Found this nifty questionnaire on The Dansha Diaries and since I thought it was cool I decided I would do one all about me!

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

I found an awesome mocktail recipe for Virgin Sangria (below) that I’m dying to try. As soon as I make another coupon list I’ll be heading to the store to buy the materials to make this yummy looking drink. According to reviews it’s a hit. Looking forward to trying it 🙂

What’s your favorite mocktail recipe?

Virgin Sangria (Source for Recipe)

Ingredients:

My biggest regret is how often I have neglected to live in the present moment. Rather than enjoy every single day to it’s fullest, I was always thinking about upcoming things. I can’t wait until I get to high school became I can’t wait until graduation became I can’t wait until college became I can’t wait to get married….you get the idea….

Too often I have looked forward to something rather than being happy with my current state of, well, being. I keep saying things like I can’t wait to go to Europe, I can’t wait to get a place of my own, I can’t wait to be blah blah blah…. If I died today would they put on my tombstone “she couldn’t wait for this”? That’s a scary thought. Am I just going to keep fast forwarding my life until that final day of my life comes? I don’t want to live like a person rushing to die!

I realize that I have taken many things for granted. So, I’m planning to do something I’ve never REALLY done before and that’s stop looking forward. Yes, I’ve said this in the past, but I’ve got to commit to living in the current moment and being 100% content with where I am right now.

I’ve got a lot of things I want to do, but planning to do them should not be all I think about. This way of thinking has kept me in a deep depression that I hide from the world. I constantly think about the things I haven’t done, haven’t achieved, haven’t received, and it keeps me feeling a sense of lack that makes me so sad.

I should instead be looking at what I HAVE done, what I HAVE achieved, what I HAVE received and be grateful for the abundance of things in my life I overlook and take for granted daily.

I saw this awesome photo on facebook and plan to really commit to this:

No more regrets! I forgive myself for always trying to fast forward my life and am excited to be here today and be here every day from now on. I will keep working towards my goals and dreams but I will not center my life on the future anymore. I will be grateful for all that I have right now and be grateful for all that I receive in each moment for the rest of my days. Tomorrow CAN wait, let’s enjoy today while today is still here!

Source for image above.

Difficulty: Easy

Materials:

– Scissors
– Crayons
– Construction Paper – 8.5″X11″
– Your hand

How to Assemble:

1. Fold a piece of 8.5″X11″ Construction Paper in half. Trace your hand close to the folded edge. The result should look like this:

2. Carefully cut out the hand taking care to not cut the thumb or the finger to that the card will still be connected. It should then look like this:

3. Add your own message to the inside of the card. As you can see in the above image I used the heart gap as an “O” to write out the message I LOVE U! On the front as pictured at the top of this post I simply wrote “Happy Mother’s Day!” Feel free to get creative though and write whatever you feel will tell mom you love her!

Found this on the facebook page of The Buried Life and loved it so much I HAD to share it- “I know today is Monday and you assume it’s going to suck, but according
to statistics, there will be over 5,000 weddings, 10,000 childbirths,
and 42 million hugs occurring today throughout the United States. Also
today, there will be at least 4 people that will win the multimillion
dollar lotteries, 600 people will get promotions at work, and 3,000
people will lose their virginity. There will also be 600 dogs adopted,
35,000 balloons sold, and 800,000 skittles eaten. Plus, the words ‘I
love you’ will be said over 9 million times. So again, I know today is
Monday and you assume it’s going to suck, but just smile, because
according to statistics, it should actually be a really nice day.”

Have you heard of the show The Buried Life? The premise is simple. What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? This simple question spawned what is now a more than 6 year journey of four young guys trying to cross items off their bucket list. One of the coolest things to me about their journey is that for every item they accomplish on their list they have to help a stranger accomplish something on the stranger’s list.

I just finished watching Season 2 last night and immediately went online and purchased their book and I can’t wait to get it and read it!!! These guys are a massive inspiration to me.

Like them on facebook and while you are there, like me too 🙂

Source for image above.

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

Have you heard of Sarah Jenks? I confess, I only recently learned about her. However, now that I know who she is and what she does, I’m a fan!

The Reader’s Digest version about Sarah Jenks is that she is an advocate for the empowerment of women who teaches them to “Live More, Weigh Less”. Regardless of where you are now in mind, body and spirit, her goal “is to change the landscape of the way women relate to their bodies and to redefine what it takes to be happy.”

Do you see why I became an instant fan? Ah, she is amazing. Watching her free training videos got me pumped up enough to make changes in my own life too.

Here are 5 Things I Have Already Learned From Sarah Jenks! 

1. You should not wait until you have lost weight for your dreams to come true. Instead of focusing so much on all the things you will do “when you are thin” do them now! Why wait on the weight?

2. You should not be working out. Instead, you should be moving and having fun and getting in tune with your body. Why pump iron and hate it when you can go out dancing and have a blast? Why get bored on a treadmill when instead you could join a friend for a walk on the beach. Moving your body is way better than “working out”. If it’s a chore, it’ll be a bore!

3. Diets don’t work. Sure, you can lose weight but eventually you will give up on your diet and possibly gain all the weight back, if not more.- I can DEFINITELY relate to this. I was on a crazy diet last year and once I could no longer stand being on it, I went right back to my old eating ways and gained every last damn pound back. No! I’m not proud of it, but it proved to me that Sarah is right, diets simply don’t work.

4. You can make a change right now! You can begin doing things to make your dreams come true regardless of where you are in life.
5. Getting spiritual can help you “find the magic in everyday life”. Connecting with a higher power, meditating and just getting in tune with your mind can help you find your happiness regardless of your situation.

Get ready because according to http://payitforwardday.com/, Thursday April 25, 2013 is Pay it Forward Day…

Have you seen the movie Pay it Forward? If not the Reader’s Digest version of the film is a 12 year old boy is given an assignment to fix the world inspiring him to help three people with the requirement that they help three people and thus the helping will be “paid forward” to the next recipient.

If you haven’t seen the movie, then maybe you have heard those wild stories about the chain of folks that bought coffee for the person behind them and it kept going until one person finally didn’t want to pay for the coffee for the person behind them. One of the most recent occurrences I read of this happening was in December in Winnipeg Canada where a “pay it forward” coffee chain went on for three hours…

Have you ever participated in an act of paying it forward? I personally have. I have given coupons to ladies that I knew could use them at the grocery store, I’ve paid for coffee for the stranger behind me, I’ve even paid for gas for someone who’s credit card kept getting declined. In each instance I simply said to pay it forward…I like to think that these recipients of my random generosity did just that.

I think the idea of paying it forward is brilliant. If everyone started doing random acts of kindness with no expectation of receiving something in return, I think the world could be a better place. Maybe I’m taking it too far with that belief, but maybe not.

Looking for ways you can do a random act of kindness on Pay it Forward day or anyday? Here are some ideas:

– If you are like me and sometimes get breakfast at a chain on the way to work, give the cashier $5 for the person’s breakfast behind you.

– Leave a $1 in the toy section at the Dollar Store. I saw this on a website where a woman would take little snack bags and place $1 and the tax in them and taped them in random spots of the toy section at Dollar Tree. Can you imagine the excitement in a child being one of the lucky ones to find that baggy?!?

– While at lunch/dinner today tip your waiter 50% or all of the cost of your bill. Or pay for some stranger’s entire meal. I recently read a sweet story of a young couple who went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day and when they requested the check there was a note on it from a stranger that said “The only request is that someday you pay it forward. In the meantime, enjoy your youth, enjoy friendship, enjoy love. Be good to each other and good luck.” The anonymous older couple had paid for a $250 dinner for these young lovers!!! Amazing!

– The simple one that has gone viral- pay for the coffee for the person behind you at your favorite coffee place

– If you own a business pick a random past customer and give them something free

– In downtown Tampa and St. Pete meter monitors watch for meters to expire to give folks parking tickets. I sometimes keep extra coins to fill those meters before they expire saving random people from getting a ticket. You could do the same in your area =)

– Leave a coupon next to an item at the grocery store. The person that gets it might be needing that little bit of savings and you could make their day.

What ideas do you have for paying it forward? Have you paid it forward in the past? I’d love to know. Share it in the comments below.

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.

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Amy Miller, also know as the gal behind the website http://vomitingchicken.com/ nominated my website Famous Ashley Grant for The Liebster Award!

This is how she informed me “Hi Famous Ashley Grant! You’re about to get even more famous, because I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award, to promote up-and-coming
blogs! ”

What a cool honor! Thanks bunches Amy!!!!

I found out about Amy Miller’s site via the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. I had mentioned at the beginning of the month that I’m participating in Two Blogging Challenges and although it’s been a little rough blogging daily for these two challenges, I’ve been blown away by the serge in traffic on my sites and have loved interacting with other bloggers as well as reading posts on blogs I never would have known existed. It has ultimately been a blast and I fully intend to participate in more of blogging challenges from now on.

So, what is this Liebster Award thing anyway? Well, since you asked…I pulled this info about The Liebster Award directly from Vomiting Chicken…

“The Liebster Award is given to ‘up and coming blogs,’ and encourages the discovery of cool new blogs.

So here’s what is involved:

When you receive the award, you post eleven random facts about yourself and answer eleven questions from the person who nominated you.

Then you pass the award onto eleven other blogs (making sure that you tell them you nominated them) and ask them eleven questions. (One might wonder at the significance of the number “eleven” here, but that would probably be silly.)  You are not allowed to nominate the blog that nominated you!  So here we go:”

Here are 11 random things about me:
1. My Zodiac sign is Leo and it shows. I love attention, am loyal to a fault and tend to leap before looking. I’m wildly ambitious, creative, warm and stubborn.
2. I am deathly afraid of spiders. I have fled houses, pools and even cars to avoid them.
3. I broke my wedding ring finger in sixth grade playing basketball.
4. I was a ballet, jazz and tap dancer in training for about 11 years.
5. I got all the way to a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do and broke several toes during board breaking exercises because my dance training was to always point my toes and in Tae Kwon Do and board breaking you are supposed to flex. Whoops!
6. When I say “I’m the Famous Ashley Grant,” I do in fact want to be famous- I’ve said this a lot though- not Kim Kardashian famous, but more like well known writer famous. The idea of being a celebrity scares me because although I don’t mind being an open book a complete loss of privacy is not okay with me.
7. I have a gambling addiction. It’s something I struggle with daily and am even working on an eBook about. I hope to self publish it via Amazon by the end of the month or at least by May 2013.
8. I want to be a writer, photographer and nomad and make my money with writing and photography while traveling the world. I finally made my dream of being a proBlogger come true- now I just need to become a 6 figure a year earning proBlogger.
9. I’m not ruling the idea of having children out completely but I definitely don’t want kids until I’ve traveled a little more.
10. I’m generally a happy person but have given my trust away too freely and been burned in the past so often have my guard up when I meet new people.
11. I married to the man of my dreams in 2006 and plan to be with him the rest of my life. Amazing things have happened in our relationship while it was raining 😉 He doesn’t like the spotlight so I try to avoid pulling him into it with me.

My answers to the 11 questions asked of me:
1. What is your favorite meal? I’m always willing to eat pizza but when I’m homesick my two favorite meals are eggs sunny side up with biscuits for breakfast and beef pot roast with mashed taters for dinner.
2. Do you believe in space aliens? If so, how would you describe them? I think there is a possibility that aliens exist and they must be smart because they have avoided Earth.
3. How do you keep your house clean?  I don’t! I can’t keep the house clean and see the world at the same time!
4. How do you stay fit when you spend much time at the computer? Again, I don’t 🙁 I tried a diet, lost a bunch of weight and then like a fool went back to my old ways of eating and gained it back. Now instead of focusing on dieting, I’m just walking more and trying to eat healthier foods without getting rid of my favorite things altogether.
5. What’s a dream that you hope to accomplish this year? To make 6 figures a year through writing and taking pictures. So it’s a dream I want to accomplish this year and every year for the rest of my life!
6. Do you own a grand piano?  Do you play an instrument? Nope- no grand piano. I think I can still play the Recorder though.
7. How will you spend your birthday this year? When I sell enough eBooks I hope to go to Europe for 3 months. If  When that happens, I’ll spend it in Europe!
8. What are some of your favorite movies and t.v. shows? Revenge and Burn Notice are my two favorites right now. I’m also getting into The Buried Life. My go to picks when nothing else is on is Law & Order or Law & Order: Criminal Intent on Netflix.
9. What are you reading right now, book and magazine-wise? Book wise- I’m reading Louise L. Hay’s You can Heal Your Life and Magazine Wise I’m reading Woman’s World– It’s my weekly required feel good reading!!!
10. Are you a cat person or a dog person or a gerbil person? Dog and cat person. I want to get a kitten and a puppy at the same time and raise them together. First, I have to move out of my apartment complex though. They charge RENT plus a security deposit for animals. Unreal!!!
11. Do you have a favorite Youtube video that you’d like to share with the class? My go to Youtube video is Funny Cats. No matter my mood, it always makes me happy 🙂

And now for my 11 nominations (in no particular order):

1. Bobbie Yvonne Kingsbury at http://fashionauthoritybobbie.wordpress.com/
2. Kristen (Toney) Campbell at http://theroadtodomestication.com/
3. Robert Yaniz at http://www.crookedtable.com/
4. Kathy Dorf at http://www.thestyleref.com/
5. Candace (Braun) Davison at http://www.collegiatecook.com/
6. Holley Sinn at http://hollisphere.blogspot.com/
7. Kim Kindle at http://www.momof3thatskimberly.com/
8. Kathy Widenhouse at http://www.nonprofitcopywriter.com
My last three picks are not up and coming (they are quite established) but I LOVE promoting these gals nonetheless. Besides, that is what the Liebster Award is all about right? Promoting and introducing cool blogs!!!
9. Chris Kuhn at http://www.ckuhntampabay.com/
10. Liza Ford at http://www.addictedtosaving.com/
11. Tracy Ann Guida at http://www.myothercitybythebay.com/

Now for the 11 questions for you all, if you’d like to participate:

1. If you could guest blog for any website, which one would you choose?
2. Who is the person you always go to for advice? Why?
3. What animal do you relate most to? Why?
4. What is your favorite thing about being a blogger?
5. Why did you start blogging in the first place?
6. Where is your favorite place to eat and what do you order there?
7. What’s your favorite cocktail recipe?
8. Peanut Butter or chocolate chip cookies?
9. If there was a pot luck, what dish would you be bringing? Would you make it or buy it?
10. How do you de-stress and decompress?
11.What is your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Do you 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 contains links to an affiliate. See my disclosure policy for more information.

I said in a recent post that my goal beginning with this year is to make 6 figures a year annually. Here, now are 10 of my ideas of ways to make 6 figures in one year. At
the end of this list, feel free to add a comment if you have a better
way to make 6 figures in one year or if you would like to chime in about
how crazy/brilliant you think I am in the comments section.

1. Ask 100,000 people for $1 and assume they will give it to me. Or get
really crazy and ask 20,000 people for $5 and assume they will give it
to me 😉
2. Write a book, self-publish on Amazon, at $2 in royalties sell 50,000
copies to have $100,000. Repeat every year for the rest of my working
days. Ok maybe this isn’t the best option but there are loads of great self publishing companies out there that will help you make some money!
3. Promote a product that is at least $100 on Amazon and get 25,000 people to purchase it since I currently get 4% of any purchase as an affiliate.
4. Sell 20,000 items on Fiverr.com. My current offer that is up is to “Paint Your Name Graffiti Style on Canvas for $5”
5. Begin stripping in Pasco/Polk County (since someone said I’m too fat
to strip in Hillsborough- long story LOL) for a year hoping to earn
about $274 a night. Mom, if you are reading this- calm down. I’m not
actually going to become a stripper it was just an idea I had for this
list of 10 ways I could make 6 figures in a year!
6. Make a Youtube video and try to make it go viral to make 6 figures. Not sure what the per
view rate would be so I’m not sure how many views I need for a viral
video- but you get the idea 😉 I could always Buy YouTube Subs to subsequently boost my views and bring in those 6 figures!
7. Use Google Adsense on all of my blogs and somehow get enough page
views on them to result in 6 figures. Again, not sure what the per view
rate would be but assuming a penny per view I would need 10,000,000 in
one year.
8. Write 4,000 blog posts for other people at $25 each
9. Work 2,000 hours as a photographer at $50/hr in one year
10. Get 1,000 freelance writing gigs at $100 each in one year. The most
I’ve gotten in one year was 52 gigs at $100/gig, but hey! I didn’t try
as hard as I should have and if I put my mind to it anything is
possible. Right? Right? Crickets? Seriously…was that sound byte really
necessary? Oh, those sounds are in my head? I guess I’m just losing
it…

Maybe I should just meet a millionaire and ask him for $100,000. This is
highly unlikely, but then again I’m very persuasive when I’m motivated
enough to get what I want. Ha!

In all honesty, I’m thinking the one I’ll pursue the hardest to make 6
figures this year is option #2 because I just finished writing my first
eBook and plan to self publish via Amazon this month 😉

Source for image above.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a die hard The Girls Next Door 
fan. Ever since the first episode I watched featuring Bridget Marquardt, Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson I was hooked! Who wouldn’t want a
life of luxury and fantasy that these women got to live?!? I personally
wouldn’t want to be a girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, but I would love the
perks they got from living at the mansion!!!

While watching The Girls Next Door
I learned a lot believe it or not. My favorite girlfriend was and always will be Bridget Marquardt. Why? Well, she was a mass
communications major, I too was a mass communications major. She loves
Halloween, I love Halloween. She loves to dress up and I do too when I
have the money to do so. She likes to party plan and I do as well…the
list goes on and on of things I have in common with this awesome chick.
Of the many lessons I learned watching the show, here are five that
REALLY stuck with me:

1. Never give up on your dreams!
Bridget tested to be in
Playboy and didn’t get chosen so she went back
to school. However, she didn’t give up on her dream of being in 
Playboy.
When the opportunity to move into the mansion came up she jumped at the
chance. Not expecting anything from it, she just set out to have fun.
Low and behold though moving in led to the chance to be in the magazine
and she was stunning in every pictorial she was a part of.
2. Age ain’t nothing but a number!
Even over the age of 30 Bridget still had a rockin’ body and got in
Playboy magazine. Now, I don’t desire to be in Playboy, but as a gal
that is not exactly getting any younger this inspires me! You can be
sexy over 30!
3. Be genuine! In the first
episode Bridget talks about how she was there at the mansion to have fun
and not to see what she could out of it. She was always genuine and the
girls that were fake were weeded out of the mansion. People can tell
when you are just being friendly to use people. Be genuine with people
and your relationships will be deeper and more fulfilling.
4. You CAN eat and look good!
The episode where Bridget prepares for her strip tease and the episode
where she prepares to do a workout video both spoke to me. I’ve
struggled with my weight since high school and it was nice to see
someone who loves food as much as I do could workout in a fashion that
burned off pizza, cake and whatever else she wanted to eat!

This is a twitter exchange I had with Bridget in January about her workout routine nowadays:

5. Once a Dream Comes True, Dream Bigger! You can keep dreaming even after your dreams come true. The end goal of being in Playboy led Bridget to dreaming of being a radio host, hosting a travel show and so much more. I hope that all of my dreams come true and once they do I plan to make new lists of new dreams and go after them too.

Are you a fan of  The Girls Next Door? What are your favorite episodes?!?
Want to get the series on DVD? Click the HERE to get all of the episodes.

Source for the image above.