Tell It Like It Is

Brains, Beauty and moxy... a winning combination if you ask me.                (photo by Barry Morgenstein)

You know how sometimes when you see certain people they just make you think of something... or a word or thought pops into your mind? Well... last night my sweetie and I had the honor to be at a top secret event where we were able to hear Judge Jeanine Pirro speak. What popped into my noggin? The song "Tell It Like It Is" by Arron Neville.

I have watched her show on Fox News and knew a little bit about her history and distinguished career as a judge and District Attorney. I knew she was a no nonsense don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining type of person. What I did not know or expect was for her to be so down to earth and funny.

We are good friends with the person who arranged for her to be at the event, so we were sitting near the front. Before she started speaking, she came over had plopped herself smack dab across from me, unbeknownst to me as I was too busy yapping my trap about my new purse (a recent TJ Maxx Score) with my friend. We were talking and I heard something to the effect of Great Bag, I love it. I looked up to see her sitting there just chatting it up and laughing with our host and the rest of the people at the table. It was neat to discover we were born and raised in the same neck of the woods, her Elmira NY, me Binghamton, NY. She was very friendly, down to earth and blunt. Which I love. Hello, I'm Greek remember.... we invented blunt. Gee maybe Judge Jeanie has some Greek in her family tree that she doesn't know about... ;o)

Anyway she proceeded to give a fantastic talk about all kinds of topics that are going on in the news today and I have to tell you when you see her talking all you can think is boy oh boy... Why can't we have her in Congress as Speaker of the House, Secretary of State or better yet... President? Since the current resident of the position always seems to be the last to know when anything happens, first to throw celebrity parties, and can even manage to find time to stay up date on the TV show "Mad Men". Maybe if we had a no nonsense woman who tells it like it is in the office we might actually be able to get something done in this country.

I mean just think of the money we would save having to constantly bring him up to speed on everything that's going on. You know, like the four Americans including our ambassador being killed in Benghazi, the IRS targeting Conservatives, and on and on. I mean think about it... It took three weeks for a Federal Investigation to begin for Benghazi, yet a Federal Investigation was launched in just a few days on Governor Chris Christie regarding a lane closure, better known as "Bridgegate". The media was going ballistic over a lane change; yet can't understand what all the fuss is about over Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS Targeting Conservatives, or the bugging of a journalist... Geesh, it must be that vast right wing conspiracy that Hillary pointed out at work again.

Her show is just fantastic. If you haven't watched I highly suggest doing so. She talks about the issues facing our nation and brings to light hypocrisy wherever she finds it. All while slicing and dicing propaganda with laser like precision with her no nonsense take no prisoners attitude. Personally I wish more of our elected officials were like her. No one seems to have any idea what is going on in this administration and the majority of the media sound most of the time like bumbeling preprogramed zombies spewing the same talking points that make absolutely no sense.

This country was founded for the people to escape from being controlled. It's so simple, so unique and yet is has become so convoluted. The thing I find most ironic is a segment of the people today who are so willing to hand back over control. I'm sure our founding fathers wouldn't mind Obama's "pen and telephone comment" either or the idea that governing in that way is OK... Yeah Right!

All I have to say is more Judge Jeanine and less malarky. We need people to tell it like it is, not paint things through rose colored glasses or a bunch of untruthful propaganda. If the people running our nation had half the moxy she has, terrorists might think twice about killing our ambassadors, or attacking innocent people at a marathon. However since there seems to be no consequences anymore, and everything has to be you know "fair"... I don't see that happening any time soon. Until people are ready and willing to turn off Dance Moms, Dancing With The Stars, American Idol and the rest of the gobbly goop that's dumming down society while the constitution is shredded by the day, that is. I mean it's great to escape the constant influx of negative information every now and again, but when more people know what #twerking is than what is wrong with the statement "I have a phone and I have a pen", then we might just wake up three years from now in the U.S.S.A while some of us along with Judge Jeanine are saying "hate to say it but I told you so".

Check her show out, if you want to know what's real. In my humble greek girl, recording artist, actor opinion... you won't be disappointed.

It was an honor to meet and listen to this amazing woman!

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Ten Reasons to Move South

Heaven....

I can not possibly be the only person who is wondering to themselves this winter "why do I live in the north again?" I mean one blizzard, maybe two in a winter season is doable. However when we are already far above the average snowfall for the year and it's not even the end of February yet... Meanwhile the Weather Channel can't help themselves from announcing like giddy school kids the next winter storm; one can't help but begin to wonder.

I used to like the change of seasons and honestly didn't mind winter. I like skiing, and even though I can't believe I'm writing this there is something magical about the crunch of the snow under your feet when you wake up in the morning and of course the crisp winter air. Like anything though, too much of something is not a good thing and we have definitely had "too much" snowfall this season if you ask me. Which has got me to thinking... seriously in fact about why I should consider moving south. So if you're like me and are sick and tired of the white stuff, here are the top ten reasons in my Greek noggin to move south.

1. No snow (well you have to move "far enough" south for this to apply as we have seen the south has had plenty of snow this year)

2. No shoveling snow.

3. No dried up dirt, dust and salt on your car, hence ending up on your clothes.

4. No more blinding sun snow glare when you take the fur kids out to potty.

5. Speaking of fur kids, no more having to shovel a spot for them to do their potty in the snow.

6. You can run all year long in the south, if it's too cold... running outdoors not fun.

7. Don't have to buy salt.

8. Don't have to vacuum said salt that gets all over house from outside.

9. No need for a "blanket coat" or Ugg boots.

10. No need to worry about "Vitamin D Deficiency" or coming down with the Winter Blues from lack of sun.

You can always travel "to" the cold or find a meat locker to chill in if you miss it that much. Better to live in the south where you can wear flip flops all year long, get to the beach and sip on iced cups of happiness a la Dunkin Donuts and let the sunshine soak into your bones. OK I'm off to plot my escape to the sunshine. Have a beautiful day!

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xo
www.avaaston.com

Safe and Sound

Just after the "Ava Aston" Doggie Rescue Ambulance picked up little "Scotty"

So I'm minding my own business Saturday afternoon running around with my very favorite person in the whole wide world. We were hungry and decided to stop to grab a quick lunch somewhere that would be fast. Since we didn't want "fast food" we decided to stop at a place that was a little off the beaten path, right next to a grocery store that has healthy made to order grub.

We walked up to the door when at the same time a man tied a little dog to a cigarette pole outside the entrance to the grocery store and the place where we were about to eat. It was less than 20 degrees outside, the dog was under ten pounds, not wearing a sweater or collar, and had a beat up old leash tied around it's neck. It was shivering uncontrollably and looked like it was suffering. My husband looked at the dog, looked at me and I could literally see the words in a bubble over his head "oh no here we go again." Being that this was not my first time to the rescue rodeo, of course I walked right up and started petting and talking to the little guy trying to see what was going on. My gut told me this was a very irresponsible dog owner, and that this dog was not safe with the man who had just tied him to the pole.

My husband sat down with the dog on the bench and the dog put his little paw on my husbands leg as if to say "please don't leave, help me". Then about 10 minutes later the guy comes strolling out with his $200 headphones on wearing Nike sneakers that cost upwards of $150. He proceeds to say "Oh you loving on him, you like him?... you want him? I gotta get rid of him - he cost me too much money. He broke a lava lamp and he's too much work." I tried and really wanted to have a rational conversation with the man but once he told me "cut his nuts off, no way I would never do that, take away his manhood - that is cruel" when I had asked him if the dog was neutered; meanwhile complaining the little dog was too "rambunctious" (which neutering would solve that issue he was complaining about calm him down - but that would be you know "cruel") I knew there was no rational conversation to be had. Best thing to do in my noggin, get the dog away from him, and to safety. The man literally gave him to us right there just like that. So even though we were visiting my mom out of town, have four dogs of our own that were visiting with us, and my mom has two dogs, making for a grand total of six dogs staying in her house already.... I scooped him up into my arms and away we went with little  Mr. Scottish Terrier/Dachshund mix.

Look at that little face... here he is after a bath,                           a good meal, and a warm bed.

Next thing, to text my mom a picture to make sure we didn't get lambasted when we walked in her house with a strange little doggie. The poor thing smelled like a giant cigarette, was dirty, starving, skinny as a rail and was so cold. I wrapped him in a blanket, then we got him a hamburger, a new red collar, matching step in harness and leash, some food and off to grandmothers house we went to give him a proper bath.

He met all the fur kids and well lets just say it was one great big fat muckery sandwich. None of our fur kids liked him. Probably the fact that he was not neutered and his constant humping might have had something to do with it. We were thinking to maybe keep him ourselves having lost a furbaby to congestive heart failure a few months back, but the fur kids not taking to him and in fact two of them trying to kill him made that an impossibility. We decided it would be best to re-home him to a safe loving forever home. So after a fun filled night of having him sleep in a crate, taking him out about a dozen times during the night to potty, several chaotic episodes including almost setting my moms power cord on fire when he dumped a can of soda onto it... a friend who runs a reputable rescue agreed to take little "Scotty" and make sure he gets a loving forever home, after he is fully vetted, gets all of his shots, and is neutered. They won't just let anyone adopt, they take applications, screen potential adopters, as well as do vet and home checks to ensure the adopters are going to be forever homes where the pet will be safe. Check em' out at HubbardsHounds.com

So after 24 hrs of muckery little "Scotty" is now safe and sound from a very unsafe situation. Who knows what kind of life that little guy might have had if we had not decided to go to lunch where we did that day. Turns out we never even ate there as we left as soon as the man said we could take him, and after all of that ended up eating "fast food" the very thing we were trying to avoid in the first place via Wendy's, and little "Scotty" had some too. Just before he went onto have his bath and organic, human grade fur dog food at grandmothers house of course.

The moral of the story... so many people just walk on by when they see something that seems a little off. They think in their mind things like: I'm too busy, it's not my problem, someone else will do something. You know what?... Sometimes that "someone else" is YOU. Don't ignore your gut and that little voice telling you to do something. You might just be the answer to someones prayer. I know we did the right thing that day by helping that little doggie. Yes it was time out of our plans, yes we spent money to buy him things and donate to the rescue who would pay for his vetting, but it was well worth it to change that little dogs life around. Think you can't afford to help like we did? Think again... even if he were taken directly to a local shelter (which would have been free), he would have still been a million times better off then with a man who would make an approximately six month old dog walk in freezing cold weather malnourished with no protection from the elements and then tie him unattended to a pole.

Yes we are dog savvy and knew things to look for and do before ever exposing him to our own pets for safety reasons, as well as de-worming him in case he had any worms, not allowing our dogs to be in contact with his poo, and all that stuff. At the very least even someone who isn't "dog savvy" can help a pet in peril by simply reporting the abuse or abandonment to the proper authorities, or just take it and instead take the pet to a shelter or rescue.

So many people think of pets as dispensable, or even worse as a cash cow, pets are not for making money. They are God's little creatures and we were given charge over them to care for them. Not to make a living from by backyard breeding the heck out of them. For the life of me I can't understand why people do not spay/neuter. There is just no excuse, low cost options are available almost everywhere. Not giving shots and flea/tick prevention is inexcusable as well. Almost every chain pet store holds low cost shot clinics monthly all over the country. If you can't afford to keep a pet up to date on shots and properly protected from fleas, ticks and heart worm, then you shouldn't have a pet.

I'm not for "more regulations" but there is a very simple solution to the epidemic animal abuse and overpopulation. Stop selling dogs/cats in pet stores, period! Stop breeding for profit, pets are not money making machines. For anyone who wants to show dogs and breed for betterment of the breed, showing, etc. they can take a test like a Dr. and get a "license" and pay a high yearly fee. This will keep out the people who overbreed for money, puppy mills and the "backyard or kitchen breeders".  Unless someone is dedicated to betterment of the breed and trying to get to the Westminster Dog show then they have no business breeding their dogs.

Animal shelters and rescues are beyond full. People do unthinkable things to animals daily, abuse, dumping senior pets at high kill shelters when they are done with them for a new puppy, dog fighting, leaving out in elements, etc. Every day thousands of pets are put to sleep in shelters all over the country simply because there are not enough people to adopt them all and too many ignorant people are still out there breeding making more. I'm beyond disgusted with how little regard people in our world give to Gods creatures.

BTW who gives a flying flip about what "breed" a dog is?... All dogs are beautiful! ~ Don't shop Adopt! ~ It's Super easy... just go to petfinder.com

OK stepping down off of my soapbox for now, I'm so happy that little "Scotty" has a new leash on life and it is my prayer that one day all animals will be safe, sound and loved.

Here is little "Scotty" at Hubbard's Hounds Rescue          meeting some new friends.

Blessings, Love & Music  ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

You know how when you go on a trip or a vacation and you are having so much fun you simply forget about time? Well that is exactly what has happened to Greek Girl. It's hard to believe it but ten years ago today I married my best friend and very favorite person in the whole entire world. So weird I just can not believe we have been married for a decade. Which they say is the "Tin Anniversary".

It all started back on June 9, 2002. I went to an audition for an independent film in NYC on a sunny Sunday afternoon. There I was standing in line minding my own business reading a book and I happened to look up and Bam! I saw the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on and my heart literally stopped. I found out later that he had the same exact reaction or thoughts in his head when he walked up and saw me standing there. We started talking when he asked me about the sign-up sheet for the line and have not stopped talking since. We found out we had quite a lot in common like we were both left handed, both born in September making us both Virgo's, had the same color eyes, both loved loved loved coffee, pizza and a whole slew of other things that make us love spending time together. In fact in the over eleven years since we met each other we have only been apart three days when he had to go away on a modeling job to Poland, and one other time for work for five days. He is my very best friend in the whole entire world to this day.

One of our 1st Dates.

In fact I was so smitten I even wrote a song about him three days after we met while sitting in Bryant Park in NYC. It's called "I Adore You" and in case you haven't listened to it, here it is: https://soundcloud.com/avaaston/i-adore-you

At Faneuil Hall in Boston

So what kind of fun things can two creative people aspiring to have a career in entertainment do in a decade? Well let me see... move all over the country with anywhere from two to five fur kids in tow depending on when it was (thirteen times to be exact), see Boston, New England, the Grand Canyon, the east coast, west coast, the south including Nashvegas and FL, be in an independent film in Italy together, go to Greece, get engaged on a TV show, rescue several dogs including one tied to a parking meter in NYC, one in Miami while on vacation, and chasing down and after three hours rescuing another one on Hollywood Blvd. in LA, go through not one but two major hurricanes in FL, and all sorts of other muckery episodes including but not limited to getting married in Vegas. 

In Greece at The Acropolis visiting my dad.

What's muckery? Well if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time you already know what muckery is. For those of you who don't; it's a word used to describe the "I Love Lucy-esque Episodes" my husband says that seem to follow us (meaning me) around wherever we go. How does one end up getting married in Vegas you might be wondering? Well you see it happens when you are living in LA which is thousands of miles from family that is located in KS, FL, NH, NY, and Greece and you figure it's easier, cheaper and more memorable to just elope in Vegas of all places and no it was not by Elvis. Keith did something very sweet, he put both of our cell phones in the pocket of his suit, one with my mom on it and one with his mom on it so they could both kinda sorta be there.

Wedding in Vegas

I wouldn't trade our muckery for anything in the world and in fact am looking forward to many many many more muckery filled years with my best friend. I hope everyone in the world finds a best friend like mine.

Here we are today - married a decade... wow.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com