These are a few of my favorite things...


I was catching up on my most favorite blog after dinner and Katie, the author over at runsforcookies, dedicated her blog post tonight to all of her favorite things. At the end she asked fellow readers to post their favorite things so that is what I am doing tonight. Below you will find a wide variety of all the things I love.

Mark got this for me for my birthday this year, I guess he was tired of hearing me complain about horrible blender... I mean, the thing smoked when I would turn it on. I love this new blender! It does amazing things. 

This is my new favorite show. Ruby is on her weight loss journey (she was over 700 pounds) and she is just a complete crack up. Mark even likes watching with me with. 

 MAC makeup is my absolute favorite! I'm addicted to their eye shadow colors. 

I LOVE tea parties with my girl!!! This is one of my most favorite things in the world.

Mark bought me this camera when we were pregnant with Amelia and I love it. I'm a major picture taker and this camera captures some wonderful memories.

My favorite hair product, I'm all about the BIG SEXY HAIR!

Chia Seeds! I add them to my smoothies almost every morning. Seriously y'all... add them to your drinks, oatmeal, salads... they are great. 

Blended mocha from the local coffee shop by my office. It is incredibly delicious!!! But I can't allow myself to drink these very often... calories, calories, calories

SALAD IN A JAR!!! This is the easiest, yummiest and healthiest lunch. Just put the salad ingredients in a jar, making sure that the lettuce is on top, and these will keep for up to 5 days. Open, dump on a plate, add protein and a little dressing... and enjoy!

Cmaping and enjoying the great outdoors.

Wine!!! I haven't ventured too far into reds but I love a good Reisling. I'm more into the fruity sweet wine. 

My most favorite blog EVER! Katie is the person who got me really excited about losing weight. I can relate to her in a lot of ways and it blows my mind at how incredible her journey has been.

My best friends aka the "Iron Triangle" Left to right, Carrie, Molly and myself. We have been friends since we were 3 years old. 

Homemade gifts and my curly hair. My sister made this awesome vase for me and I absolutely love it. I also love when I curl my hair, I just don't always have time. 



Last but not least... my family! They are my everything!!!

So... people who read my blog. Comment on this post and let me know some of your favorite things. Thank you Katie for asking this of your readers, it was fun to put down some of these things. 












Ashley Elizabeth
3 Comments

Dinner, Doctor and my Delightful Daughter


So I don't have a lot of time to blog tonight since I am starting this post a little late, but I thought I would say a couple of things. First off... I whipped together a wonderful dinner last night and took a picture to share with you all. Mark always makes dinner for us so I wanted to return the favor. I knew I needed something quick because I get home at 6:00 and did not want to eat really late.
 Salad with Annie's Tuscan Italian dressing, Quinoa pasta with peas and sun dried tomatoes and crab cakes. It was quite tasty.


 Amelia had a huge bowl of peas for dinner

This was supposed to be my lunch for today but I wasn't too hungry and my strawberries satisfied me, leaving this for tomorrow's lunch. It looks tasty!

I finally had a doctor appointment today. My sister had recommended her doctor to me since I needed to establish a primary care physician; I really like her. She is doing blood tests and depending on the results she will probably be ordering a CT scan. I had one about 7 years ago but she said a lot can change in that amount of time. The doctor I had seen after my visit to the ER said that it was a tension headache but my new doctor does not necessarily agree, she said that my head shouldn't be swelling all over from a headache. It still wakes me up at least 2 times per night and the pain meds don't do much so I'm hoping she can find a resolution.

Amelia was such a good girl at my appointment today. The doctor said she was very impressed at how well behaved she was... made this Mama smile. 

I took a couple of days off from the C25k program. Tomorrow after work it will either be a trip to the gym or a trip to the track. I think I want to hit the elliptical. I dread driving the 10 minutes up to the gym but never regret going once I get there. I am looking into heart rate monitors and a new scale. Any suggestions from you all?

Well this post was short and sweet, and now it's time to hit the sheets. Good night y'all!


Ashley Elizabeth
0 Comments

Dancing in the Rain


Oh my goodness, when I said I wanted to sleep in this morning I thought I would be up around 9:00 or so... not 11:45. Amelia and I must have needed the sleep because she was right there next to me when I woke up. Mark and I both wanted a laid back Sunday so we decided we would take Amelia to see Brave early in the afternoon and then putz around home the rest of the day. We had coupons so we got two tickets at $1.50 each, much nicer than the normal $8.00 price. Amelia liked the movie a lot but gripped my arm tight during the "scary" part. It was cute. After the movie I planted a few more plants in the garden while Mark pulled weeds. My little sister Grace stopped by for a visit with her boyfriend Chis and we all decided to head up the road to Chang's Mongolian Grill for dinner. Our friend/co-worker Ben was working and we lucked out having him as our waiter. Dinner was tasty, I had noodles with chicken, shrimp, carrots, broccoli, sprouts and pineapple. Afterwards we stopped by the grocery store for lunch supplies and then headed home. I decided that I needed to change and go straight to the track before I sat down and refused to budge it got too dark. I went to my normal track at the high school but there were several games going on at the fields there so I moved on to the college track, which was incredibly busy. Finally I decided to try the middle school track that was right up the road from our house. How did I not know that track was there? It cuts my drive time in half to and from the track. I was the only one there and was quite anxious to see how I handled running after eating a heavy meal. I started up the C25k app on my phone and when the first running interval came around I was feeling good, but I didn't realize how fast I was actually running. When the lady got on and told me to switch to a brisk walk she said my interval time was 6:54.... I couldn't believe it. I ran the first two intervals at a pace under a 7:00 minute mile, then the wind hit me on the third and I was up at 11:02 and at 12:09 my second to last interval. My average running interval pace ended up at 9:38 and my walking pace was 14:27. I feel pretty good after that but my legs are pretty tired. Mark's nephew might be coming over tomorrow and if he is here when I get home I will probably take the night off, but if he isn't here I will head up to the gym around 7:30 and hit the elliptical hard.

We had quite the busy week last week; I don't think I was in bed before 11:00 once. It was fun visiting with Mark's family and I was sad to see them go today... but our nephew decided to stay until Thursday! I think he is going to help Mark brew up his first batch of beer!!!

Yesterday Amelia and I tagged along with the boys to the rock gym. They all had a blast and Amelia enjoyed climbing around the bouldering section.
 With her Mama's help she got up to the top blue rock in this picture.

 Amelia's cousin was showing her how to do it. 

Mark and his brother Matt, Mark is the one climbing.

Mark

Amelia got a little tired of hanging in the rock gym so her and I hung out in the car for a bit. The weather got pretty nasty and the rain started to POUR so I decided that it would be a good idea for her and I to get out of the car and dance in the rain. She was giggling so hard and it was a complete blast. We were completely drenched head to toe but it was worth it for those few minutes of complete craziness. I love that little girl so much. 

I have a feeling this week is going to be just as crazy busy as last week... but hey, it makes the days go by fast. I'm putting some chicken in the crock pot tonight to take for lunch the next couple of days. Tomorrow is my first weigh in for the Lose a Marathon challenge. I have a feeling I'm down about 1.5-2 pounds but we will see what damage dinner did tonight. I hope you all had a great weekend. I think it's time to snuggle the cutest little girl in the world now. Good Night. 
Ashley Elizabeth
0 Comments

My Blissful Life


The shirt Amelia and I made for Mark for Father's Day

This week has been quite a busy one. Work is incredibly crazy right now and I really enjoy constantly having something to do, it makes the days go by so fast. Mark's family has been in town from Florida this week and I have loved hanging out with them... but that leaves me little to no time to exercise in the evenings. Since we have gone out to eat a few times and had a wonderful bbq I have been watching my portions. I feel like I'm on a great track right now. The C25K program is going to get its butt kicked!!! For those of you who don't know how the C25K program works, below is the table of workouts.


WeekWorkout 1Workout 2Workout 3
1Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
  • Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
  • Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
  • Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
  • Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
  • Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
  • Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
  • Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
  • Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
I know that is a long picture but I didn't want to take the time to shrink it down. SO... I've decided that I AM going to register for a 5K. I've finally chosen the perfect first 5K for me, and it is for runners and walkers so if I can't complete the entire thing at a run I can take a few walk breaks. I am nervous but excited at the same time. I had been on the fence about trying to run one but Bailey at Onderland or Bust just completed her first race and her blog post on it was quite inspiring. So... look for a complete 5k post in early August. Another thing Bailey had on her blog was a "Lose a Marathon" challenge that she is participating in. I clicked on the link she provided and figured I would join in the fun as well. If you are interested you must be registered by 6/25/2012 and can do so here. I sat down tonight and listed out a few of my goals to hopefully achieve during this challenge, they are...

  • Lose 26.2 pounds
  • Exercise a minimum of 3 times per week
  • Continue working on the C25k program
  • Eat salad 3 nights per week
  • Protein, protein, protein
  • Limit carbs (something my Naturopath wants me doing anyway)
  • Eat a healthy breakfast within 1 hour of waking
  • Go down at least one pant size
  • Drink my jug of water EVERY day (I drink so much water but tend to forget on the weekends)
  • Take all vitamins and supplements suggested by my Naturopath

Last night we celebrated my amazing husband's 36th birthday! It was a wonderful evening hanging out with family and my Grandma's house. Mark made some amazing food and there were plenty for leftovers today. Amelia and I got him the entire start up kit so he can start brewing his own beer. That guy loves his beer and has wanted to take a shot at making his own. I'm looking forward to his new hobby.
 Mark BBQing up some dinner

 Cake! Yummy\

 Mark and his cake

Our girl

Tonight Amelia and I got our garden in and planted TONS of flowers. I can't wait to see how well things do. Well it's time to sign off for the night friends, I've got a little girl waiting to have a dance party with her Mama. Sweet Dreams all!


Ashley Elizabeth
1 Comments

Week One... CHECK!


So this evening I completed week one of the C25K! I am so excited that I've got the first week out of the way. I don't think I've actually ran since high school, and that was 9 years ago. Even in high school while playing sports I was never good at running. I remember one trimester my freshman year where I absolutely loved running, but that was a short lived love affair. Again tonight, as with the other times I've run this week, I was surprised that I am still enjoying this whole running attempt thing. My interval time was 12:18 tonight and I was quite pleased. Now don't get me wrong, I know that 12:18 is a really slow time for running, but given the fact that I've been out of the game for over 9 years and have gained about a billion pounds since then, 12:18 is great for me. I know I said I didn't want to take Amelia with me anymore but she begged me and promised to be a good girl (she took her stick pony to ride). I can take Amelia ANYWHERE, anytime of the day and she behaves very well. I frequently get compliments in restaurants and stores on how well behaved she is, but she has officially been banned from my track visits. She lasted the first three intervals before she started crying and yelling that she wanted to go home. My interval time slowed down a bit since I had to sit her down and run back and forth on the straight stretch instead of going around. I think I will do a couple more days on week one even though I have technically finished. I will start with week two on my Monday weigh in day.


This weekend is another busy one, and I'm not too happy about that. While I will enjoy most of the things on the agenda... I really just want to wake up, exercise and spend the rest of the days lounging about watching TV and playing with Amelia. I am pretty sure it will be retirement before I get a weekend like that. I always feel like I'm catching up on things or spending time with people since I don't have a lot of extra hours during the week. Tomorrow we are going to a Jack&Jill wedding shower and I am SO EXCITED to celebrate the wonderful couple. Tara has been a great friend for years and years, and while we don't always get to see one another I always enjoy the times we get to catch up. Her wonderful fiance is such a nice guy and they make one amazing couple. The love just radiates from them. Mark's brother Gerwai and his family are in town from Florida for a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to spending time with them. I wish it was any other time during the year so I could take some vacation time. Typically, unless you are getting married or are in a wedding (and I used this last year) we aren't generally allowed to take days off in the summer. In the past I might have been able to take a day here or there but with all of the changes and short staffing going on I just can't be away from the office. I believe I have Mark talked into a trip over their way next summer!. One of my Grandmas lives over there as well so we could make an extended trip and spend a good amount of time with everyone.

My baby sister Grace turned 20 this week. She is growing up to be quite a wonderful young lady. For some reason I had a hard time shopping for her, which is a total first. She ended up with clothes from Romy and MAC make up.
Little Gracie on her 20th birthday! Mom made her a strawberry rhubarb pie and Mark made her a peanut butter mousse pie (all by himself). Both desserts were amazing and I ate way too much :) 

While we were shopping for Grace, Mark and Amelia had a little fun...
They are so funny!

Mark's birthday is next week on the 20th and I'm completely bummed... I'm pretty sure his present isn't going to arrive in time and I ordered it weeks ago. SAD! Amelia and I have projects to work on tomorrow morning for Father's Day. I always love making things with her, she gets so excited to do craft projects.

I think it's time for bed. It is incredibly late and I want to wake up bright and early to start my morning off with a lengthy walk! Hope you all have a great evening.


Ashley Elizabeth
2 Comments

A great start to the weekend


Well this Saturday has turned out to be quite a wonderful day! 
Mark made me an omelet with bacon, sausage, tomatoes, green onion and goat cheese... Mmmm!

After a delicious breakfast this morning we headed up the hill to the local farmer's market. It was nice to walk around, grab a few homemade things and enjoy the semi-decent weather. From the farmer's market we headed straight to the waterfront park in downtown Portland to watch the dragon boat races. I've actually never done the whole Rose Festival thing and I've never watched dragon boat races, but I'm glad we went. My co-worker raced on a boat that supports Planned Parenthood and their chants and costumes were fantastic. 
This is my co-worker Cindy's team. They are named the "Love Boat"

 My co-worker Cindy is the one with the curly hair

 My Loves

 Portland

 hungry little goose

 This was a high school team that came in first place during their race, they beat the others by quite a bit

Cindy's team the Love Boat

After we watched a few races we headed to get some lunch. We were going to hit up some food carts but decided to go to a Greek deli that Mark went to a lot while he was going to OCOM (Oregon College of Oriental Medicine). Apparently they have changed owners since he was a regular, and while lunch was good I got really sick after. Mark was fine, but that boy has a stomach of steel and things that bother me don't bug him in the slightest. When we got home I took a two hour nap and woke up refreshed, not feeling sick anymore. 
Us heading to lunch... she loves her books!

Well I did it!!! I had wanted to type this first thing because I am so excited but I figured I would save it for the end. I completed week one day one of the C25K program. I wanted to start a couple of weeks ago but my headaches had not let up enough. After my nap today I felt great and got the urge to give it a go. I figured the high school track would be a good place to go. I took Amelia with me so that she could run around and get out all of her energy before bed... let's just say that as much as I love that girl, she won't be going with me when I'm trying to run unless Mark is with us. She was great at first but then she got tired of running around the field and wanted to go home. I did what any good mother does and bribed her with frozen yogurt. I had planned on taking her anyway but hadn't told her; she continued to whine a little but I was able to get through day 1 of the program! We headed straight over to the yogurt shack and got some tasty treats to take home, well deserved I must say! I am surprised at how much I enjoyed running, and I was quite a bit faster than I ever imagined I would be. It feels strange that I am excited for tomorrow's C25K adventure and Mark just mentioned joining me at the track. He is not an exercise kind of guy so it will be an adventure. I think I am going to start looking for a 5K to sign up for. I want to walk a 5K and then move toward running one. As always, I will keep you all updated on my progress.

Oh I forgot to mention one last thing... despite my less than stellar interview skills, I got the job! I am really looking forward to this chapter at ODF and plan on giving it my all. 


My girl this week snuggling with her Rudy kitten

Sweet dreams all!

Ashley Elizabeth
2 Comments

A "Special" Someone


Okay, so tonight I'm going to take a break from talking about myself and focus on a certain individual who always likes being talked about. There is a guy I've known for many many years now; I met him at church when we were younger and now I have the privilege of working with him during the summer months. This morning, as I was in our warehouse he popped in to say "hi" and to let me know he follows my blog. I was quite shocked that he spends his free time so engulfed in my life... but hey, to each their own. As I was leaving the warehouse he made a joke about how I should feature him in a blog post... why hadn't I thought of that sooner??? Therefore, tonight's blog post in all about BLAKE!

He is not always as goofy as he appears in this picture, and while he is usually the office clown, he does have his softer side. When I was pregnant Blake was the one who would always ask how I was doing and genuinely seemed to care. He always stops by the office to say hello to everyone and he waves every time you pass him on the street. He is quite an athlete and gets a gold star in beer pong. One thing Blake also mentioned that I should include in this post is that he is SINGLE!!! Since my blog has apparently gone world-wide now and I have viewers from all over the place I thought this would be a great opportunity for him to get his name... and face out to the world without having to hassle with the membership fees of eHarmony. All jokes aside, I was quite glad that Blake suggested I blog about him. It is coming up on fire season and I always enjoy when the crews come on. This year Blake has been promoted up to a Forest Officer and has been a great asset to our district, as well as the agency. I can always count on a smiling face, inappropriate dance moves and some sort of loud giggle or sound that no normal human should make. So I will wrap up this post with some fun Blake facts...

Blake Fact #1 - He likes outdoor activities; hunting, fishing, camping and of course putting out fires

Blake Fact #2 - He comes from a large family, he is 4th out of 6 children

Blake Fact #3 - He loves himself

Blake Fact #4 - He drives a nice big truck and rocks out to John Denver everywhere he goes

Blake Fact #5 - HE IS SINGLE

Blake Fact #6 - He is one heck of a good friend

Blake Fact #7 - He is tall, has dark hair, some color of eyes, will be 25 this month and loves himself

Blake Fact #8 - He loves, and can quote the movie Young Guns

Blake Fact #9 - He does the best Gopher impression (from Winnie the Pooh)

So Blake... here is your blog post as requested. And for all the ladies out there looking for a great Beau, he's your guy!!!!!








Ashley Elizabeth
3 Comments