i workout

well, since i've been slacking on my fitness blog (oops) i guess i'll just keep you in the loop here.
as some of you know (from previous posts) i decided to run a half marathon.

i am currently 20 weeks away from race day and i am feeling great.
tonight i went running alone, which is something i love.
i love to just run and have time to think (and jam out to rock music)
i ran for 3 miles straight.
no stopping.
no slowing down.
no breaks.
about 13 minutes into my run the sweat commenced and that was that. (waterworks)
(sorry if that's ultra nasty TMI to the max, but whatevs)
i finished strong and was running at 5.7 on the treadmill (give me a break, you runners out there)
i felt great and tonight i am feeling so energetic and pumped.

i came home and grilled some chicken.
cooked some broccoli, carrots, and onions.
my dinner was delish.

there's something about being in healthy habits that makes me so happy.
i just feel healthier and happier.
oh, and this is one of my proud moments...i've lost 10 lbs. thus far!

yippee!  i am so happy about that.  my jeans are starting to sag a little bit, but it's ok.
my goal was to drop 30 lbs overall, not necessarily for the weight issue, but i realized that being 'lighter' would make it easier for me to run the half marathon.

and let me tell you.  watching my caloric intake, running, weight lifting (toning), and using myfitnesspal.com really does WONDERS.

i might start posting my "progress" photos (if i'm brave enough) because i am just feeling so good y'all...but i am thinkin' it might scare the children
(or gross your babies out if you're preggo - again, thanks GLEE for the reference)

information for sponsors

information for sponsors:

1 - email me a button to post on my blog (it needs to be no more than 200x200 pixels)
2 - i need an address (web address) to link your photo to (your blog!)
3 - if you're interested in doing a guest post, let me know!

it's really as simple as that.
my email address: ashley.warner88@gmail.com

remember, sponsorship is FREE!

giveaway: life as i know it

Greetings readers of All Things Ashley, it is I, Amy from Life as I know It.

Come over and check me out!

Miss Ashley has been kind enough to invite me for a guest post giveaway, and I am very excited.

Seriously, I love this girl.

What you ask will I be giving away today?

TWO lucky winners will receive their choice of hand painted canvas done by yours truly.

Here's how to enter:

1. Be a follower of Life as I know it (mandatory)

2. Leave a comment telling which canvas you would choose.

3. Blog or Facebook about the giveaway with a link so I can see

4. Be a follower of ATA.

5. and just for fun... what do your socks look like today?

5 ways to enter my ladies (and maybe gents)...5!

Leave a seperate comment for each entry.

The winners will be announced on January 28th.

Here's to winning!

love.

guest blogger: contemplating beauty

hello all.
it's wednesday and it's time for a guest blogger on ATA.
today, my guest is Gina from the lovely blog contemplating beauty
her blog is full of all things beautiful.
she is an inspiration and i highly recommend you go show her some blog love.

Hi there! I am Gina and I blog over at Contemplating Beauty, and I am so so excited to be sponsoring All Things Ashley! I have been blogging more often for the last 4 months or so; my blog isn't really a specialty blog, it's a variety of all things family, all things spiritual, and all things beautiful. I have always been a writer, but realized the reason I love to blog is because I love to share and I adore the connection with people!

When I'm not blogging you can find me walking my little apricot-bichon poo, managing my teenage daughter's hectic schedule, exploring new cities, writing (pen and paper style), reading, or playing board games with my family. And I just recently opened up my shop on Etsy, The Vintage Violet Shop!

I love to thrift (it's where I feel most comfortable), my church, art, travel, and all things nature.

Come by and say hello, I'd love to meet you!

i can do anything (with God)

(pinterest)

this morning as i was driving to work, i was listening to my "country lovin" playlist.
 reader, do you ever get like me...in the sense that you sometimes get into a "lovey dovey" mood?  where it's ok to listen to mushy love songs.
singing at the top of your lungs "it's a love story baby just say..YES"


well, as of late, i've been in one of those moods (the past few days or so...)
where i just enjoy thinking of being in love.
it's taken me 23 years to realize that in order for me to be in love with someone, i need to first, love myself.
and guess what, i have come to realize that i really love the person i am today.
perhaps that sounds a little conceded or arrogant, but it's the only way i can describe it.
i spent the other night home alone.
alone.
before (in my freshman college years) being alone meant you were a loser.
that you had no friends, no plans, and therefore, you were a lime-a-loser (thanks, glee).
but being all alone is so refreshing to me now.
it's time to unwind, to do things for me, to read a good book, to meditate and just think.

i guess, what i'm trying to say, is that for the first time in a long time, i've come to the realization that i need to just have patience with myself, that i need to truly love being alone, that i need to appreciate myself before i can love someone else.
and i am happy to say, that i am on that road.
i had the 'ah-ha' moment.
my life isn't perfect, but it's never going to be.


life doesn't usually pan out or go the way you want it to.
God has a better plan for you.
He knows the best thing for you.
in my scripture study last night, i read this verse:


"But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen." (1 Nephi 9:6)

and i realized (again) that that's all i need to know. that God "knoweth all things from the beginning" and that He knows my life is going to pan out the way He intends it to, because He knows better than me.  He knows better than me what is going to be best for me.  He knows what I need to learn. He knows that even though i might complain about not being this or not having that...that in the end, it'll all be the way it needs to be.

i just had to get that thought out tonight to share my feelings.
i am seriously so blessed.
i am so thankful for the life i've been granted.
for the breath that God grants to me daily.
i am nothing without God.

"two men can do anything, as long as one of them is the Lord" (Neil L. Andersen)
i am a firm believer in that.
i can do ANYTHING as long as i keep the Lord in my life.

life is truly a gift and is so wonderful, my dears.
i am so thankful for another day to be alive.
to be able to learn, to grow, and to share the love of the Lord with others.
i have a long ways to go, but i am happy with the path i am on.

and i really feel like i've been given this time to become a better person so that one day in the future, i can be the best wife/mother/friend/daughter/sister i can be.

guest blogger: everyday is a new adventure

guess what?
it's mondayyyyyy (again) hooray!

guest what that means?
it's time for another guest post from a lovely ATA friend.
this gal is one of my newest blog friends.
i adore her blog.  her life is seriously the coolest.
reader, meet Alyx.




Hello, readers of All Things Ashley! 
Allow me to introduce myself - my name is Alyx, and I blog over at Every Day is a New Adventure. My super amazing hubby and I are currently livin' it up in the good ole land of beer and Lederhosen [that's Germany if you couldn't guess], and so far we are loving it! Feel free to come by and say hello - I love meeting new people! 

We are obviously very sophisticated adults. Anyway, I'm so excited that I get to be a guest here on Ashley's blog - it is one of my daily reads! As I was trying to channel my inner creativeness [which is almost non-existent] trying to come up with a worthy guest post, inspiration high-fived me in the face [okay, not really... but it sounded cool].  

Baby Fever: the Incredibly Contagious and Easy to Catch Disease that Comes upon You When You Least Expect It 
Beware: it can happen to you. Yes, you. The girl sitting at her computer thinking to herself what is this chick smoking? I'm young and have my whole life ahead of me. No way will I get baby fever anytime soon. PUH-LEASE. I was you once. Heck, I was you a month ago. But then... something happened. I caught baby fever. I caught it bad.One day I was telling my husband how I was going to take over the world with my awesomeness and super woman powers go to school and get my PhD in Economics, travel the world doing guest lectures, and teach at the university level. The next day, I saw these all over the place. No matter where I went, little pinchable baby cheeks started popping up in my face.  

This is how you catch the fever:- Your friends all start getting pregnant and having babies.- You see other people's New Year's Resolutions, and they include having babies.- Your younger siblings start beating you at having babies.- You see adorable babies on TV, Facebook, billboards, blogs - EVERYWHERE. It's like they're taking over the world. - You watch Season 6 of How I Met Your Mother and start to bond with Lily in her baby craze. - Eventually, you are overcome by the cuteness of those little monsters and decide that you need one in your belly. 

This is how to avoid catching the fever:- Don't have married friends. Or friends that forget to use protection and end up with an illegitimate child in their belly. - Don't watch season 6 of How I Met Your Mother.- Don't let your siblings have children. Nieces and nephews are the #1 cause of this deadly disease. - Only look at ugly babies. Here, let me help you: 

Sorry if your eyes just burned out of your head. But on the bright side ... My baby fever is cured.

HOPE NECKLACE

alright, it's monday morning and you're thinkin to yourself...
i wonder who won that pretty necklace that ashley was giving away on her blog.

wait, you didn't think that this morning?
whaaaaa?

maybe you should've, and it would've doubled your chances to win the necklace people.
just teasin...kinda.

i am seriously so jealous of Megan (see her blog here)

Megan, you're the winner of the HOPE NECKLACE GIVEAWAY

Megan said...
My hope for 2012 is to work on loving myself (inside AND out) and to work on strengthening my relationship with Christ.

January 3, 2012 10:02 PM

megan. please email me your mailing address and your little gift will be on it's way in the mail this week. (ashley.warner88@gmail.com)
congrats again.

and thanks to all those who entered the giveaway.
i was so happy to hear that all of you are so hopeful and optimistic.
it makes me so happy.

anddddd....i love free stuff, don't you?!

ps. i am wondering what would you absolutely just LOVE to win?

jewelry?

food?

clothing?

paper heart.

since it's saturday and i can be lazy...

i made this paper garland today.

i needed some valentine deco for the condo.

i love this new paper line from crate paper.

paper heart.

it's so pretty.

what do you think?

guest blogger: alexis laughs

hello my dears.

i have yet another LOVELY guest blogger today.

meet Alexis.

before i get too far into her guest post, i think you should know that this girl is hilarious, gorgeous, smart, funny, talented, a health nut (in a good way), and inspirational.

i have followed her blog for about a year now, and what can i say, she's an inspiration.

see for yourself...take it away Alexis!

Hey you guyyyyyyyssss! Goonies anyone? My name is Alexis. It would be impossible to introduce myself without telling you a few things first. One: I'm married to this handsome hunk of man.

Also, I'm a nutrition student at ASU. I love food and my best talent is eating. I like to shake my bon bon. I like dogs, babies, and anything that's yellow. I think life is really funny. My blog posts range from side splitting hilarity (to me at least) to heartfelt posts about things like body image, anxiety, and this beautiful messy thing called life. 

But today...since I'm new... I'm going to try to be on my best behavior. No bathroom humor or talk about embarrassing stories like that time I got my arm stuck in the water vending machine.

_____________________________________

Remember how recently you made a laundry list of New Year's resolutions that you've most likely forgotten about by now? I'm going to help you put those goals into action and, possibly most importantly, remember them.

Tip 1: Make reasonable goals. Actually think about how much time each thing is going to take and if it's doable. It cracks me up when I see goals like Walk the dog every day, workout for two hours every day, make a new recipe every day...and I add up the hours and wonder where all the time is going to come from. You going to quit school? You job? Replace sleep with IVs of caffine? nuh uh sista! Find goals that work with your schedule. These resolutions are meant to improve your quality of life, not flush it down the crapper. [shoot, does that count as bathroom humor?]

Tip 2: Reminders, reminders, reminders! Set alarms on your phone, write days on your calendar you're going to work on it, Write it in your planner, use sticky notes, etc. Tailor the reminders to the goal. If your goal is to watch less TV, cover the TV in garbage bag or hide the remote or post a reminder above the TV so that at least you have to think twice. If you want to eat more fruits and veggies, first BUY them, and remember what's in the fridge. Find recipes to use them before you buy them. Make it so you see them! Leave yourself notes of encouragement! It's allowed, I promise.

Tip 3: The more you stick with goals, the easier it becomes. The sense of pride and satisfaction you feel after accomplishing something fuels you into accomplishing the next goal. And it's okay to reward small progress too! If you want to lose 40 pounds, reward yourself with a new shirt after 10, a new movie after 15. Whenever you get the feeling you want to just give up, tell yourself outloud "I can do this!" I tell myself multiple times a day. It works. It also makes strangers think you're looney but that's beside the point.

If that doesn't work, tell yourself this.

Character is the discipline to follow through with goals long after the spirit in which they were made has passed.

That helps me. I want to have character.

Good luck with all those goals gals and possibly a few guys!

Thanks for having me Ashley! And readers, I'd love for you to come visit me sometime!

birthday girl.

warning: photo overload.

it was Linds' birthday and to celebrate we went out to the JAZZ game.

there were about 15 of us in total that went to the game together.

it was a blastttttttttttt.

we laughed the entire game and had fun trying to spot people we knew in the crowd.

(i  saw a dentist that i used to intern at!)

after the game we all ran over to Iggy's for some delish grub.

i've only been there once before and i was impressed with my wedge salad.

we had fun eating the bread and dip until i looked up the calories in the bread.

(150 calories for 2 oz. of bread - yuck!)

i sure know how to be a downer at dinner y'all.

i forgot how much fun basketball games are to go to.

andi and i decided that we need to go more often.

love. love. love. love. love.

happy birthday malady!

love you lots!

ps. you should go check out her blog (here) it's so darling!