Well, hello. It has been a while. My goodness. The school year flew by. My first year was somewhat stressful, kind of crazy, but incredibly wonderful. I love my job. I'm a bit out of school mode at the moment because I'm on summer break (WHAT WHAT), but let's just suffice it to say that my first year was good. :) I love my students and the people I work with. Also, we took my Master's thesis and turned it around into a publication submission for ASHA. My professor recently resubmitted it (after some edits), so here's to hoping it goes through! It was a work of time and love and is now even closer to my heart since I currently serve a similar population to my study. I'm proud of it. We will see what happens!
Having a summer break is fantastic, I must say. My man went to military training for most of the month of June, so I took a much needed trip to Michigan. I was able to visit with friends and family and had an absolutely WONDERFUL time. Michigan (particularly, the U.P.) in the summer is heaven. Seriously. I spent time with my pup, went fishing, and got some good mommy time in :).
After a few weeks in a mild climate, this northern girl came back to the hot and humid South. I am learning that if I want to do things outside, it must happen early in the day. Otherwise, the sun picks up and heats everything it shines down on and the day just gets hotter and hotter until the sun goes down and then it's still hot. I have to tell ya: it is an odd thing that it does not get much cooler here at night. In Michigan, the water acts as a natural air conditioner, so it gets REAL cool at night. No such luck here.
HOWEVER, I do love the South (AND the heat, no matter what I say) :). It's really not so bad out. I am antsy sitting here looking outside at the spectacularly sunny day, but the last two times I've attempted to read my book outside have resulted in my feeling like I need a shower again. Even the wood posts on my porch-ish thing are giving off a sauna-y scent (i.e., it's stinkin' hot!). I know it's going to get warmer here, and it's not even July yet, but......
My handsome guy and I are taking a trip to Michigan in a couple of weeks! I am so unbelievably excited. So, in the meantime, I am doing things I consider "Southern":
1. Waking up early to get to the farmer's market or go for a run before it hits 90 degrees
2. Making/drinking iced tea on the porch while reading my book before it gets too hot
3. Cooking/baking with all of this incredible fresh produce from the farmer's market!
4. Decorating/organizing my house
5. Waiting out the heat by catching up on some Netflix and reading The Pioneer Woman's blog
As to the title of this post, I love The Pioneer Woman. I have been told multiple times by a variety of people that I remind them of Ree Drummond. I take that as a huge compliment. The more I watch her show and read her blog, the more I think that we are kindred spirits. I love her. I try to catch her show every day, and have been using my spare time to make some of her recipes.
Yesterday for dinner I made barbecue chicken (with an incredible sauce made by one of Sayer's family members), fiesta soup, and jalapeno cornbread. Sayer said it was one of the best meals I've made (it was also one of the easiest!), so I will definitely be making it again.
Tonight, Sayer says he wants to eat the leftovers of that soup (I won't complain)! I am going to make a kale salad with some of the greens and goodies I picked up from the farmer's market. I also might make something with these delicious peaches and blackberries I picked up, but I'll have to figure out what first.
Maybe I'll add some pictures of things I create/projects I do this summer. I've just been trying to keep busy. I'm slowly adjusting to not having anything to do; I'm not very good at sitting still ;).
Love, y'all!
