Goodbye OH-NINE, Hello OH-TEN

 Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did!

<--Amiee, Mom, Brittney, and I at Grandma's.
This year I received:
-Glee Soundtrack
-Lady Gaga's Fame Monster
-Brittney Spears' Circus
-Subscription to Fourpoints Magazine (The Official Miss America Magazine)
-Japanese Cherry Blossom perfume, body wash, and lotion
-Flannel Sheets
-Shea Butter Infused Socks, and socks in general.
-$75 cash
-gift cards to Target, Wet Seal (x2!!), Old Navy (which I actaully hate, but I'll save it for swimwear, I guess), and McDonald's
-Victoria's Secret bra
-5 DVDs that feature Audrey Hepburn- Paris When It Sizzles, Roman Holiday, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's (of course), and Sabrina
-Awesome poster of Audrey Hepburn
-1,000 piece puzzle

As you might have been able to tell, I received a lot of Audrey Hepburn things, which is alright with me. She's like, my idol!

As the year is coming to a close, with 2010 quickly aproaching, I can't help but think about all the things that happened this year. 2009 Will be a year I will never forget and has been one of the best I have lived through so far.

The year began at Ben's house with a bunch of my very close friends. They helped me create the 365 Things To Do In 2009 List. Though the list won't be completely finished, it created awesome memories and fun events. We had an all night dare night where we TP'd a house, Post-It Note'd and seran wrapped our friends car, and tons of other wild things. I only worked weekends during the summer of '09 and for the first time since I turned 12, I actually got to enjoy my summer break.

In May I graduated from high school. I loved my high school experience but I did not cry a single tear at my graduation. I actually fell asleep when they were calling each of my classmates names. I made sure to stay awake for the speechs. Emily saying 'sucked' during her speech will never be forgotten (..And your the Valedictorian...how?) After graduation, tons of party invitations came pouring in via Facebook, so to remember them all I wrote them all on an index card, which later became infamous as 'The Party Card'. I attended about 30 graduation parties over the course of one month- including throwing my own (12 hours long! If you missed it don't even try and give me your excuses of 'Oh I had another party to attend', my party was 12 hours long you had time, you  forgot or didn't want to come, admit it)

May 2009 also brought me a surprise. I found out that I my dad that has been raising me for the past 18 years isn't my biological father. That discovery brought me a whole other side of the family I didn't know I had. Ha! It was so ironic to me because I remember back when I was about 14 or so my mom and sisters and I were driving and laughing at my mom's stories from high school and I jokingly asked if dad was my real dad..she didn't respond immediately. Ha, I now know why. SURPRISE! HAPPY GRADUATION AND EARLY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!

In July, I turned 18. My two best friends Haley and Sean forgot. Kevin took me to get my first lottery ticket. I got an awesome lime green waterproof camera. (I previously killed my phone by dropping it in a bowl of cereal.)

Also I became the 2009 (and 40th) Olde Canal Days Festival Queen! Go me! It was my third try for the title and I finally got it (the title anyway, the crown may as well be invisible :p) So far as Canal Fulton's Queen I have done 50 hours of community service, have attended 4 festivals (Festival's queen's Breakfast+parade) and the Summit County Fair, and have ridden in 8 parades (just parades).

That's all I can remember right now...haha

Anyways, I'm done with my 'Queenly Duties' for the year. I have a lot planned for 2010: a 'Senior' Prom that I'm planning for the older citizens in Canal Fulton; a Visiting Queen's Breakfast for Canal Days; fundraisers; community service; and about 30-some festivals to attend. Oh, and my court and I are change bandits for WKDD's Have a Heart, Do Your Part Radiothon 2010 where the proceeds go towards the Children's Miracle Network (which is ironically the national platform for Miss America :])

That's all for now. Happy 2010 everyone!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

God Bless Us, Everyone!

Well, I finally finished Atlas Shrugged! I finished it on December 19th at 4:48 A.M. I was so determined to finish it I pulled an all-nighter! It's a wonderful book, very intriguing, but very long and very wordy. It seemed reletively similar to today's current economy crisis. I am also in love with one of the main characters names- Dagny. I love it.

Also on December 19th I attended Upstage Performing Arts Academy's Christmas Party and danced with my fellow students. After the party I went back home and prepared for the Olde Canal Days Queen's Christmas Party. We had a lot of fun. We exchanged gifts, ate some good food, (Dirt pudding? Can I get a 'Heck yeah!') and played Disney Scene It.

Sunday morning I had to work. On my way ot the door the neighbor's dog is running circles around my house and tackles me. After that encounter I start walking down the hill towards Sister's Century House Restaurant. O the way down I slip and fall in the snow. I finally arrive at Sister's covered in snow and am then told that it is my last shift to work there. The  restaurant is not busy enough to keep me working there.  :[

Sunday night a bunch of friends and I got together and we decided to pull a Facebook prank. We put all of our status' as 'R.I.P. Zach ___', who was one of the people in attendance at the get-together. His brother put his status as 'R.I.P. Zach. it's abot time!' so people would realize its just a joke. We all left it like that for FOUR MINUTES. Facebook status were exploding with our 'rumor' and people actually believed it. People who never cared or talked to Zach were putting 'R.I.P. Zach we will miss you'! Then we announced it was just a prank. Haa...it ended up being talked about for 2 hours later on Facebook! People were so offended by the joke. It wasn't like we were making fun of death or anything, we just wanted to see what would happen. We were called 'immoral' by two girls who were talking on Facebook about getting drunk. HAHAHA. Yeah. Ok.

Anyways...

Word on the street is Christmas is on Friday. Yeah! Enjoy all the different versions of 'A Christmas Carol' (My personal favorite version is 'The Muppets Christmas Carol')

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

"Every generation needs a new revolution."- Thomas Jefferson

Check out www.yearofyouth.org. It is an organization that I have recently discovered and like the idea of. It is rallying young people to get involved locally and promotes localism and decentalization which will put the power back in the constituent's hands. The Year of Youth is the upcoming election year 2012. It's maximum effort will be on the eve of election day of 2012. (November 5th, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_adrf-qKwQ

In other news...
This evening REACH put on a Christmas-type shindig for people who might have lost a spouse and/or are lonely. It was a fun event filled with food, entertainment, and fun. We had a comedian come in, whom was pretty funny! She made jokes about old age and 'senior moments'. One of the guests brought in homemade peppermint patties, kind of like York patties, but way better! They were so delicious, I wish I had remembered to ask for the recipe! I guess I'll have to remember to Google it later. :p

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Day Queen

The more you dress up, the more fun you'll have!

To kick off the month of December, I attended the Dalton Holiday's Festival Queen's Luncheon and Parade on the 5th. I had so much fun making new friends and visiting with my Ohio royalty sisters. After the luncheon, we were off to the parade line-up. At the line-up we put together the Olde Canal Days float. My poor mother had to drive the float for the first time and had to get the Lorain International mom to back the float into our spot! While assembling our float she almost fell down a hill, too! :[ After the parade, we headed back to Canal Fulton to prepare for the Christmas on the Canal Light Parade! Now that was a very VERY chilly parade!



On December 9th, the REACH members all got together to wrap gifts for the Christmas party we were throwing for the mentally disabled adults housed at the Waterside Group Home. We threw the Party on December 12th. We gave each of the residents a stocking filled with crayons, coloring books, and soft cakes (Hostess type stuff); all the things that they asked for; and a teddy bear. We sang carols with them and had Santa, Mrs. Claus, and two elves deliver the gifts to them. The residents were delighted! I will never forget their smiles and laugher! I helped one of the residents, Jerry, open his gifts. I don't know why but I was attached to him from the moment I saw him. He was definitely my favorite. (Shh!, don't tell the others that! They were great too!) During the party I was talking to one of the elves and realized we competed in Canton Cinderella together back in February!

This past weekend I went and saw 'The Princess and The Frog' with my friends- Sean, Nathan, and Natalie. Natalie and I decided it would be fun to dress up as princesses since it was a princess movie, haha! Before the movie, we went to lunch at KFC where we received some funny looks. Its not everyday you see two beautiful princesses, I guess! Haha!


Only 10 more days til Christmas and 16 more days of 2010! I have been doing nothing but making gifts for my friends and family, and reading Atlas Shrugged. I want to have this book finished by the new year! I have only been reading it for SIX MONTHS!! You think I would have finished it by now. Ha!
Now off to read Atlas Shrugged :]

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen