Ashley's Avenue: July 2011

7.31.2011

Busy Summer Weekend

Friday night Chad arranged for Avery to stay with his parents so we could catch dinner & a movie!

I love getting dolled up to go out, I am normally in my gym clothes not feeling very cute!

We ended up seeing Captain America. His choice. At first I wasn't excited but then after the movie I would have to rate it as a new favorite. I do love action so it clearly didn't disappoint. Go check it out!

We have been talking lately about taking Avery to see a movie. She is at the age where she sits through cartoons so we thought we would try an hour movie, "Winnie the Poo"! She was so excited & kept saying, "Poo"!

And she sat through the entire movie!

She couldn't get enough of M & M's! Obviously...

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, actually- I went grocery shopping. {Note to self, do not enter Wal-mart on Saturday afternoons)...

We geared up for a big BBQ with our neighbors Saturday evening. Avery loves to be with me in the Kitchen with her apron too!

She loves playing outside with her chalk so before the dinner we enjoyed being on the porch!

{Love my front door painting, it screams SUMMER at our house!}

Avery spends a lot of time out here playing with her chalk.

At 6:30 we headed to my new neighbor Ira's house for the get together. We love Ira, he is such a great neighbor!

Our other neighbor Chad grilled the burgers & we all enjoyed spending time together.

The kids played their little hearts out!

Dinner was AMAZING!

Ira is from New Orleans so he knows how to make some amazing cajun food!

And some sweet treats!

It was for sure an amazing night in the yard with great friends!

Sunday brought my friend Keely's baby shower! This is her 2nd child, but first boy. She had an adorable drop in shower. Baby Braxton is due in September!

I loved this cute little detail with his name all over the tissue paper ball!

And lovely giveaway gifts of bath salt- divine!

A wonderful weekend....!!!

Thank you for all your great comments & e-mails on my body changes! It's so much fun being able to help others, & I can't wait to help you & share some good advice. I will be posting once a week some great eating tips along with some great workout options that keep your heart rate going!

7.28.2011

Wine Tasting & some change!

It's been a great week! I enjoyed going to a wine tasting with some girls on Wednesday night. It was great & their was some delicious food as well!

(Get ready for a story)... =)

A few weeks ago, {4 to be exact}, I decided it was time to make some changes. As most of my readers know last year I got certified to teach classes at our gym. I eventually stopped teaching due to the difficulty in schedules at the gym & finding time to get Avery in the daycare etc.. so I just stopped. It was becoming more trouble than I wanted & I wasn't sure the money was paying off the stress of finding someone to watch Avery etc... but it was still fun while it lasted!

I kind of fell off the bandwagon a bit during the Holiday months & slacked, a ton! Who doesn't like baking & eating all of those Holiday goodies. Plus when it's cold, I lose all ability to want to get up & do anything.

Well not anymore. I decided that I wanted to get healthy. When I mean healthy I don't mean go on a diet, starve my body, or even keep myself from some yummy Birthday cake on occasion. But I mean HEALTHY. I hired a nutritionist who in the past 4 weeks has changed my life forever. I have learned so much about life, eating right, eating enough, & keeping my metabolism up. I realized through meeting with him that I had no metabolism which was storing fat, that bad kind. Basically because I wasn't eating enough, or I was eating the wrong kind of "so called diet foods". Nothing was working & I was over it.

I wanted to start sharing my journey because after 4 weeks I have lost around 8 lbs, lost some major FAT, and 3% of my body fat. I was in shock when I visited him today to find that I am actually melting bad fat & I have been eating 300 calories EVERY 3 hours! Sounds like a ton, but it's the right food that burns the right fat! He has been teaching me that it's not about the number on the scale; in fact I don't weight at all until he weights me once a month. Because I'm melting stored fat which will in turn make me "look" different, but may not necessarily change the number on the scale as quickly as most woman would wish. I have had to learn to re-work my mind & not even look at a scale! It's been hard, but I get it! FINALLY!

Anyway, I'm super excited. I feel less sluggish, happier, I have more energy, I love my routine, & to be honest- I'm working my booty off at the gym. It feels great because I know I am being healthy but not doing it short term as I always have. This is for life! So I hope you will continue to follow my journey of staying healthy. I'm learning that "healthy doesn't mean perfect".. it means making it your lifestyle by still enjoying life!

Here are some 4 week pictures to the date. My nutritionist said I would lose in my face first, which is where I really see it the most. It isn't all bad that my clothes are fitting way better, I won't lie! =)

Top picture is before, bottom after 4 weeks:

I still have a long way to go but I thought I would share a little of my journey for some healthy inspiration! =)

Happy Weekend!

7.26.2011

Pinterest!!!!

Okay, I kind of sort of have a secret little obsession that is absolutely stopping me from getting stuff down around the house during the day. It's called, "Pinterest.com". I am sure by now the entire world has heard about this website, but I can't stay away from it. I dream of new projects, fashion, parties, trends all day long! Check it out HERE! Are you pinning, would love to hear from you & follow!

I thought I would share a few of my recent favorite "pins"...

Razorback season is just around the corner, and we can't have us girls in Hog Country not styling at these games... so I found some must haves, & even something fun for Ave on game days!