The Extravaganzas!

The start of my career is fast approaching and one of the last things left to do was buy "work clothes". I have lived in red/blue scrubs for the past two years, and I was slightly disappointed when I found out that my new position would require "business casual" attire. Scrubs made life SO easy, but I suppose it is time to grow up and dress like a professional! (Not that those who wear scrubs aren't professionals!)

So I went on a shopping extravaganza in Memphis last week and this happened....

I did shop smart and bought basically everything on clearance. I *hope* I got some good basic pieces that will mix and match and give me lots of options. I'm excited about my new clothes and can't wait to start my job so that I can wear them!


Last weekend Will and I had our Will and Amy Pre-Wedding Extravaganza. I planned one last trip for us before Will gets married in just a few short weeks!

I kept everything a surprise until the morning we left. As we prepared to leave, I handed Will this folder...

( Crafting on a budget!  I won't be making the Pinterest boards anytime soon. Haha)

The folder was our itinerary for the day. Will was so surprised and so excited! And I was pretty proud of the day I had planned if I do say so myself!


We started with lunch in Birmingham at Saw's Soul Kitchen. The food was delicious and it was a neat hole in the wall kind of place. We enjoyed it a lot! I definitely recommend this place if you find yourself around the Avondale area.

Next we went to the Southern Museum of Flight. This is a military aviation museum with lots of unique exhibits. We had a great time walking around and looking at all of the military aircraft!

This weekend they had a huge airplane flown in, and we got to walk through it and talk to the pilot. This plane *I believe* is called a b-29. Will really enjoyed it!

One of Will's friends had actually invited him to go see it that day, but Will had turned him down because he knew we had our Will and Amy Pre-Wedding Extravaganza. Little did he know that I had planned on us going for over a month. :-)

Our last stop was The Cheesecake Factory which is Will's favorite restaurant! (that's the restaurant in the background!)

We had a great dinner and walked around the shopping area at The Summit!

This was such a special day for the two of us, and it is one I will always cherish.

The best part of the trip was on the way home when we saw 2 shooting stars! At first I thought they were fireworks, but then I realized that this is not firework season. Will and I both saw the very last one and just couldn't believe it. It was really such a magical moment, and we really couldn't believe that it had happened! I held back tears and made a wish that my brother and I will always be as close as we were that day.

When we got home we told my mom all about the trip. When we told her about the shooting stars, she said,  "Aw. That is God saying He loves y'all so much!" We both were almost in tears by then. I really do believe that was God smiling down on us and giving us the PERFECT end to a wonderful day. Oh how He loves us!

Mine and Will's relationship has had some strained moments in the past, and I know that God has heard each one of my and Will's prayers about our relationship, and that He holds every tear we have cried over each other.

God sent a rainbow as a promise to Noah.

God sent a shooting star as a promise to Will and me.

The promise?

God will always love us, and mine and Will's relationship will always be strong. Our relationship is pleasing to God, and we have his favor and blessing. Forever. 

Finished!

I can't believe I am finally FINISHED. The past two years of graduate school have been the most challenging yet most rewarding times of my life. I am so so thankful for the opportunity I was given to be part of the Ole Miss CSD Graduate Class of 2013.  I am relieved. I am proud. I am excited. ..and still a little in denial. Haha. I'm not sure I truly 100% realize that I am DONE with school forever. That may be something that takes a little while to grasp.

I am so so excited for the next chapter in my life. I am no longer a student but a working professional. I am proud of the career I have chosen and am proud to call myself a speech-language pathologist. I cannot wait to start my career!

My first day as an SLP will be May 28th, 2013! I seemed to have landed my DREAM job right out of graduate school. I have found myself asking "Is this real life?" more than once...

I am joining a private practice in Germantown, TN. Janna Hacker & Associates. So far this seems like a WONDERFUL practice, and I cannot wait to join their team of SLPs! I will be working mostly with pediatric clients and "occasionally" an adult client. I will be doing many different kinds of therapy and working with many different types of syndromes. It will be challenging but rewarding work. 

I will work a few days of the week at our "in house" clinic and then will also be in one of the private schools in Shelby county. I actually got to hand pick the private school I will *most likely* be working at, and I am so excited to be at this school! 

One of my professors asked us to write a short summary of our grad school experience and what our future holds...

Here is what I wrote and it still holds true:

"As I reflect on my graduate school career, I am overwhelmed by how far I have come. I can remember anxiously sitting in my first graduate school class.  I can remember nervously preparing for my  first therapy session. There were so many expectations, and I wondered if I really had what it would take.  Twenty-one classes and about one million therapy sessions later, the answer is yes! I did have what it would take! The knowledge and skills I have acquired, as well as the friendships I have made and the support I have received from my family, are invaluable to me. I am proud of all that I have accomplished and will forever be grateful for my time at Ole Miss.

As for the future, I’m not exactly sure what is in store. I am excited to be starting a job in a much larger city full of new opportunities. I know that twenty-four is so young, and I still have so much learning and growing to do. I am excited to find my place in this new city and to find my place in our professional world."

Amy Simmons, M.S. CF-SLP  

(I will do another post with pictures soon!)