Happiness and Simplicity

Happy last day of 2008!

2008 was a big year for me. I moved into my own apartment in a new town, had my car flooded, celebrated 2 years with David, went on an hysterical cruise with my mom, ran my first 10K, graduated with my BA, took the road trip of my life and signed the papers for my first real job! Whew!

I've been ever so blessed.

For 2009 my theme will be happiness and simplicity. Checking my food, finances, relationships, outlook on life, etc. against happiness and simplicity really keeps me in line.

Here are my 2009 Goals:

Run another 10K and half marathon. (My 1st this January doesn't count! I want another!)

Have more get-togethers with friends. I used to have big parties all the time. I don't miss the BIG parties, but I do miss fun times with my friends.

Volunteer. (I'm already signing up with a local women's organization to foster a pre-teen girl who is in foster care. I can't wait!)

Try new recipes in the kitchen. (I'm expanding myself... just not physically!)

Make whole foods my habit. Open up to more yoga and Pilates. (I recently tried a Body Flow class at my gym and am addicted!)

Spend more time with God and in the Bible.

Always look for the positive and have fun. (It makes life better!)

Cherish and spoil David and my family more.

Dedicate time to invest in healthyashley. (I love you guys and this blog makes me so happy!)

Get to a weight that's best for me. (Instead of a goal weight, I've set a stay under this number weight.)

Here's to an awesome 2009! Happy New Year!

**Trip recap will continue in 2009!

Hello from South Carolina!

David and I are in Charleston, SC as Stop #1 of our road trip! I thought I'd share some quick photos.

David's mom was sweet enough to pack us a box of snacks... and some Gas-X (for David!)

The scale has not been happy with me from Thanksgiving, stressful finals, graduation and now this trip. Instead of forgetting about it at home and incurring an additional 10 days of damage, I decided to bring it in attempt to make peace.

Do you ever do something really goofy and say "oh, let's get a picture!"? Well David and I do it all the time. So when I told him to let me snap a picture of him eating the Easy Cheese, I took a video instead. So funny.

By the way- have you ever had cheese in a can? (Soooo goood! Not that I tried it or anything :)

In downtown historic Charleston...


p.s.- I'm officially a gradddduuuaaaatttteeeeee!! Graduation ceremonies are incredibly boring, but I did have fun little post-graduation party afterward! (All healthy eating, of coure!)

Graduation was a big thing for me because I'm only 20-years-old. I started college at 15 when I started high school and have been working my butt off (and giving up a lot) ever since to make it to this day!


What stinks about graduation: no matter how cute your outfit is, nobody ever sees it. Instead they shove you in a gigantic mumu and box hat.

Can I Just......?

Lately I've seen a "tagging-thing" going around where people post pictures of themselves at their high school prom. I was never tagged, but I definitely want to post my pictures!!

I finished high school early and was barely there, so I missed out on most of my high school moments. (I went to the community college for most days.) So when my senior prom came around, I just had to go. My date was my good friend Richard, who graduated years before me and had never even been to my school!

The dress: A few years before prom, I modeled this handmade, one-of-a-kind dress for a little boutique. Needless to say, i fell in love with it. When prom started approaching, I couldn't think of any other dress I would want. (It hadn't been sold yet!) ..I also couldn't afford it. It was $475! Considering it was 75 yards of fabric and hand sewn, it was worth it, but still! So...

A few weeks before prom I came home to find my dream dress and beautiful matching shoes in my bedroom. My mom (who isn't overflowing with $), put herself out to fulfill this dream of mine. I tried that dress on every single day up until prom.

The night was beautiful. I have never felt so beautiful. Richard picked me up and we went to dinner at a piano bar in Tampa. The prom was on a dinner boat. How fun! Richard was a great date: we danced just to the last song (on the top level of the boat) and talked most of the time. After that we got cheese fries at a local diner :)

Soooo... I really, really wanted to post these pictures because I loved everything about that night. It showed me how much my friends and family care about me and was a perfect kick-off to the rest of my life!