Weekends

Today is a beautiful day. Weather is much warmer than it has been the past couple of months and the sun is shining brightly. Peter worked his first shift at the hospital last night and it will take some getting use to, but he absolutely loves how busy the wing is. I am so thrilled for him as he begins this new endeavor. I am sitting here on the couch with the windows open and watching Food Network. Life cannot get much better or more relaxing than this right now. It feels good to put my feet up after a day of cleaning, shopping, and running around town. Peter slept in till about noon and then we went downtown to the Farm Basket for lunch today. That place is just way too cute! We loved walking around and looking at the things they had and the lunch was perfect and easy. We may have to make this a ritual:)

This past week at work was absolutely crazy, to say the least. I barely had time to breathe from day to day. Thursday and Friday I was double-booked with meetings and also had back-to-back meetings both days. Monday does not look any better. I have to say though that I love every bit of it and would not wish it to be any different. I have a passion for Liberty and the students. Higher education is something that I truly love and I would love to continue in this field for a while. I never could have imagined that I would be in a Financial Aid office helping students make their dreams come true or better yet, be in another management position. It truly has been a blessing on my life and I thoroughly enjoy each person that I work with.

We have some friends coming over this evening that we typically hang out with on the weekends. My friend and I have been wanting to try our hand at creme brulee so we are going to tackle that tonight. We will see how it turns out! We plan to grill on this beautiful evening! Well, I am going to get ready for the evening just wanted to give an update to what is going on in our lives. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

Blessings

I am finally back blogging again...

There have been exciting things taking place in our life over the past couple of weeks. Things that have been complete blessings in our life that only the Lord could have orchestrated. Peter started an intense 3-week CNA course recently in one of the best training programs in the area. He really was hoping that he would eventually get a job at one of the hospitals here in Lynchburg once the class was over. He put in his application at Centra Health's website and applied for several positions that interested him. The teacher of his class (who has been in nursing for 25 years) told him that he would not get a call back from Centra Health and that he would need to be incredibly persistent to even get a call back. Peter got a little discouraged about that and I could tell in his voice that he really hoped it wouldn't be that way. Both of us continually prayed for him to get a call from one of the hospitals in the area and sure enough....he received 2---yes 2 phone calls from Centra Health that same week that he started his 3-week class wanting to interview him. He was so excited! The coolest part was he had not even finished the class NOR had he taken the VA State Exam. He went and interviewed with the head nurse at Lynchburg General Hospital in the Progressive Cardiac Unit and she hired him ON THE SPOT! She absolutely fell in love with Peter. Peter took his VA State Exam this past Saturday and passed with flying colors. He said it was an extremely stressful experience because there were people failing the test all around him. He was just elated when he called me after the test was over because if he had failed, he would have to wait another 2 weeks to take the test again and hoped he would pass. He will be working 3 12-hour shifts during the week, which means he will have 4 days off during the week/weekend, which he is thrilled about. He has already started his training/orientation and will work his first shift on the PCU floor on Friday evening. He has already received so many amazing opportunities and we cannot wait to see what happens from here on out.

We are both so thrilled and blessed that the Lord has provided something that will make him incredibly happy. He is used to this type of work since he worked in a Cancer ward and a nursing home when he was in high school. He loves the type of work and has a heart of gold to serve other people. Thank the Lord for providing him something so perfect for future plans.

As for me, not a whole lot is new here except for the fact that work is extremely busy (as to be expected right now) and I am loving every second of it. The one thing about my position is that I am busy all the time, which is great motivation for me and keeps me on my toes. I am running more and more each week and gearing up for my 5K run in April. I have always dreamed of running a race someday, but never thought I actually would. It is a lot of work with training and building you up to a certain point, but will be worth it in the end and I hope to continue to run races on a continual basis. Well, I am going to finish watching American Idol. Thank you all who have been praying for Peter over the past couple of weeks. We owe it all to God and could not be more thrilled!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I am ready for this cold weather to cease and move into Spring. I know, I know I am from Michigan and I should be used to it--I get this response ALL the time. Guess what? I am NOT used to it and I don't believe you get used to it no matter how long you live in a cold state especially when you are as thin-blooded as I am.

I just got back from the eye doctor and let me just say, for the record, that I absolutely HATE getting my eyes dilated. They always hurt afterwards and makes me have a headache. Hopefully, this will be gone in a couple of hours. Anyway, the good that came out of my eye doctor visit is I got a new pair of Coach glasses! I am very excited to be able to wear them more this year since my eyes get so dry and tired from contacts.

Work is constantly busy throughout the day, but I cannot complain because I would be bored stiff if I have nothing to do. I have to say that I am one of the few people in this world that actually enjoy going to work everyday and enjoy what they do. Thankfully, the Lord has provided something that fits me perfectly and is right up my alley when it comes to my work ethic and personality. We are getting ready to pick up even more in the next month or so I am doing as much as I can now to prepare for the coming soon rush!

Well, I am proud to say that I finished my 1st book this month "Dear John" and am on the 2nd book "Emma". "Dear John" is going to be a good movie, but sad all at the same time. I am glad I am more prepared for it now:) Anyway, I have a good line up of books to start once the 2nd one is done that I am excited about as well.

Okay, I have to talk just a little about "The Bachelor" from last night. I have to say that I am disappointed about 95% of the women chosen for that show this time around. It seems that, in previous shows, that there were many more to pick from---I guess it is now slim-pickins' in the world now. There are a lot of models/dancers/make-up artists, etc. that are flighty and obnoxious. I do, however, like Tenley, Elizabeth, and Ali at this point. Hopefully, next week will be better than the first. Just a reminder---American Idol starts next week!!!

Well, I probably should sign off now. I am going to make salmon for dinner tonight with some brown rice. I hope to tackle my clothes cleaning out sometime tonight if my headache cooperates. Have a good rest of your Tuesday everyone!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

I have to say that Sunday is one of my most favorite days. We are still extremely busy with Sunday School, church, etc. however, it is nice to remember in Genesis 2:2 that says, "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work". I guess after 6 days of work we should be entitled to a day of rest. It is hard for me to have a day to relax as I have a 'go,go,go' mentality in every area of my life. There are many days, like today, where I need to just say, "Ashley, relax!"

Today's agenda encompassed a trip to TRBC for Sunday School then we came home to some homemade lunch and now we are sitting on the couch watching football---ESPN takes over about 95% of my life thanks to my wonderful husband:) We are debating going into town (Wards Road) in a little while to look at some desks at Kohls. We are looking to my desk and clean up the spare room and turn it into an office that is fully-functioning. With Peter head-first into his classes and same with me, it almost seems like the right thing to do. We will see what happens.

Yesterday, we went out to Target to look for some home organization items. For some reason, spring cleaning is coming faster than usual for me. I have done a terrible job keeping up my beautiful home over the past month, mainly due to a large amount of traveling for work and holidays. I am strongly considering hiring a lady to come clean our house one time a week just to keep up with everything I need to do. Our busy season at work is rapidly approaching, which means even more overtime for me and my employees and Peter is making some huge career changes, that I am will leave off of here for now, but all good things. Needless to say, year 2010 is going to be life-changing for us in more ways than one. I think it would be best if I could have some extra help around the house even if it is one time a week. Anyway, back to the organization ideas---we ended up raising our bed which will allow for extra storage under the bed. I know it sounds tacky, but since we have King bedding on a Queen bed it actually hangs at perfect length where you cannot even tell there is anything under the bed. It actually looks amazing and I am very pleased with the turnout! I am going to go through my closets---yes, that is plural---4 to be exact---to get rid of a large amount of clothes that are too big or things I never wear. If any of you reading are interested in looking at the clothes just let me know, I will willingly give them to you!

I am almost finished with my first book of 2010! 'Dear John' has been an easy read and the typical romantic novel. I am excited for the movie to come out in the next couple of months. I am not sure what my next pick will be---any suggestions? I really need books that will grab your attention within the first 2 chapters otherwise I am not going to be interested. Peter and I talked about the book reading resolution and he thought it would be a better resolution to build on how many books we read annually. He thought we should do 2 books per month each and then maybe next year we can raise to 3 books a month. It is too hard with our extremely busy schedules to do much more, unfortunately.

Well, I am going to sign off for now. We are going to head out and enjoy the rest of the day before back to work tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Welcome New Year and Resolutions

Many people have made New Year's Resolutions for the coming year, as they do every year. Peter and I have had a very interesting year, to say the least, and I am ready for the new year with new events. Every year we receive many Christmas cards with families writing about their year in review. I told Peter that next year, I want to be able to look back and do the same. Here is my attempt to start blogging again to be able to have something to look back on for the coming year. Today as I sit at home with my dog, Deacon, I have been able to put into writing some of my New Year's Resolutions. Here is the current list:

1. Attend church every Sunday along with getting more involved in our wonderful Sunday School class
2. Continue to budget even better than last year---goal is to put $10,000 in savings by December 2010
3. Prepare our life and finances to start our family
4. Stretch my knowledge base at work
5. Read 1 book per week---currently reading "Dear John"
6. Have daily devotions and prayer time with Peter
7. Continue working out at the gym 3-4 times a week
8. Go on a cruise in September/October with Peter and friends

This list will continue to grow, but I believe this is a good enough list for now. We have made many changes in the past year that have stretched us immensely, but all that have made us who we are today. We both are committed to tackle these resolutions full-force in hopes to better prepare us for the future. Please continue to pray for us as we proceed into the new year with many things to achieve.