Strawberry Shortcake - 20 Random Q&A's from Ashley

20 Questions! -- Ashley's response to 20 random questions!

1. What do you want to be when you grow up? - I don't want to say the word!
2. What is your favorite food? - Carrots. no -- apples
3. Do you like green eggs and ham? No
4. Do you know how to drive a car? No, but I know how to drive a jeep. how about this, after tennis we bring my jeep to pop and grans and we'll charge it and then I'll ride it all the way to my big school. And I'm gonna even ride it around the block. Well, I know how to ride a bike.
5. If you go anywhere in the whole entire world, where would you go? To Chucke e Cheese and Grans?
6. What would you do when you get there? Play
7. Who's your best friend? Arden
8. What's your favorite thing to do? Go with Daddy to ride my bike and my jeep.
9. What's the first thing you're gonna do when you graduate from High School? I don't want to graduate.
10. When you turn 18 are you going to move out of the house? NO! Why not?
11. Do you want a sister or brother? NO! Why not? Because I don't like brothers or sisters!
12. Are you ever going to get married? NO! Why not? Because I don't like being married! I don't want to be a mom!
13. If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would you do? Sleep, play computer and play tennis.
14. Are you smart? NO! Stop having me answering these questions because I'm getting tired and I have a headache.
15. Who cooks the dinner mommy or daddy? Daddy and Mommy makes peanut butter and Jelly and her own food and for work
16. Who cleans the house? Mommy
17. Do you flush the toilet? yes. Let me go check!
18. What do you like best about daddy? Going to Chuckee Cheese and riding the bike.
19. Where do you live? Texas.
20. Where is Texas? Right here.

Why do I feel like it's ground hogs day all over again?

Have you ever woken up and felt like you're living the same day all over again? If so, join the club! This past week was like Ground Hog's Day all over again! Last Sunday, my dad had his second heart attack in just five weeks. He had stints put in over two years ago and now his body is rejecting the stints. The doctors don't know why this is happening and instead of fixing the problem, they are just moving and/or placing more stints into his heart. What is wrong with this picture? If you put a band-aid on a gushing fire hydrant, it's eventually going to break!

On top of all this, it took the hospital three days to get him a room. Can you imagine being in ICU for three days! This is ridiculous! While I am no expert in this field, I'm very disappointed in the treatment my dad received. At any rate, they let him leave home on Wednesday and so far he's hanging in there!

The weather in Texas wasn't so great this week either. Although we need the rain, I'd rather be coaching my daughter's little league team! We're all a bunch of rookies and could really use the practice. We had to cancel practice two times this week because of the weather! Now, we're rolling into game season and I still have all of my players running into the outfit to wrestle for the ball! (LOL!)

On Friday, March 13th, the business adjacent to ours crumbled to the ground! It was unbelievable! The only reason our business and the many others in the same shopping center were not burned to the ground was because of Rene. They've determined the start of the fire was due to electrical issues and as of now all of the businesses around the fire are out of electricity. They're projecting we won't have any for at least two weeks!

John & I are in good spirits despite the adversity and emotional stress we've been through this week. We're doing fairly well and communicating better than ever! We're very thankful for the people we have in our lives and for everything we have!

2009 has been a tough year for us so far. My thinking is that it can and should only get better from here! We're strong and will pull through!

Tuesday with Taylor - Let's Rodeo San Antonio

This Tuesday is supposed to be a fun day for the girls in the Jansky house. We are headed to the San Antonio rodeo to see Taylor Swift perform! For the past three months, Ashley and I have been listening to her albums on our Ipod to learn the words to her songs. Although we don't know all of the words, I know we're going to have the time of our lives.

We're going to arrive early so that we can hang out on the rodeo grounds and stuff our faces with the very best snacks a rodeo has to offer. Then we are eating a steak dinner at the restaurant in the AT&T center! Pretty Cool, Right? And last but not least, we will settle in on the lower level of the stadium -- you know where the cowboys ride the bulls and get our feet a little dusty all while swaying back and forth to some fabulous and Cheesy Taylor Swift songs!

I'll check back in after the show to see what kind of time we had!

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

The week that was or wasn't

It's sunday evening and I'm sitting here listening to sad songs and thinking back on the week that was or wasn't so great. To start things off, my dad had a heart attack on Monday. This comes only after me envisioning me losing my dad a week prior to this. Ever since I lost my boyfriend Bobby to a horrific plane crash, I've had moments where I get really emotional thinking about losing the people I love the most.

The news came as I walked the aisles of Home Depot looking for wallpaper, lamps, fans -- just anything that could improve my home or give me something to do. After I heard the news, I went to the carwash and spent $15 + $5 for a tip. Thinking back, I wonder if I ventured to the carwash because of my dad as I know that washing cars is one of his most favorite things to do in the whole world. In fact, we had just discussed how bad I needed a car wash and could use his help -- since he was the expert.

On Wednesday, John and I took Ashley to a pediatrician ENT to further explore why Ashley could not pass a hearing test. Just last week, we had her tested at the elementary school and then at her pediatrician. After the third hearing test, it was confirmed -- Ashley has hearing loss. The recommendation made by the doctor was that Ashley have tubes put into her ears as the fluid in her ear may be why Ashley is suffering from hearing loss. Without a blink of the eye, we scheduled the surgery. As we considered dates, we were faced with a roadblock -- Health Insurance. We have group health insurance; however, our family deductible is $5,000. The surgery cost about $1500 for the tubes and then another $1500 for the hospital -- All of which have to be paid before the actual surgery. While we have the money, it was supposed to be used to pay our taxes in April. Now we would have to work even harder to save even more money to be able to give our daughter what she needs to be able to hear adequately.

The week continued on -- John and I not doing too well. On the outside, we are a picture perfect family but on the inside it's crumbling. As I scour the photos down the hall, we look amazing, perfectly happy! It's not until I think about the moments in which those photos took place that I start to weep. Behind the scenes, it's a struggle. A struggle to find balance between two people that are just completely different. I think back to 10 years ago and wonder how two people who were so different came together as one and now we can't even enjoy each other's company.

What happened? John has always said we were a different kind of family, a family that would beat the odds, a family that would stick together no matter what! We always said that families give up too easily on each other and get divorced before even trying to reconcile. So here I am on this Sunday evening sitting in the present, reflecting on the past, and thinking about the future. What's next in the Jansky chapter? Will we survive this rough patch? Only time will tell!

It's been a tough week, a tough week indeed and this song sums up how I feel at this very moment! Looking back, I'll probably laugh and think it's cheesy -- but tonight, tonight it's perfect!

I can almost see it

That dream I’m dreaming but

There’s a voice inside my head sayin,

You’ll never reach it, Every step I’m taking,

Every move I make feels Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but I Got to keep trying Got to keep my head held high

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

The struggles I’m facing,

The chances I’m taking

Sometimes they knock me down but

No I’m not breaking

The pain I’m knowing

But these are the moments that

I’m going to remember most yeah

Just got to keep going And I,

I got to be strong Just keep pushing on,

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

Theres always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a up-hill battle

Sometimes were gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about whats waiting on the other side

Its the climb

Keep on moving

Keep climbing

Keep the faith baby

It’s all about It’s all about

The climb

Keep the faith Keep your faith

Just Blogs!

So yesterday, I decided to put all of my myspace blogs onto blogger.com, this site. I find it makes it easier to write and share! I read through each one as I posted them and started to laugh at my candid humor. Most times when writing blogs I have some sort of sensor or at least I thought I did. I feel it's good to remain relatively decent; however, I find that the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones that are very raw and straight to the point!

I also found that without these blogs, I would have probably forgotten the memory or maybe changed the memory in my head. I would've never remembered that John and I watched Average Joe the night before Ashley was born, or that the NCAA basketball tournament was in town the day Ashley had her first soccer game. These are quite random details, yet they make the story all that more interesting!

As I celebrate, vent or divulge about the things that happen in the life of the Jansky's, please feel free to comment and share your own stories! After all, it's the stories we tell that create a bond between two people!

Spurs Night!

This past Friday, John, Ashley and I went to a Spurs game for our family night out. We weren't sure what to expect and were quite surprised with how the whole night turned out! It was PERFECT! Yes, I said it, PERFECT! Ashley was well-mannered the entire night. From Carrabba's to the game -- I couldn't have asked for a more perfect night and can't wait for our next family adventure.

Ashley is exactly one month away from turning FIVE-years old! It's crazy to think that our little girl is only 8 years away from teenage life! It's scary and crazy all at the same time. Life on the Jansky front has slowed down just a bit; however, that can and probably will change in the blink of an eye. We have some shows and events coming our way at Josabi's and we are nailing down all of the details for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This is the reality of my life. I am in constant awe on how fast my days go by. John, Ashley and I have had a whirlwind of a year and it's been great! At the end of the day, we are really just a small family trying to live the American dream. The mom and pop shops of the world do exist and we are living proof! Family is one of the most important aspects in our life and trying to keep this at the forefront can be challenging with all of the long hours that are required with running a business.

It’s Official..and John is slowly but surely okay with it!

On Saturday morning, (8/9/08) Ashley and I decided to have a girl's day out in celebration of my niece's 7th birthday. We picked up Kayla at her house and together decided where to eat lunch and what we should do to celebrate her birthday.

The girls picked Luby's for lunch and then wanted to go to Club Libby Lu's to get their Libby Du's on! So I scheduled their appts. and we headed off to have our special day!

Once we arrived at Libby Lu's, we started our adventure! I decided to throw in the deluxe package as there was no way they could only pick one thing. So they walked around that place with smiles from ear to ear as they continued to fill their bags with trendy, girly stuff. After they picked their stuff, they got dressed as rocker girls and got ready for their rocker du's!

They got their nails painted, their eyes and lips dazzled and then decided they wanted their ears pierced. I chuckled at first and then blurted out, "your dad will be upset if I get your ears pierced." After 10 minutes of persistence from the two girls, I gave in and let them get their ears pierced! They loved it! Ashley's response to the entire process was "That was loud." She was refering to the gun they used to pierce the ears! I almost wondered if she even knew what just happened to her.

We finished up our experience at Libby Lu's and called John to give him the news. He was not happy. In fact, he hung up on me. He said, "She is too young to get her ears pierced." I called my mom to see if that was horrible of me and she said, "better you than me." haha!! THANKS MOM! And then I called my sister. She was actually shocked that Kayla let me do it!

It's been a few days now and John is slowly becoming okay with it. I think he was just a little sad that he wasn't there when it happened. Although, he mentioned that Ashley getting her ears pierced was a special bonding moment between Ashley and me and as we go through life there will be moments that will be shared only between Ashley and myself or Ashley and John and that's okay.

So it's official! Ashley has pierced ears and I really, really can't believe it! They are too cute!