PreFab Housing

Ok, I'll admit my ignorance here: will someone please tell me exactly what "Prefabricated Housing" is and what makes it such a drastically pro-environment choice?

New World Green Homes has a video explaining exactly what they sell, but I'm sure there's more I'm missing.

Help!! WHAT IS IT?!

The Nashville Flood of 2010

It's happened. Now even downtown Nashville is submerged. The Cumberland river is up 48 feet higher than usual, causing all of downtown to be evacuated. Opryland hotel is under six feet of water. The count as of an hour ago is that 28 have drowned and another 50+ are missing. Seven of my friends have lost their cars, if not more.

My siblings are safe on Trevecca's hill, but at the bottom, the hits are happening. Plant operations is flooded, along with Purity Dairy and the Nolensville/Polk intersection out the back. Most interstates are impassable and have houses floating down them.

It blows my mind that there isn't more national coverage. On Twitter I found a link to this album of the flooding downtown.

In summary: Holy. Crap. This city has just been destroyed.

Thought I would share in case you were wondering and having as hard a time as I was finding information.


-- ashley sue, from the phone

Soon We'll All Be Nudists, too...

I've been a fan of yoga for a few years now, after I finally decided that it wasn't too weird to have someone continuously talking to me about my energy...

A few of my good friends (Katie and Cara) have been practicing at Cadence and raving, so my curiousity was bound to lead me in, right?? Sweet Mandy, in charge at Cadence, must have sensed my ravenous desire to begin. Her move? She set up a 15 day challenge -- practice yoga with her for 15 days straight, and you get it for only 40 bones. Which is ridiculous.

Today is Day 3. I'm in love.

Pros? Posture improvement, the feeling of overall toning, getting a major sweat in to start/finish your day, opportunities to laugh at yourself and your friends (and strangers), an intentional time to focus on nothing but you and your body.

Cons? It's kicking me in the face.

I have a definite advantage in that I'm doing it with two friends, Meghan and Tamara, so we get each other up and going when our shoulders are screaming from the workout prior. My favorite reaction so far? Tamara's mother has warned her quite seriously: "Tamara, I think it's good, but when they tell you to clear your mind, don't do it. DON'T CLEAR YOUR MIND, TAMARA."

Who can really clear their mind anyway?

I have no title. Just Thoughts.

What is it that makes art an acceptable form of insanity? Whatever it is, I'll take two. Let me swim in fabric & dream in illustrations.

Side note: I love this tablescape, shot by Carl Zoch, from a recent Oklahoma wedding. I'm am ALL FOR a bride that can pull together a slightly mismatched, effortless look. It speaks volumes for her...and so do Carl's pictures.




Lastly: Thank you for submitting feedback on my banners! I'm actually asking for artistic direction, and this doesn't happen often, folks! ;-) Continued voting is encouraged!


-- ashley sue, from the phone

Blog Design

You may have noticed that I keep moving things around on the blog. Keep. Moving. Things.

It's worse at my house. Every week when the college kids come over, they pause, then stumble over the same phrase: "Something's...different...??"

I'll keep going until I get it right! This is where you come in -- Wanna help me? I made a few blog headers today (the expanse at the top of the page). Vote for your favorite! Thank ya kindly.


Click to enlarge...

happy birthing freakday

Whoa, whoa, whoa! My silly husband totally threw my for a loop last night. As the college group (he is a college pastor) was all over the house, he walks in carrying this for me:


Funniest. Topper. Ever.

60 is at least a few years away.

Thanks so much to all of you folks from live_well ministries. Sweethearts, all of you, even if I've tried to give you wedgies in public.

-- ashley sue, from the phone

Za Garden

Spring has brought an exciting venture at our house -- an organic vegetable garden! We opted to start small, as I'll be soon taking some classes and always adding more weddings to my docket. My better-than-I-ever-thought-possible in-laws gifted it to us as a birthday, early anniversary present, and there couldn't have been something I wanted more. They even found a raised-bed kit that is the same color cedar as our house/ark, since Oklahoma soil isn't growing-friendly.

(Could I stop the excessive hyphenation?!)

The in-laws and husband filling the backyard bed (purchased from Lowe's) with soil:



A close-up view of the bed, before any planting:



While we were prepping the space, Cindi-in-law was on the porch planting seeds in the seedling kit. We found this at Home Depot for $7 -- biodegrable containers and organic soil+plant food. The organic seeds were also purchased there, at a surprisingly cheap rate, too. After only five days, we had 6" plants inside. I'll move them to the garden this evening:


And the singular already-a-plant purchased (just so we'd feel like we had something to show from our work) was this grape tomato plant. I don't know why our faces make it appear that we were having such a difficult time! Blame it on Oklahoma wind!


(Oh, yes, that's brown hair on me, but don't get used to it...)

We are waiting on our Marigolds to come up so that bugs will stay out. As I've been informed by my horticultural expert of a dad, they're a natural insecticide because they smell so bad!

Any words of wisdom to impart on a very "green" gardener? Yes, that has dual meaning. :-)

-- ashley sue, from the phone