A Special Surprise

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I was expecting a letter from my former adviser from grad school at U of A.  But when the letter came in a padded envelope, I was a bit confused.  Even more confused when I opened it and saw a box from Underwood’s, a local jeweler.
Inside the box was a graduation gift from my professor- a beautiful U of A charm bracelet!

It has such beautiful charms!  This is a diamond charm (Arkansas is the Diamond State) and says “Diamond State” on one side and “Underwoods” on the other.

Then we have the big A.  It says “Razorbacks” in the middle.

And what would a U of A charm bracelet be without a Razorback?

This is the state of Arkansas (says so in the middle!) with a little diamond in the center.

And this is Old Main, an iconic building on campus.

I was so surprised and thankful to get such a special gift.  This is a wearable memento of my hard work during grad school…and a great way to show my Razorback pride!  
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Filed Under: grad school, random

Published Again!

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See this book…



Inside, is chapter 15….co-written my ME! This is my thesis, edited and reworked by my advisor, Dr. Lynne Webb….to be this chapter!



There ya have it! This book is more of a text book/academic writing, but its all about where moms go online. Chapters about pregnancy communities online, conflict in online communities, moms on myspace, parenting discussion boards, dads using online support groups, adoption, infertility, disabilities, and more! So excited to be a part of this book!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone


Filed Under: accomplishments, grad school

No More Back To School

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This year is the first year I have not gone back to school since I was 5 years old! 19 years of back to schools!

-13 years of public school

-4 years of college

-2 years of grad school

And now, for the first time in so long, I will not be going back to school. And it feels good.

I don’t miss homework or anything like that, but I do miss a few things.

-I miss learning daily. I miss getting to read and learn. I know, I am still learning things at my new job, and I still read and learn all the time…but no more classroom atmosphere and discussions with classmates.

-I miss the people. I had amazing classmates and school experiences during all three phases of my learning.

These were some high school buddies at a church event. I’m on the right on the edge of the couch.More high school friends- before Senior Prom! I’m in the orange (3rd from the L)

My sweet pledge sisters- my main group in college. This was when we were planning to “kidnap” a boy from another club. So fun! (I’m on the front row L being silly!)

And these are some grad school friends after graduation.



– I miss organized events. From dances in high schools, to mixers and sorority functions in college, to group dinners or exercise classes in grad school…I miss having events planned for me to go to. Now it is hard to organize everyone’s schedules and get everyone together.

Fun events like Barn Bash!

And toga parties!



But I am glad that season of life is over. I am excited to see what God has in store for my life now that I am not divided and giving so much time and energy to school. But I am thankful for my time in school- I know its more than most people are able to experience. And I had a great time! God Bless!


Filed Under: friends, grad school, memories, OBU, Tyler

Graduation!

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We started the graduation festivities Friday night. My parents came to town and took us to the Hog Haus for dinner. I’ve only been a few times, but I LOVE me some Hog Haus. They are a brewery, and make many of their dishes with their homemade brews. We enjoyed some beer cheese dip, and dad and Ty got the beer battered fish and chips…mom got some yummy pasta and I had shrimp and grits!

My amazing parents…

Me and Ty at dinner!
Then we came home and enjoyed some yummy cake from Rick’s bakery. Isn’t this adorable?


Then I got to open some graduation gifts….Tyler and Nancy (my MIL) got me a Nook! And mom and dad got me a pre-order of the 75th anniversary Fiestaware Marigold soup bowl/platter, and a gift that made me tear up….Mikimoto pearls. These are the top of the line pearls, and I feel so blessed to have something so nice. They are beautiful!

Saturday came and a bunch of COMM grads and some professors met outside before graduation to take a group picture. These are some of the people that suffered, I mean, made it through the COMM M.A. program with me. I am sad to leave these folks.

Us girls showed off our hoods!

Me and Laveda- she has been my partner in crime at grad school. We got in trouble for being too loud in our office, we complained about so many things, and worked out and sweat more than I care to remember. But we had a great time.

This was some of us after we got our diplomas (or diploma holders….we get the diplomas in the mail later).


Then we went to eat lunch. It was unseasonable cold, so we didn’t get to take any pictures outside. We went to lunch at the #1 lunch place in NWA- Mermaid’s. I had never been, but I knew they were reknown for their lunches….so that’s where I suggested. It was very good. Seafood and yummy pastas!

My parents left after one more slice of cake. Then Tyler and I took a glorious nap and had sushi for dinner.

It was a great weekend of celebration and I’m so glad to be finally, officially finished.

PS. On another note, the canvases I ordered came in…they are very nice quality…but I realized why they are so cheap. You have to assemble them. They come just rolled up and you have to stretch and staple them together. But at least they look nice.


Filed Under: family, grad school