The Curious Case of Ashlee Hatch

I know this may shock you, but I do like other things besides Converse shoes. Like, shopping at Ross and TJ Maxx, taking pictures, Disneyland, scrapbooking, hanging out with friends and family, finding good deals (hence the shopping at Ross and TJ Maxx), riding my bike, being with my husband, bright colors, reading "self help" books, etc. But there is one thing I really like (love might be the better word choice) to do that only Bart knows...and I have decided to come clean and let everyone know...no matter how strange I might look.

I really like budgeting money.

I know, I'm a complete dork, but that still doesn't hinder my enjoyment in saving our dollars, paying our bills, and dividing the rest into nice neat catagories like Groceries, Gifts, and (yes) Allowances. Now, sticking to the budget I have laid out is a different story...I'm still perfecting that (and I'm working on my husband as well). I have a feeling this liking of mine stems from my "bean counter" mentality.

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. Life has been a little busy. I do have Memorial Day and Bart's birthday pics to post, but like I said...life it crazy right now. (Note: I found out I had to take one more pre-req in order to get my certificate in accounting...so I am now enrolled in a summer reading class. That's another blog post coming your way.)

So in order to spark your interest in my Memorial Day pics, I have decided to post one picture from that day as a little preview. Here it is:

Yes, the day was definitely filled with water.

P.S. to Amy: I'm sorry I have not sent over the Memorial Day pics of your family, but I will send them soon.

All the Best!!

I Can't Hear or Speak. Awesome!

So tonight was the Taylor Swift concert...and I have not had that much fun in a long time. Granted I was surrounded by thousands of 13 year olds, but it was still awesome!

Bart bought me Taylor Swift tickets as a surprise since he knows how much I love her and all of her songs (he deserves the Best Husband Award). I think she is the first singer that I have actually become obsessed with...just look at my iPod...I have almost every song she has very sung.

Needless to say I bought a shirt to show my support and sang (more like screamed) all the words to each song I knew (which was all of them). So now I have zero voice, but still think it was totally worth it. I did take my camera (sadly only our Point-and-Shoot...I don't think they would've let me in with my nicer camera) but it was running out of battery so I could only take a few.

The best part about the concert was when she randomly showed up in the audience after a costume change and then sang Fifteen and Tim McGraw 40 feet in front of us!! It was awesome! Here are pictures that I took to remember the night. Now please remember I took these with a Point-and-Shoot in the dark. Some of these pictures are not even close to being the best.

Bart and I when we just arrived for the concert.

Here I am, stoked to be at the concert. This is how close we were to the stage!!



Me in my new (and now favorite) Taylor Swift shirt.



Here she is!!!! And the famous guitar!



Displaying the sweet guitar for all to see! (This is one of the three screens that was in the stadium.)




Bart, tolerating a bunch of screaming girls around him. Thanks honey for going with me!!!



During Teardrops on My Guitar.



So cool!!




And this sweet photo was taken when she was 40 feet in front of us! (Blurry I know, I was bummed).

I couldn't have asked for a better Thursday night! It was so awesome. Taylor was awesome.

I'm so happy!!

It's Official...

My life would suck without Bart.


Thanks Kelly Clarkson for putting those words to music.

The Taylor Swift concert is tonight, and I'm definitely going! :) I'll try to blog about it later.

Have a great day!!

Every Party Has a Pooper

Tonight we went to our annual ward party at Castles-n-Coasters. We had been looking forward to tonight all week...and I was even prepared to go on all the rides (no matter how scary they were). So we decided to start out the night with a little bit of mini golf...but when we were a little over half way done with the game I felt a little draft down in my behind area. Next thing I knew I was hyperventilating. I had ripped a hole in my jeans...right smack on the butt. I immediately told Bart that we had to go home. There was NO way I was staying out in public with a hole on my butt.
At first Bart denied he saw anything...then he said it wasn't very noticeable. And then finally, with a huge smile on his face, he said we could go home since it was very noticeable (he was finally able to get that out in between bursts of laughter).
So, being the party pooper that I am...I made my husband take me home before we could ride any of the fun rides. Sorry honey...I'll make it up somehow!
Here are pictures of the end result:




Although in my defense we do have very bad luck at Castles-n-Coasters. At our first annual ward party last year our camera ended up on the bottom of the bumper boat lake (some poor employee had to fish it out for us). I'm thinking we probably shouldn't go next year.

All the Best.

What's the Diagnosis Doc?

I have been feeling a little under the weather the past few days. I woke up on Monday (5/11) with a scratch in my throat, which then progressed to being on fire this morning. So I decided to go to the doctor to find out what in the world was going on. What did he say?...

I have Tonsillitis

I was completely shocked. I'm the kind of person that is rarely sick...and I have definitely not been around anyone with Tonsillitis. My doctor said it is very contagious, so I shouldn't be around anyone until the antibiotics have been in my system for 24 hours. So at 10:30 this morning I was pleasantly surprised with a day-off from work! (Excellent!) I just don't know what to do with myself...

The Gift I Owed My Mother.

I had been trying to think of a good Mother's Day gift to give to my Mom for weeks. I could think of nothing. The only things I could think of were the horrible deeds I did to my Mom when I was a teenager (I'm already starting to regret that time period) and was determined to make this Mother's Day present special. Well, thankfully my brother Chad and sister TeriAnn provided me with a way to meet my goal.

They wanted to put together a book for my Mom from all of her children. So each page of the book consisted of a letter from each one of my siblings (written to my Mom) and the opposite page held pictures of each kid growing up. This was my chance to tell her how much she meant to me and how sorry I was for all the crappy things I did. Well, I thought my letter turned out pretty well, so I wanted to share it with everyone (I'm sure my Mom wouldn't mind).

Mom,
Here is the present I have been wanting to give you, but my stubbornness did not allow. Here are all the 'thank you's you deserved that I didn't give you:

Thank you for talking to me when I was silent.

Thank you for believing in me when I lacked confidence.

Thank you for your unselfishness when I could only think of myself.

Thank you for your help when I took you for granted.

Thank you for laughing at my jokes when they weren't funny.

Thank you for being the best mother when I was the worst daughter.

Thank you for doing my hair especially when you knew I would take it out.

Thank you for comforting me when I pushed you away.

Thank you for helping with my projects when you did most of the work and received none of the credit.

Thank you for accepting my apology when I didn't give one.

Thank you for loving me, even when I didn't love you back.

Thank you for humoring me when I gave you suggestions.

Thank you for the advice that I didn't take.

Thank you for your kindness when all I did was hurt you.

Thank you for your testimony when mine was shaky.

Thank you for your time when I didn't give you any.

Thank you for your smiles when I could only frown.

Thank you for the family traditions even when I didn't participate.

But most of all, thank you for never giving up on me when I have so many times.

I know this doesn't begin to cover all the horrible things that I have done, but I have a whole lifetime to make up for it...and teenage daughters to raise that will be just like me. I hope you remember these 'thank you's when I forget to say them. But I always want you to remember that I love you, Mom...even when I don't say it...or show it.

Happy Mother's Day.

Love,

Ashlee

This morning I received a phone call from my Mom with her reassurance that I was not a bad child. She still won't admit that I was horrible.

What a great example of a mother.

I hope I can be half the mother she is for me.

All the best to you and your mother.

Just...One...More...

I have exactly one more accounting test to take until I have my Accounting Certificate. I get to take this lovely test in approximately 21.5 hours. I cannot wait... I cannot wait to get this test over with since I have been stressing about this for the past several weeks. I'm done with the stress. So anyone who reads this in the next 21 hours please do me a huge favor...

Wish me luck and say a prayer for me at exactly 6:00 pm tomorrow (5/7/09). It will really help.

Thank you in advance for your prayers! Have a great night!

All the best!