Hi there!

Welcome to the destination of my mind – where all things mama, wife, workout fanatic, yogi, and psychology enthusiast merge together. If you landed here, chances are you fit into some or all of these categories (or you soon will, or you hope to). My goal is that this blog gives you some comfort in knowing you are not alone, no matter what part of life’s journey you’re on. Read on to learn more about me and how this all started. And of course, thank you for being here 🙂 *Warning: I sometimes use very colorful language, and I discuss topics that may be uncomfortable for some.*

My name is Ashly; I am 29 years old, married to my best friend, and a mama to a beautiful baby boy! I have a Master of Science in Psychology from ASU and a passion for all things wellness. Growing up I was far from athletic – I was not the sporty girl type whatsoever. I started lifting weights and doing yoga shortly after graduating high school; Both became a huge part of my life and kick started my journey down the health and wellness rabbit hole. I started off college as an accounting major (ick!) and switched to Kinesiology for about a year before eventually landing on Psychology and sticking to it. It was a natural progression from something I knew would make money, to something I personally enjoyed doing, to something I was truly interested and invested in.

My parents were very young when I came along. My mom was not quite 17 and my dad was just shy of 20. My brother was born 5 years later. Needless to say, they did the absolute best they could do with the tools they had, given the circumstances of being very young parents trying to make it on their own. Although our relationship had its fair share of strenuous moments, I am grateful that we have the relationship we do now. Through my studies – and after a lot of personal development – I am now able to understand why they did things the way they did. Even though there is a lot they did that I don’t agree with (and don’t want to do with my children), I can appreciate where they were coming from and what they were trying to achieve. I felt it was my job to understand these things so that I could free myself from any resentment or negative feelings towards them, and break the generational cycle.

In my late teens, I found myself in the midst of a very toxic relationship that had gone on way too long. I was sad, lonely, and unsure what to do about it. Simultaneously, I developed what I now know was an eating disorder (I didn’t know it at the time). Most people hear the term “eating disorder” and immediately think anorexia or bulimia, but the most common eating disorder (the one I was tangled up in) is actually binge eating disorder. Basically I would restrict myself for days on end and then give myself a day to go HAM on any and everything. In the “fitness” community, this is often referred to as a “cheat day” and I believe that is partially how I ended up with a terrible mindset surrounding food. I was obsessive over counting calories and macros, I would feel so freaked out if I didn’t know the ingredients in something or if I didn’t know exactly how it was cooked (like how much oil or butter was used), and I was constantly thinking about food. I would have serious “fuck it” moments where I would eat whole cartons of ice cream, entire bags of chips, or literally anything I could quickly shove into my mouth.

I worried about my weight, how I looked, how much or how little I worked out, and my self confidence was at the lowest point of my entire life. I had no clue my inner emotional turmoil would lead me toward an eating disorder, in a desperate attempt at control over at least some aspect of my life. But truly I wasn’t in control, even once the relationship ended for good. I didn’t enjoy going to restaurants, I wasn’t grateful when someone would make me a meal (this would actually make me panic) and I was just flat out not in a good place mentally. It took A LOT to navigate through all the underlying feelings and reasons for the behavior I had adopted, but after a few years of consistently learning and working toward wellness, I started to make it through.

I met my husband in 2017, at the most random time of my life, when I least expected it. We quickly became best friends and have been by each other’s side ever since. We bought our house and moved in together in 2021, and got engaged later that same year. We were married on NYE 2022, I got pregnant in April 2023, and had our son this January 2024! During my pregnancy we experienced some major life changes, with his family moving across the country to Virginia and him losing his job because the company shut down. It was a very stressful time for us, especially because I also ended up out of work once the baby was born. During the last 8 months we have both done a lot of worrying, wondering, and gone through trials and errors, but at the time of writing this, we are starting to find our footing. I owe tons of thanks to my husband for holding space for me and everything we’ve been through these last few months (especially with me being postpartum), for pushing me to take care of myself, and for providing for our little family. He’s also a wonderful cook, so I am extremely happy that I get to enjoy all of his food without obsessing or stressing over it! Life can really throw some curveballs at us, and it sometimes feels like everything is happening all at once. But the best way forward is through – and the best remedy for what we lack is gratitude for what we have.

I can confidently say that earning my degree helped immensely with all of the uncomfortable situations I’ve experienced in life thus far. I learned a lot about the human brain, neurotransmitters, emotions, and trauma that I was able to apply to myself and my relationships. In a world struggling with overstimulation, burnout, a lack of purpose, stress, and other major health issues, I want to focus on what I can control. But I want to focus on what I can control with balance – not with rigid rules or an all or nothing attitude. I have always had the goal of helping others in some way, and a few years ago I told myself one day I would create a website for doing that. So, here it is. My hope for this blog is that we can have a place to communicate and share with, learn from and uplift one another. I may have earned my degree and then decided to stay at home to be a mother, but if I can help be a source of comfort, wisdom, insight, or knowledge for even just one other person, it will all have been worth it. Whether you’re a mama, a wife, or just a friend interested in wellness and cultivating a balanced life, you are more than welcome here. Let’s give a little love back to ourselves, each other, and the world <3