Healthy-spiration

Hi girls! Just a quick post today, but I hope it’s an inspiring one!

After my recent slip, I’ve been back on the upswing. Yes, not every day is a good day, but I’m fighting hard against those ED voices and trying to stay as positive as possible. So I thought, why not do a little healthy-spiration (totally made up that word, hahaha)? I know that celebrities have a bad rap in general for promoting an unhealthy ideal, but what about those celebs who are happy, healthy and confident? For me, I mainly focused on petite stars, since they’re about my size and I can relate to them. These women, as far as I know, are happy with their bodies and don’t care what size they are, as long as they’re healthy. They are true body image inspirations.



Carrie Underwood, 5'3





Ellen Page, 5'1



Hayden Panettiere, 5'1





Reese Witherspoon, 5'2





Kristen Bell, 5'1



Haha, so I just noticed that I put in three celebs that are my height (5'1). Guess I'm playing favorites ;)

Q’s: Who are your body image inspirations?

Moving On and Moving Up

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! All your encouraging comments on my previous post were so helpful. Thanks for reminding me that recovery IS worth it, and that I shouldn’t beat myself up about it, but move on. So that’s what I’m doing J

Yesterday, I had planned ahead of time to slowly increase my calories back up after my really bad restrictive day. I was planning on adding in 50 calories, which isn’t a lot, but I knew I needed to start slow or I might end up drastically undereating. So I did that…but when I was having my nighttime snack, I decided to add an extra half-cup of cereal to the amount I already had. Like I said, baby steps, but I’m proud of myself for not falling back into ED’s trap.

I was sort of anxious yesterday afternoon, because I was supposed to hang out with this guy I barely know. I sort of know his cousins, but I’d never met this guy before a few days ago. He asked me to hang out on Saturday, so I said yes, to be polite. Well, I hoped that it would turn out better than it did. He’s pretty attractive if I do say so myself and it seemed like we had some things in common. Well, we just ended up doing random stuff, like walking around campus, and he was talking like nonstop, probably because he was nervous or something. But then he started asking me all these personal kind of questions, like how many boyfriends I’ve had and what I think about sex. Um, awkward much????? Yeah, I felt super-awkward and after that point, I was totally turned off him. Like seriously, what guy asks a girl that he barely knows if she’s “gone all the way” (yes, he did ask this!) Needless to say, I was ready to go back to my room and try to forget about this. I did have fun some of the time, but the awkwardness of it just made the whole experience bad.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. He texted me a few hours later asking if I wanted to see a movie with him. Um, hell no! I told him I had a paper to write, and he replied that I could do it another day. At that point, I was just pissed, so I put my foot down and said no, sorry, I can’t. Then he stopped texting me (luckily) and I haven’t heard anything since. I hope I never see him again. I know that sounds mean, but he came on way too strong. It wasn’t like we were on a first date or anything—I’m only friends with him on Facebook and we know some of the same people. I barely met him before yesterday, so I think I have every right to be weirded out.  

Anyways, to put that awkwardness behind me, I’m moving on and moving up. I’m forgetting yesterday and also the days before, when ED had me in his grasp. I’m going back to eating as normally as possible, and trying to cut back on the exercise, unless I actually want to do it. I’m continuing on the path of recovery and not letting this get in my way. I want to live my life again, without ED.

Q’s: Have you ever had a similar experience with a guy? If ED was out of your life completely for a day, what would you do?

I'm Stronger Than This...Right?

*Warning: May be triggering!*

I just wanted to let you guys know how much I appreciate all your support. I know I’ve said it before, but it means so much to me to be surrounded by this great community.

So, confession time: I have royally effed up. No joke. It started innocently enough, with those sneaky little ED-fueled thoughts, like “You were so much skinnier yesterday!” and “You need to exercise for at least an hour every day, no matter what!” (lies, I know). Then it progressed to me actually acting on these urges. The past 3 days, I have gone for a walk around campus. No big deal, right? Well, it wasn’t me who wanted to walk—sure it was nice to enjoy the scenery, but it was cold, windy and cloudy. And I pushed myself to the point where my foot hurts again. Not fun.

Even worse? ED talked me into major restriction today—I’m talking under-1000 calories major. Yeah, haven’t done that in 2 years. I tried to convince myself it was okay, since I didn’t get too hungry, but it isn’t okay. I felt chest pain today when I was doing normal activities. Not cool.

Oh, and despite my severe restriction today, I still forced myself to walk in the cold. All I gotta say is, WTF?

So why am I allowing ED back into my life? Honestly, I don’t know. My life is otherwise humming along, not too stressful. I guess I’ve just let my guard down and he snuck up on me. The scary things is, he’s telling me I’d be “better” if I weighed 85 pounds. What???? Um, hello, that would put me at a BMI of 16. I’m already underweight as it is. He’s telling me it would be “okay”, since I weighed that much naturally pre-ED. Okay, but now I’m an adult woman and I don’t think 85 is healthy for me anymore. Besides, I didn’t even get my period at that weight (I don’t naturally now, I’m on BC but that’s beside the point). Basically, ED is pissing me off…but not enough to make me tell him off.

Sorry guys; had to get that off my chest. I don’t feel proud of the recent choices I’ve made, but I don’t know how to get back on track. Help!!!!!!!!



Obviously I'm not in the mood for pictures, but this was a yummy yogurt mess I had the other day. The Greek yogurt was frozen, so it was like frozen yogurt...yum!



Q’s: Any ideas for me to stop this slip and start recovering again? Who else wants to tell ED to STFU (hahaha not really a question but still)?

Things That Make Me Happy

Guess who’s back at school and ready for the last half of her second semester of her first year of college (phew, confusing)? This girl! I’m so ready to be done with school, hopefully get my “dream” summer job (either at Whole Foods or one of my favorite clothing stores) and move on to next school year, when I’ll be a sophomore and have a dorm to myself!

Today has felt really weird. I’ve been really tired and kinda out of it, I guess because I had to wake up at 5:30 (3 hours earlier than usual!) so my mom could drive me back to school. Even though I’m exhausted, I’m glad I decided to go back today instead of yesterday, because I got to spend more time with my family. The first day back after a break always feels strange, and it was even stranger getting back to school this morning and having an hour to start unpacking my stuff and then rush out the door for a full day of classes.

The best part was that it was really sunny and pretty warm today. It actually felt like the first full day of spring, which it is! I ate my lunch outside today, and I spent almost another whole hour sitting on the grass after my last class before I had to go to the library to take some notes. It really made me calm and happy to be out in the sunshine, and it inspired me to make a list of things that have made me happy recently!

1.   The warm weather. I love that it’s felt spring-like most days and I’ve had the opportunity to take walks and play tennis with my dad and sister. Not to mention outdoor yoga, which I will be doing again in the near future. Plus, with daylight savings time, the sun sets a little after 7. More sunshine is always a good thing!



Just imagine this tree with leaves...hopefully soon!

 2.   Spring break. Unfortunately, it’s over for me, but I really enjoyed mine for the most part. I did have to fill out a bunch of job applications and I did struggle with my ED thoughts, but getting a week-long break from school was refreshing. I liked having the house to myself in the mornings and getting the chance to do outdoor activities with my family. And we went out to eat a few times (yum), and spent a great day out and about in Denver. My spring break was definitely more positive than negative.

3.   New Whole Foods goodies. Seriously, I spend my parents spend so much money at that store, it’s not even funny. See why I want to get a job there, so I can get an employee discount?! I got quite a few things there that are new to me, such as Gardein meatless BBQ Pulled Shreds, cinnamon sugar pretzel thins and Mix1 antioxidant drinks, and I can’t wait to try them (and tell you all about them, of course!)

4.   My iPod touch. I got mine for Christmas, and it rarely leaves my side. I’m almost always listening to music (it makes me so happy I could dance!), playing around with the apps (hello, Fruit Ninja!), checking the weather and catching up on all the blogs I read. It’s so portable, so it’s like having a computer everywhere. I love it!


Hi, my name is Ashley, and I'm addicted to pink :)

5.   Yoga. This is a true lifesaver for me. I started doing it at the beginning of February, and I doubt I could stop. It relaxes me, wakes me up and stretches out all my muscles, even ones I never knew I had. I love the new yoga app I tried out because it has even more intense flows that seem as strenuous as a typical cardio workout. And outdoor yoga in a quiet environment is even more amazing.

6.   My family. I wish my spring break were this week, because both my mom and sister have theirs this week. I missed out on a lot of time with my sis especially, since she was in rehearsals for a musical she’s in at her school. But I appreciated every second I got to spend with them, and I’m looking forward to the first weekend in April because I get to see them again!

7.   Finally, you guys! I could never thank my readers/commenters enough for all the great advice and such that you give me with. Seriously, all your comments touch my heart! Even if you don’t comment, I love that I have readers, period! I never thought anyone would actually want to read this, it was more of a recovery tool for me, but I’ve learned so much from reading your blogs and comments on my blog. You girls rock my world J

Q’s: What makes YOU happy?

Spring Break Part 3

Happy Saturday, everyone! It’s finally sunny here and warmer than yesterday which makes me really happy. I can’t wait to get outside and enjoy the nice fresh air.

The last few days have been pretty busy, but really good, for me. Thursday was the last day I had the house to myself for a few hours, so I got the opportunity to do some yoga outside on my deck. I’ve never done it outside, and I think I’ll definitely have to do it again sometime soon because it was even better than doing it inside. But, I noticed when I was out that it smelled really strongly like a campfire. I checked Facebook and the local news station had posted that there was a fire less than 5 miles from my house! I’m used to there being fires a lot, because I live in a really dry state and we get forest and grass fires a lot, but it was still really scary. Luckily, only a barn was destroyed in the fire.



Before the hair cut



My lovely St. Patty's Day outfit

I also got my hair cut on Thursday night. Nothing too drastic, just a trim and I got my bangs cut so they’re more side-swept. I like my hair so much now because my bangs are more noticeable.

Yesterday was soooooo much fun! My dad took a day off of work so we could go up to Denver. We went to the aquarium first, and I loved seeing all the fish and birds. I’ve only been to a few aquariums, but I think this one is my favorite, because they have lots of things, like a flash flood simulator (you get really wet!), people scuba diving with sharks and an area where you can touch and feed stingrays. I had a lot of fun and took tons of pictures.



Really cool urchin-type thing



It's Dory!!!!!!



Afterwards, we went to my favorite gelato place. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures, but it was half raspberry, half soy chocolate gelato and it was AMAZING! Chocolate and raspberry is my favorite flavor combo ever!



Jellyfish (not gelato lol)

Then we drove to my favorite Denver mall so I could do a little shopping. My sister and I went off on our own to our favorite stores. My sis didn’t end up buying anything because she didn’t have any money, but I did! I ended up getting a floral dress from Hollister and some pink leather sandals from American Eagle. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up a little bit more so I can wear them!


I love anything floral



And of course, anything pink!

After the mall, we got dinner at a Thai place nearby. I’m not a huge fan of most Thai food, because I really hate coconut, but I ended up getting the shrimp spring rolls, which were okay. It was basically just a rice paper wrapper with rice noodles, mint and a tiny bit of shrimp. They were pretty flavorless, but “safe” for my ED. I also had some edamame. Once we got back home, I was really hungry, but it was 10 o’ clock, so I felt uncomfortable eating then. My ED voice was really strong, so I skipped a snack (even though I probably needed one) and ended up doing more yoga before I watched the Tonight Show with my family. ED was happy, but I wasn’t. I’m so sick of letting him control my life lately. It’s really getting old. I’ve been getting along with my parents so much better, but ED keeps butting back into my life telling me I’m so fat and ugly, blah blah blah. I hope that I can go back to eating a normal amount when I return to school, but it’s going to be really hard. Since no one will be around to watch what I eat, I’m afraid I’m just going to give in to ED and not eat very much. But I’m going to try my very hardest to fight back.

I’m about to go play tennis with my dad and sister again—I can’t wait! We might go get Starbucks or gelato (again!) afterwards so wish me luck that I can decide to get something substantial afterwards to fuel my workout. Have a great Saturday, ladies J

My view doing yoga outside

Spring Break Part 2

Thank you all so so so SO much for your encouraging words on my anniversary post! It’s so great to have such a supportive community as we all deal with daily struggles and triumphs.

My spring break so far has been…eh. Since my mom and sister have their spring break next week, I’ve pretty much just been chilling at home by myself for a few hours until my mom gets home from work and then every day we’ve been going out and getting job applications. I seriously have almost a dozen already, and I only started looking on Sunday! My parents are basically making me get a job this summer, and I’m really nervous that I won’t get accepted at any of them and then I don’t know what my parents will do. I’ve been kind of struggling with my relationship with them these past few days. All they’re focused on is me getting a job, and they pretty much don’t want to spend any time with me, unless it’s to help me fill out an online application. I would like to get a job, so I have more money to buy clothes and such, but I feel so much pressure right now. On top of that, it seems like they pretty much don’t want me around this summer at all, because they said I either get a job or take summer classes at my university. Well, you have to pay for summer classes, and it’s kind of a lot of money. I thought they wanted me to get a job just so I could pay for my own stuff and not be a financial strain on them, but it seems like they just don’t want me around. So that’s been really tough to deal with.


My outfit today--I LOVE it!

 It hasn’t been that warm or sunny here lately. I’ve been wanting to lay out on my deck and tan in the mornings, but the sun only comes out around 2 or 3! And it’s been super-windy, but today it’s supposed to be 70 degrees!

My foot is still in pain every time I walk, but I’m getting used to it. I think I sprained it or something, so I’m still not doing any running. It’s been hard not to, because of all the stress I’ve been dealing with. My ED voice is coming back stronger, and I’ve been slightly restricting since I first got home. I am doing yoga, which is a great stress-reliever for me, so that helps. I got a new iPod app that has more intense yoga flows and I gotta tell you, they actually make me work up a sweat and my arms and legs are burning afterwards! Never thought yoga could be so intense ;)


Delicious cheese-less pizza I had last night

 One upside to being home is that I have access to more food, so I’ve been experimenting and trying new recipes. On Monday, I made quinoa turkey patties for dinner and they were delish! They were kind of like falafel, so I served them in pita bread with cucumbers and homemade tzatziki sauce. Yum! I had leftover quinoa that I already cooked so I put it in the fridge and used it yesterday and today for breakfast. Yep, you heard right, I made myself a bowl of quinoa for breakfast and I loved it! Today’s combo was orange fudgie paste mixed with cold quinoa and 2 teaspoons of almond butter. It was so good! I never thought I’d be eating quinoa at breakfast, but it makes a good alternative to oats and it has a lot of protein, too.


Dinner on Monday



Yummy cukes



Chocolate-covered quinoa=love



I’m supposed to go somewhere on Friday with my family, so I hope that still happens. We were planning on going to the aquarium, possibly clothes shopping and then getting a nice dinner up there so I’m looking forward to that. And hopefully the sun comes out soon!

Q’s: What is your favorite way to eat quinoa? How do you deal with stress so that it doesn’t end up making you fall back into ED habits?

Q&A Time and an Anniversary

Thank you SO MUCH for the questions you left me—they are so insightful and hopefully I can answer them in a way that makes sense and maybe helps you with your own struggles. But first, a little anniversary I need to mention…

Today marks the second anniversary of me being in recovery from anorexia. On March 14, 2009 my parents confronted me about my eating disorder and everything that was going on along with it. I knew it was coming, since my mom took me to the doctor a few days before and that was the day I found out how little I weighed. But it was still such a shock, to realize that my parents knew what was going on. Honestly, it was both one of the worst days and one of the best days of my life. I cried for most of the day, as my parents forced me to eat normal amounts of food that I wasn’t used to and made my stomach hurt. Looking back, I can’t believe I threw a tantrum that night when my dad made me eat an apple! I went to bed with an ache in my stomach and hatred in my heart. I was so entrenched in the eating disorder that I couldn’t see that they were helping me.

Over the next few weeks, they continued to monitor what I was eating very very closely. At school, they had no choice but to trust me. But usually, I did eat what was given to me. Not without a fight, but as the months passed, I argued less and less.

Two years ago was sort of a turning point for me. I wasn’t quite on the brink of death, but maybe a month or so of my old habits and I would have been. Looking back, I’m scared, both for myself and my parents. They didn’t always do what was best for me, but they love me so much and had to try whatever they thought would work. I was lucky enough that they didn’t push weight gain all at once—a lot of times, gaining weight quickly can make someone spiral back into their ED. In fact, in these 2 years, I’ve gained 15 lbs and am currently maintaining so my weight gain wasn’t so fast, which I think is a really good thing.



A few months into my recovery

Even though it’s two years later, I would not say I’m ‘recovered’. Honestly, I’m not even close. I still measure some of my food, obsess over calories and weight and I have a lot of negative thoughts about my body. But I don’t hate myself as much as I used to. I’m working to accept my new body, which is much healthier now. I’m technically still underweight, but it’s a healthy weight for me. I eat 5 balanced meals a day, and I’m not as scared of fats anymore. I can experiment with recipes and my food isn’t limited to the blandest, ‘healthiest’ options available. I am still very committed to eating healthy, organic or all-natural and mostly meat-free, but I eat dessert every night, whether it’s frozen yogurt or a bowl of cereal. I feel like I have come a long way. I no longer see a therapist or a dietician and I’m doing pretty well without them. I’ve made it through a semester and a half of college and it’s over 2 hours away from home. I’m no longer the fragile, sad girl I was two years ago. I’m stronger, happier, more independent and ready to take on the world! I don’t know when I’ll truly consider myself ‘recovered’ but I know it will happen someday.


Graduation night!!!!!!!

Okay, now on to the Q&A! I’m so excited because I’ve never done this before and I loved all the questions I got.

Q-What role has God played in your recovery?

A- A very big one, actually. I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was 8 and I’ve gone to church and Sunday School as long as I can remember, but the spark in my faith really wasn’t there until I started recovering. I realized that God must want to use me for something because He kept me alive even though my body went through hell. That has really kept me going, even on my hardest days. I really started to be more devoted to my faith and my God when I started college and was on my own. My parents weren’t there to protect me, but God was. I joined a church near campus and I really like how inviting and friendly the people there are. I really enjoy watching my faith grow.

Q-Do you ever compare what you eat to what your sister eats and if so how do you get past that?

A- This has been kind of hard for me, too. My sister eats like a typical teen—she loves Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, ice cream, ramen noodles, Oreos and all that, and I’m definitely not like that at all. My idea of ‘junk food’ is baked chips and Clif bars! But I do compare the amounts I eat to what she eats, such as at dinner when we’re both eating the same thing. Oftentimes, she eats so much less of it than I do and I feel like such a pig for finishing my dinner. In those situations, I try to tell myself that we’re different people, we have different needs and different hunger cues. I’ve seen her eat a lot, so I know she doesn’t have an eating disorder, but sometimes I do feel like she should always eat at least as much as me. I guess it’s because I worry about her and I don’t want her to go through the same thing I went through.

Q-What’s your favorite place to shop for clothes?

A-I’d have to say my favorite place is Hollister—I just love their beachy, bright style and they always have something there that I love. In fact, I’m trying to get a job there (hopefully I wouldn’t end up spending my entire paycheck there!) But I also like American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gilly Hicks and Target—they have really cute things that are super-cheap!

Q-What do you wish you could take back from your ED the most?

A- Definitely my love for life and that part of my teenage years. I regret that I wasted so much time being obsessed with counting calories and trying to lose weight. I missed out on some opportunities, like prom and dating guys, because I was so entrenched in my eating disorder. Now I have so many more responsibilities and I miss being a ‘kid’. I wish I could go back and do it all over, but I can’t and I’m determined not to let ED take anything away from me again!

Q-If you could relive any moment in your life, what would it be?

A- I think I would relive my high school graduation day. It passed by in such a blur that I barely remember it (and it was only last May) and it was such an exciting time. I remember being a freshman or sophomore and thinking I’d never graduate, but now I’m almost a quarter of the way done with college! Time flies by so fast…

This was so much fun to do and I’m so thankful for those of you who left questions for me! If you didn’t get the chance to, leave them in the comments and I will definitely answer them in one of my next posts. Thanks for reading J

Spring Break Part 1

Hola chicas! I hope your weekend went well and your Monday won’t be too rough on you.

Tomorrow through Thursday, I have the house to myself from 8 am til 2 pm so I’m not sure what’s gonna go down then. It’ll be nice to just relax and chill. My spring break so far has been pretty busy, and it’s only the second day!

Yesterday, I went to Whole Foods and Super Target with my dad to get groceries that I needed for the week and for a few recipes. I got a bunch of stuff, but I was disappointed to find out that WF does NOT sell peanut flour! Since there is no Trader Joe’s in the state, I guess I will have to go without (or maybe order online…) There were a few free samples as usual but I only tried some salsa and a little oatmeal pancake from a mix. It was really tasty so I think I’ll have to buy some of that mix.

Last night, I made pineapple cinnamon rolls from scratch. Everything was going smoothly until I plopped the dough onto a cutting board and realized it was wayyyyy too sticky for me to flatten and roll up! I added some more flour, and it worked a little better, but the dough was really thick and impossible for me to roll out, so I did the best I could with my hands and then let them rise. They were either supposed to rise at room temperature for 40 minutes or in the fridge overnight—I did both, which did not work. They rose when I had them out but then I put them in the fridge and this morning, they were almost as flat as pancakes! Luckily, they were a little less sticky, so I tried to roll them into cinnamon roll shapes and popped them in the oven. They spread out but stayed pretty flat and when I tasted them, they were kinda bland. My dad had one and he agreed, but he said the pineapple part was good. So that was a disappointment.



Lunch, part 1--ice water, pineapple, chocolate brownie Pure bar



After lunch, my dad, sister and I headed out to go play tennis. But my dad really wanted to take me to pick up job applications for the summer so we stopped at a few places and most of them told us to just apply online. I was kinda mad, because he was trying to convince me to work at fast-food type places, which are out of the question for me. So we kind of got into a fight but it was definitely better once we actually started playing tennis. We played for an hour, even though it was really cold and windy (at one point, it snowed a little bit!) and my sister and I were wearing shorts. Even though my foot still hurt, I still had a lot of fun and improved a little bit at my backhand.

Lunch, part 2--romaine and mixed green salad topped with Soysation cheddar, chipotle hummus and maple apple chicken sausage

Back at home, I had dinner planned: Philly cheesesteaks. Well, I was making a vegan version for myself and a regular version for my parents, since they’re not really into vegetarian or vegan things. Mine was made from Gardein beefless tips, orange and yellow bell peppers, white onion and a little slice of vegan pepper jack cheese on Whole Foods ciabatta. Seriously, it was really good. I hate red meat of any kind, so this was a great alternative for me. Unfortunately, I had to touch some deli roast beef and actual cheese and I was so grossed out but my parents ended up loving their sandwiches. My dad even tried a little of the beefless tips and he liked them.



Vegan Philly, carrots, spicy pepper mustard and baked Alexia waffle fries=YUM!

I also tried making a fudgie again, this time using maple syrup and orange extract. OMG, so rich and fudge-like! I refrigerated it and I’m planning on having it with my snack tonight. I can’t wait!



All it takes to make a fudgie is 3 ingredients (plus water)



Thanks for the questions so far on my last post! I can’t wait to answer them tomorrow but I’d love more questions, so keep ‘em coming if you haven’t already! And get ready for tomorrow’s post!

ABCs and Q&A

Hi girls, hope you’re enjoying your weekend so far! I’m having a great spring break already and it’s only the first day J

So today I wanted to do the ABC thing that’s been going around because it’s fun and random…but I also wanted to ask you guys to ask me any questions you’d like to ask about my recovery journey, food, fashion, whatever comes to mind. I want to do a special post on Monday with all the answers to your questions, so feel free to leave them in the comments section—you can definitely give me more than one!

Ok, so here goes with the ABC’s of me!

A-Age: 18, but I can’t wait to turn 19 in almost 4 months! I just like odd numbers better for some reason, haha

B-Bed Size: Twin at home and twin extra-long at school. Yeah, I know, they’re not very roomy

My lovely bed

C-Chore I Dislike: Washing dishes—I hate touching other people’s half-eaten food

D-Dogs: Never had any but I’d love a greyhound!



Awhhhhhhhhhh...

E-Essential Start to Day: Organic cereal and yoga

F-Favorite Color: Pink! But I love orange too



I changed my outfit 3 times today and each outfit included a LOT of pink ;)



G-Gold or Silver: Most def silver

H-Height: 5’1…yes, I am very small!

I-Instruments I’ve Played: The piano, clarinet, tenor saxophone and alto saxophone but I haven’t played any of them in a looooooong time!

J-Job Title: One day I hope it’s news anchor but now it’s just college student

K-Kids: I want twin girls!

L-Live: Northern Colorado during the school year, southern Colorado on breaks and some weekends


My hometown :)

 M-Mom’s Name: Um, I call her Mommy (lol)

N-Nicknames: My real name is Ashley, so an obvious one is Ash

O-Overnight Hospital Stays: Luckily, no!

P-Pet Peeves: When you’re sitting in a row of desks that are all connected and the person next to you move in their chair and it moves you too—ugh, so annoying

Q-Quote from a Movie: “I gotta meet this fricken bird!” hahaha from The House Bunny, such a funny movie

R-Righty or Lefty: Righty

S-Siblings: One sister who’s 3 1/2 years younger than me…she’s my BFF J

T-Time I Wake Up: No later than 9:30 or I feel like I wasted the whole day

U-Underwear: What, me wear underwear?! Hahaha jk I mostly wear Victoria’s Secret PINK undies

V-Vegetable I Dislike: Arugula. It just ruins a perfectly good salad!


Ewwwwwww!

W-What Makes Me Run Late: Making sure I have everything I need…several times. Yes I’m paranoid.

X-X-rays: Teeth, right ankle, left wrist

Y-Yummy Food I Make: I love making healthy desserts and twists on different cuisines, like a Greek Panini or an Asian fish sandwich

Z-Zoo Animal Favorites: I like flamingos because they’re pink and I also like those okapi things that look kinda like zebras.

No, not these flamingos!

Q’s: Leave any questions for me in the comments below and I’ll post the answers on Monday!

Just a Quickie ;)

Hi, ladies! Thanks for the good wishes for my exams. I’ve got one down—the advertising midterm—and one to go tomorrow. I’m so ready for spring break!

I just wanted to give y’all a quick update on what’s happening in my life (besides studying, duh!) Today, I wore a skirt with no tights for the first time in probably 5 months! Yes, it was warm enough for my legs to go naked (lol) and I really enjoyed it. I’m usually more self-conscious in shorts than miniskirts for some reason, but I’m planning on wearing my favorite pair tomorrow—we’ll see how that goes!

I’ve been dealing with a sore foot for the past week. I’m pretty sure it was because I was running in shoes that didn’t fit well, and I was overexerting myself when I first noticed the foot pain. It’s in the top of my left foot, but today it’s started to feel a little better. I decided to not run or do any cardio (besides walking to class) for a while. I felt a little guilty about that decision at first, but I don’t want to risk permanently injuring myself because I over-exercised. And it wasn’t worth the pain I was experiencing every time I walked—and I walk a lot!

I haven’t had too many exciting eats lately, besides the last of my Pure bars which I’m loving more and more! Definitely gonna have to get more of those when I get home for spring break. Oh, and I had one of my favorite things at dinner tonight—this vegan black bean lime soup. It’s not really soup, it’s super-thick and basically just beans, but it’s really yummy and it’s got 10 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber in 1/2 a serving! Even though I am definitely no vegan (still love my seafood and Greek yogurt), I do enjoy sometimes eating vegan meals or snacks. They can be really delicious!

Oh the things you can buy at Whole Foods!

Spring break is just around the corner! I’m loving the warm weather and I’m hoping it lasts so I can play tennis with my dad, go bike riding, tan on my deck and enjoy family dinners outside.

Q’s: What’s your favorite warm weather outfit? Do you like to eat vegan things even if you aren’t vegan?

Busy Bee

Hey girls, thanks for all the words of advice in the last post. I am working on implementing them and hopefully something will change sooner or later. If not, I only have about 8 weeks left of school. I can’t believe in a week, I’ll be home for spring break! My first year of college has gone by so fast, it’s crazy!

I’m gonna be pretty busy this week, but hopefully I’ll get a post in sometime in the next few days, if not, then definitely Friday. I have two exams this week: an advertising midterm on Wednesday (first midterm ever!) and a regular exam in human origins, which is an anthropology class. It’s a pretty tough class so I’m studying my tail off for that one, and of course the midterm because it covers everything since mid-January. I usually don’t tend to get too stressed out about tests, but I do get a little distracted when studying! So I’m going to set a time-limit for myself on Monday when I go to the library so I don’t waste time on my iPod Touch. I tell you, it can be pretty addicting, all the apps ;) I also have a paper due Friday and a big homework assignment due the same day for my climate change class. And all the usual homework and stuff. I hate how the professors try to cram everything in the week before a break, but at least I’ll have a stress-free spring break! I’m so excited for it because I haven’t been home for longer than a weekend since mid-January. I really miss my family and being able to cook food in the oven, stove or grill! I definitely have some recipes lined up, so I’ll be sure to let you know how those turn out (pictures to come!) I’m also planning on doing some trail riding on my bike and long walks on my street.

Here are a few random pictures from this weekend so far. Not exciting, since I’m pretty much just studying and doing homework and laundry. But I have done some yoga and a little cardio, along with some late-night “Say Yes to the Dress” watching. And I’m not gonna miss the new SNL episode tonight!



My afternoon snack plate: half a mushy-ish banana, Kashi TLC crackers and spicy chipotle hummus





I've been putting these in my planner since I started second semester and they really are encouraging!



Q’s: When is your spring break (if you have one)? Any plans? Do you watch Saturday Night Live?

An (Almost) Good Day

Happy Thursday, girlies! Hope you’ve had a great day and are looking forward to the weekend. I’m just looking forward to next weekend, which is the start of my spring break!

So today’s post will be kinda short, just an update on the things from yesterday’s post and a little rant at the end which hopefully won’t be too negative.

I had a really nice time tonight with my friend. We just went out to eat, at the salad place I mentioned recently called Mad Greens. It was her first time there, and she loved her salad. I liked mine a lot, too. I got a Greek kind of salad, with Kalamata olives, citrus grilled chicken, onions, lettuce (of course!), tomatoes, cucumber yogurt dressing and edamame. Yeah, that’s kinda random, but I asked for no feta and the woman serving me asked if I wanted to substitute something, so I said edamame ‘cause I love it! Plus it’s a healthy fat (just like the olives), and I know I could use a little more of those, plus the dressing was fat-free, so I did need more fats.

I also had the strawberry banana overnight oats and the chocolate yogurt mess and they didn’t disappoint! I added an actual banana to the oats in the morning and that made them even better. And of course, the chocolate yogurt mess was amazing! Chocolate Greek yogurt with Bear Naked granola and half a banana—yum!



Yep, those are flax seeds (and a banana chunk)





Chocolate+granola+banana=pure yum



Other than that, the rest of my day wasn’t too great. My neck is feeling a little bit better but not much L And I’m really just getting annoyed with my roommate. We never really hit it off, and she barely talks to me, unless I ask her something first. And she just sits at her computer every time she’s in the room, which is the majority of the time. That’s what really annoys me. I’m out for like 7 straight hours three times a week and I get like a one hour break to myself for dinner! Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually better, but for the next few weeks she doesn’t have her first class, so she just sits at her computer until her next class starts. It bugs me because I do workouts in my room when I’m alone, like yoga and cardio, and I feel really weird doing it when she’s in there so I have to cram it all in later. And I feel awkward eating around her, but I don’t know if I can just like tell her to leave when I have breakfast. I feel like I’m always compromising, and I barely get the room to myself. Okay, rant over!

Q’s: Have you ever been to a salad restaurant? Any suggestions for what to do about my roommate?

A Pain in the Neck

Literally. I woke up this morning, and the left side of my neck hurt when I turned it in that direction. Ouch!!! So my range of neck motion has been pretty limited today and I’ve been popping the ibuprofen like crazy…jk, I’ve only taken 5 and they don’t seem to be helping a lot. I think hope I slept on it wrong, so it will hopefully feel better tomorrow.

On a happy note, it is finally in the upper 50s/lower 60s here on the Front Range. Woohoo!!! It seriously feels like spring, so I’ve been bustin’ out some of my spring clothes—including flip-flops!!! I’ve missed mine so much so it’s great to reintroduce them to my other shoes (lol). Even if it’s supposed to snow on Friday, it’s finally March and almost spring break. So I’m in a good mood.



My feet are always red, no worries!


I’m thinking of making strawberry banana overnight oats for tomorrow with that Mix1 so I’ll let you know how that turns out. I also had a yummy yogurt mess for lunch yesterday with Oikos vanilla, Bear Naked vanilla almond granola and blueberries—yum!!! Up for tomorrow is a chocolate version which will be even better. And I’m planning on going out for dinner with a friend so I’ll tell you how that goes. Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies!!!


I'm becoming obsessed with yogurt messes

Q’s: Don’t you just hate it when you wake up with a sore neck? Is it getting warmer where you live?