Introducing Ashley

So, as with a lot of my blog posts, this whole thing started with a conversation with my roommate. We were discussing the possibility of knowing different people from before we came to this earth. Interesting concept. We're super deep like that. It is impossible to tell if we did or if we didn't. However, I have one friend who we've both discussed we think we knew each other from before. That would be my lovely friend Ashley. We've known each other since we were real little. Primary days we're talking here. We were friends all through high school and every time we talk it's like no time has passed at all. She was born in Canada and has since then moved back up there. Unfortunately, she needs to find a man to get married to so she can move back. Any takers?

Either way, that's neither here nor there. Let me tell you a little bit about Ashley and I. She's one of those friends who when you are together you have more confidence. Of course, confidence can also be disguised as ridiculousness. We have had some crazy adventures. She came to me our junior year of high school and asked if I wanted to join the volunteer fire department with her. 180 hours of classroom and hands on time later and we were certified fire fighters. It was hard, but it was a total blast. You can just imagine what went through the minds of the other fire fighters when a fire truck pulled up and two teenaged girls jumped out. I think at one point someone even made the comment 'who brought the cheerleading squad?' My cousin accused us of joining the fire department just to date boys. While that wasn't true, we certainly did make our way through the different stations. We also had this irrational crush on one of our instructors, who was as redneck as they come. He had a huge mustache that took over most of his face. Something about the way he smoked his cigarettes was super sexy, like our very own Marlboro man. Ashley, thought he was particularly sexy. I was more focused on a different college boy from the same station. We were pretty much the class favorites. Until Ashley melted Marlboro man's helmet in a controlled burn one day. It's hard to melt leather but she managed to do it. Impressive right? When it came to dealing with all these guys we had to work with, we found flirtation worked best. We could get them to do anything just by batting our eyes a little. It worked, and it worked well.

When it came to guys, I think between Ashley and I, we dated everyone in the stake. We also had quite the little sisterhood of some guys that we both dated. Awkward. Our adventures weren't limited to just guys though. We've been on road trips, school trips, EFY, youth conferences, girls camps, stalking trips, and even snuck out of the house together. Stalking you say? Yeah, we honed the skill long before Facebook came along. There were just times when you wanted to run into that particular boy you liked and you just happened to know where he hung out. Is that so wrong? We didn't think so. You name it, we've been through it together. Her parents were like my second parents. Her mom even slapped me once. I came over to her house and Ashley had told me to just come in the back door. Well apparently she hadn't told her mom I was coming. I walked in, scared her mom, and got slapped right in the face. It's funny now, and it was actually hilarious then.  

I haven't seen her in over four years. It has seemed like forever. We even both made it home for Christmas last year, but because of the weather, we never could make it to see each other. It was way sad! This year, we'll finally both be home at the same time again. Come hell or high water, you better believe we'll see each other. I cannot wait to see her! Skype just isn't the same and since we live in different countries, it's been way too long. I know that it will be as if we've been hanging out these past four years without a break. That's my friend Ashley and I in a nut shell. Sometimes I wish I could combine everyone in my life so they all could love each other as much as I do. But alas, I cannot. So Ash, here's to you and here's to us. Let's go to Macados and live it up 'Noke style!