Gremlins 4

They're Baa-aack! Gremlins are back in iPhone 4!

Coming This Fall only to an iPhone 4 Near You!  This fall Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg have joined forces to bring you the ultimate in entertainment pleasure where random Gremlins will be placed inside your iPhone 4.  Watch as your iPhone 4 decides to have a mind all of it's own.  You wake up after midnight and think it's really still early enough for that midnight snack.  Then when you least expect it your iPhone has cocooned and turned into an Android.  AAAAAAARGGGGHHH!  The horror.  Thus leaving you a victim of the evil Steve duo and their trickery to get you to buy the all new iPhone 5 (pre-loaded of course with Steven Spielberg's trailer for "Welcome Home ET" starring Drew Barrymore!)

Okay now, seriously Steve Jobs, enough of the games what's up with my iPhone 4? This is my 3rd one and it's worse than my last one.  No, you can't blame it on my technology force-field either.  I admit I do have one and it does cause some muckery to ensue around me from time to time but this is just a bit too much.

See, it all started waaaaaay back when, with my my very first iPhone, and lets not forget I got rid of my blackberry because I just "had" to have an iPhone, duh.  At first I began to think it was me and my inability to adapt to technology or my little fingers that have a hard time doing as they are told when I am typing.  Then I got smart and started asking and of course doing some Google and Youtube video searches about people just like me.  I found I was part of a small niche community of Apple fans who were willing to face chastisement by openly admitting I was unhappy with my iPhone. I felt like a second class citizen in a 12-step program (no I haven't been to one).

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

What I really want to know is either there are Gremlins, or little demons who have taken up residence and are living inside of it.  Is it just me or is anyone else out there having to make frequent trips to the apple store (which are such a joy I might add, as on my last trip seemed as though it was a playground not an electronics store)?  Only to have the "Genius" tell me, "It is very odd the things you are describing, but just for good measure and because you are still under warranty that I'll go ahead and replace it."   Between the lines, what that really means is they are giving you a previously mucked up iphone that someone else had to get rid of because it had little demons inside it - it was sent back to apple land to be made all better (supposedly)....

Then slowly by surely I began to come to terms with this dilema and realized I was really one of millions of dissatified customers.  That was when all of a sudden a Cherub flew in from on high and a golden voice carried from afar off spoke and claimed "iPhone 3G will be coming soon".  Quickly I went to replace my 2-time replaced iPhone Original for the all new 3G and was again... let down.  Then repeat scenario when I went from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS then on to the iPhone 4.

So what was a girl left to do?

Now I must be left to my own divises and wait.  Wait.  Wait, until the day comes that I have the iPhone 5 in my grabby little palms.  Just whatever you do, do n0t feed any of your iPhone's  after midnight or you might end up staring down the face of a little Gremlin, I mean Genius.

Blessings, Love & Music,
Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Fireworks

Amazing :D

NOTE: IN THE SPIRIT OF THE 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY AND TO KEEP MY NOGGIN SAFE AND SANE, I WILL NOT BE POSTING A NEW BLOG UNTIL TUESDAY JULY 6TH! 


So.... What are you going to do for 4th of July?  That seems to be the big question on everyone's mind the last week or so.  No need to ask what old man Brick's will be doing, I'm sure he will do like he always does, wear his circa 1986 white jeans and make a trip to Mc Donald's.  But wait a minute, he does that every day, so what makes that special for the 4th of July?... hmmmm

What is the Greek Blonde Girl gonna do for the 4th of July?  I have a nice muckery free weekend planned.  I am going to do what any red blooded american girl would do ~ and go shopping of course!  The 4th of July is a great time to putz around my favorite outlet mall and find treasures.  I also like to hit a good TJ Max (since I am a Maxinista afterall), Marshall's, and more than likely will make a trip to Kohls.

Unless I am out of town doing a show or an acting job, when I am at home in the Hudson Valley (just outside NYC)  I pretty much have a few things I regularly do when the 4th of July rolls around.  Since it is America's birthday the only proper thing to do is have a slice of Apple pie, don't mind if I do. ;D One of the weekend days I like to spend doing yard work.  Yes I have to do my own yard work, and yes I know if Mr. Bricks would hurry up and get me a record deal I would have someone to do the yard work for me. Until then, it's greek gardening 101 at the Aston House.  Since I'm severley allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumack that grows amuck in my yard, I always have to be uber careful to wear gloves, and try my darndest not to touch anything the gloves touched (always easier said than done).  Even though I rarely make it through a summer without an episode of it, I just can not resist the urge to get out and make the flower beds looks pretty.

After yard work is done, I usually find time to get in a good run, a few hours laying in the sun, and having a cookout with family & friends.  The following day I like to spend shopping. Who doesn't love a good sale & hitting Woodbury Commons just makes me giddy.  There are tons of of my favorite stores there: Coach, Nike, Michael Kors, Burberry, Kenneth Cole, and it's outside so it is a great way to spend the day.  Walking, shopping, enjoying the fresh air, and they have an ice cream & hot dog stand.... hello!!! Yes we all know I'm a health nut and normally eat super healthy, but hey it's 4th of July, I work out like a maniac and a kiddie size ice cream and one hot dog with mustard & sauerkraut never killed anyone.  Everything in moderation, right. Well, that is everything except shopping.  Kidding. ;D

Depending on when I get shopped out, hitting a good movie always makes me smile.  I'm really looking forward to seeing The New Transformers movie, Dark of the Moon !! Everyone knows how much I love the Bumble Bee Camaro... and the characters Bumble Bee & Optimus Prime are two of my favorites!!! Can't wait to see what happens in this installment!

Last but not least.... No matter where I happen to be on the 4th of July, I HAVE to see fireworks.  It's not negotiable... it's just not.  4th of July = fireworks, it is that simple! I love America & there is nothing more American than seeing a gorgeous display of fireworks on the 4th of July... and there is no place I love watching it more than the annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular!  I like to find a remote secluded spot to watch on my car from the Jersey side of the Hudson. Who wants to be stuck in traffic after they're done right?....  I can't think of a better way to round out the holiday weekend than to lay on top of my car enjoying the view and reflecting on all the fun of the weekend.

So what's on your agenda?  Whatever it is, I hope you have a safe, fun & wonderful Holiday!

Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox

If You Can't Stand the Heat Get Out of the Kitchen...

To write or not to write.... that is the question.

(Image still from "I Adore You" music video, click to watch)

Today I started to write a new song.  But then I realized with all of the muckery that has been surrounding my noggin lately, I had no business trying to write a new song today. That is unless it was going to be a theme song for a new "the Munsters". (here's a little trivia from Mr. Bricks...  The Munster's address was 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  Seriously ~ why does he know about this kind of useless stuff, but doesn't know how to get me a record deal yet).

When I was a little Greek girl, my yaya would be slaving away in the kitchen making a batch of baklava & my aunt Kellopie would come into the kitchen and start wanting to talk about some "really important" family drama.  My yaya would say to her "Kellieopie, I'm busy working here ~ if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen".

That's how I felt today... it was almost like my paper was staring back at me saying "Ava, what are you doing, you can't stand the heat today - so get out of the songwriting kitchen".  So I put down my pen & notebook and put on my sneakers.  The best way for me to get rid of the "blahh's" is to workout.

As a songwriter you always want to write the best song you possibly can, but there are certain days where sometimes you just have no business doing so because your heart is just not in it. Your noggin needs to be able to say to you "Step away from the paper". Songwriting really has to come from the heart, and everyone has days where their heart is just not into it. Unfortunately if you listen to the radio at certain times, you might just realize that not everyone got that memo. ;D just sayin.

The great news is if you don't feel like writing a song today, you could always lace up your sneakers and go for a nice long run instead.  The even better news is that there is always tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.... The Sun will come out tomorrow.... Hey I think I might just feel a song coming on here.  

Hope you have a beautiful "blah~less" day!

Blessings ~

Ava :D xox

Facedown vs Planking

Me planking (or so I thought) as a joke to Mr. Bricks ;D

So what is up with the "Planking" rage all of the sudden? What I can not seem to wrap my noggin around is why on earth people are all of the sudden so excited to lay down - on things?  I was working out one afternoon and I get a text from Mr. Bricks....   "Ava, have you heard about planking?"  I'm thinking... hmmm planking, what the heck is he talking about now...   Mr. Bricks have you been drinking?  I text him back "I'm working out, I'll be done in another hour or so, ttyl" He proceeds to continue to text me like something ~ really important is going on...

So I decided the following weekend to take a photo as a joke of me "Planking" (or so I thought I was planking) in front of my dream car the Bubble Bee Camaro.  So come to find out, I was actually not planking at all, I was "Facedown".  How did I learn this you may be asking yourself?  Well wouldn't you know it, old man Bricks has found the clarification to inform me that I was not planking and I was in fact facedown.  He even sent me the link to the video to prove it....

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/06/15/dnt.facedown.craze.king?eref=igoogledmn_mpvideo

So here I am about a month or so later sitting here asking myself, why on earth does my manager Mr. Bricks know so much about "planking" & "facedown", yet I still do not have a record deal? So now I know what he spends his time doing, that is besides eating McRib sandwiches all dang day long...  He spends his time reading up on things like planking when he is supposed to be getting me a record deal (just sayin). I think I am going to tell Mr. Bricks that I think planking is really cool and that I would love to get a picture of him planking in between my two tour buses when they are parked side by side loading up for my US Tour.  Yeah, that's a good idea. ;D

All joking aside here because we all know I'm all about laughing and having a fun time, but really I do not condone ~ anything ~ that can possibly cause harm to yourself or others.  Life is precious, I do not feel it wise to risk life and limb just to get a "funny" or outrageous photo.  I heard on the news a few weeks ago that someone was even killed falling off of a balcony trying to get a photo of themselves "planking".  So of course have fun, take risks, live your life to the fullest - but do not do anything just for the "shock" value of it.  In this humble Greek Girl's opinion, it is simply not worth it.  (in full disclosure, my "planking/facedown" photo was taken in a parking lot away from any space any car could drive on) :D Be smart blog friends!

Have a beautiful blessed day!

Ava :D xox