Once upon a time...

This was my horoscope for today.

Your subconscious mind is active today, Capricorn, perhaps releasing old traumas from the past. Memories from long ago could pour into your mind as though floodgates were opened. Many of them won't be pleasant. This is good nonetheless. You're releasing obstacles caused by these memories. By the end of the day you will feel so much lighter. Make the most of it.

It fit perfectly. I really love reading my horoscope. Most of the time, it is completely correct. If you don't believe in that kind of stuff, I urge you to give it a try. You might change your mind. :]

Hey. My name is Ashley. Nice to meet you.

Yeah, I know it's been a long time. You have all reminded me multiple times. :]

Lately, my life has been crazy. I would love to tell you all about it, but I can't really get a hold of it myself. I've been staying with my sister Lindsay the past few days and plan to stay for at least two weeks. She lives in Salt Lake City, and I absolutely love it up here. It's nice to escape Utah County for a bit. It's especially nice to be able to spend so much time with Lindsay. I hardly ever get to see her these days. She means a lot to me. She is like my second mother. Lindsay has 7 wonderful cats. Their names are Mee, Panter, Bear, Wheazer, Tard, Cali, and Kitty. They are the most adorable cats in the world I think :] They all have their own (very weird) personality. It's a lot of fun up here. :]

So many crazy things have happened in such a short amount of time. I'm so grateful to have my friends and my family by my side. I'm not sure I'd be able to survive without them. That saying, "At the end of the day, all you have is your family." is really starting to make sense to me. Also, I love that God is in my life as well. Sometimes I forget how my life can really fall apart without Him. I know I could be doing so much better, but I know that God knows I'm trying my hardest. When other people don't see it, I know for a fact that He does. I find myself feeling worthless all the time. It's comforting for me to know that God will accept me for who I am, no matter what. I can mess up and screw things up beyond repair, and He'll still forgive me. I love the thought of that. It gives me hope and lately, hope is the only thing keeping me alive.

Anyway, thank you for all the support that everyone has given me the past few weeks. It really does mean a lot. I love all of you guys with all my heart. Thanks for reading about my boring and twisted life. :]

2011

2011

• Say something good about yourself every day.
• Do yoga in the mornings, even when you're tired.
• Drink 64 ounces of water ever day.
• Keep an open mind, but don't let your brains fall out.
• Take chances.
• Pray.
• Take more pictures.
• Write in your journal.
• Forgive.
• Have courage and stand up for yourself.
• Never stop dancing.
• Eat fruits and veggies.
• Be more independent.
• Say "I love you" more.
• Smile, even when it's hard.
• Always stay strong, and don't give up.
• Remember that life is better with God in it.

-Happiness is the art of never holding in your mind the memory of any unpleasant thing that has passed.

-Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination to be happy under all outward circumstances.

-It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.

-Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

-The greatest degree of inner tranquility come from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.

-Today is a good day because I choose it to be one.

I Found My Car!

I cleaned my car today, and ohhhh how I wish I had a before and after picture. In fact, I'm going to find a similar before and after picture on the interweb.

Before

After

I don't think my car has EVER been as messy as it just was. I feel very accomplished for cleaning it, so I thought I would share my experience with the world :D


Anyway, can you guys believe that Christmas is in 3 days?! I'm oh so excited. We weren't planning on having any presents this year, but my wonderful aunt got my family and me lots and lots of presents from her trips. She has recently traveled to New York and Amsterdam and got us some things from both locations. I can't even express my gratitude. She is such a kind person! She reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas. :]
Anyway, I have spent a lot of time watching Christmas movies and drinking hot coco, as everyone should this time of year. My favorites are The Polar Express and Elf :] I can't really say that "lately" I have been watching them because honestly, I watch them year round. Especially Elf:] They are such warming, comforting, classics. They are the kind of movies that make you feel fantastic inside :] So, you guys should tell me your favorite Christmas movies in a comment. If I haven't seen them, I will definitely rent them and if I have seen them, we can start a conversation about it. Sound good? Good. :]

Thanks for reading,
Ashley.

Merry Christmas

Hey everyone :] I just wanted to take a minute and tell everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I love all of you so much and want to thank you for being in my life and always supporting me. I wouldn't be here without every single one of you, and you all should know that. You all play such a huge role in my life. I'm so grateful that I'll be able to spend the holidays with family and friends. (Jordie!) The Christmas season would not be the same without all of you.



For those of you who are interested, here's a peek at my life.
School is going awesome. I have good grades, good classes, and best of all, I have good friends. I have never actually genuinely liked school until this year. I almost look forward to going each day. I love PG and I'm proud to say "I'm a Viking." :]
Dance is going AMAZING. I love it so much. We just had a recital, and although we completely messed up the first dance, we did awesome on the second one. However, I messed up.. But everyone said they didn't even notice so that makes me feel better. Unfortunately, I don't have the link to the video, but if you go to my facebook you will be able to see it there under "my videos." So go take a look and give me some feedback! I'm looking for more of a challenge so I might find a class that is more advanced, but I don't want to do that if I look like I can't do the dance level I'm doing know. So please, be honest with me! :]



Jordan - Can you believe we will be seeing each other in 6 days? I sure can't. I am SO excited though! It has been way too long girl. We are going to have such a blast! I literally don't think I can wait any longer :o What am I going to do!? It's even worse that you aren't getting any of my texts. Which is super lame because I text you ten times every day. Maybe even more lol. Yeah, probably more :p Anyway, drive safe when you come up here. The roads will probably be pretty bad. I will pray for you lots! Love you best friend :]


Garett - Hey punk, text me. I love your guts. I will text you back, I promise :] Merry Christmas :] I hope you had a wonderful 2010 and have an even better 2011.


Brent - I dunno if you still read this, but if you do, than Merry Christmas. Thank you for everything. And by the way, you owe me for not coming to my recital and not taking me to temple square :p Just sayin :p Nahh kidding. You don't have to do anything except come to the next recital and have a fantastic Christmas. Don't get me a present, I don't deserve one. Good luck on your new independent life.

Ohh Life.

A Time to be Thankful

Thanksgiving just passed so I thought I would take the time to make a list of all the things I am thankful to have.

• Family
• Friends
• Life
• A home
• Food to eat
• Clothes to wear
• Material possessions
  
• Water
• Music
• A smile

There is soooo much more but those are just the basic things. I wouldn't be here without my friends and family. They mean so much to me and I sure hope they know that. I am thankful to be alive. I love my life so much, and I thank God for it every day. There are some people who left this earth too soon, and I am grateful to wake up every day. So many people around the world have nothing to eat and go hungry. I am grateful that I have enough to eat until I am satisfied. I am grateful to have a roof over my head, for many people spend the night in the cold snow. I have a warm bed and a safe place to stay. That means a lot to me. Music is my escape, and many people do not have the music or the possessions required to be able to listen to music. Not only do I have things that allow me to listen to music, I have materials that help me create it. I am grateful for my smile. It cheers me up to smile and I hope it cheers others up as well. I am so, so, so blessed. Thank you to everyone in my life, and especially God. Without His help, I would not be here today, and I would not recognize all the things I am blessed with.

Also, I am grateful for this song :p