62-75 of Project 365...Whew!

62/365: Rainbow Basset. Love my job!

63/365: Yum.

64/365: Finally brought my new (old) bike home. Come on warm weather!!

65/365: Took an evening walk on the Big Four Bridge. Definitely excited to do this again and again. 

65/365: Warm weather = The Flea Off Market, cats in the windows, and one pooped pup.

66/365: My nanny kiddos got a new cereal...and I can eat it! :)

67/365: A sweet moment with all of my babies asleep together.

68/365: Straight hair and a newish hat.

69/365: Tacos with homemade spanish rice. (Not so) fun fact: I ate tacos 3 days in a row this week. Kind of over it (even though they were delicious).

70/365: "Rainbow Hair" (according to my kiddos). :)

71/365: Today I bought a mixer! What a sweet find from our favorite, Tickled Pink! (Yes, I've been cleaning the heck out of it to prevent any gluten issues.)

72/365: Charlie always sits on the kitchen mat when he comes in from the backyard. This was not something we taught him. He's so smart. Trying to make this "trick" work to our advantage. :)

73/365: It's almost beer making time in the Shaw house.

74/365: Spring is coming!! Arnold Palmers on the front porch and flowers in my yard. I'm a happy girl.

75/365: Making some fun changes around the house. :)

Have you ever done a 365 photo project before? I'm finding it quite difficult to keep up. My inspiration has actually taken a break from it herself. Of course, she has other blogging stuff that she's working on constantly. So, I guess it's understandable. :) Wondering though if I wanna call it quits on this or not. I enjoy sharing bits from my daily life, but I find myself pushing back other posts I want to make and then not posting at all. Decisions, decisions.  

Bogged Down

Yikes! My bloggin' has definitely been placed on the back burner lately with all of this homework I've had to do. Sorry guys. To all 4 of you. And, if there are more of you reading, I would gladly apologize to you too if you'd click that little follow button down there. No? That's cool. Just thought I'd mention it.

Anyway, things have been a little hectic lately as this was a big assignment week with my classes and I also put in more hours at work than usual. So, that in turn meant less blogging. Boo. Not a fan. I'll try to be better.

21/365: Monday, I spent some time with my kiddos talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They're pretty young, so the concept was hard to grasp. However, they did tell me that he was a nice man who helped people. Mission = accomplished. Then we spent some time making rainbows out of pegs. Their idea completely. I thought it was somewhat fitting. 
22/365: Adam sent me some "emo" pics of our pets. I could not stop laughing. Love my fur babies!

23/365: Made a delicious salad this night. You can find the recipe in here. And, if you don't buy the book, at least buy this dressing. It is my fave! YUM!

24/365: Today was lots and lots of studying. These cuties kept me company while I read and reviewed articles on the origins of Applied Behavior Analysis.

25/365: To treat myself for all of my studying, I headed over to Tickled Pink and purchased some new (old) canisters for our kitchen. I am absolutely in love with them (shhh -- so is Adam)! The best part, though, was when I texted my mom to show her my find, she replied that she owned the very same canisters many years ago! :)

26/365: Saturday, I woke up with a cough and a sore throat. So, I had ice cream for breakfast. It helped temporarily. 

Any other recommendations for cough/cold/runny nose? I'm loading up on vitamin c and washing/sanitizing my hands frequently. Hoping this bug goes away soon!

Feeling Inspired

One of my favorite blogs wrote a post on gratitude today (and does so once a week or so), and it has me inspired to do the same. So many things that I am grateful for go unmentioned and undocumented. My blog (and my 365 project) is the perfect medium to express my gratitude and thanks. 15/365:

I am grateful for our precious home in the Lou

 For my forever-loving basset hound

For a husband who supports me with everything he has

For grad school work that pushes me, and for delicious gluten-free foods and recipes that I am discovering everyday.

Feeling so fortunate, today. 

Liebster Award!

So...my new bloggin' friend, Steff, has nominated me for a Liebster Award!

Day 7

It's a bloggin' award for up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers. And, seeing as how I have ONE official follower, I'm feeling pretty good! :)

There are a few rules that go come with this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
3. Choose people and link them in your post.
4. Go tell them!
5. No tag backs.

Problem is...I am so new to the blogging world that I really haven't started following many blogs yet. Therefore, I don't have anyone to tag. So, I guess you could call me a rule-breaker. ;) I'll still do my best to answer all of the questions, though. 

11 Things About Me
1. I own my own home (with my hubs). It's our first house and we both love it so much!
2. I started grad school. Like, today. And, I am super excited about it. 
3. I have a crazy obsession with basset hounds. They are the best! I'm pretty in love with one basset, though (my Charlie!!).

4. I am discovering the amazing world of crafting/crocheting/sewing, and I couldn't be more excited about it!

5. I love Louisville (obvious, I know). It was seriously a dream come true when Adam and I moved here.

6. I have two sisters named Ashley (that's my name also, if you didn't know). 

7. I have been married to Adam for a year and half. <3

8. It is rare that I can go to the movies without consuming Sour Patch Kids. I also won't eat them until the movie has started (not during previews!).

9. I have recently started a gluten-free diet after feeling sick for over a year for no apparent reason. I'm really excited for the changes this will bring to my life. 

10. In addition to my basset, we also have two cats and a bearded-dragon.

11. I love art. I used to paint and draw all the time. I'd like to get back to that. Someday.

Questions from Steff of Iffy Inklings

1) Do you use a daily planner? If so, what kind of things do you use it for? Just work? School? To-do list?
Yes, I do! Today I added all of my upcoming assignments to my planner. I also used it to compile a Christmas card list. Sometimes I write down my work schedule, but it's in my phone calendar so it's not necessary. 

2) What is your favorite TV show on Netflix? I'm only asking this because I need new suggestions. If you don't have Netflix, it's probably a good thing.
I <3 Netflix. I'm currently watching Dawson's Creek from start to finish. I had only ever seen a few episodes. I'm kind of obsessed. I plan on watching HIMYM and Parenthood afterward. Oh, and also finishing up The Office. I'm a season behind. 

3) Bungee jumping or skydiving: which would you prefer to do?
I'm going with sky diving. Not sure why that bouncy rope is more terrifying to me than free-falling out of a plane. But, it is. So, skydiving.

4) What's a blog you would be sad to see stop writing?
Hmmm. Probably A Beautiful Mess and Today's Letters. I check them daily.

5) What are your thoughts on eggnog? I've been reading a lot about how people hate it but have never tried it. Are you in that category? 
I totally fall into that category. Never tried it. I think it sounds gross.

6) Are you sick of the word vintage like I am?
Haha, no. I don't mind it. I recently bought a coat from Target, and I constantly get stopped and asked if it's vintage (a compliment, I'm assuming). So, I kind of like that word right now. :)

7) Do you like putting things together, like bookshelves, lego kits, etc. or would you rather have someone else do it?
I don't mind putting things together, but I think I prefer to do it with someone else. I put our dresser together on my own except for a few small parts. It's always nice to have some help. Now, when it comes to legos, I prefer to do it myself. I'm always having my towers knocked down (nanny problems).

8) What is the last book you read? Yes or no: did you like it?
Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn. I really enjoyed the book. The ending was a bit anti-climactic, though.

9) Do you keep your CDs or DVDs in the case, or do you put them in a big CD case? The hubs and I are debating our method of keeping them in their regular cases because it takes up too much room.
We keep ours in the cases on shelves in the basement. We have a T.V. room (read: man cave) down there, so they are easily available.

10) Do you use the word 'bro' at all? I find myself using it far too often.
No, not unless I'm joking around saying, "Come at me, bro." For some reason I find that fun to say. I used to say 'dude' a lot (many years ago). Now I just say 'sorry'. Way. Too. Much.

11) I can't think of another question so make up your own.

Hmmm, okay. What is your dream job?
Photographer. Easy.


Again, sorry I don't have anyone to pass this along to. But, thanks for including me! :) Perhaps I can gain some more readers soon! 

A New Adventure

Some of you may be wondering why I chose to title my blog Longing For Louisville. That is, of course, assuming anyone is reading this blog. If you know me, you know that I currently live in Louisville, Kentucky. However, it wasn't so long ago that I was longing to be here. Like, seriously crazy about it. I lost sleep over it. This city is a dream come true for me and my husband. We visited once on a whim (over 4 years ago) and haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Adam and I on our first trip to Louisville in 2008.

During those 4 years of longing, I started a tumblr. My tumblr was my first experience with any form of blogging, unless you count those annoying MySpace surveys that everyone used to fill out (everyone did that, right?) to kill time between classes in college. Adam still likes to remind me of things I shared on those surveys (what is with his crazy memory??). Anyway, my tumblr is more of a photoblog where I reblog photos taken by other people and occasionally share a few of my own. I titled my tumblr Longing For Louisville because at the time I very much was. While I could choose to just continue blogging there, I decided that I needed a new format and a fresh start for what I am hoping to accomplish. I love my tumblr and will continue to occasionally post there as well, but this will be my space for writing (okay, some photos too--I'm a very visual person). So, here goes -- welcome to my blog!