Gratitude Challenge Day 30: Challenge Wrap Up

Happy Friday everyone! Today is the last day of the gratitude challenge and I can't believe how fast the month has flown by! I'm surprised that I was able to stick with the challenge and post everyday. Today's final post will be about why I'm grateful for taking part in this challenge.

For the last 30 days I have been writing about topics that I wouldn't normally and have learned to be grateful for the little things in my life. Even though you might not be in a good place at the moment or you might be at the best place in your life, it's always good to be grateful for the things you have or even don't have. 

I'm grateful for waking up everyday this month and having something to write about.

I'm grateful for this challenge so other people can also recognize how to be grateful as well!

This challenge has made me look at my past, my family, my achievements, my childhood, etc. and have made me realize that even though it might not have been great, there's always something great to take away from it. 

I'm grateful for Aurelie who was the host of this challenge. Without her I most likely wouldn't have took part in the challenge so thank you Aurelie!

I'm grateful for all of those who commented on my posts and took part in the challenge as well! I love reading all that you have to say and it's nice to know that other people out there have gone through similar issues like I have. 

Until next time!

Ashley

Gratitude Challenge Day 29: Body

  We're back with another day of the gratitude challenge! Only one more day to go I can't believe it's almost over! For today's theme, we'll be talking about my body! What are some reasons I'd like to say thank you to my body and why do I accept the way it is?

First off, I'm so thankful for being healthy and am blessed to not have had any major problems with my body in the past. I was born a healthy weight with all of my fingers and toes. Just take a moment to appreciate that fact because there are some people born with less than you!

Thank you to my hair for being thick and for the fact that it grows like a weed. I can't imagine having thin hair or no hair at all. I love being able to get my hair done and trying different colors out. I think if I had a problem that left me with no hair, I would love trying out different wigs! Maybe that's why I love Halloween so much because you can be different people and dress differently.

Thank you to my eyes for being big and brown. I love my eyes and I think they're one of my best features. I was a little self conscious of them growing up because they are pretty big and I didn't want people to make fun of them especially because I had to start wearing glasses when I was younger. 

Thank you to my height for allowing me to be a shorty! I have grown to appreciate the fact that I'm only 5'2 because I can wear heels without towering over people. It does make me feel a little weird though when kids half my age are so much taller then me but it's what God gave me so why not appreciate it?

I'm thankful to be a woman! I love having boobs and a bum and it makes dressing up challenging but fun! Even though us women go through having periods and giving birth, I wouldn't have it any other way. I couldn't imagine being a man at all!  

I have learned to accept my body mostly but still have my days where it's quite hard to appreciate it! I'm not perfect at all! I look in the mirror and think that I look bloated or that I wish I was just a little bit skinnier but I shouldn't be complaining if I'm not doing anything to change myself right? One of my goals for myself is to start eating right and eating more fruits and veggies! Taking care of your body and what you put into it is so important and beneficial! 

What about you? Do you appreciate what you were born with? 

Until tomorrow,

Ashley

Gratitude Challenge Day 28: Life Lessons

Welcome back to another day of the gratitude challenge! I hope you are enjoying being grateful and find it easier to be thankful for what you have in your life. Today's theme is about my life lessons- what are the life lessons I've learned and why are they necessary?

In my 29 years of existence, I have to say that I have learned quite a few lessons. As I came out of high school after I turned 18 I thought that I might as well get my first credit card "in case of emergencies" or at least that's what I convinced myself it was for. I liked how easily accessible it was to buy things if my paycheck was gone and soon one card turned into multiple, you get the drift. I am thankful that I was able to pay my minimum monthly balances and I never went over my limits. One thing I'm grateful for is that it's a great way to build up your credit. From 18 to about 26 I had really great credit. After having credit card debt I have learned that you either need to have full control of your spending habits or just don't get credit cards if you can help it.

The next lesson I've learned is that as you grow up you need to expect the unexpected. You tend to think that your friends will always be around but then they get married and start a family or move away and you don't get to see them as often. Relationships will come and go as your life changes and you grow up. If you asked me 15 years ago where I thought my family would be in the future, I wouldn't have thought that my parents would be divorced and that we would all be living in different parts of the world. 

Lastly, one of the most important lessons is that no matter what, you should always put yourself first and take care of yourself. My mother had my brother and I and was always looking after us making dinner and helping with homework etc. and working full time as well that she didn't have the time to focus on herself. I think a lot of mothers are like that and it's quite sad to see. It's not a bad thing to focus on yourself whether you're married or have kids, but making yourself a priority is super important. 

Hopefully you can relate to these life lessons. Let me know what you have learned down in the comments! 

Until tomorrow,

Ashley

Gratitude Challenge Day 27: My Past

Hello and welcome back to the final few days of the gratitude challenge! Today's theme is about my past and certain occurrences that I am grateful for. Let's get started shall we? 

If I could sum up my past in one word it would have to be bittersweet. I grew up having a mother and a father who loved me and took care of me and was lucky enough to be able to have an older brother to look up to. My home life wasn't the best because my parents argued a lot and both drank quite often and their marriage ended in divorce when I was a teenager. I would say that witnessing my parents and how they were towards each other made me realize that that is not what I want for myself. I told myself that once I got into a long term relationship or once I got married that I would do absolutely everything I could to make it the best. No relationship is perfect but you get what you give don't you? I'm grateful to have gone through my parents divorce because it gave me an understanding that life isn't perfect and some people just aren't meant to be with each other and they're better apart. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a fan of the arguing and name calling but going through what I did only made me a stronger person in the end. In my own marriage I would prefer to talk about things than to yell about it. I absolutely hate yelling, I think it's such a waste of time and breath! 

One thing that I loved was when my family had a vacation to Disneyland and we surprised my aunt who had no idea we were going for a visit. I was so excited to be able to travel to California for the first time and to experience Disneyland because it seemed like such a magical place for a kid. To be able to meet up with all of my extended family was so much fun because we don't get to see each other very often. I hope one day that we will get to have a family reunion like that. 

What event in your past made you the most grateful? 

Until tomorrow,

Ashley

Christmas Gift Swap

Hi lovelies! With only 90 more days left until Christmas, I wanted to take part in something I came across on Twitter recently and thought why not spread the word! Christmas is a holiday that I'm obsessed with and I love being able to give gifts! There's something about gift giving that is so fun and exciting. Viola over at https://apieceofviola.wordpress.com/, came up with this lovely idea which was a success in the past so she decided to give it a go this year! Why not visit her page and show her some love! 

SO here are the facts:

• You will be paired up with another blogger at the beginning of November and then you can start to get to know that person to get an idea of what they might like for the gift.
• The budget it totally up to you and your fellow blogger
• UK only

If this sounds like something you'd love to do, here's how to get involved!

1. Fill out the Google form here and wait for a confirmation email from me (Viola).
2. Write a blog post about this event within five days of receiving confirmation so that we can get as many bloggers involved as possible!
3. Once paired up, get to know your fellow blogger, buy their gifts and send them off!

*November 1st is the deadline for completing the submission form

*November 6th is when you get to find out who you'll be paired with

*By December 17th Cutoff date for sending your gift(s) to your fellow blogger

In order to take part, you must:

• Fill in the Google form document – here’s the link again.
• Write a blog post about this event within five days of receiving confirmation.
• Send a couple of nice gifts to your paired blogger by December 17th.
• Write a post about your gifts (must include photos) after you have received them.
• Send me links to all of your blog posts so I can see how the event has gone!

I'm so excited to be able to take part in this gift swap (#apovgiftswap) and I can't wait to see who I'll be paired up with! Why not join in the fun?!

If you would like more info from Viola on the gift swap click here!

Happy gifting!

Ashley

Gratitude Challenge Day 26: My Hidden Talent

Hello again and welcome back to day 26 of the gratitude challenge! We are nearing the end and it's been so much fun being able to reminisce and to be thankful for so much! Today we will be talking about a hidden talent I have and what I use it for.

This one is a little tough for me because I honestly don't think I'm talented in any certain field at the moment. I think it takes practice and a lot of experience to be able to be good at something. I look at this as things I do well and in that case I can say that I am a perfectionist. Obviously I'm not perfect but I try to get things right as much as I can. When I'm baking, I hate to make mistakes so I try to measure out the correct amounts for the ingredients. 

I suppose cleaning is one of my talents! I do it well since I do it often and I'm happy to see the results at the end. 

Until tomorrow,

Ashley

Gratitude Challenge Day 25: Memories

Hello and welcome back to my 30 days of gratitude challenge! I can't believe that I have been able to post every day so far this month without fail so I'm pretty proud of myself! It's easy to get into a writing routine once you stick to it. Today's theme is all about memories and which memory is my favorite and why I'm grateful for it.

I have so many memories growing up but because I grew up with an older brother we did a lot of things together as kids. My brother loved playing hockey and started playing when he was about 6 or 7 years old. I can remember he would make me be the goalie and would dress me up with a helmet and cushions on my legs and just take shots at me. Sounds nice huh?  He taught me how to ride a bike and I would ride it around the yard and around the house. 

I am very thankful for having a brother to grow up with. I think it taught me how to be tough in a way. Holidays were always fun because we would go trick or treating together and get dressed up and come  back with loads of candy. In the winter time, we would both go outside in the snow and build snow forts and it was a lot of fun. It was nice to have someone there to always do something with and even as we grew up we didn't grow too much apart. 

My brother and I don't always see eye to eye now that we are both adults but I know that we will always be there for each other and that's what family is about. I am thankful to have shared a lot of good memories as well as the not so good ones together growing up. 

I'm thankful for all of the times that we laughed together and cried together.

I'm thankful that you taught me how to do so many things and gave me the inspiration to work hard and earn lots of money.

Thank you for being a role model to my younger self and showing me that I could achieve anything!

Thank you for joining me today! Hopefully it brought you back to some good memories of your own!

Until tomorrow,

Ashley