Update on GusGus

Yesterday morning I headed out to go see my little guy. As I was headed out the door, Rachel called me and said she had received a call from the surgeon and he said he was doing remarkably well and was even walking ALREADY! I got to the office and they set up a blanket on the floor for us and a few minutes later, in WALKS my baby (sideways, but he's walking)! I just started crying, especially after I saw the huge scar on his back with 22 staples! I brought his favorite toy with me and a bag a treats. We sat on the floor for about 2 hours, people kept coming in to check on us during the whole time and kept telling me how much they love him and how sweet he is! The surgeon came in and told me he was so excited about how well he was doing and that he may be able to go home with me instead of having to stay there until Wednesday. Although he is walking his left hind leg is still limp and dragging so it may still take 6-8 weeks for his to regain full use of that leg. A little while later the surgeons intern came in and told me that he could go home with me! I had planned on having my fiance with me for the drive home so I was a little nervous with it just being the two of us, and of course it sleeted the entire drive home from Brentwood! I took my jacket off and made a bed for him on the passenger seat, he did really well and slept most of the way home. Last night he did amazing, he ate almost a whole bowl of food and took all of his medicine. He's mostly just been sleeping the entire time. Right now he is on pain pills, antibiotic, and muscle relaxers so he is himself but his very high self ha-ha. He is only allowed to walk to go outside and use the potty and come right back in, other then that we have to support him when he walks; they mostly just want him to lay down and rest or be in his kennel if we are not home. He goes in 2 weeks, December 9th, to get his staples taken out and for his check-up. We still have a long road of recovery, but he is doing very well and I am so proud of him, he's SO strong!! =D

So glad my mommy is here!! 

our visit yesterday at the vet! 

The car ride home, just sleeping away

Getting used as a pillow... I do not mind though! =)

Today, one of my friends bought me a giant cupcake!! *Nom,Nom,Nom*

Just hanging out with mommy! =)

My GusGus <3

Last night around 9pm GusGus, my french bulldog, started acting "weird". He seemed like he was uncomfortable and his belly looked really full and it was hard to touch; so I figured he just had a belly ache and he'd get better. After about an hour of him still seeming uncomfortable, we have him some Pepto Bismol hoping it would help his belly and he could relax. He seemed to calm down a little with the Pepto so we went to bed, of course he was by my side in bed so I could make sure he was ok. Before we went to sleep he was worrying me cause he was breathing heavily, fast, and seemed short of breath. I woke up to him crying and whining around 3:30am and woke up my fiancé so we could both make sure he was ok. I called an emergency vet clinic in Murfreesboro and the lady who answered the phone didn't seem too bothered by his symptoms and said we could bring him if we wanted to. I called my Mom and woke her up to ask her opinion... She didn't seem too worried either and told us to wait until 6 to make a decision. I took him out to use the bathroom and he just sat there looking at me, when we came back inside he got in his crate & he wouldn't come out. I stayed up with him until about 7 and he seemed somewhat more comfortable in his crate so I moved his crate into the bedroom and went back to sleep for a little while, still in and out of sleep making sure he was still breathing. Rachel woke me up at 8:30 saying we had to take him to the vet, his back legs were limp and not moving, he wasn't walking or anything. We jumped in the car and went to the vet, they told us they thought he had a ruptured disc in his back and advised us to take him to a bigger facility in Brentwood. We get to Brentwood and they tell us that it is a ruptured disc and that we have two choices: 1) take him home, put him on morphene for 10-14 days and keep him on muscle relaxers and pain pills for 6-8 weeks and see if he gets better. BUT, if we do that, if he gets worse then we'll have to go ahead and so surgery anyways and at that point he may only have a 20% chance of fully recovering. Option 2) Put him in emergency surgery, he'll have a 90% chance of full recovery, and a 6-8 week recovery time frame. Of course this is a no brainer, we opt for option 2... This came with a price tag of $3500-$4000!!! Eeekkkkk! Thank God my parents helped us out being we had to put EIGHTY % down today! He went into surgery and we waited at the office while he was going through surgery. The surgeon met us with and told us surgery went smooth and he did really well! Thank God. He told us we couldn't see him for at least 5 hours so we decided to come home for the evening and let him rest. I will head back there first thing tomorrow morning to see him and make sure he's doing ok. He has to stay there for at least 3 nights and then be can come home. They say it will be 6-8 weeks before he starts walking on his own again. Today has been extremely emotional and hard for both me and Rachel (my fiancé) and our parents as well. I'm so proud of my little boy, he's so strong and I cannot wait to see him in the morning! I am so grateful for everyone in my life who helped me get through today and sent prayers and good thoughts GusGus' way. Still praying that my baby will have an easy recovery! <3 I love you GusGus <3

We called the vet office to check up on him and she sent us a picture of him after we hung up with her! I love her for that! So glad he is doing ok!!

My sweet baby <3

The Nature Of Reality.

After reading to paragraph 39, I said to myself... Wait, I don't know what I am reading. So I went back to the beginning and start reading again. I understood the beginning and how Plato is talking about the prisoners and not being able to move their heads and how all they see is shadows of one another and the objects that they are carrying. So, I continue to read, then I find myself again on or around paragraph 30 and thinking about if my dog is getting too hot laying in the sun by the door. So I try to read out loud, hoping then that my mind cannot wander. I find myself reading the same sentences over and over and slowing down as I am reading some because I am not understanding the words that were coming out of my mouth.

Although I am confused on what I just read, and read a few times... I did find paragraph 45 to be powerful (if I am understanding it correctly). It states: "Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good." I interpret this paragraph as saying that learning cannot be taught, it is already built into each and every one of us. And if you want to make a change in yourself, you have to use your entire mind, body, and soul to do so. If your trying to change and you are not 100% committed to it, it will not happen.

Towards the end Plato was talking about having people who are accustomed to the light and then putting them into the prison (the darkness) and how they would appreciate the shadows for what they are, as well as appreciate them much more. The whole thing, I think, means that the prisoners believe that the shadows are reality and that the shadows are the real world. Although, I am still confused on what the whole thing means, but I do like how there are some interesting and powerful messages in 'The Allegory Of The Cave". 

Yes, it is a real product

Well... I decided to be funny about this assignment since one of my friends gave me the idea for it and I couldn't think of anything else to do it on! 

I posted a YouTube commercial on my product on Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/ashkayea

I'll also post the commercial on here so you guys can all watch it (please have an open mind and a sense of hummor when/if you do watch it) =)

This is a product that appeals to almost everyone, since it's something we all have to "worry" about. Since talking about bodily functions can be awkward most of Poo-Porri's advertisements are funny and have humor to them to make it lighter. They're short and to the point and definitely grab your attention (here are some examples):

Check out more info on this product on their website: pooporri.com

You're welcome.

half way there

I cannot believe that we are already half way through the semester, it does not feel like it has already been 9...10 weeks? I have really enjoyed my English 1020 class as time has progressed. The first day when we were told that we would be keeping a blog and posting to it I wasn't to wild about the idea; but I do have to say it has been one of the coolest parts about the class and I really do enjoy it. This class has taught me a lot, as well as it has brought back a lot of things to me. Since it has been 8 years since I took my English 1010 class I forgot a lot of things like, MLA formatting, how to do a works cited, correct writing formatting and even sometimes correct punctuation. Not only do I feel like I have become a stronger writer as far as essays but in short/on the spot writing (like writing this blog). I like the "freeness" of writing a blog because it is our voice and it does not have to be written in a certain way... I really do enjoy it. I do not feel like I am confused with anything that has to do with the class, I feel comfortable with assignments that we have. Like I said in my previous blog about our reading assignments and our next project, I was not too sure about our next assignment on advertisement but after reading I feel much better. And of course Ms. Hanson is really awesome about answering any questions we have via e-mail which is a huge benefit and a huge help! So far, so good! I am looking forward to the second half of the semester and everything else that we will learn in English 1020!

Advertisment, EPL, and Presentations

After the reading assignment I feel better about going into this next paper/project. It helped me to better understand what needs to come out of it and what expectations should be met. One of the things that really stood out to me was the emotion that we feel when we see pictures of something. At one point in the reading it was talking about the emotions that people felt after seeing pictures of Pearl Harbor and how people felt the same emotions after seeing pictures from planes crashing into The World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. It's interesting to think about it that way and it's true that everything we look at sparks some kind of emotion. Even sometimes things we hear spark an emotion, for example music. Music can take us back to a point in our life whether it's our childhood sitting in the back of dad's mercury listening to The Beatles; or a point in your life when you were going through a breakup and had the same song on repeat. This reading also gave good tips on presenting in front of an audience. I.e. who you audience is, why they are there, the setting of where you are giving your presentation, body language, speaking clear and not too fast, not going into too much detail, etc. Although I am not a shy person I don't like to stand up and present in front of people, reading gave me some good tips on how I can be more comfortable and give a good presentation. All in all we did read a lot of information and I am ready to start the next paper/project! =)

Writing process.

I sat down to start writing my paper fully armed with pineapple juice, air heads, and music. Music usually help my writing process and my concentration. I am writing a proposal to the US government about FREE healthcare for all. My topic would be persuasive because I am trying to persuad others (meaning everyone in America) to make this proposal to the government. I have had writers block while writing and have inlisted the help of others, especially my mom. My mom and I have had plenty I conversations regarding my proposal and she's helped me shape my paper a lot. I just feel like wiring can be frustrating for me in general.... I can write well on Facebook, a blog, journal, etc. when there doesn't need to be a strong structure and I am just talkin to others. I am working on my paper and striving for an A!!! =) 

Undecided...

I spoke with my mom this morning about all of the stuff going on with the government currently.  I thought another topic to write my proposal on could be about the issue (or lack there of) of health care. I could elaborate on Obama care, Obama wanting to fork out more money for those who cannot afford health care, myself personally not being able to afford health care, if we should pay for health care or pay the annual fee, etc. 

I love my job and love what I do but I do not make a significant amount of money. I work part time and the company that I work for does not offer benefits to part time employees. My fiance has a job which includes fantastic benefits. Unfortunately, I cannot be under her insurance because the company does not recognize domestic partnerships. Now we are faced with the issue of, should we get married sooner then planned, just so I can have great benefits? Being part of the LGBT community this may sound somewhat ignorant; DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act) is no longer in affect as of June 26, 2013, does this mean we can go to New York, lets say, and get married and then live in Tennessee and be recognized as a married couple? Does this mean that I can be under her insurance plan as her WIFE? Do we get married just to have health benefits and avoid paying a fee annually or even worse paying $300-$600/month?

I can't imagine how some people feel that are in the same boat as I am. We make enough money to not qualify to get help from Obama, but not enough to pay for our own insurance. What if you are single? No wedding date in sight, it's just you? Then what? 

I think we should use countries that have FREE health care as a model. Canada for instance, they have free health care for everyone. Why can't the United States of America do the same as Canada? Why put ourselves further in debt, to the point of bankruptcy? What is Canada doing that the USA isn't? 

It almost makes you want to leave the country and start over elsewhere.

I can elaborate so much on this topic. I've obviously rambled on much more then I did about LGBT rights, my initial topic for my proposal. There's my answer I guess! =)

Proposals (and not the asking someone to spend their life with you kind)

We have been assisgned our first real paper to write and I have to say I am nervous about it. We have to pick our own topic, which was hard for me to do. I tend to write much better when I am writing on a topic that means something to me. I racked my brain to try and find something that I could write a proposal on and make it sound good also. After a lot of thinking, brainstorming, and opinions from others I decided on a topic. I decided to write a proposal on LGBT rights. I'll expand on how far the LGBT community has come, how far the community has to go, etc.  This is a topic that holds near and dear to my heart. It not only affects me and my life, but I also have very close friends that it affects as well. 

Rules??? What are they?

Hmmm…. MLA is so strict and you have to be so careful when writing in MLA format.  I don't think I've ever cited a paper correctly, even if English 1010. After reading I feel overwhelmed and my head hurts. Like some of my classmates said in their blog, I like to have some freedom while writing. Like we discussed in last Tuesday's class, it’s very hard to write something that hasn’t been written by someone before. When writing a paper quoting and sourcing our entire paper would be excessive.  Things like the oreo cookie method, how to cite different information you pulled from a book, article, or website. Ensuring that you do not take what you read somewhere and put it into your own words because that’s counted as plagiarism. It’s all very overwhelming.

I am far from fitting into societies “norm”.  I know I’ve always liked to be different and to push the envelope. I’m supposed to be in love with a man, not a woman. I’m supposed to be married (to a man) by now, have a few kids along with my dog. I’m supposed to have a degree and be well into my career. It’s an every day struggle to not fit into the mold that most think we are supposed to fit into. I get judged every day when I walk out of my front door. Living in the “bible belt” is very hard. My fiancé and I can’t walk down the street without getting stares or people whispering to each other. I can’t imagine what would happen if we were holding hands or showing any affection towards each other. A few weeks ago we were in a grocery store and a couple of the WORKERS standing up front yelled “GAY!” really loud as we walked by. I do not judge anyone, after all who am I to judge? I feel that every single person is going through some kind of struggle; and everyone deserves a chance no matter their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, eye color, hair color, gender, etc.

Rachel & I. We've been together for going on 3 1/2 years. I've never been happier! =)

Another things is not going to or graduating college. I’m 26 years old and just decided to come back to school. I’ve had a great career for over 10 years in the beauty industry but I felt a lot was missing. I enjoy what I do very much. I enjoy helping people and making people feel good and feel beautiful; hence why I chose a profession that continues to help others.  My parents and fiancé thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to go back to school. They all had the same reaction, telling me I’m amazing at what I do and I shouldn’t stop. I quote my father; “Well, you know you’re not very good at school” ha-ha, he means well. SO I was going out of the “norm” as far as deciding to say, “screw you” and make this decision for myself.

 Owlperdue.com will be my best friend when writing in MLA format.  Remembering all of the rules when writing and citing will be hard but it is a must. 

As far as my every day life, I’ll continue to bend and break the mold. =)

Frank & Friday the 13th

Well... Friday the 13th was a great day for me. After I posted the other night, my birth father and I continued to message each other the next day. I arrived to work at 1pm Friday afternoon. Shortly after I arrived I got a message from him telling me he remembered my birth mom, and knows who she is, and for me to call him ASAP. It all ended up clicking for him! So come to find out he IS my biological father. His name is Frank, as well is my adopted father's name is Frank (small world)! I was busy at work so I had to wait until my break at 7pm(!!!) to call him. My stomach had millions of butterflies, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, I was so nervous. As it was a beautiful evening, I sat outside to call him. I sat down, the phone started ringing, my stomach sank. I stood up and walked around, sat back down, stood up again. I paced as a man with a thick Jersey accent says "Hello" on the other end. We talked to each other for about 45 minutes about everything. He told me he is so excited about me and so happy. Although I look a lot like my biological mother, I definitely have his personality. He filled in the pieces for me by telling me my nationality, about my half sisters, etc. I found out I'm Irish and Native American, which is so cool! I have two half sisters through him, Brianna and Cheyenne. His wife also has two children, Tiffany and Evan; which would be my step-half(?) siblings. He's a bounty hunter (coolest job ever!!!) and a tattoo artist on the side (also cool)!! He loves to draw, paint, and photograph. I definitely got my artistic side from him. Yesterday he sent me some of the sweetest texts and told me he's so excited about me! He's such a sweet, sweet man and I am so blessed to have found him! So excited to meet him one day! 

A part of me I may never know...

My Mom and I. 
Such an amazing, strong, and beautiful woman.

I know I just wrote a blog but I need to get something else off of my head or I really won't be able to sleep tonight. 

My Dad and I. 
My Favorite man in the entire universe.

Going to get a little deep here... I was adopted when I was two months old. I got to meet my birth mother when I was nineteen and still have an amazing relationship with her seven years later. I am so blessed to have amazing parents, who I couldn't imagine my life without and to have my amazing birth mother as well. My birth mother was young, sixteen, when she had me. When she told my birth father she may be pregnant, she never heard from him again. Her and I sat down one day and thought we had tracked him down on Facebook. It look me a little while to work up the nerves to send him a message and finally I did. The first message I sent him was July 11, 2011, it was very vague and there was no answer. I left it alone for a little while and sent him a second message on December 21, 2011 with a little bit more of a question to him, but still vague. Again, he didn't answer. I left it alone for a long time and sent him a third message and on July, 7 2013, this time with my ENTIRE story. I figured, maybe if I spark a memory or he knows I am his daugther he can't ignore this one. Again, no answer, until now.
I poured my heart out to this man and he answers me with: 
wow ... i just got this today.
I'm lost for words. and I dont remember ... i'm sure i would being so pretty : )

Hmm.... 

I really feel deep down that this is him.

Now what do I do?

This is frustrating.

Sigh.

My last message to him in which he responded to:

My Birth Mother, Kay, and I. 
So blessed to know her and have her in my life.

Hi Frank.... My name is Ashley. I don't know if you'll even take the time to read this or answer me but it's worth a shot. I was born in January of 1987 and adopted when I was about 2 months old. For as long as I can remember I've always known I was adopted and always knew I wanted to meet my birth mom one day. When I was 18, I started on the jorney to find and meet her. Going through the adoption agency and hiring private investigators, a few months later I was able to contact her and talk to her on the phone. Being she lives in Tennessee, and I was in New Jersey, we didn't get to meet in person until I was about 19. She told me about my birth father and that she didn't know him and wasn't sure on where to even begin to find him. She never even told him she was pregnant with me. She was 16 at the time and he was slightly older & they only dated for a short time. Now... 7 years later, I have a great relationship with her as I've gotten to know her and her (well my) family very well. And for 7 years I've been trying to find my biological father because I feel as though half of me is unknown, half of me is missing... All I really want to know if nationality, family health/sicknesses, etc. (it's hard to answer questions about family history when doctors ask you and you don't know). I randomly googled your name, saw a picture of you and my heart skipped a beat... I proceeded to this facebook page and saw some more pictures. I sent one to my birth mom and she recongnizes you, or at least she's pretty sure she does. So... this may mean that my 7 year long journey could be coming to an end. If the name Kay McWhorter means anything to you, then it is. I see you have a wife and children and I promise I DO NOT want to interfere in your life WHAT-SO-EVER. I know this is probably freaking you out but I just would like answers to my unanswered questions so I can feel like I know who I am, fully. I hope you can find it in your heart to at least help me out there and we can both go on with our lives. It feels good to at least see your face. Hoping you are who Kay and I believe you to be. If you aren't, and you never knew a Kay around the time I was born, then I deeply apologize for the mistake. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope to hear back from you soon.

(I attached a picture of Kay when she was a Senior in High School... around the time you would have known her, in case the name doesn't spark a memory, maybe the face will)

English and GusGus

I've noticed I'm becoming a vampire lately. Everything I do is at night. Classes are at night, work is at night. So it only makes sense to stay awake until 1... 2... 3am right? Right. And then I end up sleeping until anywhere between 10am-12pm the next day, which honestly, I really do not like to do. I woke up this mornternoon and decided to work on some homework so I decided to start reading so I could write my blog. 

And this one (GusGus) decided to help me read. I know the look on his face isn't a look of pure excitment, so it's a good thing I'm in school and he isn't. I read and went to my friend's salon to do her hair which turned my hands, nails, and some of my arms pinkish red (did you see the use of the Oxford comma)? After her hair was a beautiful shade of bada**, I realized I forgot to have my daily coffee. At this point it was too late because I already have a hard enough time sleeping at night. So I proceed home to watch 'Gatsby' with my lover bug- which if you have not seen, you should. To add to the excitment of the day, I got to get my hair done and I am now ready for the fall! Bring on the cool weather! 

Plagiarism

Have I ever plagiarized? I don't think so. BUT that does not mean that I haven't, or that I'm a saint!! lol ... I know I've cheated on a test before, I can't pinpoint a certain test or certain time, but I do know I have. When I was younger, I was notorious for not caring about school and not studying for tests. My way of passing you ask? Sitting next to the smart kids. Horrible... I know, but it wasn't a long-term and regular thing I did and it doesn't make me feel good (and Ms. Hanson, I promise I don't do this anymore)!!! 

As far as personal wise, I've never cheated on anyone. Although, I have helped someone cheat on their significant other and that was probably one of the worst feelings I've ever felt. 

These are all things to look out for to ensure you are not deliberately plagiarizing, or accidentaly plagiarizing.

In a nutshell… cheating, stealing, plagiarizing are all bad things to do and all three have repercussions. 

Assessing the writing situation & Writing the paper.

"Writing is easy, all you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein." -Red Smith

 When I am writing I have a hard time staying organized, getting my point across, and making sense of what I'm writing. I found the analogy of the clay pot interesting, it helped me think of writing as more of a process. Everyone has their own style of writing so it's okay to be different; but your writing still need to be correct and most importantly, make sense to your audience. 

 When writing a paper on a specific topic or subject, that topic can be so broad that it can cause you to write an ongoing paper or even a book. When writing on a specific topic if you are asking yourself specific questions within that topic, then you have more of a clear vision for your paper and what you are writing about. This creates more structure in your paper and more interest as well.

A lot of times when I write I find it difficult to "define a purpose" in my writing. My brain can be all over the place so my writing is all over the place. Having a specific purpose helps you communicate better and helps you achieve a goal. 

Writing a thesis statement before starting a paper helps to capture your idea of what your paper is going to look like. The thesis statement needs to be just long enough so that the teacher or audience reading your paper can get an idea of the key elements of your paper and what it's going to be about.

It is important to create structure in your paper that you are writing so it is clean and neat and you are easily getting your point across. Developing ideas and supports for the ideas helps to map out how you paper is going to look.  Creating an  "outline"/structure will help me have a more organized paper, since I tend to be a little bit all over the place, this will help me stay organized.

Creating an outline will help the writer stay organized, shape their paper, discover problems and show you what may need to be changed/tweaked. I always create an outline when writing a paper to keep myself more organized since I tend to be an "all over the place" type of writer.

I feel that editing is one of the most important parts of finishing a paper. You not only want your paper to be neatly written but you need your grammar and punctuation to be correct as well. I find that when I go back and edit papers  I can have a lot of punctuation errors because when I get into writing sometimes I forget to use correct punctuation. I also find it is easier to read a paper out loud to yourself or others to make sure it sounds as good as it does in your head.