One Thing I Did to Celebrate My 30th Birthday

For my 30th birthday I decided to give back. So, I chose 30 people, some at random to give gifts to in lieu of throwing a birthday party. I taped envelopes on snacks at gas stations with money inside to buy a snack, I gave a couple of people gift cards to a store I was shopping at, I gave some strangers I randomly walked past an envelope with a little cash to buy whatever they wanted and I gave every person in my office at my temp job a little gift. Why did I do this? I really want to give back more in my life. I’ve been really lucky to get some of the things I’ve gotten and it’s my party and I’ll give back if I want to! I still have seven more people on my list to give to and what I’m going to do is pick 7 random people on kickstarter to help fund their projects.

Each person that received a gift from me so far has also received the card you see at the top of this post. It says:

It’s my birthday but you get the gift! For my 30th birthday all I wanted to do was give back so I chose 30 people to give gifts to. All I ask is that you pay it forward and do something nice for someone else. Doing so would make one of my birthday wishes come true 🙂 Thanks for accepting this gift! I hope that your future will be filled with as much happiness and love as possible.

Love always-
The Famous Ashley Grant (The link on the card is now inactive as I dropped the word “the” from my name haha)

Have a great day everyone! If it’s your birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! If it’s not I wish you a happy day anyway. I’d like to pass what I wrote in my birthday card on to YOU- I sincerely hope that each and every one of you will be blessed with more happiness and love than you ever dreamed possible.

30 Things I’ve Learned in 30 Years

30 is a big round number, and I was inspired to share 30 things I’ve learned in 30 years. Here’s what I’ve learned…do you have any ahas to share? Leave a comment below!

1. There is good and bad in the world. Being with like minded
individuals can either lead to progress or destruction. Make sure you
are in the productive group.
2. Not everyone is out to get you even when it feels like the world is against you.
3. Everyone is dealing with problems and your issue may not be as bad as
theirs. The nicest home can be filled with the most troubles.
4. You can’t trust everyone you meet, but keep close the people that you can.
5. You can forgive everyone that hurts you, but you should never forget.
With that said, it should be noted that revenge is not always sweet.
Sometimes it’s actually really bitter.
6. What’s right is not always popular; what’s popular is not always
right. (all sources I found said this quote is by Albert Einstein)
7. Being the cool kid may not be all its cracked up to be. The amount of upkeep to always be trendy, have the
perfect clothes, perfect hair and coolest gadgets just sounds
exhausting. I’d rather get that extra hour of sleep than have every hair
in place thank you!
8. A smile burns more calories than a frown and it looks better too. A bonus: smiling while unhappy somehow makes it hurt less.
9. Some people are innately evil and should be avoided like the plague.
There really are some people who will beg, borrow and steal their way to
the top and don’t care who they have to step on to get their. As soon
as you realize who they are, pluck them out of your life!
10. Always look out for number 1, but don’t step in number 2 either. (movie line from Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield)
11. When you stop looking for mister right you find him. I didn’t see my
husband Jeremy coming but am so glad his path crossed mine.
12. Speaking before thinking has massive consequences but when the heart kicks in, the head shuts down.
13. I didn’t need to take as many math classes as I did. My calculator
really can solve all my math problems. P.S. love the tip calculator on
my phone!
14. Someone will always be bigger, better, stronger, smarter than me.
All I should really focus on is being the best I can be and following my
dreams.
15. I didn’t gain weight overnight and can’t expect to lose it overnight.
16. Living a healthy lifestyle is imperative and eating crap makes me
feel like crap. Note to self-must find ways to get cheaper healthier
food 🙂
17. The best job in the world is one that you love, can make money at
and are actually qualified to do. When it stops being fun its time to
change it.
18. Money is not the only key to happiness but it sure feels better to
cry in a car with air conditioning than one without…especially in the
Florida heat. Nonetheless, I’d rather be broke and happy than rich and
miserable.
19. Dogs are better than cats for some people and I prefer dogs. No hate
mail please-its my preference and what I learned about me!
20. Sharing is caring except when it comes to my toothbrush. Mom also
always said never share my drinks, my makeup or my hairbrush.
21. Karma is a bitch sometimes but she can be sweet too. Do unto others as you want done to you.
22. One red sock can ruin an entire load of white clothes but pink is one of my favorite colors.
23. If at first you don’t succeed destroy all evidence you tried. Never give up, never surrender.
24. Being an adult is fun but responsibility blows sometimes!
25. I should have stopped wishing I was older and enjoyed every minute
of the present. Too often I look forward to stuff in the future and
neglect the wonderful moments of now.
26. Wine is fine but liquor is quicker; either way hangovers suck!
27. Everything happens for a reason and we may never know what that
reason is. Some things in life have to be accepted and this is one of
them.
28. You don’t always have to know how something works to believe in
it…For example, I don’t know how electricity works but I use it and I
do know this- A man can cook with electricity and electricity can also
cook the man (lesson learned from Bob Proctor)
29. I do not have all the things I want today, but I have everything I
need and for that I’m grateful! There is always, ALWAYS, something to be
grateful for!
30…. The one I learned this year that has become my new mantra is: You haven’t actually failed until you stop breathing!!! I LOVE this lesson! I’m taking it to heart because I have been bummed over not being where I want to be in my career yet and have felt a little like a failure but you know what- as long as there is breath in my lungs and a beat in my heart that means I have another day to work towards making my dreams come true. So, I have not failed! I have just found ways that don’t work and I will continue working towards my goals until I can’t anymore!

Also check out Celebrites I Share My Birthday With!!!

Where I found the picture at the top of this post

This post contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

My First Beignet…and My Second and Third?

 

I’ve been wanting to try a beignet ever since first hearing about them on the Girls Next Door (don’t judge me!). The girls were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras- Kendra and Bridget were sick and Holly bought them coffee and beignets in attempt to bring them both back to life. I hadn’t heard of beignets before that episode actually- I know. I need to get out more. Well, today I got my chance to try beignets because one of the gals I work with has a dad who apparently loves cooking and has a killer recipe for these powdered sugar covered fluffy concoctions. Above is a photo she took after her dad made a batch and this morning she brought some into the office.

The best way I can describe a beignet now that I’ve finally eaten one is an airy pastry coated in crack powdered sugar. Just don’t call it a doughnut!!!

These little bastards are good and I confess one wasn’t enough so I had a second. The second one was just as good as the first. I would definitely be willing to stuff my face with them again if given the chance. Apparently they are best when made fresh though. I went back for a third about a half an hour later and it wasn’t as good.

Too impatient to wait on a trip to New Orleans or for someone to bring you some to try? Here’s a recipe to make your own at home.

This post contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

Robin Williams – Gone Too Soon

Robin Williams 7/21/51 to 8/11/14

#RIPRobinWilliams 


Today, is a sad day not just for Hollywood, but for anyone who has ever been touched by the humor that came from Robin Williams. For those of you who don’t know he was found dead this morning in his home and according to news reports it was from an apparent suicide.

Robin Williams was an amazing actor and I loved watching him in everything I saw him in. He made me laugh, he made me cry, he made me forget about everything going on in my life for those brief periods of time I let myself get lost in watching his films.

What saddens me the most is not only hearing the news that this funny man we all looked to for laughs committed suicide but that his publicist said he has been suffering from depression for a long time. Please folks- if there is ANYONE you know suffering from depression encourage them to get help. Don’t suffer in silence.

Source for image above

It’s Been a Blur Since Returning from BlogHer

David Tutera and The Famous Ashley Grant

The last several days have been a complete blur since returning from BlogHer 14. I got home at 11 something Sunday night, in bed by after midnight and woke up Monday morning exhausted and still on California time demanding three more hours of sleep because seriously it was still just 3 a.m. there! Note to self- next year take an extra day to recuperate!

I made lots of connections and have not yet had a chance to follow up with a single one of them. Sigh… The day job until I’m famous had to come first. The good news is it’s Friday and other than a photography gig and a movie I’m seeing I’ve planned to devote this weekend to going through my massive pile of business cards looking for the people I swore I’d email and then I will spend the next week doing just that!

I still have lots of photos to post, reviews to write and shout-outs to give and I will keep my word that this year I will not abandon the cards and the people behind them for several months. I will not give anyone the chance to forget about me! So, if I met you at BlogHer and said I’d write you – I will 🙂 If you said you would write me, I understand why you haven’t yet. Let’s continue to get caught up and we will connect real soon.

Xoxo-
Famous Ashley Grant

 

How I Spent My 2014 Fourth of July

How did you celebrate America’s 238th birthday? As for me, my husband came up with a romantically sweet idea. Warning! I’m about to get all gushy about how sweet my husband can be.

I had suggested going to a park near one of the many places in Tampa Bay that would be having fireworks. He upped the ante by suggesting we stay home drinking wine, eating cheese and watch fireworks from our balcony (lots of folks light fireworks around the lakes of our apartment complex). To take this romantic gesture even further he took me to Publix where we tried a bunch of cheeses to find four we liked the most for a yummy cheese plate. Then it was off to the wine aisle to grab a couple of bottles of wine and on the way to the check out we grabbed some crackers.

Here’s the final cheese plate with the crackers:

During the fireworks my hubby asked me to stand up and he and I hummed our first dance song from our wedding as we danced on the balcony. I felt like the only woman in the world on that balcony as the fireworks lit up the sky and we danced to our song. He definitely scored high on the romantic scale. After a while the fireworks faded but he had a plan for that too!

He grabbed a couple of RedBox flicks for us to finish out the night with.- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and 47 Ronin. We started with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and although I confess I fell asleep during 47 Ronin, overall I have to say this Fourth of July was the most fun I’ve had with my husband.

How did you celebrate your Fourth of July?

Have a drink you want me to try or a product you want me to review? 

Contact me HERE! I’m PR friendly ?

This post may contain a link to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

 

Where Were You 10 Years Ago?

BlogHer10 Selfiebration

Rather than answer today’s NaBloPoMo, I decided to answer a question posed in an email to me from BlogHer: Where Were You 10 Years Ago?

10 years ago I was 19 about to turn 20. I had been dating my husband for a year and was about to enter my third year of college. I think this might have also been about the time I was debating about whether or not I wanted to be a teacher and was contemplating a different path.

This was also about the time I was working as a substitute teacher and moving out of my parents house. I knew I wanted to live at least one year on my own before marrying my husband just to prove to myself I could take care of myself without a man.

It’s kind of wild sitting here thinking about the fact that I was on a completely different path back then. I was on track to be a social studies high school teacher with a steady job and summers off but a gut feeling that I wouldn’t be happy in that life.

In the past 10 years I’ve changed my major twice, gotten married, finally graduated college, had two internships, several writing gigs, published two books, written hundreds of blog posts, traveled to a few more states, finally got out of the United States and grown and changed more than I ever thought possible.

In the next 10 years I want to visit between 10 and 20 countries, publish 10 books or more, get to my goal weight, earn enough income to retire whenever I want and continue growing and learning. I don’t know what else the next 10 years will hold for me, but I’m very excited about the path I’m on now as a writer and photographer 🙂


What Does Blogging Mean To Me?

BlogHer10 Selfiebration

#selfiebration #blogher14

Yesterday I received an email from BlogHer that posed the question: What Does Blogging Mean to You? It got me to thinking about what my answer to this question would be. So, rather than do today’s NaBloPoMo since I don’t have a good response for it anyway, here is what blogging means to me:

Blogging means the opportunity to write how I feel and what I think. I have written restaurant reviews, bar reviews, movie reviews, product reviews and more. Blogging has allowed me to share my thoughts on all of these things with the world. Sure, the world may not be reading what I’m writing right now, but the fact that blogging means the world potentially could read what I have written excites me in a way that is hard to explain. Being able to share my stories with others is an exciting part of blogging. It also allows me to grow my audience via social media and discovering the different ways that I can do so. When I began a friend of mine told me about social media services similar to SocialFollow, which could help to get instagram followers it was something he spoke highly of, and while I looked into the service, I wasn’t ready to look social media at the time and wanted to get my blog off the ground first. I’ve accepted now that using social media and gaining followers comes with the territory when looking at blogging as a source of income as it helps to grow your brand.

Blogging means new avenues of income. In order to be a successful blogger, I quickly realized the need to use an excellent web hosting service. Luckily, a friend who was already blogging told me about hostiserver.com. When I began my career as a writer I knew I didn’t want to be the beat journalist writing the same thing every day. With blogging I get to write for a travel agent one day, a wedding planner the next day, a website all about Tampa the following day and I could do something completely different the rest of the week. This is my favourite part about being a blogger. No day is the same and that’s always exciting. When it came to writing, I felt more productive once I had my very own home office and added in modern office furniture. I was able to work in the best way I felt comfortable and that’s what makes this job even easier.

Blogging means I get to do what I want. Through blogging I’ve had some pretty spectacular experiences and for the most part have been able to write and get paid from any place that has an internet connection. As it stands right now I am working a full time day job, but I like to think that blogging will get me to my ultimate goal of making money writing and taking pictures from anywhere in the world.

In a nutshell- to me blogging means freedom! What does blogging mean to you?

I Want to Have a Big Rummage Sale

I’m having one of those days where I want to sell and give away almost everything of mine that isn’t nailed down. Do you ever look around your living space and feel like that? I want to keep my cameras and my laptop but I am seriously just looking at everything else in my apartment wishing I could just put it all up for sale on Craigslist or something like that and start over with my clothes, my dishes, furniture, etc…

I know that everything I have wouldn’t get much money but for some reason this morning instead of wanting to clean anything, I just want to get rid of it all. Tell me I’m not alone in this feeling.

I’ve talked about this before, but I have a desire to live more of a minimalistic lifestyle. I have watched the movie Jack Reacher a few times and one of my favorite things about the character Jack Reacher is he has no belongings. There is a scene in the beginning of the film where he walks into a thrift store, buys clothes to change into and then donates the ones he was wearing when he walked in on his way out of the store.

Now, I would never put on clothes from a thrift store before washing them, but the idea of having no possessions and being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want excites me.

I think this feeling is one of the reasons I’ve recently become addicted to reading about Natalie Sisson a.k.a. The Suitcase Entrepreneur. When she built her business she made it so that she could work from anywhere in the world that had an internet connection. She lived and worked out of her suitcase! Talk about freedom!!! Her clients never know if they are getting an email from her while she is sitting on a beach or doing a webinar minutes from the Eiffel Tower! How cool is that?

More and more lately I’ve just wanted to sell and give away my possessions and just hit the road with my husband making money by writing and taking pictures.

I’ve started to wonder what is holding me back. I’ve got debt but so what? Who says I can’t make enough money to pay my bills from the road?!? I’m not getting any younger and I fear that if I don’t just take off and hit the road soon I may never do it.

So, this post began as one about me not really wanting to clean my apartment, but I guess the real heart of the matter is I want to run away from home. LOL!

A Wake Up Call- Stop Burning the Candle at Both Ends

burning the candle at both ends

This morning was a serious wake up call. I woke up feeling so sick that I couldn’t go into my day job. I have seriously got to make some adjustments to the way I organize my time, my
business, my life. If I keep burning the candle at both ends there won’t be any light left for me or anyone else to enjoy. 

Folks chasing your dreams while trying to pay the bills- how do you organize your time to have it all?

I posted this originally on facebook this morning and Domestic Goddess Kristen behind the amazing blog The Road to Domestication had the best answer for me. Check out what she wrote:


I literally SCHEDULE IN down time. Sounded so dumb to me at first…but everything else in life takes up time, so why not schedule in some time to rest, too?!

I have also had to remind myself that I CANNOT DO IT ALL, and I can’t HAVE it all…and that is

okay. I prioritize the day – the things I HAVE to do, like go to my full-time job, because if I don’t do that, then I’m in trouble as far as budgetary needs, ha!


I make sure there is time to do something for MYSELF. As selfish as I thought that was at first, I realized that, if I crash and burn, I can’t do anything for anyone! And if I am rested, and happy, and not feeling stressed, I really can do everything else BETTER. Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m out getting a pedicure every week or anything. Sometimes doing something for myself is just going for a walk in peace and quiet…or going to bed early! LOL

New for me in 2014 is blocking. I have literally blocked out several months of the year so I don’t have anything else happening except photography, Or except insurance. Or except family time. Or anything else. Not only can you get more accomplished when you’re focused, but you don’t feel so scattered from having to fight 10 fires at once.

I don’t even know if any of that book I just wrote makes sense…but YOU asked! LOL….

We are the ones who have a hard time listening to our bodies But we only have one! Hard to remember, but true!

To me every single part of what Kristen wrote makes perfect sense. I think it’s exactly what I needed to read right now. I realize I can’t keep giving myself to everyone because that’s what caused me to wake up this morning and literally have nothing left. I could barely form a sentence when I called in sick. I had the most massive migraine and just took some Advil and went back to bed.

I normally get up at 6:30/7 at the latest and I slept in til 11 a.m. and felt so unaccomplished because of it. I just have been trying so hard to do so many things that my body slapped me silly this morning and then threw me back in bed.

Now I want YOU to chime in. How do YOU find a balance when trying to chase your dreams and maintain a day job?


Source for image above