11 Random Lessons

I am one that always likes to try new things. I get bored easily so I like to switch it up. Here is a list of different lessons or classes I have taken over the years.

1. Ballet Lessons -- I didn't have a figure for ballet..I am just being honest
2. Jazz Lessons --Loved my teacher Louise --he would always say with is accent "and around and around "
3. Tennis Lessons -- I am no Serena Williams but I do know how to play
4. Golf Lessons -- which I still play and love,my golf clubs are pink..so cute
5. Guitar Lessons ( my sister got married earlier this year and I had this brain storm idea to take guitar lessons and learn how to play there wedding song " ribbon in the sky" by Stevie Wonder and I took lessons for about 6 months thinking I would be a rock star at the wedding and I realized I needed more time ! ) Needless to say I am not taking guitar lessons anymore..lol
6. Card Classes --I love making greeting cards so from time to time I will take a card lesson and learn a new technique
7. Voice Over Classes -- I think I have a nice voice and I thought it would be cool to take a voice over class and be one of those voice over artist that work for Discovery Channel. That would be really cool. However, my teacher discouraged me and said it was a male dominated field and if you think about it, when you are watching TV and you hear a commercial for a new movie it's always a males voice !!
8. Ski Lessons --I grew up in Pa. and it was cold enough where we would go skiing all the time and I loved taking my ski lessons ! Now my ski's are collecting dust since I live down south and it's too warm to ski..boo !!
9. Scrapbook Crops -- Sometimes I take a class and learn a new technique but most of the time I go to a scrapbooking crop once a month on a Friday. I go to my scrapbooking consultants house and crop from 7pm to midnight ! (yes I really do have a scrapbooking consultant ..Don't judge !! )
10. Art Lessons -- I took private art lessons as a child and I loved it and did really well when I was being taught how to draw but now I can only do abstract and would love to take art lessons if I can find the time again !
11. Swimming Lessons -- My mom took swimming lessons with me when I was 6 months and I took them all the way up until I was 12 years old so I swim like a fish. I went on to get my life guard and cpr license.

Next on my list of random lessons would be fencing. That would be kick ass if I learned how to fence !!
What sort of random lessons or classes have you taken ?

Fun Times For The Holiday

Hello All !! I'm back and I enjoyed my time with family over the holidays. Christmas Eve we usually have a nice dinner. This year my sister had Christmas Eve dinner at her house. For dinner we had lobster tail and filet mignon with a side of baked potatoes and asparagus ! I personally do not like any kind of seafood so my sister was kind enough to order me pizza !! I know, I know....I am a picky eater...what can I say ?

                                            It looks yummy...Doesn't it ?

My pizza looks even yummier Doesn't it ?

My sister and brother and I had fun playing around and my sisters friends little boy jumped in the picture too..He is so cute!

Then came Christmas day at my parents' house...

Santa was so good to us this year ! It was so much fun opening up all of our gifts Christmas morning!

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as I did!

My Company Christmas Party

My company Christmas party was a night to remember ! I walked in looking fabulous and I was nervous because I was by myself. I wish I didn't have to go by myself but my boyfriend Mr. C and I are in a long distance relationship so I had to go solo. I asked my sister to come with me but she flaked out on me so it was me, myself and I. I was nervous walking in because everyone was staring at me and my usual crew that I chill with at work wasn't there yet. The atmosphere was nice and everyone looked very pretty ! I sat there and talked to a few people and then my crew walked in and that is when the party really started. Here are a few pictures of everyone before the alcohol started flowing.

Don't we all look so pretty and innocent ?!?! Well we were on our best behavior at the party **wink,wink ** Of course there was some whispering and some dancing and some well I can't reveal it all because what happened at the Christmas party will stay at the Christmas party. I have to work with these people and I have developed a friendship with a few and there friendship means more to me then a blog story !! However I do have some photo's from after the alcohol started flowing ! Everyone started dancing and having fun, we really had a nice time even though it was a company Christmas party my crew and I know how to make the best of it !

She was working her dress..It was HOT !

Another Hot dress !

That's me in the striped dress and I was really feeling the juice I was drinking *wink*

So then there was the after party at the hotel !! Let me just say that I haven't stayed out that late in a long time. We were trying to be quiet as we entered the hotel and when we made it to the room it was partaaaay time !! The juice started flowing, lol and the music started blaring and somehow we ended up at the Waffle House ! The Waffle House sounded so yummy at 1:30 in the morning so this is what happened at the Waffle House....

If you noticed there is a section in the video where I zoomed in on this random lady at the Waffle House because she started singing with us and even the cook started singing..funny !

Christmas Goody Giveaway Winner !!

Hello All ! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My mom is awesome and she announced the winner of the Christmas Goody Giveaway,thanks Mom !! Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway ! The next giveaway will be in February and it will be some of my favorite things including lots of gift cards !! Congratulations to the winner !

Freestyle Friday : Special Message

Hello all ! It's Freestyle Friday time, for all my new followers Freestyle Friday is my thing I do on Fridays. It is whatever comes to mind, freestyle it. I invite you all to play along just link back to this post.

A few things on the agenda for today. I have my company Christmas party tonight. That should be very interesting to say the least. I will be taking pictures and maybe I will Flip it too. Don't forget tomorrow one lucky winner will be announced for the Christmas Goody Giveaway. I also wanted to leave you all with a Special Message from me today ! Click Here and Happy Friday !

Christmas gift must haves

I decided to do a list of the Christmas gift must haves for all you last minutes shoppers ! They are some hot items this season.

Christmas Gift Ideas :

A Coach swingpack ! These little coach bags are so cute and this is a new one with the new C's on it. Santa actually let me pick it out myself and I know it will be wrapped under the tree this year. Great gift and a coach bag is a must have in any ladies closet !

The Flip Ultra HD or the new Flip Mino -- I got the Flip Ultra for my birthday last month and I absolutely love it !! It shoots up to 2 hrs of video and you can make some of the footage into still shots. The Flip Software that comes with it is really easy to use and anyone can make a video !

The iPhone -- Okay,who doesn't have the iPhone ? Doesn't everybody ? You can get the phone for as cheap as $99 isn't that something ? It burns me up, because I paid $600 for it when it first came out. I have the original iPhone. People think they are getting a deal because they are so cheap now but they get you on your bill. They charge more for the internet packages on the new ones. Anyway all the apps for the phone are the best..I love my iphone and if you don't have one you minds well get one because everyone else has one...lol

I have a short but sweet list and I happen to have everything on the list..there really is nothing else that I must have. Well it would be nice to trade in my new mustang for a Range Rover ..hehehe ! Anyway enjoy your holiday folks and if you can have anything for Christmas and I mean anything what would it be ? Mine would be a Range Rover !!

Roasted Pecans Part II

Last week I posted the recipe to some yummy roasted pecan candy that I sent along with my recipe holiday cards. I finally finished them and packaged them all pretty and sent them to my friends. I hope they like it. Here is the picture of the pecans. I wrapped them up with some green tissue paper and put them in a small package and sent them on there way.

I sent my recipe holiday card along with the pecans...super cute !

Christmas Goody Giveaway

The time has arrived for another great giveaway ! My best friend is so creative and she was gracious enough to make a couple of fabulous Peppermint and Candy Cane Pillows ! She is still working on her collection and asked if I would feature them in my etsy shop.
The giveaway runs from today 12/14/09 to Friday 12/18/09. The giveaway ends at 7pm ( eastern time) on 12/18/09

You will receive two pillows a Peppermint Pillow and a Candy Cane pillow ! They would make great gifts and as promised I bought a little something back for my followers when I went to NYC last month. I can finally tell you what it is !! I got a fabulous hand blown glass starfish necklace. The total giveaway package is a $36 value !

The rules are simple :

• You must be a follower of this blog
• Leave a comment with a current e-mail address
• For an extra entry follow me on Twitter and Tweet about the giveaway linking back to this post and when you leave a comment leave your Twitter User name with e-mail

One lucky winner will be announced on Saturday 12/19/09. You will have 48 hrs to respond to the e-mail so please make sure you check your e-mail. Tell all of your friends and have a great week !

A Fight For Life

Today I am taking part in Mama Kat's Writers Workshop ! I chose to write my prompt on a poem about a fight you or someone you love has struggled to win.

My mom has Lupus and she struggled for her life

2 years ago. She has had Lupus for at least 10 years

now and she has done very well and never got sick

until one day she wasn't feeling well. She went

to the doctors and they misdiagnosed her and

said she had the flu. She fought throught it.

She was sick for weeks and when she would sleep
she struggled for every breath. I knew something
wasn't right. When I came home one day I asked her
if she took her medicine. She talked in third person
and said. " I don't think she took her medicine
today " I called the ambulance & when we
got to the hospital they put her in ICU and said
this is serious and they didn't know if she will come
out of this.

I was heart broken and completely lost it.
I didn't know what to do and I was scared and
my mom was laying in ICU confused and not
really there and not eating. How did this happen ?
I blamed myself for not knowing what symptoms
to look for. My mom was in and out of the hospital
several times in one year. She would repeat herself
every 5 minutes ,she could barely walk, her feet were
so swollen that the skin was bursting and she
could only wear sleepers. She fought through it.

The weeks following were the hardest and my Dad
was the rock and a solider, my sister was in and out
and I was lost but trying to be there for my mom
she had developed diabetes from the medicine
and had to give herself shots. She fought through it.

When I say God is good he is in every since of the word
he allowed my Mom the strength to fight through
this disease. Everyone would call to see how
she was and would put her up in prayer and there is
no words that can express the gratitude for there
prayers and positive thoughts. She fought
through it.

Here we are 2 years later and my mom doesn't have diabetes
anymore and her Lupus is in remission. I am so grateful
for my Mom's good health. She can walk and she eat and
keep her food down. God is amazing and powerful ! The
power he gave her is inspiring ! She fought through it !

Got Started On The Pecans

Yesterday I pulled myself out of the holiday funk I was in and started on my Christmas project ! I roasted some pecans to send along with my holiday cards ! The recipe is fairly simple and I just did one batch and I will finish the rest tonight. I just wanted to see how they would turn out.

First I spread the pecans on a pan to bake

After you take the pecans out of the oven you mix them in a saucepan with all the ingredients

They actually came out quite tasty ! I am so proud of myself. If you like snacking on pecans or any sort of nuts this is a great recipe for the holidays and it's easy enough for anyone to make themselves. Tonight I am going to make the second batch and package them in little clear bags and make my holiday recipe card to go along with it. I will do a part II so you can see the finished product ! Let me leave you with the recipe.

Roasted Pecan Candy :

• Roast 2 cups of pecans at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes or until very slightly toasted
• Mix Together in sauce pan the following ingredients
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of Pet milk
• 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• 1tsp. of white Karo syrup
• Cook to a soft ball stage (to test, drop a few drops in a cup of cool water until it forms a soft ball that can be picked up ) After reaching a soft ball stage. remove from heat and add
• 1 tsp. of vanilla

Mix in roasted pecans and spread on wax paper . When cool break apart

The recipe is provided by cooks.com

My holiday to do list

My holiday to do list :

1. Finish Christmas shopping & just deal with the crowds
2. Find a dress for my company holiday party which happens to be next weekend
3. I must make my Christmas cards and this year I am sending roasted pecans with the Christmas cards !! I am excited about that but I must get started on the pecans
4. Buy new wrapping paper ! I love wrapping paper and I wish I had time to make my own
5. Figure out what I am going to get Mr. C for Christmas...any suggestions ? My boyfriend is very tech savvy but super hard to buy for...I am lost on this one.

My list may seem short but it's a lot that needs to be done. Dealing with the Christmas crowd is enough with in itself ! Every single year I say I am going to get my shopping done early but for some reason I end up last minute shopping !! I like to shop in the middle of the week so that is what I am going to do today is get some more shopping done. Wish me luck !!

Freestyle Friday

Okay so I am sitting in here at work and I am so bored so I asked my neighbor B..what should I blog about today ? B said, " freestyle it, whatever comes to your mind " I said, " oh my goodness you are right I should freestyle it " From now on that will be my thing "Freestyle Friday" ! Everyone has there own little thing they do at least once a week and this will be mine. Thanks B for the idea ! By the way he was my very first follower ! I welcome all my followers to join in on the fun and just link back to me for your own twist on Freestyle Friday !

Today I am going to write an open letter to the Universe and maybe I will get a little something in return. You know they say you speak things into existence !

Dear Universe,

Why did I just turn 30 last week and feel a tad bit of anxiety about being 40 in 10 years. ( Yeah seriously ?) I also feel like everyone else in the world is married and has kids or at least has a boyfriend in the same state. Long Distance relationships just suck and they are hard and I just want to live in the same state. I know he is moving next year but next year seems so far away. I also feel like the older I get the less I feel the urge to have a big fancy wedding, maybe if I was like 24 but now that I am like 30 and he still hasn't put a ring on it, I mines well say screw it ! At this point I don't care if anyone shows up if I ever get married. Every since I was 16 yrs old I always wanted to get married on an island. Everyone knows that island weddings are small because people just can't afford to come and I have a solution for that..I will have my island wedding web streamed and they can watch the video while I am still on my honeymoon !


I really want to get married some place far like Fiji where I know that no one would show up and it would just be him & I . If Mr. C puts a ring on it sometime in this life time then he would like to have a small wedding in the states but it's not really up to him so I think I will win on that one !
I have another question for you Universe ? Why don't I have the paparazzi following me around and snapping pictures of me with my fabulous handbags and big sunglasses ? I am a star too and I need to shine ! Maybe it would help if I had my own reality show...I wish MTV would listen to my pitch..I promise it would be way better then The Hills !
Thank you Universe for listening to me freestyle it today I feel much better now !

Peace,
Ashley

Celebrating The Holidays My Way

Today I am taking part in Mama Kat's Writers Workshop. I chose to write my prompt on how I would celebrate the holidays my way if money was not a factor !

If money was no object and I had no budget I would do so many things. First and foremost I would give money to my favorite charity the Lupus Foundation ! That would be amazing if they found a cure ! Then I would plan a wonderful vacation to an exotic island for the holidays on a private jet ! Of course I would have to have a stylish collection of Louis Vuitton luggage. ( I only have a few pieces ) but my dream collection would look a little like this...(fabulous isn't it !)

The island of choice would be Bora, Bora Tahiti ! That island is paradise, how dreamy ! ( One day when I get engaged, that is where I want to go on my honeymoon ! ) I just have to show you how pretty it is. Look at the huts over the clear water !

The pictures are enough to drift off and dream ! All I have to do now is make my dreams a reality and that's what I have the book The Secret for ! Happy Dreaming folks !

Interview with Pinky

I have a friend that I call Pinky and she dates a celebrity and from time to time I give updates on Pinky and the adventures she has with her celebrity boyfriend. Her stories are usually really juicy and full of drama ! This video is an update on what she has been up to and she has a big announcement !! The video is a little long but if you have the time to watch it, I would because it's a must see ! If you want a little background on Pinky check out my other post on her !

P.S If you have any questions you always wanted to ask someone that dates a celebrity, then let me know and leave a comment and I will ask Pinky for the next update interview !

Pampered Chef Party

I had a fun adventure a few weeks ago ! I went to a Pampered Chef party at a friends house! My friend lives in the country and it took me about an hour to get there. I wish I had my flip camera a few weeks ago because driving there was an adventure with in itself ! I saw a lot of trees and cows and stuff. My friend R lives in a small town and the only thing they have is a general store with a gas station hooked on to it. It was such a cute little store...so I had to take a picture of it ! I should have taken the picture when I was on my way there when it was day time but I took it on the way back. I hope you can see it.

Isn't it cute ! Once I got there it was so pretty and peaceful. She lives in a beautiful home and she has dogs, a few wild cats and some goats ! I was going to get a picture of the goats but I was scared to step outside with the dogs ( they are pretty big..lol )

The Pampered Chef Lady Candy is so sweet she had everything all set up and she needed an assistant to help her make a barbeque chicken roll and of course I didn't raise my hand..why ? because I don't cook but I got volunteered to do so and I had fun..I was pretending I had my own cook show..lol !

This is proof I was in the kitchen..because all that know me would have to see it to believe it !

The final product !! Yummy !!