Well, it looks like another chapter in my life is starting. Along with Graduate school starting on the 27th for me, I am starting a new job on Monday. Since I'm heading into the Mental Health Counseling field of Psychology I figured it's time to actually get into a job that has at least 10% of what my goal job would be, unlike the route I've been taking, retail.
One of my friends who I have known for the past four years through achieving our Bachelors informed me a couple weeks ago about a job opening where she works. She currently works at a Nursing home here in Fort Wayne, and they had an opening for an Activities Assistant. I went ahead and figured I'd give it a try since I'm not currently working. I knew if I had gotten hired, it would be really good for my resume and for myself, since I had a slight fear of the elderly. Don't ask me why, because I have absolutely no idea why. Any who, I applied, and thankfully for my friend, I had an in. And I got a call back! Needless to say, a few interviews later (less then 2 weeks) I got an offer! I decided to accept and work through Graduate school for as long as I could. I know I will have to complete a few internships, which could get tricky with working almost full-time, but I'm going to try to make it work the best I can. :)
I start on Monday and I'm pretty excited about it. We also need the money too. Graduate school comes with even more student loans, which since I'm attending can be postponed for a bit, but since Sam just graduated and isn't going back to school his loans are going to start hitting the mailbox with return envelopes. Yay-raa. Not.
Needless to say, I think I'm going to have a pretty busy year! I have 3 classes this Fall semester and once those end I'll be having 3 more classes starting in the Spring. And since it's Graduate School I'll also be attending Summer classes but thankfully I'll only have 2 to worry about during the summer. Not a complete break, but a little easier on the workload then during the school year. I'm ready to just get it all started and finish these next 3.5 years. I will be soooo relieved when I walk across that stage and receive my Masters in Mental Health Counseling. Until then ya'll. I'll be updating as much as I see fit.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Introducing... Mrs. Ashley N. Hicks!
Well it's official! I'm a married woman now! June 15th, 2013 I married my best friend. It was perfect... so I thought after the fact!
Of course the morning started off good. My Maid of Honor, Elizabeth, got dropped off at my house to ride to Ohio with my mother, sister and I. We all got everything loaded and then started on our way to the hair salon... however, we had to turn around twice!!! The first time I forgot something, I can't remember what. And then we get to the same spot on our way and I have to turn around because I forgot the tie I was supposed to bring for one of my cousins. So, at that point, it was starting to get rocky. Once I hopped back in the car though, we were good and we didn't have to turn around again! We all got to the hair salon and everything started going smoothly.
After everyone was done we got on our way to the church to finish dressing in the basement. Now, we arrive and it's HOT in the basement. Luckily, there were two fans down there that we could plug in and stand next to, because, I was starting to get nervous. Nervous = sweat. The girls and my mother get in their dresses and I'm standing there waiting for help, knowing it's going to take at least 45 minutes to get in my dress because I have a complicated corset back. Well, the clock shows I have 20 minutes until we're supposed to start so I scream at my Mom to get out and help me and I FINALLY get into my dress and all set, a minute before I'm supposed to walk down the isle. I was panicked because we were cutting it pretty close.. even though I knew they wouldn't have started without the bride. I was rushing myself so much that even though I put deodorant on, I forgot to spray myself with body spray! Samuel made a point while we were kneeling by the alter to let me know I forgot... Such a nice husband, right? Haha.
The wedding went pretty smoothly. Samuel and I only made one mistake. We almost walked to our seats instead of where we were supposed to go which was standing down at the end of the isle. Thankfully Father coughed and pointed with his eyes to where we needed to go. Other then that, everything went smoothly! We said our vows without any mistakes, and our rings were perfect.
We all head down the isle and walk outside to hop in the limo and drive around the block... annnd the limo isn't here. They're running LATE. In fact, a half hour late. So, instead of driving around a little bit we head back into the church once some of the people leave and start taking portraits. After a half hour of portraits the limo finally arrives and everyone gets in only to realize the air conditioning doesn't work... and then we find out the radio doesn't work. It was pretty tragic. The driver wasn't very nice either. After driving back to Indiana through the rain... we make a few stops and arrive back at the reception hall. The rain let up thankfully so we could get out and wait outside in the cool air until we could make our grand entrance.
The limo driver takes off, and everyone that was in the front of the limo lets me know he was chewing and spitting out the window and talking/messing with his cell phone the whole time. I was furious, but since he was gone I just set it in the back of my mind to call the limo place Monday with my complaints and demand my money back. That was ridiculous.
Our DJ comes out to greet us as we're getting out of the limo and boy did he cause the girls in the limo do babble! Lets just say... "Hello Guido!" However, it turns out he was a really great guy. He was actually related to me, distantly. It was great. He took control of everything! He introduced us to the music we picked and we went to our seats. The dinner buffet was running late and he got them running out and filling the food up. Once the party started we realized how hot it was, but there was nothing that could be done about it. We watched as the employees working turned the air to 64 but it just couldn't keep up with all our hot bodies so we had them open up the back doors for some fresh air, which really helped.
The reception was such a blast! The food was amazing, and the people were great. The music was perfect and the dance floor was constantly full!! Sam and I even got our first dance to Beauty and the Beast. It couldn't have been any better. By the end of the night, we all didn't want it to end! The DJ didn't want to stop playing either! He snuck in 3 extra songs while he was tearing down all his lights. He was seriously the best DJ I've ever seen.
Now to open the gifts and enjoy married lift... it's all down hill from here right? :)
Of course the morning started off good. My Maid of Honor, Elizabeth, got dropped off at my house to ride to Ohio with my mother, sister and I. We all got everything loaded and then started on our way to the hair salon... however, we had to turn around twice!!! The first time I forgot something, I can't remember what. And then we get to the same spot on our way and I have to turn around because I forgot the tie I was supposed to bring for one of my cousins. So, at that point, it was starting to get rocky. Once I hopped back in the car though, we were good and we didn't have to turn around again! We all got to the hair salon and everything started going smoothly.
After everyone was done we got on our way to the church to finish dressing in the basement. Now, we arrive and it's HOT in the basement. Luckily, there were two fans down there that we could plug in and stand next to, because, I was starting to get nervous. Nervous = sweat. The girls and my mother get in their dresses and I'm standing there waiting for help, knowing it's going to take at least 45 minutes to get in my dress because I have a complicated corset back. Well, the clock shows I have 20 minutes until we're supposed to start so I scream at my Mom to get out and help me and I FINALLY get into my dress and all set, a minute before I'm supposed to walk down the isle. I was panicked because we were cutting it pretty close.. even though I knew they wouldn't have started without the bride. I was rushing myself so much that even though I put deodorant on, I forgot to spray myself with body spray! Samuel made a point while we were kneeling by the alter to let me know I forgot... Such a nice husband, right? Haha.
The wedding went pretty smoothly. Samuel and I only made one mistake. We almost walked to our seats instead of where we were supposed to go which was standing down at the end of the isle. Thankfully Father coughed and pointed with his eyes to where we needed to go. Other then that, everything went smoothly! We said our vows without any mistakes, and our rings were perfect.
We all head down the isle and walk outside to hop in the limo and drive around the block... annnd the limo isn't here. They're running LATE. In fact, a half hour late. So, instead of driving around a little bit we head back into the church once some of the people leave and start taking portraits. After a half hour of portraits the limo finally arrives and everyone gets in only to realize the air conditioning doesn't work... and then we find out the radio doesn't work. It was pretty tragic. The driver wasn't very nice either. After driving back to Indiana through the rain... we make a few stops and arrive back at the reception hall. The rain let up thankfully so we could get out and wait outside in the cool air until we could make our grand entrance.
The limo driver takes off, and everyone that was in the front of the limo lets me know he was chewing and spitting out the window and talking/messing with his cell phone the whole time. I was furious, but since he was gone I just set it in the back of my mind to call the limo place Monday with my complaints and demand my money back. That was ridiculous.
Our DJ comes out to greet us as we're getting out of the limo and boy did he cause the girls in the limo do babble! Lets just say... "Hello Guido!" However, it turns out he was a really great guy. He was actually related to me, distantly. It was great. He took control of everything! He introduced us to the music we picked and we went to our seats. The dinner buffet was running late and he got them running out and filling the food up. Once the party started we realized how hot it was, but there was nothing that could be done about it. We watched as the employees working turned the air to 64 but it just couldn't keep up with all our hot bodies so we had them open up the back doors for some fresh air, which really helped.
The reception was such a blast! The food was amazing, and the people were great. The music was perfect and the dance floor was constantly full!! Sam and I even got our first dance to Beauty and the Beast. It couldn't have been any better. By the end of the night, we all didn't want it to end! The DJ didn't want to stop playing either! He snuck in 3 extra songs while he was tearing down all his lights. He was seriously the best DJ I've ever seen.
Now to open the gifts and enjoy married lift... it's all down hill from here right? :)
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Peanut Butter Cookies... no, not my dog!
Samuel and I spent the day cleaning the house in preparations for the wedding visitors this Thursday through Sunday, aka my mother and sister. They are coming up Thursday for our nail appointment and staying until after the wedding, since they live 3 hours away. It's coming up pretty fast, and I can't wait!
So after making dinner and cleaning the house, we felt like a treat. What did we do? I believe the title of this post gives it away. That's right, I made Peanut Butter Cookies. No, we didn't cook Peanut Buttah, no dogs were harmed in the making of these cookies. :)
I started with mixing together all my ingredients and then rolled the dough into balls. Those balls got swirled in sugar and then placed on a greased cookie sheet, ready to bake! After 10 minutes in the oven they came out looking like this:
So after making dinner and cleaning the house, we felt like a treat. What did we do? I believe the title of this post gives it away. That's right, I made Peanut Butter Cookies. No, we didn't cook Peanut Buttah, no dogs were harmed in the making of these cookies. :)
I started with mixing together all my ingredients and then rolled the dough into balls. Those balls got swirled in sugar and then placed on a greased cookie sheet, ready to bake! After 10 minutes in the oven they came out looking like this:
Then I took a metal fork and smashed them down a little bit that way they weren't peanut butter cookie mounds! Since they had been in the oven for a good 10 minutes, it was Hershey kiss time! Stick them back in the oven for 2 minutes, pull out, and enjoy the semi-melted kisses!
After you pull them out don't hesitate. Go ahead and grab your favorite spatula and carefully place them on some cookie cooling racks.
Once you let them cool, they are ready to be enjoyed!!! We definitely enjoyed them!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Guess who is back?
Yeah, it's me. Do I have to introduce myself again? I think I might. Hello, I'm Ashley, the writer of this blog. However, I would understand if you don't remember me. I can't believe this is the first post I've made in 2013! I have been very neglectful towards this blog. I apologize.
There has been tons going on in my life. Like you previously knew, I am engaged, still. Our wedding is coming up very soon! Twenty days to be exact.... 2-0, twenty. I feel like I was just getting engaged, that's how fast this whole year has gone for me. Our planning has gone pretty smoothly, although it definitely had some ups and downs. Lately it's been all about the little last minutes that always show up for weddings. I've made all my appointments, in fact this Friday I'm getting my hair highlighted so it's nice for the wedding. My nails have been done and will just need a fill 2 days before I walk down the isle and marry the man of my dreams.
Okay, stop talking about the wedding right? Okay. But that means I get to talk about my Graduation! I recently graduated with my undergraduate degree on May 18th! It was exciting and I'm so happy to be done with that adventure in my life. What's my next adventure you ask? A family? I don't think so. My next adventure is heading to Graduate school! I've been accepted and I will be starting in the Fall semester. (I'm nervous, but I can't wait!) My program is Mental Health Counseling, which of course goes quite nicely with my undergraduate Psychology degree. I can't wait to hang them up together once I've completed my graduate degree! I will have to wait though, three and a half years. Almost as long as my undergraduate adventure, but not quite. It's going to be one hell of a run though, and I have a feeling that it's going to be amazing.
So, where does family fit in now that I'm getting married? Not until I'm almost done with my degree. Sam and I have thought a lot about it and talked a lot about it, and even though I'd like to have a child right away, it is smarter for us to wait until I'm done or almost done with school that way we're established in our house and we have some savings. (Because school bills are a biotch!) Sam should be done with his student loans by the time I get done with my degree, that way we'll only have my student loans to pay for... and hopefully I'll be in a nice position counseling somewhere to be able to get those paid off asap!! If you have any tricks of the trade on paying those off, let me know... its going to be in the tens of thousands. Darn private colleges that hardly offer ANYTHING to help cover costs. $$$
However, even though college is expensive, some are some aren't, if you can get in somewhere, you should go. It teaches you many, and I do mean many, life lessons. I don't know where I would be today without taking that leap of faith and going to college. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget, and I can't wait to start this new journey of my life, furthering my education even higher. Who knows, I may be Doctor Ashley someday. :)
Other new? We have a new addition to our family! Obviously I'm not talking about a child, but he'd a child to us. We have a little Yorkie Terrier named Atreyu. That's A-Trey-U. Like the little Indian boy from The Neverending Story. One of my favorite childhood movies! It was either Atreyu or Falcor! But, I think we made the right choice. We also call him Peanut Buttah. He's a good boy, and here he is folks! Atreyu's big blog debut!
.JPG)
He's such a cutie isn't he? He's definitely my baby, and he's a good boy. He's a little over 5 months old now, born December 16th. He's a precious thing and in the 2 months that we've had him he's become quite attached to Jacob Marley and Leah Maria.
There has been tons going on in my life. Like you previously knew, I am engaged, still. Our wedding is coming up very soon! Twenty days to be exact.... 2-0, twenty. I feel like I was just getting engaged, that's how fast this whole year has gone for me. Our planning has gone pretty smoothly, although it definitely had some ups and downs. Lately it's been all about the little last minutes that always show up for weddings. I've made all my appointments, in fact this Friday I'm getting my hair highlighted so it's nice for the wedding. My nails have been done and will just need a fill 2 days before I walk down the isle and marry the man of my dreams.
Okay, stop talking about the wedding right? Okay. But that means I get to talk about my Graduation! I recently graduated with my undergraduate degree on May 18th! It was exciting and I'm so happy to be done with that adventure in my life. What's my next adventure you ask? A family? I don't think so. My next adventure is heading to Graduate school! I've been accepted and I will be starting in the Fall semester. (I'm nervous, but I can't wait!) My program is Mental Health Counseling, which of course goes quite nicely with my undergraduate Psychology degree. I can't wait to hang them up together once I've completed my graduate degree! I will have to wait though, three and a half years. Almost as long as my undergraduate adventure, but not quite. It's going to be one hell of a run though, and I have a feeling that it's going to be amazing.
So, where does family fit in now that I'm getting married? Not until I'm almost done with my degree. Sam and I have thought a lot about it and talked a lot about it, and even though I'd like to have a child right away, it is smarter for us to wait until I'm done or almost done with school that way we're established in our house and we have some savings. (Because school bills are a biotch!) Sam should be done with his student loans by the time I get done with my degree, that way we'll only have my student loans to pay for... and hopefully I'll be in a nice position counseling somewhere to be able to get those paid off asap!! If you have any tricks of the trade on paying those off, let me know... its going to be in the tens of thousands. Darn private colleges that hardly offer ANYTHING to help cover costs. $$$
However, even though college is expensive, some are some aren't, if you can get in somewhere, you should go. It teaches you many, and I do mean many, life lessons. I don't know where I would be today without taking that leap of faith and going to college. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget, and I can't wait to start this new journey of my life, furthering my education even higher. Who knows, I may be Doctor Ashley someday. :)
Other new? We have a new addition to our family! Obviously I'm not talking about a child, but he'd a child to us. We have a little Yorkie Terrier named Atreyu. That's A-Trey-U. Like the little Indian boy from The Neverending Story. One of my favorite childhood movies! It was either Atreyu or Falcor! But, I think we made the right choice. We also call him Peanut Buttah. He's a good boy, and here he is folks! Atreyu's big blog debut!
.JPG)
He's such a cutie isn't he? He's definitely my baby, and he's a good boy. He's a little over 5 months old now, born December 16th. He's a precious thing and in the 2 months that we've had him he's become quite attached to Jacob Marley and Leah Maria.
I've got quite the family. And I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Monkey Cake.
Basically, it comes down to this. Monkey Cake.
Earlier this morning I woke up, grabbed my phone, and strolled Facebook. I do this every morning before I get out of bed. Helps me wake up. I don't know why, but after creeping on my friends and family through my news feed, I'm wide awake to start my day. Well this morning, something special popped up. One of my Aunts had posted a picture of Monkey Cake, which my Grandmother used to make all the time. Seeing this definitely made me hungry for it, so the first thing I did (after of course using the facilities and taking my allergy medicine for the day) was walk into the kitchen and pull everything out to make it! (I could remember making this in early mornings with my Mother and my Grandmother. As I made it the memories definitely came floating in, which I love.)
I whipped out my Bundt Pan and sprayed it down with non-stick spray, greased that baby right up. Then I pulled my biscuits out of the fridge. I braved up for the next part of unwrapping the paper and having it pop in my own hands. Always makes me jump and I typically make Sam do it, but this time I was making this as a surprise so I suffered through it on my own. After popping them open I grabbed my bag of sugar and cinnamon mixture and started cutting the biscuits in quarters, dropping them into the bag to be shook around until there was a generous amount of the sugary mixture coating the biscuit pieces. (I typically only throw in 8 pieces at a time to get evenly coated = two biscuits cut up.) After throwing those into the bundt pan and then repeating the process until they were all done, I pulled out a small sauce pot and plopped it on our stove top. turned it up on high and once my sugar & butter were melted, I poured the mixture all over the top of my biscuits in the bundt pan. For about 45 minutes I had to wait for that yummy dish to come out of the oven, but once it did it was glorious. Luckily, our large plate was clean so I could immediately turn it over and lift off the metal bundt pan from the blue serving plate, leaving the sugary Monkey Cake ready for eating. (I wouldn't advise eating it right away, it's quite hot.)
.JPG)
I did have some extra icing from some cinnamon rolls in our fridge so I pulled that out to drizzle on top, but if you don't want to add anymore sugar then there already is inside the dessert/breakfast then you can leave it out.
.JPG)
I'll add in the specific recipe so you can enjoy this amazing Monkey Cake too!
Enjoy, and happy baking! (:
Earlier this morning I woke up, grabbed my phone, and strolled Facebook. I do this every morning before I get out of bed. Helps me wake up. I don't know why, but after creeping on my friends and family through my news feed, I'm wide awake to start my day. Well this morning, something special popped up. One of my Aunts had posted a picture of Monkey Cake, which my Grandmother used to make all the time. Seeing this definitely made me hungry for it, so the first thing I did (after of course using the facilities and taking my allergy medicine for the day) was walk into the kitchen and pull everything out to make it! (I could remember making this in early mornings with my Mother and my Grandmother. As I made it the memories definitely came floating in, which I love.)
I whipped out my Bundt Pan and sprayed it down with non-stick spray, greased that baby right up. Then I pulled my biscuits out of the fridge. I braved up for the next part of unwrapping the paper and having it pop in my own hands. Always makes me jump and I typically make Sam do it, but this time I was making this as a surprise so I suffered through it on my own. After popping them open I grabbed my bag of sugar and cinnamon mixture and started cutting the biscuits in quarters, dropping them into the bag to be shook around until there was a generous amount of the sugary mixture coating the biscuit pieces. (I typically only throw in 8 pieces at a time to get evenly coated = two biscuits cut up.) After throwing those into the bundt pan and then repeating the process until they were all done, I pulled out a small sauce pot and plopped it on our stove top. turned it up on high and once my sugar & butter were melted, I poured the mixture all over the top of my biscuits in the bundt pan. For about 45 minutes I had to wait for that yummy dish to come out of the oven, but once it did it was glorious. Luckily, our large plate was clean so I could immediately turn it over and lift off the metal bundt pan from the blue serving plate, leaving the sugary Monkey Cake ready for eating. (I wouldn't advise eating it right away, it's quite hot.)
.JPG)
I did have some extra icing from some cinnamon rolls in our fridge so I pulled that out to drizzle on top, but if you don't want to add anymore sugar then there already is inside the dessert/breakfast then you can leave it out.
.JPG)
Enjoy, and happy baking! (:
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