{Let Go, Laughing}

ATTENTION!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Remember that new blog I mentioned like weeks ago?!?!?

Well its up and running.

I am not posting the link here on this blog though.

(sorry.)

If you are interested in knowing the new blog URL please email me at letgolaughingblog@gmail.com.

Or you can comment on this post and I will reply to your comment (you must have email hooked up to your blog though... if it comes up saying noreply@blogger.com or something like that when you comment, it won't work.)

If you follow me on twitter, I will be posting the link periodically on my twitter over the next couple days as well so you can find it that way.

Once you know the new URL, please do not post it anywhere on this blog (in a comment or anything).

Thank you!

Hola!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:55:00 +0000

Hi friends!

Don't get too excited... I'm not really "back" but I do miss you all terribly!

Remember in my last post how I mentioned ditching this blog and moving on? Well that is currently in the works. I really need a fresh {blog} start and I am working on getting there!

I have officially designed my new blog on paper, convinced my husband to design and create the whole thing for me, and reserved the URL for that blog. There are no posts yet and it is currently white and blah. I am hoping in a week or two it will be pretty and ready for my brand new fresh start!

It will not be private... sorry if I made it seem that way to some of you on twitter. I will share the new url to anyone who might want to follow me over there and if not, that is okay too.

I am going back to blogging for me... and I am so excited for it.

Anyway, as soon as the new blog is ready to be made public, I promise to let you know!

Until then, I am still on twitter on a daily basis so you are welcome to find me over there!

Miss you all!!

xoxo

MIA

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:47:00 +0000

I realize I've been a bit MIA in the past week. Every time I've gone to blog, I just don't feel it and I end up distracting myself until I run outta time.

Its not because I don't want to blog or that I don't have a ton of stuff to blog about it... I just... need to figure some things out first.

I may or may not be back this weekend with another post... I did want to post about my crazy weekend that you may have seen me tweet about {um... no I did not get kidnapped but seriously, I looked up at where the taxi driver was taking me at one point and was sure he was driving me into the mountain to ra.pe and ki.ll me. Seriously. There was a lot of praying going on in that 3 minute taxi ride!} and other such things but like I said.... mojo has checked out temporarily.

So yes, I will return but there is also a possibility I will be ditching this blog soon and moving to a new blog.... still thinking and working out the details of that. Reasons for the move will be revealed at a later date.

Anyway.... that's that. Sorry for the MIA as of late. I am still on twitter all the time and around the blogosphere just not at my own blog for a short time. :)

xoxo

Thursday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:29:00 +0000

I feel like a real blogger now because yesterday I got my first hater (anonymous brat comment)... it annoyed me at first and then I was like, what the heck, your the loser not me!
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I finally finished the Harry Potter series this week... I laid on the couch all Monday night reading the end of the 7th book and I am done! It was amazing and a great story and yes, mom, yet again you were right.
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Did anybody see the article on Yahoo! about the Chocolate Milk Diet?!?! I think I might be in heaven! If you have read this blog for any length of time than you know that my favorite beverage in the world is chocolate milk. And now I can drink it for a diet? Are you freakin' kidding me?!? (Article here) And three times a day?! Seriously this may be the coolest thing ever.
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In other news, I have got so much on my mind lately. I feel like I am going through a bit of an internal crisis. Once I get to a place where I can actually organize my thoughts so that they are cohesive, I will be sharing about it. I am kinda sick of my blog lately and how pointless it is. I wanna get back to real posts of substance and I will be doing that soon (hopefully)!
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Happy Thursday!!

xoxo

Whirlwind Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Have y'all heard of Post Secret? If not, you should really click that link. It's fabulous. The founder of Post Secret does events across America at various college campuses talking about the project and the secrets and how it evolved and inviting audience members to be brave and stand up in front of everyone at a microphone and tell a secret.

I have read the Post Secret blog every Sunday for a long time now and I have always wanted to go to an event but it never came around to a college near me... Then I saw that he had added dates to this season's tour and one of them was at my little sister's school in Santa Rosa/Sonoma area. I immediately sent her a text asking if she had seen he was coming to her school and she was already planning to get her tickets the day they went on sale... and offered to get tickets for Greg and I too!

We decided to make a weekend out of it and drove up Saturday morning, spent some time in Santa Rosa and then met up with Molly for the event.

Once there, they told us we could take pictures for the first 5 minutes and then we had to put the cameras away. It is very hard to get a good picture of a moving person 15 rows down in semi-darkness.... so this picture is dark but its the also the least blurry so we're going with it.
{that is Frank Warren, by the way}

The event was A.MAZING and touching and inspiring and emotional and intense and so much more. It was so much better than I even imagined.

Afterward, Molly stood in line to get her book signed while I went and bought the newest book (I already had one but didn't bring it with me) and then caught up with her line...
Waiting to get our books signed {Frank is between us!}...
Book signing.
4 of Molly's 5 roommates at the house she lives in off campus:
After the event we went to Santa Rosa for some late night grub {hello, BLTs and macaroni and cheese at 10:30!} which was delicious.

The next day, we went out for pancakes {okay, french toast for me} and then drove to a downtown Sonoma area for a little shopping and sight seeing.
We stumbled upon the Mission but didn't go in for a tour... I'd like to go back and tour it some time though... seemed interesting.
We found some of the coolest little shops and a gorgeous little park where they were having a battle of the bands . We stopped to watch for a little bit and the first band was pretty good but the second? Oh man, it was so painful to watch that we had to get up and leave. You could hear the singer miles away and he was awful. I felt so bad and so uncomfortable for him but it was just bad music.

Hanging out watching the bands:

After getting back to the area where Molly's school is, we stopped for Slurpee's and a little shopping at Target and then jumped in the car to head home.

On the way home, we stopped at Greg's dad's house to fix his computer and I spent entirely too much time playing with Greg's Stepmom's iPad which is basically the coolest thing ever right now. I am now actively lusting after one. True story.

We didn't end up getting home until 11:30 or 12 Sunday night and I had to be up at 5:15 for work the next morning. Needless to say, I am tired and in desperate need of a little sleep catch up. :) Maybe one day soon but for now, its off to work...

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

Getting to know YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:49:00 +0000

I like to break rules so I'm doing a Sunday blog carnival on Tuesday. I'm a rebel like that.

1. The most expensive thing hanging in my closet is......?

Um, I'm cheap so I actually can't think of anything expensive in my closet. Not even purses. I'm cheap on those too. My wedding dress if the most expensive thing in a closet (it's not technically in my closet right now).

2. Have you ever played a team sport?

Yep. I played soccer for one year and hated it. Then I played softball for maybe 5 years. Then I quit do to some nastiness that we won't get into right now and I tried to go back to team sports in high school but it just wasn't my thing anymore.

3. If you were a bug, what kind would you be?

I don't wanna be a bug. Do I have to? Maybe a ladybug. People never seem to want to kill them.. just take them outside and set them free so I'll go with that.

4. where on your body is the worst place to get sunburned?

On top of the shoulders where you have to put your bra strap. Ugh. I always where halter bathing suits so the tops of my shoulders get fried and then to go and put a bra on after sucks. Also, the backs of the knees is a nasty place to get burnt too.

5. Are you happy?

Um, yes? I mean generally I am happy. I have plenty to be happy about. But at the same time there is a lot going on behind the scenes here that is frustrating and scary and rough but generally, I am a happy person.

6. People are always abbreviating.. are there any abbreviations that make your skin crawl when people use them?

Not really. There are certain ones that just aren't in my repertoire for no particular reason but none of them really bother me. Whenever I use them (like LOL or OMG) I wonder if I am really irritating anyone cause I know some people cannot stand those but I use 'em anyway.

7. Do you love where you live... or could you live anywhere?

No I don't love where I live. I like it okay but I am very ready to move on and outta this area. Could I live anywhere? No probably not anywhere but there are some places that I wouldn't mind trying out including some outside of my sheltered life in California.

8. What, if any, extreme measures do you go to to keep yourself from overeating when you're full?

At home I try to only serve myself small portions to begin with. After doing weight watchers, I kind of trained my mind and body to only want small portions so now its very natural to just eat that way. I eat small meals throughout the day and I do pretty well. There are certain foods that I will overeat on and for those I have no trick. Also, I don't allow myself to buy things that I know are awful for me but I have no control over eating them. I just cannot have Oreo's in the house. I will fail every time. If I do buy something like that, I try to buy the smallest package or a single serving size so I can satisfy the craving and then move on. Usually works okay.

Happy Tuesday!

xoxo

Menu Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:43:00 +0000

We were gone all weekend and didn't get home last night until after 11 so we just threw some meals together this morning but they are kinda boring...

Saturday: Third Street Ale Works in Rohnert Park/Peteluma/Cotati/Sonoma (Molly, what city was that actually in? I don't even know. Obviously.)

Sunday: BJ's

Monday: Pea Pasta

Tuesday: Chicken Salad {I am going to go super simple and just grill the chicken on the George Foreman and throw it on a salad. Bore.}

Wednesday: Pork with mashed potatoes and carrots {the one in this post... that's not really a recipe but you get the idea for now... I'm running outta time before work to type out the whole recipe. Sorry! Next time, I promise!!}

Thursday: Chicken Risotto

Friday: Free night

Tomorrow I will be back with Getting to Know You ~~Sunday~~ Tuesday...

Happy Monday friends!

xoxo

Happiness is...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Fri, 14 May 2010 07:00:00 +0000

1. Going to a special event this weekend and seeing little sister this weekend again.

2. Jeans and a comfy t-shirt with polka dot flip flops.

3. The massive Target by work that has a lobby. true story. when you drive in the parking structure below it, there is a sign for the "Target Lobby."

4. New makeup.... and adorable new sunglasses.

5. Talking to my big sister on the phone for 30 minutes... she's the best.

Happy Friday friends!

xoxo

Thursday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:00:00 +0000

700 posts?!?! Wow! Yep this is my 700th post! Crazyness!
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I have finally made it to the 7th and final Harry Potter book... which may mean that I will be a bit M.I.A. over the next few days... well more M.I.A. than I already have been! haha

Truly I probably would have finished the whole thing today if I hadn't had a little thing called work get in the way but ya know...

I am excited to see how it all ends and anxious at the same time because I am not ready for some of my favorite characters to be killed in this book... yes, I do get emotionally vested in every book I read...
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Just because I am random....

In honor of 700 posts, I am now going to tell you 700 things about me.

Haha. Just Kidding!!!

I will tell you ~~700~~ 7 things that are making me happy right now though:

1. An event we are going to this weekend.. you'll hear more about that next week!

2. 2 weeks until we get to see my family! They are coming up for Memorial Day weekend and I am so excited!

3. Being so close to done with the Harry Potter series..

4. Baseball season. Love it even if I'm not crazy about watching every game.

5. Thoughts of our cruise....

6. Approaching our one-year anniversary... it has gone so fast.

7. All the good chick lit books waiting for me when I finally finish this series (it's only taking me 5 months! haha)
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Alright.... time to read some more :)

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

Sibs

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Tue, 11 May 2010 07:00:00 +0000

This is my little sister Molly:
I'm sure you know her by now since I have mentioned her enough but she is obsessed with showing up on my blog. She is sure all my blog friends know her and this past weekend, she made me take a picture of her so I could blog about it. It is kinda hilarious really... mostly because she isn't obsessed in a selfish, self-obsessed way but in a "wait, am I like famous because I'm on your blog way?" haha, not quite.

Anyway, when I blogged about her coming down for dinner on Friday, she asked me if any of my blog friends commented about her so I had to go through all my comments and read the one's that mentioned her out loud. She cracks me up.

She also made us take a group picture:
(The guy on the right is Stephen a friend of hers but not her boyfriend).

The hilarious thing about this picture... as I was setting up the camera on a timer, she said "okay let's do silly.... wait are we doing silly or regular? ok do silly" and we all did regular and let her be silly... then she saw the picture on my camera and she said "I thought we were doing silly!" haha

Not to leave out my other siblings.... this is my big sister:
She is basically the best big sister a girl could have... seriously. I don't get to see her nearly enough but she seriously rocks.

And below is a group picture with my little brother Billy in the middle:
Have I ever told the very complicated story of my family? I don't think I have so if are interested here it is (if not, feel free to skip the rest of this post) :

So my mom Karen married Bill when she was in her early 20s. Bill and Karen had my big sister Meghan. Bill and Karen then got a divorce. Karen married my dad Greg a few years later and had me, Ashley. Meanwhile, a few years after Karen and Greg got married, Bill married Janet. Janet and Bill had Molly and Billy. Karen and Bill remained friends despite their divorce and to this day are still friends. Therefore, all 4 children grew up together but Molly and Billy lived in a different house than Ashley and Meghan.

Um did that make any sense?

So sibling wise, Meghan and I are half sisters (share a mom), Meghan and Molly are half sisters and Meghan and Billy are half siblings (share a dad), Molly and Billy are full siblings (share both). Molly and Billy are not technically related to me by blood in any way. We have always been close despite the lack of a blood relation and therefore have always considered ourselves siblings even if the technicalities state that their is no relation. Molly came up with the clever idea of calling me her "quarter-sister"... get it? :) and I even put "quarter-sister" in our wedding program... she was so excited when she saw it!

So that, in a very small nutshell, is my crazy sibling relationship! We are all related in love regardless of the crazy family situation!

That is all!

xoxo

Menu Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:52:00 +0000

Another week..... I was not ready for it to be Monday already this morning. My alarm made me grumpy. haha

Anyway, on to the menu:

Saturday: Hamburgers (we never had them last week so we moved it)

Sunday: Dinner at an Italian restaurant

Monday: Taco Ring

Tuesday: Chicken Bites

Wednesday: Dover Sole with Parmesan Orzo*

Thursday: Creamy Pesto Pasta with leftover Chicken Bites**

Friday: Leftover Taco Ring

*Dover Sole with Parmesan Orzo

The link for the Dover Sole takes you to a menu with Tilapia but we are making the Dover Sole with the same method just a different fish.

**Creamy Pesto Pasta

I am really lazy with this one and I just get the Creamy Pesto Packet put out by Knorr (comes in a green packet) and just follow the directions on that. It may be lazy but it is a really good mix. If you would like to see a recipe, it's basically this but I don't put pine nuts in it.

Our menus are going to get a little bit boring over the next few weeks because we are going to be trying to save money on groceries by figuring out what we can make with stuff we already have.. plus we have every single weekend (with the exception of one) between now and after our cruise booked with something big and when that happens, we tend to have less time to grocery shop and we just make do with what we have... but I will still post our menus anyway :)

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Getting to know YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:55:00 +0000

1. What has been your most memorable Mother's Day? (with your mom, as a mom, or with your wife)

Mother's Day has always been fairly low key in our family but I'd probably say that my favorite was the year that my sister and I had professional pictures taken of us for my parents as a joint Mother's/Father's Day gift. It was something they really wanted but just never got around to doing so we found the photographer and had the whole thing done. On the morning of Mother's Day we got up super early to set up the pictures on a table so that when they got up for breakfast, they would see them on display. They both were so happy and my mom cried (of course). It was a priceless moment.

2. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and were you able to talk your way out of it?

I have only ever been pulled over one time... a time that I kept a secret from most everyone I knew for years. When I finally told my mom, she thought it was hilarious. And no it was not for speeding....... click here.

3. What's the oldest thing you have hanging in your closet?

Okay funny story... first the oldest thing I have hanging in my closet is a gray jacket thing (style of a jean jacket but its not jean) that my grandma gave me for my birthday when I turned 12. So I happened to pull it out and wear it on my first date ever with my now husband... the night we met for the first time ever in person. If you know much about our relationship, you know we met online and that he lived 6 hours away so when he came for the first time to meet me, he stayed for the whole weekend. Anyway, I wore this jacket and then the next day while hanging out at my parent's house, my mom decided to be a classic mom and pull out the scrapbooks. There in one of the books was a page all about my 12th birthday party... complete with a picture of me opening (and holding up) that jacket I had worn the night before on our first date (I was 19 then). Oh yes, my husband was observant enough to notice the picture and ask if that was the same jacket I was wearing the night before. Can anyone say embarrassing? haha. I still have that jacket for sentimental reasons now.

4. Do you whiten your teeth?

Not really no. I don't think you can count buying toothpaste that is supposed to whiten your teeth because it never really works anyway.

5. Underwear or Panties. What do you call your "unmentionables"?

Underwear I think... or undies.

6. If you could go on vacation right now... today... where would you go?

I'd just like it to be July so we could be leaving for our cruise! So excited!! Plus I'm hoping in July we will have some answers about some things that we are waiting for before we can make decisions on our next move. That kinda got off topic of the question. Answer: I'd like to be heading out on our cruise.

7. Do you get offended when people cuss on their blogs?

No... Sometimes it makes a post funny but only if it is only once or twice... I don't like it when the swearing is heavily overdone but an occasional word is perfectly fine by me and can make a post/blog even more entertaining.

8. If you had to give up one luxury item, it would be...?

Um... probably cable because I could still watch all my shows online so I'd be okay. :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

xoxo

Happiness is...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was a very rough day for many reasons as you may have saw if you follow me on twitter....

I was feeling all gross from Aunt Flo's visit and then I started getting a migraine. Then my husband sent me text informing me of some not so good news that we agonized over, through text, for about an hour. I decided to take some Exced.rin Migraine for my headache only to find that I had run out of my purse stash (and I have to take that because nothing else works on my migraines). My husband then sends me a text with more bad news: one of his favorite horses (that he owns) had gotten sick the day before and, although they had taken him to the hospital and done surgery, they ended up having to put him down yesterday afternoon. It was very sad. My migraine was continuing to get steadily worse and was starting to make me feel like I may vomit. It was pretty much like that and continued to get worse throughout the afternoon and by the time I was driving home, I almost pulled over twice to throw up. I could not eat more than a few bites at a time for dinner and only ate enough to finally be able to take the medicine which has caffeine in it and therefore made me peppy and unable to sleep. Ya, it was a rough day alright.

So we are movin' on to Friday. The headache seems to be staying at bay for now but I can tell it is lingering in the background ready to show its ugly face again. And no medicine can be taken again until late tonight although I am really hoping I don't need to take anymore because I really hate taking too much medicine.

Hoping today is going to be a much better day! And now on to Happiness is....

1. My little sister is driving down this afternoon because she saw on this post that we were going to go to Chipotle tonight and she just cannot pass up an opportunity to go to Chipotle... or see us :)

2. Chipotle tonight is happiness for sure!

3. I am definitely noticing some subtle changes in my body as I have continued running this week.

4. A lot of fun weekends coming up... I think this is our last free weekend with the exception of one in June where we won't be crazy busy either with people visiting in town or us being out of town or celebrating something big! (Although, even this weekend someone is visiting us (sister) and we are crazy busy so there's that!)

5. Friday. It is Friday. Take a deep breathe and be glad it is Friday!! I know I am!

xoxo

Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:08:00 +0000

I don't know why I decided last week that I was just going to randomly become a runner but somehow I did.

I am really not a very good runner but I keep at it so that has to count for something.

In high school, I did everything I could think of to get out of the mile days in P.E. I was such a horrible runner that I could maybe get around the track once and we had to go around 4 times so I would inevitably have to walk the last 3 times and be one of the last ones to complete. It was humiliating not to mention that my lungs hated me.

Speaking of that, what is up with having such horrible lungs for a healthy person. I can only hold my breath under water for a few seconds and I can hardly breathe while running... that's probably one of the reasons I'm such a horrible runner.... gotta be able to breathe!

Anyway, I have been getting up every morning and running around our entire apartment complex and I am fatigued by just that. I'm hoping that soon I will be able to increase my distance a little bit but for now, I can only do so much.

It does feel good to actually do it and I feel good about myself for doing it but oh.my.word. my body has never hurt so much. Every part of me hurts... my legs, my but.t, my back, even my arms and abs hurt a little bit! I pretty much despise having to go to the bathroom right now because it is so painful to sit down on the toil.et!!

{funny story: my sister and I did this insane workout on the Wii last summer that she started a week or two after I did and it literally works your legs so much that you cannot barely move for 3 days straight. she thought I was crazy for complaining of being in so much pain but the first day after she started it, she called me screaming "WHEN DID THEY START PUTTING TOILE.TS ON THE GROUND!?!?!?!?!" haha we literally had to hold on to something to get on and off the toilets. This was also during the time when I was living at my parent's house and sleeping on an air mattress on the ground and day 2 after starting the workout, I could not get outta bed. I wish I was kidding... my mom had to come help me because my leg muscles would not support me enough to push outta the bed on the ground.}

Anyway.... despite the pain, my husband convinced me to go for a walk last night to the park... the walk was painful but it was so nice to be outside.

While he played basketball, I took this picture on my cell phone:
I don't know why, I just like it.

I also went on the swings.... best playground invention e.v.e.r.! I love swings!

I'm really not sure what the point of this post is now? Running? Toile.ts on the ground? The park? Swings?

Oh well.

Happy Hump Day! and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

xoxo

Menu Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:43:00 +0000

I decided that because I have gotten out of the habit of doing "Supper Sunday" ever since I started posting MannLand5's "Getting to know you!" on Sunday's, I would change it up to "Menu Monday".... normally, I would like to post this earlier in the day but it was a hectic Monday so it's a little late comin'.

Saturday: Refrigerator Pie

Sunday: Free (didn't eat lunch until 3 so I just had a piece of toast and Greg had a brownie for dinner. haha)

Monday: Spaghetti with Shrimp and Lemon Breadcrumbs

Tuesday: Chicken Stir Fry*

Wednesday: Pea Pasta

Thursday: Hamburgers (Turkey burgers) and french fries

Friday: Free (or Chipotle if I can talk somebody into it ;)

*We just started trying to make a couple of stir fry dishes. They had a whole section about it the last Food Network magazine. The first time we made a shrimp stir fry and now we are trying chicken. I may do a whole post about making a stir fry sometime soon so I'm not going to go into all the recipes and details right now.

It was definitely a "Manic Monday" for me! Hope it was a little less manic for you!

xoxo

Getting to know YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:53:00 +0000

1. Are you superstitious?

As ridiculous as I know it is sometimes, I am sadly very superstitious. A lot of my superstition has to do with the anxiety I have so they kinda go hand in hand for now. Maybe one day I will get over both :)

2. If you were an animal... what kind would you be?

Probably a bird... I think it would be amazing to be able to fly... and poop on mean people (but only mean people!).

If not a bird than a puppy... you know the kind that stay small and cute like a Maltese. If my husband liked dogs, I would have a Maltese as a pet but he doesn't so oh well.

3. You would never catch me wearing....?

Mom jeans. Shape ups (sorry they are just too ugly no matter how much good they can do for you legs). A dress that you have to keep tugging down because it barely covers your butt (just don't understand that one... they were all over the film festival parties and the entire night the girls were zipping their legs together and pulling their dress down... ridiculous). I'm sure there are tons more but that's all I can think of right now.

4. If someone posts a VLOG, do you watch it?

I love to watch vlogs but I usually have to save it in a tab on my computer and try to watch it when my husband isn't home. As soon as he hears something like that coming from my computer he wants to know what it is, who they are, and then watch it with me and comment then whole time. Drives me nuts!

5. Have you ever waxed your girly/manly parts or any other part of your body?

Waxed? no! The only thing I have ever waxed is my eyebrows ONCE and my skin did not like it. So I tweeze even though its a bit painful and makes me sneeze nonstop.

6. Are you a spender or a saver?

A little of both. I used to be a big spender and husband was the saver but I have gotten a ton better and I actually enjoy saving now. I do think its fun to indulge in the spender in me sometimes though and get something new but I have learned to do so without going overboard like I used to.

7. If you were starring in a movie, who would you want to play your leading man/woman?

hmmm... I'd have to either say Ryan Reynolds or someone fabulously good looking with an accent. Like the Irish guy in Leap Year. Ya that would be fabulous...

8. Smoker... never smoked... social smoker... or smoked back in the day?

Never smoked.... definitely grosses me out.

Head over to MannLand5 to play along!!

xoxo

101 in 1001 - Update #8

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:59:00 +0000

Just a quick update... mostly things I have already mentioned in posts over the past week but I still wanted an official update cause I can be bit anal like that :)

#21 Do some exercise 4x a week for 3 months (2/12)

This one used to say "..Wii fit (or some exercise) 4x week..." but the Wii fit thing just didnt' work out for me... I still love Wii fit but doing it everyday as my exercise wasn't working out. So I stopped working out altogether.

But the week before last, I started doing a workout on OnDemand for free and then last week I started running in addition to the TV workout. So I changed this goal to fit my needs now and I am two weeks into it.

#32 Meet at least 3 bloggy friends in real life (1/3)

Remember this post where I mentioned at the end of it that I got to meet Wishcake.... and hug her? Yep! It was so exciting and I can't wait til we can meet again when I go down for another So Cal visit. Also, y'all said in this post that it was kinda addicting to meet bloggy friends in real life and you were so right! The whole drive home after that trip I was trying to figure out when I could meet Wishcake again and which bloggy friends I could meet for the first time soon :). I'm officially hoping that I far exceed the goal of just three bloggy friends :)

#45 Get a sewing machine

I officially have it in my possession! I just haven't learned a single thing about it yet ;)

#68 Take an us picture every month

Taken at the film festival

#80 Attend a film festival

Blogged here. Can't wait to go again next year! It was seriously so much fun!!

Happy Saturday!!

xoxo

Happiness is...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

1. A fabulous weekend with family.

2. Went for a run for the first time in my life (voluntarily)... umm it didn't last long and my theory was reconfirmed that I have the weakest lungs of any healthy person in the world but I'm planning to keep working on it and maybe my lungs will get a little better. I did enjoy it except for the whole breathing part.

3. This... I am sooo doing this in a scrapbook room someday.... and hopefully a little girls room too.

4. Comcast On Demand Free workouts... I hate working out but I ~~love~~ hate it a little less when its free at home.

5. My favorite SNL skits ever are the one's where they lose it and just cannot stop themselves from laughing. It is truly the greatest thing ever.

Happy Friday!

xoxo

Hodgepodge

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

My mom is a rockstar. I had asked for the monogrammed mug from Anthropologie for Christmas but she wasn't able to get it at the time. My mom is pretty awesome in the sense that, if she can't get something we want (within reason) for Christmas or our birthdays, she always tries her best to get it for us soon after.

So when I arrived home (as in my mom's home) late Thursday night/Friday morning after a long drive, I found an Anthropologie shopping bag sitting on my pillow. :) I realize its 4 months later but she's had that mug for more than 2 months now waiting to give it to me.

Love it! Can't wait to use it!!

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A couple weeks ago I entered a giveaway over at Life of a Busy Wife and won! I never win anything!!

What did I win? This adorable "xo" heart necklace from Sparkle and Metal!
It came in the cutest packaging with a sweet little note and a special code to get a percentage off if I want to order more! Natasha is so sweet! Definitely go check out her site and her adorable jewelry.
........................................................................
So I mentioned not too long ago that my grandmother was giving me her sewing machine.... She apparently bought it a few years ago but as her sight has diminished with age, it has been harder for her to sew so she barely used this machine.

When we went down to my parents, we were able to get the machine so I could bring it back home (since we were driving rather than flying). I basically just put it in the car and then took it back out when we got home without looking at it too much.

Well Tuesday night Greg and I were trying to figure out where to store it and pulled off the lid and I was shocked.

To be quite honest, I expected it to be an older machine (which would have been totally fine... I just wanna learn to sew, I didn't need something uber fancy!). When I pulled off the lid, I realized it was a newer digital machine! Now I'm even more anxious to get it on and put to good use!

I am so excited!!!

That is all for now!

xoxo

Getting to know YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Since I didn't get to answer the questions on Sunday because I was busy here and then driving the six hours home, I thought I'd do it today instead.

So here we go...

1. If you could star in any movie genre... what would it be.. romance.. horror.. comedy.. suspense or action?

Definitely romance. I'm all about the romantic comedies!

2. Do you recycle?

Ahem... uh not at home right now :/ When we move and get a house, I am definitely going to implement recycling but it just doesn't work for us right now in our tiny apartment. We do recycle at work though! That should count :) And of course, I always participate in recycling when I'm at other's houses that do recycle (like my parents).

3. Have you ever been to a strip club?

Can't say that I have!

4. Do you have a nickname?

Oh so, so many. My older sister used to love coming up with crazy nicknames for me. To this day, some have stuck, especially "cheese". Weird, I know. The long version is "Cheeseball of America" Even weirder. There have been others that make no sense to anybody but were the funniest things ever at the time when they were developed.

Other {normal} nicknames include Ash, Smash, Ash-Bash, Smashley, etc. I actually think it sounds weirder when someone calls me Ashley rather than Ash. I just always grew up with Ash so Ashley sounds a little strange. Also, husband calls me Baby, Honey, Banana, Tinkerbell and my dad has his own special nickname for me that I love but its a little embarrassing.

5. What's a name you can't stand to be called?

Lee. Its my legal first name but I have never, in my life gone by Lee so it sounds so strange to be called Lee. Just not me even though I love and respect the family history of the name.

6. What are your summer staples?

Flip flops!!! Can't live without my flips in the summer! Also cute summer dresses and comfy baby t's.

7. What was the last thing you bought for yourself?

Hmm... last night I bought myself an individual cookie dough ice cream cup because I kinda ruined dinner and I was starving. In terms of something more substantial? I bought the blue plaid dress in this post at Forever 21 over the weekend in Fashion Island, Southern California. And other clothes a week or two before that.

8. Are you happy with your boob size?

Hmmm I used to hate my boob size... they were huge and not in an attractive way, at least to me. Then I lost weight and lost a bunch in that area too which some people would probably hate but I was so happy about that. Now, I don't mind their size but I would like a little lift if I could handle voluntarily going under the knife... which I can't. After years of being large and heavy, they just don't quite stay where they should anymore. Makes bathing suit shopping very difficult.

Wanna read more answers? Go to this post over at MannLand5 for more!

xoxo

Newport Beach Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:47:00 +0000

Greg and I drove in Sunday night after a crazy, intense, fantastically fun whirlwind weekend in Southern California with my family attending an event they have spent all year planning for....

The Newport Beach Film Festival! {#80 on the list - yay me!}

A little background... my sister started working at the festival as an intern for her internship to graduate college and loved it so much that she kept doing it. Then she got my mom involved a little and now my mom and her play some major, major roles in the whole thing! And its almost entirely volunteer!

When the family first started attending, I wasn't yet 21 and I wasn't really that interested anyway. Then I moved away and was busy with college so it was impossible to fly/drive down for the festival in the middle of final papers and presentations. But this year, I was determined to go!

The festival runs Thursday to Thursday but I was only able to go for Friday through Sunday... SO glad I did though!

Anyway, so my family always stays in the nearby hotel for the duration of the festival because it is too insane between all the work they have to do all day with the films being shown and then the after parties that run into the wee hours of the morning. So we stayed at the hotel with them and it was fancy and free!

Hotel view... front to back: golf course, bay, wedding location (hard to see), and then ocean.

Friday night we went out to dinner at The Yard House before heading off to see our first movie of the festival: "Barry Munday".

My special pass... basically means I'm VIP so let me into anything I want to get into :) But don't worry, I'm not all pushy and stuck-up like that... I'm a nice girl.
After the movie, we got a little fancier and then headed to the after party which was being held at Lexus of Newport Beach... super snazzy.
My husband decided that night that he just did not want to pose for anything normal so I have about 3 more pictures with different goofy faces.

This is called a Step & Repeat wall. Its the special screen thing they put up at all the fancy movie star things (like the awards, premieres, etc.) and then the stars take pictures in front of them.

My sister and I decided to be all VIPish and take pictures in front of it.

Dad and I

The next day, we got up for some breakfast and then hit up some movies... First we saw "Shorts for Shorties" which had 8 short films...

More Step & Repeat pictures.

Then we saw "Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale" where we watched the movie with the entire cast and crew (minus Sterling Knight because I guess he's just too big to watch the movie with us) and then they had a Q&A after the movie with the audience. (The star of the movie is the girl in white on the right, Ashlee Hewitt.) (Yes, I am the weird girl who pulled out her camera during the Q&A... you'd think I didn't grow up an hour from Hollywood but I did and still get starstruck.)
As we were leaving that movie, this guy was getting interviewed... I know I recognize him but I can't seem to remember his name or what he's in so I just took a crappy, stalkerish looking picture.... haha
Our night time movie choice was "Once Fallen"... well that wasn't really our choice but "Elle" got out late so it was the only thing starting at the right time. This movie was intense and violent and just a little too much for me. About the point when he stuck a gun in a guys mouth while his 5 year old watched was the point when I was done with it. (He put his son first though and didn't shoot, in case you were wondering.)

After the movie, we were off for another after party. This one was at the Sports Club LA and was intense!

Seriously, it was so insane... so many stinking people.
Sooo we took more pictures in front of the Step & Repeat walls. haha

At this party, I did get to do something that still makes me so giddy.........

I got to meet and hug Wishcake!! (#32)

Seriously, this may seem random to some if you don't read or ~~stalk~~ follow Wishcake but it is amazing!

The party was so intense that we basically said "hi, nice to meet you! [hug]" and then something about the insane party and the fact that her husband had walked off without her and she was going to lose him if she didn't follow and that was that. We were hoping to find each other again but the amount of people at that party just made it impossible so hopefully next time I'm in town, we can grab coffee or something.

But, gah! I hugged and met Wishcake!!! Now if only I had snapped a picture of us before she had to run out!

Anyway, that was our whirlwind weekend of film festivals, parties, and meeting a blog friend!

I was so not ready to go home and back to reality but that's life!

xoxo

Thursday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:27:00 +0000

Hearing Obama say "you're all my dawgs" last night on Idol Gives Back was one of the highlights of my week... seriously.... awesome.
................................................
The real highlight of my week though?

We booked our cruise last night!!!!!!!

I am so stinking excited.

My favorite part was after we booked it when it said "7_ days until embarkation"

Seriously... I'm so excited that I almost typed "I am so stinking excited" again without realizing it haha.

Greg is officially calling it our "Honeymooniversary" haha... mainly because he can't seem to stop calling it a Honeymoon and I keep telling him its an anniversary so we just added that on the end.

Plus he has this insane habit of making up names for everything. Seriously. Nothing is actually called my its real name. Wahoo's restaurant? Wazoo's. Chili's? Chiji's. I could go on and on and on....

Anyway, I will try not to annoy you with cruise talk too much over the next 2 months :)
...............................................
In other news... I will be crossing one thing off my list this weekend as well as making progress on another..... can't wait to share but it seems like fun to leave you all in suspense just a little.

(Before you get too excited, no it is not #100.... we aren't there yet. hehe :)
..............................................
You know what else is awesome about our cruise....

Wait, what? We weren't talking about that anymore?

My blog, my ridiculous obsessions and transitions. Comes with the territory. :)

Anyway, here's what else is awesome about our cruise: My boss is a major cruiser and she and her husband have actually done this same cruise before so I am getting awesome info from her about the different ports and the ship we are on and all that fun stuff. It is great to get that first-hand info about everything!
............................................
Did anyone else think the Black Eyed Peas were kinda..... terrible on Idol Gives Back. I normally enjoy their performances but it just didn't seem that great last night. hmmm
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.
You know what is really annoying.

I'm gonna tell you....

My husband rarely reads my blog.

{That's not what is annoying}

However, he, somehow, manages to decide to read my blog whenever I blog about him... but not just when I blog about him... more like when I blog about him and its embarrassing.

Remember this?

Yep, he found that one and wasn't thrilled about it (but wasn't really as mad as I would have thought he would be).....

And he, of course, decided to click on to my blog yesterday and read the post about our shirt folding/diaper conversation.

Of course...

And he made some comment about all my "friends on there" (meaning your comments) and I said "they think you're funny!" which he retorted with "no they don't!"

haha
.................................................
Okay, have a fabulous Thursday!!

xoxo

Real Conversations

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Real conversation husband and I had Monday night.....

{sidenote: my husband cannot fold shirts to save his life... seriously, he is inept at folding shirts. Its a little ridiculous... because of this, I have become the shirt-folder in the family and, even when I'm tired and have to get up super early, I still have to stay up to fold the shirts.}

Husband throws the laundry on the bed and I ignore it....

Husband: Come on honey, time to fold the shirts.

Me: You need to learn how to fold shirts!

Husband: No, that is your job

Me: No, you should have to learn!

Husband: Honey, you have five jobs in our lives.... {I am already laughing at this point...}
1 is to cook
2 is to fold shirts
3 is to change any and all diapers
4 is to look pretty
5 is to.....
[pause]
I don't know, you only have 3.

{I double over laughing at number 3 even though he keeps talking like its nothing/natural}

Me: [still laughing]

Husband: [2 minutes later once laughter has subsided] That wasn't that funny. Its true you know.

Here is why this conversation is awesome:

1. because he is kinda right in that I only have a couple jobs... he really is the one who cleans most of the time and does all the other icky chores that make me want to vomit.

2. because he really is so delusional that he thinks I am going to change every single diaper our children ever soil. Riiiiiiiiiight. For now, I will let him believe that though. haha

3. because this kind of conversation is totally normal in our house... he says something serious and I laugh. :)

That is all...

Happy Hump Day!!

xoxo

A few of my favorite things....

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:28:00 +0000

.....{right now}:sunshine and amazingly blue skies

attempting to book a cruise

pretty things

baseball season returning

parks on a beautiful blue sky day

that is all. happiness loves.

xoxo

p.s. all pictures found at weheartit except for the first one that I took, obviously.

p.s.s. my little sister, Molly, lost her grandmother this morning (no, she is not my grandmother because Molly is not my blood sister but still my sister in a weird way... long story). it was expected but of course, it is always hard to lose someone you love, even when its expected. please keep her in your thoughts this week. :) thanks loves.

Getting to know YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing}) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:45:00 +0000

1. Mens chests... hairy or hairless?

Well hubs chest is a little bit hairy and I'm okay with it so we'll go with that. :)

2. How often do you run red lights?

I try not to too often but probably once a week (if that) I run a yellow that is turning into a red that I don't quite make.

I curse people who purposely run red lights long after the yellow has turned to red.

3. If you could raid any celebrities closet... whose would you raid?

I'm a pretty comfy casual dresser so as much as I would love to raid Carrie Bradshaw's closet, in reality, I probably wouldn't wear half her closet... it is fun to admire on her though. {yes, of course she is a real celebrity!}

Going more for the comfy casual style, probably Lauren Graham or Shiri Appleby, especially as her Life Unexpected character, Cate.

Apparently I would rather raid certain character's closets than the actual celebrity. haha

4. Would you rather have more followers/friends on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog?

Definitely my blog because it is truly a friendship and not really about how many followers you have because it is really the relationship you have developed with those followers. There is nothing like it :)

5. What makes you feel sexy?

ha! umm, a cute outfit paired with a good hair day. Also, certain pairs of underwear make me feel sexy...

6. I get excited when..........?

...I buy new clothes/shoes.... I think about a new house.... I save decorating ideas in my "decorating ideas" folder..... I have a hair appointment..... we talk about vacations..... I think about getting a real camera and taking photography classes...... a new episode of one of my favorite shows is on/recorded..... reading a good book..... I think about going home to spend the evening with my husband...... we plan a fun weekend...... I get to see my family....I get to do a little party planning.... and lots more.

7. Are you the "outdoorsy" type or more "indoorsy"?

Hmmmm, I'm definitely not super outdoorsy but I do enjoy being out in the sunshine on a walk or reading a book or going on a picnic... in that sense I am outdoorsy but I'm not a big hiker or anything super outdoorsy like that. I do love being inside watching a show or crafting though too. Ok, sorry that was a crappy answer. Neither! haha

8. Would you rather have your dream home or a million dollars?

Hmmm probably the million dollars. I could move out of super expensive California and buy my dream home and still have lots left over for other fun stuff/important, ~~boring~~, practical stuff.

Head over to MannLand5 to play along!!

xoxo