Whimsy

Pictured below are a pair of mixed feather earrings featuring Ostrich plume, Chinchilla & pheasant feathers along with a little burst of dyed teal feather.

SOLD-- This pair will retail at $38.00 --


--Whimsy--

OH!!
Just in case your wondering...No Birds were hurt, injured or even bothered in order to obtain any of the feathers you see in my designs. Shedding or losing feathers is a natural process for birds just like humans lose strands of hair, new feathers will grow in to replace the ones that are now gone. All the feathers I use are cleaned and sanitized and do not posess any known health threats. If your allergic, then I suggest you stay away! I hope you enjoy my designs, I'm just using something nature has provided us all and making something nice out of it!

ok so I lie.

It took me a little longer than expected to get some pictures of my feathered jewelry up. I discovered feathers require just the right angle and I need more patience. I also decided to have a beer after work last night which usually doesn't end with me going home after the first one. So, I took the pictures tonight and I am going to photoshop them (the background images are funny to say the very least) and then hopefully post them tomorrow evening if not sooner. I know there is like 1 and a half of you out there sitting on pins and needles waiting for this...... so for you guys, just for you, I'm going to give another sneak peak at the very first pair of Fresh Feathers I made.





I've always loved art and I'm so glad I'm moving forward with these special parts of myself, parts that need and yearn for exploring. I'm writing, painting, blogging and designing and I enjoy every minute of it. I hope somehow my passion influences somebody else to do something that makes them feel as thrilled as I am!

Fresh Feathers

ahem.

may I present to you.

Fresh Feathers, my new design line.

It will feature jewelry, apparel and art.



I'm working on the jewelry as we speak, I will try to have pictures up tonight.


For now I leave you with my awesome logo.... and a link on feather fashion in fall/winter 2009.
http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Feathers-Autumn-FallWinter-2009-Fashion-Trend-1244.html

still

In addition to my personal training regimen with Josh, the bubbly boo-tay trainer, which is in its 9th month of greatness, over the past few months I have also been training for a triathlon. I know, I know. It’s pretty amazing huh? At least I’m not sitting on the couch eating bon-bons, right? And so, as the tri-date quickly approaches my confidence level, which should be soaring super high, just hit rock bottom.

All of this training and preparation for a triathlon not only works wonders for the bod but can have a gleaming affect on the ol' backbone. That has been my experience up until last Tuesday's pre-tri-meet. As I pulled and tugged at the borrowed bike, which is in pieces, in order to fit in my tiny two door sports coupe, I must have done it completely wrong. After attaching and tightening the front wheel I tried to stand up only to experience shooting pain up and down the left side of my back - I was stuck in a tying-the-shoe type of bend for a few seconds. Slowly as I tried to stand up straight I realized my back just went out on me. I had yet to swim, bike or run. I tried to ignore the discomfort because I didn't want to disappoint the others but when something hurts that bad it's really, really hard not to think about it. After trying to stretch while listening to transition rules and tips I realized that this, like all other things for me, was going to be a battle. I swam about 50 meters, biked about 3 miles and jogged for under a minute. That's all I could do. I shouldn't have even done that much considering the torment I was experiencing, but I did it to prove a point to myself. I went home dolefully after taking a load of ibuprofen and downing a Fat Tire beer only to ice my back and lather it down with Tiger Balm. Two days later the pain was still there and I was worried that the pain would cause me to withdraw from the race. [This is the point where the confidence starts to disassemble.]

After the third day though my back started feeling better and as I leaned over to tie my shoes, I realized that I could still do this, after all I didn't get stuck this time! I ran about a mile and a half that morning with Armani by my side as the calescent sun beat down on me. We made it home in one piece.

This Tuesday I was supposed to redeem myself as my lil tri-group met to ride the bike course we'll be on for the race. I don't think any of us imagined we'd be biking on a real live road accompanied by cars traveling at 45 plus miles, the map didn't show us that! Heck, the map didn't show much but we (Noah) used his geographic skills to get us going and then somehow lead us off course and into another county. It was at this moment we pulled over and decided it would be best to turn around. Might I add, the map is to blame. And so...of course, Erin and Noah took a quick lead again and Kathryn slowly pulled away leaving me to shadow her. My bike had been having issues on previous rides and quickly progressed into a problem on this ride. I tried not to complain, I didn't want to kill anybodies enthusiasm with my troubles or have them think I was making excuses but the gears kept locking up on me and when it happened I was not able to peddle, in previous times I was able to work everything out but as everyone faded into the distance and I let out a (what to them was a faint) yell, saying "don't get too far ahead, I don't have a cell phone", the unexpected happened and my peddle locked up again. Only this time I was hurled over the handle bars instantly meeting pavement.

I'm sure I was in shock for a second but soon after I picked up the bike and moved off the road. It was in this time that the tears started to flow. My spirit felt defeated. I had no phone. Everyone was probably far ahead. I tried getting back on my bike but in doing so discovered when I landed on the bike I smashed in the right handle bar and somehow locked up the back breaks, so I couldn't even ride it. Looking at my instantly bruised palms, feeling the pain in my knee, my friggin’ back and well most of my body I tried to disengage all the emotions that quickly started taking over. I picked up the bike and started walking. Thankfully the girls got a gut feeling and ten minutes or so later, Kathryn appeared. She came back for me!!! We were able to get a truck to stop and take us to where Erin had stopped and waited, her motherly instincts kicked in and she knew something wasn't right so she had sent Noah back for the truck. After thanking the man in the truck for being so kind, we stood in a church parking lot awaiting Noah's return. It felt like forever to me. I tried to make light of everything but deep down I felt horrible. I had once again let myself down, the group down and everybody's ride was ruined because of me, for a cancer baby that feeling eats at you. Kudos to the dapper pilot and co-pilot for trekking back to the starting point and returning to rescue us.

Three hours after the bike ride began I was on my way home.

I decided to write about all this today because I am super proud of my physical and mental progress this year. I've strengthened my core, built my endurance and I'm working on preserving my life so I can make the best of it. Even though I seem to hit road blocks pretty often I will not let it get me down again. I'm only doing the triathlon to prove to myself I can do anything I set my mind to, no matter how untouchable it once seemed. I am by no means a tri-athlete! So whatever outside force I'm currently battling with that's trying to push me away, you better back up. I may crawl, or skip or hop over the finish line and it may take me hours to do so but I WILL CROSS THE FINISH LINE! that's a bet.

.....and so I'll end this entry with a nice little reflection of the evening after the storm.

The sky was still last night, the moon glowed through the puzzle-like clouds that had formed and as I closed my eyes to take in a deep breath from the prior hours of chaos a cool breeze swept across my face... my favorite time of the year is near.

the sky in my eye

Clearly the sky has always been here, but lately it has taken my by surprise. I find myself gazing into the clouds and some kind of calmness takes me over. It's powers have outweighed the busy days, the traffic jams and the worries. I'm bewildered. Some of my most recent sky photos are my proudest. Of course, keeping the camera less than an arms length away is also a great way to capture one of natures most beautiful gifts.

layers.

beaming.



a way we go.

sunset.


Take a minute out of your busy day, gaze into the sky and be prepared to be amazed.

changes

I'm not sure what has started happening to me but in the last few months or so I've developed a strong liking for beatnik (not the Beatniks per se) music from the late 60's and early 70's - Previously you would have probably found me covering my ears or making a funny face in disgust when these melodies were played but now I'm completely enthralled there is so much of this whatdya do.....lalalala....totally chilled music out there for me to find and listen to! I encourage the tunes to wander throughout...so much so it's becoming a slight obsession.

I would never have thunk I'd be listening to half of this stuff:
Creedence Clearwater Revival. Bob Dylan. Jimi Hendrix. Led Zeppelin. Janis Joplin. The Beatles. Joni Mitchell. Pink Floyd. The Rolling Stones. Santana. Bob Marley. Simon & Garfunkel. Cat Stevens. The Who. The Allman Brothers.

But I am, I really am.

So where is this all coming from?
Well.... let's see. I have an idea, far-fetched as it may seem.

I always try to do something different for my birthday, on PURPOSE, like the time I got my palms read, but this year it came to me out of fate or some might say it was purely coincidental... Either way it seems the decade is starting to follow me around a little. Maybe the notion of dancing in the rain to Holy Ghost Tent Revival while people sport vintage bathing suits made me curious as to what was really happening OR perhaps the encounter with two peace loving gypsies sealed the deal. I mean it was my 26th birthday afterall, and what did I end up doing? I ended up playing with a goat that charged at a rubber ball and knew tricks as well as the next dog, I met chickens & turkeys with names like Lunch and Dinner, and get this — I witnessed a turtle lay an egg! I also viewed a massive hemp jewelry, gem & quartz collection and learned all about glass blowing and even managed to find out that my animal spirit is probably a sea turtle and then was advised that I might have special abilities and I need to see a Shaman asap!! Truth be told in the back of my mind I have always thought that something mysterious lingered in my Cherokee Indian blood and there would come a point in my life when, perhaps when I turned a certain age, I would learn of this... who knew it would come to me by way of another Cherokee girl on a night where I thought drinks would be had at the ol' Rec Billiards until I was all out of birthday drinkin'. Instead I end up at a 200 year old house, lined with psychadelic wallpaper, a farm out back and a however many acre trail lit by way of tiki torches. Maybe a Shaman is in order.

All I know is that everything around me seems to be increasing my free spiritability. The one I intended to discover this year. Does my increased awareness of all this really have me braiding my hair almost daily and buying patchouli to keep the skeeters away? Or is this really the path that was cleared away for me? Who really knows? It's neat to think about though. I guess we all change whether we are aware of it or not and so I keep referring back to something which was just said to me a few weeks ago... 'it takes a special person to be aware of these certain things and that's what makes you different from the others Ashley...' Trippy huh? Any way you look at it, it's these things that keep finding their way into my life and helping me become a better freeeer person, emotionally and spiritually.

So am I finding the music or is the music finding me?
My answer. I feel in one way or another the music finds us, it makes us think, it makes us dream and sends us into a place that is unexplainable. Much like my life right now. I'm taking it all in, riding the wave and enjoying all the experiences and coincendences life is lending me until my time here is over. You should too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TbmLkwMHwo

Although this is newer. way newer. it seemed suprisingly fitting.
.....you go...wherever you go today...you go today.

At this point in time, pets ARE better than men.

I love my cat & dog and I believe they both came to me relevant times in my life when I needed them the most.

Hailey was the last kitten out of a litter of 7. I had always wanted a solid grey cat and was on my way to pick up one after class one evening. When I arrived though I was told the grey one was already taken. I was saddened. Then I looked over and there sat this lonely little black & white kitten with the cutest crooked white stripe going down the middle of her nose. Her imperfect stripe and the fact she immediately reminded me of my dad and his crooked nose made me even more saddened that nobody else wanted her. Why did nobody else want her? I couldn’t leave her, I sympathized with her too much… being alone or the “last” one that is. I scooped her up and knew she’d be an important part of my life; she was after all going to the first pet I had on my own.



Eight years later I still love giving her cat nip and watching her roll around in it, she can get pretty funny if you give her enough. She also has a pretty awesome trick where she jumps from the ground onto my shoulder when she wants some loving...Over the years though she has gotten progressively further and further away from my shoulder, but at least she hasn't given up yet! She’ll sit on my shoulder with her head wrapped around the back of my neck, purring so loud it’s almost massage like. The funniest thing is she acts more like a dog than my dog. She likes to sit out on the patio when the weather is nice and sun bathe, she knocks on the door with her paw when she wants in and….meows when she needs to be fed. She’s the chillest, coolest cat I could ever ask for. I will probably never own another cat after her because I’m growing increasingly allergic to her hair and dander but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She’s been with me on all my moves, through all my boyfriends, and all my ups & downs. Shortly before I first met Hailey I started feeling depressed about myself & life. If it wasn’t for this cat I’ve grown so fond of and who has seemed to always know when I needed a good purr or a warm soul next to me to pet, who knows which direction my life may have taken.

And then there is Armani. His name is so very fitting; everyone that knows him and is reading this entry is currently shaking their head in agreement. After moving into my first house and calling it quits with my boyfriend of several years I decided I wanted a dog. Presumably the dog would help me get out and meet other people, perhaps on a walk we’d run into a hot guy who was walking his dog and then we’d chat it up a little…then end the conversation with a “so when do you usually walk your dog type of thing” and then we’d run into each other again….and again and eventually we’d end up falling in love and walking our dogs together… ok, so now you can see I’m a hopeless romantic or better yet that in the grand scheme of things I wasn’t really thinking about the dog per se, rather where the dog would get me. Well that has changed. I was actively looking to adopt a dog and I had my eye on a Boston terrier at a rescue site. I went through the whole process, hours of filling out the application and talking on the phone only to be REJECTED because I was a single female who travelled from time to time...ANYWAY that’s another soap box, so after all that I had slightly given up on the fact that I was going to “do good” by owning a dog. After hanging out with the ex on several occasions and trying to re-kindle our diluted relationship, he decided to purchase me a dog upon which I fell in love with at our first meeting. To this day I think it was a way for my ex to get back with me but like I’ve said before, "he actually replaced himself!" That’s right - a friend suggested I go see this Italian Greyhound her friends ex-husband needed to “get rid” of, which by the way I’d never heard of this breed before and had no idea that when I met him I’d fall in love with the slightly awkward hairless, rat looking, long legged little thing – but I did! And so came the time when the ex- wandered on and left behind Armani who ended up being purchased for me as a “birthday gift”, the best birthday gift ever!


Armani was named by me as a tribute to his Italian heritage, his sleek sophisticated silver & white coat and the fact that he act’s like a freaking Prince. He’s a sweet, sweet dog whom likes to sleep A LOT and is comparative to that of Velcro. He follows me around everywhere, acts as a divider between me and anybody else on the couch or in the bed (my mom calls him “good” birth control) and needs to be touched or needs to be touching you 97% of the time. I love him to death though and I often find myself looking forward to getting home so I can see his wagging tail or get a sweet hug from him or snuggle with him as I fall asleep. We enjoy long walks and going the dog park where he enjoys sniffing butts and humping little white fluffy dogs he thinks are bunnies and I enjoy watching him dart around like a crazy person acting like he’s some type of racing fool.

And while we haven’t run into anybody walking, well any “men” that is, I’ve come to realize that in order to run into guys my own age, you actually have to live in a neighborhood that’s not geriatric filled. It’s okay though I’ve actually learned a lot about Sammy, the 17- year old grayish/white Maltese with a fierce overbite. It’s exactly what I envisioned happening when I got a dog, right? Ha-ha.

Then again most things don’t happen like you think they will.
In both of my “pet” instances I thought I was getting something else but it developed into something far more than I ever would have envisioned.
Guess the reason I felt like writing about my pets today is because I truly believe pets are reflective of your personality and are so much like family in that they are always there for you. It’s absolutely amazing how much a pet can affect your life - in a good way. And at this very point in time - it's also amazing to me how much better pets can be than men. What this boils down to is…. I’m just hoping that in time...in due time… a real man will come to me with relevance just like my pets did.

Here's to hope!