Coasting Down Sick St.

In the past 2 days I have found myself hit full on by the "Virus Villian".  I started feeling semi- lousy on tuesday and it built itself up to such a peak on wednesday that  I ended up leaving work early and headed straight to urgent care.  By the time I reached urgent care I had a temp of 101 and was way past lousy.  They ran a strep culture. Negative.  Well, thats good right? Sure, except that they diagnosed this attack on my body as just a virus.  I have been battling sinus headaches, drainage, body aches, sore throat, and more and I just couldnt take this diagnosis at face value.  I came home from urgent care and took it upon myself to call my actual doctor to get an appointment for today, just to be sure.  I went to see her today and sure enough, it's just a virus.  They swabbed me for flu and that came back negative so I just have to ride the sick wave until the waters calm.  It has to run it's course and I just hope this course is more of a 5K than a marathon. So until it's all cleared up, Tylenol Sinus, Juice, Netti Pot, and Tissues will be my friends.

Despite this minor medical set back, I am leaving today to head to sweet home Indiana for one of my very bestest friend's wedding.  I cannot believe she is getting married! We have been friends since she was a baby and her sister and I were toddlers.  It's hard to believe that she's all grown up and about to walk down the aisle.  I am so happy that she has found such a great guy and is about to start this new chapter in her life.  I also cannot WAIT to see her ad her sister and have some very much needed girl time before she becomes a Mrs. :) Mani/Pedi's, Starbucks, Lunch...Yes, Please!

The countdown is on! Less than 3 wks till the big Run For Mercy 5K and Family Walk!  I have been training but still unsure that I will RUN the entire thing....keeping my fingers crossed on that one lol. I love this event but am very ready for it to be here and have all the planning come together in the big day.  Time to move on to new projects!  If you dont have plans, make plans to be at this event. Saturday, October 16th @ Queeny Park.  Registration begins at 8 and the race begins at 9. Lots of fun things to do and see. Don't miss it!

Until next time!

Annnnd We're Back!

It has been far too long since I posted...I realize this and have decided to update!

Life has been crazy busy over the past few months.  Work has been grat but constantly keeping me on my toes.  Shortly after starting as receptionist I was also drafted to work part time in development for the St. Louis house since our community relations manager had left.  We have a huge fundraising 5K coming up in October so I have been inundated by all things running.  Funny, right? If you know me you know I HATE running and now I'm organizing one. Never say never! I'm even training to run in it.  God certainly has a sense of humor! For more info on the run visit our website www.runformercy.org/stlouis5k.

Mom, Nicole, and I decided to have a little ladies day last saturday and drove down to St. Genevieve. We had every intention of stopping in this quaint little town and doing some shopping, dinning, etc, however, when we arrived it was not quite what we had built up in our minds.  Most of the shops (all 5 of them) were closed due to the holiday (Labor Day) and few of the restaurants were open.  For all appearances, the town had closed up shop for the weekend! So, instead, we headed over to Crown Valley Winery.

This place is A LOT bigger than I had imagined.  I have been to a few wineries but they were usually a quaint older home-ish looking building with the vineyards out back...not so much here! It was an incredibly gorgeous, crisp day but slightly windy trying to sit out back and do wine tastings.  We had hoped to also tour the winery but unfortunately we arrived about an hour before they closed so we had missed the tours.  Instead, mom and I decided to do some tastings while Nicole played the DD and took pics.

Mom perusing the wine list

Enjoying the first sample

~ "No wine, I'm fine" Nicole enjoying her water

      ~ Mom and the wind blown look

~Vineyards in the background                                                     

                                                                

~ My Endless Lovvveeee~



Needless to say, we had a great time at Crown Valley! I would recommend them to anyone.

My single self! Ashlee- 24 St.Louis

In response to Kelly's Corner Show Us Your Life Friday, I decided to join in the fun and post a little something about myself, being that I AM single and she's wanting the singles to represent this week!

I'm 24 and currently live in St. Louis, where I've lived for 11 years now. I just graduated from MBU in April with a Bachelor's in Worship Arts and a Bachelor's in Ministry and Leadership. I am currently a receptionist with a wonderful national non-profit Christian residential counseling ministry. I hope to begin my Master's in marriage and family counseling next year but am also open to whatever God has for me in this season of my life, my future is in his hands! Ultimately I do want to be leading worship full time in a church based or traveling ministry and be able to provide counseling in conjunction with that particular ministry.

I am a pastor's kid and have grown up in church but am glad to say that that has not jaded or exagerated my spiritual life in any way (which often times it can, ask any pk!). It's all about a personal relationship with Christ...not religious legalism or denominational allegiances. He has shown Himself sovereign in my life and I reconize my complete reliance upon Him for everything, including the future of my love life!

I come from a loving family and they are extremely important to me. I would love to meet someone that shares my family values! I have 1 brother who is married and has 4 boys (with a 5th child on the way) and 1 sister. My parents were married for 40 years before my father passed away in 2008, what an example they set!

In my free time I love to play guitar and sing (I've been singing since I could talk!), work out, travel, get out and experience all that the city of St. Louis has to offer, spend time with friends and family, check out the latest flicks, head to baseball games, and just spontaneously head out on exciting adventures! I enjoy good books, Starbucks, great food, chocolate, rain storms, Yankee candles, a great smile, and all the simple things in life. I am 6'1" so my future mate MUST be ok with height, whether he's tall or short. God made me this way, I cant and wouldnt change it...and I LOVE to wear heels. lol.

If the man of God's dreams for me is reading this, I want you to know that I'm praying for you and cannot wait to finally meet you. I pray that God blesses your life as He has blessed mine and that one day we will be able to experience his love and blessings on our life together. Though the details of my potential mate are in God's hands, I pray that he has a great all-around personality, loves to have fun and can be goofy, is compassionate and caring, but strong and protective as well. I hope that he appreciates my love of travel (and wants to pursue big adventures with me),  my propensity for reminiscing and building memories, and my laid back, go with the flow nature.  I pray that we can build great communication and trust and be more than just marriage partners but also best friends. I love with all that I am and give 100%. While I cant promise that things will always be perfect, I can promise I'll always be by your side to push through the tough times and rejoice in the times of blessing. I hold you, love of mine, close to my heart.

 

If anyone sees this and would like to pass it on or post email, facebook, whatever...that'd be great!

You can also email me at ashlee.kirk05@gmail.com

Last Moments of 23

In 47 minutes I will transcend from the young, vibrant age of 23 into the ripe, old age of 24. Ha! It's sad, I do actually feel older. All of the kids who were babies when I was in gradeschool/highschool are now graduating highschool themselves...YIKES! Most of my friends (who are younger than me) are getting engaged, married, and having babies. Life is rapidly moving along and being as such I thought I would jot down a few thoughts before one age passes away into the next.

What 23 has brought me:

• I finished my Senior year of college, graduated Magna Cum Laude, and completed an awesome internship with Mercy Ministries.
• I met an amazing woman who paved the way for my current job and who taught me so much about reaching out and making a difference...may she be covered in Kingdom Blessings  =)
• I was reminded that loss is inevitable and that people do grow and change, whether you're ready or not. My brother and his family relocated from St. Louis to Iowa and 2 of my best friends moved away. God shakes up our lives for a reason....I'm still waiting to see the outcome of that shake up lol.
• I learned that God is the true Orchestrator of our lives and that by Him alone are we able to thrive and flourish. When times were hard, God made a way. When money was tight, He provided. When I didnt know what would come in the job arena after college, He provided the perfect position. When I didnt know how I was going to get a new car, He provided the deal of a lifetime and gifted me beyond my dreams. Let HIS will be done and you will NOT regret it. It's not always easy, it doesnt always feel good. We will experience pain and loss. But we will also experience inexpressable joy and blessing. Trust me, I've seen it... more importantly, trust HIM.
• I learned that close friends dont come around everyday so it's important to hold on tightly to the ones God has blessed us with. I have been incredibly blessed with the friendships God has placed in my life. They teach me so many things and remind me that this journey of life is not meant to be walked out alone.
• I was reminded of how much I love my family and how I couldnt imagine life without them, but in that I was reminded of how much I miss my dad and wish that he was still here. I'd love it if he showed up at my door in the morning to say , "Happy birthday, gucci, I wuv you"...Maybe I'll just say it to myself in the morning and it'll suffice.
• I learned that hard work really does pay off, not just in school, but in life. I lost 50 lbs all through working out and eating right. I spent the time in the gym, expended the energy, and dripped in sweat but it has paid off. I am so incredibly happy to be so much healthier. I often forced myself to do things in the gym that I didnt want to but in that I found out that I was so much stronger than I realized.
• I learned that it is possible to mess up a potentially good thing. I wish I had given it more of a chance, and for that I'm sorry. But it taught me a lot and I can only hope that it did the same for you.
• I was reminded to hold onto what/who is important and get rid of the rest.
• I found that the best conversations are had laying in the park on a blanket, staring up at the stars, listening to country music....flirting with the idea of the future.
• Tall skinny vanilla lattes from Starbucks are my vice.
• Red velvet cake is still my favorite.
• The Blind Side was the best movie of the year.
• My favorite color changes daily but I spent most of this year loving purple.
• I've read more books for pleasure since graduating than I ever did while I was in school (Eat, Pray, Love being my favorite)
• I'm going to be an aunt for the 5th time (due Christmas day!)
• Cupcakes rock my world.
• I'm still just as eclectic as ever and was actually told by an aquaintance that I'm "quirky" (whatever that means)

What I hope 24 holds for me:

• More health and happiness
• More lessons and blessings
• Direction and dreams.
• Meeting the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life having adventures with.
• Traveling.
• More opportunities to show God's love and be His light
• More moments of pure bliss with friends and family

That's about all I have for now. If you have been involved in my life this past year, I love you and thank you for speaking into and being apart of my life.

Patiently Waiting

I was going to wait to make the official announcement when the papers were signed and she was delivered but I might as well let the cat out of the bag..... I GOT A CAR!!! Yes, "Mommy, wow!, I'm a big kid now". I purchased my very first (self bought and owned) car on saturday. Unlike in the last post where I stated it would be a Corolla S, I changed my mind. After test driving the S I realized that I needed more head/leg room for myself and my passengers so I went with the LE model. It's a 2010 RED Corolla Le with, get this, a moon roof! I'm telling you, this car is a GOD-SEND and its only because of His sovereign hand that I am able to get it.

First off, I knew exactly what my budget was going to allow and what price and I was going to negotiate the car down to. I had originally done all of the homework and had all the figures for the S but sitting in the LE just felt much better so I quickly realligned the numbers in my head and was prepared to bargain, but little did I know I wouldnt need to do much! I've been praying for the last few weeks that the Lord would just give me wisdom and discernment in handling the car situation and that He would provide the right deal and give me favor with whomever I would deal with. He did all of that and more! Once I had decided to go with the LE I had remembered that I had seen a new LE @ Lou Fusz that had a moon roof, which is something that I really wanted but knew I could live without if the price wasnt right. So I decided to let my salesman know that I had one other car to consider but that if it didnt work out I'd be back. He poked and prodded abit to get me to tell him where I was going and what car I was looking at. When I told it was the same car but with a moonroof that kicked him into high gear and the deals came rolling in. He informed me that they had guys who could do the moon roof for me, that he'd give me the moon roof for $1200 instead of $1500 and that he could get me the car for $16,500. Lou Fusz wanted $18,980 for this model with the moonroof. I agreed to sit down and start talks at this point. $16,500 was my bargain price and without even asking me for a desired price, the salesman automatically threw it at me. Awesome! I didnt even have to haggle him for it. Then came time to drop the bomb about my trade in. I wasnt sure what I would get, if anything, for my less than stellar cougar. I figured as long as I got $500 for it that I'd be good...God fulfills requests that are so much bigger than we ask for..After the guys looked it over and drove it I was informed that I would get $1200 for the trade. AWESOME! On top of this, I also qualified for their $1000 college grad rebate, so this brought my final financing cost down to $14,300. Even better than I had planned. So long story short, as of wednesday I will have a brand new 2010 Toyota Corolla LE (with moon roof)...so new it's right off the truck and has less than 10 miles. God is sooooooo good!

Dream big, we serve a God who is big enough to grant them and so much more.

Pics to come!

Gotta work this out..

Since I started working I have NOT had time to blog so i REALLLY need to figure out how to update on life AND live it lol. This week, I promise will be different!

What you have missed:

1. LOTS OF WORK. I'm still getting settled into my positiona and the responsibilities that apertain to it but so far so good! I learn new things every day and am trying desperately not to forget anything. =)

2. Car issues still abound and I have started car shopping...by the end of this week I may be the proud owner of a new car! I am trying one final fix on my car and if it doesnt work, then I'm done with it and will be purchasing a new "whip". I have one picked out, just need to test drive it and make sure she's the one.
For those who are curious... I have it narrowed down to the 2010 Toyota Corolla S. Very sporty. Great gas mileage. Great price and deal from Toyota for the college grad. So we'll see!

3. My brother and 3 of my nephews were in town this weekend and we had a blast hanging out. I hadnt seen one of my nephews since Christmas so it was great to see him. He is SUCH a hoot! We went and saw Shrek Forever. It was good but I still believe that #3 was the best. See it, you decide!

Well kids, thats it for now. I must get some laundry in, do some reading, and hit the hay. See you later!

New Chapters

I realize that I havent updated in awhile but this is for good reason, I started my new job this past week! Yes, it's true, I am now officially the receptionist at Mercy Ministries St. Louis. So far everything has gone smoothly and the staff has been wonderful in getting me acclamated to my new position. It's interesting to see all of the facets of what I'll be doing being revealed to me in little bits. On Friday I was able to go with the girls on their mall trip and spend some time getting to know them which was great! It's definitely A LOT different from being an intern hehe.

In other news, CARS ARE EVIL! A few days into my new job my car decided to act up. OF COURSE! My check engine light started flashing and the car began to run very rough. I knew I needed a transmission flush and thought well, maybe this was my indication that it really was time to get it done. So I took my car to NTB (who has been handling my car complaints lately) for a transmission flush. By the time I got the car to them the check engine light has gone off and the car was running ok. I was excited! After the flush the car continued to run fin so I thought I was out of the woods...not so much. The next morning on my way to work the car began to run even rougher so I knew I had to handle it. I called NTB back to let them know there were issues and they encouraged me to bring it back. They hooked a computer up to the sensors in the car and found that there was a "mis-fire in the 2nd cyclinder", which may or may not be fixable by doing a tune up on the car... a tune up which they wanted to issue me for $585 (insert choking noise). Needless to say I was NOT okay with that and after much counsel, decided to leave and go price check an consider my options. With all the resolve in the world, I told the manager I was going to consider my options and proceeded to walk out the door. Well, pride cometh before the fall my friends, bc as I went to leave I tried to put my car in gear in the car wouldnt move...not forward, backward, or sideways. I huffed it to the entrance but realized pulling out into traffic was not wise so i was able to idle it in reverse to a parking space where I proceeded to park, call my mom to pick me up, and have an emotional break down. By the time she showed up I had composed myself and she proceeded to head into NTB to find out if we could have the car looked at to make sure nothing more than the 2nd cylinder issue was going on. Good thing she did bc they put the car on the wracks and found a huge split in the transmission line. UGH. So FOR FREE, NTB replaced the line and refilled my fluids but this did not fix the problem. I tried leaving again and the lights and roughness returned. I, therefore, returned to NTB to make sure it was JUST the 2nd cylinder. They tested it again and it was just that so I decided to call up a friend who does car stuff to see if he had any ideas or could do tune ups. Thank goodness for cute guy friends who can fix cars bc for about $100 I'm getting a much needed tune up which I hope will ultimately fix the issue! So today He is doing the tune up, so send up some prayers that this will work!

What's in YOUR bag?

So it's been a few days since I last posted and I can promise you that not many exciting things have come up. But I will say that its nice to be through all of the season finales! I dont remember a time when there were so many right on top the other. I can also say I am 100% satisfied with the outcomes of all of my favorite shows including: One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars, Ruby, Celebrity Apprentice, and Biggest Loser.

Here's a look at the winners of DWTS, CA, and BL.

Derrick and Nicole shined all season and ended up pulling out the win for the Mirror Ball trophy over Evan and Anna. They were amazing!

Bret Michaels pulled out the win on Celebrity Apprentice, beating out Holly Robinson Pete. I dont care what anyone says, sympathy vote or not, Bret did a great job and I was happy to see him one. I also have to give Trump a few classy points for working with Snapple and getting money donated to both finalist's charities despite the show only usually giving money to the winner. Nice move Trump!

In Biggest Loser news, Michael came back to win the coveted title of Biggest Loser on Tuesday night. You have to give it up for this guy! He lost an incredible amount of weight in such a short time. And, can I just say, turned into a TOTAL babe?! Congratulations Michael!

Now, to the non-television oriented portion of today's post...which is brought to you by new experiences and the Faith that Works Bible study.  A few weeks ago I was invited by a fellow Mercy friend to attend a Bible study put on by the wonderful women of Faith that Works. I really wasnt going to know many people so I was slightly hesitant to go but God has been pressing it on my heart that this was something that I needed to do and that there's something in this that He's wanting to show me. I'm so glad I listened to Him! Even on the first night I could feel that this would be something special. We will be doing a study on the book of Joshua called "Peace of Mind or Mind in Pieces". This week was more of an icebreaker and we'll dig into the the study next week but I'm so excited to see what God has for us. We did a really cool exercise where we all emptied out our purses and examined what we needed to keep and what we could get rid of, what was weighing us down, and what we considered important. This plays into the idea of different voices speaking into our lives...what messages from others do we need to keep and what are those that we can throw away, that are keeping us shackled to our insecurities. Its a great group of young, outgoing women who are hungry to hear from God, grow in His Word, and walk in His freedom!

I must now draw this to a close as I need to be getting up early in the morning to spend the day with two of my favorite little girls. Am hoping its not tooo terribly hot so we can go to the park, but lets be honest, it IS St. Louis...therefore expect 80* heat before noon. lol.

Goodnight Kids!

Deep cleaning the house and it's applications for the soul

After catching up on some much needed sleep I decided to get to cleaning the house today. I live with my mom and sister and its not like we make much mess but spring cleaning has been wayyy overdue.

I started with the bathroom and scrubbed the tub, toilet, and sink. I was just going to sweep the floor but decided instead to steam it and there begins the biggest hunk of my cleaning for the day. Once i started in the bathroom I ended up being a steaming machine! I vaccumed/steamed the hardwood floors throughout the house and when that wasn't enough I steamed the carpet in the living room....each floor I steamed about 3 times over. Once I finished that I windexed all of the class, pledged the wood, and cleaned the leather furniture. Not quite satisfied with my work I RECLEANED the hardwood floors with this great cleaner that my sister picked up for me to use. I then placed all of the furniture back in the rooms, while Nicole cleaned the stainless steal in the kitchen and eventually I stood back to marvel at the work.

The floors actually shined! The carpet felt sooo much softer and looked sooo much better! The stainless steel appliances looked brand new! Its amazing what hard work, determination, and HEAT can do to return things to a healthier, cleaner, shinier, much more appealing condition.

How true is this of our lives?

Often times we have to go through difficulties, tough times, and HEAT for God to work in the mess that is our lives, clean up the grime, dust, and stains and really make us shine. This process is not one that we can do on our own. Like with my sister helping with the finishing touches, often we need people to come beside us and help us work through the difficulties to come out stronger and more beautiful on the other side.

-Ash

One week till' reality

It seems as though my mini-summer break is very quickly slipping through my fingers...why you ask is my vacation mini? Well, this is because this recent college grad will be starting her first official post-college, non-retail job! I accepted a receptionist position with Mercy Ministries here in St. Louis and begin June 1st. So this night owl will have to become an early bird...YIKES! I do appreciate the set hours, no nights or weekends, but conditioning my body to getting up early again will take some getting used to, but thats okay!

So for the past few weeks I have been enjoying the heck out of staying up late, sleeping in, and doing whatever pleases my fancy but this will very soon be coming to an abrupt end. I didnt realize this, for some reason, until this morning after a very rough night of sleep and waking up to the feeling of complete dispair at the thought of doing anything more productive than getting out of bed. Oh dear. lol

In other news... I dont know if you all heard, but, Brittany Murphy's husband was found dead in their home yesterday. If you remember it wasnt long ago that Brittany, herself, died of natural causes. He was quite a bit older than she was and it really makes you wonder about soul connection. Often times when a spouse dies, the remaining partner's death is often not far behind. He seemed to be absolutly devastated at her death, as if something inside of him had gone with her. Could it be that really it had? What are your thoughts on this?

Here's the link to the story on Yahoo!.

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/brittany-murphys-husband-is-found-dead-at-home/41269?nc

Also in today's news... Tonight is part 1 of the "Dancing with the Stars" finale. Who is your favorite? Who do you think will win?

This is a tough one for me being that I'm a huge fan of Nicole AND Erin. I would love to see the non-dancer take it. Erin has really proven herself and has come out as one of the shinning stars in this competition. I love her attitude and determination! Plus, she has the best looking partner ever, gotta love Max! I think it will be a realllly close competition even tonight and that the winner could really be any one of them. All 3 finalists are incredibly talented and deserve to win.

Here's an interesting story on just that!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sc-ent-0520-dancing-finale-preview-20100524,0,5398023.story?track=rss


I would love to hear your feedback after tonight's perfomances!



Well, I suppose I should start doing something with this day...a few small things can count right?

-Ash

Saint Louie!

This week Kelly's Korner asked fellow bloggers to share a bit about their home towns and I was shocked to see that St. Louis was not represented so I just had to share a post about our great city!

Welcome to St. Louis!

While I am not originally from this great city, I HAVE lived here almost as long as I lived in my hometown of Portage, IN so I do believe I can serve as just as good a tour guide as anyone else!

St.Louis is home to the World Series winning Cardinals and let me tell you, it's not an exageration when people call this city "Cardinal Nation". They are fanatic about baseball here.

We also host the St. Louis Blue hockey team and the Rams football team (although the jury is out on whether or not we're claiming the Rams as belonging to us! lol).

Apart from sports you will also find the world famous "Arch" which is our most noteable landmark.

One of the great parts about this monument is that you CAN go up inside of it. If you look closely as the pictures you will see small windows along the top of the Arch. These windows are a part of the lookout deck. One of the most amazing views of St. Louis comes from this look out. In order to get to the top, you climb into a small Jetson looking egg and take an elevator ride to the top!

St. Louis is also the home to Forest Park where you can find the wonderful St. Louis Zoo, Jewel Box, Art Museum, History Museum, The Muny (one of the only outdoor open-air live theatres in the nation), The Boathouse, Steiner Ice Skating Arena, and many baseball diamonds and golf courses. This are really is a treasure!

 (Pictured below : The Muny, The Zoo, The Art Museum, The Jewel Box)

        

Not far from Forest Park is the Delmar Loop which is home to many eclectic shops, eateries, concert venues, and the occassional street musician! You will find "Blueberry Hill" here, which is Chuck Berry's restaurant. He appears and plays here every few months.

The sidewalks are lined with stars denoting the various actors, musicians, and other noteables who call St. Louis home.

If you're looking to come to St. Louis for educational purposes, you're in luck. You will find well over 20 colleges in our city including Washington University, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri STL, Fontebonne University, Harris Stowe, Missouri Baptist University, Maryville University, and MANY more.

If you're looking for great food, we can definitely help you out there. St. Louis is known for the delicacy that is toasted ravioli. DO NOT come to STL and leave without trying it! We have a great neighborhood of family owned Italian restaurants known as The Hill.

You cant go wrong with Italian mama's cooking up their best ancient recipes for you and your family to enjoy. We also have our own style of pizza! Check out Imo's to enjoy St. Louis's own thin crust, provolone cheese wonder.

For the best fried chicken EVER, head over to Hodak's. You will likely have to wait in line but it is MORE than worth it for their prices, food offerings, and taste creations.

For dessert grab our famous Gooey Butter Cake or Frozen custard. Just about every town around here has 5 or so custard shops. Check it out for a yummy treat.

There is sooo much more in St. Louis and I could go on for much much longer but I encourage you to come and check it out yourself! This is a great city for families and singles alike. For a better finger on the pulse of our city check out our local arts/events/city paper and website @ http://www.riverfronttimes.com/

Here you'll find everything that is going on in and around St.Louis at any given time as well.

See you soon!