New Year's Resolutions

(Image found here.)


Every year, I try to come up with New Year's Resolutions because I love the feeling of setting goals and accomplishing them. However, I always come up with my resolutions too late, so I don't have enough time to really think about them. I always end up forgetting them as the year goes on, too. Now that I have my blog, I decided that I'm going to post my New Year's Resolutions here so I can look back on them whenever I need to.

Ashley's New Year's Resolutions:
1. Become more organized. I am definitely organized enough as it is. However, I love finding out about new ways to organize the various items I have. My goal with this resolution is to find more ways to organize and maybe even come up with my own ways to share with you all.
2. Find better study habits. I'm one of those I-need-to-get-an-A-or-else-I'll-freak people. I'm constantly worrying about my grades and making sure that I have an A in every class. And yes, I devote a lot of my time to studying and doing homework. The study habits I have right now have been working out pretty good, but I know there are more ways that I can help them to become even better. My goal with this resolution is to find more study habits to help me do better on the quizzes and tests that I take.
3. Read more. Whenever I have extra time, I grab the next book on my list and read! That's why I read so many books in the summer - I have so much time. Reading is probably one of my top five favorite things to do. When the school year comes around, I find that I have less and less time to read because my life gets so much busier. I want to be able to read as much as I can! It's a proven fact that reading helps one to become a better writer, so why not absorb a lot of books to help me write a better blog?! My goal with this resolution is to find more time to read during the school year.
4. Develop a better blog. As stated in the resolution above, I was hoping that reading more books would help me write a better blog. Who knows! I've wanted to have a blog ever since I was younger. I just got this blog in September, but I've barely made any posts in it. Therefore, I can be classified as a "newbie." My goal with this resolution is to find a way to make my blog more appealing and to get it to become well-known.
5. Gain creative insights. I've always to be more creative. I've tried to do little art projects, but every time I make something, it tends to come out looking like, well... crap! Every time I go on Pinterest, I see cute little crafts that I want to try, but then I think to myself, Is it really worth spending this money to make this craft when it's just going to turn out horrible? My goal with this resolution is to become better at making crafts and make more crafts.
6. Make more money. I don't have a job yet, but I'm luckily getting one in the next couple of months. Not having a good amount of money is a real downer because then I can't buy clothes, go out to eat with friends, etc. I made a lot of money babysitting last summer, but I really only get called to babysit during the summer and not during the school year. My goal with this resolution is to find ways to make more money.
7. Become more confident. My confidence is basically nonexistent. It's especially bad when I'm studying or taking a test or a quiz because I get really anxious and feel like I don't know any of the answers. However, when I get the test or quiz back, I end up getting a grade that is somewhere in the 90s. I basically just psych myself out and get so worried. My goal with this resolution is to get some faith in myself.
8. Exercise more. I love playing sports, especially soccer. I only play two sports - soccer in the fall and track in the spring. Therefore, that leaves the whole winter open with me just doing nothing. Since I don't play a sport in the winter, I just end up sitting around and don't even exercise. I have bad asthma, so I don't like going for runs in the winter because the cold air makes my breathing even worse. My goal with this resolution is to find more motivation to go outside and exercise.
9. Find out how to become a good cook. I don't cook much, but when I do, the food comes out terrible. I can't make buffalo chicken dip or salsa dip for my life. The cookies and brownies I make come out hard and gross. However, I would really like to learn how to cook better because I love food. My goal with this resolution is to make better food.
10. Go on adventures this summer. This summer, I'll *hopefully* have my license. That means I won't be hanging around every day doing nothing because my parents and sisters are working. I'll be able to have my own rides to my friends' houses and various places. Since I'll *hopefully* have my license, I want to be able to drive anywhere. My goal with this resolution is to visit places I don't get to go to a lot in the summer.
11. Journal more. I never realized the importance of journaling until about a year ago. I had an epiphany while watching The Notebook. When Allie got Alzheimer's disease, Noah read to her about their love through a notebook that he had. I got scared and thought to myself, What if I get Alzheimer's disease? Wouldn't I want to have a way to help me remember my life? That's when I got into journaling. I have always kept a journal, but I hadn't really written in it. I admit that I don't write in it as much as I would like to, but I have written a lot more. My goal with this resolution is to journal more so I can record the important things in life.
12. Stop worrying and stressing so much. Worry and stress are my middle names. I'm constantly worrying and stressing over everything - grades, friends, me, etc. It's getting to the point where it's bad because I'm tending to lose sleep over it. Also, who wants worry lines in their forehead?! Definitely not me! My goal with this resolution is to find ways to become more relaxed.

So there are my resolutions. I hope that I'm able to fall through with them. Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

The Must-Have Accessory This Winter: Riding Boots

It seems like the majority of the girls I see everywhere I go lately are wearing riding boots. Do you remember when every girl just had to have a pair of UGGs? Well, now every girl just has to have a pair of riding boots! These boots are very trendy and make your legs look slim rather than making you look as if you have fat ankles, like UGGs do. Riding boots are usually in different shades of brown and black. They can be found pretty much anywhere that sells shoes and come in all different shapes and sizes - tall, short, wide-legged, etc. The riding boots that I own are shown below:


Brown doesn't go with everything, right? Well, neither does black! So, I just had to compromise and get both colors. That way, I have a pair to go with every possible outfit that I have. Where I found my boots...
Black - Madden Girl @ Macy's - $59.99
Brown - Brash @ Payless - $50

Riding boots are typically priced at $50 and above, unless a sale is going on or you have a coupon. Obviously, the bigger the brand name, the bigger the price tag! At first, I wanted $160 Enzo Angiolini riding boots from Nordstrom, but then I thought, what's the point of spending that much money on one pair when I can buy two pairs and still have money left over? So, off with the two pairs I went. :)

(Side note: My picture quality didn't come out as good as I hoped it would... So here's pictures of them from the stores instead!)

The zipper is even outlined in blue! Found here.


This pair can be found here.

If you plan on getting riding boots, I suggest you wait until around February when everything having to do with winter that's leftover will be put on sale. You'll be able to get great deals for quality shoes! However, if you can't wait, go right ahead and get your riding boots now. Happy shopping!



A Gadanke Christmas

Many Christmases yesterday were filled with family, food, and fun. Mine happened to be filled with all of those and one extra thing - journaling! I was thrilled when one of the presents I opened yesterday morning happened to be a Gadanke journal. After discovering Gadanke journals around Thanksgiving time, I just had to get my hands on one. What better time to get one than on Christmas! This is the journal I got:


I plan on starting writing in this journal soon. Along with the journal, I got a date stamper, which I unfortunately haven't figured out yet!, to date the entries in my new journal. I hope to see more Gadanke journals in my future!

Want to order your own Gadanke journal? Take a look here.

Gadanke Journals

Earlier in this week, I came across Gadanke journals from Pinterest. I absolutely love them! They've inspired me to start up journaling again. Katie, the owner of Gadanke, has really inspired me as well. Her story about storycatching has definitely impacted me and made me want to start storycatching so I don't forget about the little things in life.

I've been in contact with Katie and asked if I could post about her on my blog, so that's what I'm doing now.  I recommend that you all go take a look at her own blog and Gadanke!

Gadanke's website: http://www.gadanke.com/
Katie's blog: http://www.makingthishome.com/

Happy journaling!

Grocery Bag Organizer

I was finally able to organize all of the plastic grocery bags I have at my house! I organized them so that they're like wipes - you pull one out, and the next one pops up. Here's a picture of mine:


I found how to make this from Pinterest, but it came off of this blog: http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/07/summer-social-guest-project-make_21.html

This blog even shows you how to make a container for it out of a recycled wipes container! My plastic bags didn't come out quite as good as the one on that blog, but they work just as good :)

Pinterest

It seems like every time I go on Pinterest, I start to love it more and more. It's like my own electronic journal. On Pinterest, I plan my future wedding, design my dream home, put together outfits, and so much more. I don't have too many followers, so I'm going to try to find a way to promote my Pinterest. I'm also going to try to add a "Pin It" button on my blog so things can be pinned straight from here.

If you have a Pinterest, leave your username and I'll check it out!

The Perfect Drink for the Cold: Nutella Hot Chocolate

I made Nutella hot chocolate for the first time yesterday morning with my friend, and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make and how good it tasted. So, I decided to make it for myself today! Here are the steps in case you want to try it yourself:

Ingredients (enough to make 1 mug)

  1. 1 cup milk
  2. 1 tablespoon Nutella
  3. Cool Whip (optional)
Steps
  1. Pour one cup of milk into a pot.
  2. Place the pot onto the stove at a high temperature.
  3. Drop one tablespoon of Nutella into the pot once the milk starts to get hot enough.
  4. Stir the Nutella and milk.
  5. Turn the stove off and pour the Nutella hot chocolate into a mug once the Nutella and milk have been mixed together.
  6. Add Cool Whip into the mug (optional).
  7. Enjoy!
Nutella hot chocolate with Cool Whip

Storm Watch

My town in Massachusetts has been affected by Hurricane Sandy, so I didn't have school today. I don't have school tomorrow, either. My house unfortunately lost power, so we've been using the generator since 3 today. Unfortunately, my dad is turning the generator off when he goes to work tomorrow. I've been trying to charge everything I can so nothing will die on me tomorrow and I won't be so bored.

All I can do is pray that the power comes back on over night, but I'm not sure if that will happen!

Happy for the Weekend

It seems like the weekend is one of the few things that I have to look forward to. Every day during the week, I find myself constantly wishing it was the weekend. My weeks seem to drag on for years, and then my weekends seem to go by in the blink of an eye.

The reasons why I always look forward to the weekend is so I can hang out with my friends and boyfriend, catch up on sleep, and do homework. I tend to be more relaxed on the weekends, even though they're always filled with homework. When will I ever get a long break to just relax?

Not So Bad After All

My week did end up getting better, which I was happy about! I got the iPhone 5 on Wednesday, and I absolutely love it. I love having a smart phone instead of a phone that could only text and call. Smart phones tend to come in handy.

Also, Eduard Leonard, a member of the band Overtone, answered my DM on Twitter! He's also on the show Mrs. Eastwood and Company, which I love. Dina Eastwood was the manager of his band. It was so cool to be able to talk to someone famous, even though he only has about 11,000 followers on Twitter. I was so excited!

I also got to reconnect with my old English teacher last year, which I was very happy about. She is one of my all-time favorite teachers, so it was so nice to talk to her after not being able to see her every day due to her switching schools.

I Was Wrong

Okay so in response to my last post... just when I thought things were getting better, I was wrong. Let's just say that I hate fighting with someone who means so much to me and hate making people upset.

I thought my day was getting better when I saw that Morgan Eastwood replied to my tweet and retweeted me, but then I found out it was a fake account. I literally love Morgan Eastwood, so thinking that she did those literally made my day, but then it just got ruined again.

It Gets Better

As shown in my last post, last night was just one of those sad, lonely nights. Luckily, I'm feeling much better today and much more positive.

The two highlights of my weekend had to be finishing my book yesterday and finding out today that I won't be quizzed on the fifty-four terms I have for history until next week, not this week. I haven't been able to sleep much on this three-day weekend, even though I was hoping I would, because of the fact that I've felt drowned in homework. I've been working on homework for about the past two hours with little five minute breaks here and there. Fortunately, I'm done with geometry and halfway done with the history terms. All I need to do is study for chem, English, Spanish, and geometry.

I hope you've all had a good weekend!

One of Those Days

Four words:

I'm not good enough.
Since the last time I wrote, my days have been filled with homework, sports, friends, and my boyfriend. It feels like I haven't had any time to just relax and read a good book. I guess that's what happens your sophomore year of high school when you're put in all honors classes - you end up devoting the majority of your time to your schoolwork.

It would be nice to just take a break from everything  for a little bit. I've been so stressed lately, and it's all from my schoolwork. A lot of the time, I just want to stop doing my homework and studying and just pick up a book and read.

I was hoping to be able to read this weekend, but that couldn't happen due to hanging out with my friends and my boyfriend. Maybe I'll find some time for that tonight, but who knows. I'll just have to wait and see.

At least I know what my goal for this week is - finding time for myself.

Starting Fresh

I've always wanted to start a blog, but I haven't really had a reason to do so. After getting a Pinterest, I've seen tons of wonderful blogs, and the desire to create my own blog grew even bigger.

I feel like blogging will be a good way to calm myself down when life gets hectic, share my good ideas, and just have fun. My first couple of posts may not be the best, but I'll work on trying to make them better.

I hope you enjoy reading!

Ashley