Changes.

As you may have noticed, there have been a lot of changes to my blog lately. A lot of updates and layout changes and new formatting etc. etc. these changes are all just a part of the way that I am planning on making the site better. So if anybody has any input I would love to hear your feedback. 

The next big change and I will be working on this to the actual content of the blog. Don’t worry, I won’t be getting rid of my usual poetry or other random ramblings; however, I want to add things to the blog to make it better. One thing that I have asked friends and family members and some of my readers to give me feedback on is the top three articles that you feel would pertain to your life. Here’s some of the feedback that I’ve been given…

– social media addiction

– the emasculation of the modern man

– Christianity and feminism

– gym and nutrition

– advice for engaged & newly married couples

– facing your fears and living your dreams

– finding your self worth outside of relationships

And a few others.  What do y’all think.  What would you like to see more of? Articles like the above? Other ideas? DIY/arts and crafts? Recipes & nutrition & fitness? Lifestyle and random activities? I want to hear from you!!

My Healthy, Happy Lifestyle Change

Let’s be real, I’ve been living the lose weight/gain weight, binge/starve, over and over,  yo-yo diet, unhealthy lifestyle for a long time now. When do you finally say “enough is enough”? When do you finally realize that what you’re doing clearly isn’t working and it is time to change for good?

 

Well let me tell you when it happened for me…

 

For me, it was a photograph…

 

It was THIS photograph…

 

Looking at that picture, I don’t even recognize myself. I see my mother on the left. I see my cousin in the middle. But who is that chubby, bloated, fake-smile, double chin, arm blubber, overweight, puffy looking creature on the right?

Oh…            yeah…           that’s me.

Seeing that picture back in August made me realize just how bad I had let things get.

225.6 pounds bad to be exact.

And I knew it was time for a change…

 

I won’t lie and say it’s been easy. It’s been far from it. It’s been learning to do a lot of things differently. It meant cutting out most of the gluten in my diet, no more soda, less candy, less sports drinks and juices, less snacks. And it meant portion control. Soooo much easier said than done! I love junk food. I love sugar and carbs. I love all the things that are bad for me. So cutting a lot of them out has been a struggle. And I slip up. a lot. Especially because I am an emotional and boredom binge eater! But then I remind myself that I am only human and I try to get back on track.

 

And it meant more fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and even vitamins. It also meant thyroid medication. And allergy and asthma medication. This part comes fairly easy. I can just toss the fruits and veggies in the bullet blender and make a yummy shake (I will post some of my recipes soon!) and I’m good to go. It’s expensive but so worth it. When I take the medication I need, take vitamins, and eat right I feel so much better. It really is true. When you eat like crap, you feel like crap; but, when you eat healthy, you feel healthy.

 

And it meant exercising. This is the part I hate the most. I hate exercising. I get bored. And its cold outside. And I’m too tired. And I find a million and one excuses not to do it. But I recently broke out the wii fit and started using that, I try to do zumba on the wii or through this awesome youtube channel by Sydney Tatum, I’m getting into yoga again, and I’m even contemplating starting rock climbing and maybe getting a belay certification and an instructor certification over the summer (eek!). So now it’s just about getting myself into the habit of being healthy and active.

 

Just with the little lifestyle changes I have made so far I have seen so much change!

 

This morning I weighed in at 200.8 pounds! That means since August (when the picture was taken) I have lost a total of 24.8 pounds!!! Only .2 away from 25. And only .9 away from what The Biggest Loser refers to as “one-derland” (being at a weight with a 1 at the beginning of it).

 

Remember that girl in the photo before?

Well here’s her now…

 

 

A whole lot happier. A whole lot healthier. And on my way to the life and body I’ve always dreamed of (and deserved).

 

Follow my blog to stay updated about all the awesome things I try and learn as I get healthier and happier. I’ll be posting recipes, exercises, fitness tips and techniques, reviews, links to free resources, and all sorts of other stuff that has helped me on my journey and can help you, too!

 

And leave feedback! I love to hear from you, especially if you have dealt with or are currently dealing with the same issues. We need to support each other

 

Forever and For Always

Ashley Grace

❤

Winter Flu Season

I have always managed to avoid catching the flue; but, unfortunately, this year I did not escape it. Therefore, I will be spending the next few days in quarantine living on chicken soup and Gatorade.  However! That gives me plenty of time to give the blog a bit of a facelift, work on some writing, plan some craft & recipe ideas for future posts, and work on some other much needed weblog maintenance. Thanks for being patient with me while everything is under construction.

 

Forever and For Always,

Ashley Grace

❤

Best Of: Blogs!

Decided to chose a “best of…” topic every week and blog about them. This week is going to be “best of blogs.”

Today’s Best of Blog is Simply Taralynn (formerly UndressedSkeleton). Now some of you may recognize Taralynn from the “the girl in the green dress” photos that circulate in a lot of thinspirational and fitspirational circles.

Talk about a transformation! Taralynn went from being a pretty but unhealthily overweight teenager to a beautiful, healthy, fit twenty-three year old woman. As of now, she is “living it up as a blogger, photographer, freelance writer, social media marketer, and I have my new fitness line.”

Okay so let’s get started with reasons why I love Taralynn’s blog and chose it to be the first of my “best of blogs” series…

First and foremost…She is real. Taralynn isn’t some celebrity and fitness guru or supermodel. She is just a regular, every-day person. Her blog explains that that road has not been an easy one, filled with ups and downs, and many bumps in the road, but she is making her own way and finding herself in the process. If you would like to read about her story, please click the picture below.

Second…her website is super easy to navigate! (Click on the picture below to be directed to her home page!)

Across the top of her site is an easy to use navigation bar. Directly beneath that are some featured posts about fitness (left side), recipes (right side), and some recent posts (center).

Scroll down further and you will be met by a beautiful picture of the lovely Taralynn along with some links to her social media sites.

Next to this, are recent posts, categorized by things like “Eating at Restaurants” “Fitness” “Crafts & DIY” and even “Mr. Grumples” the blogger’s adorable goldendoodle.

Which brings me to the main reason I love this blog. Taralynn manages to blog about a little bit of everything. She boasts:

“You’ll find posts about restaurants, travel, cooking, fashion, fitness, or my rants. I think it’s safe to call me a “lifestyle” blogger. The reason I chose the name, Simply Taralynn is because I don’t want to categorize my blog. Although, I blog pretty much all aspects of my life, not everything is put on my blog. This year has been a mountain climb. If you’ve been following me over the years, you know what I mean. If you’re looking for a bumpy blog with obstacles, this one is for you. I’m no where near perfect, I make a lot of mistakes, I have a rocky past, but this is where I come to find ease, guidance and support. My readers are what keeps me going everyday.”

And it’s true. She is much more of a lifestyle blogger than a health and fitness blogger (though that does take up a significant portion of her posts). And I adore that about her blog. Not only does she blog about things that are important to her, but also things that are important to her readers. She inspires me to blog better and to focus on my health and fitness, too!

My only (very miniscule) complaint is that I could not find any link for contact information to send her an email letting her know how much I love her blog and to send her a link to this post in case she ever wanted to read my review.

***update: I contacted her via Twitter and she replied! And she even retweeted a link to my blog! Thoroughly impressed with her social media skills and her kindness. Just one more reason to love her & her blog ❤

All in all, I give this blog 5 out of 5 stars!

Forever and for always ~ AshleyGrace

What do I even write about on here?

As I sat here thinking about returning from my hiatus, I tried to think about what I wanted to write about. I want a blog that will make people think. One that will make them question. One that will make them want to change and grow. I want a blog that people will want to read. So where do I go from there? What do I even write about on here?

They say to write about what you know. Well what is that? What do I know? …

I know that I love to write. I know that its important to me. And that I can’t live without it. So I need to find the time and energy to focus on it more often.

I know that my hectic crazy busy job makes me crazy sometimes. But it is taking me one step closer to my dream. And so I need to keep pushing forward.

I know that I want to take better care of myself and be healthy and in shape and feel comfortable in my own skin. And I don’t always have the time or energy or motivation to push myself toward those goals.

I know that I want to have a happy healthy loving marriage. And I don’t always know how to do that. I don’t always know how to be the woman and wife I know I am supposed to be.

I know that I want to be a mother. More than anything in the world. But I know right now the timing isn’t right. We dont have work schedules conducive to having a baby. We don’t have the money to afford a baby. We don’t have health insurance until next month. I want to be a mother more than anything in the world. And not being able to kills me.

I know that I’m lonely. I don’t have friends here. And I have a hard time reconciling that. I have a hard time not being jealous. And depressed. And lonely. And I don’t know how to get out and meet people here. When would I even find the time?

This hectic life of mine is enough to drive me insane sometimes. But I will make it through one day at a time. Moment by moment. And I guess this blog will be my safe haven to let it all out.

forever and for always ~ AshleyGrace

Hiatus

I needed a hiatus from trying to blog for a while. I was not ready to make the commitment to writing regularly. Still not entirely sure that I am ready. But lately it feels as if a part of me is missing. The part of me that needs to write and finds it to be a release and loves who I become when I get lost in my writing…

The last few months have been a whirlwind. In January, I got married to Jeremy. May I lost my job. In June we flew to Texas for a job interview. August we moved to Texas and I started a new job. Jeremy also found a new job. Now it is October. We have been here for two months. The job is going well. I am an event manager at a camp and retreat center. It is one step closer to my dream job as a director/owner of a youth camp.

As I move forward with this new phase of my life I feel like I need to have some semblance of focus and control. Writing gives me that. It keeps me from losing my mind. So here goes nothing…

To blog it or not to blog it?

Sometimes I struggle in deciding what I should actually put on here…. Should I have a theme? Or should it just be whatever my heart desires? Should I have multiple blogs for different subjects? Or just keep it all in one place (with the exception of the spin off blogs for each of my books)?

 

Current contemplation: should I blog about relationship advice? All the things I have learned to and not to do from past relationships? Should I write about all the things I know and things I wish I knew more about with men and love and relationships? Should I open myself up to that line of criticism and critique? Dilemma Dilemma…

Writer’s block

Story of my life lately.

The beginning….

Throughout my existence I have never felt truly at home anywhere I have been. I have never felt at peace or content or one with the world around me. I am a constant battle within myself. There is this incredible, insatiable, overwhelming darkness that is never ending and always attempting to wage war within me, to devour me whole and drag me down into the deepest depths of hell. Then there is a beautiful, undeniable, unfailing light, my highest inner light, my guide, my peace, my will, my unquenchable desire and lust for life and all that is good and pure and lovely. These two sides to me are like split personalities. They are both me. But neither is me completely. The darkness is everything I hate about myself; she is my past, my mistakes, my loneliness, my depression, my anger, my eating disorder, my body dismorphia, my regrets, my insecurities, my doubts, and ultimately she is all of my shortcomings and my failures. And the light is everything I aspire to be; she is my future, my hope, my beliefs, my writing, the way I imagine myself, the love I have for my future children, my desire to open a camp, my love for my mentorship child, my family, my faith, and ultimately all the potential and positive things that lie deep within me. I fight hard for these two to find balance. In this moment, I am hopeful that my light will outshine my darkness; yet, my darkness prevails in much of my life. Something must change if I am to let the light shine through.