I am only half a week late with this post, but I knew you were wondering how my Christmas went!

First, my sister and her family came to visit before Christmas.  When my cousin Stacy was getting pictures together for my Granny’s calendar, I realized that there were no pictures of the whole Morris clan.  I had to remedy that:

They had to rush over to Clarksville to Nick’s family for the actual Christmas celebration.  So the Husband and I had a lazy morning opening stockings.  That is right, no Christmas tree this year (there is literally no room) so we just did stockings.  And those were last minute too.  I hung them while the Husband was on a business trip to Washington D.C.

Next, I baked goodies for our Family Christmas Meal: Corn Pudding, Brownies and what was suppose to be a Cherry Pound Cake but turned out to be a big FAIL.

We all had fun anyway at Granny’s house.  It is always great to be around family, holiday or not!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and let’s get ready to enjoy the New Year!

I took some pictures of the Husband and I today so we can send some to the MIL. I am still editing them, but for now, I hope you like them!

Every Thanksgiving Day I tell the Husband that I will wake up (or stay up) and attend the traditional Black Friday Shopstravaganza.  But for two Black Fridays in a row, I sent him shopping on his own while I curled up in the bed.

You heard that right.  The Husband does the Black Friday shopping.  364 days a year I am the one with the spending bug, but Black Friday rolls around and the Husband decides to take away the credit card and use it himself.

Now to be fair, most of this year’s shopping was done online the 48 hours before Black Friday.  The Husband is finally getting his XBOX 360 and a few games to go along with it.  I even stayed up until 3:01 am waiting for the Apple Store sale to begin.  It was lackluster so I hit the bed shortly there after.  But the Husband still wanted to take advantage of some in-store only sales on a couple of video games and pick up the cousin’s and nephew’s presents, so he was up bright and early again this year. While I slept in bed.

And I am glad I did.  Did you hear about the deadly stampede at a Wal-mart?  I hope that more and more stores continue to replicate their Black Friday Sales in their on-line stores so I can continue tot shop in the comfort and safety of my own home.

Happy Black Friday!

And what is up with that?

I have problems wrapping my brain around the fact that the Husband is addicted to TMZ. You have to understand that the Husband doesn’t watch much TV (The Simpsons, King of the Hill and Adult Swim - that’s about it).  He doesn’t even follow celebrity gossip.  No tabloids, no Entertainment Tonight or Inside Edition.  No Perez Hilton.  Nothing.

Except TMZ.  He can’t get enough. He watches it almost everyday, visits their website and even has a TMZ quick link on his Blackberry.

Is this normal?  Do other men suffer from this affliction?  Please let me know I am not alone with a TMZ-addicted spouse!

Married people took those vows, or something similar to it.  I know the Husband and I did.  It was a mixture of standard vows provided by the minister and some we wrote ourselves on that long drive to Las Vegas.  And we all think we are going to stick to those vows when we say them.  But what happens when they actually come into play?  When it is actually time to adhere to those vows?

Now before you start worrying too much, I will tell you the main cause of concern: High Blood Pressure.  At the tender young age of 29, the Husband is one point away from hypertension.  I, on the other hand, am sitting at a calming 102/60.  Have I ever mentioned that we are total and complete opposites?  Well we are and this is just another area where we are not alike.

What is a wife to do when she finds out that her youthful spouse is creeping up on a serious problem?  She takes action!  That is right.  She doesn’t sit still and watch life pass her and her husband’s eyes.  She moves into attack mode.

So today starts our foray into a semi-vegetarian lifestyle.  That means two out of every three meals, and sometimes all three meals, will be vegetarian.  It is a way to get the Husband to eat more fruits and vegetable while cutting out the fatty proteins and high sodium sandwich meats he loves so much.  Of course, there will also be a reduction in salt at all meals.

Besides changes in diet, I have also started teaching the Husband the practice of meditation.  Meditation is something I have been practicing for over a year now, but I admit that I am not always consistent with it.  It is a relaxation tool that will help the Husband control his stress level.  We began with 5 minutes of mindful breathing once a day and will increase the time and also the frequency to twice a day as he becomes more comfortable with the process.

Diet, mediation, and finally exercise.  Normally both the Husband and I are good about exercising.  Winter weather throws us for a curve.  We do not belong to a gym so our exercise is done mainly outside.  With signs of snow flurries today, you can understand how we might prefer to hibernate during these cold months.  But not this winter.  This winter we exercise!  Thirty to sixty minutes a day, five days a week.  So stop reading this post and get moving!

I asked the Husband what I should blog abut tonight, as the New Kids on the Block performance on the American Music Awards caused some of my brain cells to fall out my ear.  As he is such a darling, he suggested that I should right about “Monkey Lovin’.”  You are probably wondering what in the world he was thinking when he suggested that topic.  Well here was his train of thought:

1. I’ve blogged about the new baby chimpanzee, George, at the Knoxville Zoo.
2. I recently purchased Sock Monkey Holiday PJs from Target.

1. I watched a rerun of “Growing up… Baboon” on Animal Planet today.
2. I own a mini Sock Monkey: Erle (pronounced like “early”).

1. My nickname for the Husband is “Monkey.”
2. In general, I think monkeys are pretty neat.

What the Husband was trying to say is that I like monkeys and I should declare such an interest out loud: of monkeys in general and of him specifically.  So this post is for my favorite monkey:

That is right my friends.  Once again your dear friend Ashley has hit the road.  This time I am hanging out in Central Illinois.  The Husband had to be here for work and I am tagging along.  Hopefully I will be able to keep myself busy this week.  I brought four books plus my laptop but more importantly, my workout clothes.  Luckily the hotel has a gym, since the weather outside is a bit on the colder side (under 40).

The good news, is that on the way home I will get to stop by the Costco and the Trader Joe’s in Indianapolis.  The closest ones to me are over two hours away in Nashville, so it will be nice to hit these on the way home on Friday.  If you have never been to a Trader Joe’s, you should find your closest one and get there as soon as you can.  It is a great grocery store.  I can’t wait!

The Husband left today.  That is right.  Again.  After spending less than 72 hours at home together, he is off again.

Often I have been asked if it bothers me that the Husband and I spend so much time apart.  Originally I wasn’t bothered by it.  We began our relationship in different states (Florida and Illinois) and the first 6 months of our marriage was also spent in different states (California and Illinois).  We lived our lives together apart.  I was busy with school he was busy with work.  While it was not an ideal situation, we dealt with it.

Then in 2006, we were able to live together.  This also started the Husband’s traveling.  His job sent him to Illinois, Brazil, Singapore, Argentina, and the Netherlands over these last two years.  Now that we are starting to settle down and make a home (yes, we are still house searching), I am hoping that he has to travel less and less.  Finally, it bothers me.  It really, really bothers me.

Today is his birthday.  And today he is in Illinois.  But I am in Tennessee.  He will be there all the way until the last week of November.  I will be here, working on becoming a lawyer.  I will be sworn in soon or else I would be by his side.  I miss him. I am tired of always saying goodbye.