Who am I? I'm Ashley Conner!

I was 18 years old and had just been to "da club" for the first time in my life. (please note that this was before I had the life changing experience of accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior) It was probably around 1am and my girlfriends and I decided we wanted to stop in Waffle House for an early breakfast or late night snack (whichever you'd like to call it) and a cup of coffee. Well I asked one of my friends that worked there on the 2nd shift, "What's his name?" as I pointed to the cook. It was a tall, dark, and handsome man with a GA Bulldogs baseball cap on. He was cooking up a storm since it was "bar rush". He took his hat off for a moment to wipe his brow and there I saw it, the most beautiful bald head a man could have. I'd never had a thing for bald heads before him. She said his name was David. I didn't think much about it at that time.

The next weekend after we had ourselves a "good 'ole time" I wanted to go to Waffle House again. At this point my friend had told him that I thought he was cute. So, I was really hoping he would talk to me. I was sitting in the booth and it wasn't that busy at this point. He came over after a while and sat beside me. He saw a random receipt on the table, grabbed it and flipped it over, took the pen from my friends hand, and slid both over to me. I knew this was his way of asking for my number, although he never said much. I wrote my number on the piece of paper and slid it back over to him. The next day he called we went on our first date.

After years (teenage years) of being confused and following others beliefs or should I say non-beliefs I decided when I was 19 that I knew there was something bigger than me. I wanted to seek that. I began attending church, praying and reading my Bible. Once I realized that God/Jesus/Heaven & Hell were real I made a vow to live my life for Jesus Christ. My life didn't get any easier, at times it seemed like it was harder. But when I was faced with trials I was equipped with the the material I needed to get through them, and each time I came out a better person.

God is working miracles and wonders in my life. I'm still going through trials and I still make mistakes. God has placed so many blessings in my life that sometimes I don't even know where to begin thanking him.

I've gone through job losses/changes, family disputes, differences with friends, and even a close call with a divorce. Every time, God blessed me with more wisdom, better relationships, an awesome marriage, better jobs, and greater faith. I kept that faith, that God had a plan for me and it was a good one. I knew that if I kept that faith he would bring me out of that situation. God doesn't put anything in your path you can't handle.

I am a youth counselor at Harvest Church for Amp'D Youth Ministries. Our youth group consists of about 15 - 20 teenagers. Their ages range from 12 - 18 years old. We meet every Wednesday at 7pm in The Edge. The Edge is a game room and hang out spot for our youth and the community youth. Every other Saturday night we open The Edge to the community.

My responsibilities as a youth counselor include but are not limited to:

• planning a games and events for the youth


• build relationships with the youth


• set a Godly example for the youth


• chaperon events and trips


• pray, pray, pray

Visit our STORE to help us raise money for our upcoming events! As I said above, The Edge is open every other Saturday night. We do this free for our youth and for the community. We offer concessions, video games, and entertainment at no cost.

Visit our MySpace to see our upcoming events and see what we are up to.

I'm employed at BiG Services, Inc. I started working here in 2003 before I graduated high school. I was working as an office assistant making project manuals, answering phones, filing, and data entry. I worked here for a year then and pursued other opportunities. I came back to work for BiG Services, Inc as a Project Coordinator. I track completion of jobs, review and post before and after pictures of the jobs, report to Project Managers, and have recently started working more in accounting with handling per diem, time sheets, and being involved in the billing process of things.

BiG Serivces, Inc was established 1999 as installation services contractor to the retail industry. Over the past 9 years BIG has grown into a multi-million dollar corporation. Today, in addition to providing installation services to the retail industry, we are also able to provide full General Contracting services for retail and commercial build-outs, remodels, multi-site rollout project management as well as commercial mixed use and multi-family construction and renovations.

One of the things I love about working here is that we're like a big family. The Project Managers all treat me like a little sister, which is cool sometimes, but can have it's moments. The ladies in the office have all been there for me in one way or another and are all like big sisters to me. I won't say Mothers, that might make them feel older than they are.

All 3 of these categories I am absolutely obsessed with. By obsessed I mean, I love all things that have to do with them except applying them to my life and staying dedicated to them. I'll elaborate a bit.

Organization

I love reading blogs about getting organized. Such as: I'm an Organizing Junkie, Small Notebook,and 100 Days to Christmas.
I also regularly visit websites like, iVillage, RealSimple, and Better Homes & Gardens for tips on organization at home and in the office.
It's a habit every Monday morning to check these websites and blogs for new organizing tips. I try to put them to work, and they do great, but I never stick with it. The photo above is my attempt at being organized with my mail and important papers. I try to avoid having lots of papers by paying bills online and scanning and saving important documents. That's something I have been able to stick with.

Frugality

I'm not frugal by any means. At least not in my opinion. I don't do much to save energy. I've attempted to recycle but have never followed through. I spend no less than $100 on groceries every time I visit the grocery store. That's groceries for 2 people and barely lasts us a week!! I dine out all the time and never try to save on the meals. I clip coupons but never use them. I pretty much never do anything that is free.
Blogs on my blogroll that I visit on a regular basis for frugality tips are: The Simple Dollar, The Dollar Stretcher, Get Rich Slowly, and Being Frugal.

Making Money Online

I've started a couple of blogs but didn't stick with the first one. The first one didn't have a theme and the one I'm doing now doesn't exactly have a theme... do they need a theme? I don't know. I've tried affiliate programs, surveys, etc. Now I'm at it again with Squidoo, She's A Lady, CafePress, and some other programs.

I'd like to make a commitment to these things and stick with them. Organization would help so much in my household. Attempting to be more frugal would help in some of my finances I'm sure. Making money online would help in the finance department as well. Of course since my dear husband will be stepping down from his current position and taking a pay cut I have no choice. What do you think, can I turn my odd obsessions into accomplishments?

Doctor visits every 3 months (sometimes every month) to get my blood tested. The result has been the same every time for the past year, my levothyroxin is increased.

Some of my symptoms are: sensitivity to temperature (I'm usually very cold), fatigue, difficulty losing weight, irritability, memory loss and a few others.

I have had improvements, but I'm terrible about taking a little pill every day. I have to say that lack of improvement is probably my own fault but I'm getting better at taking the medicine every morning.

You can read more about Hypothyroidism here.