So this happened

Boyfriend & I

Still us~

So because I'm so incapable of staying in the US for more than a year at a time, a great airfare came up and me and the companion (Surprise! We're at 6 months now, go him! I'll post photos of us later). Well first I haven't been posting due to a new job and to be honest my life is really boring except for this awesome trip I have coming up and the fact that the companion and I just did the Grand Canyon but I'm boring. So I won't make you guys wait but I won't tell you the dates I'm going but I, cross that out.

WE are going to

TOKYO, JAPAN

HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

&

PHUKET, BANGKOK, THAILAND

So there's that, see ya'll later~

*Update! Photos are added :)

Giant hole in the ground

Guess who's back....back again~

Vera is now 5 and just getting cuter

My grandpa just loves
 the ferrets!

Hey everyone! Sorry I literally have been completely inactive for a few months now. So here's the good news, bad news, sad news and my mad news.

DISCLAIMER: This post may not include all of the above.

So number one on the list tonight, I got a boyfriend! Crazy right? It's crazy I don't even have to ask that, how he puts up with me I will never know but he does so if he's reading this I love you~ If not, well I love my boyfriend reader so there's that. We started dating back in January and it's been pretty much perfect ever since. We did the Grand Canyon last weekend and we're doing California next month and hopefully Sea World because sharks. He is amazing and wonderful and pretty much perfect and we're starting a garden this week which I'm super psyched about because plants and life and all that hippy stuff I'm into.

Vera learning to play
with her new pals

Numero Dos, I got a new job! So I can't tell you what my job is for obvious safety reasons and maybe I'm a spy ;) Just kidding I'm not but would you believe me? I don't think so~ SO new job, I start in three days and it's crazy, I've been waiting on this opportunity for a while now and now it has fallen into my lap and for some reason now I'm somewhat lethargic about the whole thing. I don't like change because I'm a creature of habit, very much so. But it's a GREAT opportunity, they'll pay for my college and it's good money and same hours and a way better company with real benefits so I need to grow up a tiny bit and take it instead of flying across the world for months on end (Which I prefer any day). Anyway so now I'm growing up the tiniest bit, still will be traveling this year, I don't know where or for how long but I will be going out of the country for minimum two weeks.

Edric being sneaky

Number three; I thought I had more to talk about but I guess I don't? Oh well my crazy hives are back due to my Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria. It's a stupid disease look it up (I'm essentially allergic to myself and if that isn't fun enough, making my boyfriend worry about me going to anaphylaxis is kinda funny, in a sick and morbid way because I don't take it seriously). Check it out it's a stupid disease and I'm covered in hives 24/godforsaken7 if I forget to take my meds which I do because I'm spacey. Also I have hypothyroidism which is stupid because I can't win in life and I always have to have something wrong because what's the fun if I'm healthy. The funny part is I was given too high of a dose of my meds so I went from Hypothyroidism to Hyperthyroidism so from 24-.001 which is not good but I'm alive so it's fine.

Number four: I lied, I had a number three but now I don't think I have a number four so this is me signing off I suppose. JUST KIDDING!

ALERT

I GOT FERRETS PEOPLE

Them as of a few weeks ago, fat and happy

2 perfect

I now am the proud owner of two precious ferrets by the names of Illiyes and Edric and they are perfect and cute and little perfect carpet snakes that I love eternally. Also I got my own new apartment (First time on my own!) and I have my dog and my cat both of which got fixed and neutered last week and they're doing wonderfully. Stay posted for possibly upcoming photos, Jk I will be uploading photos regardless, just gotta do it on my phone because now my new job doesn't have me sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day because now I walk around and clean all day which I'm going to enjoy SO much more than this!

Well for now

Goodnight

See ya'll soon~

The Many Uses of Activated Charcoal!

I mentioned it looks weird during!

I'm happy that I didn't make this blog about something super specific like breeds of cats or cars because I have the ability to literally write about anything that I find amusing at the moment and what I'm doing with my life. It would be weird if I was going into a post about the dangers of inbreeding cats and dogs and then I suddenly had a post about how great charcoal is for the body, it can help a lot, even though it can't help inbreeding. Okay, I got off topic, sorry! Writing this at 6am, what else do you expect from me? Gosh, the expectations. Now onto the real reason I'm writing this!

After! So pearly :)

 So recently I've been getting pretty hippy-dippy and one of my friends recommended activated charcoal powder to me to brush my teeth and to take with water when I'm feeling ill, which is like always (I have terrible nausea consistently). So I ordered some off of Amazon, it was this one organic activated charcoal powder. Warning! Charcoal is really good at staining things, I've heard it ruined someone's tile grout and it stains, I haven't had this issue with my sink yet though and I've been using it for a few days now, just don't spill the container on the ground. Also take note that I am NOT a doctor so you should probably message/call/see your doctor before trying new chemicals/medications/charcoal/whatever. So you'd think 'If this stuff is as staining as she says it is and it ruins grout, won't it stain my teeth' the answer to that is No! So basically for whatever reason is does not stain your teeth and it pulls off the plaque and makes them noticeably whiter after a few uses, it can promote good oral hygiene and I'm going to have my mother try it for her gingivitis and I'll post an update here and see if it helps her at all. Its recommended to only use it about 2-3 times a week and that's what I'm doing now. I'm just a simply girl, I don't know the science behind any of this I just know what I've experienced. If you're wondering how much you use when you brush your teeth, you just wet your toothbrush and dip it in the charcoal and brush your teeth for about two minutes and then you keep rinsing out your mouth until the water is clear because at first your whole mouth is black (it's scary but it's hilarious). Feel free to floss afterwards because sometimes there will be small pieces of blackness trapped in your mouth but I found that brushing with toothpaste afterwards dealt with that for me (I do it before work, don't want to scare people now)

When she was doing it often (a few times week)

Apparently some hospitals use charcoal with cases of ingestion because charcoal works through absorption, so it absorbs the toxins and then they're eliminated through regular body processes.
Here's somewhat of a testimony I suppose, well the guy didn't die so it counts. A while back a guy (I think his last name was Marsh?) (I couldn't find what I wanted to in order to write this haha) He took a lethal dose of Arsenic? and mixed it with charcoal and he didn't die, nor did he have any of the side effects from consuming a lethal dose of Arsenic. Don't try that at home kids/adults/humans. I don't have the measurements but charcoal can also be taken with water to treat food poisoning, bloating, and nausea! Once again I'm not a doctor so consult your physician please!

So there's some information on it, I could probably write about this all day honestly because I think it's so great. So feel free to research it more and check it out, and try it! I'd say let me know, but I know it'll work!

Also this may be obvious but I know it's not for some people! Use charcoal that is food grade and made from wood or coconut not from your backyard BBQ or from some wood you burned! Buy it online or in a health food store, food grade people!

Tattoo Number Two

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Happy New Year and all that good stuff everyone! I've been caught up in life as usual, between work, writers block and my life being rather boring without recent travel, or at least what I would define as boring. I have been making some cool plans and getting some cool new Ink! I had a great holiday and all that jazz~

 

The finished fresh tattoo!

This is going to be a rather short post because the title says most of what this post is about. In a recent post I posted my passport stamp from Russia which I got tattooed on my right calf and I got yet another tattoo to my families dismay. Honestly I super love my tattoos and do plan on getting more, right now I'm working on getting a full world map with all the country lines on it but I haven't decided where to get it yet because of how large of a tattoo it needs to be. The new tattoo that I got is a traditional version of St. Basils Cathedral in Moscow, Russia. I didn't originally plan on getting it either. Ignore the fact that it looks crooked, it's on my right shoulder and the way I was positioned made it look that way.

The tattoo before color!

     So basically I went out with my friends on one of my days off and all of us planned on getting tattoos which we were all excited about because of the deal that was going on at the time. However I was never able to get mine done, or any of my ideas because of the complexity of them but in all truth I just think they were tired of me and refused to do it to spite me. So after my friends got their desired tattoos I went on my merry way set to get one, no matter the cost and no matter the shop. I went to my old shop where my mother gets her tattoos and where I got my first one and met a great artist who I spent the next three hours with getting a needle poked into my skin. Totally worth it though, here's a photo of it fresh, before the color and I'll add another one soon when I take a better photo. I never thought I would go for traditional style tattoos but apparently I do, this tattoo is amazing and it cost about $200 and it was absolutely worth it.

The next tattoo I plan on getting is my world map one and then shading in the countries as I travel to them and then I plan on getting a traditional tattoo done when I do my trip in Thailand in 2018. Traditional tattoos are generally done with ink on a stick and then it's repeatedly tapped into your skin, unlike the tattoo machines they use now a days which are inevitably faster. Now I'm not only going to be having this one passport stamp on me either, I spoke to my artist and in a few years I'm going to get all my favorite passport stamps done on me, I can't get all of them because I eventually plan on being in every country so that would be way more than just my leg. I'm excited for my upcoming ink so stay tuned~

Since I've been back

My tattoo

Getting the tattoo

What has Ashley been doing since she got? Well besides work and the usual dog-cat-fish-eel-lizard care I got a tattoo! I wanted to get a map of the world on my arm but the tattoo special my mother and I attended only had time to get one of my passport stamps done. I've been wanting to get them done my left calf for a while now and I finally took the leap and did it. For those of that don't know, this my entry stamp in Russia from July, 2, 2015. I think it is so cute and I am totally in love with it, like I love it so much. It's still about a week away from being completely healed but it's getting there. The white thing is the paper that was pressed onto my leg and the black is clearly the tattoo. It's super cute and next one will probably be my South Africa one or my stamp from Qatar. I was originally going to get all my passport stamps but since I want to go to every country, I don't think I have enough room, Also some stamps are boring, like my stamp from London is so soul suckingly dull that I don't want it permanently stamped onto my body, it can stay in my passport. Also for those of you wondering if it hurts, I was pre-warned from my best friend Lizz that it feels like a shard of glass getting dragged down your skin and it really does. It is 1000000% shard of glass cutting feeling. It wasn't too bad but I couldn't imagine getting a 2 hours tattoo, I would go crazy.

My bunch of shot glasses

My post cards with the missing ones not
here yet

While in Europe I shipped back a package through the Italian post full of souvenirs from London, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain and they were all stolen. The only items I received out of about 30 things was my shot glass from each country. Which is the bulk of my collection which you can see. I also collect post cards and since they stole all of my hand-written on post cards, I just ordered some new ones from online that I custom designed so I can fill that top empty space that you can see as well. I was REALLY upset at first but I quickly realized that I have never prided myself on needing material possessions to be happy, I'm always happy and I don't need items to make me happy. So I accepted that they were stolen and I had a great trip and made so many great friends and memories that can't be take away from me and I will always treasure that. Of course in the future I will ship UPS and I will continue to buy souvenirs and a lot of them. I plan on making photo albums of each of my trips. I still need to make my one of Russia and my one of South Africa and Europe. I just haven't bought the albums, or printed the photos but I will. That will definitely be on my Christmas list. I have been slowly compiling my list and so far I need a shot glass case (I already have about 20 shot glasses), and I suppose some nice photo albums that will last for eternity will be nice as well. My father is going to be buying me a go-pro which is for my upcoming trips so you guys can experience them with me, which I am so excited for and I am more excited to do some zip-lining, sky-diving, swimming-with-sharks expeditions that my grandmother can watch because that will be quite the riot. Anyway keep checking in every so often to see what I'm up to even though right now my life is as boring as it can get (which isn't very). I'm planning another trip to do by the end of this year but I'm not going to tell you what it is just yet because that wouldn't be fun! I already have the places I want to go next year picked out too! So excited but for now I will be feeding my reptilian creatures and living life to the fullest.

Also I'm going to start posting cute holiday ideas because you guessed it HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE AND I CAN'T CONTAIN MY EXCITMENT!

THEN IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

THEN IT'S THANKSGIVING

THEN ITS CHRISTMAS

 

 THE HOLIDAYS ARE UPON US

My Travel Ticker

The Cities, Countries, Continents, and miles I have traveled color coded by year

Arizona to Moscow, Russia - 6,043
Arizona to Doha, Qatar - 8,293

Doha, Qatar to Johannesburg, South Africa - 3,887

Johannesburg, South Africa to London, United Kingdom - 5,634

London, United Kingdom to Dublin, Ireland - 349

Dublin, Ireland to Paris, France - 639

Paris, France to Madrid, Spain - 793

Madrid, Spain to Barcelona, Spain - 382

Barcelona, Spain to Florence, Italy - 672

Florence, Italy to Rome, Italy - 170

Rome, Italy to Venice, Italy - 330

Venice, Italy to Vienna, Austria - 389

Vienna, Austria to Munich, Germany - 252

Munich, Germany to Cologne, Germany - 350

Cologne, Germany to Berlin, Germany - 356

Berlin, Germany to Prague, Czech Republic - 216

Prague, Czech Republic to Budapest, Hungary - 328

Budapest, Hungary to Krakow, Poland - 245

Krakow, Poland to Madrid, Spain - 1,321

Madrid, Spain to Arizona - 5,602
Arizona to New York to Tokyo, Japan - 5,798
Tokyo, Japan to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam - 2,687
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 150
Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Phuket, Thailand - 430
Phuket, Thailand to Bangkok, Thailand - 429
Bangkok, Thailand to New York to Arizona - 8,530

Grand total of 48,232 miles
2 hemispheres, 3 continents, 19 countries, 22 cities, 64 days



Here are all the countries I've been to so far (March 2018)

AND MORE
TO BE ANNOUNCED

 2015
2016
2017

Create your own visited countries map or check out the JavaScript Charts.

Spread my wings and fly home

Me boarding my plane

Very tiny plane

After Krakow I called the wonderful man that I know who booked me a cheap flight home because I never bought a return ticket so I could do my trip on my terms with nothing holding me to a schedule. While in Krakow he told me I needed to fly back to Madrid in order to get my flight to come home. I flew Ryanair which is decent and okay for a 4 hour flight even though it is VERY tiny and VERY cramped however I got some good photos of me in front of the plane which was cool. I asked him to keep this a secret from my family and he did, so no one in my family knew I was coming home. I wanted it to be a surprise and it sure was. I arrived at the Madrid airport at about midnight and my flight didn't leave the next day until about 11am so I slept, very uncomfortably but I slept on a bench in the airport on my backpack. I am the Queen of sleeping anywhere at anytime now. I woke up at about 5am and to my surprise Burger King was finally open, I chatted up some fellow travelers, got an oreo milkshake (oh yes) and went to the booths in the back and slept more while charging my phone. I slept 5 more hours which was amazing and then I went to catch my flight which was delayed about 4 times and then it didn't leave until about 2pm. I chatted up a family who was from LA and they told me they brought their son to Madrid to see the Running of the Bulls and his commentary on it was that everyone was VERY drunk and use squirt guns to shoot liquor at each other. The mother inquired about my trip and his whole family was rather nice, they boarded a different plane before me and I wish them well on their way. I finally got to board my plane and I was very happy to see that I had three seats all to myself, which is just wonderful. I slept basically the whole time.



I love window seats

Instructions I was given to get to my terminal

     I had to fly into Dallas to make my flight home and it was literally one disaster after the next. I was literally running from one thing to the next. I arrived about two hours before my flight which meant I had to go through customs, and get searched and then find my terminal. I was able to cheat the VERY LONG line in customs by telling a nice man of my predicament and he let me in front. After trying to find the Skyrail to get to my terminal I was told to exit through certain doors which out me back out, in the end of customs. It was about 25 minutes to my flight and I shower another man my stamped ticket that I had already gone through customs and he put me in front after explaining my terrible situation. 10 minutes before my flight I boarded the Skyrail and I arrived at my terminal 5 minutes after it closed.  I was running to it, running for my life and I still missed it, but apparently so did another guy and he started knocking loudly on the door until an attendant came up and we explained our situation and I guess they were already delayed because of a food cart delivery being late and they let us board. Miracles happen people! So then we flew home and I was picked up at the airport and went to go get my truck from where I parked it at work. Then I drove home, anxiously may I add. I walked up that flight of stairs and just opened the front the door and the looks on my moms face was priceless. Her mouth basically fell the ground and I could swore I may have saw a tear or two. The next day I drove to my grandparents and I walked up to their front door saying 'anybody home' and they just about jumped up and ran to hug me. I gotta say, this has to be one of my favorite ways to be welcomed home. I'm back home now, about a month now and all I dream of is when I leave again and where. I'm happy to be home though.




Look at these faces, How could I not be happy to be home?