My Health Revolution

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I have been crazy busy!  My first 2 weeks of "Slim in 6" by BeachBody (Makers of P90X, Insanity etc.)  I have only done two weeks of it but I am LOVING it.  I am only doing about 4-5 days of the DVD routine, even though they recommend 6 days and I am still seeing amazing results!  I just don't have time everyday and I also am working a very physically demanding job.  I do try to get in some type of physical activity each day.  For example, today, I didn't do the DVD, but I spent about an hour outside wrestling with 15 alpacas to give them their shots and trim their toenails, and then I helped my husband clean out the barn and rake leaves etc.  This afternoon I also took my dog on a 20 min walk/run so that helps burn up some extra calories too!  I am not trying to start some rigorous exercise program,  I am just trying to get fit and healthy! 

Before I go,  I just want to give you a brief run down of my average daily meals. 
This week they looked like this:

Breakfast:  Omelet (2 eggs and veggies with a little shredded cheese) 1 Kiwi, 1 cup of Strawberries

Snack: Wheat Thins and a Laughing Cow Cheese

Lunch:  Turkey (or Roast Beef) Sandwich or Roll up with spinach and 1 Slice of Provolone Cheese with 1/2 tsp Olive oil Mayo,  Wheat thins, 1 cup strawberries, 1 Kiwi, sometimes Carrots and Ranch depending on the day.

Snack: FiberOne Bar

Dinner: Ziti with meat sauce and spinach.  Corn, Salad, and one slice of garlic bread. 
I know the dinner doesn't sound all that great, but I was really proud of my portion control!  :-) 

:-) -Ash

My Health Revolution

I have been really working on eating healthy for the past few months.  I also starting working out with one of Beachbody's programs called "Slim in 6" and I totally love it!  I have lost 7" in just 10 days!  The program is actually something that I can do, and that I enjoy.

I have been really watching what I eat as well.  I have been trying to eat 5-6 small meals a day and that seems to really help with my cravings to snack/munch all day/evening.  I have even been able to start running a little bit which has been a goal of mine for some time!  I am super excited about that one!

Menu Planning Board!

Wow! I didn't realize how long it has been since I had written an actual post!  Things have been crazy!  B is almost out of college and things have just been a whirlwind!

Today I am posting about my newest project!  My Menu Planning Board.

I have been addicted to "Pinterest" lately and I found this on there.  This "Menu Board" is what I based my board off of.  I couldn't do all of the different colors/patterns that she did because I am OCD and I just can't handle that! HAHA!

I have all of the meals that I typically make, plus a few new ones that I threw in the mix, and also included the sides, salads, bread etc that I would make with that meal.  On the back of each card is a list of all the ingredients that I need for those things!

We Finally Did It!

It has been a long, stressful, and crazy journey, but we did it!  We finally did it!   We closed on our first house.  It is still so exciting I can't even contain it!   We have been dealing with this for over 3 months now.  The banks have gotten really strict on all the guidelines.  If this form wasn't current enough, then that one had expired too.  Or this paystub had the wrong date printed on it.  Really, I'm not kidding about any of that!

I'm just glad we stuck with it.  Now we've just gotta get B through college and then things should calm down!

Steel Cut Oats

Recently I have jumped on the steel cut oats band wagon.  Since I am fairly new to the whole cooking thing, I have been looking for new foods to try.  (We got married in November, so I have been experimenting for the last few months.)   I recently stumbled upon this recipe.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

4 1/2 cups water

pinch of salt

2 Tbsp butter, diced

1 heaping cup of steel-cut oats

Combine all the above ingredients in a small (2.5-3 quart) crock-pot, and set it on warm.  Let the oats cook overnight, or for 7-8 hours.  Mix gently, and stir in:

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

You can mix in whatever you want from there:  raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, cinnamon, etc.  Make it your own! 

 

 

I actually cooked it in a 1.5 quart slow cooker on warm overnight.  I also just put 3 tsp of brown sugar and about a Tbs of sugar free maple syrup, because my hubby is diabetic.  

If anyone has any other similar suggestions please feel free to add.  I am always in need of new recipes, especially quick breakfast ones!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a blessed week!

<3 Ash  <3

Day 3 — Your parents

Day #3 was way overdue, but here goes...

Mom and Dad,

You where would I be without you?  You have shaped and molded me into who I am today.  You have prayed for me since the second you found out about my arrival.  You prayed for my health, my arrival itself, my childhood, my education, my salvation, my finding a Christian mate, and so much more.  You are amazing people.  You really are.  Words can not express all the ways you have helped me through the worst of times in my life.  You helped me transition when we had to move during my high school years.  You helped me when my best friend died in a sudden accident, you helped me through college, through my engagement/wedding planning, and now you are helping me buy a house.   You have sacrificed so much for me in these 23 years.  I know that once I came along, your lives were forever changed, and that you made daily sacrifices for my well being.

I love you both so much!
Love, Ashley

Day 2 — Your Crush

Dear Brice,

Today's letter is supposed to be to my "crush" , but I think you are quite a bit more than a crush.  You are an amazing person.  When I first met you I knew there was something about you that I couldn't let go.  We became the best of friends and could talk for hours.   We would have times where we spent alot of time together, then we would drift apart again.   There was something that always brought us back together.   I remember people at church asking me when we would just get our act together and start dating! haha! 
Our first date was a day I will never forget.  That was the day that I knew that I would marry you.  HaHa!  I just had to figure out how to let you know that.   We grew even closer that summer, and everything after that is a whirlwind.   It is hard to believe all that has happened since July 4th!  We dated, got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, and went on a honeymoon.  
I have loved every second of our life together thus far.  I can't wait for all the amazing memories we have yet to share, but I will treasure all the ones we have already shared for as long as I live.

I thank God every day for making you especially for me.   I know that He knew the plan long before we even met each other. 

I love you with all my heart, Honey!
Love, Ash

Day 1 — Your Best Friend

Dear Lindsey,

You are amazing.  You have been my best friend since the moment I met you.  We worked together for almost a year and then got separated by life.  We then got to work together another year and then got separated by life, AGAIN.  You are an amazing person.  You can always let me vent, be angry, be blunt, and just be myself.  I know that you will not walk out on me or leave me just because of me being me.

I know life has taken us further and further apart, but you have always been there for me.  You were there when my best friend died, you were there when I graduate Tech school, you were there when I passed my board exam and became an LVT, you were there when I got engaged, and you were there the day I walked down the aisle and married my best friend.  You are always there.   You mean the world to me.  I know we don't always get to talk that much on the phone, but we can go weeks without talking and we always pick right back up where we left off!

Thanks for always being there for me.  I can't wait until we are little old ladies in the nursing home running over people with our hot pink wheel chairs!

I love you!
~Ash~

30 Day Letter Challenge

My 30 Day Letter Challenge.

• Day 1 — Your Best Friend
• Day 2 — Your Crush
• Day 3 — Your parents
• Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)
• Day 5 — Your dreams
• Day 6 — A stranger
• Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
• Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend
• Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
• Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
• Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to
• Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain
• Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you
• Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
• Day 15 — The person you miss the most
• Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
• Day 17 — Someone from your childhood
• Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
• Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad
• Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest
• Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
• Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to
• Day 23 — The last person you kissed
• Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
• Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times
• Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
• Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day
• Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
• Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to
• Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

I have never really blogged before, but I am going to  give it a shot.  I saw this on several other people's blogs and decided to give it a whirl.  Day 1 starts tomorrow!

Hello, It's Me Again.

Wow, it's been a long time since I have been on here.  The wedding is finally over!  We made it through!  Everything went amazing PERFECT.  Thinking back at just how HORRID the rehearsal was, I don't know how we pulled it off.  I always thought we would both be a nervous wreck the morning of our wedding, but we were both calm and certain  of the events that were to happen that day.   I remember not even realizing it was my turn to walk down the aisle.  I just remember being in the back room and all "my girls" disappearing.  Then  the director flagging me in to get ready.  I am sure I had the most confused look on my face.  

After the wedding, we headed to the Bahamas!  Oh my goodness AMAZING!!! I can not wait to go back.  We slept on the prettiest beaches just soaking in the sun.  Then we went on a jet ski ride on one of the islands we stopped at.   Things were just too perfect!

Now things have started t o slow down.   We have gotten back into a groove and are enjoying this next "newlywed" phase in our relationship.   He is back in school.  I am working full time.  I am trying to get in shape, but I have had the flu so that kind of set me back a bit.  We are almost finished the process of buying our first house!  Who knew buying from your parents would be so much harder than buying from John Doe off the street lol.   Through it all, God has been so good to us! 

~Hugs~
-Ash

November is finally here!

Only 20 days left and SOOOO much to do!  I haven't started packing for the honeymoon yet, but Brice's Aunt actually bought him a bunch of new stuff for the honeymoon for his B-day.  So he is pretty much packed.  I am kind of making mental notes in order to prepare.  I will probably start packing next week! 

So exciting! 

We had a baby alpaca born last week! He is sooo cute!  He was 22.4# at birth.  Running wide open ALL the time!

Finally!

Finally finished the wedding favors!  So exciting... This was an emotional day... I was stressed about work.. I had a few glitches with wedding plans, that were out of my control... Just an exhausting day.  Then we start to work on wedding favors.   I think we all worked on them from about 8pm to 1 am.... but they are done!   What a relief!  I think that is one of the biggest things I have been dreading!

Headed to bed.  Will write more about the drama of today later..... 
Night Night!
<3 Ash

So much to do...So little time....

The race is on!  I think we are in the home stretch.  My sister is working on the food, punch, cookies, etc etc etc and is doing an AWESOME job.   Brice, Pam, and I are going to finish up the favors this weekend.  Then the Bridal shower :-)  So exciting.  

Also, Brice and I are doing the Dave Ramsey class at my church on Sunday nights... That has been a huge help.  I didn't realize how many people were in a ton of debt.  We are fortunate that I was able to pay for my school up front, I have no loans and am pretty much debt free.  I am going to sell a few alpacas to help us out until Brice gets a full time job.


So Brice's wedding present has turned out pretty fabulous.  I can't really go into alot of details on her, because I am not sure if he reads this blog or not :-) I will post pictures after the wedding.

29 Days to go <3
<3 Ashley

30 days to go!

Wow!  I never thought I would make it this far!   But now that I am here I am stressed, and wearing down quickly.   I am still working on the favors.  They are just so time consuming!  I think that Brice and his sister are going to come over Friday night to finish those bad boys up! 

I have almost gotten the house organized!  I got rid of a TON of stuff. My friend came and helped me go through alot of it and helped me get it all taken to good will. 

We have our Bridal shower on Sunday.  I am pretty excited for that too.  None of my family from WV gets to come in for it though :-(  I wish they lived closer!  

I can't wait to marry the love of my life!  Only 1 month to go!
<3 Ashley

Lil ol' Me

I got so excited about starting this little blog the past few days, that I forgot to properly introduce myself.   First of all,  thanks for stopping by.  

My name is Ashley.   I am 22 years old, about to be married (November 20, 2010).   I can not wait!   I have only been dating Brice for a short time, but circumstances, and the like, helped us to make our wedding a little sooner than we had originally planned.  

I have been head over heels with this boy for as long as I can remember.   We were pretty good friends all through highschool, but the boy was so shy he was scared to death to even think about going on a single date, much less have a girlfriend.  We went on a date or two here and there, but he would always end up telling me he didn't want a girlfriend, so I would distance myself again.   I would date some other people, nothing serious, but I am not one to sit at home alone all the time.  I mean what teen really wants to sit at home alone on the weekends... Get real!    But all through school Brice and I would eventually come back to the same place in our lives and I would break up with whatever boyfriend I had at the moment, and we would go out on a few more dates, then he would decide to distance himself from me. 

Then it happened...  I get this random text message on July 4th, 2009.   Brice asked me if I was still interested in "hanging" out sometime.  Of course, I  said YES!  He came over and we watched movies and talked non stop until 2 or 3 am.  I lived mostly alone at the time, because my room mate was never there, so it wasn't a big deal that he stayed so late.   Honestly, I thought nothing really of the "hanging" out.  That is what friends do right?   Well, Brice came over time after time after time.... Then we would go out to play putt putt or to dinner or to a movie.... I honestly wasn't sure what to think of all this "hanging" out.   Then one day at church...of all places...  someone comes up to us and says... "So are ya'll dating or something!?"   I slowly backed away from that loaded question.  Brice however, couldn't contain himself and he blurts out "uhhhh YEA!"  Then the poor boy looks at me like "ummm was that the right answer?"   And since that moment we have been side by side ever since.

The interesting part of the situation is that Brice's dad has decided that he doesn't want us to be over at my house... because I live alone....  So planning a wedding has been interesting to say that least, but it will be here soon enough and then we can start our lives together. :-)


I graduated from Piedmont Christian School in 2006 and then from Northern Va Comm. College in 2009.  I am currently a licensed Veterinary technician for a small animal practice and love every second of it.  

I also started an alpaca farm that I hope to someday make into my career :-)

I think that is more than enough about me.   I will stop rambling now so hopefully you will come back to the blog lol

<3 Ashley

35 Days to go!

I survived another day.   It was a semi-crazy day at work today.  Not too excited to have to go in tomorrow.  I hate working Saturdays.   Blah!  But at least I will get some Over Time!  

This weekend I am going to try to get the favors started.... and we are going to get all the bows tied on the vases for the center pieces.  This is probably the last weekend this month that we will get to work on things.... 

Next weekend we have the harvest party and the Bridal shower at my church.

We got the dining room furniture set that my parents gave us all set up last weekend.  I love love love it!  It is getting so exciting!   We also have our new bedroom furniture all set up. :-) 

We still can't really see each other that much because of his Dad's "old-school"  rules, but we are doing well. 

I can't wait to marry the love of my life :-)

<3Ashley

36 Days to Go!

Wow!  We have come a long way.  Things are going well.  Wedding plans are all falling into place.  It is just so exciting to think that in about a month so much will change.   My name will change.   My lifestyle change.  I will no longer be living alone.  I will have to coexist with someone else.   My family has been amazing through all of this!  They have really helped me put together an AMAZING wedding.  I can't wait :-)   This week I have been working on getting all of the favors for the guests put together.   Also I have been working on getting Brice's wedding gift.   The excitement, stress, chaos, etc.  has begun!

<3 Ashley