Summer Kickoff

The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind; but, as I sit in Starbucks, debating what to write about, I realized I don’t necessarily have to boil it all down into one or two quick, easy, neat little categories. So I won’t. At least, not in this post anyway. So here’s what you’ve missed…. Or rather, what I have been too busy to blog about…

I started following the Keto Diet and love it. Lost 28 pounds so far.

I finished the first draft of the Deep Freeze manuscript

Joshua started swim lessons

I started a new job at a camp, Facility Manager

I turned 30

I completed my first half marathon, the Disney Princess half 10 year anniversary run.

Disney Vacation

Completed a week long ROPES facilitator certification course

 

South Austin Moms and Minis Facebook group reached over 700 members!

I got a new folding dining table for Mother’s Day

 

 

And there are a lot of really awesome things coming up in my life, too…

The Summer has just begun

I am starting a Summer Heart List inspired by the book Love, Life and the List by Kasie West

Joshua is turning 2!

I got invited to the CCCA 2018 Conference in Palm Springs in December

 

 

 

 

And so much more. But that’s what I’ve got for now. ❤

 

 

Midweek at Magnolia

This week has been very busy; but, it has been really great! Tons of fun stuff going on. A highlight of the week was spending Wednesday at The Silos and Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas with some friends. Many people know of The Silos and Magnolia Market from the hit tv show Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines.

While at The Silos, my friends, Allison & Amy, and I enjoyed lunch at The Cheddar Box food truck. I got the Sweet Granny, a grilled cheese sandwhich made with granny smith apples, cream cheese, van sormon, cinnamon, and honey on a sweet potato bread and their tomato soup, which is tomato basil with roasted butternut squash.  (Totally not Keto friendly btw. Thank goodness for high carb cheat day!).

Then we enjoyed some time wandering around Magnolia Market. Home decor galore! So many pretty things to buy and great interior design ideas.

Unfortunately, many of the items were outside of my limited budget at the moment, so I chose to go with some simple tulip vases for the beautiful daisies my husband brought home the other evening.

And no trip to Magnolia/the Silos is complete without a stop in at the Silos bakery. Cupcakes and baked goods and coffee. You can smell the sugar from all the way around the block. I ordered a carrot cake cupcake for myself and a strawberries’n’cream cupcake for my husband.

All in all, it was an excellent day and we had a great time. I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life and the ability to take a day off to enjoy spending time with them

17 Goals for Summer of ’17

Sitting at my desk listening to a webinar (been super into self-improvement webinars and blogs and podcasts and books lately…. basically anything I can learn in order to be a better me).

Right now I am listening to Brandi Botts’ youtube channel. Shes giving a great webinar called “This is me: Feel Better Naked.” She’s currently talking about setting goals and following through on them. So I decided to let this inspire me to set 17 goals for the summer of ’17 (and these are in no particular order…….)

 

1. Achieve monthly weight loss goals:
   June 30th: Goal 1
   July 31st – Goal 2
   August 31st – Goal 3
2. Finish writing one of my novels.
3. Blog at least twice a week.
4. Land an awesome work-from-home job.
5. Write in journals at least three times a week:
   Personal
   Marriage
   Baby
6. Work on 501c3 status for Bethel
7. Train for Disney Princess half-marathon (2/25/18).
8. Complete all 40 Love Dare challenges.
9. Pay off two items on our debt list:
   1. Dental bill
   2. Money owed to in-laws.
10. Complete 4 church goals:
    1. Start working in Students Ministry (started last week!)
    2. Start tithing regularly
    3. Become partners
    4. Baby dedication (August)
11. Try 2 new activities a month with Joshua.
12. Make 1 new friend each month.
13. Complete 1 art/craft project per week (especially the chevron baby blanket!)
14. Go camping.
15. Keep the apartment clean and de-cluttered.
16. Complete 2 books per month on my reading list.
17. Spend 15 minutes a day on self-care.

 

Obviously I have other goals for the summer, too; but, these are the ones that are really important to me right now. These are the ones that I want to focus on.

 

What goals do y’all have for Summer ’17? How can I help push you toward achieving those goals?

 

 

Always ❤
Ashley Grace

Trip to San Antonio

As promised, here’s the update about our overnight trip to San Antonio!

We arrived at the downtown Courtyard Marriott a bit after 10 pm, so we didn’t bother much with checking out the surroundings. However I can tell you that parts of downtown are not exactly the prettiest or friendliest looking neighborhoods.

The next morning we got breakfast at the bistro in the hotel lobby. No complimentary continental breakfast, which sucked and the bistro was definitely overpriced, but the service was great and the food was good. I got a starbucks vanilla iced coffee, orange juice and a strawberry/granola parfait while Jeremy had eggs, toast, ham, and coffee.

After breakfast we checked out, packed the car (the courtyard is one of the few to offer free on site, off street parking!) and walked to the Riverwalk (less than a mile).

I greatly enjoyed all of the mosaic art lining the Riverwalk’s bridges.

The fountains and ivy covered buildings made for a lovely walk. It was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. We really enjoyed it.

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Caught this little guy staring at us very intently

Discovered this really cool wood carved bench. Oddly surprisingly comfortable

Found the old dam and the new one with a lock system

Went to Rivercity mall for lunch. Chinese food. Not very healthy. But the options were kinda limited.

Of course I had to check out the jewelry store

Then we went to the Alamo

And the Tower of the Americas

We had planned to go to the Pearl Brewery but it closes at 5. Bummer. So next time we go that will be on the to-do list.

So we headed home.

San Antonio Bound!

As I mentioned last night, I am surprising my husband Jeremy with a trip to San Antonio for the night. We both have off tomorrow and could definitely use a night away from the real world.

When he got home from work I already had the car packed with an overnight bag, hidden in the back seat under a pile of hoodies and water bottles and my purse. I had him hop in the passenger seat (without telling him why) and we left. We are about 60 miles in to the trip and he just finally figured out where we are going. He seems excited. I’m happy I made this decision.

25 miles to go!