Light at the End of the Tunnel

I can see the LIGHT at the end of the tunnel!! I'm finished with grad school and now I only have 12 days left of school. That means that things are super busy for me right now and I hardly have much free time. I promise not to keep disappearing on you, though!

Now that grad school is over for the semester, I have a little bit of extra time to catch you up on my life! Things honestly haven't been all that exciting here in Ashley Land, though. I did get to spend some time with my best friend, Nikki. She was in BG for a couple of days for work and when she was finished for the day, we got to hang out. Even though it wasn't a lot of time, it was awesome to get to see her!

I also took my class on a field trip to Kentucky Down Under. There were supposed to be about 300 kids there that day, but when our 4 kindergarten classes arrived, they let us know that miraculously, we were the ONLY school group that day!! It was a wonderful, wonderful trip. Not very stressful at all!

Friday night, I got to spend time with this lady, Gina Marie...

Down in Nashville at Cadillac Ranch while the boy played some country tunes...

Saturday, my parents came down to visit and my aunt, Betty decided to come. We drove up to Owensboro to watch the boy play at the BBQ Festival. My family had never seen Matt play music before, so it was a treat! The weather didn't really cooperate. It was cold and rainy all day, but we managed to have a good time. You can't go wrong with good BBQ, a funnel cake and good music.

I need some advice about something, but I guess that's a seperate post in itself...I am trying to be careful how much I post about this specific situation, in fear that the wrong person will read it. This is my little corner of the world to write about anything and everything. I try to be careful to only write what I would say to someone's face, though...and nothing that will put my career or close relationships in jeopardy.

How personal do you get on your blog about sticky situations?

Oh. My. Word.

I am flippin' done with grad school until August!! I turned in my final paper and danced around my apartment for a little bit. Then I realized that it was indeed 3 am and that I had to get up early. I am just so dang excited....excited enough to be running on only 3 hours of sleep right now! 

I'm so happy that it's the weekend. I am getting ready to head down to Nashville, because the boy plays on Broadway tonight! It's a pretty big deal for them, so I'm pretty happy about it. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow and we are going to hit up the BBQ Festival in Owensboro. Should be a good time. The boy plays again up there tomorrow night. 

I'm looking forward to a fun-filled weekend! 

OH! And also, I bought myself some Toms. I wasn't so sure about them at first...actually I think I even have said that I don't like them. I tried a pair on and instantly fell in love. What do you think about them??

Happy Weekend!

OH HAPPY DAY!

MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING! MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING!! I just want to shout it from the rooftops!! Screw this paper and homework for the time that she is here. I am ready to spend some time just talking and probably laughing till it hurts...with this girl.

Note to self: Take a picture together while she is here...because, yes. That IS a stylish macaroni necklace that yo girl is sportin'. Classy.

Nikki and I have been best friends since about...8th grade. We had to complete a family tree for school and wouldn't you know, we BOTH had the same Polly Feltner on our family trees. We are related somehow. Still not sure exactly how...actually I think our Moms figured it out, but I forget. Probably something like third cousins twice removed or something ridiculous like that. I digress...

She is going to be in the great land of BG for work for the next couple of days and I couldn't be happier to spend some time with her. The only thing that would make it better was if she could have packed up her little babe, Henry and brought him with her.

Disclaimer: I'm a thief and totally lifted this from your fb page, Nik. I can't help but steal them and save them on my own computer for my selfish soul. I love him to the moon and back!

I will leave you with one of my favorite memories from the old days with Nik. We used to drive around listening to music BLARING and singing at the top of our lungs. Mainly when we were mad or upset with a boy. More often than not, the song of choice was something by GNR or....Luda.

Yep. That's my Boo.

3 post pity party

Readddddddyyyyyy GO!

1. I don't wanna write this paper!!! I'm only on page four....of FIFTEEN-TWENTY!

2. I hate being a woman...well, not really. Just the monthly part of it.

3. Why did the weather have to go from frost advisory to 1,000 degrees in just a short week. Why, Kentucky? Why can't you have seasons like normal states?

K. Thanks for listening to my pity party. Back to work...maybe...

This is where I've been...

Alright y'all. I've been a little M.I.A. AGAIN!!!! Trust me, I have good reason! It's crunch time for grad school. This post will be short 'n sweet, so I can get back at it. So, let's get down with the get down! 

I've been...

1. Schoolin' Them Children

2. Gettin' My Read On

3. And Then Watchin' The Movie

4. Cinco De Mayo...'Ritas and Spillin' Salsa on Myself Within the First Five Minutes of Arrival

5. Getting a Sweet Package on My Door Step From the Boy! 

Filled with flowers, a sbux gift card, a Mariah's (local restaurant) gift card, a Diet Mt. Dew and a Hershey's Bar. The best part?! A sweet, thoughtful card letting me know that he knows how much school can suck, so he wanted to give me a "survival kit". :) Sweet, sweet boy. I definitely do not deserve it. 

6. HOMEWORK, HOMEWORK, STINKIN' HOMEWORK!!!

Too much....and still too much to do.

7. Loving my special turtle. Yes, he sits like this on his rock often. I guess he's stretching his back leg or something. Love him!

My last paper is due this Friday by 5pm and then I will be freeeeee until August. I promise to be more of a regular blog friend by then. I've been missing reading about your lives and updating about mine. I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! 

College Calves

I long for the days when I had what I always referred to as my "college calves". I feel like I have pretty big calves now. It's difficult for me to find boots that will fit over them. Especially if I am wanting to wear jeans tucked into the boots.

I went to college at Western Kentucky University. We are called the Hilltoppers. And for a good reason! The college is situated right on a large hill. I used to have to walk up and down that hill daily. Now, it's just not often enough. I have class for graduate school on Tuesday nights. I park down toward the bottom of one hill, because I do not have to pay for a parking pass and I walk my booty right up.

There are some days that I feel like Christina on The Sweetest Thing. You know what I'm talking about? It's in the beginning of the movie, where she is dancing her way up a hill. Would people on campus think strange of me if I start doing this for extra calf exercises? Yeah...probably so.

Happy 29th....Again!

This weekend has been surprisingly eventful! I was so happy to have time to relax. Really, right now, I should be doing homework since I haven't done anything all week, but instead, I want to tell you lovelies about my fun! On Friday as soon as school was let out, I headed to Glasgow to meet my friends, Josh and Jenn's baby girl, Laney Bell. Isn't that the sweetest name ever?! She was just perfect and I am in love! I have to admit...for a while, I had baby fever. Even when she started crying, I didn't want to run like I did in the past. Uh oh! No worries...it only lasted a little bit and I'm over it now. That very rarely happens to me, by the way.

Saturday, I headed up to Louisville to celebrate my cousin, Melody's 30th birthday. It was so good to spend time with her and our other cousin, Nanci. Melody invited lots of friends out and I played the official photographer since she couldn't find her camera.

The Cake

Myself, Curtis, Melody, and Nanci...Cousins

We grew up as best friends! Love these ladies!

The whole birthday group

Today, before leaving Louisville, I met up with Laura, Anthony, Maegan, and Jessica for lunch. We went to Buckhead...one of my favorite places to eat in Louisville!! It was so nice to see them even if just for a few minutes. Good for the soul. :)

I hope everyone else had a great weekend! What did you do?!