Be Grateful #6

What a fantastic week!  It definitely had its ups and downs, but overall, this week was GREAT!

1)  I'm thankful I survived week two of my new job.  I'm starting to feel like I'm figuring things out...even if my first faculty training didn't go as well as I had hoped.  *lol*

2)  I'm thankful that I work at such a fabulous place!  The dean of our division was so concerned with our safety, he had Emergency Management and Risk organize a shooter simulation for us to prepare.  I don't think it went as well as it could, but the important thing is, is it got us to start thinking about what we would do in dangerous situations.

3)  I'm thankful I'm enjoying teaching Intermediate more and more all of the time.  I do wish I had more time and energy to strengthen the relationship with my Composition I class, but I think that will come in time.

4)  I'm thankful I survived my colonoscopy!  While the day before really stunk, I was actually quite coherent after my procedure and really enjoyed the loopy feeling.  *haha*  I got my the results on Friday:  I quote, "Biopsies showed quiescent crohns colitis changes.  NO DYSPLASIA . . . The small polyp was benign and not precancerous!"  WONDERFUL NEWS!  Praise the Lord!  And as my husband said, we learned new words, too.  Thanks for all of your good thoughts and prayers.  :)

5)  I'm thankful my Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription finally started back.

6)  I'm thankful we got to eat so many yummy things this week:  Sour Patch Kids popsicles (those saved me on bowel prep day!), Nutella croissants, KFC, potato soup, Flying Fish, veggies, roast chicken and baked potatoes, Gusano's pizza, and caesar salads!  And today, we are going to Fred's Hickory Inn for our Valentine's Day brunch!

7)  Speaking of Valentine's Day, I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband!  He is THE BEST, hands down.  We started the day with chocolate pancakes (imprinted with a heart) and strawberries.  At work, I got a goody cup from one of my new co-workers, and after work, Zach surprised me with a box of chocolates made by the culinary department AND Starbucks hot chocolate.  Then we came home, made dinner, and opened presents.  I got him a LEGO book, Jelly Belly Cinnamon Bears, and some pilsner glasses; LEGO, candy, and beer are some of his favorites, so I think I did well.  BUUUUT he did way better than me!  I GOT A CAMERA!  Just like I suspected!  ;)  Zach went ahead and gave me my birthday present early:  a Canon Rebel T3i!!!  He did so great, and most importantly, he saved me the stress of trying to find the "perfect" camera.  :)  I can't wait to finally get to use it today!  (I was behind on lots of things, but have caught up mostly, so now I can play.)  Today, we are exchanging cards--since his to me hadn't come in yet--and going for a walk to use my camera.  Don't you just love LOVE!?

8)  I'm thankful I'll get my permanent crown on Monday.

9)  I'm thankful I got a TON of work done yesterday.  Overall, I was pleased with my students' reflection papers.  Most of them developed their topics well and described them in a balanced combination of sensory details and engaging emotions.  I was very happy to see that not too many of them used fragments although they did forget commas with coordinating conjunctions and had far too many comma splices.  You win some, you lose some.

10)  I'm thankful we have so many friends from work and so many friends in the area now.  We had to go to the Jam Night because of Zach's new position, and I was so tired I was sure we wouldn't have much fun.  But it was a BLAST!  And that is thanks to the wonderful company we had.  :)

11)  Although I was sad we didn't get a snow day, I am thankful I got to see a little snow fall.  There's always this week...

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEK?

Be Grateful #5

If you thought last week was crazy, this week was crazy x infinity.  Whoop.  I am tired.

This is a series of photos from our celebration at Mimi's Cafe.  We never got a great picture, but I enjoy these.  :)  The food was amazing (though I didn't care for their mojito and they ran out of chocolate mousse), and our waitress even gave us free muffins!

I started my new job this week as well as continuing on with my three classes.  I am hoping that I will get back to posting sooner in the week rather than later although it may be better to move this to the weekend when I have more time to write.  *lol*  I've been working until six or seven each night to make up my hours in the classroom.  A stomachache also took over one night, so basically, I've been getting home, grabbing something quick to eat, and going to bed.  Here is a quick run-down of things I'm thankful for:

1)  I am thankful for my new job.  It has kept me busy but in a good way.  I feel like I am going to be making a valued contribution.  It's not that I didn't feel that way before, but now it feels even stronger.  I'm still getting my feet wet and imagine I will be over the next few months; I think I'm going to keeell eet.

2)  I'm thankful for my husband who refuses to take things lying down.  I'm also thankful he helps me and pushes me to get stuff done when I doooooooon't waaaaaaaaaaant toooooooooooo.  *cue whininess*

3)  I'm thankful I didn't kill a co-worked on my first day.  I brought a banana for lunch, and he's allergic.  Thankfully, things were so busy that I didn't have time to eat it!

4)  I'm thankful for how shocked and stunned and somewhat outraged my students were when I told them I was leaving.  They know how to make a girl feel special!  And I'm thankful that they are likely going to like the new instructor at least as much as me if not more.  (She has a nose ring and red streaks in her hair.  In short, she is COOL.)  Hopefully, this transition will be easy and smooth.

5)  I'm thankful that old students feel like they can reach out to me when they have an issue or question.

6)  I'm thankful for the support I've received from everyone at work, whether they were involved in my old position(s)  or are part of my new one(s).

7)  I'm thankful we got to celebrate my new job and his new job last weekend and that this weekend we enjoyed a fantastic lunch with friends and a night out at Crystal Bridges for the Black Hearts Ball.

At the Black Hearts Ball, they had funny conversational hearts around the entrance and cafe.  Zach took this one of the wall and tried to pin it to me because of my new job.  He hopes to Photoshop in an "S" before "HE" before I share it on Facebook.  *lol*  They also did a scavenger hunt based on whether or not you were single or taken for one free drink.  We were given clues about an artwork, and when we found the artwork in the gallery, there was a box with coasters for a free drinky drink.  :)

8)  I'm thankful for fun money!  And having a new job means more fun money.  Yes, sometimes I'm shallow, but I want to go shopping.  ;)

9)  I'm thankful Valentine's Day is this week and that we are going to Fred's Hickory Inn this next weekend for brunch to celebrate it.  I have part of Zach's gift, which he already knows about, but I am waiting for another part to come in.  He gave me sheets last month; they were part of my Valentine's, but he was afraid I wouldn't like them and/or would be disappointed on the holiday, so he gave them early.  Zach is giving me my birthday present this week because HE CAN'T WAIT!  I think I know what it is (as mentioned before).  I'm going to go ahead and offer a little something-something here to show him I can guess presents as well as he does.  *haha*  Here is a riddle to figure it out:

What sees, but never is in sight, closes but is never shut?

10)  I'm thankful that my colonoscopy is tomorrow and that I'll be eating some Flying Fish at some point.  Fingers crossed that all is well in Tummy Town!  It's not much of an extra day in the weekend, but I am going to make the evening--after I wake up and am feeling better--count!

11)  And I almost forgot:  I am thankful that Keegan arrived on January 30 at 9:15 p.m.  He was 7 lb. 2 oz. and 19 inches long.  I can't believe I forgot him!  It's probably because I haven't had a chance to see him yet and take pictures.  :(  BUT I am enjoying all of the ones I see on Facebook!  He is a beautiful baby!!

Photo a Day in July #29

29.  Last Thing You Bought

Our friend Brian was in state for a short visit, and he came up to visit us in NWA!  (Sadly, he was sans his wife Whitney, who is teaching a class this summer session.  :( )  Thus far, he and Zach have been catching up over several beers and scotch.  *lol*  When Zach mentioned that a Flying Fish opened up here, I jumped all over the chance to convince him that we had to go there for dinner.  ;)  You may recall that I went there twice for my birthday!  Flying Fish is a special place for us because it was where we had dinner on our first (group) date with...Brian and Whitney!  So it only seemed appropriate that we go.  Zach and I actually filled up our punch card, so my meal was free!  I guess that breaks the rules a bit, but I/we paid for it by having eaten at FF for at least nine times since they opened.  (Yep, NINE times.)  That's a lot of fish...and fried pies.  (I skipped on the fried pie since we still have ice cream cake in the freezer.)  When I realized that my free meal would be covered up to $9, I upgraded from the two fillet to the three.  ;)  I also had one of Zach's hashpuppies.  I ate myself silly, folks.

In addition to catching up some more over dinner, we got to watch the lady gymnasts on the vault.  (Whitney was a gymnast and a gymnastics coach, so Brian knows quite a bit about it, too.)  Do y'all love the Olympics, too??  I love watching gymnastics, swimming, and diving.  I'm bummed I missed uneven bars tonight, and I am mourning the loss of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson from this year's.  (So far, I've seen a good deal of the first two, but I've got to catch some diving, too, soon!  We don't have cable, so my Olympics watching depends on moving around our rabbit ears.  We are so 1988...)

Poor Jordyn Wieber...  :*(

The ABC's of Ashley

I saw this on another blog, so I thought I would share the ABC's of me!

a picture from our recent trip to KC

Animal:  some kind of bird (my maiden name is Byrd)
Book:  The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue (I reread it at least once a year!)
Color:  green and mustard yellow (lately), red (all-time)
Diet:  lots of grains, a little meat, more fruits and veggies, too many sweets
Exercise:  walking around the house
Food:  ice cream and pie
God:  saved my life through the power of prayer in December
Height:  5 feet and 7.5 inches
Indulgence:  trashy TV, white chocolate, Cheez-It's
Job:  Student Success Assistant and English Instructor
Kindred Spirit:  haven't met this person yet...
Love:  my husband Zach
Marriage:  September 19, 2009--the one year anniversary of when we met
Number:  24
Off-spring:  our two kitties ;)
Parent:  one in heaven, one on earth
Quirks:  sorting bath towels by color, drawing out the sound my mouth makes when I yawn, having a country accent when I talk to my family and having a Chicagoan accent when I get excited, hating the words "belly" and "belch"  *ewww*  (The last is especially bothersome because I have a digestive disease.)
Restaurant:  Flying Fish
Style: British post-colonial (house) and scholastic/collegiate (fashion)--I LOVE cardigans
Tunes: Kings of Leon, Patsy Cline, Kings of Convenience, Delta Spirit, The Decemberists
Uplifts: writing, cooking, spending time with my husby, traveling
Vacation: weekend trips to KC, study abroad trip in the British Isles, the trip we are planning to return to the UK next summer
Weight: 125ish (I've gained a lot back since I got sick last fall.)
X-factor: my silliness, my loyalty, my straight teeth and super long legs *ZING!*
Years:  a few months into my 28th...
Zodiac: Taurus