good grasp of it. I have 3 weeks left of this quarter which means I'm just that much closer to my goals and dreams (right?). I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with this art in terms of a career. Although those thoughts are occupying less of my time these days than actually just focusing on the here and now.

One thing I realized a few weeks ago is that since I've started school, my photographing has taken a serious dive. So right now I'm working on taking my camera everywhere with me and bringing it out as much as possible.

So what's new?.......

Salt and pepper mills!


Haha, so I know this isn't very exciting, but I am quite pleased with this recent purchase. We've been looking and pricing these out since we moved here in January. But we've been on quite a budget and just haven't felt the need to get them...until now. We found these long, tall and handsome grinders and are really happy with them. They're bamboo with a ceramic mechanism (so as not to corrode) and I can't wait to try them out. Silly? Maybe. But again, it's my blog and I can put whatever I want on here.

Eliot and I are headed away for this long weekend to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US. Looking forward to relaxing, putting my feet up and spending time with my favorite person. Also, reading. I'm not doing enough of it these days, and I have a few books stacking up. One being True Blood Omnibus (vampires), another The War of Art (self help-ish book to help me remind myself I'm succeeding just by doing what I love) and another Travels (purely just for fun, Eliot got it for me for Valentine's Day back in February). I think I'll just take all 3 and choose which to work on depending on my mood.

Have a lovely weekend! xxx

Life Update

It's Saturday night! Woohoo! Actually... I'm home, it's nearly 10pm and my bed is looking really cozy right now. Lame? Maybe to the 19 year old Ashley, but right now I'm loving it. My weeks have been HECTIC, and it seems the weekends are the only time I have to settle down a bit, get to bed early, and work on my own schedule. Eliot has been gone for the past 3 weeks. And although I miss him so much (and can't wait until he gets home next Friday), it really has been a good time for me to get some true, genuine, uninterrupted ME time (also lots of baby time with my neighbor Chantale's newborn). I haven't been able to reflect on this blog about it, but my head is full of thoughts. A lot of my thoughts are about the future, and what going to school is going to allow me to do. I'm loving learning to be creative and surprising myself sometimes with what I come up with. I want to get started on the future right now, and start planning and building upon what I've already learned. But I also know that I need to pace this and soak up everything I can before I make a move.

I'm getting prepared to go to China this summer for what I know will be a life changing experience. I'm so lucky to get this opportunity and I really want to get the most out of it. It's easy after so much traveling to take for granted these things that come up, but I'm viewing this trip as completely different from my previous China trip (life?) and embracing it as a different experience altogether. I also can't wait to get there with my camera and document it. For those who don't know what I'm going to be doing over there, I've been brought on board to head up THIS program.

I'm also working on my divemaster right now. I love being underwater, blowing bubbles and achieving this next level in one of my favorite hobbies. I'm hoping to finish it before leaving for China, but I'm not rushing it by any means. I am however, looking forward to doing a lot more diving in our FL waters.

Just a little post/update about what's going on with me.

Self Portrait : About Me

My first assignment in my new photography class (Black and White II) was to do a self portrait. I definitely had struggles with this assignment, because I don't particularly like looking at photos of myself. But the purpose was to reveal something about yourself within these portraits.

In the spirit of self portraits, I thought I might also add some things about me. This thing was floating around on facebook a few months ago, it's called "25 Random Things About Me." I thought it would be fun to add in addition to my portraits.



1. I'm a student, living in Florida and studying photography.

2. I'm from the Pacific Northwest which I believe is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I really feel it has shaped me into the person I am now.

3. My first love and greatest passion is sailing, my first memories are on boats and I started racing competitively when I was eight. Some of my closest friends are the people I've raced with over the years and they are the happiest people I know.

4. I love anything and everything to do with the ocean including diving, sailing, snorkeling, wakeboarding and learning to kite board. I get really sad and sometimes sick when I've been away from salt water for too long. This was a bit of a problem when living in China.

5. I have a big fear/fascination with sharks. Actually it's not just sharks, it's any animal that could possibly eat me that I'm scared of, i.e. lions, cougars, bears, tigers (oh my!). But sharks really take the cake for me.

6. One time in Arizona, before my family moved to Bellingham, I was almost kidnapped when I was walking home from a friend's house.

7. I got my 200 ton captain's license when I was 20.



8. I don't wear makeup and haven't done for a few years now. It's very liberating.

9. I have the most beautiful niece who is 3 years old.

10. I miss my girlfriends so much now that we don't all live in the same town.

11. I love all animals (even the ones that can eat me) and can't wait to be in a place where I can have my own.

12. My favorite all time snack is Pirate Booty. It's the most delicious stuff on earth.

13. I love reading, especially books that I can relate to and learn from. But I also love blogs and learning different perspectives on life.

14. I AM the most insecure person I know. That being said, I realize it and am learning to let go of what other people think.



15. I've lived in Arizona, Washington, SE Asia, Maine, South Africa, China and Florida.

16. I've been to 6 countries in Asia, and if I were to be religious in any way I would become Buddhist. I've been inside way more Buddhist temples than churches.

17. I like doing all things outside.

18. Sometimes I have weird dreams that I know are dreams but I can't wake my self up and I'm paralyzed.

19. I'm afraid of the dark. And I'm just realizing this when Eliot is away and I wake up in the middle of the night by myself.

20. I've had stitches above both my eyes from 2 completely different incidents, one of which was just a few years ago.

21. Ariel is my favorite Disney Princess and when I was little I used to make everyone call me Ariel. (My grandma still does sometimes)



22. I HATE being cold, but am very rarely too hot. I can get uncomfortable in the heat, but it's way better than being miserable in the cold.

23. I'm learning to be creative. I've never thought of myself as a particularly creative person before. I'm attending an art school, and in a lot of ways feel like I'm going back to my roots. I think everyone is creative in some form, but a lot of us have learned how not to be.

24. I think good friends are so important and I feel so lucky to have them. Even if they are all over the world and I rarely get to see them.

25. I love my life and most importantly the person I get to spend it with.



Whoa! Ashley overload for serious. I'm so happy to be moving on past the self portraits.

Portraits

So I have a few portrait sessions coming up. I'm trying to expand my portfolio and dip into this different aspect of photography. I get nervous though. So Eliot offered to let me practice on him. So we took a walk down to the beach one evening and this is what happened.