Liebster Award!!

Well, imagine my surprise this morning when I went to read my "bestie'' Lauren's blog and saw that not only had she been nominated for a Liebster Award but that she in turn nominated me! So neat, thanks Lauren!!

The Rules

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees to let them know you nominated them

 

I Nominate

1. Katelyn @ Imperfect Perfection

2. Jessica @Life's Better Being Southern

3.Jennifer @ The Martinez Men

4.Brooks @ Cotton & Boots

5. Emily @ My Life In Words

 

Lauren's 11 Questions

1. What do you do for a living? I work at a family owned trucking company. I don't really know what you would consider my actual job title but I do a little bit of everything! On the side I am an amateur photographer and I hope that one day that can be my full time job.

2. What made you start blogging? Well I have actually wanted to start blogging for a while now. I wanted to start when I was engaged to write about my wedding and the planning process but I just never had the time. Then, a few months ago a friend and I (cough, cough you Lauren) were talking and decided we should start blogging, so here we are!

 3. If you could give any tip about blogging, what would it be? Oh gosh, I have no idea. I am still pretty clueless when it comes to the inner-workings of the blog world. But I guess if I had to say one thing it would be, don't stress about the number of followers or comments you get. None of that stuff really matters, you should just enjoy the blogging experience whether you 5 or 500 followers!

4. What is your favorite food? Oh lordy this is a hard one because I am a total pig. I am going to go ahead and sound like a serious fat girl and say queso dip. I could literally eat Mexican food every single day! Smother something in queso, cue the Mariachi band and you've got one happy girl!

5. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time? Hmm.. I really have two but they go hand in hand. Taking pictures and spending time with family! Paul and I both have large families and my favorite kind of day is one spent in the chaos of 30 people talking over each other and a whole bunch of young'ns running around! And I love to capture those moments with a picture!

6. Do you have any pets? I have one pet, my sweet little Hank! Hank is a one year old Chi-weenie  with more personality than most humans I know. I seriously love him like he is my child!

7. Can you tell us about one of your favorite childhood memories? My favorite memory isn't really one specific event, vacation or anything like that. It is just Saturdays. When I was about 15 my stepdad was deployed overseas so it was just my Mom, my sister and me. We always spent our Saturdays together shopping, visiting or just laying around the house laughing together! Those days are by far some of my favorite memories.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years I hope to be a mother, homeowner and having my own established photography business!

9. What is your favorite holiday and why? My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving! It has the "3 F's" family, football and food! Fall is my favorite season with the perfect weather, changing leaves and fun festivals. So Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday in my eyes, plus you don't go broke buying a million presents so that is a definite plus!

10. What kind of music do you listen to and who is your favorite artist? I literally listen to all kinds of music, I am such a junkie! I love everything from Michael Jackson to Loretta Lynn and everything in between. But I guess you could say my favorite is Miranda Lambert. I have always been a die hard fan of hers, I think I have seen her 6 times in concert and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! Not only is her music relatable but so is she, she is just so real. What I would give just to her friend for a day lol!

11. If you could pick one place to live for the rest of your life, where would you pick? This is lame, super lame but honestly I would choose to be nestled in the mountains of my hometown, Clayton, GA. I know you are supposed to say New York or Greece, somewhere interesting but I stand by my choice! It is my dream to move all of my favorite people to my favorite place and live it up, straight commune style! I am sure it would get really old really quick but in my dreams it is amazing!

 

11 Random Facts About Me

 

1. I love reality TV. Especially singing shows, The Voice is my favorite of them all! Can I please be on Team Blake?! No shame in my game.

 

2. I am seriously obsessed with music. I think there is a song that can fit every feeling, every situation in your life! I also have different go-to songs and playlists for whatever mood I am in!

this is a new phone which is why I only have 3 right now

 

4. I have a serious love for carnivals, fairs and festivals! Endless deep fried food, creaky roller coasters and people missing half their teeth; that's what I call a good time!

I saw this sketchy little set-up in Gainesville today and it got me all kinds of excited!

 

4. I love dirt bike racing. My cousins raced growing up and a few years back I went to my first SORCS race with them and fell in love with the sport. I lived with my cousin at the time and our weekdays were spent working on the "dirt scooters" and the weekends were spent at the races! This year for the first time in 5 years  I missed Supercross and it is still bugging me! The braaaap of a 250 and the smell of racing gas are two of my favorite thing, yeah it's weird I know.

 

funny story: I actually got offered a job on a pro crew based out of New Zealand when I went to a GNCC race a few years ago. Cool as it was, I am pretty sure that was just the crew chief trying to hit on me haha.

 

 5. I hate wet jeans! Therefore when it rains, no matter how ridiculous it may look, I wear my bright red rain boots!

 

6. I have always wanted to be a blonde! But I have accepted that I just cannot pull that off. I got close once and it just didn't fit..

 

7. I am addicted to Chick Fil A chocolate chip cookies. They are seriously cookie crack!

& I love these little messages on the wrappers!

 

8. I love classic cars! Growing up I was always my Papa's car show buddy and to this day I love the days spent riding around with him in his '72 Nova! I was the first grandkid he ever let drive it, it is kind of his baby so I am very proud of that!

this guy!

 

9. I played soccer most of my life! I was extremely aggressive and went full force no matter how big the other person was ( I think I had little man syndrome lol) so I got hurt quite a bit and hurt quite a few people (sorry) which I am paying for now!

 

10. I call two people every single day, sometimes twice a day! My Nanny and my sister, I am not the least bit ashamed either.

 

 

11. I love kids movies! The highlight of my week last night was our date night when we went and saw Despicable Me 2, can I please have a minion!!!

 

My Questions For The Nominees

1. What is your biggest, wildest dream?

2. If you could be one person for a day, who would it be and why?

3. What is your most embarrassing moment?

4. If you could only shop at one store for the rest of your life, where would it be?

5.  What is your biggest guilty pleasure? (movie, tv show, music, that kind of thing)

6.What is your favorite part about blogging?

7. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

8. Were you named after anyone?

9. What was the worst job you ever had?

10. Do you have a secret/cool talent?

11. What was your first car?

 

Gosh y'all I am sorry this is so long and I am sorry about technical issues earlier but I can't wait to see what you ladies come up with! Thanks again to Lauren @ Peach State Of Mind for nominating me. Y'all have to go check out my real life/blogging world bestie, her blog is so much fun!

 

L-O-V-E

I know all of my posts this week have been link-ups but I can't help it, I love them! They are perfect opportunities for new bloggers like me to meet new people. So today I am doing the Spill About Your L-O-V-E link up with Liz at A. Liz Adventures, I just love her blog! She has provided 6 questions that I will answer about my relationship. This makes two posts in a row gushing about my hubby, good gracious!

 

 

{1} Describe your dating life prior to finding your husband.

Ugh.. My dating life before Paul was definitely nothing to brag about. I was with a guy for 3 years in high school who treated me horribly. After we broke up I had another {semi} serious relationship the end of my senior year that kind of dragged on longer than it should have. Then there were a couple more duds that like the rest of my relationships failed because the guys could not respect my values. Then came my knight in shining muddy armor!

 

 

 

{2} Describe your husband in one word. How would he describe you in one word?

Hmm.. my husband in one word. I would say Caring. A lot of people think Paul is rude because he is quiet when you first meet him but he is truly one of the most caring people I have ever met. He loves me more than life itself and he shows it. He has respected me unconditionally from day one like no one ever has and I know he would walk through fire for me.

And I texted him to ask him one word he would use to describe me and he said perfect. Geezeeee. I think if he was really honest he would say odd. Because I am, he is always telling me "you ain't right". I make weird noises, dance while I brush my teeth and laugh like a minion off of Despicable Me. So yeah, I think he really means odd.

 

 

 

 

{3} You had a really silly fight. Embarrassing silly. What was it about?

This describes most of our fights really. We have probably only had about 3 knock-down drag outs in the four years of our relationship the rest have been silly. Let me see a recent one was a couple weeks ago when I was getting ready for church he wouldn't get out of bed and I got mad because he wasn't ready in time for us to stop by Dunkin Donuts. So dumb.

 

4} In three sentences (and only three!), describe where you both hope to be in 5 years

First and foremost we hope to be parents!

Second, we want to be homeowners!

And the last one is more focused on me but it is a dream that Paul fully supports me in, I hope to have an established photography business.
 

 

{5} Tell us something about your husband we wouldn't know from reading your blog.

He would literally kill me for telling this. But one time he let me put full eye makeup on him. Anyone that knows Paul knows that he is ALL man he usually will not do anything remotely fluffy. (these pictures really misrepresent him too this was a themed photo shoot we did for a photographer friend and he had to wear that) Anyway he has gorgeous eyes with pretty, long eyelashes so after relentless begging he finally let me do it just to shut me up. But I only had 5 minutes to do it and take it all off and I had to promise I would not take any pictures or tell anyone. Oops. It was hilarious.

 

{6} What's one thing you never thought you'd do in front of your husband, but you did?

 

This is hard because I am not easily embarrassed at all. I know this is disgusting but I guess the one thing would be passing gas & owning it. Sorry I know that is sick.

 

Well that is it for today! Go link-up to spill about you L-O-V-E!!

http://alizadventures.blogspot.com/

The First Year {From One Year To Beyond Link Up}

Ok, so I know the "first anniversary" post is supposed to be on/around your anniversary but I wasn't blogging on my one year anniversary and I found an awesome link-up from Emily at Newlywed Moments all about the first year of marriage! So this post is coming to you one year, one month and 6 days after our big day.

 

So I thought I would talk about 5 things I have learned in my first year of marriage!

 

1. It is not near as hard as everyone makes it out to be. Granted, I have only been doing this a year but they say that the first year is the hardest and I completely disagree. Paul & I have always had great communication, trust and understanding; without those three qualities I don't think our first year would have been quite so easy! We also strive to keep Christ at the center of our marriage, without our faith and prayer there is no way we would be looking back at this first year with the same opinion.

 

2.Holidays are horrible stressful! I come from a huge family that is broken up by divorces so I was used to being pulled several different ways on holidays but add in Paul's family who is also split up seven ways to Sunday and it is just pure chaos!!!!  It is nearly impossible to get a schedule sorted out to see everyone but we are very blessed to have such big families to spend our holidays with. It has been nearly impossible for me to accept that I cannot be everywhere or please everyone.

 

3.It is fun! I saw something on Pinterest that said "Marriage is getting to have a sleepover with your best friend every night of the week." And that is so true! Paul & I are so weird together, we definitely have our fair share of disagreements but we spend most of our time laughing til we cry!

 

4.Alone time is a must. Just because you are married doesn't mean you have to drop everyone in your life other than your husband. Each of you have to have things that you do for you. Have girls nights, play golf with the guys, go away with your siblings for a weekend. If you don't do things for yourself you will end up losing sight of who you are and resenting the other person. Paul & I try our best to fully support and respect each other in every aspect of our lives and I am so thankful neither one of us is a psycho control freak that would be exhausting!

 

5. Your marriage will not be like the Cleavers! I had some ridiculous idea that when we got married I would magically be able to cook a 5 course meal in high heels, perfect hair and no mess in the kitchen. That my husband would clean up his facial hair off the sink after shaving and take out the trash without being asked and that we would come home from our honeymoon to our dream house. Not too much to ask right? Yeah that does not happen, you have to go with the flow!

 

There have been laughs, tears, good times and bad but this has by far been the best year of my life and I cannot wait to spend 100 more anniversaries with my sweet husband!

http://www.newlywedmoments.com/

Weekend Shenanigans

Happy Monday y'all! I know, I know what is happy about a Monday?! But hey, I am just trying to make the best of it! On this wonderful Monday morning I am linking up with Sami's Shenanigans for Weekend Shenanigans. I am having trouble figuring out how to attach the button with the link so if anyone has any tips please let me know!

 

My weekend was actually pretty amazing, so here we go!

 

 

Friday night we went to Cheddars with our favorites! Anytime we get together with Cody & Lauren we have a blast and it is always a plus when there is good food involved. But I had to get home and get in the bed because the next day I had a wedding to shoot and that means a very long day!

I love this picture Lauren snapped of me working, me & Lauren exhausted & headed home, the beautiful wedding location 

By some miracle I convinced Lauren to go with me Saturday to be my second shooter  lifesaver,

I seriously have no idea what I would have done without her!! You should check out her blog at Peach State Of Mind .We got to Clayton around 10:30 a.m. to start shooting at the hair salon and except for a few breaks here and there we pretty much didn't stop until we left the reception at 11:30 p.m.. Needless to say we were exhausted! We literally felt like our legs were going to fall off, we sounded like two whiny babies but we had a right! When I walked into my house at almost midnight I could not get into my bed fast enough. What matters is, the wedding was beautiful, the bride was sweet as pie and the weather was perfect. I can not wait to see how all the pictures turn out. I have a little sample for you though!

 

Sunday was of course Fathers Day so Paul & I headed back to Clayton for church & to see my Dad(s). I am lucky enough to have several father figures in my life and I got to see all of them Sunday. My stepdad came to church with us but I didn't get to take a picture with him. After church we went on a picnic at Terrora Park with my Dad, Step Mom, Granny & sister. It is such a beautiful park and reminds me exactly why I love where I am from. My Dad & I have had a rough relationship but we are working on it and I will always love him no matter what!

 

our picnic spot

yes I wore the same outfit after church as I did Friday night, don't judge

 

After that we went to my Mamaw's house to visit with one of my absolute favorite people and the most influential man in my life, my Papa. I cannot put into words how much that man means to me

I wouldn't be who I was today without him! He is the man I look up to, the one who walked me down the aisle and my hero! I love him so!  

don't let the lack of smile fool you he was crying {this was right before we walked in}

 

Sunday afternoon/night we headed back to Flowery Branch to spend some time with Paul's Dad! We took him out to eat at Crossroads Grill and had the most delicious steak I have ever tasted. Mark is another one of the amazing father figures in my life. He may not be my own but I love him like he is, I am so lucky to have him as my father-in-law! We didn't get any pictures with him either unfortunately.

 

here's a picture of me & my baby Hank just b/c he is adorable

 

Well that is it for my weekend shenanigans!

What did y'all do this weekend?

 

 

Sami's Shenanigans

 

 

Big Things!!

Big things are happening right now!! As I said before being a photographer is my dream. I always knew I loved taking pictures. I love capturing a moment, a memory that

can be looked back on for the rest of your life. It really became my passion when I lost my Mom. She didn't really take many pictures and she would try to dodge the camera if it was pointed at her. Therefore I only have a handful of pictures of her and I hate that! I think that is a huge reason that I feel the need to document every moment I can. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that shutter click when the toddler stuffs a handful or dirt in his mouth or when a groom is staring dreamily at his bride. Freezing those moments in time for people is my happiness. I know as long as that picture is there that moment will never be forgotten.

 

I unfortunately don't have any professional training or schooling so my confidence is still a little shaky. I have done a few different sessions; maternity, family and a couple weddings. But this past weekend was BIG! I had the opportunity to be the second shooter for a wedding with Valerie Shelton Photography! Valerie is incredibly talented. She was the second photographer for my wedding, she has done several shoots of me and Paul and we grew up together! So I was honored when she asked me to come along. It was hard, hard work; thirteen straight hours at two different locations shooting nonstop. But the couple and the experience was amazing and it reaffirmed that this was for sure what I want to do.

 

Then I got a call last night from someone asking me to be the primary photographer for a wedding in a couple weeks! HUGE HUGE HUGE I have done a wedding before but it was a small ceremony for a family friend so I knew she would be easy to work with and wouldn't tar & feather me if her pictures weren't perfect! But this is completely different and nerve-wracking, having a whole wedding for someone I don't know resting solely on MY shoulders. As if that wasn't enough if this wedding goes well it can lead to an every weekend gig at a business in my hometown (no pressure)! It is more of a touristy job but I need all the experience I can get!

 

I know I will be a nervous wreck but everyone starts somewhere! 

Mom

I figured since my Mom will be mentioned very often in this blog and unfortunately in the past tense, that I should go ahead and tell her story!

 

Now I know all girls think that their Mom is perfect but mine really was as close to perfect as one can be. She was the most selfless, caring, strong, independent person I have ever known. My sister & I were her world and she was ours. After having my sister she became really sick. She was then diagnosed with postpartum cardiomyopathy . After that she was placed on the heart transplant list and then it was just a waiting game. She got sicker and sicker but she finally got the call that a heart was available. On November 3,1996, three days before her 26th birthdayMom received her new heart!

 

{they spelled her name wrong, Jerri}

After the surgery Mom bounced back faster & stronger than most transplant patients ever do. She returned to work full time and took care of two kids, practically alone. And she did it like a rock star! She was incredible, never felt sorry for herself and although she was struggling on the inside she never let us think that she was anything less than Superwoman!

 

 

 One day my junior year of high school I was sitting in my kitchen with two friends who had stopped by before their softball game. Mom walked in from work and I could immediately tell something was wrong. My friends left and I turned to my Mom who was propped up against the stove and all she said was "I need a hug". This was very unusual for her because she was not a very affectionate person. Don't get me wrong she wasn't cold or anything she just wasn't very emotional, which I now think was intentional; so that we would be strong and independent like her. Of course I rushed to her, put my arms around her and held her tight. It was then that she told me she was in rejection. Pretty much that means her body was rejecting her new heart. When you have any kind of transplant you take medicine to suppress your immune system but sometimes your body will still identify the organ

as foreign and it attacks it. She had been in rejection before but somehow I knew this time was different. She was put in the hospital and everything got under control but after that her health just went downhill.

 

 

 

On June 27,2008 at 2 a.m, while on vacation with my Dad & his family, I got the call that changed my life. Before we left for Florida my Mom wasn't feeling well and I begged her to let me stay home with her. But she constantly refused telling me she would see me when I got back. The day after we left when I called her I found out she had been admitted to the hospital and once again I begged her to let me come home but she still told me she would be fine. I talked to her again before I went to bed and she sounded fine, said she was feeling better and that she was ready to go home. But then my phone rang and it was my stepdad saying he needed to talk to my Dad. It was then that I knew. After that I blacked out, my life as I knew it was over. Ever since that night and that phone call there has been a huge void in my life, a missing piece of my heart that will forever be gone. Though it has been the worst pain I have ever felt it also made me who I am. And I know that I was blessed to have her as long as I did, most transplant patients live 7-8 years after their surgery and she lived 11 (almost 12). But that was par for the course with her, she was a fighter and she always said all she wanted was to see her girls grow up and for the most part that's what she did and I thank God every single day for that.

 

 

 

 Organ donation saved my Mom's life and when she passed she donated her eyes. I love knowing that someone out there is seeing the world thanks to her! For more information about organ donation

go here

 

"Don't take your organs to Heaven.. Heaven knows we need them here"

 



Hi There!

Well I am not sure who/if anyone will read this little blog. I am

not even sure what I am going to write about but it is something that

I have wanted to do for a while. At first I wanted to blog about my wedding

but now, a year later, I guess I will find something else to talk about!

So here we go!

 

I am Ashley..

 

This is my family. My amazing husband Paul &

our baby Hank. He is a "chiweenie" with a

HUGE personality.

 

 

 

I have a great job at a family business but my

real dream is to be a photographer. And I

am working on it!

 

I lost my Mom when I was 17. Although it completely

broke me it made me who I am today. But I miss

her every second of every single day.

 

 

I love throwing parties, soccer, UGA football, being outdoors

and of course my friends & family! That pretty much

covers the basics of my life you will learn the

rest along the way. In the meantime join me on my blogging

adventure and I will try to keep it interesting!

 

 

~A~