Slimming Fast

     New food plans. I was looking for something nutritional, affordable, and easy to maneuver. I did not want too many choices, but I also did not want something too boring or expensive. So I have found myself landing on a Slim Fast diet. Yes I know fad dieting never works, but this seems to be a good option as far as nutrition and cost goes. I have gotten my breakfast and lunch for two weeks for $53.00 all in one spot. My breakfast is including a Slim Fast shake and a Greek yogurt. My lunch will be a Slim Fast shake and a fiber bar. If I get hungry between breakfast and dinner I have also bought some bananas to keep at work which I am slowly finding out I am going to need after lunch as a hunger buster, and my doctor says I could use the added potassium. Do any of you do any weird diets and does anything work?

--Ashley

Carnival Season is Over in Louisiana

     Happy late Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. I guess these days would mean more to me if I were Catholic. Normally around this time of year I spend a lot of time with my family and friends. I was feeling a little distant from everything this season so I made a homemade king cake. I will post a picutre as well because I am very proud of this. I have also been sick and in and out of the emergency room. Just a down kind of month I suppose. Time to raise my spirits.



--Ashley

Lundi Gras

     In the French nature of this holiday season here in southern Louisiana I would like to wish everyone a happy Lundi Gras and an early happy Mardi Gras, which is tomorrow. I feel very out of sorts with the holidays here and I miss being with my family this time of year. I haven't had a king cake yet and I can't believe I haven't made it to a parade this year. For the last few years I haven't been in the spirit of parties and parades. I do miss the time to let lose and enjoy music and food.
     Mardi Gras is actually known as a Catholic holiday where everyone celebrates the time before lent begins. When Rome embraced Christianity, the early Church fathers decided it was better to incorporate certain aspects of pagan rituals into the new faith rather than attempt to abolish them altogether. Carnival became a period of abandon and merriment that preceded the penance of Lent, thus giving a Christian interpretation to the ancient custom. In mid February the ancient Romans celebrated the Lupercalia, a circus like festival that we now in the New Orleans area celebrate as Mardi Gras.
     King cakes actually start on the third of January, all kings day, and go through Mardi Gras to celebrate the season. If you get "the baby" from a king cake then it is your responsibility to purchase or make the next king cake for the group, up until the end of Mardi Gras on Tuesday. Lent begins on the following day, Wednesday, more commonly known as "Ash Wednesday" and goes until Easter.
     While I'm not Catholic, have never been, and don't intend to be, I do like to celebrate with my family and friends. It's a great time to relax and enjoy our time together with good music and food. Maybe I can bring a little bit of Mardi Gras to my home this week.


--Ashley

3 AM Dreams

     When I am waken up in the middle of the night by a phone call there are a bout 5 million things that run through my head. First thought would be "I wonder what time it is?" and in the middle of that thought I jump straight to "Did something awful happen?." This thought usually wakes my mind up and gets me going. I will stumble across the room, stub my toe, and run into the wall all as I slide down my answer bar on the phone. Then I usually hear a very apologetic voice on the other end of someone who wants to talk or was thinking of me and wondering if I was awake.
     As I sit back and think about the many things that could possibly happen in one night, terrible things like car accidents, or wonderful things like a baby being born, I think about how amazing it is that I don't get more calls in the middle of the night for emergencies. Sometimes sure it is awful to be woken up "in the middle of a sleep cycle" but every once and again, being woken up for a short while isn't too bad. It breaks the night up, and makes me think about that person alone. My mind is clear and my thoughts are steady. Then I drift back into dreamland, where the time seems endless and all of my senses are heightened. Dreams come slowly for me and I rarely remember them, but I know how relaxing a dream can be.


“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” - Oprah


--Ashley

Rain and Love

     There is something about a rain storm that makes me feel reminiscent and relaxed. I always feel more in tune with my feelings and a little more sensitive when it rains. I also have realized how lucky I am. I have the most amazing person in my life and I am utterly in love with him. His name is Zach, and I've mentioned him before, but not to the extent of how I feel. He is truely a wonderful man and can be so understanding at times. Zach has been my rock in hard times, my pillow in sad times, and continues to be my sunshine in dark places. He has been so patient with me and loves me unconditionally. I couldn't think of a better person to share my life with and he always knows what to say to make me smile, even if it is cheesey. So I have God to thank for the rain and Zach's mother to thank for bringing him into the world. I am so grateful for him and couldn't imagine my life without him in it. I love you Zach and can't wait to bring more happy times into both of our lives.

--Ashley

Hold Music

     I think all companies should have amazing hold music, like Apple has. When I have to sit on hold for over five minutes and it's advertisements I can feel my blood start to get hot and I get more agitated at whomever I am speaking to. But if there is good hold music then I feel light and nearly forget what it is I was upset about in the first place. In life we have a type of hold music. The way we carry ourselves in front of other people when we aren't in "active" mode or appealing our attention on anything or anyone. Should we have a disagreeable "hold music" people are less likely to approach us and start a relationship with our spirits. If we have a happy and light "hold music" or atmosphere it is easier for someone to feel comfortable around us. Hold music plays a major part in the type of person you are, it's the one time when someone can look at you and feel comfortable or scared. If we work on playing a good song and showing the world that even when we aren't doing anything a smile can still be found in our hearts.

Play some decent hold music people and get on with it.

--Ashley

VALENTINE'S DAY

      Red Roses and a Box of Chocolates... that's all I have to say. :)

--Ashley

Love is in the air

     Love is so in the air this month. I know I feel more in love than ever, even my sixteen year old sister, who is normally grumpy, has a lighter air about her. I am glad that this year most people have decided to be above being lonely and depressed. Even if there is no one in your life, you should never feel down because there is always someone to love. I want to give my time and talents to those around me, I want my family and friends to know that I can bring joy to their lives. Happy day before Valentine's Day!

--Ashley

Death... No Answers...

     Well with the recent death of a world famous celebrity it makes me ponder death and what happens to us when we die. I know the things that I have been taught, the things that many other people believe, but I'm not quite sure what I believe anymore as far as death and dying goes. Do we go to a heaven or paradise after we die? Do we even have a soul/spirit? Or are we just particles that make up organs and flesh? Are our thoughts a product of our environment and nature? I know these are difficult questions and I don't think I'll ever know with assurity if any of this is true or correct.
--Ashley

Pink Nail Polish

     Pink is a feminine color, something associated with little girls, ballet, and cotton candy. Many psychologists have stated that color affects mood and even the amount of food you consume. I wonder what pink may mean. I have painted my nails pink and I feel bubbly and light. I'm not sure if that's the color of my nails or the cold breeze outside.
     The color pink isn't really the topic of this post today, but I thought it was an interesting thought. Color is really what makes our world so interesting. Even children are wide eyed and full of wonder when they are young because of all the colorful and interesting images. I love that my world has color and that I can see all of the world with both of my eyes. I am so blessed and lucky to have the abilities that I have. To see the amazing pink nail polish, to feel the cold air on my skin, to hear all the birds in the morning... even if they do wake me up at 8am. I am grateful the spirit I have to be able to love and be loved.
     Pink. A beautiful and wonderful color. A color to live by. Let's all live pink today. Happy, bubbly, girly, and fun, pink will be the color of my day now.

-- Ashley

High Quality or Nothing At All

     So I was looking at comforters, curtains, and a down comforter today and I have realized the difference in price and quality coincide. I was wondering if this applies to other parts of life. If you pay more for something, and I don't mean always monetarily, if you get better quality or more from it. I know that products that cost more generally last longer and are of a better material. (Generally speaking.) I wonder if putting a lot of money or time into a person makes them higher quality or worth more. Because in my experience a lot of people will put their time and money into low quality people. If this is the case, what does that mean? Do we as a people constantly ignore the product when it comes to another human being? Should we care about the quality if other people don't see it either? Or buy someone who has the potential to be of high quality? I don't want to compare people to comforters or sheets, but it is an interesting thought. I guess I'll just keep developing the quality within myself and that will not only make me of higher quality but those around me.

--Ashley

Winning at Losing

     I was given a book this past weekend called "Change One", and it's a dieting book. The sale slogan is "Lose Weight Simply, Safely, and Forever." What a wonderful thing to sell, weight loss. There have been countless books, diets, TV shows, and even magazines made on one topic. If the world focused this much time, effort, and money into actually bettering peoples lives we would all be a healthy nation. But enough avoiding the subject for me. I have read from cover to page 25 so far and I am starting to understand the gist of the book. It's a twelve week program and each week you make one change. Week one is breakfast and I think I'm going to try this out. Breakfast, that seems simple. Every day this week I will eat a 300 calorie breakfast. A grain, a fruit, and a dairy. Seven full days of breakfast. I see a lot of really fast cooked eggs in my future. I'm not a jump out of bed kind of person, but I guess this will be a great way to jump start my day. I'm only going to read through week one so I don't get ahead of myself and next Monday I'll start reading week two to get ready for days 14-20. Here we go, another lifestyle change for me.


PS- Can't wait until Valentine's Day!


--Ashley

Music

     The window to the soul in most cases. Music is like a spiritual awakening and speaks volumes to me. I love the sound, the melody, the beautiful voices and instrumentals. I wonder what scientific purpose this serves. Is music something strictly for enjoyment, is there some sort of spiritual background behind it or does the part of our brain that is "tickled" by the music just react in a positive way when it is stimulated?     


Any neurologists out there perhaps?



--Ashley

Alcohol and One Night Stands

     It's what a normal person would tell you cures a downed spirit. What most twenty two year old's would call a normal weekend in college. Well world, I am here to tell you that solidarity and really old books have the opposite affect on someone. I doubt that alcohol or a one night stand would cure loneliness or even self worth issues. I am not promoting them or even considering the two. I am only taking a moment to reflect on the "normal" twenty two year old's thoughts and actions.
    The "normal" college kid doesn't worry about STD's, tomorrow morning, or who they are going to be in twenty years. I mean if they did we wouldn't have presidents that had a "past" being published in the national press or celebrities with their photos streamed on the world wide web. I personally wouldn't group myself with a "normal" college kid and I don't aspire to be one any time soon (or ever), but it makes me wonder what causes this low self worth, the naive nature of young adults, or even just the pure lack of maturity. I worry about things that don't even affect my life, things that aren't even who I am or who I have been. I wonder if being a "normal", naive, incompetent, self-hating college kid would be better than knowing the things I know about people and how the world works. I wonder if it is easier for those kids on a daily basis to just live their lives.
     I know that no one lives a life of complete bliss and misses their life's dose of "suck", but for once, wouldn't it just be wonderful if we could just be happy? Just pure happiness for a full 24 hours. Is ignorance bliss? Do you know of a time where there was a complete 24 hours of happiness. I surely couldn't think of many before the age of five. I want that happiness. Christ, a man who existed on this Earth and led people in a good direction, said that we should be like little children. Did he mean that our minds should stay in a perfect naive state? That we shouldn't get involved in messy situations and be oblivious to the terrible things in the world? Or did he mean that we should be forgiving like little children, willing to give everyone a second chance, no matter what they did to us or how badly we hurt?



Sometimes I wonder about these things....




--Ashley