Just The Way You Are

Beautiful and profound words if you think about it. No wonder they are included in the timeless, classic song by Billy Joel. I have debated whether or not to share this event as it is deeply personal and a pretty big deal for me. However, at the end of the day, my goal is to be a light and inspire people though my music and message. A large part of what I write about as an artist is my life, and life experience. After all, it is what this blog is all about, my music, my life, and my dreams… and how all of those things can touch people in some small way for the better. So, after living this experience, if I can stop one person from making the same mistake that I did a long time ago, I decided it was worth it to share my experience. So here it goes. 

I am having Breast Implant Removal Surgery tomorrow, better known as Breast Explant Surgery. What in the heck in the world you might be thinking… I know Breast Implants might not be a term that comes to mind when thinking about me, but yes, I did a dumb thing when I was younger. A very dumb thing by getting Saline Breast Implants, and I am about to undo that mistake. 

It all started when I got married way too young to the wrong person, and well instead of understanding that I was fine just the way that I was… I allowed myself to be pressured, bullied and brainwashed into thinking that I needed to change myself to be good enough. When the truth of the matter is that even after I did the breast implants, they did not change that person. Because it was never really about me or how “I” looked, it was a deeper issue with that person. If you’re guessing that we did not last, you guessed correct. Nothing in life is perfect, we all have to live and learn in order to grow and become the person we were meant to be, and in love it is the same. If we do not kiss some frogs, we will never find our Prince Charming. 

If I am honest about it, I never really wanted the implants in the first place. I have always been athletic, and loved to run, circuit train, lift weights, etc. They have always gotten in the way of that, as well as making me feel very self conscious. For years I have worn compression and sports bras at all times, to try to hide them or make them less noticeable. My decision to have them removed was a culmination of many things including not only the mental & physical issues with them, but also in learning how detrimental to my heath they are. Additionally, I have a Capsular Contracture, which is the term used for when the capsule of scar tissue made by the body around the implant starts to squeeze the implant causing pain.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis a few years back which has taken me on a journey of learning so much about health and wellness. It really started a few years earlier during the covid years when I discovered how upside down our healthcare system in this country is. I also learned how toxic our everyday world is, from the things we put on our skin, our food, makeup, hair care, etc. I have become an ingredient detective. I read every label, and have removed most all toxic things from my environment. I changed my skincare, makeup, only eat organic food, stay away from carbs, eat healthy fats like coconut oil, olive oil and butter, do not eat sugar and exercise religiously via heavy weights, yoga, trampoline, you name it. I get eight hours of sleep a night, take a boatload of supplements, and even with all of this, I have improved my condition, but I was not getting one hundred percent better. 

Bottom line for me, having plastic which is an endocrine disruptor actually inside of my body is, I am one hundred percent certain not helping my health in any way, shape matter or form. I started researching Explant Surgery and discovered the growing movement to expose the dangers of Breast Implants and how much better women who opt. for removal become. After much contemplation, and going over it with my now husband (whom I have been happily married to for many years who loves me just the way that I am) we decided that it was time for them to come out. 

The message is simple. There is so much pressure for perfection. It has always existed, but every day that goes by with technology permeating nearly every aspect of our lives, as the need for instant gratification grows, the opportunity for comparison is worse than ever. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy. I want young girls, grown women, heck any woman to understand this one thing… you are perfect just the way you are. 

There is no prefect body, there is no perfect anything. Nothing is perfect. Life is one big beautiful mess, and it is up to us to make of it what we will. We were all created by God, he saw us in the womb before we were ever born, and if anyone takes one thing from my coming out about having this done, is that you do not need to change yourself. I don’t mean not striving to better your health or physical body through exercise and nutrition. I mean, do not do drastic things like injections to keep your face frozen for all time, and do not mutilate your body to please other people. I was naive in thinking that by changing my body to someone else’s idea of “perfection” that they would be content with me, but that didn’t happen because it was never about me. 

I want people to remember, you were beautifully and wonderfully made. You are perfect, just the way that you are. I am excited and scared, but I know that in the end I will be me again and that is something I cannot wait to see. I hope that by sharing my experience it can help in some way help people to remember who they are… The rest anything you want to change for yourself, education, to lose weight, gain weight, hair color, any of that it is fine to change, if it is for you. Don’t go thinking you need to mutilate your body in search of perfection because it does not exist. 

Do you, and if the Debbie downers of the world don’t like it, stuff cotton balls in your ears and carry on your merry way. If that doesn’t help, you could always play my song “I Don’t Even Care” on and turn it up. You just had to know I would have to get one little shameless plug in about my music, didn’t you? 

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

Sadie's Story

 

It has been a year today since Sadie, Sadiekins, Sadie Pants, Sadie Girl and about a half a dozen other names she was known by left us for Rainbow Bridge. There is still a giant hole in my heart, that I do not think will ever be filled until I get to pick her up and hug her again on that fateful day when I get to see her at the Rainbow Bridge. 

It has taken some time to sit and write about it due to an out of state move with nine other animals all while renovating the house we were moving to. Along the way there have been many signs and synchronicities that let me know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our little Sadie Girl was indeed safe at Rainbow Bridge and peaceful. 

Many people have followed not only my music on social media but also my animals. I mean after all, how could you miss it? I am always plastering pics and videos of them all around. For anyone who is new or may have missed Sadie’s part in my life, I wanted to share her rescue story and how her life changed because of being rescued… this is her story.

It all started because I love animals. Even though I have plenty, and do not ever need any more, I just cannot seem to help myself when I hear of a furkid in dire straights. This is always the case, and in this instance, we need to go back to April of 2014 where Sadie’s rescue adventure all started. 

In April of 2014 the Mr. (who should be sainted many times over for not putting me in a garbage can for always bringing more animals into our lives) and I had four dogs. Pookie, Punkin, Bobo & Pepe. Life was pretty simple compared to now with the seven cats and three dogs in our current pack incarnation. A rescue that I followed on social media was sponsoring an adoption event nearby in New Jersey. It was an event mixed with arts, crafts, vendors and it being a Saturday afternoon with not much going on, we decided to go. 

We were walking around taking it all in, there were several rescues there that day. Each one had dogs that were up for adoption with them. Being the animal nut that I am, I was busy stopping to pet and talk to all of the dogs that we saw.  It was innocent enough, I stopped did our thing and we moved on. We checked out the crafts and bought a few things. We made some donations to different rescues, and were making our way to the exit when I saw her. 

She was with one of the last rescues we saw that day, there was a wire crate with a sad, depressed looking gray and white dog laying in the crate. She was facing the opposite direction. I bent down to talk to her, and she did not turn around. She was flat out, her little head on the crate floor almost like she had given up. I persisted. I tried to get her attention by talking in my best high pitched cutesy animal tone… she would not budge. Finally she turned around and looked at me, then turned back to the opposite direction. I again started talking to her, telling her she was a pretty girl, Hello, etc. Then all of the sudden she whipped her little body around with a happy face almost as if she was saying “Are you talking to ME”? I asked if she could come out of the crate so I could pet her… before I knew it she was out and her butt was wiggling so fast and her smile was so big it broke my heart. 

I knew that if I asked the Mr. if we could consider taking her, he would most definitely had me committed to an insane asylum. See, we had previously foster failed with Pepe, whom many followed for a long time and he was, well lets just say one of his nicknames was Pepe-laden (as in Bin Laden). He mellowed with his old age but when we rescued him with the intent to just foster but ended up adopting due his many quirks needing a very understanding home when he was ten from the NYC ACC having been horribly abuse it took much time, effort and adjusting to get him to feel safe, and fit into our little pack. So, I know that just two years after that, if I had asked my Mr. To get this little girl he would most understandably had said NO. 

I played with her for a bit and took her for a mini walk. I took her back to her crate, got the rescue’s information and set my mind on finding this little girl a home. I told her I would help her find a momma and daddy, and then said goodbye. 

On the way home I told my mom about her. If anyone wonders where I got my love of animals from, it comes from her. This is a woman who is outside in two feet of snow in a snow storm blowing off her back deck for her feral cats, which all have heated shelters, heated water bowls and she heats up their wet food in the winter. 

At the time she had two dogs and one cat inside. She said she would mention it to her work friend. Weeks went by and her friend was on the fence about Sadie. Then out of the blue one day, my mom asked me about her again. Had she been adopted yet, yada yada… I checked the rescue and she was still sitting in a crate in NJ waiting. So my mom blurted out, “I want her”. She then hatched a plot to get her, in which her my step dad would not have a chance to say no, and my husband was sworn to secrecy, and so we were onto the mission. 

Mom lived two and half hours away and was planning to visit for Memorial Day weekend. That Saturday, mom and I went off to do some “errands”. Errands meaning, mom and I drove the twenty some odd miles down to New Jersey where Sadie was, and mom adopted her. We then took her shopping for some necessities, and we came home to give her a much over due bath. 

We got home and my step dad and husband were cutting some trees down outside. We had Sadie down in the finished basement where we did grooming, and had set up a table in the garage to blow-dry her. My step dad walked by the garage window and could see us inside with Sadie. He says to my husband, “hey those two are in there with a new dog”…  My husband just smiled and acted surprised, and chalked it up to another episode of mom and I just completing another hair brained scheme. 

We took Sadie to the Vet the following day and the rest is history. She was mom’s dog at first. She always visited very often, mom at our house, us at mom’s house. She was referred to as “Cousin Sadie” for many years. When mom would go away for work, we would babysit her. She was one of the gang. However, when mom’s other two dogs passed something changed for little Sadie. The separation anxiety that she always had became extreme in nature. 

So when it was just her the only remaining dog at mom’s house, she was literally unable to be alone, ever. She would destroy crates or bags to get out. She would shake and tremble uncontrollably. She had every medical test known to man, and had tried most every anti anxiety medication and natural remedy. Nothing seemed to help. 

There was one exception, when she was at our house. For some reason when Sadie was around our dogs and in our care, she did not act this way. We attributed it to her maybe not wanting to without other dogs around. So after going back and forth a few times, staying for many months at a time, from 2020; she finally came to stay for good in January of 2022. 

 

She was approximately four to six years old when she was rescued. We have no idea when she was actually born, but by this time in January of 2022 at this time she would have been at the youngest twelve. Sadie had many medical issues that were always attended to. It was a lot of time, effort and care making sure that she felt safe and happy. I became her caretaker. Much more than just the regular taking care of an animal. There were multiple regular vet visits to manage her glaucoma, and eventually eye removal. She had liver disease and arthritis. I gave her tons of natural supplements to help her feel good. There was so much that went into making her feel safe and content, we literally arranged our entire days around her. We also had multiple Wholetones frequency music pet machines around the house. To help her and the other dogs feel safe. It was both challenging and rewarding to care for her. Many people do not understand the emotional awareness that animals have. There have been many studies done that show that they feel all of the same emotions that we do. They get happy, sad, they grieve, all just like we do. So when some people choose to abandon their pets, or not provide special care in their twilight years it really disturbs me. It is the exact time that they need their people the most. 

It is a balance. Caring for a senior pet, and knowing when it is time to let them cross to Rainbow Bridge, peacefully and with dignity. Many people think in innocence that they will just peacefully “go in their sleep”. Although as nice as that would be, it is most often times not the case. When pets are senior there are most often times medical issues, and when left to take their natural course, is not peaceful at all. If a pet passes this way, there is a good chance that the pet suffered. That is something that I could never live with. So in our family, we watch and monitor the pets quality of life. 

Can they still enjoy living. Do they eat food willingly, can they hold themselves up to do their business, do they stay with you, or are they starting to sleep alone? Away from humans or the pack? There are many signs that tell a human when it is time. Sadly, many ignore those signs or do not notice until it is way beyond comfort for the animal. It is hard, because I never want to say goodbye, ever. However, as a responsible pet owner, I have to put my own feelings and needs aside, and ask myself questions that are putting the animals needs above my own. When the answers indicate that the animal is just existing and living is more of a chore for them that an enjoyment, I know that it is time. 

Thankfully, we have an amazing caring Veterinarian who makes home visits. When crossed at home, the pet is comfortable knows the smells, can be in their own bed, and go peacefully surrounded by the familiar vs. a cold, sterile vet’s office. Naturally because I never want to say goodbye, I tend to make appointments for her to come and then cancel or postpone. Sadie’s time was no different. I made an appointment then cancelled. Due to cancelling, looming weather, and a big giant move to another state with our nine other pets, this caused us to have to bring Sadie to the Vet’s office, or it would not have been done before we moved. 

This was a very hard decision for me to make. As I was more than her caretaker, or her sister as my mom called me. She really became like a child to me. More-so than most all of my other pets. Mostly because she needed so much care. There is a bond that forms when caring for an elderly pet. Sadie was at this point losing the vision in her remaining eye, and was highly stressed in new locations. I am over simplifying for the sake of the story, but we did not want to put her through he stress of dismantling the home she knew and loved then going to a strange place. So off to the vet I went. Alone… 

The Mr. had been staying at the new house renovating since we closed a few months prior, and I was at home caring for the animals. I went back and forth in my mind and over and over should I do it, do I cancel again?… I consulted mom. She said no, do not cancel. 

So I asked our good friend Dave if he could meet me at the vet so I would not be alone. He was a trooper. He had never had to do this before and I was so appreciative that he was willing to come with me, and then to drive her to the Creamatory afterwards. She went in her little eyelash donut bed and was held, loved on, and sang to the entire time. 

When I returned home, by that time it was early evening, February 11th 2024. I was naturally very sad and wondering and questioning if I had made the right decision. We always have spa music or whole tones playing all over the house, there is literally music in every room. In our bedroom the television was on Pandora “Snatam Kaur” channel, which is a relaxing beautiful spiritual music channel. I was folding laundry in our room and not facing the TV. I was pretty familiar with most of the songs that would play. Suddenly I heard a beautiful song that I had never heard before. I turned to look at the TV, and this is what I saw… “And Now He Has Wings, The Water Poem” by Ram Dass. It is a collection from Ram Dass of gorgeous songs about the passing of his infant son. The photo was a man reaching to the sky, his hand touching the clouds and a little bird flying in the cloud. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that, that was Sadie giving me a sign, to let me know that she was indeed at Rainbow Bridge safe in the care our our Creator. 

Since that night, it has happened many many times, in fact it never really fails. I will be thinking of her, and bam the song comes on. I am about to start feeing the dogs, boom it comes on. I get in the car about to go somewhere and there she is on my car computer screen on Pandora, it is almost like whenever my heart starts to miss her, she stops by to tell me that she is OK and not to worry. I know they are signs from my Sadie Girl. 

I miss her so much. She had a beautiful life, she was dressed up in Halloween & Christmas Costumes, was spoiled beyond imagination and lived many happy years with us. But I miss her little trot, the way she smiled at me, her cute little bunny butt, seeing her sleeping happy and content in a puffy bed, there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her, or all of the other furkids who are no longer with us and are now at Rainbow Bridge. My comfort rests in the knowing that I will see Sadie and all of my furkids again one day in heaven.  

The moral of the story is, don’t shop adopt. There are literally millions of little Sadie’s out there sitting in rescues or shelters just waiting to live out their second chance. Hug your furkids while you have them, their time here on earth is so brief. Remember our animals might be a part of our world, but to them, we are their entire world. 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Can You Hear Me Now

What in the heck in the world is going on? Greek girl is posting another blog not even a week after the last one, when for the last several years she is lucky if she writes one a year? No, your eyes do not deceive you, yes I am here with another post.

So, what is the breaking news? Remember my last post about my song “We The People” being promoted to AC & Rock radio stations… Well, that is not the only one of my song now available on the radio, yup! My song “Can You Hear Me” is also being promoted to radio stations. It is now available on AC (Adult Contemporary), CCM (Contemporary Christian), & International Christian Radio stations, both traditional radio as well as SiriusXM, Music Choice and more. 

This is the first time my songs are being promoted to radio, and it is very exciting to put the music out in a broader form than we have ever done. Why “Can You Hear Me” to radio? Why now? Just as in choosing to promote “We The People”, it’s timing. It’s all about what is going on in our world and the days we are living in. 

There is just so much going on, it can be very overwhelming both mentally and physically. So many people are going through hard times. From wars and rumors of wars, to (natural) disasters, to politics, to technology invading daily life at a terrifying rate, to everything else that seems to all be happening all at once. The world although still filled with tremendous good is more chaotic than ever. 

Just like when I released the song, I felt that it was time. “Can You Hear Me” is a letter to God. With everything that's been happening in the past few years, have you ever wondered if anyone is listening... 

Everyone at some point in life finds themselves broken. "Can You Hear Me" is for anyone who has ever been in that place. Life can be messy, it's OK to be there... Beautifully broken, perfectly imperfect. Messes can turn into messages.

I thought it to be fitting in this time we are living when so many people feel hopeless, that it could be a little glimmer of hope to bind us together in a common thread. That we are indeed heard, that we are not ever broken beyond repair, and that we are never, ever alone. 

So thank you for taking the time to not only read this blog, but also for supporting my music, and most importantly contacting your local / SiriusXM Christian and Adult Contemporary radio stations to request the song “Can You Hear Me” by Ava Aston. Oh, and if you have not done so already, download it and share the video with friends! Thank you again! 

Blessings, Love & Music ~

Ava xo

www.avaaston.com 

Another Go-round

Hello everyone in the blog sphere. Is there anyone even here anymore? Or, has everyone flown the coop to Substack? Call me old school, call me old fashioned, but seriously there is just too much technology, and too many platforms to switch every time the wind blows. 

I have written many a blog about this topic, too much technology, and too much screen time changing society, and not for the better. Of course, that is just my humble Greek opinion. So anyhow, for those reasons and more I’ll just stay here. 

Moving along. Has anyone noticed that it’s that time again? What time, you may be wondering… election season, of course. Having recently transplanted to a quaint little town in the battleground state of Pennsylvania (just on the border of New York and New Jersey) my television set is flooded with political ads 24/7. Which at times, has my inside voice using words that would definitely land me in a stint of Facebook jail should I ever choose to post them there. 

Which leads me to the topic of this blog post. Now, it’s no secret that Greek Girl rolls to the right politically. Actually, for most of my life, I had not been a fan of musicians weighing-in on politics. Personally, I am the kind of person who can get along with anyone, even people who do not agree with me on hot button issues including politics. However, back in 2009 I saw a change coming that terrified me. So I did what all songwriters do, I wrote about it. I wrote a song called “We The People” on a cocktail napkin while I was working my pay the bills job as a cater waiter/bartender in NYC with my Mr. 

Most everyone who has followed my music knows I only have one “political” song and that is it. So why the change in my thought process? Why did I release that song and weigh in on something that could alienate music fans? Well, because it was not about left or right, it was about right and wrong. It was about individual people waking up to what was, and is going on around them, and getting involved in making a change. So many people like to sit around and armchair quarterback what is going on in the world. My one “political” song was written to remind people that the government works for us, and not the other way around. 

That being said, I wrote it, released it, and did some pretty amazing things with it. I have performed it all across the country at various political rallies, met some fantastic people along the way including the legendary Andrew Breitbart while singing it at a rally at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and even sang it on the Capitol lawn way back in 2010 with the Tea Party Patriots. I was invited to join a political commentary website called Politichicks, and made many like of mind friends in the entertainment industry including my good friend, the very talented commentator/musician Alfonzo Rachel (formerly of PJTV).

After I “came out” I then noticed something weird started to happen… Facebook, Google and Big Tech started to make changes to the algorithm, they started what has now commonly become known as “shadow-banning”. Now, hear me out. I am not complaining, but it happened slowly and started to hit most everyone. That is unless you were hugely famous, or of a particular political persuasion, if you know what I mean. They got so bad that they all but erased my friend Alfonzo from the internet. This is a guy who used to post a YouTube video and within hours it would have hundreds of thousands of views, and millions within weeks. If they can do it to him, they can do it to anyone, and that is exactly what they did. 

We all saw what they did in the name of “misinformation” during covid, and it has only gotten more partisan as the years have gone by. This phenomenon has in turn, made it quite challenging to promote my music & message. 

Nevertheless, I have stayed on social media despite the big tech shenanigans. I just do what I can and sprinkle my music and message, and hope in some small way that I can be an alternative to the ROT that has become mainstream “entertainment” today. 

So here we are, another election season upon us. We have made several video versions of my song “We The People” and uploaded them to YouTube. Youtube has left a few of them up, but they have also removed several. The most recent one they removed was literally a lyric video with the American Flag backdrop with the lyrics. Mind you there are no explicit lyrics, no cursing, nothing of a sexual nature, nada, nothing. As many who know me, know I tend to dress more like June Cleaver vs. Beyonce. So, it is really mind-blowing to me that YouTube who allows songs like “WAP” and all kinds of other explicit and offensive content to remain there, yet gives my channel a strike, and removes my song because they said “it promoted a dangerous conspiracy theory”. Someone might want to give YouTube the memo that they are a company based in the United States of America. Not sure how anyone could find the American Flag and the words “We The People” (which are in our Constitution) offensive… but then again, what do I know. 

So I uploaded the "offensive Video" to Rumble, and here we are, back to election season. We the People have two choices in this election. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. No person is perfect. We have seen life under both choices, and all Americans should take a good hard look at what life has been like for the last four years, and what is was like before. They can then decide how they want to vote. For me, as the daughter of a legal immigrant (from Greece), the choice could not be clearer. This is literally the most important election of my lifetime. I feel compelled to get my song out to try to inspire people and make a difference. 

So, despite the minions at Big Tech working overtime to bury my content, the Mr. & I have decided to go around them. We are launching a radio promotion for the song. Hoping to take it directly to the people, and hopefully, God willing, get the song out to the masses. Of course, I have to get it by the program directors. Hopefully they will like it, and play it. 

How can you help? Well, you can download the song wherever you like to download music: iTunes, amazon, etc., add it to your Spotify, subscribe to my Rumble channel, share the video, and you can call you local radio station and ask them to play “We The People” by Ava Aston. It would sure mean a lot to me. I am very appreciative of the time it took to read this blog. I know the world is busier than ever and everyone has a lot going on in their lives. Taking the time to listen to the song and share it can hopefully help to waken the masses to this do or die decision that is upon us all. Thank you again so much! 

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

Can You Hear Me

“Dear God, can you hear me? It’s just me again. I know it seems like, my prayer list never ends. I know you’re busy. You’ve got lots of things to do, but right now I really need to hear from you. 

Can you hear me, let me know. Can you hear me, won’t you tell me so…”

Have you ever been there? Been in a place where you felt like asking that question. 

After the last three years we have all lived through, I know I cannot be the only person who has ever felt this sentiment. We have seen the world change in ways that were in my humble Greek opinion, just unimaginable. I never thought I would experience so much loss in so little a period of time. 

My new song “Can You Hear Me” is a letter to God. It was not written about this tragic time in our history, or even during this time actually. As many songwriters and artists, I have a plethora of songs in my song books. I write about things I experience as they happen, or as they come to me. 

This song in particular was written during a difficult time some ten years or so ago when my Mr. & I were in two close dated car accidents, together. Yes, both times. I know, what are the odds? Besides physical injuries to all the usual suspects that happen in a car accident (back, neck, etc.) we also both sustained a brain injury. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but when someone is dealing with an “invisible” injury, it is difficult for others to understand. You “look” “normal” on the outside, so they can’t seem to understand why you make errors, or have difficulty processing things, etc. Anyhow, this song was written during that period in my life. Recovery and in the process of building back up from being broken. 

As our social society and norms began to change over the past few years I began to feel a nudge that it was indeed time to share this song with the world. We have seen a propaganda campaign the likes of which we have never seen in history. There has been bullying, medical discrimination, people losing friends and even family members over differences of opinion about medical freedom, to people losing their jobs, discrimination in schools, the work place, censorship on social media, basically every part of life has changed since before March of 2020. 

I truly believe this period will go down as a very dark time in our history. But… there has also been good to come from it. New friendships, new information, and a huge learning experience. We sure did learn a whole lot about people, didn’t we? As in everything though, in life after the dark comes the light. I want people to understand that when they are broken and are crying out to God that they are not alone. Further, that is it is OK to be broken. 

Social media is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is connecting with people far in distance, and I for example use it to promote my music. The curse is, it is in many cases, just not real. Anyone who has read my blog since the beginning knows I have written about this topic on many an occasion, but social media can be very detrimental to ones mental health. It lends itself to comparison, which we should all know by now is the joy thief.

There is no such thing as “perfect” people. No matter how “perfect” ones life may appear on social media, it is not. No one has a perfect life. This is where the beautiful part comes in… God loves to use "imperfect" and broken things. He specializes in turning messes into messages. 

So, I felt the time was right to share the song on my heart to let others out there who may be feeling broken for whatever reason, physically, emotionally, financially, whatever it is; that they are not alone. It is OK to be there - in the broken place.

A Pearl is considered to be a valuable treasure. Pearls can not be formed without an irritant getting trapped inside of an oyster. In an effort to protect itself over time, the Pearl is formed. Yes, that is my second grade non scientific explanation. You get the drift though I’m sure. The “Pearl” a beautiful treasure would not come to be without the irritant. 

God uses broken things all the time, beautifully broken, perfectly imperfect, messes into messages. 

The song comes out Friday April 7th (Good Friday). I did this because it is always darkest before the dawn. I thought it to be fitting in this time we are living when so many people feel the same, that it could be a little glimmer of hope to bind us together in a common thread. That we are indeed heard, that we are not ever broken beyond repair, and that we are never, ever alone. 

I hope you will download it and share with friends and family. The official music video, as well as a lyric video will be released the same day on my YouTube page. I am trying to make the iTunes Charts with the song. Your downloads and shares can help make it happen. Below is a one page site with most download options. When the song is live the links will appear, in the meantime it serves as a short promo for the song. 

Thank you for listening and sharing. I hope it helps to heal some hearts. 

https://avaaston.hearnow.com

For a “sneak peek” of the song click here: "Can You Hear Me" 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo 

www.avaaston.com

You Can Keep It

Hello, it’s been quite a long while since I have posted a blog, I know. But hey, I mean 2020 was just, well, we know… it sucked beyond words. Not to mention the last blog I posted in 2020 was about losing my beloved Pepe to rainbow bridge. But, hey it’s a new year, and no matter what is going on we have to keep on trucking right? So let’s get to it, my big fat greek opinion about what is going on in the world.   

So, how about those Grammys? I mean the costumes, the talent, the amazing singing… Hold on, cue the coming to a screeching halt music, no that description would have to be a throwback Thursday memory referring to a Grammy production from probably a few decades ago. You know back when music was about music, and concerts were not so easily confused with a rated X movie.  

Now call me crazy (and I know I have blogged about this before on many an occasion) however, what took place Sunday evening was just beyond words. Well, there is one word that comes to mind… Debauchery. Complete and utter debauchery. Gosh, from just watching a news snippet alone, it feels like I need to wash my eyeballs out with bleach. 

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the word means:  

Definition of debauchery : 

extreme indulgence in bodily pleasures and especially sexual pleasures : behavior involving sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. that is often considered immoral. 

Did anyone at the Recording Arts and Sciences stop to think for just one minute that there just might little eyeballs watching the production? Nah, probably their virtue signaling politically correct masks have been on too tight, and the lack of oxygen has gotten to their noggins. Because, anyone with half a functioning brain cell, and even a teeny weeny shred of decency would know better than to glorify, celebrate and parade the song W.A.P (that’s Wet Ass Pussy) for those who have been living under a rock with me for the last year.  

Maybe I’m old fashioned, and maybe I embody a little bit too much June Cleaver, and possibly that might just be the reason I can’t for the life of me seem to get arrested in the music industry, (and trust me it is not for lack of talent). That is, if you call talent in music being singing, and writing songs… but apparently these days singing has nothing to do with the music industry. Instead, performing in a stripper outfit is what qualifies as talent regardless of the shape of ones body (insert eye roll please). In fact it seems the trend is the bigger the body, the scantier the outfit should be.  

It’s really sad too because ever since I was a little girl and I started to talk, I started to sing and then as I grew write songs down in my journal. I started recording them at local recording studios, singing at local talent shows, and in school and worked my way up singing everywhere and anywhere that I could. Nursing homes, weddings, funerals, sporting events, local, college and even professional sports teams, Veterans events, Police and Firemen events, political events, and yes even the NY Mets where I inadvertently threw Willie Mays out of my dressing room one time at “The Greatest Day in Mets History Day”. My little tomboy sister was horrified when she asked me “um do you know who you just threw out of here” and I replied “no and I don’t care I have to change” she said, “that was Willie Mays”, to her I replied… “who is Willie Mays”. Definitely not one of my proudest moments, but hey I was concerned about my singing, not sports figures.  

I have worked and struggled and still after all of these years have never, ever given up on the pursuit of my goals and ultimate dream, to one day receive a Grammy. Heck I even sang at the White House Lighting of the Christmas Tree celebration a long time ago.  

However, in the last decade I have noticed a very rapid decline in the moral fabric of our society, and as mediocrity has been encouraged, and celebrated more and more, the obscene has grown to not only accepted as normal, but now it is called “talent”.  I find it sickening. 

We have awards shows in prime time broadcasting full on satanic imagery, rituals, and simulated sex that could easily pass off as a pornographic movie. It’s actually pretty hypocritical because anything having to do with Christianity must be removed because that is just too offensive and we just can not force religion down people’s throats now can we? Unless it is luciferian or satanic that is. 

This is talent? I’m sorry, can anyone, anyone really explain to me what in the heck in the world at all this has to do with MUSIC? Now I know it has to do with the lyrics of the song W.A.P. but REALLY?  How on earth is that GRAMMY WORTHY?  

We just literally cancelled Mr. Potato Head, Pepe Le Pew, and Dr. Seuss because they were too “offensive”, yet somehow the song W.A.P. is not, and not only is it not offensive to Karen enforcers everywhere and these lunatics, but they go ahead and give it a GRAMMY? 

I’m sorry, if that is Grammy worthy, you can keep your Grammy, I do not want one.  

 For those who are interested, here is the link to my latest music release "Pour The Light In" which DOES NOT need an obscenity warning label.  

https://music.apple.com/us/album/pour-the-light-in/1530315543 

Blessings, Love & Music ~ 

Ava xo 

www.avaaston.com 

Second Chance

With so much going on in my life between working on new music, acting and being a dog mom and cat mom to multiple beings, there has not been much time to tend to this blog. Like so many people life has been moving so fast, and we all have become accustomed to cramming way too many things into a day. That is until a few weeks ago. When all of us came to a sudden and screeching halt.

Suddenly instead of having no time, we all have too much time on our hands. What to do, what to do? Well, with so much uncertainty in the world today I think we could all use a little hope right about now.

So I thought it would be nice to share a story about second chances. (WARNING: LONG BLOG POST) Hey, but it's a true story and aren't all true stories long? Anyone that has followed this blog over the years knows lots of things about me, one of the most important is that I love animals. I can't say what I think should happen to stupid humans who hurt them because if I do someone will surely show up at my door to lock me up.

My social media has been flooded with pics and videos of my furkids both K9 and feline over the years, especially of my beloved Pepe. I have blogged about his story before when we first saved him from the NYCACC.

The short version is, he was on the euthanasia list because he was slapped with the label "New Hope Only". This is a title given to dogs who do not pass their shelter behavior evaluation for whatever reason. They must be pulled by a "New Hope" approved rescue in order to make it out of the shelter alive. In Pepe's case a rescue we have adopted from asked us to foster him. Not knowing his actual situation we agreed. We drove to the NYCACC and busted him out of the clink on October 3rd, 2012.  

 Had I known what would follow, I cannot honestly say that I would have agreed originally. He had so many problems. He had been abused and was a fear biter, he hid, he attacked our other dogs, didn't allow grooming, the list was long. However I made a decision early in that this dog, this little creature had clearly been failed by humans for his entire life (he was at least ten when we rescued him) that I was not going to be that person who let him down again. So after convincing the Mr. we made it official and adopted him.  

It was an eventful first few years to say the least, but finally he realized he was safe, that we were his people, and that he was finally safe. We showered him with everything he should have had all of his life. We took him on trips, hiking, carried him around in a bag, and as much as he didn't like it, even dressed him up for holidays like Halloween and Christmas. He went on car rides which he loved, he took selfies, had girlfriends at the vets office, he even learned to be friends with his new cat siblings. He was popular for sure, everywhere we went people would almost squeal with happiness asking "What is that, what kind of dog is that, OMG that face!", heck chewy.com even had his mug painted, not once but three times.


                   

Yes we loved that little dog to the moon and back. So much so that as his little body began to fail him at the ripe old age of what must have been at least eighteen I was not able to bear the thought of losing him. So I did everything humanly possible to keep him around a little longer.

I cooked him meals, gave him every supplement known to man, and took him for weekly shots of adaquan for his arthritis. There were steroid shots, Vitamin B12 shots, and even rimadyl. In the end it was dementia that finally caused me to make the decision to set him free to fly with the angels. I've lost dogs to rainbow bridge before but this one really gutted me. I was in a depression funk especially with all of the corona homebound lockdown going on.

                  

Here is where a little magic happened. An ending that turned into a second, second chance. Courtesy I believe of my little Pepe monkey and the man upstairs.

The following is a post I made to Facebook in a Tibetan Spaniel group I belong to. It's a space where we "Tibbie" lovers share pics, videos, love and support for the ancient breed of dog we all love so much. (See Post below)
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Tibbie friends. 💜Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement about setting my beloved Pepe monkey 🌈free to fly with the Angels this week. Your words really helped. I read every comment and they all touched my heart.

I apologize for this long post. I hope you all don’t judge me for this as I’m still judging myself. However Thursday when I woke up something happened and I couldn’t help but feel it was a gift 🎁 from my boy.

Most of you know Pepe had a very hard life before we rescued him from the euth. list at NYCACC. He was unadoptable, a terrible biter and had lots of issues. After years of love he finally realized he was safe and turned into a mush. With the occasional Hannibal 😉if you tried to do something he didn’t want you to like clean his ears or trim his Tibbie feet 🦶🙈🤣

Anyway I always said I wonder how he could have been had he not been abused and we could have had him from a baby. Well the universe, God, and my boy I feel heard me.

I woke up Thursday checked the notifications of facebook of my post from Wednesday about him. Still half asleep I saw a new post with a black Tibbie. Didn’t think anything of it just another person sharing their furbaby.

When I focused my eyes I saw he was being rehomed. I thought, huh... black Tibbie being rehomed. Odd. Then one of you tagged me, I looked at the post again and saw it was mentioned he was in NY. I thought hmmm that’s odd, two year old black Tibbie being rehomed in NY... so I texted the number. Called. Turns out he was like forty five minutes from me. Not in NYC, rather the Hudson Valley where we live.

I mentioned to my husband who was like “sure let’s go see him”. I almost fell over because he never wants to rescue dogs or cats, it’s always me. Lol

The woman was in hurry to rehome him. So we went Thursday night. Still in shock really as the loss of Pepe very numbing. ESP since he was pretty much hospice (blind/mobility) for more than a year.
I wanted to wait and think about it as we do have three other dogs, are watching my moms shitzu and three cats. As well as I’m grieving my Pepe. However if I didn’t decide right there she was going to give him to the next person who paid her the next day. Really.

Sparing you the details of what we discovered as it wasn’t quite as tidy a situation as her post laid out. My husband decided for me this time, he scooped him up and said "pay her let’s go".

He is decompressing in our finished basement as he is not neutered yet and with corona I can’t get it done til April 13th. 🙏🏻 Praying our governor reopens things soon!

He’s been a complete angel. Other than being starved for attention - having bunch of matts that I’m still cutting out - we all walked together and I think my Japanese Chin Yuki and him will be play buddies.

Here is where I need your help. He has no idea what his name is. They said it was Nimble. He does not answer to it.

So please don’t judge me for getting another Tibbie so soon. I never in a million years would I have guessed I’d have another this fast. He will never replace my Pepe. But his birthday is 2/3/18. My wedding anniversary is February third.

I can’t help but feel my boy knew of this boys plight and sent me to give him the life Pepe didn’t have (for the first part anyhow). Too many coincidences for it to just be chance.So I’ve taken the gift from my Pepe and will pass the love forward. My motto has always been - “rescue one until there is none.”
I need your help... he needs a name: he reminds me of a bear. Pepe had a monkey face. 🐵
This guy he reminds me of a bear. 🐻

           
Names.... now GO:
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I'll wrap this happy ending in a message. Please #dontshopadopt! There are millions of Pepe's out there waiting for a second chance. Contact the local shelter, now more than ever animals need help to make it out alive.

In the end something good will almost always come from something bad. Whether it's a shelter dog who seems to be turning life upside down, or a pandemic that has stopped what seems like the entire world.

Even though we might not see it at the time. Light will always overtake dark, and in the end love will alway win. So even though it might look dark right now, hold onto hope because all of us will soon experience a second chance. The sun will indeed shine again in all of our lives.

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