Life is too short sometimes.

Today started off crazy. I woke up to my phone ringing from a number I hadn't had saved. I answered it and it turned out to be D's dad...wondering if D was around, and to call him as soon as he could. D looked at his phone and had 16 missed calls...we knew something was up.

He called one of his friends and found out one of his buddies he played baseball with in hs and another friend of his were in a car accident last night/early this morning. One of them passed away and the other was in critical condition with some pretty bad injuries. D was able to go to the hospital to find out more information, but my heart aches for them. For the boys, for their families and friends, including D...

I have had a lot of time to think today, and sometimes I think life can just be cut too short for some. I am a strong believer in things happening for a reason, but, when you are living in the reality of it all, it is sometimes so hard to see the reason. I guess it is just a reminder to live your life the way you want to live it now - don't put it off. Say your I love you's and tell people how you feel when you feel it. Do what makes you happy, and treat people kindly.

God Bless those involved - my love and prayers are with you. <3

I know...

...it has almost been two months since my last post. I would feel bad, but I know there are only about 3 people that actually read this thing.

In addition to this, not a whole lot has changed in the past 2 months. I am still not completely done with my schoolwork (although I felt ambitious yesterday and actually did do quite a bit of work), still unemployed (more on that later), and still trying to enjoy my summer despite said emotional battles. Two things that HAVE changed in the last 2 months, is that I became an !aunt! (YAY!) and that all of my classmates have left me ::sad faces::. I have to admit it is weird living here without them. They have been my life for the last two years, and now most of them I will see next year in St Louis (that is where all the ATs will come together next to drink and learn). "At least we have that," we all say, which IS true and I am thankful for that. It is just weird when the next chapter of your life is upon you and you are not ready. Normally I am the person who is excited about flipping the last page, ready and willing to move on to see what happens next; but, lately I feel as though I am stuck re-reading the last 3 paragraphs after realizing I just looked at them rather than read them. :: sigh :: how mundane.

Besides playing the "woe is me" card, I have been up to a few things over the last two months....

I went to New Orleans!!!! (This statue is in memory of Hurricane Katrina) While in New Orleans I.......

...enjoyed and strolled down Bourbon Street....

...kissed Bob Dylan...

...(okay, not really...)...and I enjoyed all of those that were down there with me!

:)

New Orleans was a blast, and I was fortunate enough to get to hang with a lot of fine individuals while down there. Once I made it back from New Orleans I went to a wedding with D for one of his friends, Joey....

 ...then started the Goodbye Parties for my lovelies....

...then Tay's mama came and hung out for a few days, but took her away to ChiLand... :(

 ...I then participated in a cornhole tournament over fourth of july weekend....

...then after being 11 days past expected, little Evelyn Rae blessed us with her presence!!...SIDENOTE: if you want the entire birth story and everything you would want to know about this cute little baby, see CR's Baby Blog....

...I then attended the first Nicole and James' Wedding event: Engagement Party! in New York!...

 

...and celebrated my love's birthday (a little late since his bday was over the Nic and James' festivities....

Well, it appears I actually HAVE been doing something with my life...hmm...sadly, that last picture was taken at the end of July, which means it has been a while since I did something besides job hunt and play Donkey Kong with D....and believe me you, we play a lot of DK. 

Hope this caught you up on my exciting life as of late. More to come on that whole job thing, and it is my goal to update more regularly so I dont have to recap two whole months of stuff in one post! 

Updates, Updates, Updates

Well, I have OFFICIALLY passed my Thesis Presentation!!!!! YAY!!! I still have to finish some of the writing, but, I am on my way to realllly being done. Since defending, I have been trying my hardest to enjoy summer, and so I have yet to really work on my homework. Perhaps tonight for a little?

Today I have been working on the job front. I have applied to 4 different jobs since this morning! This may not sound like a lot, but it has taken me pretty much all day to do this. I have decided searching for jobs is one of my least favorite things to do in the world. Haven't heard back from anywhere thus far...but hoping one of these days this will change. Perhaps going to our (athletic trainers) National Convention will help me get ahead!

I will be leaving for New Orleans in 2 days!!! ::screams of excitement::!!! I am not even sure what to say about it except for that I am SO pumped to be going to my first NATA conference, and that it is NO (since I have always wanted to go, but have yet to make it there). I plan on seeing and catching up with as many people as I possibly can, as well as have one last big hoorah with my ODU loves, as well as possibly get a job interview/lead, as well as enjoy all N'awlins has to offer, and of course learn some things. Overall, should be awesome. I will take lots of pictures and bring the update back next week.

Lastly, I suppose I should announce some big news....I have a boyfriend. Following my sister's blog, I will now refer to him as "D." If you know me at all, then you know this is one of the craziest things you have ever heard. I am not trying to make a thing of it...and just trying to go with the flow and see what happens, but, I have been smiling a lot lately sooooo good job D.

Ummmm I believe that is about all that has happened thus far...but I look forward to updating on how AWESOME New Orleans was and how I hopefully have more updates on the job front! Cross your fingers!!

The Waiting Game...

So I turned the first drafts of my chapters in on Thursday of last week - which was a feat. They were not even due until Friday, so, me turning in something A DAY in advanced, well, is pretty advanced for me. Thinking I was going to get my revisions back sometime early this week I decided to take a mini road trip over the weekend to take a mental break.

My friend Tay was going to Chapel Hill, NC to visit an old classmate of hers who did her graduate studies at UNC, and she had asked if I wanted to join her. Naturally, after feeling good about turning in my chapters, I figured it would be a good break. Overall the weekend was pretty fun! We got there late on Friday and went out to the bars on Franklin Street where we met lots of other fun ATs. The plan for Saturday was originally to go to the beach, however, Mother Nature had something to say about it. So instead we roamed around campus and avoided the rain, and even stopped at a cute little bakery/gelato shop for a treat! We then preceded to watch umpteen hours of the NJ Housewives until it was time to go out for the night. This night one of the roomies, who is not into the Chapel Hill scene, wanted to take us out in Raleigh. We went to this club where thankfully we got in free, due to her knowing one of the bouncers, and it was ridiculously crowded. It could have been fun, buuuuut all they were playing is techno and having people bumping into you for a solid 2 hours just gets annoying - not to mention the men who feel that walking past you in a crowded area allows them to slide their hand in inappropriate places as they pass. You also have those creepy guys that just come behind you and just start grinding on you....had I thought about it I should have utilized "the face."

If you do not know who this is, or what I am talking about, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wRXa971Xw0 and enjoy.

Ok. So after the creeptastic experiences at the club, they continued at the local fancy establishment - Waffle House. Finally after gorging on a choco chip waffle, and almost starting a riot at the WH, we (the "Pretty Gang" as we became known as) crawled into bed at around 5:30am. WHEW. It was then time for the mini vaca to come to an end and we packed up and headed home.

Luckily, we had already made plans to meet up with Nicole to go see Bridesmaids once we arrived back to VA. Let me just say that I was NOT expecting to laugh as much as I did. It was hysterical. Although my favorite scene is not yet available for your viewing pleasure, here is a verrrrrry shortened clip of another funny part (unfortunately the clip does not get into the funniest part of this scene, but I guess you'll just have to go to the movie): http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/imdb/vi3876101401/

After the awesome wrap up of my weekend, I have now just been anticipating the arrival of my revisions. However, I am still waiting. I have been hanging out with my friends who are working on their stuff, so I have been trying to do some of the little things I can do while I wait; like my abstract, presentation, and poster, but.....I am now pretty much done with that stuff. I have applied to a few jobs, painted some art for the Baby G Nursery, looked at dogs to adopt, created and started my new workout plan, and now blogged. Not sure what I will do next, besides of course just sit here like this lady...

Updates

Well it has been a while. Lets roll through the updates:

Soooo I kind of graduated on Saturday. When I say kind of, I mean that I walked for graduation....I wont actually be done until the end of this month. Before I get into that, here are a few of my favorite shots from the day....

Whaaat?! We are graduating?!?!

YAY!!! We ARE graduating!!!!!!!

Too cool for school.

Alright, sooo the scoop on the rest of the story. It all started back in February. One of my classmates turned in her "final" thesis and that is when things started heading south. This classmate had been one of my groupmates - meaning we had collected and reduced data together, but were taking different pieces of it for our own projects. We also had the same doctoral student. Needless to say, with our chapters, we apparently were not being pushed into the correct direction according to our PD. Because this was the first time she had seen our writings for a while, it was not until then, that she had realized it. After this, things started to get crazy. My PD then wanted all of my writings CH1-4 to see if it could be salvaged. Turns out, the statistic I ran was not completely fitting for my type of data. Because no one knew the exact stat to run, I did a little research. Unfortunately, it is not available through SPSS. awesome. So, I then met with a stat guy in our department, and he suggested ordinal regression. Okay, so I ran all of that, and read the chapter, but was still fairly confused. In a meeting with my PD, we started discussing what the results actually meant, and she said that she could not even fully grasp the idea of it. This was about three weeks ago. Since then, my project was determined to be too difficult for a masters thesis, and more suitable for a dissertation. So as you may have guessed - my project has changed. Goodbye old thesis I spent almost two years on, and welcome aboard new thesis. Well then, it was determined that there is no way that I could get it done (it as in all new chapters) in time now, so graduation in august was the only way. So, as I said I kind of graduated on saturday.

So now what I have been doing is working my ass off on this new project. Oh, I also forgot to mention, that now my project is too simple to be a thesis, so now it is a project. Honestly, the only thing that changes is the presentation for passing - thesis=45 min present; project=15 min present. I was disappointed at first. Simply because I looked at it all as a major failure. But after talking to my PD and some Doc students who all did projects (which I didnt know) I felt a little bit better. However, I am still wishing that May 7 would have been my last day and I could be lying on the beach....

...soon though! I have to admit, I went to the beach on Monday for a few hours.... I had to. It was beautiful.

So that has pretty much been my life lately....stressing out about everything, and continually telling people that I have no idea what I am doing with my life next year (which is also getting annoying. more on the job hunt another time.). However, trying to remind myself that it will all work out, because it always seems to. It has been hard to stay positive through these last couple months, but, thankfully I have crazy good friends who always seem to keep me afloat.

Whew. Well we are all caught up now. Once I finish my chapter 5 here shortly, expect more posts soon. Oh, and I promise to be much more positive in the following posts! :)

Until next time.

Life is funny...

A friend and I were talking the other day about how funny it is that people our age are at such different places in our lives. We have friends back home and even in the area that are engaged, or married, or even have children! People we know are buying houses, and unpacking all of their belongings and buying flood insurance, and all sorts of things I cannot imagine at this point. Life is funny that way, I think.

Now do not get me wrong - I am SO happy for all of these in my life that are at this place! However, not only do I not feel old enough for these things, but they are of no interest to me at this point. I don't know what it is, but I just feel like there is so much more for me to do before I "settle" down. Now some may argue you do not have to lose this sense of adventure when you get married (or the rest) it just provides you someone to do things with. Okay. Good argument. But, finding the right person, or the person(s) you can stand to do these things with is easier said than done. In the meantime - quoting my favorite viral video star, Jenna Marbles, "I got stuff to do." Not that I really know what this stuff is that I am so anxious to do...time will tell...or at least that's what they say - whoever they are.

I am not sure if this newfound sense of adventure is in part due to my days as identifying as a student coming to a close, or I just have the kind of personality that is always looking for more. Perhaps a little of both. The thought of "the real world" is both scary and liberating to me. I have never JUST been an athletic trainer. I have always had 10 million other things to do, some including homework. Life without homework...sounds like pure bliss! I feel like I will have so much more room for activities! Or perhaps boredom? What if I pick the wrong place to move to? There are only old people and families, and nothing to do? Or what about my place of work...what if I pick the wrong place and I hate it? Up til this point in my life I have had the advantage of insta-friends (as one of my doc students calls it). You are in classes with people and they are in the same place you are and it is easy to form friendships when you are going through life together....well, that ends here. I mean, I am not a shy person...although I sure used to be...so, making friends comes fairly easy to me for the most part. But what if where I go, there are slim pickins? If there was a way I could pack up all of my friends from all of my stops around the globe and bring them with me, and they all be happy, then that would be ideal. ::sigh::

I don't even know what this blog post is about anymore... just "blah"gging now.

Okay. Enough ranting about nothings for the night. Maybe again some other day.

Calling all bloggers!

Because his bodacious and righteous seesters (yes, those were the adjectives I decided upon) are bloggers, my "Big, Lil Bro" or just little brother Zach, has decided to join the blogging world as well! Whoop!

Welcome to it! I hope you will continue wow-ing us with your magic, man ;)  (inside joke only he will get)

You can find his recent and future ramblings at: http://talesthroughawakeland.blogspot.com/

Check it out...if you think you're cool enough. love youuuu <3

I Love Music

So about a year ago, the monitor on my desktop broke. This wouldn't sound like an issue because I also now have a laptop. However, while purchasing a laptop I had in mind that I would ALSO have my desktop (plus my funds were not great last fall). So I decided on my little HP mini. It has served me great thus far, but I have been refusing to dl any music onto it because it contains all of my thesis stuff. Although I have a better sense of computers then say....grandma, I still cannot visualize how much said number of gigabytes of memory really means. Worrisome that my music would take up too much space, I have just been starting a list on my phone in memo pad titled, "Music to DL." I have started quite a collection of titles and lyrics from songs I have heard on the radio, or on tv shows, on pandora, or in random places. Luckily, this xmas my parentals were kind enough to provide me a gift card to best buy to finally purchase a new desktop monitor. For the last year I had been planning on trying to find a used monitor, as I thought it would do just fine....however, it always managed to slip my mind when out perusing. Needless to say, without this gift card who knows if I would have ever gotten a monitor. So... "Go Mom and Dad!"

I have previously been relying on others to make me cds and introduce me to songs instead of searching for and finding them myself as I did BBM (Before Broken Monitor). This has been a fun experience too because I have been enjoying music that I normally wouldn't think to download. BUT, now that my n e w monitor has been up and running I have been searching for all of the music I have compiled and downloading it like a crazy person.  Over the last year my phone list has been edited - some of the older songs that I got tired of because of the radio were deleted, or songs that I did not write enough info about to be able to actually remember what song it was, were also deleted. There were some, however, that made it through.

My music taste has changed drastically over the years, but I have always been a fan of a little bit of everything. I am always the worst person to ask "favorite artist" or "favorite kind of music" questions to. I just never have the same answer. My typical answer is that it "depends on my mood." Which really is true. And even then, it changes. Either way, my appreciation of different sounding music and acoustic styles have grown tremendously as of late and I think I would like to explore more into the indie genre a bit. I think I love it cause not only can I sing it (which is always a plus since I love to belt out a good tune), but its the kind of music that I can see myself listening to while driving alone in my car - windows down because the sun shining through has heated the whole car. Mmmmmm. I cannot wait til summer.

Off track I have gotten. Back to the music.

It has always been a huge component of my life. Back in the day on those Saturday Cleaning days (as a child we cleaned the entire house on Saturdays and were not allowed to do anything until it was done) we used to pump the tunes through the house. OR, my sis and I used to come up with dances to songs while we did the dishes in order to get through the process. OR, riding in the car to WI or back to VA...what do you think we did for 24 hours? OR, my dad blasting his "oldies" and beating on the steering wheel and your legs while sitting in the passenger seat. OR, sitting in the car with lacey in the high school parking lot not wanting to go home quite yet, but not really wanting to talk, and playing songs that would speak for us. OR, writing my own music since I was about 13....I don't know exactly when it happened for me, but it has always been there for me. It just makes me feel better no matter the circumstances. It is like that friend you can ALWAYS count on. I just L<3VE it.

That my friends is why I want to share it with you. I decided I am going to have featured artist or song posts on new and old music that I have come across that has made my day, or is stuck in my head. These will be tagged "I Love Music"...pretty original, right?

Either way - Enjoy!

Art 4 Friends

An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.  ~Andy Warhol

I love giving away art. There is something so vulnerable about it, but yet, so satisfying. Perhaps it is because I am one for receiving the thoughtful, simple gestures as opposed to the grandiose and material things people often give away. I don't know if everyone loves to receive these types of gifts as much as I, but, unfortunately those close to me - because of low funds, and my understanding of an ideal gift - better get used to it. I enjoy giving someone something that you really put your time and heart into. Something that you envisioned specifically for that person. I don't know about you, but I cannot think of a more personal gift. This is why over the years I have started to do just that. The next couple "art" blogs I would like to post will feature some of the pieces that I have created for others close to me. 

Today, I will highlight some drawings I have done for my friend Isaac. 

Perhaps a slight synopsis of our friendship is also needed...

While serving my time as an Athletic Training Student at UMD, I worked very closely with the football team. One spring, and two summer/fall seasons to be exact. My senior year, as with the year prior, I showed up in August ready for fall camp. It was always interesting seeing the baby freshman - all shy and obedient, and hearing all of the stories and rumors about the new transfers. All I was really told was that this Isaac character was supposed to be "pretty nasty" (which for all of you who do not speak fluent college football player, that means he was supposed to be really good ). Some returning players had apparently seen his highlight videos on youtube and were impressed. Naturally, the AT staff hearing about this footage, had to check it out for ourselves. Well folks, I guess these guys were right - he was pretty sick-nasty. Needless to say, the football season went in the right direction. Thousands of yards and a National Championship later, the season ended with a bang. Throughout this time, I was able to form a pretty good relationship with majority of the team and a closer one with some athletes that had been injured (It is pretty easy to do so when you see these people everyday for 5 months straight). However, Isaac was never really injured that year. It just so happened that he lived about two blocks away from my house. Us both being avid supporters of public transportation (except for when the bus shows up 10 min early or 10 min late), we ended up catching the same bus home almost every night. For anyone who has ever ridden the bus, you know how awkward that can be. It is a relief when you see someone you know riding the same bus. This way you don't get stuck sitting with the person who sits with their legs SO spread that they take up their own seat and half of yours, or the art student who has that HUGE black bag full or supplies, or that smelly guy with 5 teeth when your nose just happens to be working extra well that day. Needless to say, if we happened to see each other on the bus, we decided sitting next to each other had to be better than the aforementioned options (unless of course you had a cold, in which smelly guy with 5 teeth didn't seem so bad). Now not knowing Isaac he came off as the strong, silent type. You know, that guy who walked around with his ear buds in trying to avoid stupid petty conversation. Me being the complete opposite, able and pretty much willing to talk to anyone who will talk back, was not sure how to approach some of these rides. Do I try to engage in conversation? Or do I allow him to continue jamming to his ipod (which now being friends, I imagine was full of Gavin, Sara, Missy, and John...which is probably not at all what I had pegged him for)? I do not fully remember, but I imagine some rides were filled with one or both of these options - mostly including the chit chat option. Regardless, I am not exactly sure when Isaac and I really started to become better friends...but I don't think it was really until football was nearly over. Again, I cannot exactly remember how it all played out, but I believe our "best friend" status actually started after this drawing: 

I am pretty sure the conversation that had prompted this drawing was that Isaac had jokingly said he wanted a picture of himself like Vince Vaughn's portrait on Wedding Crashers. I want to say I actually looked into it and could not find a picture of it to go off of, and so I settled upon this. I believe that sometime close to xmas break I emailed him to tell him the picture was done... Idk if I had done the leave your phone number trick in the email, or if he had initiated that...but regardless, the number exchange had occurred. After this, we talked on a pretty regular basis...which means everyday. ha. Many movies and rock band sessions later, the bond of "holy pants and shirts" was made. For those of you that don't own our cd, that is the name of our kick-ass rock band (sidenote: yet again, another Wedding Crashers reference...hmm). 

Our friendship has remained close despite the distance. Throughout this time we have been able to stay afloat mostly via text messages and someecards. I was even able to make the journey north to see him and the other bulldogs play in the post-season the next two years. Besides those two occurrences, our hang out time has been minimal. Hopefully this will change soon, and visits can be more of a regular occurrence. The second drawing (of which I am actually still in possession of due to my forgetful self not bringing it to D-town the last two times I have been there!) was supposed to be a birthday gift. I was once impressed with this drawing, but a year and a half later, I am not so sure it flows quite like I had imagined it to once. Anyways, I will let you decide:

The beginning stages

Throwing in some guitar

Now adding in some pieces of paper with lyrics from two of his favorite songs... and...

Voila!

Finished product.

Well, that is the end of the story of the art for Isaac. [Oh, by the way buddy, if you still want this drawing let me know...and when you come visit this summer you can have it ;).]

I guess it is about time that he receive another piece...perhaps a painting. If you have any suggestions my dear, let them be known. I have enjoyed making you artwork, and would be honored to continue to do so if you so chose. 

There you have it folks. The story of two crazy kids becoming friends over a silly drawing. I guess weirder things have happened. All I can say is, I am glad that I pursued this art endeavor. So thank you brain, hand, pencil, national championship, wedding crashers, and Isaac for giving the inspiration for this drawing. Without it, I am not so sure how close we would have become; and that my friends, would have been a tragedy.

Guess I never really thought about it before

So this weekend I was introduced to an enlightening experience. Deaf collegiate athletes. I mean, it is not that I ever really thought it did not happen and definitely never thought anything against it; but, I guess I just had never really thought about it.

While working a 12 hour day of covering Division 3 softball  (::sigh:: what a long day), there was a team from Gallaudet University. Now if you do not know, this is a university in Washington DC that is primarily made up and focuses on the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. [Here is their site if you are interested in finding out more: http://www.gallaudet.edu/x47919.xml]

During undergrad, I took a course in ASL and learned quite a bit about the deaf community. It found it to be a fun language to learn and overall the class was pretty interesting. I always find it interesting to imagine your life in a different way; particularly for this topic, not being able to speak in English in the class really allowed me to do so. 

ANYWAYS, back to this weekend. There were a few times I, as one of the practicing ATs on staff for the day, needed to communicate with the athletes and coach of this team. In the end, it came down to written English, or by lip reading. I was a little upset that my ASL days were too long ago that I froze when trying to even think of simple words and phrases...so much for that education. I had never really considered some difficulties that would exist in communicating with an athlete in the deaf community before this weekend...but, there are definitely some that I could foresee occurring if you do not know ASL.

Although written communication can be efficient for some tasks - like figuring out how to tape someone's wrist (ie, which direction does it hurt? do you throw right handed?, etc) - I could see it becoming a nuisance if you needed to explain an injury or if you needed to use more than one sentences to communicate. The other form that was used was lip reading. Now this I have to say was crazy impressive. There was an athlete who was injured, and the coach was reading my lips and then signing to the athlete. Although impressed with the ability of this coach to be able to be that connecting link between myself and the athlete, it was sort of like playing the game of telephone. I did not know if he was interpreting everything I was saying correctly 100% of the time - obviously, if he really didn't understand me he displayed a look of confusion, or asked me to repeat myself - but with any indirect communication there is always room for some errors. Through both situations, we were able to get through them alright. I did not really see the situations arising and so I might have been taken off guard and uncomfortable at first. Hopefully this did not rub off and did not then make any of the athletes feel any discomfort.

This team also was playing down on the fields that I was covering, and so I got to see them play. I really got sucked in to watching them communicate on the field and in the dugout. I just found it all so mesmerizing. For me it was hard to imagine playing softball with no yelling seeing as I was a loud mouth player back in the day, but these ladies sure did make it work. There were a few things observed that seemed to be a challenge - like calling off fly balls in the outfield, or even any type of cut-off situation - but even with those yelling in the English language, there are errors seen with these tasks.

Everyday we go through new experiences. Being exposed to this one, makes me think... if I were ever exposed in more of a everyday setting, how would I communicate with an athlete if they were deaf or hard of hearing? Honestly I think that I would invest some time into learning more ASL. Especially learning the signs that pertain to the body and would be helpful in everyday communications with this person. I think it would be a unique learning experience for both parties and a pretty neat one altogether. I am so glad I had the opportunity to work with these athletes and coach this weekend. It was not only an eye opening experience but a challenging one as well...and you know as well as I that it is always good to be challenged a little!

A Good Feeling.

So the back story:

Back in undergrad I had this Program Director. I refer to him as Papa Gear. I went into his office everyday whether to say hello, to bawl my eyes out, or even just to shoot the sh*t (This story is only rated PG). The way that his office was set up, he had chairs that were facing the edge of his desk. While visiting, I would sit in one of these chairs and prop my feet up on his desk. I never thought that it was a big deal until one day I walked in and his office was moved around a little. His desk was a little further from the chairs. Without a word, I scooted my chair closer so my feet could take their normal position. He laughed, and then explained that the reason he had moved his desk is so I would NOT put my feet up there. Me being me, I laughed, and said something to the effect of.... whooops. Sorry. (As my feet stay on top of his desk).

The reason I bring it up is because I emailed Papa Gear today to be a reference for a job. Naturally, he agreed. He also said, and I quote, "My desk does miss your feet propping up on it though. It thinks of you often." (insert AWWW here). 

It is such a simple little gesture, but it made my heart feel warm and a smile appeared on my face. As of late, it has been pretty hard for those things to occur. So thank you Papa Gear, and I challenge you all to send someone you care about a small gesture that you know will make them smile.

love&laughter

New Blogger

Hello blogging world!

I know it has been a couple weeks, and I plan on a true entry here again soon...but, until then...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to warmly welcome my dear friend Isaac to the blogging world. Your tweets have been keeping me entertained over the last couple years, so, I look forward to enjoying another avenue of your thoughts.

http://dlifedt.wordpress.com/


amish you.

"Love makes the world go round...

...but, laughter keeps us from getting dizzy."

Apparently, this is a national week (the aforementioned quote), and it happens to be the week leading up to Valentine's Day - which is now! It seems to be fitting, because laughter is currently needed more in my current life. I apologize for the lack of posting. I have been doing a lot of work lately...teaching is a lot more prep work than one would think! Anyways, I always think a good laugh helps in any situation. You know those times when you are so stressed, all you can really do is burst out laughing, otherwise you will start crying? I think those times are coming, and so I would like to remind everyone of the benefits of laughter:

It allows you to be social, and I think it naturally puts you in a better mood. It can be used as a stress reliever - as mentioned above, and also internally. Apparently it has been studied, and laughing can actually decrease the hormones that are associated with stress. You also get a little abdominal workout.

So, why not laugh more?

While searching for some Valentine's humor, I found this:

 HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?  

"You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming." Alan, age 10

"No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with." Kirsten, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?  

"Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then." Camille, age 10

  "No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married." Freddie, age 6

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

"Married people usually look happy to talk to other people."  Eddie, age 6

"You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." Derrick, age 8

  WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

"Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough."  Lynnette, age 8

"On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date." Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

  "I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns." Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OK TO KISS SOMEONE?

"When they're rich." Pam, age 7

  "The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that."  Curt, age 7

"The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do." Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

  "I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out." Theodore, age 8

  "It's better for girls to be single, but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them." Anita, age 9

"Single is better, for the simple reason that I wouldn't want to change no diapers. Of course, if I did get married, I'd just phone my mother and have her come over for some coffee and diaper-changing." Kirsten, age 10

  HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

"There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?" Kelvin, age 8

"You can be sure of one thing - the boys would come chasing after us just the same as they do now." Roberta, age 7

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK? 

"If you want to last with your man, you should wear a lot of sexy clothes, especially underwear that is red and maybe has a few diamonds on it."  Lori, age 8

"Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck." Ricky, age 10

Kids really do say the darndest things. This made me laugh. I challenge you to laugh today.

So I know it is Thursday but...

...I have not posted any artwork in a while and have taken some photos of some old stuff. So, "Wednesday Works" will also now include this Thursday's post.

I think I am going to present one of my oldest paintings that I did that can be seen in... my room :) ha

Some friends and I were discussing old shows we used to watch when we were growing up, and I thought it was fitting that I would post this painting. It is titled, I <3 the 90s

Ha. It is sort of funny to see how my work has grown since 2006, which is apparently when this one was painted. You may see some of your favorite 90s reminders such as: TMNT, Salute Your Shorts, Hanson, Saved By The Bell, Hey Dude, Tamagotchi, New Kids on The Block, and TLC!

This was just sort of a fun collage painting that I did complete with splattering paint over top...I thought it was very 90s. When I see it, it makes me smile. Which, is really all that matters, right?! I think so.

I do not do a lot of artwork for myself these days, so it is fun to go back and see some of the stuff I have done just for me. Hope you all enjoy it as well! :)

Busy, busy, busy..

..the theme of my current life.

As mentioned earlier, this semester is full of work. As any semester should be, I suppose. The difference between this semester and most, is that I am being forced to set deadlines. Which is then causing to-do lists, crazy oversized calendars, and time management skills. WHAT!? I have made it through 19 years of schooling being a terrible student. (Now when I say terrible I don't mean I do poorly, I simply mean I have become the world's best procrastinator.) This semester is throwing me for a loop. My procrastinating days are wavering... with all of the due dates, and revisions, and lesson plans, and presentations, and to-do lists - ::sigh:: I am not sure if I will be able to maintain my laissez-faire attitude.

I managed to meet my first thesis deadline (today) by working on my chapters while watching football yesterday. In the past, I would have watched both games, and THEN started on my work...who is this person? I am not sure I like it. But, with graduation on the mind, and thesis defense date set - it has to get done...

..and it will. I just might be more pout-y than normal. My work to fun ratio has always tilted more on the fun side of things. Hence, a change in the system, may take some getting used to, and may include pouting. I apologize for this pout-y behavior in advanced, but, taking my fun away is like taking a blanket away from a child. They whine and cry about it for a while - but, eventually they buck up and get over it. The good thing about this scenario is that that blanket is in storage somewhere, and ready to be brought out again at a later date - just like my fun.

March 17th is the day of defense, and the day Ashley gets her fun back. (I think it is fitting, that it is St. Pattys Day - fun is already built in to that day.) I am officially starting a countdown til the fun days are back...

..2 months til Fun, with a capital F is back! Until then there will little f - fun happening along with LOTS of work.

OH, and Happy MLK Day!

Cheers.

The Beginning to the End.

So yesterday was the beginning to the end. It was the first day of my LAST semester of Grad School! Woo hoo! It is really hard to believe I have been going to school for the last 19 years of my 23 year old life. It also sounds worse when I say it like that.

Yesterday was a little different than most years, however. Normally, I am the student and I am listening to the profs go over the syllabus and being forced to introduce myself and share interesting facts about myself, etc. (which is a bit of a stretch for grad school since there are only 13 of us, and we all know each other well. But for the purposes of this paragraph - just go with it.) But, this semester I am TA-ing for a class. This year, I was the one talking about the syllabus, and pushing for introductions and interesting facts. Of course I had to share my interesting fact as well - which for all you interested, is that I have the constellation of the big dipper made out of freckles on my right forearm - but, all around a different experience. It was such a strange feeling to be in front of the class. Hopefully it will feel more comfortable as the semester goes on. I plan on blogging about my awkward teaching moments later on in the semester, so look forward to those.

Then today we had our first class meeting. We talked about the semester and all about our theses and setting timelines, and goal weeks for defending. O.M.G. I am NOT ready for this. Immediately I felt a ball of stress break right over my head, and then felt the nausea approach. ::sigh:: A procrastinator queen's worst nightmare.

It should be an interesting semester full of an umpteen number of to-do lists. Hopefully, I make it out alive.

Christmas Vacation

Well, I have already been slacking on my posting...

              ...but no worries. It was only because I was actually living my life instead of only writing about it.

Overall, my Christmas break was a good one. Lots of family time - which, if you know my family at all, there is never a dull moment. There was also quite a bit of catching up with friends. I did not get to see everyone and catch up with everyone that I would have liked; but, it realllly is hard to see so many people when you're only in town for a little while and you are car-less. I suppose people will just have to come see me next time. I mean, sheesh, I come to them all kinds of times. Bitter? Nah - just saying. I also got to see one of my brother's bands, and I really enjoyed it. I am sometimes jealous of my brother's ability to play musical instruments. It is so ridiculous. Anyways, my trip finished up with a well-needed trip to see my old college roommate and her husband. This girl is special. She just knows me, and loves me anyways. She is actually the one that inspired the name to this blog...

One day on the phone I was talking about all of my shenanigans, and she said she was so happy to hear I haven't changed. She was pleased I was something consistent in her life despite all of life's other curve balls. I joked, and said, "ha. yea, consistently chaotic." and there it went.

She is one of those that get a kick out of my mind and how it works in crazy mazes. She just knows me. Fully. And I love that. It is good to have people like that in your life.

WOW. I have really gotten off topic. Here are some photos from my lovely break:

 Some of my lovely friends out in EC

 "A whole new world" with my favorites :)

 Zeke's band - Beacon James.. you can kind of see his blurry head back on the drums

 my NYE date, Linds

my rooooomie, Sara <3

I hope everyone else had as lovely of a holiday as I did.

Babies, Babies, Babies

Well it certainly has been the season for reproducing! No, no, DEFINITELY not me - but many others in my world. Two big ones in particular including my sister and Austin, and my dear old friend, Brooke, and her bf, James. So I will be a first time Aunt, and an adopted Aunt.. ha

I don't know when everyone else in my life started being real grown ups, but it still blows my mind that I have friends who are married and/or making babies. These two ladies in particular are very dear to me, and we have been through a lot in life together...so I thought I would feature them both in my blog tonight and take a trip down memory lane...

I'll start with Brooke:

Her and I have been friends since 4th grade. We have been through many awkward stages of life together - that is for sure. 4th grade nerds, 5th grade bullies is our little joke. Mifflin and Rhino days... oh man. We also managed to stay friends through all of the craziness and drama that middle school can bring.

haha here we are at my 13th birthday party - Me, the one opening presents; her, the tiny one by the duck :)

In 8th grade we conditioned together for softball, and both made the JV team along with 3 other 8th graders...we were pretty badass ;). Through high school we really clinched down on our friendship. I think sports really kept us going strong - playing both softball and volleyball. Actually, she is the one who got me playing volleyball. She told me I should come try out because the coach was cute ;) hahaha ohhh lessick.

 The good old JV days. 14-0, I do believe.

Looking a little older here - I believe sophomore year.

Along the way we picked up another one (Cassie), and we became ABC. Pretty much inseparable through freshman and sophomore year. After that I moved to Wisconsin, but, the two knuckleheads surprised me on my first Christmas morning in WI. After that we went on a cruise that summer, and I made annual summer visits to see them. 

Being goofy as usual outside of Cassie's house. I believe this was the day I moved...

 ABC lovin life on our cruise!!

us alll grown up :)

Now I am back in Norfolk, and it has been hard to see each other with my crazy schedule. We have managed to make some music together a little bit, and hang out a few times. I wish it to be more before I possibly move away again. But, thank you Brooklyn for always being someone I can count on. I look forward to meeting your little peanut, and hopefully we can see each other more often these next few months. I love you!!!! So, again - CONGRATULATIONS BROOKE AND JAMES!!!!

Parents - to - be!!!! <3

Alright CR, your turnnn:

Well, obviously this lady has been in my life since I was in the womb...

  he he, I liked this one. :)

My sis used to take care of me, and even speak for me! She even thought I was SOOO cute (cause I was) that she wanted to share a room with me!!! I think she may have regretted that decision later since we then shared a room for the next 16 years... but I loved it and glad it happened that way.

  One of my favorite photos. She really loved me. :)

 we were buddies.

We were there for each other through some tough and awkward times...

 me being a tool, and her being too cool for me :)

hah I found this one.. I have no idea. I'd like to think this symbolizes me being her base of support. :) hah

After she graduated high school, she went to ODU, and a year later we moved to WI. Between all of the every day growing up stuff, we did not see each other much besides major holidays and major events. I did make an appearance down in GA one year for spring break!

 flew to VA for her graduation from ODU

 Trip to GA to see her and Austin - nice hair everyone. ha

 Both made it to WI for Zach's HS graduation!

 She came to my college graduation from UMD and took me and roomie out! :)

and of course us looking fly on the big day! :)

Now, however, I am shacking up with her and Austin - they refer to me as their "adult child." I am grateful for the situation... it really is awesome. It has also been fun to be able to spend time with the two of them. I am SUPER excited about baby G, and have already claimed the name "Cool Aunt Ashley," although the "cool" I am convinced, is implied. CR, thanks for being the best big seester I could have ever asked for. I love you!!! CONGRATULATIONS CR AND AUSTIN!!!!! I love you both!!!

 Well, that wraps up my babies blog. They are everywhere these days! BUT, these two babies are the two I most look forward to. :)