Just shootin' the breeze...

"Motivation such an aggravation,
Accusations don't know how to take them.
Inspiration's getting hard to fake it.
Concentration never hard to break it.
Situation never what you want it to be."

This whole paragraph pretty much sums up my life right now, and that really sucks. Not to be mistaken with wrong intentions, I should clarify that I absolutely love my life. I have a wonderful husband who adores me, a job that allows me to wear sweatpants to work, family members who would do anything for me, a roof over my head, and two of the most lovable dogs that have ever walked the Earth.

So why with all of these wonderful blessings, do I feel miserable?

Well, it all comes own to motivation. Sum 41 really hit the nail on the head in saying that it is an aggravation. Because it is! So I guess the question on the table is how does someone with so much creative talent, get motivated to do what they were meant to do? I'm not necessarily referring to myself, but in some respects I am. I try to be a humble person when it comes to things that I do, but when someone tells me that something I made, or wrote, or whatever is good, I can't help but think, "hell yeah, I'm awesome!" Actually, if I'm being honest, I don't think that at all. Instead, all I can think of if how I could have done better, or how I should have improved what I created. And you know where that thought process is going to get you? Sitting on your couch, watching movie, after tv show, after game, wasting your life away, and I really don't want to be this person that I've become. I know in my heart, that I am better than the person sitting here typing this.

About a week ago my sister got married. Many of her family and friends came in for the occasion and it was wonderful to see them. One person in particular, my cousin Jamie, flew in from Chicago. Now, I love Jamie for the person she is. She's not afraid to say what someone else won't, and she doesn't sugar coat things. That may be hard for some people to take, (and in this case I'm one of those people) but that is exactly why I adore her. So this past weekend, we were all sitting around our campfire after the wedding just shootin' the breeze, when somehow my creative prowess had come up. I don't understand how or why, but at that very moment I was put on the ringer to be stretched, pulled, and tortured in every way possible. One of things that Jamie said to me, which to this moment rings home with me is that I am afraid to do things, afraid to go after the desires that I want because I'm scared. But not scared in the thriller movie type of sense. She pointed out that I'm scared to do things because if I am not perfect at what I do, I will be disappointed in the result. Well my hats off to you cousin, because you were right.

I am scared. Scared, (insert word here.) But thanks to Jamie I'm also very thankful because through her, and some other very loving yet blunt family members, I think I was able to see the light. It's okay to strive for greatness in the things that you do, but when you strive for perfection, all you'll end up with is a lackluster life of aggravation.

So where do I go from here? Well to start I'm writing this blog and we'll see where I end up. Hopefully I'll keep writing, whether it be here on the schnozberries, or sitting at my piano. But no matter what happens, all I really want from this point on is the motivation to stay motivated. Because once that hurdle is surpassed, it's all downhill from there.

This is Ashley reminding you that a taste of schnozberries is where I write, and that's where I plan to stay.

I'm loving 2010, and here's why..

Welcome back folks. It's a new year and that calls for some new enchanting rants from yours truly. I know it's been a while, but with the holidays, traveling and work, well I just didn't have the time...

Yeah, that is just complete and utter bull.

I just felt like being lazy and didn't feel like writing. Ya know, I do what I do, when I do what I do. So yeah, my bad.

But for the first day back I do have what I believe is some fantastically compelling material. Here is your first hint: I saw it in IMAX. Nothing yet?

Well here's your second hint: It was some of the best 3D that I have ever been exposed to. Still nothing? Wow, you people are dense.

Nah, I'm just joshin'. But there is no laughing matter when it comes to James Cameron's latest block buster hit. That's right folks, I'm talking about the movie with the gigantic blue feline-Esq people, aka, AVATAR. Now, there aren't many movies that deserve an all caps title but this one without a doubt has earned that right. This was by far one of the absolute best movies that I have seen in a very, very long time. And I definitely was not expecting to feel that way. As a matter of fact, I honestly only went to see this particular movie because my husband had the desire to experience it. Of course, being the wonderful wife that I am, I agreed. Hesitantly of course, as Avatar has been billed as a sci-fi which I will make it known to the world of readers right now, that I despise. I'm thinking I should start trusting my husband in the movie department a bit more, but let's face it; women are stubborn. And woman I am.

Anyways, back to the movie. Having heard mixed reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect except to know that this was going to be a visually stunning movie. Well, no letdown there. I'm not even sure if there are words to describe how beautiful this movie really is. So we'll just skip right to the next point. I had read from a ton of critics that this movie lacked a solid story and even more importantly a strong script. Here are my opinions on those two matters:

1. To me, the story wasn't lacking at all. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. It played to a wide audience, including romantics such as myself, with the underlying love story; bad-ass action lovers, with it's huge and explosive battle scenes; and sci-fi geeks, with it's overall out of this world (literally) plot.

2. As far as the script is concerned, no, there wasn't anything complex to it at all. In fact my husband described how he felt and I most definitely agree with him. He said that the story of Avatar has been done a million times over, and there was nothing new in essence to the story. But James Cameron used his imagination, and the wonderful use of 3D technology to enhance one of the most simple stories and make it something that seems "fresher that spring water."

And I concur. Avatar was extremely fresh, and I for one am thoroughly impressed with the movie as a whole. I also loved how Mr. Cameron drew his audience right into the world of the Na'vi and made us feel like we were right there experiencing it for ourselves. Kudos James. Kudos.

I have to give a shout out to my husband for making me see it because it was one of the most fun times I've had at the theater in a really long time. Thanks hunny!

Willy Wonka took us into a world of imagination and constantly reminds us that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries and I promise if you go and see Avatar, you will experience a new world of imagination all over again.

This is Ashley wishing you a great start to what I feel is going to be a fantastic year. Goodnight.