Snowpacalypse

Go have fun making a 20 foot tall snowman, kids.

Have fun and try not to get burried alive in the snow.

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

'I like you. You're nice.'

Amiee, Danielle, Caroline, Me

This afternoon, REACH returned to theWaterside Group Home and gave the residents 'makeovers'. The members did the resident's nails, make up, and styled their hair. My sister, Amiee, did Danielle's nails/make up/hair, while I worked on Caroline. Caroline was just the cutest and sweetest thing ever. As I did her nails she kept wanting to hug me and telling me 'I like you. You're nice.' All the residents are just awesome. Don't they look beautiful!?

REACH is a group that I have been a member of for about 6 months now. We plan events that will benefit the people in our community and surrounding community and also fundraise for those events.

In September 2009, we planned Noise Festival 2009 that featured bands in the area and concessions and such. All the proceeds from the event are used to benefit others, such as the Waterside Group Home and Hope Ministries in Akron.

The Waterside Group Home is a home for adults with mental disabilities who can not live on their own. Back in December 09, REACH planned a Christmas party for the residents complete with Santa & Mrs. Claus, pizza, a photographer, and tons of presents for each of the residents. Waterside has been in Canal Fulton for 20 years now and REACH was the first group to ever recognize and help the home.

Coming up this Friday, REACH will be heading out to Akron's Hope Ministries to serve the homeless. We will be giving them pizza, punch, and cookies, and also a blanket to stay warm. We have signed up to serve with Hope every other month for the next year.

If you would like more information on REACH or are interested in becoming a member please feel free to contact me.

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Wow, that was a pretty horrible picture of me up there..oh well.

This past weekend I was supposed to attend Miss Maple City, which is a Miss Ohio preliminary pageant held in Norwalk. I was going to attend to learn what I'm going to need to do to prepare for next season. Unfortunately, Ohio was hit with a snow storm that left a little more than 2 feet of snow on the ground in less than 24 hours (with another one on the way tomarrow afternoon, ugh). So since I was unable to attend Miss Maple City, I will be in attendance at Miss Muskingum Valley March 5-6th..hopefully, haha.

Thursday is the Change Bandits Bash where the Canal Days Queen's Court and I will be turning in the money we collected for the Akron Children's Hospital/Children's Miracle Network. So far we have ALMOST $200 collected. Think we will get more than $200 by Thursday? I think yes!

Saturday is Northwest's Winter Formal. I will not be in attendance, but my flowers will be! Simply Floral has a total of 15 flower orders (that's not very much, but considering most of the students aren't going this year, I'll take it) for this year's Winter Formal. And even though I'm not in high school anymore, I will be helping my friends Rachel and Haley get ready. Ever since they were freshmen (I was a sophomore) we have been preparing for dances together so it's become quite the tradition.

Sunday evening I'm leaving for Ashland University for an overnight visit. I'm pretty excited about it. Meet new people, visit the college I plan on attending, find the gym so I know where to go for dance team auditions later this month, and I won't be alone on Valentine's Day (not that it matters).

Well that's all for now!

With Love,

Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

There she is...Miss America

Your 2010 Miss America is....Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron!

22 year old, Caressa Cameron, was crowned Miss America on Saturday, January 30th. Along with the title, Caressa was awarded a $50,000 scholarship. Throughout her year of service, she will be the Goodwill Ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network, as well as promoting her personal platform, Real Talk: Aids in America. Miss America started her media tour the day after her crowning, and was rushed off to New York City where she was interviewed by Live! With Regis & Kelly, Extra!, Fox & Friends, The Wendy William's Show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Inside Edition, Parade Magazine, and had an appearance at DSW Shoe Warehouse all in a matter of 2 days.

For those of you who may not know, Miss America travels approximately 20,000 miles per month and is in a different city every 48 hours. It is also said that a parent is more likely to have a son be on a team that plays in the Super Bowl than to have a daughter who competes on the Miss America stage. The Miss America Organization is the largest scholarship provider for young women in the world. MAO provides more than $45 million every year. The 2011 pageant will mark the 90th anniversary of the Miss America Pageant.

Congratulations Miss America, Caressa Cameron!

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Busy, Busy, Busy!

What a week, what a week and thank god it's over! I thought it would stretch on forever!

Last Friday I woke up and got ready to go to work. As I step out of the shower, my left foot slides forward and hits the cabinet in front of the tub very hard. My ankle swelled up and I thought I broke it! I ended up having to call off work at Oser's because I couldn't walk on my ankle at all. On Saturday, I go to the doctor and he said it probably isn't broken, probably sprained, but might have done something to a ligament in my foot. So off I was to get x-rays done. I enter the room and the lady asks me the questions they have to ask. "Are you pregnant?" "No." "When was your last period?" "Sometime back in November, it's late for some reason." "ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT PREGNANT?!" "There is no possible way for me to be." (I'm a virgin and I've made a personal vow to remain a virgin until I'm married.) "...okay. You need to tell me if you are though. I won't tell your mom if you are." At this point I'm just giving her the 'evil' glare, haha. Finally, she takes the x-rays and says she will call on Monday if she sees anything wrong. She never called, so I'm assuming my foot is fine and I just sprained it.

Since I haven't been able to walk around and dance, I have been planned out the next six months of my life, well, the queen part of it anyway. I don't have a single free weekend it seems. Between all the community service projects I'm volunteering for/planning, meetings, the 20+ festivals to attend, and Ashland visits, I'm booked until July 10th. (My last day as the 2009 Olde Canal Days Queen. :[ )I also need to get two summer jobs (day job and a night job) so I can survive at college.

Community Service: WKDD Change Bandits Door-to-Door, Change Bandit Bash, Waterside Group Home/REACH- makeovers, Hope Ministry/REACH- serve food to the poor, plan Library Summer Kids Program- Little Mermaid Princess Day, plan 'Senior' Prom for elderly in Canal Fulton, Community Easter Egg Hunt, plan Visiting Queen's Breakfast, and many more that I don't know about yet, haha.

I also have Ashland dance team tryouts, coach Courtney and get her dress ready for Canal Days, fundraisers, Canal Days Comittee meetings to attend, dance classes, dance competition, dance solo private lessons, and Winter Formal is right around the corner so I'll be making corsages and boutonnieres for Simply Floral, too. I love being busy!

Miss America is in two weeks! (Not Miss USA, that's not till April.) I can't wait! It will be airing on January 30th at 8P.M. on TLC so make sure to watch the 53 contestants vie for the Miss America crown! (50 states+Virgin Islands+Washington D.C.+Puerto Rico) Good luck to Erica Gelhaus (Miss Ohio), Mallory Ervin (Miss Kentucky), and Brooke Kilgariff (Miss Minnesota)! Those are my three favorites and I hope they do well!

And that's all for now, folks!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Just an update...

I signed up the Olde Canal Days Court and I to be WKDD Radiothon Change Bandits! You're probably wondering, 'What the heck is that!?' Allow me to explain. Basically, I collect change (my own, my neighbors, my friends, rob a bank*, etc). Then, all the proceeds go to the Children's Miracle Network, (which is ironically the Miss America Organization's national platform!) which supplies the medical needs of kids that are sick in hospitals to become healthy again! Yay!

I received my acceptance letter to Ashland University, too! I'm visiting the campus sometime this month/next month. I'm trying out for their dance team next month, too. I hope to be double majoring in fashion merchandising and journalism. I have decided I want to work for a magazine someday. (Specifically, Seventeen as editor-in-chief! Maybe DanceSpirit!)

I've been working out daily, too.

In jazz class we are working on a FIERCE routine to Sam Sparro's 'Black and Gold', which is my current favorite song. I LOVE the routine except we have this IMPOSSIBLE turn combination (2 pirouettes, 3? fouettes, 2? back attitudes, 1? fouette, and 2 front attitudes!) It's so much turning I can't remember how many of what I'm actually supposed to do, haha, oops.

Today, Megan and I had dinner with Madame Taucher (our former French teacher). We just talked about school, drama, college stuff, and so on. Her kids are adorable. (She has a 3 year old daughter and an 1 year old son.)

Well, that's all for now.

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

*I'm just kidding about the 'rob a bank' part. :]

100 Things To Do In 2010

As many of you might know, at the end of 2008 I made a list of 365 Things To Do in 2009 because my boyfriend at the time said I was boring (Also because I'm infamous for making to-do lists). So to prove him wrong I made the list. I just tallied up all the things I did that were on the list and I completed 162 out of 365. Almost half. So, in honor of the half of the 2009 list that WASN'T completed, I bring you the 100 Things To Do in 2010 List. Enjoy!

1. Ride a motorcycle.
2. Go out to eat alone.
3. Try a jalapino pepper.
4. Attend a frat party.
5. Feng Shui my bedroom/dorm room.
6. Be a WKDD Change Bandit.
7. Go apple picking.
8. Take a yoga class.
9. Get 6-Pack abs.
10. Attend Warped Tour.
11. Get a nice summer tan.
12. Read the Bible everyday for at least a month.
13. Feed ducks at a pond.
14. Go to a haunted house.
15. See a movie at the Interntional Film Festival in Cleveland.
16. Go to Clay's Park.
17. Chase an ice cream truck.
18. Camp out.
19. Ride an airplane.
20. Say "Hi!" and smile at every strander I meet/see for one day.
21. Compete in a Miss America preliminary.
22. Host the first Olde Canal Days Visiting Queen's Breakfast/Luncheon.
23. Save $1000.
24. Get my braces removed.
25. Do wings in tap correctly.
26. Make $500 off one dance from Simply Floral.
27. Go to college.
28. Do 200 hours of community service.
29. Do a center split.
30. Make a new friend.
31. Get a massage.
32. Get whiter teeth.
33. Get a mani/pedi.
34. Eat a strawberry.
35. Go on a picnic.
36. Sit on the roof of a house.
37. Pretend I know someone in public.
38. Make railroad money.
39. Go clubbing.
40. Get my liscense.
41. Spend a weekend in West Virginia.
42. Keep my room clean for two weeks.
43. Go on a roadtrip.
44. Participate in Operation Christmas Child.
45. Walk or run in a Charity Walk.
46. Jump in a pile of leaves.
47. Get a new mp3 player.
48. Lose my Rocky Horror Picture Show virginity. (Go see it live for those who don't understand, hahah.)
49. Ride a hot air balloon.
50. Buy Girl Scout Cookies from a Girl Scout.
51. Take the twins to Twinsburg, Ohio for Twin's Day Festival 2010.
52. Have a 'Halloween' movie marathon.
53. Go horseback riding.
54. TP a car.
55. Don't drink soda/pop for one month.
56. Visit Ashland University.
57. Work out at least 3 times a week.
58. Make a homemade pizza.
59. Win a scholarship.
60. Get a guy's number.
61. Build a sadcastle.
62. Watch a movie on the back porch with friends.
63. Sell my old dresses.
64. Write a poem.
65. Play an Oujai Board.
66. Send someon a dozen of roses.
67. Throw an Ugly Sweater Party.
68. Watch a musical live.
69. Make homemade ice cream.
70. Ask someone on a date.
71. Finish a 1000 piece puzzle.
72. Catch a snowflake on my tounge.
73. Go to the zoo.
74. Do a pirouette en pointe.
75. Do a triple pirouette.
76. Give blood.
77. Tie-Dye a tee shirt.
78. Kiss someone under a mistletoe.
79. Go to a Baskin' Robbins.
80. Make homemade lemonade.
81. Go bowling.
82. Request a song on the radio.
83. Eat a salad.
84. Get a pair of black ballet flats.
85. Send Sean his annual Jarzimade ornament.
86. Read the newspaper at least once a week.
87. Run a mile.
88. Make a gingerbread house.
89. Kiss someone at 11:11.
90. Finish a sudoku puzzle book.
91. Read 'The Fountainhead' or 'The Anthem' by Ayn Rand.
92. Wash a car by hand.
93. Finish my scrapbooks (Senior Year and Canal Days)
94. Throw a surprise party for someone.
95. Watch a sunrise.
96. Watch a sunset.
97. Turn 19.
98. Take better care of my skin.
99. Kiss someone at midnight on New Year's Eve 2011.
100. Finish this list by 12:01 A.M. on January 1, 2011

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen