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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tonight's Dinner Menu

Pesto Chicken (serve over rice)

9x13 baking dish
4 to 6 chicken breasts
1 jar or 1 cup of pesto
1 Cup of shredded jack or smoked gouda cheese

1.) Cut chicken into strips
2.) Spray dish with non-stick spray
3.) Spread 1/2 of pesto on bottom of dish
4.) layer chicken in dish
5.) Season chicken and spread remaining pesto on top of chicken
6.) Cover dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.
7.) Remove foil, add cheese, and bake until melted.


Green Bean Casserole (contains gluten)

9 x 13 baking dish
4 cans french style green beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 T black pepper
1 1/2 T minced dried onion (can substitute onion powder)
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1T minced garlic
6 oz pkg of French's fried onions
2 Cups shredded cheese (try with smoked gouda for an extra special treat)
2 oz softened cream cheese

1.) Spray non-stick spray in dish
2.) Mix green beans, cream of mushroom soup, softened cream cheese, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dried onion, and garlic together.
3.) Add 1 cup shredded cheese and 1/2 French's onions to mixture
4.) Spread into baking dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees
5.) Remove dish and top with the rest of the cheese and French's onions
6.) Bake until cheese is melted
Pesto Chicken with Gouda Slices
Green Bean Casserole

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

So much for plans...

So my earlier goal of writing about my daily life everyday for a week, has fallen to the wayside.

On March 3rd I was heading home after running errands in a neighboring town and had a car accident. I was heading west on I-30 and saw a 18 wheeler tire in the middle lane of the interstate (the lane I was driving in). I was unable to avoid hitting the tire because there was traffic on both sides of me. I hit the tire and lost control of my car. I did several 360 degree turns and ended up hitting the cement wall lining the median wall. The car stopped facing the opposite of traffic, having hit the median on the passenger side of the car.

Two nice couples stopped and stayed with me until the ambulance arrived.

The first thoughts through my head were that I was glad my dogs weren't in the car with me because they would have probably died and that I wanted my fiancé, Michael, with me.

The result of the accident was that my left (and dominant) wrist was cracked and my car was totaled. I have been wearing a cast on my arm since the accident.

I have had a lot of pain and basic functions are difficult. Who would have thought about not being able to open containers, turning a doorknob, earring food that needs to be cut, etc .

Since the accident I have been prone to severe anxiety in the car. Not being able to drive is inconvenient for me,my staff, and my family. The nightmares have seemed to stop recently. My energy, which disappeared after the accident, has started to return.

The cast is supposed to come off later this week. I am interested how this Will continue to unfold.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A day in the life... Day 1

I think I will start a project detailing my day for a week. This is inspired by the Library Day in the Life Project.

References to my library work day will be blogged at The Not So Shoeless, Librarian, while the personal parts of my day will be blogged here on A Life, Ashley K Parker.

I am interested in seeing the patterns of my life emerge, as I often get so wrapped up that I rarely take time to thing about where I spend all my time.

Putting this in context: I am a 28 year old public librarian living in central Arkansas.  I live in a city of 9,000 and a county of 30,000.  I live with my fiance and we have custody of our 17 year old nephew.  We have two inside dogs.  I am currently taking online classes to earn my MPA.  I serve on several local, state, and national committees.  I am planning my own wedding without outside help.


Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012


  • ‎9:00 - Breakfast
  • 9:30 to 12:00 - wash 2 loads of laundry, wash a load of dishes, clean stove, clean kitchen counters and table, clear all "crap" from kitchen area, sweep and mop kitchen, teach my resident nephew how to clean a bathroom, and take out trash
  • 12:00 - shower
  • ‎12:15 to 1:15 - play on computer
  • 1:15 to 3:15 - errands
  •  3:15 to 3:45 - dismantle library display
  • 4:00 to 5:30 - homework and snack
  • 5:30 to 6:00 - play on the computer
  • 6:00 to 6:20 - start blog and switch out loads of laundry
  • 6:20 to 7:30 - put away and wash dishes, fold 3 loads of laundry, wash 2 loads of laundry, bathe dogs, sweep laundry room
  • 7:30 to 8:20 - dinner, folding a load of clothes, then washing dishes
  • 8:30 to 10:00 - listening to music and discussing songs for our wedding ceremony
  • 10:15 - grab a snack and head to bed

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Looking to the Future

So as many of you know I became engaged to my sweetie at Thanksgiving.  We plan to get married in October of this year and in planning our wedding and talking about our future, we have discussed our future thoughts of parenthood.  Of course to me this means pigtails and cute outfits and to him it means wrestling and fishing!

Yesterday I stumbled across this website that will morph two pictures into babies.  This allowed us to create images that suggest what our future children will look like.  I wonder how accurate it is?

Us:


What our future kids might look like?:






Monday, January 9, 2012

A student again

Today I became an official student again.  I started online classes today at Troy University for my Master of Public Administration program.

Troy's program is ranked in the top 5 Public Administration programs in the country and they offer several specializations to choose from: Public Management, Government Contracting, Justice Administration, Healthcare Administration, Environmental Management, Non-Profit Management, Public Human Resource Management, National Security Affairs, and Education.  I will most likely pursue my specialization in Non-Profit Management.

I am really excited to go back to school, but I am nervous about finding the time to dedicate to school since my schedule is so busy at work and at home.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Save the Date!

Love Filmstrip Scarlet Wedding Save the Date
Find unique birthday party cards & address labels at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.



I love the save the date cards  I ordered to announce our wedding!  I can't wait til they get here!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I'm Engaged!

I am so excited to announce that Michael has finally proposed!

Michael and I have been together for just over 2 years and we have a great life together!  We moved in together in April when we bought a house and we quickly expanded our family by adding a second dog, Faraday (I adopted our first dog, Novella, before we started dating).  Faraday and Novella are both shelter dogs and I love them so much!

I have been waiting for Michael to propose for almost a year now and we have been talking about our future wedding for about 6 months.  We know we want to get married outside in the fall.  Now that I finally have my ring, I can start planning!

Michael and I were spending Thanksgiving apart.  I was with my dad's family ( 6 hours from where we live) and Michael was staying home to celebrate with his family at our house on Friday.  Thursday afternoon, just after lunch, I was surprised to see Michael walking up the sidewalk to my grandmother's house.  I ran outside because I was so happy to see him!  As soon as I got outside he fell to one knee (shaking the whole while) and started proposing!  It was so wonderful...and I was so surprised!

I can't wait to spend our life together!