Simply Ashe

So today is day two for me blogging on Vox, and I've already got a rant! I'm going through bit of a crisis. It just seems that life is really forcing its negativity upon me. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but its rather hard when one problem keeps leading to another and another.

We've been stressing out lately about not having proper air conditioning in our house. We're currently running off of one window unit. It gets the job done for the most part, but at nights we're forced to leave our bedroom door open to allow the cool air to circulate in. This is a problem to us because once the baby comes, we were hoping to keep the door closed to keep our animals out. We have 2 cats and a dog who're used to sleeping in the room with us at night. I'm more concerned about the cats being a problem rather than the dog, since they sleep on the actual bed. I don't want to risk them getting anywhere near the baby. That's why I was hoping to just keep them completely out.

Another problem is that we were given a bassinet as a gift. I was really excited about it, it was really nice considering it was used and a few years old. Only problem was that there was no mattress that came with it. We looked trying to find one and were unsuccessful. My Mother-In-Law said she'd find one online and order it for us. She ended up ordering extra sheets (which were needed), extra frilly decorative items (which I didn't need or like that also didn't fir the bassinet) and 2 waterproof pads. When we asked her about the mattress she replied, "Oh I thought that pad would work instead. I never had a mattress with my bassinet." EXCUSE ME!? What the hell did your kids sleep on? Because I don't know about yours but mine has 2  1" thick bars that run across the foot and head of the base board. Not to mention it also has 4 rather large pegs on the bottom side which prevent it from being flipped over.

This whole bassinet thing has been so stressful because I don't want her in her crib at first. I didn't want her in the actual bed with me either because I have an outrageous fear of suffocation already. Jesus Christ, this is my first child. I'm a new mother and I want her close as possible at first until I learn her routine and get the hang of things. I also found out that the bassinet we have only holds a weight of up to 15lbs. That seems to be the average weight limit for bassinets and pack'n'plays. Only problem is she is going to outgrow it very fast. They're predicting her to be at 9lbs by delivery!

Then last night we had another problem arise. In the middle of a cycle, the washing machine started gushing water from underneath. Josh looked at it, cleaned up the mess, and discovered that the leak wasn't a hose, but coming from inside the casing probably from the basin. It was an old washer. One of those late 80's models, but we only had it for 6 months. So now, right before the baby gets here, we've got to find a way to get a new washing machine. I'm about ready to pull my hair out over these finances! Another bassinet or co-sleeper of some sort, a new washing machine and another window unit is going to be close, if not over $1,000.00. We barely have enough for gas and food!

To make things even worse, I recieved a letter today from my college saying that I am no longer available to recive my federal grant due to "poor academic standing". I couldn't believe it. The letter states that its not due to this past semester but to an overall viewing. I think its pure poppycock because before this past semester (which I ended up withdrawing from, which shouldn't have effected my grades) and even NOW on my records online, it still shows I'm at Academic Good Standing. I'm going to call them Monday morning to see if there is some sort of mix up due to my withdrawl. Because if I have to pay out of pocket tuition, I'll neve be able to return and my life, plus the life of my daughter's will be worse off.

Its just getting so overwhelming now. I know that no one said life was fair, or being an adult was easy, but this is getting to seem like its a bit harder than most!

Ashe

What were the biggest and smallest places you’ve lived in?
Submitted by Jack Yan.

I have unfortunately never really seen a big city. The biggest one I saw was either Charleston, South Carolina (which I fell madly in love with) or Chattanooga, Tennessee. I've lived in a very small town for a majority of my life. The entire county which consists of about 10 towns only has a little over 15,000 people. I lived in Jacksonville, Florida from the ages 2-4. I guess that would be considered the "biggest" place I've ever lived, even though its not very big at all! 

Man oh man I really hate first posts! But I guess it can only get better. I'm looking forward to using this site. It looks amazingly fun and addictive. I've been blogging for a little while now. I was originally hosted with Blogger but I just got bored (and slightly annoyed) with their service.

I guess I'll say some things about myself to allow you all to get to know me a little better. My name is Ashley but I prefer to go by Ashe. I'm 20 years old currently. I am not married but I have been in a serious relationship for 3 years with a guy named Josh. We're actually expecting our first child, a girl, this June. Actually in just 4 short weeks!

I'm currently taking a break from college, but I'm eagerly awaiting my return! I was an aspiring teacher. I wanted to be a high school history teacher. But due to me taking my "maternity leave", being a little lazy the semester before, I've gotten behind and it seems to be taking an eternity to earn my degree. It has gotten me frankly a little bored with it too. Also since I've been pregnant, I've been thinking it would be more important to get a decent job with better pay than to rely on just Josh's sole income to provide for our family. So once I am able to return to work, repay what's left on my grant, and get back to school, I'm going to change my major to something that will only take half the time. What that is however, still remains a mystery!

I live in Georgia but I'm not an inbred redneck. I do not have a "southern twang" or country accent. I am very proud of my heritage and where I come from. I do take offense quite easily to Southern Stereotypes. Not all of us are bigots, racists, unintelligent, or incestuous people. So please forgive me if I seem to go off ranting when a remark is made!

That's about all for now. Its about to storm and I need to finish my laundry before it gets here!

Ashe