Hello Blog World! It's me....Ashley :)

I finally took the time to start my very own personal blog....Yay me! I say it's time to get acquainted! I am going to forewarn you that this post may be just a tad ridiculously long as I have been telling myself to do this for quite some time and have been majorly slacking. So, I intend to get a ton out there in this very first post on my new fun blog :)

 Here we go! This is me, Ashley (and my sweet daughter).

I'm 28 years old, from an uber-small desert town in Southern CA, married to my best friend and partner in life (it will be 7 years this July!), and I have two beautiful children (5 year old daughter pictured above and almost 3 year old son). Life for us has been pretty hectic crazy over the past 7 years. To to sum it up fairly quickly, I met my husband in San Diego, CA about 8 years ago. I was going to SDSU and he was new to the Navy and was stationed there. We were married in July 2005, I graduated from college in August 2006, had our daughter in December 2006, and my hubby was deployed 3 times between the time we got married and our daughter's 2nd birthday! Crazy, right?! Next, we were transferred to Great Lakes, IL (near Chicago) in January 2009 and lived there for just over 2 years. It was a nice change and we were able to live close to my in-laws and that side of the family for awhile which was so wonderful. About 1 year ago, I packed up my kiddos and our dog and headed across the country to Redmond, OR. My husband had to stay behind for awhile to finish up his time in Great Lakes but had decided to get out of the Navy, which is why we chose to leave Illinois. The military has some amazing benefits but it was extremely hard on him to leave us for several months on deployments. He joined us in October 2011 and as of right now we are living in the semi-rural town of Redmond. Why Oregon? Well, if we were separating from the military we wanted to live close to family. My mom, stepdad and sister all live here and it just seemed like a great place for us.We are so ready to settle somewhere and eventually buy a home.

Hopefully I didn't lose anyone in that craziness! It's been a fun-filled, eventful almost-a-decade to say the least.

Why am I starting a blog?

1) If you noticed, in the very first line of this very first post, I said that I decided to start a personal blog. I'm not exactly new to the blogging world and here's why: I am in love with Photography! I have been back and forth about working towards my very own Photography business, but so far it's been more of a hobby than anything. I do occasional shoots for my friends and family and any referrals, but as of right now it's pretty slow. You can view my Photography blog and read all about my journey here. You will notice that it's been neglected for quite some time (which makes me a bit sad), but I hope that will change soon. I had a website at one point but decided to put that on hold temporarily. I thought about combining the two blogs, but then changed my mind for two reasons; a) it could get confusing and b) I want to keep my Photography separate in case it ever does turn into something more than it is now (never know!).

2) I needed an outlet of some sort; a place to post fun things that make me smile and laugh, a place to be open about things that are on my mind, a place to share tips and recipes, and a place to write about whatever I want to whenever I want to write about it. Having 2 small children is so fun and exciting, but there is rarely much time that I get to devote to just me. So, I hope that this blog will allow me to "get away" and do something for myself that I enjoy a few evenings a week. There are two particular blogs that have sparked a fire in me to do this......All in a Row{e} (the author of this FABULOUS blog is actually my younger sister and very best friend) and Stress Case (Casey is my cousin and I have been following her uber-fun blog for the past year). Each time I read one of these ladies' posts I smile and that made me want to join in on the fun! Take a peek at their blogs and you'll get hooked just like I did.

3) Lastly, I wanted to meet some amazing people. The blogging world is full of fun, creative, and inspiring people and I am hoping to make some awesome new friends :) That being said.....please be my friend and follow my blog! 

So, I welcome you to this little piece of my world and I hope you'll visit often :) If you do, you will find that I'm an extremely indecisive (hence the name), overly stressed out, worry-about-everything type girl that loves to take photos, cook, read and take care of my family.

Coming soon: and introduction to my family, a little more about me, and a scrumptious recipe I snagged from my sister at All in a Row{e}! 

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO,

Ashley