Showing posts with label relaxing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relaxing. Show all posts

An at home Spring break
Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I know, I'm a little late on writing this, but hey, better late than never, right?  :-]  I shared with you that Josh I were going to spend some of the weekend in Chicago for my birthday and an "at home Spring break."  These are some of the views from our 17th floor room.  It was so beautiful!  We had a corner room, so 2 of our walls were basically made up of windows.  Big windows.  While we were looking out of the windows, we were spying on people in other buildings.  We found a girl that we named Tracy.  She should feel special because we dedicated about 30 minutes to watching her.  Creepy?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  BUT, she had curtains and was walking around in her underwear, bra, and at one point, her towel and she never pulled the curtains . . .so.  haha!  It was fun.   


The following morning, we opened the curtains and were slapped in the face with a mini snow storm!  Kinda sucked!  But, we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day.  We walked to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and then caught a cab to the Shedd Aquarium.  When we got there, there was a looong line.  This can't be the line to get in.  It's too cold.  Sure enough, it was the line to get in.  Right on the lake, bad winds, snow storm and all.  We waited in that weather for an hour and a half to get inside.  We both admitted that if we knew it would have been that long of a line, we would have just gone elsewhere.  But, we enjoyed ourselves even though it seemed like every single elementary and junior high school in Chicago was there, too.  After we were done there (about 6 p.m.), we caught a cab back to our car and headed home to have dinner with my family at Lonestar.  The whole weekend was very enjoyable and relaxing.  :-]  It's funny to think that last Spring break, we were in 90 degree weather, sitting in the sand in Southwest Florida, getting our tan on . . . 10 days straight.  Not to sound cheesy, but any Spring break is a great Spring break, no matter where I am, as long as I'm with my Lover.  I told Josh You know, these past two birthdays of mine have been the best two birthdays and he made a point, "That's because these are the only two birthdays we've been able to celebrate together." 

Posted byAshley C. at 10:19 AM Post a comment (1) Love Notes  

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Party of one
Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Here I sit with a bowl of popcorn, a 7-up, and a couple cookies.  By myself.  And I must admit it is very refreshing and relaxing.  I am just excited about being able to stay up late tonight (by myself) and catch up on all of my Internet "stuff."  Feels good. 
Can you all believe it is almost 2010?!  It really feels as though 2009 just began.  I remember when the New Year first began and I was looking forward to all that I thought was going to happen.  The only thing that happened that I was looking forward to was an early graduation.  No engagement, no new car, no new body, no finished scrapbooks.  It's can seem a bit depressing to look back and see everything that did not happen.  But come to think of it, there are plenty of things that happened that I did not intend on happening.  For example, I have made a couple close girlfriends this semester at school, I have learned what it means to begin loving my body for what it is, I have been introduced to the blogging world.  I am more grateful for those things that did happen than I am upset about the things that didn't happen.  I think this whole year has been about learning about me.  It has been a very exciting year and I do not think I would change anything about it.
What are my New Year's resolutions, goals, etc.?  Well, I'm not quite sure because last year I made all of these resolutions and did not meet any of them.  I kind of think that setting a "goal" for the heck of it (or because everyone else is doing the same thing) makes it that much easier to abandon.  But, I must admit, there is something about a whole new calendar year that makes you feel that you can conquer the world and achieve any goal you set before yourself.  If you think about it though, God gave us night and day and the chance for a renewal each day.  If you look at it that way, you have 365 chances of starting over.  If you look at each week as a chance to start over, well you have 52 chances.  If you look at months, you have 12 chances.  But, if you look at years, you only have one chance; I think that's one of the main reasons people fail at their resolutions so easily.  Once they slip-up, they (we) think "Too bad, now I have to start over next year."  And if you slipped up January 1st . . . that's not good!  One thing that I have to learn to remember is that God is there every day, every minute, every hour; He is there, waiting to forgive you and encourage you to move forward.  If you ask God to give you the energy and focus, you can do all things!  But, if you go on and try to achieve your goals without consulting Him or asking His Spirit to strengthen you, odds are you're going to fail.  The Spirit is our strength . . . and that's not just for no reason.  God knows we are vulnerable and easy to manipulate so that's why there is a Trinity and not only God and Jesus.  Ask Him!

So . . . if you all didn't notice, this is my 100th post!  That's really exciting!  I have not written as much as I'd wish I did, but hey, it's a start!  I came across a website that allows you to turn your blog into a book . . . as I was telling another person, I think it would be cool to print my blogs at the end of every year in order to preserve them and use them as a portal for my children to get to know me in ways they weren't able to after I'm old and gone.  :-]  So, that's just what I'm going to do.  I think it will even be fun for me to look back at my daily adventures, thoughts, and struggles. 
Well, off I go to finish my popcorn and cookies.  So, to close up, I'm wondering . . . What are your New Year's resolutions and what gives you strength in your attempts?

Posted byAshley C. at 10:13 PM 0 Love Notes  

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It's over already?
Sunday, November 29, 2009

Really?  My 5 day weekend is over?  It did not even feel like 5 days.  Now, it's time for me to play catch-up on all of my homework, go to school for 5 days straight (because I promised myself that I would not skip any more this semester), and face reality.  But, there is one good thing: only 2 more weeks of school . . . then graduation!!!  You all really do not understand how excited I am.  You know how you get so excited to do something that you jam pack your schedule so that you stay occupied?  That's where I'm at now.

 . . . but, I cannot complain because my break was so enjoyable and relaxing.  I am sooo looking forward to a three-week break coming up!  :-]

Posted byAshley C. at 5:54 PM 0 Love Notes  

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simplistic entertainment
Saturday, September 5, 2009

Half a week of school can be exhausting! This is my seventh semester of college and I have never had to go every single day . . . until now. It really stinks. I have always had the convenience of going to class every other day. Because I am packing my schedule full, I will never have to drive to Parkside again after December. Woo Hoo!!

Because it has been such a hectic, stressful week, I think I just want to relax today. Unfortunately I had to work this morning, but when I get home, I am going to go rent some movies, clean, work out, shower, cook dinner, and just relax . . . all day. I feel like busy-ness was my life story all summer, but when you can't slow down and relax whenever you want, you tend to appreciate it more when you finally get the chance.

. . . random . . . but as I'm writing this, I watched a kid across the street run his car into his fence, crack his side-view mirror, pull forward, reverse, and then take the whole thing off; maybe he should be relearning some basic driving concepts. He doesn't think anyone saw him, but I did . . .

Anyway, me and my lover haven't gotten a chance to simply hang out. During the summer, we are always going here, stopping there, walking to this place, rollerblading to that place; we never just sit around and be bored anymore. I think that renting movies, eating a home-cooked meal, and baking cupcakes together would be fun and relaxing for us both. I miss him. I mean, we are always together but not always together if you know what I mean. People can be in each other's presence, but not enjoying each other's presence for the simplicity that it holds. I want to be able to do that more often . . . just enjoy simple company and not have to be doing entertaining things all the time.

Enjoy your Saturday whether action-packed or slow!

Posted byAshley C. at 10:14 AM 0 Love Notes  

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More Than Perfect Sunday
Monday, July 27, 2009

Church . . . nap . . . roller blading . . . relaxing on our new picnic blanket . . . ice cream . . . grocery shopping . . . competitive wii playing . . . slow dancing.

I don't think I have had such a perfect day in a long time. I love my boo so much and look forward to the days when we have the whole day to ourselves.


Posted byAshley C. at 12:45 PM Post a comment (1) Love Notes  

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My Very First Time . . .
Sunday, May 17, 2009

So, I have finally decided to try out this blog thing. Don't know why. I guess it's just another constructive hobby to add; and I guess a way for me to organize my thoughts. Since my mind travels a million miles an hour, this will be a fun way for me to actually sit and think about them! I guess another reason for me to start this whole blogging thing is because I am pretty much convinced my life is boring. This will help me look back and see what I have done, said, thought, and felt . . . make myself feel a little better, I suppose.

My goal is to blog every day . . . that's until summer has ended and classes begin. But until then, you will be reading a lot about me. The tricky part of this is finding something to write about.

Today is Sunday, so of course I went to church. I don't know . . . lately I have really felt so distant from God and haven't seen an inch of progress in my relationship with Him. I constantly tell myself, "I'm going to read more, listen to more Christian music, think more positively about the negative, blah blah blah." But, today something hit me. I have been trying all of this on my own. I have not brought my concern to the feet of God. I have not been praying. Come on, Ashley. How could I have thought that reading my Bible more and listening to more Christian music would help me grow as a believer? I was leaving the most important thing out. Prayer. I was putting this into a different perspective for myself. It's like trying to be somebody else when only watching them from a distance. You don't talk to them, so you don't even know them on a personal level. It's the same thing. I have been wanting to be like Christ, but haven't stepped in and tried to get to know Him more . . . only watching from a distance. So naive. So, I think I have gotten my mind around this. Well, for now at least.

After church, me and Josh grabbed McDonalds went to the pier and did a small devotional there. We read about praying for and seeking God's will. This was pretty cool because it played into what I have been struggling with lately. It was pretty fun, besides the fact that it was pretty cold and windy. Maybe this could be our new Sunday tradition. I love traditions. They are just something to look forward to, remember, and share with your kids. There's something warm about having certain traditions. Nothing beats Sunday afternoons, relaxing with your other half, and spending time in His Word together.

We decided to go see the movie Fighting today. That was such a fun movie! Maybe I should start getting into that. Yeah, right. I really don't know how people can do that. It's really scary and I couldn't imagine physically hurting someone else because of this fake built up hatred. Scary thought. It seems a little animalistic haha!

Each day is promised to be new. Maybe tomorrow will help me to renew my ways of thinking.





Posted byAshley C. at 4:56 PM Post a comment (1) Love Notes  

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