Cue dancing, balloons, and party time because I have blogged for 30 days!! I cannot believe blogging for a solid month is complete! It sure has flown by. You know why? Because it was so stinking fun! I have LOVED blogging and sure am not going to stop here. I'm not going to blog every single day, but I am still going to keep this blog up and running!
Thank you all SO much for reading my blogs! Whenever someone would tell me they loved reading my blog from the night before, my heart exploded with love! Someone cares about what I am writing and making me feel super valued. I know we all read so much every single day and have so much going on, but thank you all for carving out time to follow my blogs. I would totally hug each and every one of y'all if I could! Blogging everyday has taught me a few things... 1. Blogging has made my life a little brighter! I've taken time everyday to reflect, really focusing on the sweet moments! 2. Blogging has boosted my self-esteem. I feel more confident in several ways and proud of how far I have come since beginning college. I still have a long way to go, but I sure am thankful I'm not where I started. 3. Blogging is one of my new found passions! I love being able to create my own little world, trying my best to spread joy to anyone reading. Seriously, thank you all so much for supporting me as a writer and as a person! I can't wait to share with you all my new upcoming projects and finish out my senior year of college! For now, I am going to enjoy my weekend and I hope you all do too! Love always, Ash Today, this thrilling Thursday, marks my 29th blog post! I can't believe I am one more post away from my 30 day goal! My professor is going to be so proud, no late assignment here! Don't worry though, my blog is not over yet! Y'all know I am always doing something crazy. Well today, I think my sleepwalking is on a whole other level. As you all know, I have been working on my photography skills. Earlier today, I was looking for my memory card to go over some pictures. I ALWAYS keep it inserted in my computer, or in my camera, ready to go. Well, it wasn't in my camera or computer. After hours of searching in between my classes, I got home and was ready to turn my room upside down! My sweet mama even offered to come to Tifton and help me! So I took a huge deep breath, trying my best to keep laughing, and I went to searching! I checked my dresser first, then my bookshelf and finally my bedside nightstand. And where do you think it was? ON MY NIGHTSTAND? Whatttttt?? How in the world did it get there? So I got to thinking, I am pretty sure I dreamed about my blog last night. That means I would have slept walked and took my memory card out, putting it on my nightstand! Crazy right?! Seriously, this stuff happens all the time. I've woken up in my bathroom before, so it's pretty normal. I am just thankful I didn't do anything crazy with my memory card! Even though I feel like I am losing my mind some days, I sure am thankful for moments like this one. I am learning how to find the joy in the most frustrating situations. If I can't laugh about it, then it isn't worth my time! My mama and I were talking on the phone and had the best conversation about joy. We are our own controllers of joy. After some personal issues I've been dealing with, I've held on to this beautiful fact: "my joy is in my hands." I can't control what life throws at me and especially other people's actions, but I sure can control MY JOY! Let me tell y'all, that is a hard concept to grasp too! I sure am thankful for learning how to stay with the spirit of joy! It is amazing how much more beautiful life is when we learn how to hold on to our joy, not letting anything steal it!
I've always heard the expression, "Time flies when you're having fun." Well today, I am totally a firm believer of that phrase. Time REALLY does fly! Today, my sweet boyfriend, Luke and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary of dating! He has been putting up with me for a WHOLE year! Wow, he deserves a prize!! But seriously, he is the sweetest thing ever. I tell people he is an answered prayer of mine because God really did send him to me. As cheesy and sappy as this sounds, I can't come up with anything bad to say about him. Granted, we all have our flaws and little ticks about ourselves, but Luke really is wonderful. He is gentle with his words, passionate about his life, dedicated to whatever he is doing, hardworking with his tasks, and genuine in his relationships. You need a shirt, he'll take the one off his back and give it to you. One of his best traits, he can make me laugh anytime, all the time. You could say I am pretty crazy about him! He deserves this appreciation post and MORE. So to help celebrate our day on this beautiful Wednesday, I am carving out time to make him an Oreo Icebox Dessert! I've provided the link below for the recipe! One thing I am working on is my photography skills! So to kill two birds with one stone, I shot some food photography! I baked and photographed today during my free time! (Which wasn't very long) The kitchen was a hot mess when I finished! Thank goodness messy kitchens are happy kitchens! I hope you all enjoy my pictures! Luke loved his dessert so much! I am so thankful to date this sweetheart and his appreciation for the little things. He didn't want anything expensive, but instead, values our time together that much more. Thank you for being mine Luke!
Next challenge.... GIANT CINNAMON ROLL Knock, Knock? Who's there? Doris Doris who? Doris locked. That's why I am knocking. I needed that good laugh today! Boy has it been a busy day! I want to share this story with y'all... This afternoon, I attended a photography workshop. We were taken to the ABAC dinning hall to get really great pictures of the food and students. Y'all, I am so proud of my pictures. I seriously am getting more confident in my work! I was so excited about all my pictures, I went straight home to pick through the really good ones to email to my professor. The color and lighting was fantastic, I was seriously pumped! Well, trying my be more organized, I was creating a new folder and deleting an old one to put my pictures on my desktop, and guess what I did. I DELETED MY WHOLE MEMORY CARD. My. Whole. Memory. Card. There wasn't anything I could do about it either. I tried my best to recover those pictures, but it was a lost cause. Dang, I wanted to cry. But there was a glimpse of hope. I saved one of the pictures on my computer!! I at least had one I could send in! After taking a few deep breaths, and realizing it was going to be okay, I stared at my picture alittle longer. It made me thankful for a few things:
1. I am thankful I have an empty memory card to use tomorrow! Who knows what I will find! 2. I sure am thankful for the greenery in this picture. ABAC is such a beautiful campus and I sure am proud to be a Stallion. I almost transfer off to another college, but I would have missed out on SO much. ABAC is seriously my home. 3. I am thankful for this little "meltdown" because I wouldn't have taken the time to appreciate this picture. This was one of the first pictures I took during the shoot. Its always nice to stop and appreciate things early on, instead of rushing into whatever is next, wanting more. Tomorrow is a new day and new opportunity. I can't wait to see what I capture tomorrow! 7 more months. 210 more days (roughly) 5,040 more hours.... TIL I GRADUATE. But hey, who is counting?! **insert nervous laugh here Honestly, that scares the crap out of me. There, I said it!! I am scared to graduate. I know I've mentioned this before, but today I started job searching, and the thought of graduating became more real. The only thing that makes my mind run in a million different directions is the wide range of job opportunities. My major is the coolest major ever because I have so many different career areas to explore! So, to get my mind off of the seriousness of the job openings I am looking into, I began to lookup cruise ship jobs. My freshman year of highschool, I went on a cruise for the first time. Yall, cruise ships are the BOMB.COM. Being a little freshie, there wasn't much that I wasn't amazed about, but the cruise was such an cool experience. Not the mention, the workers were so sweet! After graduation, I might just ship off and become an "Adventure Ocean Manager." Pretty much, I would mingle with guests and start the Conga line around the top deck of the ship. Okay, that does sound pretty awesome. Y'all watch out, because next summer I just might be on a boat! Just kidding. (Mom don't worry, I'm not going to work on a cruise ship... just yet.) I know I have plenty of time to decide where I want to start my career. So for now, I am going to relax and enjoy the rest of my senior year. Oh my throwback! This was back in 2011... Here are some pictures from the cruise with my sweet friend Jess. Hope y'all got a good laugh at 15 year old me!
Sunday is such an amazing day. It always seems to be relaxing and peaceful. Uplifting church service, lunch with amazing friends, and that perfect afternoon nap. What else could I ask for?
Have you ever thought "What if Sunday was a person? What would they be like?" I believe if Sunday was a person... She would be a 3rd grade school teacher. Sunday volunteers her free time at the local senior citizen center, to play bingo with 90 year old Mr. Jones. Sunday also spends her weekends baking cupcakes for whichever student has a birthday that week. Sunday has a front porch that overlooks a cotton field, and a huge, handmade porch swing with brightly colored outdoor pillows. You can catch her out there, reading a good book any chance she gets. She keeps her American Flag hung up, replacing it whenever the colors seem to fade. Sunday has the brightest smile, making anyone feel a little warmer and fuzzier inside. She always wears a pretty, gold locket that belonged to her great-grandmother years ago. Sunday always tells her mama she loves her before she hangs up the phone. Her favorite hymnal is Blessed Assurance, and hums it while grocery shopping. One beautiful thing about Sunday, she never meets a stranger. It doesn't matter where she is, or where she goes, Sunday makes it her goal to spread some kindness and love to those around her. Don't be surprised if she invited you over for dinner, because she knows food is one of the love languages. We need more of Sunday in our world. More love, more kindness, more patriotism, and more food. I am going to start my week off with a thankful heart and open mind to whatever adventure presents itself. I am going to try be a Sunday all week long!! I got a pocket full of sunshine! Can yall guess why? Yall hang on to your seats because I have a GOOD story to share.
MY PASSPORT CAME IN TODAY! My excitement is through the roof! This means I am one step closer to my journey to Italy. It’s amazing to think that this little book (and copious amounts of money of course) opens the door to so many new adventures. After holding my passport in my hands, it hit me just how blessed I am. I believe when something is meant to happen, it will. I knew for a fact this trip was meant for me to experience because of the sign God gave me. I started praying about it a while back, before I ever made my first down payment. A week later, students were able to view their refund checks online, then later on they would be mailed home. I checked online wondering how much I would have, and to my surprise, my refund would be the exact amount to pay for my plane ticket, passport, and amount to pay the school. Do y’all realize what happened? This was the exact amount I needed to pay for the trip and then a little more to pay for my passport. Can I get an amen? God is good all the time and all the time God is good!! This is the first time I’ve ever received a refund check like this one. No, I don’t get student loans either. Someone gracious blessed me with a scholarship, I had no clue was even available. It was in my account. I was just chosen to receive it. This wasn’t a mistake. This was planned with great design. My last year of college was paid in full and my study abroad trip was paid too. I am not sharing this to brag. No ma’am. This is an everyday miracle. I’ve never given study abroad a second thought because I knew I couldn’t ever afford it. Now, I didn’t have to worry about affording it. God took care of it. You can call me crazy, but these things don’t happen everyday. I cant even make this stuff up. I wrestled with the idea of even sharing my story because I didn’t want to seem prideful or gloating about my situation. After much thought, I knew this blessing to needed to be shared. God didn’t work in my life just because. He worked in my life in the smallest way because this would be the only way study abroad would be possible. I would has dismissed the thought and went on about my day. He opened the door for me. Y’all he does stuff like this every day, like healing old wounds in my heart, growing my spirit, and opening my eyes to new opportunities in my life, especially the ones that were there the whole time, in front of my face. He has taught me the hard lesson (and still is) of allowing him to guide me. I struggle with trying to controlling situations to avoid hurt, but little moments like this just prove how beautiful his love is. I am still a work in progress and always will be. That’s the beauty of having a relationship with Him. I sure am excited to see what happens next. What an blissful Saturday its been. Money can't buy you happiness... but it can buy you food and that's a pretty close second! I LOVE to bake anything sweet. I am kinda addicted to sugar so anything sweet is my weakness. To relax and take a load off from the week, I decided yesterday I was going to come home and bake mini apple pies. OMG My sweeter than sugar friend Amanda came over too! She just happens to be an amazing photographer too!! So of course I started picking her brain, asking all sorts of questions about photography. She has taught me so much so far, and we turned last nights baking session into a photo shoot. Goodness, I sure am thankful for amazing friends like Amanda, who always supports my last minute, crazy ideas. We shot some pictures with my camera to start with... And yes, I had to buy some cute, little pumpkins for the table! These precious little pumpkins will be up for as long as possible!! I just LOVE fall! If you didn't know, lemon juice, is a necessity for good, crisp apple pie! Thankfully, Amanda took care of the pictures from there on out, because it would have taken forever to bake and get pictures. Check out all the beautiful shots she captured! (Scroll through all the little thumbnail pictures to see all the rest!) In my mind, I wanted to create a Pinterest worthy food blog, but that takes some for real lighting and staging. I think we did get pretty close to that goal! We had a BLAST doing this though. Amanda is the greatest! She took incredible pictures on her iPhone. I mean INCREDIBLE.
These little pies were SO good with a scoop of ice cream! They were gone in a matter of minutes! Photography really is an amazing form of art. What could have been just a messy, cooking process turned into a fun, photo shoot with some quality people. Shout out to Callie and Luke for eating ANYTHING I cook! Moments like this serve as my stress reliever, making it all worth the stress and business of college. I sure do love my sweet friends!! When I graduated highschool, there was only one thing that I asked for. A professional camera. My family gave me a really cool camera with detachable lens. I seriously thought I was the coolest ever! Watch out because I was going to take pictures that National Geographic would put all over their magazine. Almost 4 years later, (wow, has it really been that long?) I've found how much there is to learn and that I'm really not that great! So, in my Contemporary Media class, we are learning about photography! To make it even sweeter, my professor has brought in his friend, world renowned photographer, DK Bhaskar. He travels internationally, taking pictures and mastering the art of photography. He is at ABAC teaching our class photography skills and holding photography workshops. This is such a cool opportunity to learn from someone who has more skill in this pinky finger, than I do altogether. Today, during class, he took us out and put lesson to practice! We went to ABAC's horse barn and took some really sweet shots! My sweet friend Shannon, took the pictures of me. I honestly, didn't know she was taking them. I was just feeding and loving on the horses! I couldn't help but to love on those sweet babies! Funfact: All of the pictures above were taken on an iPhone. I was pretty impressed with how they turned out! These pictures were all taken with my Nikon. I am pretty excited about how these turned out! It is amazing how great lighting and a little patience can do! I still have SO much to learn, but I have found the best way to learn is just practice, practice, practice.
Then I got to thinking, how amazing would it be to take pictures for my career! Working for a great company, shooting beautiful pictures to maybe put in a magazine would totally be my dream job! Hmm, Southern Living, y'all better watch out! I think this would be living my life authentically! This might just be a hobby now or forever, but I know it sure is something I LOVE! Y'all just don't know how thankful I am to keep discovering new passions! Who knows where this could lead me.... If someone gave you 100 bucks, would you go to Walmart right now? Yeah right... Thankful Walmart's greatest investment was building Walmart Markets. We have one a couple of minutes from my house and it is SUPER nice! Its never a super long wait to check out and the parking lot is small so you're not having to drive around, hoping the parking fairy will hook you up with a good spot. It was one of those days where I went to Walmart TWICE. I know what you're thinking, "bless her heart." Don't worry, its fine, I'm fine, everything is fine. This meme is the one of the reasons why I love pinterest! I feel like this is totally me sometimes!
One a real note, each trip was great. I was in and out in 10 minutes, but the cashier was the real reason why it was so great. I checked out twice with the same lady. The second time around, I came back in gym clothes, kinda looking a hot mess! It took her a second, but she recognized me! We began to chitchat with small talk. The conversation carried on, and we began to talk about how busy life is. She made the comment, "we work all day, go home, wake up just to do it all again." I laughed and totally agreed with her. Life does get chaotic. On the drive home, it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. The sweet cashier made such a valid point. Man, its so easy to run the "rat race." Ya'll, I was so busy, I almost missed this golden moment. We really do get up in the mornings, rush off to work, then come home to crash and then do it all over again. I am at this vital point in my life where I have to decided what career path I am going to choose when I graduate. This could be a really fun sales job or working with social media for a company with tons of followers. Literally the sky is the limit! But its so easy to get caught up in the "rat race" of work and a tight schedule, forgetting to stop and smell the roses. Today, while reading my bible study, a quote really stuck out to me, but I completely understand why now! "Living authentically has unimaginable power." - Krista Williams It is so amazing how God ties everything together. It doesn't matter if we live busy lives or if we keep our schedules completely open. What really matters is how we live each day. Am I living each day with compassion? Am I carrying out each day with a grateful heart? Am I saying yes to opportunities I will dive into and no to things I won't dedicate myself to? In my mind, I think these are small ways I can adjust our mindset to live authentically. So instead of dreading to write a paper or finish a homework assignment, I am going to focus on how I enjoy my time after completing these things! I am going to use that power to live as authentic as possible! |
AuthorFood fanatic. People Person. Trying to prepare for the "real world" and enjoying the blessings along the way. ArchivesCategories |