Airline Etiquette 101

This is just another fun article I wrote for the magazine I work for.

Airline Etiquette

By Ashley Evanson

Traveling can be stressful: keeping track of way more suitcases than you actually needed, attempting to soothe screaming kids, and not to mention, the 4-hour flight ahead of you. And once you get on the plane, there are always those people who seem to forget the unwritten rules of airline travel, making the trip even more uncomfortable. Avoid being one of those people by following these tips of airline etiquette.

1. Don’t rearrange other people’s luggage
If you need to move something from the overhead bins, always ask the owner first.

2. Sit in your assigned seat
Wait until everyone has boarded the plane before you switch seats. There’s nothing more annoying than finding someone in the seat you paid for.

3. Store carry-ons under your own seat
Just because the space underneath your neighbor’s chair is empty doesn’t mean you get to use it.

4. Not everyone likes to chat
Some people think they have to befriend the person sitting next to them. If you’re the only one contributing to the conversation, take the hint.

5. Kids will be kids
Kids cry and talk loudly, that’s expected, but be prepared to keep them entertained so they bother other passengers as little as possible. And never let them play on the seatback of the person in front of them.

6. Don’t violate personal space
The chair, space between headrests, legroom, and armrests of the person sitting next to you belong to them—don’t try to sneak your way over.

7. Newspaper no no
Reading a broadsheet newspaper violates the personal space rule. Bring a book or magazine.

8. Rubbernecking is wrong
Don’t lean over someone to look out the window, to talk across the aisle, or try to read the magazine your neighbor is reading.

9. Don’t use the seatback to get up
You can imagine how annoying it would be if someone yanked on the back of your chair every time they had to stand up. Use the armrests instead.

10. The aisle is not a hangout
The aisles are small enough, and having to maneuver around someone who’s standing in the aisle chatting with a friend violates a lot more than personal space.

Personality Mosaic

I saw this on another blog and thought it was cool. It's a collage of pics that describe who I am.

The Questions (and my answers):

1. What is your first name? Ashley

2. What is your favorite food? Pineapple

3. What high school did you go to? Alta High

4. What is your favorite color? Pink

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Taylor Lautner (aka Jacob Black)

6. Favorite drink? Water

7. Dream vacation? Ireland

8. Favorite dessert? Gelato

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Magazine writer

10. What do you love most in life? Johnny

11. One Word to describe you. Style

12. Your flickr name. ashley evanson

Johnny's Mosaic

Johnny's answers:

1. What is your first name? Johnny

2. What is your favorite food? Thai food

3. What high school did you go to? Alta High

4. What is your favorite color? Blue

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jennifer Aniston

6. Favorite drink? Italian soda

7. Dream vacation? Bora Bora

8. Favorite dessert? Ice cream cake

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Billionaire

10. What do you love most in life? Ashley

11. One Word to describe you. Adventurous

12. Your flickr name. skyhawk

How to make a mosaic:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions above into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

Maui Wowi

Three hula pies + Johnny + spoon = absolute mayhem

The sunrise at Haleakula Volcano. We woke up at 3:00 am, drove for like 2.5 hours and missed it by 15 min. We still took pictures from the car on our way up.

Don't do it, Johnny!

Haleakula Volcano. It's 10,000 feet above sea level, and yes, it's FREEZING!

This guy is at the beach every night at sunset and does this crazy yoga dance for like 30 min. Sometimes he uses a stick as prop in his dance routine. I admire his love for dance, the sun and hot shorts. I wish I was as cool as him.

Green, Green, Green

Here's an article I wrote for the magazine I work for. It hasn't been published yet so hopefully this isn't illegal or anything.

Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

By Ashley Evanson

Going “green” is more than a trend, it’s our future. Even doing little things like turning off lights can help our environment. You don’t need to become a tree hugger, but here are a few ways to be a little more eco-friendly.

Don’t pre-heat the oven

Unless you’re baking bread or pastries, there’s no need to pre-heat your oven. Just turn it on when your dish is ready to go in.

Go without meat once a week

For every animal raised in once-rainforest land, fifty-five square feet of trees have been destroyed. It also takes 2,500 gallons of water for every pound of beef produced. If we ate one or two less meals with meat every week, imagine the difference we could make.

Make your own cleaning products

Cleaning chemicals have harmful toxins that can pollute the air. By using household ingredients like vinegar and baking soda you can make eco-friendly cleaning products that will actually save you money. For instructions go to geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html

Use one (not a handful) paper napkin

It’s estimated that an American uses 2,200 napkins a year (about six per day). If each person used even one less napkin a day, we could save our landfills from more than one billion pounds of napkins. You might take it one step further and use cloth napkins.

No more bottled water

It can take almost one thousand years for a water bottle to decompose, and just this year alone, almost sixty-five billion bottles have been thrown away. Instead, buy a reusable water bottle and fill it up yourself.

Bring your own bag

One million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide. Instead of using plastic, bring your own reusable bag when shopping. Even designers are endorsing this new trend by selling bags with this cause in mind. Check out carry-a-bag.com

Stop paper bank statements

These days most banking can be done online so there’s really no need to waste paper with bank statements in the mail. Cancel your monthly statement and your bank might even reward you—some banks give prizes or donate money to customers who switch to online statements.

Buy used products

Recycle clothes, appliances and more by selling and buying from second-hand stores. Even more, these are great places to find one-of-a-kind items.

Carne Asada Tacos = Delicious

So I'm really into cooking these days and thought some authentic Mexican tacos taqueria-style sounded good, and holy cow they were! You can pretty much add whatever toppings you want--these are my favorite.

Makes 24 tacos

Ingredients:

Masa Harina (for tortillas)

1 1/2 lbs. pork loin

1 lime (or lime-flavored marinade)

Salt and pepper

2 Tbs. canola oil

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

2 tomatoes

1 avocado

Bunch of cilantro

Sour cream

Directions:

1. Cut pork into bite size pieces and put in a small bowl. Add lime juice (or marinade) and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min.

2. Chop tomatoes, avocado and cilantro. Set aside.

3. Chop onions and red and green peppers. Sautee with 1 Tbs. of canola oil until golden. Set aside.

4. Prepare masa harina as instructed on the packaging. Keep warm.

5. Cook meat with 1 Tbs. of canola oil.

6. Put all ingredients on the tortilla fajita-style. Enjoy!

Eventfuls

Johnny and I teach nursery and it's probably the best calling ever. Church for us goes like this: having nursery kids come sit in our laps during sacrament, playtime, music time, SNACK TIME, bubbles and other fun games. We don't even have wear shoes or bring scriptures.

Blowing bubbles almost always ends in tears because they get so excited they run into each other.

We went up to Kurt and Kelsey's family "cabin," which is more like a really nice house that just so happens to be in the mountains. I think Johnny is trying to grab my boob. Typical.

This is Lenny, my handicap friend I met on the bus. We're pals now so my sister and I went to watch him race in the Special Olympics and he took gold in the 400 meter dash! He is pretty much the coolest guy I know.

Rico Suave...the Pedifile

This, is disgusting. Who knows what inspired this disturbing image.