Happy 27th to me!

27 is the age I always thought put people officially in their "late 20's," so I'm kinda sad to be 27. I always feel like I'm too young to have a child in school, I'm too young to be close to 30, and most of all I'm wayyyyy too young to be contacted about a 10 year class reunion (WHAT THE HECK?!?) I feel like I just graduated! So for my birthday we went out to Kickers for ladies' night.. It was so nice to get out of yoga pants (or running shorts), actually wear makeup, and lose the fitness instructor ponytail :).

So y'all can now stop feelin' sorry for my husband! I do not always look like the gym rat that I am!

I got some amazing clothes for my birthday, even some dresses so that definitely means I need more nights out to actually wear them! BUT the BEST gift (that I just found out about today) is The Asylum!! I can not wait to get started.. The only thing that could have been a better gift than The Asylum would have been Shaun T himself! Thank you to my friends and family for making this a wonderful birthday! 

Happy Father's Day!!

"It is much easier to become a father than to be one."  ~Kent Nerburn


That quote is so so special to me because it describes my Daddy. No, I do not have any of his blood, DNA, or genetics but he has and always will be my Daddy. I, like Kaylee, early on knew how to work people and if my mama said "no," (which rarely happened) I knew that Dad would not say "no," from tricycles to bicycles to college classes. Now that I'm an adult he likes to play, "tough guy," by telling me his hard life stories about how he "walked to school in the snow barefeet up hill both ways," YES my Dad is one of those! He is a tough guy who several times a week without me asking checks the tires on my Expedition (or any other mechanical issue that I have), a tough guy who spends his one day off fixing toilets, sinks, and electical wires, a tough guy who comes over and puts down new floors for me, and cuts the grass in my back yard. He is also an amazing Papaw whose grandkids all love and adore him!




“He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” -Clarence Budington Kelland


And this quote is perfect for my husband. He has all the qualities in a man that I want my son to grow up and possess and all the qualities in a man that I want my daughter to find in a husband. I fuss occasionally about all the hours he works and how little I see him but he has this amazing ambition, drive, and work ethic to be successful, not for himself but for his family. I had no idea 8 years ago that cute boy with the crooked smile, giant dimple, and a cowboy hat would be the love of my life, and the best Daddy in the world!

 This is what always happens as soon as Daddy gets home!

 Daddy's girl!

 See what I mean about that dimple?

 There it is again!

 He even splashes around in the baby pool. 

 And lets Ethan embarrass him at Call of Duty.

And with a smile on his face lives with an obnoxious Kentucky fan and endures my abuse when his Auburn Tigers beat my Wildcats by THREE freakin' points (no I'm not still bitter)!!

Happy Father's Day Y'all! I love y'all more than you know!

Summertime

Sorry I've been MIA! Summertime is crazy at the Ashley house. I am still towing the line as far as Turbo Fire and P90x go. I think next Monday I am going to re-start month 2 of Insanity though because I just am not getting the same intensity with Turbo Fire and I'm pretty sure Insanity is the reason I feel so good in a bikini after two kids :). Thanks Shaun T!

My biggest challenge in the summertime though is eating. It's not that I want to eat bad food, I just kinda struggle to eat at all during the day because we're outside and it's hot and I don't get an appetite until we've been inside and cooled off a few hours, so basically at like 10 pm, not good!

I know lots of you only know about my fitness/nutrition career endeavors so I thought I'd share with you what else I do.. A few years ago I was spending enough of hairbows/accessories for Kaylee to feed a small country so I thought one day I'd learn to make hairbows.. I am pretty sure James laughed at me, because let's face it I'm not all that domesticated, ha! When I started my hairbows were just basic but I had a lot of people interested in them (probably because I was charging $5-$6 when boutiques charge $13 for BASIC ones!) and of course over time they've gotten better, bigger, and more elaborate, so needless to say, the fancy (read: expensive) boutiques have nothing on me (and mine are still cheaper!). A few of my favorite bows! :)

And since we're talking about summer time here are a few pair of the flip flops I make as well!

If you're interested in any of that stuff you can add my boutique page on facebook http://www.facebook.com/danielleashleysbowtique!