Whoooeeeeyyyy!!!!
It's been a while since I've had cramps at all, let alone cramps intense enough to wake me from a dead sleep. But that's where I found myself at 4-something this morning.
The bummer about getting cramps in your sleep is that you're not quite conscious enough to realize why you keep waking up. So the first four times that I woke up, rolled over, groaned, held my lower abdomen, and made my "that really hurts" face... well, they were relatively useless. Thankfully the fifth time I started to realize what in the world was going on, and by the sixth, I decided to get out of bed to address it.
If snorting ibuprofen helped alleviate my pain quicker, I might have considered it this morning.
To my knowledge it doesn't, though, so I ingested them the ol' fashioned way. Four of 'em down the hatch with a couple of long swigs of water. Followed by a minute or two rummaging around in the bathroom closet trying to find the heating pad.
Boys probably don't understand this very well, but when you're rolling around on the floor, clutching your midsection because of you cramps, hugs don't make you feel better. Kisses aren't very useful either. As a matter of fact, almost any type of physical contact (and maybe this is just me) causes me to grit my teeth, clench my fists, and have a quick mental dialogue with myself about how hitting things doesn't actually make pain disappear.
The only consolation I seek in my moment of darkness is that of a drug that will eventually (hopefully 30 minutes or less) knock the pain out, and a heating pad.
And of course--a seat near an electrical outlet.
Jan 31, 2012
Jan 29, 2012
C'est La Vie.
Work, work, work. That's what this past week has been.
The funnier part is that the amount of work I did wasn't even really that much. I used to put in anywhere between a 40-60 hour week without thinking about it, but this week 30 was pushing my limits.
I know I'm going to get a lecture from my "cancer moms" telling me that I shouldn't try to push too hard, too fast. But believe me, I've already picked up on that. When I'm tired after working for only 7 or 8 hours, I have no other option than to believe it's a residual effect from the chemo and radiation. 'Cause normally, that'd be no problem.
Some women I've talked to told me it might take up to a year for me to get "back to normal." Whatever that may be.
For now, though, I find myself yawning at 8pm. Granted, I rarely go to bed that early because there is still a part of me that feels like coping out that early is just wussy. And I don't like to be a wuss.
The plan for today is to make it out to either Lakeside Mall or The Somerset Collection to hand out my cards and strike up deals with the pretty faces behind the counters so that I can get my name out there.
I was talking with one of the girls that I work with last night and asked if she wanted to go with to hand out cards at Somerset soon and I'm not sure I understood her response. It seemed she was worried that we would be stepping on someone else's turf or that maybe we were inferior to the resident mall salon. I was confused. Actually, I still am.
Either way, I'm not worried about it. If their work is better than mine, it will show and their clients will stay. However, if it's not... well, that's how the game goes. I won't badmouth another stylist or salon to gain their clientele, but I'm not going to sit back and just hope people appear in my chair, either. I'm going to get my hustle on and let people know that if they'd like, I'm here: talented, able, and willing. (And in a lot of cases, more budget friendly, too!)
The ubiquitous "they" say that if you gain about 50 clients in a year, probably expect to lose about 10-20% of them in that same year. Some people just like to jump around, while others die, move, go off to college, etc... Regardless, your client's lives are not static, so they won't be either.
Anyway, that's enough of that.
Isaac has been studying like a madman, making sure that he's ready for everything that his Cardiology class can throw at him. He's definitely a little bit stressed, but I suppose a little fire under everyone's behind does some good.
I've been getting little love-notes from him recently, which I adore. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm working a little bit now. Or maybe it's because I've been conscious for a couple of consecutive months instead of doped up on the chemo drugs. Whatever the cause is, I'm a fan.
I've been enjoying my time at Nordstrom so far too. It's a very interesting place.
Dad got home from Africa today!! I haven't talked to him yet because I think everyone is together hanging out, talking about how the trip was over lunch and stuff, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to chat with him soon.
It's weird, not being home in Iowa for his homecoming. I can picture in my head what's probably gone on and I can remember what the emotional atmosphere was last time he got home, but it stinks, not being able to be there and share it with them.
I've been having weird dreams, too. Really weird, and REALLY vivid. Almost every night. Even weirder, Jessica and I both dreamt that I was pregnant a couple of nights ago. Glory, I hope not. I know, I know, His timing is perfect. I have complete trust in that; I just would be extremely curious how it would work with our present life situation.
C'est la vie.
The funnier part is that the amount of work I did wasn't even really that much. I used to put in anywhere between a 40-60 hour week without thinking about it, but this week 30 was pushing my limits.
I know I'm going to get a lecture from my "cancer moms" telling me that I shouldn't try to push too hard, too fast. But believe me, I've already picked up on that. When I'm tired after working for only 7 or 8 hours, I have no other option than to believe it's a residual effect from the chemo and radiation. 'Cause normally, that'd be no problem.
Some women I've talked to told me it might take up to a year for me to get "back to normal." Whatever that may be.
For now, though, I find myself yawning at 8pm. Granted, I rarely go to bed that early because there is still a part of me that feels like coping out that early is just wussy. And I don't like to be a wuss.
The plan for today is to make it out to either Lakeside Mall or The Somerset Collection to hand out my cards and strike up deals with the pretty faces behind the counters so that I can get my name out there.
I was talking with one of the girls that I work with last night and asked if she wanted to go with to hand out cards at Somerset soon and I'm not sure I understood her response. It seemed she was worried that we would be stepping on someone else's turf or that maybe we were inferior to the resident mall salon. I was confused. Actually, I still am.
Either way, I'm not worried about it. If their work is better than mine, it will show and their clients will stay. However, if it's not... well, that's how the game goes. I won't badmouth another stylist or salon to gain their clientele, but I'm not going to sit back and just hope people appear in my chair, either. I'm going to get my hustle on and let people know that if they'd like, I'm here: talented, able, and willing. (And in a lot of cases, more budget friendly, too!)
The ubiquitous "they" say that if you gain about 50 clients in a year, probably expect to lose about 10-20% of them in that same year. Some people just like to jump around, while others die, move, go off to college, etc... Regardless, your client's lives are not static, so they won't be either.
Anyway, that's enough of that.
Isaac has been studying like a madman, making sure that he's ready for everything that his Cardiology class can throw at him. He's definitely a little bit stressed, but I suppose a little fire under everyone's behind does some good.
I've been getting little love-notes from him recently, which I adore. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm working a little bit now. Or maybe it's because I've been conscious for a couple of consecutive months instead of doped up on the chemo drugs. Whatever the cause is, I'm a fan.
I've been enjoying my time at Nordstrom so far too. It's a very interesting place.
Dad got home from Africa today!! I haven't talked to him yet because I think everyone is together hanging out, talking about how the trip was over lunch and stuff, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to chat with him soon.
It's weird, not being home in Iowa for his homecoming. I can picture in my head what's probably gone on and I can remember what the emotional atmosphere was last time he got home, but it stinks, not being able to be there and share it with them.
I've been having weird dreams, too. Really weird, and REALLY vivid. Almost every night. Even weirder, Jessica and I both dreamt that I was pregnant a couple of nights ago. Glory, I hope not. I know, I know, His timing is perfect. I have complete trust in that; I just would be extremely curious how it would work with our present life situation.
C'est la vie.
Jan 23, 2012
Well Hello, Sir!
So.
I've just about peed myself several times this week. I don't even have a good excuse for that kind of thing anymore since I'm not in chemo, but hey, it still happens... right?
The first time I almost wet my pants was when I got a Facebook friend request from Ken Paves. I had kind of wanted to add him since I was working in his salon, but I didn't want to be a creeper, so I didn't. I figured I should probably wait until I meet him someday and then I can friend him. So now we're Facebook friends.
Then, Nordstrom (I've been officially notified that it's inappropriate to say Nordstrom's) called and offered me a part-time position as a rover, which means I'll be getting paid to play with makeup all day! I really can't think of a better way to pay off student loans--except for doing hair, of course.
THEN, I got a call on Saturday morning from the manager at Ken Paves Salon asking if I could come in for a meeting later because Ken was going to be in and would like to chat with everyone. That, my friends, was when I literally almost... you know.
Immediately, I asked if his parents were going to be in early because I had a couple of things that I wanted to talk with them about before the meeting. They were, so I hopped through the shower, put my face on, and out the door I went. In my head I'd been thinking that it would be ideal to talk with them about the position I'd been offered and see if they'd be willing to work with me so far as scheduling and such and I also wanted to talk with Ma Paves about doing an event we'd talked about previously to see if she was still considering it.
Ma & Pa Paves were already there, working away in the office when I stuck my head in to see if they had a minute to chat. Usually they do. They LOVE to chat. Which is good, because I like chatting with them! Anyway, I went to take a seat to talk with them when Ma asked me what Ken was doing. I was a little confused because in my head I thought he wasn't coming in until the meeting. Turns out he was already there.
Again, surprise! It was cute to watch how excited she was that he was there. It reminded me of Mom and Ike. Apparently there is nothing that makes a woman smile more than getting to see her son and give him hugs and bathe him with her motherly love. It's so precious!
I had the opportunity to chat with him for a while and thoroughly enjoyed the entire conversation. He's a very insightful guy with a big heart. I'm really excited that he'll be pushing us to do better as stylists and artists and is generous enough to allow us access to some of his resources to do so.
Those close to me already know that I love working, but it seems that it will be even more exciting this year!!
If your'e interested in checking out the work blog (I'll be keeping my personal life out of there) click here! 'Til next time!
I've just about peed myself several times this week. I don't even have a good excuse for that kind of thing anymore since I'm not in chemo, but hey, it still happens... right?
The first time I almost wet my pants was when I got a Facebook friend request from Ken Paves. I had kind of wanted to add him since I was working in his salon, but I didn't want to be a creeper, so I didn't. I figured I should probably wait until I meet him someday and then I can friend him. So now we're Facebook friends.
 |
| It came as a complete shock to me, so of course I had to capture the moment in a screen shot. |
THEN, I got a call on Saturday morning from the manager at Ken Paves Salon asking if I could come in for a meeting later because Ken was going to be in and would like to chat with everyone. That, my friends, was when I literally almost... you know.
Immediately, I asked if his parents were going to be in early because I had a couple of things that I wanted to talk with them about before the meeting. They were, so I hopped through the shower, put my face on, and out the door I went. In my head I'd been thinking that it would be ideal to talk with them about the position I'd been offered and see if they'd be willing to work with me so far as scheduling and such and I also wanted to talk with Ma Paves about doing an event we'd talked about previously to see if she was still considering it.
Ma & Pa Paves were already there, working away in the office when I stuck my head in to see if they had a minute to chat. Usually they do. They LOVE to chat. Which is good, because I like chatting with them! Anyway, I went to take a seat to talk with them when Ma asked me what Ken was doing. I was a little confused because in my head I thought he wasn't coming in until the meeting. Turns out he was already there.
Again, surprise! It was cute to watch how excited she was that he was there. It reminded me of Mom and Ike. Apparently there is nothing that makes a woman smile more than getting to see her son and give him hugs and bathe him with her motherly love. It's so precious!
I had the opportunity to chat with him for a while and thoroughly enjoyed the entire conversation. He's a very insightful guy with a big heart. I'm really excited that he'll be pushing us to do better as stylists and artists and is generous enough to allow us access to some of his resources to do so.
Those close to me already know that I love working, but it seems that it will be even more exciting this year!!
If your'e interested in checking out the work blog (I'll be keeping my personal life out of there) click here! 'Til next time!
Jan 19, 2012
No, I Don't Have Multiple Personality Disorder.
Recently, some of you may have gotten an invite from me to become my friend on Facebook. "Wait," you might have thought, "I was pretty sure we already ARE friends. What's going on?"
Don't worry. You're not losing your marbles. We probably are. However, I've taken on another project. Those of you who know me well are probably already smiling because you know when I taken on a project, I take it on.
This one is called: Project Bring In Clients To Pay Off Student Loans.
In order to complete this project, I decided to build a digital presence, which will include my Facebook Business Page, a Twitter, and a Blog (under construction). Alas, once I started on my project, I learned that Facebook requires Business Pages to be linked to a profile. In keeping with the rule of thumb to separate business and personal, I decided to create another Ashley Hinton to which my page can be linked, without disclosing my entire "private" life to current and potential clients.
The whole thing is a little bit weird, because as those of you who have been my clients know, I don't really separate the two in real life. My friends are my clients, my clients are my friends. And I love my friend and I love my clients. However, it was recommended to me to go about it this way by a MUCH wiser person than myself, and so I am following through on her instruction.
We shall see how this goes.
In other news, things have been relatively peaceful around our apartment.
Isaac keeps eating my chocolates and then making fun of me when I happen to take the last one in the bag, saying "man, you sure downed those fast!" Turd. He also did something super sweet last Sunday.
I was invited to go with Ken Paves Salon, Clinton Township to a Bridal Show at Fern Hill Golf & Country Club. We made up and styled eight models for the fashion show and then handed out information and cards afterward.
The night before the show, I had run around the house gathering whatever I might possibly need for the show and putting it in a pile beside the door. My plan was to wake up early and then finish packing. When I got up in the morning though, Isaac had already packed it all up (very nicely, I might add) in a rolling suitcase and placed little love notes on it (see below). In addition, he went to WalMart and bought me a little lock for it so that nobody could steal my makeup kit.
 |
| My sweet husband is smart, but doesn't have the best grammar... and it was pretty late! |
What a gem. A handsome gem at that!!
The next morning when I woke up, I had just opened my mouth to ask him if he could get me the rolling suitcase from the closet when I walked around the corner into his surprise. I was so happy!! I mean really, can a girl get it any better?
On top of all that, he made me breakfast that I barely had time to eat. Bless his big ol' heart!
I've just been slaving away on gaining a digital presence. The goal is to gain a presence which will hopefully translate to ranking higher on Google, which will hopefully bring in more clients, who will hopefully enjoy paying me for my services so that I can pay off student loans.
That's a lot of hopefully's.
In case it doesn't happen that way, or in case it takes longer than the Department of Education would care for, I've also been applying for jobs since we got back from Christmas. I had an interview with Nordstrom this morning and I'm hoping that they liked me. I should know by the end of the weekend.
Aside from that, we're just keeping on, keeping on!
Jan 14, 2012
Who Says You Can't Blog At 1 AM?
Things have been looking up rather quickly!
I've been spending the past week reading articles and doing research about what it takes to run a successful business and how to advertise to your niche clientele. One thing in particular that I kept seeing was that a company should have an internet presence. In this day and age, it seems that everyone wants to meet the digital you before they spend time investing in getting to know the real, live you.
Okay.
So I started doing research on how to create website, see if domain names are free, buying domain names, etc... Turns out that Intuit is doing something fabulous for the state of Michigan. Any small business owner can get a domain name (provided it's available) and a website setup for FREE. Of course, this offer only lasts for the first year, but even so, if it serves it's function, many small businesses won't mind paying for the subsequent years because the revenue it helps create should severely outweigh the cost of the site. And if it's not making money... well... I'd probably drop the site and start over. Or reconsider whether entrepreneurship was my thing.
Anyway, I long story short: I am now the excited owner of www.ashleyhinton.com! (It's up and running if you want to check it out!)
I had conducted a survey toward the end of last year asking for the public's opinion on what a good website name would be, but I am reserving that one for when I have the ability to invest more into freelance wedding work again.
Additionally, I have an interview at Nordstrom for a Cosmetics/Fragrances position on Thrusday. I'm very hopeful that this is where God wants me. Because I want to be there.
We'll see what all of this brings, but so far the results have been lots of excitement and Isaac receiving less of my attention than normal because I've been learning the in's and out's of the software for the website design.
He is so sweet. Right now he's sitting at the table, decked out in his latest Parilexx gear. He gets so excited to wear it because the company is run by one of his former track members--and because the shirts are SUPER comfy! I think he looks quite handsome in them. They hug his biceps very nicely.
That's it for the night--rather, the early morning update! We hope you have an awesome weekend!
I've been spending the past week reading articles and doing research about what it takes to run a successful business and how to advertise to your niche clientele. One thing in particular that I kept seeing was that a company should have an internet presence. In this day and age, it seems that everyone wants to meet the digital you before they spend time investing in getting to know the real, live you.
Okay.
So I started doing research on how to create website, see if domain names are free, buying domain names, etc... Turns out that Intuit is doing something fabulous for the state of Michigan. Any small business owner can get a domain name (provided it's available) and a website setup for FREE. Of course, this offer only lasts for the first year, but even so, if it serves it's function, many small businesses won't mind paying for the subsequent years because the revenue it helps create should severely outweigh the cost of the site. And if it's not making money... well... I'd probably drop the site and start over. Or reconsider whether entrepreneurship was my thing.
Anyway, I long story short: I am now the excited owner of www.ashleyhinton.com! (It's up and running if you want to check it out!)
I had conducted a survey toward the end of last year asking for the public's opinion on what a good website name would be, but I am reserving that one for when I have the ability to invest more into freelance wedding work again.
Additionally, I have an interview at Nordstrom for a Cosmetics/Fragrances position on Thrusday. I'm very hopeful that this is where God wants me. Because I want to be there.
We'll see what all of this brings, but so far the results have been lots of excitement and Isaac receiving less of my attention than normal because I've been learning the in's and out's of the software for the website design.
He is so sweet. Right now he's sitting at the table, decked out in his latest Parilexx gear. He gets so excited to wear it because the company is run by one of his former track members--and because the shirts are SUPER comfy! I think he looks quite handsome in them. They hug his biceps very nicely.
That's it for the night--rather, the early morning update! We hope you have an awesome weekend!
Jan 10, 2012
Sometimes It's Okay To Be A Creeper
Yesterday was crazy. And by crazy, I mean intense.
The morning started off with me being so excited to job hunt. I was optimistic about the possibilities, full of energy, and planning on making appearances at the stores since it seems that filling online applications out does close to zero good.
I called stores ahead of time to verify that they were hiring, did a few follow-up calls for some positions I'd previously applied for, and then took a shower, put my face on, and headed out the door to for some face time with prospective employers. I applied at Teavana and Jimmy John's in person, and then both Lucy's Activewear and Bare Escentuals asked me to fill out the online applications and assured me they actually check them.
Regardless of how excited I was when I started, it didn't take too long for me to start feeling down-in-the-dumps. I'm a 24 year-old intelligent college graduate who has years of supervisory work experience (not to mention some pretty good life experience) and here I am, running around competing with kids still in high school for jobs that pay slightly above minimum wage.
Welcome to Michigan, folks.
I've moved from the land of milk and honey to the dang desert. I feel like surely manna has to start falling from the sky sometime... right?
To top it off, something, somewhere along the line triggered my homesickness. Maybe it was running around town for a few hours and not seeing a single familiar face. Maybe it was the song on the radio that Ike incessantly listens to. Or maybe it was calling Jessica for a pep talk and realizing that no matter how hard I wished, she was still a ten-hour drive away from giving me a reassuring hug.
Either way, I started to cry on my way home from the mall. And I was still crying when I got home.
I think Isaac thought there was something terribly wrong because I'm not sure that I've ever returned to the apartment from anywhere (except Iowa) in tears. He was trying to figure it out and I told him it was my job search but thankfully he's insightful enough to know there was more to it than that.
He let me calm myself down a little bit while we talked. Or rather, I cried and he sympathetically stared at me. I finally thought I'd maybe beaten my tears when my phone rang.
It was my mom. She apparently has awful timing.
So... off to bed I went, tears starting fresh again while Isaac graciously answered the phone for me. He came in later to check on me, hugged me and snuggled me for a bit, and then left me to sleep it off.
Later on that night I was hanging out on Facebook being a creeper, like everyone on Facebook is, and all of the sudden, a chat box popped up on the lower right-hand side of my screen. It was the homemade baby wipes girl. Name: Lindsey Taber.
We had the opportunity to chat until I could barely hold my eyes open anymore and lots of cool things were revealed along the way. Let me just brief you on it.
For starters, she is a fellow Iowan. That in itself is huge. I love Iowans. Secondly, her husband is in the medical field. He is doing his residency at Henry Ford Macomb, which is where Isaac will be doing his round starting June/July-ish this year. Again, lovely. Next, she loves God. That is bigger than the other two combined, so far as pluses go. And yes, it CAN get even better. We started talking about church and guess what? They go to the same one we do! At the same time!! And then I was creeping on her profile even more after we quit talking, and realized she went to TSPA too!
Gravy sakes!! Can it even get any better? I'm not sure that it can!
The entire time we were chatting I was sitting, staring at my computer completely enthralled. I was beaming from ear to ear and probably looked like a fool and occasionally Isaac would look over and giggle at me because I was giggling for absolutely no reason, other than the fact that I was SO happy God sent another Christian female my way. Or rather, He momentarily provided me with the balls to randomly message someone I had Facebook creeped on simply because they lived close and were from Iowa. Regardless of how you want to look at it... I was giddy!
Around midnight I went to bed, completely emotionally wasted. I felt like a tractor had dragged a field cultivator through my brain and my body was just as tired from our intense week at the gym so I knocked out pretty quick. And I'm pretty sure I slept like a rock.
I am incredibly thankful that I have a Father above who so graciously looks out for me when I can't hold myself together any longer. I was bursting last night because He lovingly provided me with another friend when I felt like a single paint drop in the chaos of an original Jackson Pollock.
My heart is smiling.
The morning started off with me being so excited to job hunt. I was optimistic about the possibilities, full of energy, and planning on making appearances at the stores since it seems that filling online applications out does close to zero good.
I called stores ahead of time to verify that they were hiring, did a few follow-up calls for some positions I'd previously applied for, and then took a shower, put my face on, and headed out the door to for some face time with prospective employers. I applied at Teavana and Jimmy John's in person, and then both Lucy's Activewear and Bare Escentuals asked me to fill out the online applications and assured me they actually check them.
Regardless of how excited I was when I started, it didn't take too long for me to start feeling down-in-the-dumps. I'm a 24 year-old intelligent college graduate who has years of supervisory work experience (not to mention some pretty good life experience) and here I am, running around competing with kids still in high school for jobs that pay slightly above minimum wage.
Welcome to Michigan, folks.
I've moved from the land of milk and honey to the dang desert. I feel like surely manna has to start falling from the sky sometime... right?
To top it off, something, somewhere along the line triggered my homesickness. Maybe it was running around town for a few hours and not seeing a single familiar face. Maybe it was the song on the radio that Ike incessantly listens to. Or maybe it was calling Jessica for a pep talk and realizing that no matter how hard I wished, she was still a ten-hour drive away from giving me a reassuring hug.
Either way, I started to cry on my way home from the mall. And I was still crying when I got home.
I think Isaac thought there was something terribly wrong because I'm not sure that I've ever returned to the apartment from anywhere (except Iowa) in tears. He was trying to figure it out and I told him it was my job search but thankfully he's insightful enough to know there was more to it than that.
He let me calm myself down a little bit while we talked. Or rather, I cried and he sympathetically stared at me. I finally thought I'd maybe beaten my tears when my phone rang.
It was my mom. She apparently has awful timing.
So... off to bed I went, tears starting fresh again while Isaac graciously answered the phone for me. He came in later to check on me, hugged me and snuggled me for a bit, and then left me to sleep it off.
Later on that night I was hanging out on Facebook being a creeper, like everyone on Facebook is, and all of the sudden, a chat box popped up on the lower right-hand side of my screen. It was the homemade baby wipes girl. Name: Lindsey Taber.
We had the opportunity to chat until I could barely hold my eyes open anymore and lots of cool things were revealed along the way. Let me just brief you on it.
For starters, she is a fellow Iowan. That in itself is huge. I love Iowans. Secondly, her husband is in the medical field. He is doing his residency at Henry Ford Macomb, which is where Isaac will be doing his round starting June/July-ish this year. Again, lovely. Next, she loves God. That is bigger than the other two combined, so far as pluses go. And yes, it CAN get even better. We started talking about church and guess what? They go to the same one we do! At the same time!! And then I was creeping on her profile even more after we quit talking, and realized she went to TSPA too!
 |
| The random conversation I creeped on that instigated said random message. I was originally creeping because her baby looked exactly like the daughter of the family I interviewed for on Saturday. |
The entire time we were chatting I was sitting, staring at my computer completely enthralled. I was beaming from ear to ear and probably looked like a fool and occasionally Isaac would look over and giggle at me because I was giggling for absolutely no reason, other than the fact that I was SO happy God sent another Christian female my way. Or rather, He momentarily provided me with the balls to randomly message someone I had Facebook creeped on simply because they lived close and were from Iowa. Regardless of how you want to look at it... I was giddy!
Around midnight I went to bed, completely emotionally wasted. I felt like a tractor had dragged a field cultivator through my brain and my body was just as tired from our intense week at the gym so I knocked out pretty quick. And I'm pretty sure I slept like a rock.
I am incredibly thankful that I have a Father above who so graciously looks out for me when I can't hold myself together any longer. I was bursting last night because He lovingly provided me with another friend when I felt like a single paint drop in the chaos of an original Jackson Pollock.
My heart is smiling.
Jan 9, 2012
Well, I'll Be Darned!
Today I'm deciding to share with you the awesome things that have happened in our lives in the past few days since getting back to Michigan.
First off, Isaac and I have been going to the gym EVERY day! For those of you who are behind in our lives (probably because I miserably failed to blog regularly for the last couple of months), I am in a weight loss competition with Howard. And Isaac wants to have a 6-pack. Or rather, maybe he just wants to diminish the size of his love handles. I want to get rid of mine entirely. Regardless, we've been diligent about getting our exercise in. Every. Day. On occasion, twice a day. But that's when we're feeling super motivated.
Secondly, I had an extremely cool experience the other day. I was browsing a friend of mine's Facebook, reading about homemade baby wipes, when I stumbled upon a name that sounded relatively familiar. Being the creeper that I am, I jumped into her profile to see if I could figure out why I felt I should know her. Turns out, there is absolutely no reason at all, other than the fact that God wanted me to see that she lives close to me. And that she is a fellow Iowan. And that maybe we will be friends. Also, a friend from home has also recently moved out here, and although she isn't as close (she's about an hour and half away) I have every intention of traveling out to see her at least a few times. AND (yes, it gets even better) while Isaac and I were pounding out our fat cells at the gym the other day, we met a former Iowa Stater who is doing her residency at Mount Clemens. How cool is that? Let me answer for you: pretty cool.
I have also been spending a significant amount of time job searching since we got back. I was doing it a little bit before we left, but really not so much since everyone wanted you to be present for the holidays and work an unlimited amount of hours. Since we went home for almost a month, I feel that I can now fill out applications and honestly say that yes, I am "available" for the holidays. At least, until Thanksgiving, when I will be returning home again for as long as I can. And I will repeat that pattern at Christmastime.
Til next time!
Ash
First off, Isaac and I have been going to the gym EVERY day! For those of you who are behind in our lives (probably because I miserably failed to blog regularly for the last couple of months), I am in a weight loss competition with Howard. And Isaac wants to have a 6-pack. Or rather, maybe he just wants to diminish the size of his love handles. I want to get rid of mine entirely. Regardless, we've been diligent about getting our exercise in. Every. Day. On occasion, twice a day. But that's when we're feeling super motivated.
Secondly, I had an extremely cool experience the other day. I was browsing a friend of mine's Facebook, reading about homemade baby wipes, when I stumbled upon a name that sounded relatively familiar. Being the creeper that I am, I jumped into her profile to see if I could figure out why I felt I should know her. Turns out, there is absolutely no reason at all, other than the fact that God wanted me to see that she lives close to me. And that she is a fellow Iowan. And that maybe we will be friends. Also, a friend from home has also recently moved out here, and although she isn't as close (she's about an hour and half away) I have every intention of traveling out to see her at least a few times. AND (yes, it gets even better) while Isaac and I were pounding out our fat cells at the gym the other day, we met a former Iowa Stater who is doing her residency at Mount Clemens. How cool is that? Let me answer for you: pretty cool.
I have also been spending a significant amount of time job searching since we got back. I was doing it a little bit before we left, but really not so much since everyone wanted you to be present for the holidays and work an unlimited amount of hours. Since we went home for almost a month, I feel that I can now fill out applications and honestly say that yes, I am "available" for the holidays. At least, until Thanksgiving, when I will be returning home again for as long as I can. And I will repeat that pattern at Christmastime.
Til next time!
Ash
Jan 7, 2012
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