I've been bad

and I apologize!

I've been working and working, and it's paid off because as of 3 Nov. I will no longer be a temporary employee! That means more benefits, paid holidays, better pay... yippee! I am enjoying the job and am doing a few things I've never done before, so that's fun. I'm not sure if this is the only place that uses it, or if it's called something else, but I've become the primary travel coordinator and will be using a program called SAP - no clue what it stands for, but it's the way all travel is requested/ approved/ paid for. I have also been assigned to be an assistant to the executive associate director. I figure if we do still go to North Carolina in February/ March, this will at the very least be a good experience and resume builder, so I'm going to make the most of my time here.

We're also looking for a new car. It's been fun and crazy and stressful, and luckily I think we're nearing the end! Poor Steven misses his motorcycle (can't blame him, it's fun) so he has been drooling over the M3 and C63 AMG. Those are great cars, but not the practical type I thought we originally set out to find. I must admit, I love the C63 - it sounded awesome when started up, but it's a gas guzzler. I really don't care for the BMWs...call me crazy. Also, the only M3s we could find were MANUALS and I have NO idea how to drive one! We test drove a few different cars after Steven did lots of researching, and it looks like the top pick of the moment is the C350. It doesn't have the 400+ hp, but maybe we'll be able to afford a motorcycle for Steven later.....we shall see!!!

Ok, Ashley, am I out of trouble now? ;)

Finally an update

Ok, I told some people that I would be better about updating, so I'm really going to try, starting today!

So far we're really happy here in Arkansas. Cabot is MUCH smaller than San Antonio, but it's been a fun change. Without all the city lights, we can actually see some stars at night, and we're away from any major roads, so it's sooo quiet. I've only met a couple of our neighbors, but they've been super nice.

Now, something I don't really care for would be the grocery stores. I miss HEB. If I can go to the Commissary, I'm ok, but when I can't, I refuse to go to Krogers and there's a Knights right around the corner. It's fine, but they don't have the selection that HEB always had, the prices seem high, and they have pickled eggs and pigs feet over by the icecream. YICK!!

Since it's roughly a 20 min drive to get to/from base, we have created a home gym. I think we probably went a bit overboard, but at least all of this stuff will be with us for a long time. Steven has been great about using all of the machines in the garage and I'm trying to figure out a time that works for me to workout as well. I've started a video called the 30 Day Shred and the first two days have kicked my butt! It's not easy, but it's a quick 20 minute workout, so it's hard to find an excuse as to why I can't do something for just 20 minutes. After I get more acclimated to it, I'm going to add back in the Couch 2 5K program. I am by no means a runner, but I'd like to run a 5K or at least attempt it. There's one in Little Rock at the beginning of December that I think I will sign up for. I also want to be about to do 100 pushups in a row, since I found a program online for that, and I plan to fit that in to my schedule as well.

We found out that our male kitten is a female. Her name is still going to be Tom (maybe Tommi? haha). She's still incredibly sweet and almost always entertaining. I never ever thought I would like having a cat, but I'm loving her!

The only other news I can think of at the moment is that I've gotten a job, and have been working for about 3 weeks. I'm working at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (www.achi.net), and currently hold a receptionist type position. It's not necessarily the ideal job I would have picked if I had more time (to find a job and be in the area), but it's been great. There's room to grow and after a week, I was given a $1/hr raise. Everyone here is really nice and the atmosphere is laid back, which I love. The work being done here on obesity and other health issues is interesting, and something I enjoy learning more about as well.

That's all for now and I will try my best to be better about updating!!