Oh hi, Chris Mann :)

Also Pitch Perfect! Soooooo good!

and dark chocolate M&Ms!

Your turn! Answer the questions, grab the button, and link up with Neely and me!

1. What was your first car?

2. Who was your favorite childhood teacher?

3. Were you involved in any sports/extracurricular activities? Share pictures if you can!

4. What was your favorite birthday party?

5. Who was your teen celebrity crush?

6. What show/movie did your parents not allow you to watch?

Y’all have a great Sunday!

I got a surprise visit from some family at the shop yesterday!

In January 2011, my best friend Neely attended her first BlissDom conference. Before she went, I had never heard of BlissDom. I’d been blogging for almost a year, and I was still trying to figure out my place in this world of blogging.

Neely texted me a lot during BlissDom, about the things she was learning, the people she was meeting, everything. Every conversation ended the same way: “Ashley, you have to come next year.”

And so, the planning began.

Fast forward to February 2012. Barely a year after first hearing of BlissDom, I was going for the first time. I was going to be rooming with Neely and Meghan and making the drive with Neely, Amber, and Kiley. While I had spent time with all of these fabulous girls before, I was still a little nervous. 

Four days after being diagnosed with the flu (which I don’t recommend getting right before a blog conference, by the way), I headed to Texas to spend the night with Neely and head to Nashville the next day. Bright and early Wednesday morning, Kiley and Amber met us at Neely’s, and after a quick stop at Starbucks, we were on our way.

I was so nervous, more nervous than I was willing to admit at the time. I’m not an especially outgoing person, and the thought of being surrounded by 750+ people I didn’t know wasn’t exactly comforting. Sure, I had Neely, Amber, Kiley, and Meghan to lean on, but I knew we wouldn’t be spending every moment together.

Thursday, we headed down to registration, and right away, we ran into Jenn! After hugging and screaming with her for a few minutes and then getting all checked in, I just knew that things were going to be fine.

Things were better than fine. I felt so at home. I didn’t have a lot of blog friends in OKC, and I hadn’t shared my blog with very many people “in real life”, so being with a huge group of people who understood me was incredible. Listening to my close friends, new friends, and great speakers helped me realize that I was part of something important, something special, and something bigger than myself. I am a part of an incredible group of people that are changing the world!

One thing that truly amazed me about BlissDom is that everyone there is just a blogger. It doesn’t matter how big or how small your blog is. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been blogging for five years or five minutes. We are all just bloggers doing what we love and coming together to celebrate that!

I gained so much from attending BlissDom. I had time to deepen relationships with some of my precious friends. I finally got to spend some real time with friends I’d only known online. I got to meet several people I connected with in the newcomers group on Facebook that I still keep in touch with today. I got to meet some big bloggers that I’ve admired for awhile. I also got a hug from Alli Worthington :) More than anything, I gained a confidence in myself and my blog that I never had before.

When I got home, I suddenly had an urge to tell everyone I knew about my blog and how amazing the blog world is! For the first time ever, I shared my blog link on Facebook. It was such an exciting moment!

This year, I feel like things are different. I have a different attitude this time. My blog has gone through a name change and has almost quadrupled in followers. I’m a community leader for the first time, and any nervousness I had last year is gone. I’m more comfortable with my place in the blog world than I have ever been. I’m excited to be attending BlissDom again, and I’m excited about the new opportunities and experiences I will have this year.

This year, I will spend a fabulous weekend with some of my favorite people. I will help newcomers and new bloggers. I will NOT get the flu! I will get another hug from Alli and remember to get a picture this time :)

Hey y’all!

I got home late last night and didn’t feel like recording a vlog, so my blogoversary giveaway has been pushed back to tomorrow!

This weekend, Colby and I went home to watch our dad’s tae kwon do test. He got his black belt a few years ago, and Saturday he tested for his third degree black belt. The test was incredibly intense, and he passed! 

The first part of his test was doing patterns.

No way on earth I could kick that high :)

Doing one of his spinning kicks

Sparring

He had to break four cement tiles. It was super stressful for us watching, but he broke all of them!

He made it look super easy!

Preparing to break boards

Got ‘em all!

He did it! His instructor, and 8th degree, presented him with his new belt.

Daddy with his instructor, the testing board, and one of his students.

The fam! We are all so proud of him!

Love my daddy!

We all went out to lunch after the test, and then went to visit some family that came in for the weekend.

Momma and I have sooooooo many pictures like this :)

Me and my Mom-mom!

It was quick, but it was a really great weekend.. It’s so great to spend some time back home, and it was so cool seeing Daddy move up to the next level in tae kwon do!

Have a great Monday, y’all!

Tomorrow I’m celebrating with a giveaway and maybe a vlog, so come back and see me!

Now, on to this week’s questions!

Between working on community leader stuff (have I mentioned on here that I’m a community leader?), picking out roommate gifts, reading speaker announcements, and chatting about outfits, the excitement is really setting in!

…to be overly excited about a trip home this weekend!

My daddy is testing for his 3rd degree black belt in tae kwon do on Saturday, and we’re going home to watch his test! I missed the test for his second degree, so I’m thrilled to be getting to see this one. It’s a huge deal!

…to have maybe cried a little at the finale of Private Practice on Tuesday night.

I’m not going to say anything about the show right now in case y’all are planning to watch but haven’t, but watch it quick because we’re talking about it next week!

…to post a picture of my girls, just because I can :)

…to be pretty much obsessed with my iPad.

I really didn’t realize just how helpful it was going to be on an everyday basis. Writing/answering emails, research…it’s actually kind of fun :)

…that snuggling with this little guy is my favorite evening activity.

He loves laying on me and looking at me upside-down. Weirdo. #crazycatlady

What’s Ok with you this week? Link up your posts with Neely and Amber!

Hey y’all!

Last week, we got the wonderful news that Little Miss and Little Bit’s family was officially released from DHS supervision. Their parents have worked so hard to get their lives back on track, and we are so proud of them. I have been so impressed with their dedication to their kids and their determination to get better for their kids.

No more DHS supervision means we can finally share pictures of these sweet girls! I’m thrilled to finally introduce you to Little Miss and Little Bit!

Sorry for the picture overload! I have over a year’s worth of pictures, and this isn’t even close to all of them :)

My first picture with my sweet girls! They look so tiny here!

Halloween 2011

Christmas 2011

Helping Colby Facebook :)

Little Miss came as a teeny tiny little almost two year old. She was so tiny and cute and so much fun. She has grown into a smart, sassy little three year old.

Little Miss was such a tiny little thing when we got her!

She loves cheesing for the camera!

Skyping with family in Japan

Go OU! She loved our matching face tattoos :)

Modeling her new dress

She loved “helping” me work on pearls

Halloween 2012

Making “silly” faces for the camera

She is such a smart little thing :)

Taking pictures of Joyce’s new necklace. She thinks she is all grown up working the iPhone.

New Year’s Eve! She actually took this picture herself! Not bad!

Little Bit came as a sweet baby with the loudest scream I’ve ever heard! She still has a scream, but now she has cute fun little words! It’s been fun to see her transition from baby to toddler to two year old big girl!

She loves snuggling with Colby! A post is coming later all about Little Bit and Colby!

Happy girl!

She loves rice, and she LOVED sneaking it off other people’s plates.

She adores Maverick!

She also really enjoys her food.

Hanging out in Mahya’s backpack

Cupcakes taste better when you squish them between your fingers

Little Bit is unimpressed…

I am so thankful to get to be a part of these girls lives, and I am so proud of their sweet family. I have been amazed at how hard this family has worked to get to be together again. They have overcome so much to become a wonderful success story! As hard as it was for us to have the girls leave, I can’t imagine not seeing this family together again. I look forward to many many years of fun with this family!

Hey y’all!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Big thanks to everyone who linked up for Sunday Social yesterday! We had sooooooo many linkups, and we appreciate you ALL!

Friday was SUCH a fun night! I met my precious friend Tracy for dinner and a movie. We used to work together, and we became fast friends and have stayed close as we both moved on from that job.

We went to see Les Miserables!

I have been dying to see this movie, and it was everything I hoped it would be! It was tragic and beautiful and so very well done. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway totally deserve the awards they’ve won, and I hope they both win at the Oscars. We both cried when Anne sang “I Dreamed a Dream”, and we both cried at the end. It was great, and I can’t wait to see it again!

Saturday I worked most of the day and then spent the evening and most of the day Sunday at home snuggling with this cute little guy.

I didn’t feel well, and he was right by my side snuggling with me :)

Have a great Monday, y’all!