Merry Christmas!

Get out of Work for a Few Hours

Caution: The story you are to read has graphic pictures and a lot of blood.




So at work yesterday I decided to close the teller drawer (the drawer tellers push in and out to get deposits from the drive thru) on my right pointer finger... .:sarcasm:. I've done it before and it really hurts, but I've never done it this bad or make it hurt this bad before. So I was helping a client I regularly help and I was pushing the drawer out to him which makes our side close, I flinched and the guy asked if I was okay I said yes... turned off the intercom ran to my station holding my finger (you know what you would do if your were to slam or hit your hand really hard). I then looked down and was like OH I'm bleeding. Feeling stupid I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in to clean up. Well I did the normal run it under water get a towel and hold it run under more water, apply pressure, etc. Well this thing was GUSHING blood... So I got out of the bathroom opened the breakroom door, saw Rachel (our personal banker) said "Rachel!" real loud and stared at her for a second with a face of terror and walked back to the bathroom. The minute she walked in I started bawling because I couldn't get the thing to stop bleeding. She looked at it and was like we're going to clean it up. So Rachel cleaned me up (could not get it to stop bleeding) but wrapped up my finger like none other.. There was blood all over I left a trail on the floor, etc. So anyway they wanted me to go somewhere (to make this story shorter.. went to Walgreens for their care centers this one didn't have one, by this time my manager and the vice president of the bank were back from lunch and showed up at Walgreens, I bawled asked to go back to the bank while we figured stuff out) Ended up going to an urgent care for workmans comp or what have you. Rachel (who I now owe a lot to) went with me. The doc looked at it told me not to slam my finger in drawers anymore put some glue on it gave me a tetnus (sp?) shot and we went back to work, just in time for Rachel and my 3 o'clock departure from the bank.

Side stories:
1. One of our new tellers came to Walgreens with me (they wouldn't let me drive) and he was like this is cool at least we don't have to work and I said "Well I do have nine other fingers." Haha.
2. Rachel sent them a picture from Urgent Care of my finger. Meanwhile Nick (another teller) got a paper cut... Sent Rachel the picture with the quote "The Horror". I will now be an area of joking around the bank.

Kindle Touch

I just got a Kindle Touch! Very excited about my new purchase! No more dirty, full of germs library books!

Thankful

I am thankful for a loving God who is unwavering, forgiving, and a constant in my life.
I am thankful for a husband who loves me more than I allow myself to believe.
I am thankful for amazing parents who have shown me love and just been two of my best friends.
I am thankful for my mangy-mutt of a dog who is just pure joy in my life.
I am thankful for a lot of things and every gift is a true gift from God.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! You are loved and blessed!

My Photography Blog

If you'd like to see my photography blog, the site is http://allyshadianephotography.blogspot.com/. Hopefully my website is coming soon. It'd come sooner if someone would graciously give me a new computer =D hehe! (not really joking though)

Shark Attack!

The waters are no longer safe. Do not tred in shallow water.

Birthday Weekend

Yes the horrible age of 23 is over and I am now 24 (back to the evens!).

It all started at work on Friday. I walked into the bank and my station was decorated for my birthday. They all got me a card and some little presents and balloons and a cookie cake. It was really sweet and very much appreciated. I loved the envelope to the card! I had a wonderful birthday weekend. My parents came down with Skippy and Grandma (an expected surprise, you can't hide anything from me) on Friday. Friday night we just hung out until my parents and grandma left to their hotel room. Saturday I woke up to warm cinnamon rolls and eggs and bacon. My parents came around noon and we headed to Illinois to Eckert's farm, with a necessary stop at Starbucks for a soy pumpkin spice latte! It was the most perfect day, especially the weather (crisp, warm day). We went on a tractor ride to the pumpkin fields in search of the most perfect pumpkin. After many trials and errors, my mom found me the most perfect pumpkin. Still on the vine! We took my prize pumpkin back to the farm to pay for it. We then ate at the restaurant there where I got a free meal because it was my birthday! Bonus!

We then headed back to St. Louis and gave grandma the Forest Park tour and saw about 20+ weddings!! Unbelievable, but believable. We then took grandma to see the Basillica where Grandma and Dad stayed for mass at 5.o'clock. During this time, Mom, Andy and I played Nertz in which I was not in my prime game-playing state... I got creamed. When Grandma and Dad got back we went to my favorite place, Pi! (Pi because it has amazing pizza and Pi, like the math term- in the bathroom they have equations and proofs all doing with pi and I have done them and can follow along! My first time there I went into both stalls and studied them!) Well dinner was delicious. We shared garlic bread and a South Side Classic pizza. Mom and Andy had beer and Grandma, Dad and I had wine (Pinot Grigio for me - <3) It was a really fun and delicious dinner. Good food, good conversation= the perfect dinner.

However G-ma had a little too much wine so dessert was served with some coffee. When we got back to the apartment everyone sang happy birthday to me with a yellow cake and chocolate frosting that my mom made. I then opened my presents....
a glass platter from g-ma(was a wedding present to her)...a sewing machine from my parents...some fall decorations... a pumpkin bowl...
a cleaning cloth?...
for the necklace my sister got for me...
and a tennis ball with milk bones... (yeah real nice Buck Jones)

I also got a running shirt from Andy for cold weather runs (no picture... forgot to capture that moment.)

It was the most perfect birthday.

Warrior Weekend

This past weekend Gregg and Teddy came into town for the Warrior Dash on Saturday. It was pretty awesome. We traveled about an hour to Old Monroe, MO a town of like 500 to a shooting range. The Warrior Dash is a 3 mile course with obstacles. We had to hurdle, crawl, climb, jump over fire, and crawl through muddy water. Afterwards we got hosed off (it was freezing and I was never a fan of sprinklers as a kid) and had a beer and listened to a band and then watched over people master the muddy waters.
On Sunday Gregg and I ran the St Louis Halloween 10K. We wore our warrior hats and ran through the streets of STL. Andy and Buckley cheered us on throughout the route. The course starts downtown and goes over the the neighborhoods of Soulard and through the Brewery and back down town. We watched the 1 mile fun run for the kids which is very cute to watch little Spidermen and Fairies with their little legs cross the finish line.
Of course though Buckley was the main attraction after the race. He was dressed in his shark Halloween costume and is now apart of many people's photo albums. (He posed wonderfully for his adoring fans) I mean how could you resist him?

Fall is Here!

I LOVE Fall! It's my absolute favorite season. We have been enjoying 60-70 degree weather- PERFECT. Sun is hot and breeze is cool.
So I have waited a long time to do an update so I will tell you what's been up in list form...

• Andy finished his clinical at Jefferson Barracks Veterans Hospital- which if you ask me he really enjoyed.
• Andy went with his two friends, Teddy and Gregg, to the Appalachian Trail and did a 3 night backpacking trip... and survived.
• My parents went to Colorado for vacation and left us Skippy. I loved being with my two dogs and Buckley especially loved having a live-in play friend.
• I've been taking photos for people and still trying to become more comfortable with the camera and with directing people.
• Buckley has brought his run-away score up 3 points.
• I decorated for fall!
  
• Andy has started a new clinical at Sports Fitness and Rehab. in West County.
• I'm still a teller at Royal Banks and have been making my days go by quicker and making them funner by being very sarcastic to my supervisor (and obviously making it fun for him).
• We started our new community group. We're co-leading which is cool. We have 17 people in our group which doubles our group from last year. I think it'll be good- we're excited.

Well that's all for now! Hopefully I update more often...

Race Day

Thank you for those of you who donated to The Covering House- we raised around 20K. So it was pretty awesome. The race had over 300 runners, so in the three days before the race and on race day over 150 more people signed up! (Nothing like doing things late!) It was great and really cool to be apart of putting on something like that. Thank you so much again for your support!

5K Walk/ Run for the Covering House

Our community group from this past year decided to help a community group called The Covering House raise money for a home for girls who were/ are involved in sec-trafficking and sexual exploitation by putting on our own 5K walk/run. The 5K is September 3rd and you can either sign up to run it or walk it (very walk friendly, so don't feel intimidated) OR you can go to Andy and my page to donate. So you're just not donating to a random thing that you know nothing about... The Covering House's website is http://thecoveringhouse.org/.
To learn more about the 5K Race: http://thecoveringhouse.org/race-for-refuge-5k/
AND to sign up for the 5K Race go here: http://www.firstgiving.com/thecoveringhouse
Click on "Start Fundraising" (note: you do not have to fundraise to run or walk)
Then follow the instructions! Easy Peasy!
OR to donate to Andy and my page go here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/andyallysha-mcgilliard/race-for-refuge-5k-run
Click on Donate and follow the instructions!

Thanks guys! It's a definite worthwhile cause and we're excited for you all to join in and help out!

Maisy and Me

Wednesday I got a phone call after work around 6 p.m. from my dad telling me that my mom was at the vet and he was on the way there to put Maisy down. It took a moment for it to sink in and I pretty much cried the whole night. I write this post in memory of her...

In April of 2000, my childhood dog, Slippers was put to sleep because she was old and wasn't eating. Against a lot of "We can't get another dog" 's and "We miss Slippers" 's we ended up searching in ads and found a litter of golden retriever puppies in Pontiac, IL. (This was about 3 months after Slipper's passing) We were tired of coming home to a house void of a furry creature with a wagging tail. So one stormy Sunday afternoon all four of us made the trip to Pontiac. There was lightening, rain, and even tornado warnings. The puppies were in a barn (later made into a great joke: "Maisy were you born in a barn?") and we had our choice from the whole litter. We were overwhelmed with all these fuzzy little golden puppies running around. And then I found her. A little sweet puppy with white on her paws (Slippers had 4 white paws, hence the name Slippers). She was ours.
(My pictures of her are limited on this computer...)
I remember her first night. We had a kennel set up with a pad and blankets and toys. I decided I'd set up a sleeping bag and sleep next to her kennel so she wouldn't be lonely. She cried. So I decided to get her out and have her sleep next to me. She bit my ear... I put her back in and after some crying her and I fell asleep. The next morning I cried and said I wanted Slippers back... I did want Slippers back, but I came to love and adore sweet Maisy. Those first few months we rediscovered what it was like to have a puppy. She was really sweet and pretty well behaved. She never went to obedience school, but was one of the most obedient dogs. She became very spoiled (probably a mix between our missing Slippers and just being really cute). She became a little bit of a brat (probably from being spoiled). She was the best dog ever. The second day we had her we went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and my dad held little Maisy in his arms and brought her in against my mom's, Amy's, and my protests. The guy at Dunkin said no dogs allowed and my dad was like what? She's my puppy. She had us wrapped around her little paws...I have so many memories of Maisy... We used to keep her in the back room of our house with 2 gates one in the kitchen and one leading to the hallway. When I got home from school or my mom from work we'd find my stuffed animals lying in the hallway or in the front room or on the stairs, but Maisy would be in the back room. It's like she knew she needed to get back to where she started when we got home. Miss Innocent. She used to always nudge people's arms at the dinner table forcing people to pet her. When you told her to lay down at the dinner table when she was begging she would promptly put her head in your lap and look up being like "What my head is down." When we got Skippy and Skippy took her place on the couch in the front room, Maisy would bark as if something was outside and once Skippy jumped down to see what it was Maisy would jump up on the couch and take her place. I used to run with both Skippy and Maisy and I felt like such a fool with one arm stretched out way in front of me and the other way behind. I tried to catch up with fast Skippy and trot along with lowly Maisy. I used to look back at her and be like "Come on girl you can do it" and she'd look at me as if to say "I'm coming, this is my speed, but I'm coming".I hated leaving to go to college. I cried in both respects of leaving my parents, but also my dogs. There were many times I was very homesick for my puppies. But every time I came home there was always a HUGE welcome waiting for me. They both would be so excited practically knocking me down. Maisy used to cry and talk when I got home as if to catch me up on everything that I missed while I was gone.
Maisy was no stupid dog. She was very intelligent. After teasing her with toys, she picked up on teasing people with toys. She'd walk up to you, drop the toy, look at you and then hover inches over the toy to say "Get it, I dare you". Any slight movement and her jaws would snatch up the toy. Maisy LOVED socks and would stuff her mouth with as many that fell off the bed through the night. "Maisy those are mine!" "No, I disagree." Every walk would start with a dive and roll onto her back, over and over and over. She LOVED rolling in the grass. It was like she was saying "I'm free! And I love it!". While I was at home during student teaching my parents and I would watch 24 and my dad would lie on the floor and Maisy would bring him a toy and stand over him and when she got bored with that she'd lie right next to him. She would actually lie right next to you whenever you were doing something... Working out especially. And it's hard doing sit ups or push ups with an 80 pound dog next to you.
I know this post is long, but I wanted to write out at least some of the memories of Maisy. She was my best friend and I miss her and I wish I could have been home more with her during the last couple of years. People without pets don't realize what purpose animals have, but Maisy was like family and unlike humans, dogs have the power to forgive easily and love unconditionally. Maisy would give, give, give and love me no matter what. I love her very much and I miss her so much.
(One more story. Maisy (like most dogs) loved food. When I was in high school, during the summer I would come up to bed after my parents (and Maisy) went to bed and I would come up and watch tv in my room and sometimes I'd bring up crackers. The minute she heard the crinkling of the cracker package she magically appeared in my room and was at my bed side. Never failed. )

Our Special Buckley Jones

I know you all love hearing about our wonderful dog: Buckley Jones. This post is dedicated to him and his many Buckley-isms. Andy and I often comment on how special Buckley can be.

Buckley-ism #1: He seems to be terrified of smells.
If I spray perfume, Lysol, Febreze, you name it he sticks his nose in the air and sneezes and rubs his nose with his paw like I sprayed it up his nose. This doesn't really seem at all odd or strange, but say I'm taking the nail polish off my toes with remover or using a glue stick to glue a picture on a page or spraying a bug bite with anti itch spray, you would think he was being attacked. He backs away with his butt up in the air, rolls over on his back, scratches at the floor repeatedly and finally hides under the kitchen table... What? A glue stick? Really, Buckley Jones? A glue stick...

Buckley-ism #2: He loves water.
Buckley LOVES water. He loves drinking water and laying in water. If it's warm out and we come back from a run or walk, he'll go straight for the bowl. Not uncommon for most dogs. But Buckley collapses with his back legs behind him and will drink from his bowl laying down. When he tires he rests his head ever so gently on the water bowls edge. Our apartment complex has finally finished our court yard equipped with a fountain. If we have him off the leash, he'll run straight to the fountain jump up on the edge, looks at the water, then you, then back at the water and SPLASH! In he goes where he wades around, lays down, and jumps around. If he's around other dogs and a water bowl those other dogs better drink before they get there. He will drink his water (either standing or laying down) and when he's done he will continue to kick the rest of the water out so no other dog can drink out of "his" bowl.

Buckley-ism #3: The dog on my lap. (Sadly my last -ism because it's hard to type with a dog on your lap)
As I started this post I felt eyes upon the back of my head. As I slowly swiveled my chair around, who might I find, but B.J. sitting on our bed looking ever so happy to see me (even though he's been with me all day). I turn the chair back around and proceed to type only to feel the slightest tap upon my shoulder. I ignore it. Another tap. I turn and almost immediately a dog has crawled up onto my lap. Can you say needy?

All in all, he is the cutest boy dog ever. (Maisy and Skippy still win for the cutest girl dogs) We love him immensely and Andy and I have become those dog people... Our little dog is our little baby boy and if we are ever to get another dog, that dog has HUGE paws to fill.
This is an example of Buckley with the glue stick. It's pretty funny, I think.

A typical Saturday afternoon in the McG household...Me sleeping... I slept with my hand on my face for like an hour and a half.
Andy and his perfect sleeping posture.
And Buckley gets the bed. See how he rules the house?

Andy and I downtown for the 4th of July.

Summer Nights

Okay so I haven't updated in awhile... Here's what's been up...

• For the 4th of July we went down to the Arch and saw Montgomery Gentry and some of the best fireworks we've seen in a LONG time.
• We have had a TON of thunderstorms. Like a ton. One was an hour long with non-stop thunder!
• Buckley loves to swim in the fountain in our courtyard. Absolutely LOVES it!
  
• We went home the other weekend for my cousin Kate's graduation party and to see Megan (who came home for a couple of weeks from Mexico)!
• Andy finished his semester and passed all of his classes and enjoyed his 2 weeks off. He just began his clinical at the VA yesterday
• I am still a teller at the bank and have had a couple of interviews recently. Trying to figure out what to do for the school year.

We've just been hanging out really... Swimming, going out, etc. Sorry this post is LAME and not very great at all.... So sorry.

OH! Harry Potter 7.2 comes out on Friday and we've got tickets!!! By Friday I plan to have all 7 books read. I'm on the 5th as we speak...

1 Year Ago

It's hard to believe that one year has passed since the greatest wedding EVER took place. I still remember the days leading up to our wedding... Going out with my girls for some drinks, having a Mexican Dance Party with Margaritas and Sangria (and of course Enrique Iglesias), potting 200 flowers, getting nails done, and eating good food at Stonewood Ale House... And then obviously the beautiful wedding and awesome reception. It was a week I will never forget.

So Andy and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary this past weekend. On Saturday we went to the Botanical Gardens and realized we are not plant people and were very thrilled to see huge fish in one of the large ponds there (we should have gone to the zoo). Saturday night we dressed up nice and went to a rooftop restaurant called Vin De Set. We ate outside (thank goodness it was BEAUTIFUL weather) and watched the sun go down. Afterwards we spent the night down town at the Hilton where we enjoyed the hot tub and a king sized bed (which I feel like we should upgrade to because I could have SO much space!) and not having to clean up! Sunday we went to church, picked up Buckley from his first big boy sleepover (I'll let you know how that went later...) and celebrated a little more with some cake (not from our wedding, just a cheap one we picked up). It was a great weekend to relax, have some fun, and reminisce over the past year.

(Buckley's first sleepover: He stayed at his friend's Jed's house (Jed's dad, Tyler, is in Andy's class) with Jed's girlfriend, Roxy. Jed and Buckley played the whole time... Come night time Tyler put Buckley in his cage where Buckley decided to bark his head off and even bark louder when Tyler yelled at him. So Tyler let Buckley sleep with him, Jed and Roxy. So Buckley and Jed wrestled all night long, making Tyler not so happy the next day. In truth (despite Tyler's dislike), Buckley had the best sleep over ever... Oh and he slept the ENTIRE day on Sunday when he got home)

Andy and I have had quite a year and we think we did pretty well despite all the first year horror stories. We got a wonderful dog, went on a glorious vacation to Cozumel, spent many good days with family and friends, etc, etc... (Can you tell I'm getting bored of writing?)

So for those of you who don't know... I am a full time teller at Royal Banks of Missouri now and am enjoying it for the most part and starting June 13th I will be teaching summer school at Hazelwood North Middle School (6th and 7th grade mathematics). Andy will be finishing his semester in early July and starting his 3rd clinical rotation shortly after that.

Oh PRAY for my dumb old stomach STILL! As it is still a mess and loves to cause me problems.

God Provides

I wish I had pictures, but I am horrible at remembering the camera... But, Andy and I ran our first half marathon and it was very rewarding. I am so proud of both of us and I am totally wanting to keep running and run more races. It was really cool and amazing to be in such an event. The reason for this post is.... I HAVE A JOB! Two actually... It all happened today. On Wednesday I had an interview for a summer school position. And today I got the offer. Also this morning I had another "interview" for a bank teller and I was offered it on the spot! So I start this Monday at the bank. It's a full time position with benefits and the summer school position starts in June. We're kind of hoping they really like me at the bank and will allow me to go part time during summer school... I don't know, we'll see how that works out. In the mean time, I have done a few screeener interviews for fall teaching positions and have a few more lined up, so we're praying that something lines up with that. But we just feel so blessed and have realized the strength of fervent prayer. God really does provide!

Run and Run and Run and Run and Pound, Pound, Pound

So when I was young I had an animal work-out video sort of thing where they had different animals with motions to a song. So there was "Playing Possum" where you'd slink about then freeze and a giraffe song where you'd walk with your hands way up high... My most favorite was the elephant song where you'd run around and pound with the words of the song... "Run and run and run and run and pound, pound, pound".

So speaking of running, Andy and I are as ready as we will be for the half-marathon this Sunday. This past Saturday we ran about 13 miles and did okay. We were running in a 10K and decided to run to the 10K, run the 10K, and run home from it. So it averaged about 13 miles.

This has been quite a journey and really rewarding. I'm really proud of our progress and what we've accomplished. I know for myself it was hard to run 2 miles and now running 6-8 miles is like nothing. It's crazy how your body adapts to different things. I've really enjoyed running and now I remember why I used to do it so much. Andy and I have liked running together because we've been able to talk and do something fun together.

I never in a million years thought I'd be running this much and it will definitely be one of those accomplishments I will never forget. So pray for good weather and that Andy and I both cross that finish line.

Back to StLouis

So it's been a super long time since we last posted anything... Biggest change since last time is we're finally back in St Louis! Hooray! So we made the journey home safely. We spent a week in Schaumburg with my parents and arrived back here on the 6th. Just a quick post to keep you posted ( =D ) on our lives...

Andy has started classes again (2 weeks down, so many to go) and I think he's finally getting back into the swing of things. He has gone mountain biking since getting back and likes it. He is continuing to work Sundays testing truck drivers for their physical abilities and just enjoying seeing some of his classmates again.

I have been filling out teaching applications slowly as they arise (hoping they start pouring in since spring break is over). I have been volunteering Wednesday nights at church for childcare and have really enjoyed that because I've been with the five and six year old who absolutely crack me up. I'm trying to figure out when would be the best time to help out for Journey Kids on the weekend and so will hopefully get involved in that soon again.

We've been taking it pretty easy lately. We've been enjoying our dinners together and weekends... Still trying to truck on with the half marathon training. (Andy has been doing really well despite his knee, and I've been doing okay but keep missing trains because one health thing or another (this past week being a bad cold)) We had Hershey (parent's dog) with us this past week while Andy's parents were in Seattle visiting his brother. She wasn't too much of a bother, keeping to her box most of the time.


And I know you're all dying to know... Buckley is doing wonderful.

One More Week!

Hola!

So it's been a while since we've blogged, so let me get you up to date!

(2 weekends ago) Saturday we went cross country skiing at Craters of the Moon. It was BEAUTIFUL. It was a nice 7 mile loop with the most gorgeous snow covered hills and trees. It was wonderful to ski around and just be in awe of God's perfect creation. The snow was untouched and just beautiful, it's hard to describe. Also, Andy got to see my true fear of heights and going fast as I took forever to get down a small hill. It was a great day: perfect weather and perfect scenary.

Sunday we stayed at home and watched the Super Bowl. Yea Packers! It was such a good game and I must say my football commentary was at its prime. It was fun, even though Andy would have liked to be with more people than just me. We ate pizza and I finished Buckley's sweater. Oh and after the Super Bowl was Glee. So all in all Super Bowl Sunday was a blast.

(1 weekend ago) Friday we drove to Boise to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law. We stayed in a hotel together and just explored down town Boise. It was a lot of fun to catch up and see them, because we hadn't seen them for a while. We went and saw a hockey game, the blue grass of the football stadium (Boise State), and did some hiking. It was great. If we were to move to Idaho, I think I'd chose Boise. We ate at a ton of good restaurants and Brandon even made us a wonderful meal one night. It was fun and BEAUTIFUL 50 degree weather. Loved it. (My sister took most of the pics, so I'll post some as soon as I get them.

Monday (Valentine's Day) we celebrated by seeing a movie. We say Just Go With It and we totally reccommend it. It was super funny and just good. We then (laughingly) went on a "romantic" Valentine's dinner to Pizza Hut. Then headed back to our place to hang out with the Buckster and have some wine. It was a pretty good first married Valentine's day. Andy got me flowers and Andy got a new electric razor from me! Ha!

So yeah, that's pretty much what we've been up to. We will be heading out of Pocatello probably the 26th and head to my parents for the next week. The girl who is subleasing our apartment needs it for an extra week, so we took it as Andy doesn't start classes until the 7th. So I will get to spend some much needed time with my parents and my golden girls.

This is Buckley's modeling picture.

And this is how Buckley eats with his food. You know how mothers always tell their children "Don't play with your food", Buckley doesn't listen.