Friday Fives-Random Questions

May 28, 2010 By ashleylately 4 Comments

Today’s Friday Five is random questions asked by Beth. Here’s my answers!

1. Are you a Mac or a PC? I am absolutely, totally a PC! I had to use a Mac in a class in school, and I’ve used friends’ Macs, and I just can’t handle it. I also don’t like change at all, so I’m sticking to a PC!

2. If you could go anywhere on vacation this summer where would you go? Right now, I’d be up for going pretty much anywhere! These last two weeks at work have been the most stressful of my life, and I’m ready to get away. Any suggestions about where would be a good place to go?

3. What is your most cherished childhood memory? I don’t know that I could pick just one. My childhood was great! I was on a nationally-ranked jump rope team in elementary school, and we won regional competition and competed at nationals at Disneyworld. It was pretty amazing! Also, just being a kid was fun! Hanging out with friends and themed birthday parties (50′s for me, Hawaii for Jessica) were great too!

4. What were you doing the last time you had a good laugh? Yesterday, while I was at work, my Momma was going through my dresser drawers in my bedroom at home. She was cleaning it out so they could bring it to me today. She found all kinds of random stuff, and texted me pictures of the stuff she found, and a few of her wearing stuff. Look for a post on that in the next few days!

5. What is your favorite book or magazine? Karen Kingsbury and Nicholas Sparks are my favorite authors, so any books by them are great! Favorite magazines are People and Glamour. Love ‘em!

Check out Beth’s blog for more!

Ten Glee Tracks I’m Loving Now

May 25, 2010 By ashleylately 7 Comments

I’ve been thinking about doing another of my ‘Ten Tracks I’m Loving Now’ posts, and since tonight is Glee’s big Lady Gaga episode, I decided to do a special Glee list! So, here’s my ten current Glee favorites in alphabetical order!

1. “Alone”
2. “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”

3. “Defying Gravity”

4. “Don’t Rain On My Parade”

5. “Don’t Stop Believing”

6. “Dream On”

7. “Hello”
8. “I Dreamed a Dream”

9. “Take a Bow”

10. “Taking Chances”

I’d love to hear from all the Gleeks out there which songs are your favorites! Can’t wait for tonight’s episode!

*Update-I need to add “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance” from tonight’s episode to this list!
A-mazing!

Maybe…

May 25, 2010 By ashleylately 7 Comments

Maybe letting the little bro move in wasn’t such a bad idea.
He cooked dinner for us, cleaned up the kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher, and organized my cabinets. I might like this!

Sunday Sweetness

May 24, 2010 By ashleylately 1 Comment

A sweet four-year-old boy picked this flower for me this evening! Just adorable! My camera was being uncooperative, so I didn’t get a good picture. It’s still cute though!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Friday Five Will Change Your Life

May 21, 2010 By ashleylately 6 Comments

Today’s Friday Five is things to change in your life to make it healthier. Is it bad that I knew what I would pick in about 2.5 seconds? Here’s what I really need to do!

1. Drink more water

I know without at doubt that I don’t drink enough water. I’m not crazy about water, so I choose other things like juice, milk, Dr. Pepper, or something else. The few times I have tried to drink more, I felt so much better, but I just can’t seem to make myself stick with it.

2. Eat more veggies

I am not crazy about veggies either. I like corn, broccoli, lettuce, green peas, and asparagus, but that’s about it. I loathe green beans, can’t stand carrots, and peppers are disgusting, along with quite a few others. I occasionally try to eat one of the nasty things, but just can’t make myself like them.

3. Drink less Dr. Pepper

I try and try and try, but I just can’t seem to let go of this stuff! I know it’s bad for me, but I can’t cut it out of my life!

4. Exercise more

I DEFINITELY need to get more exercise! I am not nearly as active as I should be. I used to walk in college with a roommate and another friend, and I felt really good! Then…I graduated, moved in with another friend, and the other friend got married. So…no more exercise.

For Christmas, I got Julianne Hough’s dance DVD. I did it for about two days. You can read my post about that disaster here.

4. Eat less Mexican food

Ok, I know it’s not healthy for me to eat it, but let’s be honest. I know I shouldn’t have it, but I’m gonna eat it anyway so…whatever.

What things would you like to change about your life? Check out Beth’s blog to link up!

Wishful Wednesday and a Little Dilemma

May 18, 2010 By ashleylately 11 Comments

Today on Kelsey’s Wishful Wednesday, the topic is..

‘I wish’…I could home to this
________ bedroom every night!
I am a huge fan of black and white, and I would looooove a stinkin’ cute black and white bedroom like some of these!

I have to have a little bit of color, and since pink is my favorite, I’d throw in a little like this one…

Ok, maybe not the pink walls, but pinkness in some places! I am slowly starting to work toward having this beautiful black and white room. My current bedding is this stuff.

I’ve also recently made a few things to hang on the walls. Hopefully someday I’ll manage to get this room, but fitting all of that cuteness into an apartment bedroom is a bit difficult!

Check out Kelsey’s blog to see other dream bedrooms and to play along!

Now, my little dilemma. My cell phone is due for an upgrade, and I am considering getting something new. The problem is, I can’t decide for sure between an iPhone or a Blackberry. I have played with both, and I definitely want one of the two, especially for job purposes, but I don’t know which would be the best.

The iPhones are sooo much fun. I love the apps, I love being able to access iTunes at any moment, and I love how easy it is to use. The only problems I have are the terrible picture quality, the texting difficulty, and the large size.

The Blackberry is cute and little and looks-wise is close to the phone I have. It would be like having my current phone plus internet and without the slider part. The problems are that it is has a pretty small screen and the menu is difficult to use (at least for me!).

Here is where you guys come in! I’d love to hear from people who have either of these or have played with either of these! Let me know what you like and what you don’t, and, if you’ve had both, which one you prefer. Thank ya much, girlies!

Top 2 Tuesday-Things To Do Before You Die

May 18, 2010 By ashleylately 5 Comments

Today’s Top 2 Tuesday is things to do before you die. This one was actually a little difficult after I crossed this awesome thing off my list a few months ago!

I have wanted to see this since I first heard it was being made, and my roommate and I saw it last year. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! Seriously, words cannot describe it. If you EVER get the chance to see it, you MUST!

Another thing I’ve always wanted to do is visit France.

I don’t really know what it is about this place, but I’ve always had a desire to go there.

I’d love to have the time to take things super slow and just enjoy the country, along with doing the fun, touristy things. I’ve always dreamed of sitting at a little cafe, just people-watching and experiencing the everyday things.

Link up with Taylor at The Undomestic Momma to play along!

Mother’s Day, Graduation, & Picture Fun!

May 17, 2010 By ashleylately 4 Comments

I’ve been falling behind on my blogging this last week, so I decided to post a few updates from the last week or so while watching the Miss USA pageant. As of right now, Miss Oklahoma is in the top five! Woo hoo!

Last weekend, my agency had our first annual Tot Trot! It was a 5K run and 1 mile walk fundraiser for our agency. It was a huge success, and I can’t wait until next year. I haven’t been able to get the office camera for the pictures, so I’ll try to post them later this week.

Saturday I went to H-town to spend Mother’s Day with my family. Saturday afternoon, I “helped” Jessica with a photo shoot (mainly just stood around and oohed and aahed) of a sweet little family with newborn twins! She’s an awesome photographer. You should go check out her stuff at her blog J Allred Photography!

I also brought her copy of Angie Smith’s new book I Will Carry You. If you don’t have this book, you should get it! Also, you should read her blog Bring The Rain! It is very inspirational!

Sunday, after church, we all went out to eat at Molina’s, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, to celebrate Mother’s Day. Here are a few pictures!

We got Momma the new Awkward Family Photos book, so we decided to recreate one of the poses! You can see how thrilled Daddy was!

Last night was my cousin Emily and my adoptive brother Brandon’s graduation. I’m so proud of their accomplishments!

Me and Emily

She starts college in the fall as a musical theater major! Look for her on Broadway in a few years!

Sweet Erin at A Tiger’s Tale tagged me in a picture game! She is such a sweet girl, and if you don’t follow her blog, you should really go check it out! It’s so cute!

The rules for the game are:

1. Go to your photos files and select the 8th photo folder.
2. Select the 8th photo in that folder.
3. Post the story behind that picture.
4. Challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!

Here is my picture!

Jessica and I went to see Taylor Swift back in September! She is definitely one of our favorites, and the concert was AMAZING! In this picture, she was opening the show with “You Belong With Me”. Loved it!

Now, I’d love to see pictures from the following girlies!

Erin-my newest follower
Jessica
Jen
Katie
Lindsey
My Momma
Susan
Tara

Can’t wait to see all of your pictures! Hope you all have a great upcoming week! Also, Miss Oklahoma was 1st runner-up! She did great!

Show Us Your Life-Books

May 14, 2010 By ashleylately 1 Comment

Today on Kelly’s Show Us Your Life Friday, the topic is favorite books/children’s books! I am a huge reader, and I could go on and on about my favorite books! To spare all of you, I’ll only talk about a few!

Adult books:

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE books are Karen Kingsbury’s Redemption series! They are so inspirational and uplifting. I got very attached to her “Baxter family”, and I have been hooked on her books ever since! If you haven’t read her books, you should! Start at Redemption and go from there!

I am also a big Nicholas Sparks fan! A Walk To Remember is one of my all-time favorite books! It amazes me that a man can write such awesome love stories. He’s so good!

I have recently started reading Beverly Lewis’ Amish books. I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy reading something like that, but I have really enjoyed them!

I have also recently read Kristin Chenoweth’s A Little Bit Wicked and Sherri Shepherd’s Permission Slips. Kristin is an Oklahoma girl like me, and I enjoyed reading about how she got her start on Broadway and television. I have been a huge fan of Sherri Shepherd since she first became a cohost on The View. She is so funny, and her book is so entertaining!

Children’s Books:

Where The Wild Things Are has been one of my favorite books since I was a kid. I love how Maurice Sendak tells such a great story with such few words. It’s so good, and I loved the movie too!

I was introduced to Sandra Boynton’s books a couple of years ago. She has great rhyming and repeating words and sounds, and they are great! The Going To Bed Book is my favorite!

A few of my other favorites: Love You Forever, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Napping House, & Goodnight Moon!

Last, I will leave you with another Karen Kingsbury book. The Princess and Three Knights is her latest children’s book. It is a very sweet story with beautiful pictures.

What are your favorite books? Go to Kelly’s blog to play along!

Friday Five-Favorite Pictures

May 14, 2010 By ashleylately 2 Comments

As I’ve been putting this post together, I’ve been watching Private Practice. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who may not have watched it yet, but I am SOBBING right now!

Ok, now for Friday Five! This week’s topic is favorite pictures. When I first saw this topic, I panicked! How do I choose only five? I couldn’t do it, so here are my Friday 15!

First, a few family and friend pictures…

Me & Jess-my favorite picture of us!

Me & the parents at my college graduation

Me & my adoptive family from church
B was 13 and the twins were 9!
Now, the twins are 13 and B is 17 and graduating Saturday! I feel so old!

My Grandaddy and cousin-Sweet, sweet picture

Jessica’s wedding-Love this pic!

Me and a few buddies getting ready for the OKC Bombing Memorial Marathon two years ago.
We did the 5K, and it was raining and freezing!

Now, gotta do a few funny pictures!

Me, April, & EA at Thanksgiving this year

Another Thanksgiving picture from a few years ago. Don’t ask…no idea what I was thinking.

Again, got no idea what I was thinking

Cousins

My kitty Jack doesn’t like when my attention isn’t on him. In this picture, I was working on my display board for senior symposium. He’s laying in my trash pile.

Christmas two years ago, part of the family couldn’t come to visit while I was home for break, so they had the big family Christmas later in the week. Since I couldn’t be there, they inserted my picture in the family picture between Momma and Colby!

Momma and Me

Me and Colby with our grandparents. As this picture was being taken, my Mom-mom pinched my Grandaddy on the bottom! She is laughing and he is giving her the death stare! Love it!

Momma inserting herself into one of the cousin family pictures at Thanksgiving. Love the expression on her face and love the look Jack is giving her, like “What is she doing?”

Check out Beth’s blog for more pictures! Link up and play along!

Ashley Lately

The diary of a headband-wearing, Dr. Pepper-loving, southern girl.