Elephant Hug!

How precious is this? One of my favourite moments in Thailand to date!

I have some delicious recipes to share with you this week! Yummy posts to come!

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Well, I'm unexpectedly back from my trip! I wasn't supposed to come home until May 7th, but my friend couldn't meet me in Bangkok on the 26th of April like planned, so I changed my flight! If you want to read about my trip, you can here. I had an absolutely amazing time. So many precious moments - like an elephant hug!!! Those photos are on my sister's camera so I'll post those later! We ate delicious food, tanned a little too much, and soaked up the wonderful Thai culture!

Here are a few photos from my trip:

Songkran Festival - Thai New Year where they splash you with a ridiculous amount of water and rub clay or baby powder on your cheeks! It's messy!

First of many delicious pineapple shakes!

Me on Karon Beach, Phuket!

Hello! & Goodbye!

I have seriously been lagging in the blogging department. I haven't been reading or writing. I've been super busy getting ready for my trip to Thailand (I leave tomorrow!!!) and have had zero time to write here! Hopefully I'll be able to post while I'm gone, but if you'd like to keep up with my travels I can send you the link to my travel blog. A couple of you e-mailed me for it, but it wouldn't let me reply to your e-mails so if you'd like it e-mail me directly at a_cantafio@hotmail.com.

I hope you're all well and I hope to catch up with you soon!

P.S. Dan's deployment has been cancelled! That's really the only big news I have. More on that at a later date.

Worst Blogger Award.

It's official. I'm giving myself the Worst Blogger Award. I have seriously slacked over the holidays and it's time to end the hiatus.

Happy New Year!!

The holidays came and went with a flurry. I'm having a hard time believing it's already the middle of January! My time with Dan was amazing and went by way to quickly.

Some exciting news!!!! I was going to go to Thailand in June but because of some concerns with Dan's schedule and my plans, Stacey and I decided it would be best to go in April!!!!! We couldn't be more excited! Another new development is that my sister, Mellie, is going to come too! Her school has graciously allowed her to miss two weeks of school so she'll volunteer with us and come to Bali with us too! Then, we'll send her off and head to the south of Thailand to lay on the gorgeous beaches. It will definitely help time pass before I see Dan again and is giving me something to look forward to!

I have some great recipes to share from the holidays and will work on doing that in the next couple weeks!

Wordless Wednesday.

Where have I been?

Well, blog friends, I guess it's about time for a real update.

For the past two weeks or so, I have been beyond consumed with studying for midterms. The studying has proved successful and now I'm going to enjoy the last six weeks of classes before finals and then Christmas break!

I'm currently enjoying a week with my love! He had some leave he had to take, so I have him for a whole week! Time feels like it's going way too fast, but I'm very thankful that I'm able to take some time off to spend with him. I'm a very happy girl right now!

Thai donations are also coming in full swing! My Uncle Mike and Auntie Helen made a $100 donation which was incredibly generous! Thank you both so much! The spare change jar (or vase...haha) at work filled up for the first time today, so it has been emptied so I can tally it up and start again! Look for the photo in my Wordless Wednesday post tomorrow!

Happy November!

Happy Sunday!

It is a beautiful fall day here today! It's chilly but sunny. We are very lucky!

I thought I'd update you all on the two crates of bottles I received earlier this week. I spent a couple hours bagging and sorting them and then an hour and a half at the bottle depot yesterday afternoon (thank you for your help, mom!) to discover that all of those little gems were worth 93 dollars and 30 cents!! Thank you again, Mark and Doreen!

I am receiving so many wonderful donations, that I think a weekly donation post will turn into a blog ritual. Look for more exciting news coming up this week!

Absolutely amazing news.

How could I not feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now? Honestly. I am so blessed. I swear I'm still living on cloud 9 knowing Dan will be home in two short weeks and then today I received a very special delivery!

The baby home that I'll be volunteering at in Thailand is in desperate need of diapers, formula and all necessities for babies so in order to do all that I can, I thought I'd fundraise! I sent out an e-mail last week to all of my family and friends telling them about my trip and my fundraising initiatives by holding a bottle drive. I have received change and bottles from many people throughout the past week and I am so gracious!

Amongst the people I e-mailed, were Mark and Doreen, business partners of my dad. Doreen responded to me upon receiving my e-mail telling me they had ten garbage bags full of recycling and Mark would bring them to me at work! I was elated - ten garbage bags?! That's amazing. Well, friends, look at what Mark dropped off today.

Seriously. They rock. Having their support and the support from everyone who throws some change my way, or the odd bottle, will really make a difference. I am so appreciative of their support and so lucky to have such wonderful, generous people in my life.

Thank you to Mark and Doreen, and everyone who donates for helping me in my dream.

Wordless Wednesday.

First tuk tuk ride in Thailand with Stacey!

Something Greater - Part Two.

Today is Sunday. The same day I declared Business Law day earlier this week. Well, I haven't yet looked at my Law text or study guide so I may as well continue on my journey of procrastination and tell you my plans to date for my volunteer trip!

1. I'm definitely going to Thailand.
2. I'm going to spend my time working in a baby home.
3. I have a volunteer buddy!

As number one states, I am definitely going to volunteer in Thailand. It looks like I'll be leaving at the beginning of June and I'm thinking I'll stay for a month. I have thought about volunteering for two weeks and then traveling down south to go see those amazing Thai beaches again! There were a few islands I haven't seen, so I would like to visit at least a couple of them. I'm going to leave it somewhat open (at this point at least) so I can do exactly what I want!



The orphanage I will volunteer at is called Pakkred Babies Home near Bangkok. I would share the website with you, but it is in Thai so it won't be much good to you. If you google the home you can find more info. They take in babies and children up to five years old that don't have a home. Many of these children are adopted by Americans or British parents so they encourage visits from foreigners (or "farangs" as us Westerners are known as in Thailand!)


Some of the most exciting news I have to tell you! I'm not going alone. I originally asked Dan to come with me on this journey. Unfortunately, the night I asked him to come he was being rather distant and wouldn't commit. This made me slightly angry (okay, maybe more than slightly) and he ended up telling me he was going to Afghanistan. I understood. It's a calling he feels within himself so he must go. I have yet to talk to him about this adventure since he was in the field all last week and this coming week. I'm looking forward to telling him on Friday or Saturday when he's finally done. I didn't think of asking anyone else to come with me and figured I would meet people there and make friends just like last time. But, what if one of those wonderful people I met last time had the urge to go back? Guess who is coming with me? Stacey! I mentioned her in my last post and really all throughout my blog that I kept while I was there.

After reading my previous post, Stacey told me how excited she was to hear of my adventure. We sent a few messages back and forth, I asked her if she'd like to come, and as it turns out, it is something she has always longed to do as well!

Fun facts about Stacey:

1. Her birthday is July 3rd which just so happens to be mine.
2. Her fiance is named Dan.
3. Her Dan is also in the military! They just happened to be from the United Kingdom.
4. Clearly she loves Thailand just as much as I do!

It really is a match made in heaven. Do you want to know the strangest part? The night before I chatted with Stacey about all of this, she was in my dream. I don't remember why or what she was doing there, but while talking with her, it jolted my memory that I had "seen" her recently.

That is all I have to share with you for now. I will definitely keep you all updated on my trip as I make plans!

Wordy Wednesday - Something Greater.

I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot lately! School is back in full swing and when I'm not working, I'm reading textbooks and writing papers for class. I have been pondering something lately and feel passionate enough to share it with you.




First of all, I love my life. I love my job, I love being busy with school, I love everything. With that being said, I feel like there is a greater purpose for my life. I don't feel like I was put on this planet to just work, go to school, and in general, be a good person. I want to help create change. I can feel it in my heart, in fact, when I think about it I'm somewhat overwhelmed with emotion. I just can't quite figure out where exactly I'm supposed to be taking these feelings.


My trip to Thailand in 2009 (Did you miss it? See my Thailand blog here.) was originally supposed to be a volunteer trip. Somewhere amidst the planning, I decided I just needed Ashley time and I was going to spend that month living for me. Honestly, it was absolutely amazing and I wouldn't change that trip for the world. I met some amazing people who remain in my life today - most importantly Stacey (hello my most precious British friend!) who was my roommate for the month and somehow put up with me. My heart still calls to Thailand. If you've been there, you might understand my pull to go back. But this time, it needs to be for different reasons. This is something I feel I need to do within the next year while I'm free to roam (you know - no mortgage, kids, or serious life commitments aside from Dan.) I will be planning within the next few months so stay tuned for more details!


Have you ever volunteered overseas? If so, where? If not, what would be your choice of country to volunteer in and what would you do?