Today, I’m so excited to be participating in Jennifer from Oh So Very Me’s Blog Hop on Happiness. Yesterday’s post came from Paris at Bless My Nest. Be sure to check out her happiness post!

What exactly is happiness? Happiness is a hard thing to describe. Happiness is not about fame or money or having the “perfect” life. To me, it’s the little things in life that truly make a person happy.

Those of y’all that know me know that I love music. It is definitely one of the things that makes me happy! I’ve chosen a song that I believe describes happiness perfectly! I’m adding in some pictures of things in my life that make me happy. Enjoy!

Outside My Window
by Sarah Buxton

 “Still need stars when you’re wishing at night”

“A best friend to set you right”

“A good laugh, a warm bath”

 “And a beautiful song
you can sing along to”

 “Good news that’ll make you cry”

 “All the little things that
money can’t buy
No wars, no more”

“Just a big rainbow
outside my window”

Here is just a little piece of what happiness is to me. Be sure to check out tomorrow’s post by Melanie at Yellow Rose Gifts!

Also, have you entered my giveaway yet? Time is running out! It ends tomorrow night at midnight. Get entered here!

*A super super big thank you to Jeri for letting me borrow her awesome rainbow picture! It was taken during the September 2, 2010 storm in OKC. Love this picture!!*

Hey y’all! It’s Thursday! I don’t really have a lot to say today, so I’m just gonna post a few random pictures that I have on my phone that I’ve wanted to share, but haven’t really had a post for them. Here ya go!

90210 socks? Seriously?

Pumpkins I painted last year with kids I was babysitting. I’m doing it again tomorrow night with two more kiddos. So much fun!

From my adoptive family’s house. Can you find the thing that doesn’t belong in the kitchen cabinet?

Joyce’s sweet kitties! I just love them!

One of them spotted the bird!

Had to post one of Jack so he won’t get jealous! :)

Hope you’re all having a great Thursday! Link up with Katie to share your Thoughtless Thursday thoughts.

Also, have you entered my giveaway yet? It ends Saturday night! Go here to get entered!

I’m linking up today with What I’m Loving Wednesday! So far, it’s been a pretty good week. Now, I’m hoping it doesn’t go downhill from here! :)

I’m loving the taco soup I made this week!

This picture looks nothing like my soup, but I needed a picture! When I did a Google search for taco soup, a picture of the Duggars came up. NO IDEA why!

I’m loving this necklace that I won in a giveaway from Ana at Get Craftin!

It was made by Lisa Leonard Designs, and it is so cute!

Speaking of giveaways, I’m loving that my blog hit 100 followers this week!

I’m having a giveaway to say thanks for following! Have you entered yet? If not, go here and get entered! The giveaway closes Saturday night at midnight!

What are you loving this week? Link up with Jamie!

Seriously, y’all. Cannot believe that my blog has reached 100 followers! To say thanks for following, I’m doing a giveaway! Watch my video for giveaway details, and be sure to watch for a “special guest”.

Just in case you missed the details, to enter you must be a follower and comment here telling me three things that are always in your purse.

*Extra entries*

Follow me on Twitter 
(1 entry)
’Like’ Ashley’s Carnival Ride on Facebook
(1 entry)
Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about the giveaway
(3 entries)

I’ll try to take pictures of the giveaway items and post them sometime tomorrow. The giveaway ends Saturday night at midnight, and the winner will be announced on Monday, October 25! Good luck!

Posting a little bit early! Today’s Top 2 Tuesday is favorite old pictures. Most of my old pictures aren’t digital, so the oldest pictures I have are from senior prom. I’ll start there. Sorry, but can’t pick just two!

Jessica and me
After senior prom 2004

Jessica and me
Graduation 2004

Jessica and me
Kenny Chesney concert 2005

Sweet little K!
My favorite picture of him!
Cannot believe he’s 6 now!

Jessica’s wedding!

What are some of your favorite old pictures? Share them with us by linking up with Taylor! Also, check back here on Tuesday morning for giveaway news!

No wonder I gain weight every time I go home! :)

After dinner, we met Jessica and the boys at the game

All of the Homecoming stuff happened before the game.

Neither of my girls won, but it was still a good time!

Kelsey and me

Jacey and me

Love these girls!

We ended up leaving during the 3rd quarter of the game. It was not going well. We were playing a super small town and were getting STOMPED! When I was in high school, we played this team the first game of every season because we were guaranteed to start the season off with a win. When we left the game, we were losing 40-0!!

Saturday, Momma and I went out looking for Halloween costume ideas. We went to Goodwill, and ended up finding some pretty interesting stuff.

Perfect Cher costume! Too bad Momma said no!

Beautiful?

I had a great time getting to spend most of the day with my Momma. We figured out Halloween costumes, and I’ll share those with you sometime soon.

Saturday night, I hung out with Jessica and our friend Kacey. Since my camera is dead, I didn’t get to take any pictures! I did steal this picture off Kacey’s facebook page. Took me a loooong time to find one that wasn’t goofy!

I just love her! We definitely hope to all get to hang out again very very soon!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Check back later tonight or tomorrow for giveaway info!

In the midst of our crazy week, our office did get to take a little break and go out to lunch for Tracy’s birthday. It was nice to be able to relax a little and celebrate. Oh, and have some really good Mexican food!

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Ok, now on to Fun Friday with Jen. I’m going home again this weekend for my town’s football Homecoming. I don’t think I’ve been to Homecoming since my sophomore year of high school, but this year two of my sweet girls from church are Homecoming queen candidates. I am SO excited for them! I’m taking a half day off of work today so that I can get there in time to see all of the Homecoming stuff. Also planning on hanging out with the family and Jessica. Gonna be a good weekend!

What was your favorite part of this week? What are you most excited about this weekend? Link up with Jen and share it with us! Hope you all have a great weekend!

All images from www.foxnews.com

I am SO behind in Blogger stuff, so I’ve got two Q&As and a blog award.

Jen tagged me in these questions.

1. Describe your IDEAL Saturday.

My ideal Saturday would be something lazy, sleeping in and movie night or shopping with my girls.

2. If you could live anywhere for one year, where would it be?

I would love to live in Nashville! One of my favorite places!

3. If money were no object, where would you vacation to for 2 weeks?

Europe! I’m DYING to travel around France, Italy, and England.

4. What is the first website you check when you get to your computer in the AM?

People.com.  I like my celeb gossip!

 
5. Who do you text message the most?

My Momma!

6. What was your favorite class in high school?

Tough choice. I had several that I really liked. Probably my freshman English class. I had an awesome teacher, and all of my friends were in it. We got to do some pretty awesome stuff too! We saw Romeo & Juliet at the Tulsa Ballet, and went to a book authors’ conference where we met Billie Letts (Where the Heart Is) and the grandmother from the Torkelsons. Got some great stories from that class and those trips. Scary hotels, prostitutes, good stuff! Maybe I’ll blog about them one day!

   
                                  Torkelsons
                             (can’t find a pic of the
                               grandmother)

7. Which on-line store do you spend the most time browsing on?

I’m not an online shopper. I’ll occasionally look at Gap or Old Navy, but not very often.

8. What is your favorite guilty pleasure snack? (and how often do you indulge?)

Um…dark chocolate M&Ms. I try not to eat them very much, but they are soooooo good!

Mrs. D tagged me in these questions.

1. What is your favorite comfort food?

Definitely mint chocolate chip ice cream…and Dr. Pepper!

2. What is your dream vacation? (money is not an object)

Europe!

3. What is your biggest regret? Your biggest success?

I think my biggest success is graduating from college in four years, even after changing my major.

I really can’t think of anything that I regret.

4. Name your top 5 favorite songs of all time!

Oh, so hard to choose!

“The Dance”-Garth Brooks
”Just Missed the Train”-Kelly Clarkson
”I Hope You Dance”-Lee Ann Womack
”So Small”-Carrie Underwood
”In Christ Alone”-Avalon

5. What is your favorite way to destress?

Praying, listening to music, or just taking time to be alone.

6. What are two things you wish to accomplish in 2011?

Um…definitely haven’t planned that far ahead!

7. What is your favorite adult Halloween costume? (Pictures?)

I’ve had a few that I liked!

Pebbles Flintstone

Paris Hilton (pictured with pre-rehab Britney Spears)

Ladybug

I’m probably going to reuse a costume this year from a Superhero themed birthday party. I’m going as…

Bubbles, the Powerpuff Girl

8. List 3 random facts about yourself.

I still write checks, and I enjoy picking out really cute ones!

I love playing chase with my kitty. Seriously.

I am trying super hard to get in touch with my crafty creative side. Its a slow process, but I’m getting there!

Brittan gave me the Versatile Blogger award.

Thanks, Brittan! If y’all haven’t checked out her blog yet, you should! I’m too tired to tag anyone tonight, so I’m giving this to all of you! Also, anyone who wants to do the Q&A, pick any of these questions. Let me know if you play!