It Is What You Make It: January 2013

Thankful It's Thursday | It's Oooo-Tay | WINNER!!!

Thankful Thursdays always bring me back down to earth, even when I think I'm having a bad week. It's my reminder that "hey ya dork...you've actually got some pretty good things going on. So turn that frown upside down and put your big girl panties on." And yes I do actually give myself that pep talk every once in a while. So here we go...

This last Thursday of January, I'm thankful...

That my husband is my husband. From his note about turning of the lights to his precious morning singing (sorry honey) he is seriously my rock that keeps me grounded. I am truly blessed that he gets to spend the rest of his life with me.... Wait...

For my sweet friends....that pretty much sums it up right there. I'm blessed with amazing, uplifiting people in my life and I realize it more and more with each passing year.

Tomorrow is Friday...all week long I've kept telling myself "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" and it paid off because here we are on this awesome Friday eve.

Even though I have been looking forward to the weekend, I am still so thankful for my sweet 22 little friends who teach me that the small things don't matter. I love that they think recess and snack time can cure anything.

And last but you all know you aren't least...for my blogging friends. I love coming home and reading your comments and getting to chat back and forth with you. I'm so excited to jump into the sponsoring world tomorrow so that I can help you in any way, shape, or form to grow your blog. I have had awesome sponsors and blog besties show me the way and I hope you will trust me enough to do the same for you. The new ads will be up and running tomorrow morning!! Thank you for being here, being you, and accepting me for me.

And by the way... It's ok...

That I had a long week which resulted in a snap decision to chop off a good 4 inches from my hair. It feels better though and it will always grow back. Right?

That I wished it was Friday every day this week.

My breakfasts included dry cereal and Dr peppers and my lunches consisted of sour punch straws and a Dr. Pepper ....that's healthy living right there y'all.

That I would much rather be at home with the husband sitting on the couch relaxing...or if we're being honest here...not so much relaxing as I would be blog reading.

That one of my little friends wore this shirt to school...and then my class proceeded to show me how to Gangnam style like I am an old grandma and have never heard of it.

And ladies and...well ladies we have a winner for the beautiful earring giveaway!

Congrats to Lauren B.

I will be emailing you tonight and sending out your earrings tomorrow!

You get to wear them with your pink top! YAY!

The Lucky Winner recieved this!!!!

DIY | Birthday Reminder Canvas

I was so excited about this week’s project until I went to the store and discovered that my local walmart doesn’t like to carry more than one any thing in the craft section. Luckily, I live an hour away from Hobby Lobby so I had to improvise and I’m actually pretty glad I did. I saw this as I was laying in bed one night and thought it would be perfect for me because I am so forgetful about birthdays. Enjoy friends.

Materials that you will need:

Blank canvas: the lady who I found this from used a wood plaque but Wal-Mart was no help

Acrylic pain in the color of your choice

Spray paint in the color of your choice

Paint brush

Wooden letters, sticker letters, or your circut: I’m jealous of those of you who have a circut and I decided to use wooden letters because the last time I tried sticker letters like pinterest suggests, it would peel all of the spray paint off

Hook: you can also use a door knob or anything else your heart desires

Ribbon

Birthdays on card stock: I used picmonkey but if you have a cricut then lucky you!

7 Easy Steps to Your Own Birthday Plaque

1. First things first, I painted the canvas so that it would have plenty of time to dry. I got distracted by some friends so my little canvas got to sit all night long and had lots of time let the paint sit and wait.

2. I made my birthday cards on picmonkey. I started with a 400x400 blank file from photoshop and edited it how I wanted. I then added the name and birthday of each person, saving the file each time I did a different name until I had all the people in our families and our anniversary.

3. I just set the letters on my canvas and took it outside (per the husbands request) and made sure I liked the positioning. Then I spray painted the top and sides until I had it coated like I wanted and left it outside to dry.

4. While the spray paint was drying (I let it sit for a good 30-45 minutes just to ensure brown paint wouldn’t be all over my carpet) and started to work on my birthday tags. I cut 10 pieces of ribbon about 6 inches long.

5. I then flipped the tags over, crossed the ribbon and taped it. I found this to be a better than punching a hole in it and trying to tie the ribbon because let’s be honest here, I’m not good at tying anything other than my shoes. I feel sorry for future baby Ashleys...

6. When the canvas was dry, I took the letters off with my glove on (Brown spray paint stains your hands...just so ya know) Then I brought it inside and screwed the hole in where the hook had it, trying to make sure it was smack dab in the center. Mine stuck out a little on the back because the screw was a little too long but when I hung it up, it doesn’t make a huge difference.

7. I added the birthday tags to the hook and wa-la….we’re done!

Original Pin:

Source: iheartnaptime.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

My best friend, My Sister | One of the big pieces of my heart

"Our roots say we're sisters, our hearts say we're friends".

~Author Unknown

I was listening to a song that reminded me of my sister and started writing this on my iPhone...it's hard to type 100WPM on there so I saved it and mozied into the computer room...all the while thinking about how lucky I am to have a sister who is not only my family, my body guard, my soul mate, but also is my very very very best friend.

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there."

~Amy Li

We were besties from the beginning. You know that best friend you fight with about everything? Steal their clothes? Tattle-tale on? Oh you dont? Well we do because that was us. My dad use to love to tell the story about the red wagon. You see what happened was...I was playing with the red wagon, minding my own sweet business. Mandy, or Dee as we call her, decided she wanted to play with it and came up and ripped it from my hands (rude). My dad said that this was a regular occurrence and he was waiting to see what I would do...well I walked up to her, and snatched that little red wagon right back from her...and he said we just stared at each other for a bit and then she walked away. I like to think that was the turning point in our bestie relationship. hehe

Y'all we did everything together when we were little. I am thankful now that my parents had us just 2 years apart because we were inseparable. We went on nature hikes, collected doodle bugs that we snuck into our room and accidentally forgot where we hid them, got in trouble at walmart together, ate food upstairs (even though we weren't suppose to) together, and laughed while in "time-out" together. Two peas in a pod I tell ya.

"My sister taught me everything I really need to know, and she was only in the sixth grade at the time.

~Linda Sunshine

I was 14 and she was 16 when we suffered through the most traumatic loss we could have ever imagined...we lost our dad. It was very sudden and just shook the cozy, amazing little family that we had. The relationships that we had became our life lines at that point. Without her, I know for a fact I wouldn't be who I am today. She always shielded me from hurt, guarded my feelings with her life, and made sure the things that I did were things that would lift me up, not bring me down. Considering we were bestie sisters before, we became each others life line and true soul mates during this time. From then on, our relationship was one that I hold so deep and close to my heart. We aren't just bound by blood, but by choice.

"Sisters are different flowers from the same garden."

~Author Unknown

Even though we are far apart...(ok 2 and a half hours is far for us considering we lived together for 18 years, and then again for another half of a year) she's my best friend. The person who knows me better than anyone else. She knows when not to text me, that I hate talking on the phone, my secret about blanks, and has accepted my obsession Dr. Peppers. She's my sister, a big piece of my heart, and my best friend.

When Michael and I got engaged, it was just a known fact she would be my matron of honor. I couldn't imagine anyone else standing right next to me, crying as I came down the isle, or making sure that day was as perfect as she thought I deserved. Her maid of honor speech just summed it up.

"Ashley, where do I begin? I swore Dr Prier was crazy when he told us that you didn't need to be on meds for your crazy personality! He told us, that is just Ashley. He couldn't have been more right! Your smile makes others smile and your amazing soul just radiates! When you met Mikey it clicked! When I am around both of you, you can't help but smile! I see why you fell in love with him. He makes you laugh! Always keep that laughter and love and remember what made y'all fall in love in the first place! I wish you both nothing but all the happiness in the world! Please raise your glasses and cheers to this amazing couple! I love you both!"

I'm pretty sure she was crying here (on my wedding day) because she's a mess :)

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink."

~Barbara Alpert

Earring GIVEAWAY | Sweet Fashion Deals

Sweet Fashion Deals

Ok... so I posted about my beautiful find from Sweet Fashion Deals last week {Read Here} and had the best response from the owner of this awesome shop.

When Maria contacted me and asked if I would want to share her business with all of you of course I said YES! She sent me a package and inside she had written me a hand written note....customer service doesn't get much better than that. I wanted to post this GIVEAWAY today because every Monday and Thursday starting at 8:00 pm EST they have huge sales which is where I got my amazing necklace and found Maria and her business.

Here are the earrings that are up for grabs! They are just beautiful with amazing details. Michael asked if I got to keep them but I told him that they were for one of you lovely readers.

So enter your hearts out and I will announce the winner on Friday morning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Tuesday friends!

If I Paid For My Friends I Sure Didn't Pay Enough

Today I want to share a part of me that some people don't really know about even though it is something that I am so very proud of.

Ohhhh so you were in a sorority...

Why yes, yes I was.

I was raised by a sorority gal...my mom. I grew up knowing all the girls in her sorority and all her sorority sisters. When my sister went to college 2 years before me, she made the choice to join a sorority...just so happened it was the same one as my mom. I never thought I wanted to be a part of that life. I like most of you thought "I don't want to be around all those girls", "I don't need to pay for my friends.", "I don't want all that drama.".....boy was I wrong for a lot of different reasons.

When I decided to stay in my hometown to attend college, I started toying with the idea of "rushing". I talked with a few people, including a girl I went to high school with and figured "Ehhh why not...if it's an awful experience then I don't have to go through with it". That week was the week I met some of my very best friends, even to this day. We got to learn all about each sorority, their philanthropy, and the great things that they did for our campus. It was truly an eye opening experience and one that I will remember always. It was the perfect way to start my sorority life and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Here are a couple of thoughts from this ol' sorority girl....

1. We aren't a cult but we do act like family...even I'm guilty of using this term when I didn't understand sororities in general. I can't even begin to tell you the work, effort, sweat, blood, tears, and happiness that goes into making a sorority run. We have national standards we must hold up to. We have a creed to live by that most of us do, even to today. It's not about changing you or who you are, but making you a better you with support, standards, rules, and influential people.

"to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind..."

"to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served"

"Love, “the greatest of all things."

2. Those "typical" comments drive me nuts!!! Examples...."she's a typical sorority girl" or "all they do is party". That would be like saying all us bloggers are the same...we all do this or do that... I'll let you in on a little secret....We aren't all the same. We worked and strive for the same things together as sisters but all have different interests. I finished college in 4 years, met my husband, and had an amazing time hanging out with people I loved. YES I attended date parties and we went out on some nights just like most college students. I can only hope you had the same awesome experience I did. We all deserve it, especially during such an important time in our life.

3. Yes...there are some people who ruin it for us all...but that comes with any group of people, friends, or women. Yes, some people are obnoxious about it and give you that feeling that we all must be like that but when you look at something as a whole, you don't see the unique, beautiful pieces that hold it all together. I met people who became nurses, lawyers, teachers, national champion dance teachers, coaches, marketing directors, accountants, designers....I could go on and on. I met people who forever changed my life and I will forever hold our friendship close to my heart.

4. In the face of a tragedy, no matter how big or small, you have girls who join together as sisters to support one another. I witnessed this first hand when we lost a sister in a horrible way. There are no words to explain how we all banned together and how the other sororities and fraternities took care of us; sending flowers, cooking dinners, and even donating a bench in her honor. But you don't usually hear the good stories like that but they are more frequent than the bad.

5. Just because you join a sorority does not mean you "pay for your friends". Yes I paid dues to enjoy a house to call "home", dinners ever Monday, donations to breast cancer awareness, fun events to go to.... and....if I did pay for my friends I didn't pay near enough.

6. Sororities are forever...and nation wide. I did a post a few weeks ago and got an text from Brandi over at Brooklyn State of Mind. Turns out she is a ZTA too and we got to share a laugh. I was wearing flip flops in Hobby Lobby one day and a lady came up and gave me a hug and said oh my gosh...I'm a ZTA from Georgia. I think with any sorority this would be typical. It becomes a part of you and you want to share that bond with people who you know care to share it right back.