3.25.2013

life as mrs. marx

there is no better way to say this other than to quote my dear friend erika: "the kids think i'm a teacher." they really do! i feel like a little insignificant guppy in the sea of educators, and yet the students think the world of me. it's the best feeling ever. i'm slowly getting a glimpse of what life is like as a real elementary school teacher, and i am happy to report that i am so freaking excited.  i can't wait to have a classroom of my own! 

here are a few sneak peeks i've had at teacher life: 

things to hang on my fridge 
(excuse the capital letter g. i hate myself every day because of it.)
 a new pre-bedtime reading routine
weird habits 
instead of saying "my apartment," "my room," or "my home," often times i say "my classroom" on accident. 
i constantly find myself humming tunes like little bunny foo foo or the days of the week song.
sometimes i feel the need to verbally sound out words before i read them (real example: "bl-o-g-g-er ... blogger")
whenever i see a kid, i try to guess what grade he/she is in. (and whenever i see a kid outside during school hours, i feel morally obligated to ask them why they aren't at school and what they are doing.)
i feel the need to repeat everything i say, just to ensure people understand. 
love notes up the ying yang 
hearing funny quotes
"did you know if you touch something black you'll die?"
"mrs. marx, how come you never wear socks?"
"one time, i was eating popcorn really fast and it was so good but then i bit my finger and it hurt sooo bad" 
*student walks up to me* "what sword do you think is the strongest?" "what?" "i bet it's a wooden sword. because wood is pretty weak and it can break easily." *walks away*
"man, this [mechanical pencil] was such a waste of a perfectly good quarter!" 
"you sound just like my mom right now."
kid 1: "did you know that when we eat chicken, someone cut off that chickens head?" kid 2: "NO! they can't do that! that's against mother nature!!!" 
"i wish i could marry my scissors."
"are those crystals on your necklace real?" (on my pink bubble necklace) "no." "oh. they look so real."
"i think my eye is drying out" 
*looking at a peer's drawing of a leprechaun* "that seriously looks like real life. i can't tell if it's a real picture or not."
"have you ever tried putting mustard on an orange?"
"mrs. marx, do you want to know what i'm going to do when i get home? eat five pieces of bread, and go to sleep."
"this skittle tastes like cornbread."
"one day i'll have lots of gold."
i love first grade.  the students are so inspiring. they love to sing. they love to dance. they jump at any opportunity to help others. they are so smart. they are excited about everything, and find joy in the smallest little insignificant things. for example, if we're reading a story about someone named sam, their whole day is completely made because they know someone named sam. while they may not be able to open their own water bottles, these kids have the ability to melt my heart. i love having the opportunity to help them grow and to teach them new things. i am a happier person because of them.

3.22.2013

do you hear the people sing?

would you judge me if i told you i've been sitting in this exact spot on my couch for almost five hours? my sweet husband picked me up from school with a gallon of orange juice and les mis in hand. so this is what our friday night looks like: 
(we like to push our couches together to make one extra large super couch)
although i know my pathetic words won't do justice describing this cinematic work of art, let me say that i feel so inspired as i journey with valjean throughout the film. i am humbled, i am heartbroken, i am filled with love and faith. my heart is touched by the immediate and passionate love between marius and cossett. les mis motivates me to be a better person, to love with my whole heart, and to show compassion to everyone around me. personally, i choose to label the 2.5 hours as more of a spiritual experience rather than a casual movie watching. i am already excited to watch it and be enlightened again. and again. and again. thanks, husband.

3.20.2013

i love the internet

happy wednesdizzle my peeps. how u be?
oh, i'm sorry...
it seems like my new favorite website is rubbing off on me.

have you been on gizoogle.net?
i just spent the last 10 minutes wiping tears off my face.
this site might be the funniest thing i have ever seen in my entire life.

it lets you search anything (similar to the original google), but the results are translated into gangster language. seriously. look up any site through gizoogle.net, and watch the magic happen. this has the potential to provide me with hours upon hours of entertainment.

my blog:
http://www.gizoogle.net/index.php?search=ashleynoelbarnes.blogspot.com&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit

my twitter:
http://gizoogle.net/index.php?search=%40ashleyymarx&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit

i'm dying.
peace up.

(and while we're on the topic of gangsters, please enjoy these photos of kristine and myself dressed up for halloween. maybe like... 2006? 2007? favorite costume ever.)
straight up.

3.17.2013

a weekend of mothers

how random is the fact that my mom and scotty's mom both planned trips to utah on the very same weekend? i'm still dying haha. so random. my mom came up on wednesday to attend a scrapbooking convention thursday-friday, and kim came up friday-sunday for some harp workshops and a concert! 
highlights with al-dog:
visiting angela & baby eva
shopping all afternoon
drooling in anthropologie 
eating at sixth & pine in nordstrom
(and later at coldstone with scotty) 
catching up & telling stories 
highlights with kim: 
eating a delicious breakfast (compliments of scotty) 
being showered with gifts
shopping downtown 
eating at olive garden 
designing our future homes in restoration hardware
discussing business ideas and political issues 
scotty and i are so blessed to have these two beautiful, selfless, fun women as our mothers. 
we love you! thanks for visiting!!! 

3.11.2013

my latest power outfit

i don't know about you, but when i'm stressed out of my mind, my coping method of choice is retail therapy. there's something so motivating and comforting about wearing a new piece of clothing! i knew this week was going to be a little on the crazy side, so i found some peace in this adorable top from forever 21. the peter pan collar trend is rocking my world. 
plus, today i had to teach 3 lessons and be observed by my professor and school facilitator. 
if that doesn't justify a new blouse, i don't know what does. 
my protocol in life for any nerve-wrecking event (tests, interviews, sacrament meeting talks, etc.) is to dress as cute as humanly possible. because hey, even if it doesn't end well, at least i still feel like some hot piece of ass. 
(but don't worry, i crushed my observation) 

3.10.2013

a new name

three and a half years ago, when i started this blog, i thought my title was pure genius: "a little bit of this, a little bit of ash." although i am not an obsessed michelle branch fan, i thought this little modified phrase from her song was so perfect. i was blogging about everything. a little bit of music, a little bit of movies, ideas, crafts, school happenings, pop culture, and a little bit of me. anything and everything that i found noteworthy. i started blogging to keep my family updated on my exciting college life while beginning my freshman year at BYU.  i quickly grew a strong preference to blogging over journaling or scrapbooking. an electronic copy of my experiences would surely last longer than the delicate paper pages of a book.  no glue, no ink, no scissors. blogging can be just as creative and eye-appealing without the hassle! and i can type much faster than i write. the whole thing seemed like a win-win-win all around.

so much has happened since fall of 2009 when i started this blog. i'm almost graduated, my skin is approximately 20 shades whiter, i'm married to the love of my life, i've matured, and i have a whole new set of hobbies and interests. i'm a completely different person! i love where i am in life right now and all i've accomplished. i want to keep progressing and learning! scotty and i want to be successful, reach our goals, and to do good in the world... or in other words, "make our marks." though the title may not be as cute as "a little bit of this, a little bit of ash," it is definitely more goal-oriented and long-term. and i wanted a title that included my cute husband somehow :)
so here's to being married, achieving, learning and progessing, and making our marks. 

3.09.2013

my FAVORITE app

is it just me, or are digital cameras a thing of the past?
i never use mine. in fact, i had completely forgotten about it until a few days ago when i was rearranging a closet. i wiped off the inch-thick layer of dust and pushed the power button. the most recent pictures on it were from our HONEYMOON! seriously? so long ago. anyway, the point i'm trying to get to is this: i use my iphone in place of a camera 99.9% of the time. it's so convenient, i always have it with me, and it's super easy to share my pictures with friends and other devices via messaging, social media, email, and dropbox. duh. 

the only thing i don't particularly love about my phone turned camera is the subpar picture quality. it's good... but it's not great. that is - it wasn't great. UNTIL, my homie jen (who you all should follow because she's hilarious) introduced me to afterglow.
i'm convinced it's the best photo app out there. maybe even the best app in general. 
it totally transforms my pictures.
it is so easy to use, yet makes me feel like a photography genius.

exhibit 1: crappy picture taken by apple employee
terrible lighting. terrible everything. we were trying to document a huge milestone in our life (buying an iPad), and walked away with this dark ridiculous picture. how sad would it be if i was stuck with this picture for the rest of my life? no fear- a few minutes of quality time with afterglow, and this is the result: 
BOOM! right?! you can almost see the tears of joy streaming down scotty's face.

exhibit 2: fantastic frames
another thing i love about afterglow is the frames. hearts, stars, circles, you name it.
they give my pictures character.

cute, right? 

so take the 30 seconds and 99 cents out of your life and download afterglow... because i promise you, you won't regret it. what are your favorite apps? i love hearing what ones other people are obsessed with!

3.04.2013

awful waffles

lately the husband and i have been on a semi-obsessive waffle craze. waffle trips are our new saturday morning tradition. i wish i could say we're connoisseurs by now, but ever since we tried bruges waffles, we haven't been able to stop. it's divine! my mouth is watering at the very thought. 
anyway, tonight we thought we could recreate the magic. 
enjoy a calm, low-key, breakfast-for-dinner ensemble. 
relax after a long and stressful monday. 
what could be simpler than making batter, and then pouring said batter into a waffle maker? 
the machine pretty much does the job for you, right? 
WRONG.
it started out great. the batter was absolutely delectable. like, eat-a-spoonful-at-a-time delectable (and if you are going to judge me for eating raw batter, i ban you from my blog!). but delicious batter was the extent of our cooking successes tonight. everything else was kind of a disaster.
lessons learned: 
1. don't underestimate the simple things. 
2. have a backup plan. 
3. don't betray bruges waffles ever again. 

3.02.2013

you look better with the lights off

sometimes i find songs that are perfectly fitting and relevant to real life experiences. for example:
hearing your alarm clock go off = don't wake me up by chris brown
going on my second date with scotty = fallin' for you by colbie caillat
some girl from vegas claims she went to your "my world" tour and now has your baby and is filing a lawsuit and making you take a DNA test = maria by justin bieber (p.s. what ever happened with that?)
buying a lamp shade at target = better with the lights off by new boyz
... let me explain.
scotty and i were making our weekly target trip on thursday night, minding our own business, when suddenly my eyes were blinded by the beauty of this lamp shade:
i was almost in tears because i've never seen anything so perfect and pretty.
it was like the only three things in the store were me, scotty, and the shade. a complete and happy little family.
i love the pattern and i especially love the color.
i love the bold contrast between the white and mustard.
what a statement piece - i needed it.
i was planning on getting down on my knees and begging, but before i could do so the husband said we should probably get it :) wahoo! everything was falling perfectly into place. i knew this was meant to be. we ran home and we couldn't put the new piece on our lamp fast enough; i was so excited. as my handy man finished, i stared in awe. it was so lovely. there was not an ounce of regret from my impulse purchase. surely this would become a family heirloom. something my kids would fight over when i die. it was a beautiful sight to see. and then... something happened.
i said to scotty, "turn it on!!!" and the magic was ruined. as the light shone through the shade, the white turned to a dirty yellow and the mustard turned to gold. the contrast was gone, and my heart crumbled to pieces.

to quote the wise words of new boyz, some things (in their case, women) look better with the lights off.

you're a dime, so beautiful. top of the line, so unusual. words can't define. running through my mind all day. i'm so happy you're mine ... i hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you look better with the lights off.

so do i keep it? if the purpose of a lamp is to give light, but i only like its shade when it's not giving light, does that make me crazy? what's a girl to do?