this booze's best

don't forget to pick up this great beer for your Fourth of July or other summer cookout. it's Samuel Adams™ Cherry Wheat. this summer-friendly ale has a hint of cherry flavor. it's best when ice cold and is refreshing like a cherry coke! i want to turn my non-beer drinking friends on to this. they always turn up their noses when i they find out i don't mind the taste of beer. 

take the box

"Mr. False Pretence, you don't make sense..."

today is the last day of my "fitness challenge". this was really more of a preview. i start my job monday so i will no longer require myself to incorporate activity daily. i have by no means met my goals. i did, for the most part, stick to my promise and i'm proud of myself. stay tuned this Fall for my REAL fitness challenge. 

*kiss* *kiss*

in the final days of Bath & Body Works' Semi-Annual Sale, i was sent a coupon to get a free lip product with any purchase. I decided to make it a two-for-one deal and got two C.O. Bigelow® Mentha Lip Tints: one in Bare Mint™ and one in Plum Mint™. the .5 oz tubes cost $7.50 regularly and were on sale for $5 each. with the coupon, i got technically got them for $2.50 each. 

Product: Mentha Lip Tint by C.O. Bigelow® 

Description: their claim (not verbatim): this mint-infused balm promises to freshen breath while adding a hint of color. Bare gives a natural tint while plum adds a slight berry color.

my experience: both plum and bare appear exactly the same when applied which is no surprise because in the tube they appear similar. the tint is not overwhelming. in fact, it's barely therer. my entire mouth was indeed freshened. 

Verdict: meh. it's like popping a fresh piece of dentene ice ™ or some other extreme gum. it's not like a pleasant tingle at initial application like my fav. MAC lip glass, wet, wild, wonderful. but i don't know because even that took a little getting used to for me. so maybe its not as bad as i'm making it out to be. still, i like these. and at regularly half the price as my usual go-to, i will keep them around. i think they will pair nicely with my other fav, MAC lip liner in chestnut. however, that does not mean i will forgo my beloved MAC and get these instead. they are good for daytime use so i guess i'll just pick them up when the sale rolls around again.

*i tried to get some pics but there was no clear difference between them and the color was not noticeable at all on camera. 

[crunches, pushups]

more confessions of a movie addict

i took my niece to see the Incredible Hulk. i dont think she liked it but she was never really interested in seeing it in the first place. she wanted to go simply because i asked her if she wanted to go. it was funny to me that when i asked she said, "not really" but she wouldn't let me forget that i asked her all week after i wasn't able to take her when i had planned. 

I was never a fan, but i did enjoy the ride at Universal Studios- Florida. I didn't read the comic book, watch the cartoon/tv show, or the first movie they made (i cant really say that for many of the other comic book super heros). i really did enjoy the movie, though. i'm actually interested in the sequel (same goes for ironman). they should probably just make the sequels for both just one movie but that's just me valuing simplicity while "they" value the green backs.... 

like in any movie, some parts sorta got on my nerves. the dialogue was week, but isn't that the case with all of these comic-book-storylines-turned-motion-pictures? they "strategically placed" the catch phrases such as "Hulk smash". when i say "strategically", read it "corny-ly". think "yippie-kayay motherf*cker" in all the Die Hard movies. but in all the terrible-ness was the greatness. it was stayed true to the lameness of being based on a comic book while incorporating big budget special effects and keeping it's promise of being a summer blockbuster. 

next....i need to see Get Smart!

[35 min. cardio, crunches]

pregnant pause

is this the norm? or is there something wrong with ME? i'm beginning to think there is. the problem i have with facebook right now, not that is it within any of the makers' control, is it seems almost daily i come across a photo album of a "friend" my age or younger who is pregnant. it's usually not "oh, she's getting a little belly". no, these young ladies show off their stomachs as if it is the new "it" accessory. the response of the masses? "cute!", "congratulations!" (often mispelled), etc. it's well-approved of and celebrated that these unwed, sometimes uneducated beyond high school, women will introduce another young soul to this corrupt world soon. many times it comes as little surprise, as i see these girls are not doing more than what is common for them growing up in their non-capital hill or un-upper northwest DC neighborhoods; i reside "east of the river" myself. i just felt that they have been done a disservice as they are told they can move beyond their parents' achievements and attend college but are not educated about the hardships of young, single motherhood.

or maybe i'm just old-fashioned or judgemental. i try not to judge others. i give people the benefit of the doubt. but now i'm belieiving this is done on purpose. for whatever reason, these girls want to have babies with these young men. they can't just not be protecting themselves in these days of HIV/AIDS and other STDs that won't go away with just a trip to the free clinic. they can't want to be forever connected to their high school or college sweetheart who they will probably grown to hate in the next couple of years as they mature and actually come into their adult selves. no, this cannot be it.

these young ladies know what they are doing. they are going to get married or at least know they will love this man forever ('cause i'm not a big fan of marriage either). they simply want a child and don't care if the father is not present in their life. they are fully capable of giving the child the best life as they see it. and if they are not using condoms 100% of the time (because who really does that?), they are prepared for the consequences and they know these young males very well including knowing they have a clean health record. they KNOW what they are doing. i REALLY hope so....

so this leads me to question, maybe i'm the one not doing something right. based on this trend i should have already had or be having my first child. based on the cycle of my mother and sister, i still have one more year. so i am either a little behind or right on track. however, at 10 when i became an aunt, i realized how tough and demanding it is to have a child, work, and go to school. eventhough my sister is now married, she just had a second child and even that appears rough to me and she has PLENTY of help. this scares me and i really hope it's only my "friends" doing this.

[crunches, push-ups]

Mario Badescu

brown girl gumbo did a post on mario badescu's drying lotion. she beat me to talking about this great line. about a month or so ago, i came across a post in one of my favorite blogs telling me how to get free samples of this skin care line. basically, you go to the 'contact us' section of the site, fill in your personal info (including skin info), a representative will contact you through your method of choice with follow-up questions (i chose email), and you are sent samples for an entire regimen (pretty generous, could maybe stretch it out for a week). here's what i received:

face wash- seaweed cleansing soap- liked it!

did not like the bits of seaweed in it, but it's no big deal. the scent was ok, too. 

toner- cucumber cleansing lotion- loved it!

not harsh at all and worked better, i think, than some astringents containing alcohol.

moisturizer- honey moisturizer-liked it!

did not make my skin greasy, however it does not say whether or not there is SPF in it, so i'm guessing not. 

acne treatment- drying cream-liked it!

like BGG, it didn't work for me on first application to one of my painful cystic pimples. however, it works great when i just have a large regular pimple. 

mask- flower & tonic mask- loved it!

calms my skin when i get acne flare-ups. 

eye cream- hyaluronic eye cream- idk

i think i used it one when i first got it and was indifferent. i believe it got lost in the move back to DC...

[35 min. cardio, crunches]

Toni Braxton & Babyface- Give You My Heart

"all them mocha lattes..."

so here's the thing with my exercise. i'm the type of person who needs to see results QUICKLY. i need instant gratification, not just with this but in general. i guess you can say i'm a rather impulsive person because of this. so anyway, i'm not losing any weight. honestly, that is to be expected. i'm not doing nearly enough or modifying my eating habits such that to warrant weight loss. that really was not the goal. the goal was to get me in the habit of doing something physical everyday and technically i did something physical yesterday but im not counting that as exercise. 

the goal was to also tighten up from the first 20 lbs i lost at the end of last year. that goal was not achieved and what i didnt notice before has become blaringly obvious, the cellulite on my thighs. im going to get some firming lotion on that and see how well that helps. 

so today im just going to do some crunches and spend some time with my weights and call it a day. i didn't sleep well last night so i am in no mood for running or pilates...

another one

do you have a collection of products that you don't remember if you like them or not? i came across some things and was like "do i like you? if so, why don't i use you more often? if not, why are you still here?". i had this moment with soft & beautiful botanicals shampoo, conditioner and leave-in. it was their repair kit, i picked up from walgreens a while ago for like $5. i guess that's my favorite price. 

prior to getting ready for an interview thursday afternoon, i decided to straighten my hair. after my two mile run, i knew my hair needed a wash. i thought to myself, i want my hair pressed but it's just going to revert tomorrow when i work out again. i need to preemptive-ly treat the stress i'm causing. so i reached for this:

product: soft & beautiful botanicals hair repair kit

description: the fortifying shampoo leaves your hair completely stripped of any moisture. it's crunchy and if i ran my hand over it, it would probably make a *squeaky* sound. the reconstructing conditioner is thick and creamy, yet does nothing to rectify this situation. my hair was still dry and now completely stiff. the leave-in, deep penetrating moisturizer, struggled to help but the damage was already done. 

verdict: get a subway footlong instead! i have no idea why this set is lingering around but i do know why it has not been used. i still put the flat iron to my head and my hair produced its own natural oils to facilitate that however, my ends are soooooo thirsty. 

[pilates]

summer movie wish list

what do you want to see?

synopses available on imdb.com and moviefone.com

[2 mi. + crunches + push-ups]

Jodeci - U And I

[crunches]

kung fu panda--yea i saw it...

i need to be more open to movies. i feel like i'm sorta missing out. i saw kung fu panda this past weekend. don't ask me why. just a weird turn of events. i was pleasantly surprised. it was actually entertaining and held my attention. i don't know if my niece would like it, but i could see taking a kid to see it. i guess sometimes i shouldn't take myself so seriously. so go ahead and take a little one in your life if they have been curious to see it. otherwise, it's one of those things you could wait for dvd or cable on a boring day to entertain you. 

[2 mi.]

motions weightless detangling conditioner

monday morning i wanted to do a co-wash because i've been wearing my hair curly due to working out. i went the BSS and picked up this $5 conditioner and here's what i thought:

product- see post title

description- first, i did not enjoy the scent. it was grapefruit-y. i like real grapefruit but the artificial smell is sort of annoying. also, "weightless"= watered down. i prefer a creamier conditioner. i guess it was ignorant of me to think it would be creamy when it said weightless. plus, i should have read the ingredients because among alcohol (bad) and parabens (i heard they were somehow bad), water is the first ingredient. so you can imagine my hair felt pretty dry. 

verdict: get a gallon of gas instead. i'm going to use it because i hate to waste. it's fine to use after daily workouts but if i actually wanted to go somewhere, i was going to need to put in some work to get my hair cute. and look how short it looks....

[cardio pilates dvd + push-ups + crunches]

what do you like to use for co-washes?

an un-post

i am not posting today. i did not workout this morning. it's not my fault, though. the city decided that they need to replace the fire hydrant (is that one word?) across the street from me and, in doing so, need to turn off my water. if i were to exercise like i want to and not be able to shower after for like 8 hours (their estimate not mine) that would be ungood. hopefully, things will be back to normal tomorrow!

STAC-- movie review from non-fan

i am not a sex and the city fan. it's not that i am opposed to the show in any way. i just never got into it. i have probably seen 3 full episodes and that is a generous estimate. with all the hype around the movie, it became one of those things i purposely ignore. 

i saw the film on a whim: i was bored, my friend had come up on two free movie passes. i'm going to go off on a short tangent to explain how she got said passes because it amuses me. she and her mother went to see Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins and two people got to fighting inside the theater and the theater gave out passes to patrons since they had missed a good portion of the movie. unfortunate for my friend but why was she going to see that in theaters anyway? also why are you having an altercation in the movie theater?

i am actually kind of glad boredom got the best of me and i decided to spend my friday night with 4 old white women...and J-Hud. i tend to forget about her and so did the film, but that is another thought for another day. there was a sweet story line, but corny nonetheless. i feel that's how the show was and it was tolerable and even sometimes enjoyable. but i'm a corny person. you don't have to be a regular viewer to follow and enjoy this movie. i got a little "carried away". 

[2 mi. and weights]

no, we can't!

your weekend homework assignment:

1. visit this site: http://www.theassassinationofbarackobama.com/

2. read the accompanying press release. 

3. come back and express yourself. 

i don't care how you justify it, this is not ok with me... and maybe that's what the "artist" wanted. 

Game 1

are you kidding? i don't care*; i'm just waiting for football season!

*i did have the game on. celtics got 'em

[i spent some time with my 8 lb weights and i did some crunches. also, i didn't start exercising yesterday; i started tuesday.]

accountability

one of the best tactics for weight loss is to tell others you are trying to lose weight. they say it holds you accountable not only to yourself, but to your friends, family and co-workers. therefore, i will be using you all to hold me to my promise to work more activity into my day. 

as you may know, i am pretty much a daily poster with this blog. with every post, i will post what i did activity-wise for that day. i can't post on any other topic without this information but i can post only this information. 

wish me luck!!!

*update*

today i did my cardio pilates dvd

reader appreciation III

today i profess my love for DON!!!!!! our brains are married (and you're like "WTF does that mean?"; he knows). i LOVE his blog and i love that he is my only faithful male reader. i suggest you check out his writing because the brother writes WELL. he constructs paragraphs like landscaping and his poetry is like small statues or figurines. what i mean to say is he turns verbal into visual and inspires deep thought. unfortunately, he decided to bow outta the game and is no longer blogging. 

so for my alterego, the male ashley, my literary twin, i will post some likes and dislikes:

i like:

• gummi bears


• when the light turns green as i approach the intersection


• birthday cake for no reason


• googling things and looking things up on wikipedia


• summer cookouts


• intellectual african-americans


• hand-written letters


• homemade mixtapes/cds with a message for the recipient


• synchronized thought


• unexpected donations to the ashley fund

i dislike:

• old gummies of any kind


• food caught in the strainer after doing dishes


• birthday cake on an actual birthday


• when the sun shines through my window waking me up


• the fact that mayor fenty is banning ALL types of fireworks in DC


• how i can't force you and i'm not going to even try


• tears on my pillow


• psuedo-intellectuals


• compartmentalization/categorization


• calls from people other than the one person anticipated

*waiting to see your name in the reader appreciation? stay tuned til later in the month or next month... i didn't forget about you!*

reader appreciation II

today i will recognize Brown Girl Gumbo for her contribution to the popularity of my blog. BGG was the first person to ever comment on one of my posts. i credit her with the publicizing of my blog because i believe if it were not for her, alot of people would not even know i existed. i think she was also the first person to add me to her blog role. 

*smooches*, BGG and in your honor here is my post on eye glasses: 

not everyone is blessed with 20/20 vision. ALOT of people use corrective lensewear but you probably would not know because they always wear their contacts. personally, i dont like touching my eyeball daily. sometimes i like to give my pupils a break and rely on glasses. but your spectacles do not have to make you look like a dork. designer frames are here to save the day. do you like to keep it classic/simple or do you like a little "flare"?

 here are some of my picks (all prices from lenscrafters):

by bulgari $369.00 (BV467B)

by Salvatore Ferragamo $249.00 (FB2616B)

by Versace $229.00 (VE1109)

by Vogue $159.95 (VO3540)

by DKNY $169.95 (DY4516)

by D&G $179.95 (DD1137)

by D&G $219.95 (DD5001)

reader appreciation

my first reader appreciation post goes to my most faithful reader/commenter: Product Junkie Diva!!!!!

PJD  reads and comments pretty much daily. always something supportive and uplifting. she keeps a great blog that i adore!!! you haven't been??? what? how? she keeps me up on stuff i never heard of, spending money i don't have, trying things out so i dont have to. 

in her honor, i will post a product review. here's to you, PJD!!! keep the great posts and comments coming!!!

reviewing: Ponds clean sweep cleansing and makeup removing towellettes (5.99 for 30 @ CVS)

description: these facial cloths are supposted to remove dirt and makeup with extreme ease. they are available in travel size, a slightly larger 15 pack that can still fit in a purse, and the regular size of 30 wipes. 

verdict: WONDERFUL!!!! they are safe to use in the eye area, though you may want a separate eye makeup remover. i really don't need to wash my face again if it's just been on of those nights and i really just want to get in the bed. they are thick and only require you to use one at a time which is a definite plus for me. i'm not a heavy makeup wearer so results may vary for those who like to cake it on (which i hope is no one). i love these things and i just ran out so i will be making another purchase!

how do you take off your makeup at the end of the day or after a long night of partying?