Ashworth Alcove

IT'S A . .. … …. ….. …… ……. …….. ……… ………. ……….. ………… …………. ………….. …………… ……………. …………….. ……………… ………………. ……………….. ………………… …………………. ………………….. …………………… ……………………. …………………….. ……………………… ………………………. ……………………….. ………………………… …………………………. ………………………….. …………………………… ……………………………. …………………………….. ……………………………… ………………………………. ……………………………….. ………………………………… …………………………………. ………………………………….. …………………………………… ……………………………………. …………………………………….. ……………………………………… ………………………………………. ……………………………………….. ………………………………………… …………………………………………. ………………………………………….. …………………………………………… ……………………………………………. …………………………………………….. ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………. ……………………………………………….. ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………. ………………………………………………….. GIRL! We had our second ultrasound just before C hristmas and found out that we will be welcoming a littl e girl to the family. I'll never forget th e moment the ...

It's Christmas at the Ashworth household! We have holiday decor around the house, but from the outside we must look like the Grinch. We live in a neighborhood full of families. Everyone has children and everyone has fun lights and decor on their house. Our neighbors across the street have an inflatable helicopter with Santa flying it. Some houses have elegant white lights, some have every color imaginable, some have giant inflatable snowmen (I'm talking 20 feet), some flash, some strobe... And then there's us. We have a wreath on the door! We made a conscious decision for the outside of our house to look lame. 1. Fort Rucker requires all outdoor lights to be LED, which are expensive. 2. We're leaving for the holidays. 3. I'm pregnant and lazy. Hanging out under the tree. Ironically, the only gifts under there right now are for pets. We attended a Christmas party over the weekend. Everyone was decked out in a bunch of ridiculous holiday s...

I reactivated my Facebook this week as an experimental attempt to see how I feel about it after my vacation. I have to admit that I am incredibly underwhelmed by it. I think I also had lousy timing with it, in light of the recent Connecticut school shooting. I have really mixed feelings about some of the posts that I see regarding it. I will begin by saying that I, just as much as anyone, view this as a horrific tragedy. It honestly makes me question humanity altogether. My heart is broken for the family of each child, educator, and even the family of the shooter. Now, with that said, I have really mingled emotions about some of the attention placed on this terrible situation by the media and social networking. I had a long conversation with someone this week about the world we live in now and how it has changed from times past. There has been an obvious increase in violence around the world, including crazed shootings on innocent people. What the hell is going on? Why are acts like ...

Holy backache. That's right. I'm complaining. Week 19 has been a week of heating pads and bubble baths. I have to admit that I was shocked that I'm having so much back pain already. I anticipated it, but not until the third trimester. However, it's apparently very common for women to develop back pain throughout the second. Rubbish . Apparently it doesn't take much for a person's center of gravity to shift. Pair that with the bump pulling the spine slightly forward and ding, ding, ding ... You've earned yourself an evening of misery. I do enjoy rolling around in the floor with our animals when my back starts with the shenanigans. I'll make a pallet and stretch and cuddle with our 100 lb. puppy. Who, by the way, has without a doubt noticed that something is going on. Just this week he started following me around (even more than usual) and feels the need to be close to me. He even snapped at a dog at the dog park who got too close. He's not an aggr...

No super new developments, except Ben and I have been talking more about names. Which basically means that I think of names and he vetoes them. The halfway mark is just around the corner and we'll soon know the gender, but until we know the full name for sure I'll probably wait to post on it. There is one boy and one girl name that we keep going back to. Naming a person is a task that we do not take lightly – we certainly want to make sure it will suit him or her for the rest of their life. As for me this week, I'm having some annoying back pain, but I seriously can't complain. I feel pretty great and my baby is the size of a mango. I've grown quite fond of the goldfish feeling, which happens on a daily basis now. It's beginning to feel more like someone is thumping me from the inside. It’s so surreal and it really makes me realize, hey – there’s a person in there! So crazy. And I love it. I'm also having an increase in peculiar dreams. I've had s...

Apollo lingering on Ben's bags before he had to say goodbye. Ben recently attended a three week course in wilderness survival and enemy capture and evasion. Basically, he was dropped in the woods and lived off of the land before being captured and turned into a prisoner of war. I'll never share experiences like that with him, but I know that are a necessary element in his career, no matter how much I wish I could be with him every day. Unlike his deployment and other training courses, we had zero communication for the duration of the course. Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant (I'll admit I've been a little needy of his attention), but it was super hard this time! Thankfully, he has completed the course and is now back home (asleep on the couch to be exact). While he was gone I decided to have an extended visit home to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. All of the pets came along and enjoyed Tennessee as much as I did. Being around family made the time pass faster...

Well, well. This has been an exciting week! I FELT THE FIRST TINY MOVEMENTS!! I was in the car with my mom and dad when I felt what I would describe as a 'blump.' It was kind of like a bubble, kind of like a thump, kind of like a goldfish swimming around in there. When I first felt it I thought, "Hmm. That was weird." Then I felt it again and it hit me... I felt my baby move! It was definitely a different feeling than any I've had before. According to my grandmother, the baby will be born 4.5 months after you feel it move for the first time. If that is the case Baby Ashworth will make his/her appearance in mid-April. Our official due date is May 5. A few days after the initial feeling I noticed the goldfish feeling once again one morning when I was laying bed after waking up. The feeling takes place just below my belly button, which leads me to another subject... Never have I EVER seen the end of my belly button. I know, I know. People seem to find this stra...

What a crazy week. I actually just rolled over into week 17, but this is my recap of 16. My week consisted mainly of feeding Baby lots of dressing, napping with Baby, and then feeding Baby desert. I visited with lots of family and experienced lots of belly rubbing, which I didn't mind. My sister gave me a bunch of cozy sweaters and dresses this week, which is good because my regular clothes are getting snugger (more snug?) by the day it seems. My sweet nephew Jax rubbing my belly. The most common question I received was, "Do you know the gender?" Well, the answer is no. And then the question that immediately followed was, "Are you going to find out?" And that answer is yes. Prior to being pregnant I had always considered keeping it a big surprise because I feel like there aren't very many real surprises left in life anymore... Why ruin this one? However, since we found out we are expecting Ben and I have browsed around baby sections and baby stores o...

Baby Ashworth is growing and so is my belly! I never had the perfectly flat tummy, but it WAS perfect for sleeping on. It's growing more and more difficult for me to get comfy in bed because I can't turn to my favorite belly plank. Sometimes I use pillows (or my arms) to form a sort of lift, but it's not the same. And I'm kind of tired of waking up unable to feel my arms. My belly is protruding just enough to make me look like I've been eating a lot of donuts. And my dad informed me yesterday that my hips look wider (thanks Daddy!) I got my first maternity clothes! Just a few shirts, but I have a feeling that I'll be moving into roomier pants soon. I had another check up this week and was able to hear the heartbeat once more. It's been a steady 150 every time. My doctor said I could feel the baby move at any time! But she did warn that it was going to be more of a flutter than a kick and that I might even dismiss it as a rumbly tummy (which happens a lo...

And by little, I mean about the size of a peach. I feel that I've been a little quiet lately, but that's because in the spring, Ben and I are expecting a baby! It was hard holding in the news for the past few months, but I am now 14 weeks and doing well! The ultrasound photo was taken at 10 weeks. We've been to the doctor again since and were able to hear the heartbeat thumping strong both times! Such an amazing sound. So, I'll be posting about it more often now that it's completely out in the open. I'm so excited to be able to share this experience with the family and friends that we're not able to be close to.

Shame on me for not posting more frequently. I've been on a bit of a technology vacation. Just last month I was eating every meal in front of a computer screen and dreaming about my final projects, so it's nice to take some time away from technology and just take in the real world. That's where all of the inspiration is at anyhow! I just celebrated my 23rd birthday (yee-haw!) and it was perfectly low key. I spent the week in Tennessee with family reveling in the leaves and fall magic. I haven't spent time in the southeast during fall in a few years, so it was dearly missed. My parents and I went to Duncan's Market, my favorite place to visit during fall as a child. They have all kinds of fresh flowers and produce, including an impressive selection of pumpkins! We also paid a visit to David Crockett State Park to take in some fresh air, enjoy the leaves, and feed the geese that reside on the lake. The geese were nowhere to be found, however there w...

Summer is over. It's ended. Goodbye. Why does everyone like summer anyway? It's hot and miserable and it lasts WAY too long. I'm not going to miss you summer. You're a punk. Fall is way better. It comes around every year and steals your thunder. "Oh, here I am... In a cute cardigan with a mug of coffee. BYE" Bye, indeed. Fall has been hands down my favorite season for as long as I can remember. I've been contemplating the reasons why lately and I thought of something one of my favorite instructors from the Art Institute said once. We were discussing seasons and I mentioned that fall was my favorite and he said, "Of course it is... You're an artist." Many creative types are known for their attraction to fall and winter. But why? For me, I think it stems from the very beginning. I was born in October. Growing up I had fall birthday parties that included hayrides, bonfires, costumes, and pumpkin carving. So, it's always be...

I went to Tennessee this week and spent a couple of days with my family in Ramah. It was really rejuvenating. The leaves are just starting to turn. Cotton dapples the hills and the soybean fields boast a goldenrod display. I was only able to stay for a couple of days, but there was enough time for some Bunt family fun. We built a small fire in the backyard and roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and even baked apple pie in a pie iron. My mom made delicious cider to sip by the fire. It was cozy and my idea of a perfect night.   The family cat Delphi effortlessly added to the seasonal decor. Speaking of kitties, our Snowshow/Siamese cat Apollo has finally been reunited with his fair-furred brother Perseus. Percy always handled the long drives from Texas to Tennessee by bedding down and sleeping the entire way. However, Apollo wasn't happy with the restraints of his carrier when he accompanied me on the road trip back in the summer. For this reason, he took up residen...

I'm just now catching my breath from graduating and the big move. I don't know that I've ever been happier for something to end. I am so thankful for my mom, dad, and sister. They flew into Austin and helped me pack up my whole house, clean, load everything onto a moving truck, drove 900 miles to our new home, and then unloaded the moving truck. And all with very little sleep. I've been here for about a week and a half and my lovely mother-in-law will be arriving this evening to help me get the house in order. I love my family. So, I now reside at Fort Rucker, Alabama. I was a bit unsure about living on a military installation. My main concern laid in the idea that our whole life would just be ARMY ARMY ARMY. I liked not having our life revolve around the military (Who am I kidding? It still did...) But I guess it's just the fact that we got somewhat of a break from it, at least physically and aesthetically. We decided to live on post here for a few reasons. 1. It...

As it happens, I was hit with some compelling emotions today. With Pandora playing in the background of my thoughts, I was contemplating the days to come. The song 'Home' by Phil Phillips came on the station and consequently brought a flood of happiness, sadness, excitement, and uncertainty. Over the next few days I will be graduating from college, packing my whole life up (again), saying goodbye to some dear friends and driving across the country to a new home. Now, now... I've done this before. Not graduate college, but pack up and move across the country into a land of unknown. However, it feels completely different this time. It was here, in Texas, that was my first home away from the 'nest'. Here that Ben and I first lived together in a quaint apartment. Here that I devoted my time and sanity to art school. Here that I became married. Here that we moved into our first house together. Here that I met some amazing people that quickly became my dearest frien...

If you've made it to this page, then welcome! More than likely this means you are interested in the happenings in my life. I've been considering deleting my Facebook account for a few months and ultimately decided that it was indeed time. I may find my way back after some time away, because ultimately this is a big experiment. There are a few reasons why I wanted to do away with the ever popular social networking site... 1.) Facebook just isn't the right tool for me - It has come to a point where I don't find it to be very conducive of anything positive. I'm hoping that this blog will be a more productive way to share my thoughts and experiences. If you're here, then you know that I do not live near my dear family and friends (real life friends). I do want a way to share with the people I care about, but not at the expense of losing all privacy and control... Which is what Facebook was beginning to make me feel like. 2.) Relationships and social circles - I...