Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite

The Greek Girl Doesn't Roll with Bed Bugs

It used to be such a cute little saying from my Dad and Mom every single night, "Good nite our sweet little Ava, and don't let the bed bugs bite." After hearing that I would then march up to my room and get ready for bed. It should be noted that it would only be at bedtime that I would finally take off my sneakers. I would then put on my pajamas and climb into bed. Yup, even as a little tow-headed little Greek blonde girl  I would keep them on for as long as I could...you have heard of security blanket issues with some kids? Well I had security sneaker issues.

So I would be laying in bed, in my favorite purple snap-up flannel pj's, the ones complete with feet in them, the trap bottom with even more snaps,  and lots of gold stars all over them. With all of that purple and gold I looked like a mini Los Angeles Lakers' mascot.

Then I would fall fast asleep, dreaming of someday becoming a rock star, without even a thought of bed bugs - after all it was just Mom and Dad being silly. Bed Bugs, Schmed Smugs, they were not real, were they?

But now a days if I went to bed and someone said, "Good nite Ava and don't let the bed bugs bite,"  there is no way this Greek Girl would ever be able to fall asleep. It would be too late. The thought of bed bugs would have filled my little noggin - I would then get all itchy and junk and then I wouldn't be able to relax enough to fall asleep. Whether there were actually any BB's sharing the sheets with me or not, it didn't matter. It was too late - the thought of them was already out there occupying space in my coconut.

Here is a fun cartoon I put together that is all about bed bugs. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a blessed day.

Ava
xox

Little Miracles

It's the LIttle things...

Kids say the darndest things, and they also say some very profound things. For those of you out there scratching your head (no the Greek girl does not, I repeat does Not have any kiddies, well except for my fur-babies). I am however fortunate enough to have some insanely adorable and very smart nieces & nephews.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with my sister from Kansas & her family. Their three kids are really some of the most cute, smart, and honestly sweet kids I have ever met. I know kids are a result of the parenting, but I am always so blown away by how smart and sensitive these kids are whenever I am lucky enough to spend time with them since they live in the middle of the country. (note to tour manager - schedule more stops in KS please...) ;D Back to my point, well since I don't have kids, it always makes me laugh when I am around any the things that they say.

So yesterday being the super fun auntie that I am, I suggested we all go for ice cream, because we all know that ice cream = F~U~N! We all had just got our choices in our hot little hands about to indulge when my niece "Eva the Diva" (who is looks very much like a mini me btw, as her mom my sister and I look very similar as well) So Eva blurts out,"Ice Cream is a Miracle." Needless to say we all got quite a laugh from it. Here are just some of the few nuggets I have heard from the kiddies:

"So what happens if you put your foot in the toilet when you flush it?"

Walking into an air conditioned house from outside "Oh my Gosh this is Great"

Referring to new sparkle shoes "Like my new shoes?... They make dreams come true"

"Look mom I did my own make-up"

Laying out his new shirt for school "Well... now all the girls will be attracted to me"

Funny at the time, but when little Diva made her statement about Ice Cream being a miracle... it made me stop and think about what we all as individuals consider a miracle. As the saying goes "One mans trash is another mans treasure". What one person sees as a miracle, may be viewed as a mess to another person. For me, my little miracles are quite simple really. Being able to spend time with friends and family that I cherish, my health, savoring the amazing beauty in nature on a long run, pushing past limits, loving my doggies, and of course making my favorite souls expression - music. There is nothing I enjoy on this earth more than being able to create a great song that people can connect with and where I can express what I'm feeling. Of course performing that song or any song that really makes my heart happy is a Miracle to me.

So my thought for the day... whatever your little miracles may be, from Ice Cream to creating Art - embrace them, experience them, but whatever you do don't forget them. Because they are what make you, you.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox

www.avaaston.com

Rock Walls

My Rock Wall as it was Being Built

So I know I said I was going to spend a lot of my weekend going to the movies, watching fireworks and yes shopping.  Yes I did all that, but what I didn't expect was to build a rock wall.  As cliche as it may sound being a rockstar for me to be building a "rock wall".  No I am in no way changing my career plans, as the old saying goes don't quit your day-job.  Well as for me and building rock walls, I'm no pro.  Now singing, that's a whole other thing so Mr. Bricks, you can cool your jets cuz this Greek Rock-Diva is not going anywhere, except for the Grammy's when you get me my record deal, just sayin'.

So back to the rock wall, yes I somehow got sidetracked and decided to go all out and work on sprucing up the yard a bit.  No I don't have a money tree in my backyard (yet anyways), though I did look for it this weekend because if I did, I wouldn't have been hoisting boulders up over my shoulder that were bigger than my head and carrying them clear cross ROCKLAND COUNTY, and yes that is the county I live in. Instead I would have been paying someone to move them.  Of all the places to decide to live I chose Rockland county.  Now being a rising rockstar I guess it suits me just fine but as for the landscaping thing, not such a great idea.  See, they named this county "Rockland" because everywhere you go there are rocks in the land.  Get it?  Okay, I will leave the jokes up to Mr. Bricks. Anyway, because there are so many stinking rocks all over the yard it only made sense to gather them all up and create a wall along the driveway.

Now as crazy as it must seem to picture this little Greek Blonde girl with an iPhone and an Iced-Cup-O-Happiness wearing crocks and hoisting up boulders, I was doing it.  I had one of my favorite songs "Eye of the Tiger" playing in my iPod as I thought of Rocky Balboa training to fight the Russian in Rocky, my favorite movie and all I could think about was getting those 50 pound rocks to the end of my driveway - and I did it.  In style of course.  That is, I mean my shorts did match my T-Shirt and my Crocks were the fashionable choice for trecking through the muck (of course I would never wear one of my beloved pairs of sneakers) and oh did I mention "POISON IVY"? Yep, I braved it.  I set out to build a rockwall and sure enough I did and I did it while getting my yearly dose of poison ivy/oak or sumac muck that's grows out of control in my yard.  I even sprayed gallons of chemicals to kill it, to no avail.  Great, now I can be itchy while I go in the recording studio tomorrow. Fantastic.

Okay, I know you are wondering, what does all this have to do with anything?  Great question.  Well when I was trying not to crush my little Greek body (which is like a marble statue of course from all the working out I do) with these massive rocks I was thinking of some of my greatest rocks: Rocky, the Rock, Rock Music and of course Rockstars.  It made me think of all the tough challenges are a part of the road for anyone like me who wants to chase a dream.

See most of the time we are told to tear down the walls in our lives.  But sometimes we need also to build walls.  Walls that are fortified and strong with rocks.  Rocks that would crush you.  Rocks that you put there and place in the perfect spot.  Those walls we build in our lives sometimes are walls of sacrifice, struggle and triumph. Building this wall helped remind me of those important challenges I am faced with every single day.  It reminds me of how not to give up.  My rock wall is not done and just as my dreams have not been finished yet, I will continue building this wall and the rock wall of my life.  At the end I can sit back and admire my rock wall and realize what an accomplishment it has been.  That and of course it reminded me of how hard it is sometimes to keep going till you get to the end of the driveway with a 50 pound boulder over your shoulder - you know where your neighbor won't drive over your mailbox because you built a rockwall to protect it.  Oh that was the other reason for the rock wall.  But seriously though.  Life can be hard and following your dreams is even harder.  All of us from Rocky to the Greek Rock Chick have our own rockwalls we need to build.  So get your Crocks on and pick up your rocks and start building.

Love and blessings,
Ava xo

What If

Einstein is seen here asking, "What if I lick that frozen metal pole?"

"What if...?" A question pondered by all the great Greek philosophers and smart people throughout time, (mostly though they were Greeks who taught others to ask this question.)  Regardless, it's quite the deep thought if you ask me.  The possibilities are endless.  Two words can help cure cancer, inspire greatness, lead to ending hunger or in Mr. Brick's case help decide on if he will wear his circa 1986 high-wasted flare legged white jeans or not.  "What if I wear my white jeans today?" Okay, wait! I gotta stop right there, I just had a mental image that was just really bad for this Greek Girl's noggin. White jeans on Mr. Bricks is like the Pope wearing a speedo or Lady Gaga wearing a turtleneck.  Either way, it's just plain wrong.

Anyway, back to the question at hand.  "What if..?"

It really makes me wonder, "What if Mr. Bricks can actually mentally go deeper than anything other than fastfood?" Here is my impersonation of 5 minutes in the mind of Mr. Bricks as he makes his lunch selection:

"What if McDonald's ever stopped making the McRib?" Would I find a way to survive? "What if McDonald's would make a Green Diet Coke Milkshake?" Maybe I should patent that and sell it to them in exchange for a lifetime of fries.  What if McDonald's joined forces with Slim Jim and made Slim Jim French Fries?" That would be great, then I could have a lifetime of Slim Jim fries of course after I patent that and sell it for a lifetime of McRibs of course.  "What if McDonald's changed the #1 meal deal to be a Double McRib with Slim-Jim fries and a Green Diet Coke Milkshake?"  Then his brain would instantly freeze and he'd become like one of those wax figures in Maddam Tusseau's wax museum. (Side note: no matter how famous I ever get I never want to be embodied in a wax sculpture.  That is by far one of the most creepy things ever invented.)

Okay, like I was saying.  Every great philosopher has always asked "What if?" It is kind of how we get everything around us to be made or invented.  Questions like:

"What if the world were round?" - Columbus 1492

"What if we could travel through time?" - Einstein 1930's (still working on this one)

"What if I could walk on the moon?" - Neil Armstrong 1960

"What if we protest the tax on tea?" - American Patriots 1776

"What makes this apple fall to the ground instead of float away?" - Newton 1500's

"What if we gave peace a chance?" - John Lennon  1969

"What if we could make tasty delivery pizza?" - Papa John 1984

"What if we sell coffee in Styrofoam cups?" - Mr. Donut 1956

Sometimes I ask, "What if Mr. Bricks DID get me a record deal?" Then I would be able to buy all those glorious new sneakers I got my eye on.  Or "What if John Rzeznik from the Goo-Goo Dolls were to produce my next album?" Then I would most definitely have my first, second and third Grammy in no time.  This leads me to ask "What if I do become really famous, will they make one of those creepy wax sculptures of me anyway?" My goodness I hope not.

Have a blessed day,

Ava

xox

PS ~ What if you passed on this blog on to 5 of your best friends?

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

It's always sunny day when the Greek Girl is working out :D I know rain is a good thing, in moderation that is. The last few days around NYC the rain has been anything but moderation, it's been more like a long slow drowning. Wahh Wahh (Que. the sad violins). According to the weather app on my iphone ~ the sun is not supposed to come out tomorrow... however it is possible that it "may" come out on Sunday.

Most of my blog friends know about my love of running outdoors, and this rain frankly is cramping my style, no pun intended. Yeah I know I could go to the gym and run on the treadmill, but it's just not the same for me. There is just something magical about lacing up my sneakers and spending some quality alone time with my ipod, the road & the outdoors. My favorite time to run is magic hour just when it's turning dusk or mid afternoon when the sun is beating down on me.... Yeah yeah, I stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, all the things a good doobie does.

With all this rain lately I have had no choice but to take my cardio workout indoors. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well that depends on how one defines good or bad. When it is raining so much that I can't run outdoors on a cardio day, I usually do one of the gazillion DVD's in my fitness war chest. Yes I have a fitness war chest, doesn't everyone? ;D So since all this rain got me whining about not being able to run outside, it got me thinking today may be a good day to talk about what kind of workouts I do. As I receive a lot of emails asking about what do I like to do to stay in shape, etc. So here we go ~ sharing: :DD

Most of you know I have a few "fitness gurus" who are trainers I have a tremendous admiration for. You could say they are my heros, each one of them have amazing workouts on DVD & do so many things to help people become healthy: Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Jackie Warner, Billy Blanks, Tony Horton, Debbie Siebers, Saun T, Brett Hoebel & Chalene Johnson. Jillian, Bob & Jackie & Billy's Tae Bo's DVD's are easy to come by, they each have their own web sites & most retailers like Target also carry them. All my other fav's come from www.beachbody.com

So to date I have completed several programs from beachbody.com: Original P90, Slim in 6, Slim Series, P90X, Insanity, Rev Abs, Chalene Extreme, & last but not least I am currently checking out Turbo Fire before I start it full blast for 90 days. For me I just feel better when I workout it is that simple. Had I not been a little Greek Girl who at one time had a little extra baklava hanging around, and been born skinny like my sister's that may not have been the case. But alas, I have developed a serious addiction to endorphins (you know God's medicine, that makes you feel good) and end up working out 5-6 days a week. Hope you check out some of the workouts & find one that is right for you. Of course I just know your ipod will be loaded with Ava Aston Tunes to help push you through the hard workouts ;D just sayin.

Blessings ~
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

The Devil Wears Prada, The Greek Girl Wears Sneakers

Prada's Spring and Summer Collection

I think I want to marry the weatherman. I am back in New York and as we approach a holiday weekend it appears that the weather will be just perfect for some alone time with my sneakers.

Now that's what I am talking about. Not too hot, not too cold, just perfect for some beautiful running throughout America's greatest city and to check out some of the newest fashions!

If I want to head to Prada's flagship store I need to point my sneakers to 575 Broadway  (at Prince) in SoHo.  I won't be able to miss it because not every retail store has a Rem Koolhaas' designed 23,000 square foot $40 million dollar building! Nice.

When I am done in SoHo I can take a quick jog up near Central Park to 841 Madison Avenue and check out that Prada store. Yah, that's what I think I will do even if I have to cheat a little and hail a cab.

But all running and no shopping is not fun, so I will make sure to stop when I am in Midtown Manhattan and check out the Prada stores located at 45 East 57th Street, 724 5th Ave and the one located at 611 5th Avenue. I hear they have some really nice boots...Not that I wanna make my sneakers jealous, but  a Greek Girl needs her boots too - just sayin'

That's what my weekend is shaping up to be like. We all will be celebrating differently. Many of you will have cook outs and barbecues, and while I am out running and shopping Mr. Bricks will no doubt be eating McRibs, ordering Dominos Pizza and cheering on his favorite driver Danica Patrick while watching the Indy 500 and then watching NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600.  So how will you be spending your upcoming Memorial Day Weekend? No matter what you do, I hope you enjoy it!

Blessings,

Ava

xox

The Biggest Loser is a Winner, Duh

ENJOY A CLASSIC EPISODE OF MY SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS!




If I say the Biggest Loser is a Winner many people may think I am talking about Pia Toscano getting prematurely booted from American Idol. Although I am not a huge fan of that show, Mr. Bricks thinks the show is the cat's pajamas. He was all teary eyed the other day when Pia was voted off of the reality show, and from what I have heard from Mr. Bricks, she was the most talented.... and I trust his judgement after all he represents me, so he must have good taste - just saying!   So although Pia may appear to be a big loser, in the end she is a big winner. She was on the Tonight Show last with Jay Leno, and she will do just fine!

Hey, I am very excited to be working with a whole new animation software program that will allow me to make these Saturday Morning Cartoons much closer to what I want them to be and it will hopefully get me closer to one to my goals of having an "Ava the Diva" cartoon series on TV! My eyes are all blurry because it is like mind crack, very addicting!


So, instead of the two bears that you have been seeing, you will now see the Greek Blonde Girl, sneakers and all as well as the bumbling Mr. Bricks in his full glory! Here is a sneak peek of the what the main characters look like!



Thank you all for your continued support for all of the fun and exciting things that are happening in my career right now.


Blessings,

Ava
xox

PS. Only 20 More Days until the World Premier of  "GONE" my new music video on April 28th.

The Extreme Couponing Queens

The Greek blond girl grocery shopping for fruits & veggies. 

Don't get me wrong, I like saving money just like the next person, but what is up with all of the grocery store coupons? I'm a Greek girl, and the only thing us Greek girls likes better than shopping is going shopping and getting a discount on what we buy.  That is why I personally love Kohl's. For every $50 I spend I get a $10 in Kohl's Cash...but my Kohl's experience is a blog subject for another blog day. Today it's all about those rabid ladies and all of their clipped coupons.

Yesterday I ran to the local market for some fresh-cut flowers and a few other items. I thought it would be a quick 5-minute errand. WRONG. Turns out Wednesday is a day the newspapers run their mid-week supermarket sale ads. They always have a few coupons that are good for that day only. Oh lucky me.

So there I was trying to play supermarket roulette, you know where you try to decide which line would be the fastest?  Normally you just park your cart in the shortest line or behind the person who has the fewest items. But because it was "Coupon Wednesday" it was like they were filming an episode of Supermarket Sweeps in there. It was total muckery. There were Soccer moms weaving in and out of the aisles like Dale Earnhardt, Jr at the Daytona 500. They were pushing their carts and running around in their sneakers snatching up anything that slightly resembled the picture on their coupons in their hands.

It didn't matter what line I went to because every lane I checked had two or three people in line and it seemed like each one of them had about 500 items in their shopping cart, so I knew I was pretty much screwed no matter which checkout lane I decided on.

Since I knew I was in for a wait no matter what line I chose, I picked the one with two pleasant-looking older ladies with beehive hairdo. There must have been a 2-for-1 coupon down at the Beauty Barn as well, because their hairdo's were spittin' images of each other and clearly the masterpieces of someone who knew how to fix only one hair style.  I kinda laughed to myself thinking that in 50 years that is going to be me and one of my sisters, beehive hairdo and all.

So these ladies were chatting and comparing their full shopping carts as if they were pirates eyeing treasure chests full of loot! And then I found out why. They whipped out their coupons. It seemed like the Baldwin Sisters were taking full advantage of every coupon that the store has ever offered. They were going to make the store suffer for offering coupons and they would split their bounty later.

Their extreme couponing would explain why they were buying 16 boxes of Swiss Miss Cocoa,  20 cans of Campbell's chunky soup, 14 boxes of Nabisco Shredded Wheat, 16 loaves of Wonder Bread, 8 boxes of Kellogg's Raisin Bran, 4 bags of Taco Flavored Doritos, 6 gallons of milk, 12 DiGiorno frozen pepperoni pizzas, 4 cases of Dr. Pepper, 6 heads of lettuce, 8 cans of olives and 48 rolls of extra ply Scott toilet paper.  I wanted to recommend that if they intend on eating all of that Raisin Bran at one sitting perhaps they might consider getting twice as much toilet paper, but I decided to keep my Greek mouth shut.

One by one as the checker scanned their items these adorable ladies would first look at each other, then find a corresponding coupon from the brightly colored organizer that said "COUPONS" on the front and then they looked at me. I mean directly at me! They wanted this Greek girl to know that they were the Queens of  Extreme Couponing and with each ka-ching of savings they wanted me to know just how much they were saving!

When they got to the DiGiorno frozen pizzas they turned and smiled and then one of them looked at me and said "BOGO." For a moment I thought I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I looked at her and said, "excuse me?"  You see I have a dog named Bobo and I thought she was making a reference to one of my dogs. She smiled and said, "BOGO." I said, "Bogo" and she smiled again and said, "Yes, BOGO. Buy One, Get One free" I smiled and nodded as if I was up to date on the coupon lingo.

What seemed like an hour later when the cashier was done scanning the items and their coupons I was stunned to hear him say, "That'll be $11.89"  They got their change from the $20 bill they handed the cashier and turned and smiled as they walked away. These spinsters were walking out of the market with a truck load of food and because they had coupons and were buying items that were Bobo BOGO, they were paying way less than $20.00.

I had my fresh-cut flowers and a handful of other items scanned and the cashier said, $31.46, that just doesn't compute in my noggin.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

 Photo of Ava Aston 2011 © Ava Aston All Rights Reserved

Tough Questions

Happy snowy Saturday from me to you!!   I hope you enjoy a little fun as I ask my manager Mr. Bricks some very tough questions in today's cartoon. Enjoy.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Vogue 2011 Spring Collection

That darn Paparazzi!

Ok, I wonder how that rumor started that I was going to be in Vogue Magazine? I had a few emails and a couple of people asked me about it on Facebook the other day. Hmmm, what's going on?

I want to set the record straight. I am not going to be a part of the Vogue 2011 Spring Collection. Not my nifty red jacket, not my cool multi-colored scarf and certainly not my sneakers.  This is how I roll and I don't think there is anything Vogue about it. I'm not a trendy up town girl. This is my own Greek style. I'm really a jeans, t-shirt and sneakers type of girl. I love to add a little swag, like belts, bracelets and vests to dress it up.

My manager Mr. Bricks even had a phone call asking if some publication could get any unpublished photos of me from the Vogue 2011 Spring Collection photo shoot.  Ummm,  I never did a photo shoot like that. Besides the girls in Vogue are gorgeous, not the more simple and plain type of rocker chick like me. I think I might be pretty, but I'm no model.

If I ever did design my own fashion collection I think I would do a line of jeans. Maybe I would also do a line of printed T's. It would be fun to design a whole collection of work out clothes, because when you are working out you feel good, so you will want to also look good. And of course, the world is waiting for the line of Ava Aston sneakers.

But nope, not to my knowledge, I never did a photo shoot for Vogue....well, not yet anyways!

Blessings,

Ava

xox

New Horoscope Sign

According to CBS News, who reported that in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the signs of the zodiac could be off by about a month. Oh great....next thing I'm going to find out I'm not Greek! Sorry folks, that isn't happening here. You can't just randomly change the zodiac signs, I don't roll like that.

I'm a Virgo and I am Greek. No  scientific shenanigans  can convince me otherwise. In fact, there are many things I freely admit I do not know, but here are three things in life I do know:

1. I am Greek

2. I am Virgo

3. Mr. Bricks will get me a record deal

The Powers That Be in the astrology department can make all the radical changes they want with the astrological signs, like adding this new bogus 13th sign called Ophiuchus.  However, no matter what they do, I still will be a Virgo!

Is it just me, or does this whole concept of adding a new 13th astrological sign seem to have Al Gore's fingerprints all over it, doesn't it?

It's really simple. In Greek mythology Astraea was the virgin-goddess of justice and Zeus placed her amongst the stars as the Virgo constellation She was closely identified with Nike, the goddess of victory, and with Nemesis, the goddess of rightful indignation. See it is right there, the Virgo constellation is closely identified with Nike and Nemesis. What is Nike? It is a sneaker! What does Nemesis means? It means it is all about me. I rest my case.

For those who are hardcore astrology fans and know some of the more famous traits for people born under the sign of Virgo you can see in fact there is no way this Greek Girl is anything but a Virgo.

Virgo is earthy and represents the sixth sign of the zodiac. We are known for some of the following traits:

• Perfectionism (See why Mr. Bricks pushes my buttons?)
• Analytical minds (Greek Girl knows how to use her noggin - just sayin')
• Critical of the world (Or is it just critical of certain politicians?)
• High Standards  (See why I have an issue with Mr. Bricks?)
• Collecting of Sentimental things  (Sneakers?)
• Quick Thinker ( See why my blog is doing so well?)
• Interesting person ( See why my blog is doing so well?)
• Keep Lists (See why my blog is doing so well?)

Nope, these so-called changes to the astrological charts just doesn't fly with me. Under the new way they figure it I would now be a Leo. Here is a newly configured astrological chart with the 13th sign Ophiuchus added in :

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus:* Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

What's your new sign?

Now, let's look at some of the traits for people born under the sign of Leo and realize what an Epic Fail that would be for me:

First off Leo is a Fire sign...and I'm not feeling that. Besides, I dislike smoking and people who smoke.

• Pretentious
• Domineering
• Melodramatic
• Stubborn
• Vain

I am so not any of those! However, if you ask Mr. Bricks he will say I am all of them.

Now I don't want anyone to think I have turned to the dark side and that my life is now being ruled by my astrological sign, fairies and leprechauns.... because that is the furthest from the truth. I consider it a form of entertainment. That's it. End of story.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Off The Map

Day 13 of my "write a new blog every day for a year" personal challenge.

I realize just how easy this is going to be to write a blog every single day. Because unlike other people, I have years worth of muckery to draw upon.

Today's episode of muckery deals with a story of when I was a little girl and went on a treasure hunt with my sisters. I don't know why, but for some reason this story was rolling around in my Greek noggin today so I just had to share it with you.

Let me set the stage....  I was 8 years old

Ava Aston 8-year old treasure seeker ready to take on the world

My family was living in upstate New York and owned a house that was rumored to be one that Al Capone used to hide out in when he was he was a teenager. He use to take advantage of a new opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages back into New York City and his home town of Brooklyn during Prohibition.

Al Capone Mug Shot

The house was called The Antler Inn. I am unsure how true all of the stories were. As far as I know it could have just been something the silver-tongued realtor dreamt up to make the property seem more enticing. Whether or not they were true, I remember my Dad animatedly reliving each and every Al Capone story he told to anyone who ever visited our home.

The house was located on a six acre parcel that had a river running just outside the north side of the property line. Near the back edge of that property line, but still part of our property, was an old shed. The shed was built in the late 1800's. Inside the shed was a tunnel that went all the way to the river. One of the stories was that whenever the police would raid the house, Capone and his gang of thugs would grab their moonshine and run to the shed and escape through the tunnel.

I was just a little Greek girl. I did not know anything about who Al Capone was or what a gangster was. I do remember hearing lots of stories about "things" being buried on the property. I did find it odd that whenever my dad was telling the stories about "things" being buried on the property he always whispered the story.   Years later I found out why. He was told there was possibly dead bodies buried on the property. And to think my sisters and I were innocently thinking valuable treasures were buried on the property.

One day my 4 sisters and I went out looking for some buried treasures. We were off the map, it was just the 5 Aston girls and their wild Greek imaginations. We were thinking that maybe something was buried near the shed. So as my sisters were looking around I decided to look inside the shed. Now, we all had been in the shed a million times before and we never found any treasures, so I am not sure what was rolling around my little Greek noggin that day, but I remember I still searched inside the shed just in case.

While I was inside the shed my sister Niki started screaming saying she had found some buried treasure. So I started to run out of the shed to see what she had found, but on my way out I stepped on an old, long, rusty nail. It impaled my foot and went through the bottom of my sneaker, through my foot and out the top of the sneaker. I started screaming. I did not do well then and I do not do well now at the sight of blood. Especially my own blood - just sayin'. I was screaming, but I was not crying. I was tough even at 8 years of age.

I do remember getting a little woozy, but I was still more interested in seeing what buried treasure Niki had found. Turns out it was a pure silver Swan about the size of a coconut. We just knew it was buried treasure and was worth a lot of money.  My sisters wisely decided we needed to go tell Mom that I had a giant railroad spike through my foot (ok, it wasn't an actual rail road spike, but it might as well have been.)

I hobbled back to the house and showed our Mom the nail. Off to the emergency room we went. This by no means was the first or the last trip to the emergency room for me.  Let's just say I got to know Nurse Nancy and Dr. Patrick very well because I saw them so often.

So I was sedated, my foot was sedated and the rusty nail was removed.  My foot was cleaned, the wound was cleaned up, stitched up, bandaged and I was given a tetanus shot. When I woke up Dr. Patrick declared me good-to-go, so I was sent home navigating the way out of the emergency room on my very first pair of crutches.

As we got into the car I looked around and asked my mom, "where is my other sneaker?" She said they had to cut it off of me to get the nail out of my foot. Well... I started crying because I had just lost 1/2 of my very favorite pair of sneakers. The loss of that one sneaker had a profound impact on the rest of my life.

The rest as they say, is sneaker history.

Blessings,

Ava

xox

Oh, Say Can You See...

So my sweetie just put together this video of me singing the National Anthem on the Capital Hill lawn in Washington, DC, and I must admit I am pretty proud of it. Yes, of course I am proud that after all of the hours he spent editing it, it turned out really nice. What I also mean is I am proud that I had a chance to sing "The Star Spangled Banner", our National Anthem at our Nation's Capital! What an honor!

"The Star-Spangled Banner" lyrics come from a poem called "Defence of Fort McHenry" written in 1814 by the 35-year-old amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy  ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hover.

In recent years patriotism in our country has taken a back seat to political correctness. It used to be that every television station would sign off the air each day with our flag, "Old Glory" waving in the wind while blaring our National Anthem.

One of the things that get's me fired up (in a good way) and almost gets me as excited as sneaker shopping or working out, is hearing those first five notes of our National Anthem, da, da, da - da, da.  What American isn't proud to hear "The Star Spangled Banner" when one of our athletes is on the podium during the olympics.

Musical Score for "The Star Spangled Banner"

I remember when I was in elementary school we would stand up every day before class started and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Sadly, that doesn't happen anymore because of the Political Correctness. But thankfully, at sporting events and a few other events we still stand and sing our National Anthem. Go Team USA!

I get a lot of visitors on my website from other countries who might not be familiar with the words to our National Anthem, so it is with great pleasure and pride the Greek Blonde Girl supplies you with the lyrics so you can sing along with me as you watch my new video.

Star Spangled Banner

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

and God Bless America... oh wait, that's another song all together.

Blessings,

Ava

xox