The Beginnings of my New Pad!

Well, I've discovered unpacking takes much longer when I have no one to help me!  My parents were helping me unpack off and on for a few nights as we passed through Greenville to the mountains.  Amazingly, I got A LOT unpacked with just the few nights I had them here!  I'm now officially living in my place....and it takes much longer with just one person to tackle the task at hand!  I've taken a few pics of what's been done so far (well, I've reorganized some things since these pics were taken, actually...but it's close enough!).  I've still got a ton of stuff on my list of things to buy to make my place look all grown up...but until I get my license, I'm not allowed to work...which means, no paycheck!  So, until those paychecks start coming in, I'm just kind of hanging loose and making do with what I have for the moment!  So, as I start getting some "grown up" stuff added, I'll post more pics.  This is just the "Before" pics!


Master Bedroom:
Still have to buy new bedding...and some accessories! And all this furniture is from my childhood room at home...new furniture is on the "list" for the distant future!

The doors on the left are my closet, middle door goes out to the living area, and doors on the right are my bathroom!

Master Bath:  

It's kind of difficult to take pics of the bathroom...but I did what I could!

The oh, so lovely garden tub!

Guest Bedroom:

I think I'll probably keep the same color scheme in this room.

Dining Area/Entry Area:

Probably my favorite "room" of all!  I call it my Sunshine room!  :0)

View from the entry

Close-up of my FABULOUS art piece that I got from a store called "Twigs" in Highlands, NC. As soon as I make some cash, I fully plan on going back there!  It's FABULOUS!

Living Room:

Still lacking a few pieces...entertainment center, another couch, better coffee table...but those will come in time!

My Mom spotted those fab zebra print pillows while we were in Wal-Mart (of all places!).  We both thought they were the perfect touch to make my couch have a more "modern" contemporary flair!  Agree?

Well, that's it so far folks!  As things come together I'll try and post some more updates!

Later!

M.Ed., CF-SLP

That's right people, it's official! I have FINALLY graduated with my Master's degree!!! I am now officially: Megan H., M.Ed., CF-SLP. Need a breakdown on what all that "stuff" means?? Yeah, I thought so. That would be "Master of Education, Clinical Fellow, Speech-Language Pathologist." Why write all that jibber-jabber, Megan, you may ask? Well, because that's what we have to do! All official documents, anything with our signature on it, requires our official title. As a Speech Therapist straight out of grad school, we're required to complete a "Clinical Fellowship (CF)." This means that we're able to be paid as a licensed Speech Therapist, but we're still an "intern" per se. We have to have a supervisor over us, but we work pretty independently. After we complete our required about 9 months, then we're OFFICIALLY official and have earned our "C's" (Certificate of Clinical Competence) and can practice independently on our own. So, 9 months from now, I'll be Megan H., M.Ed., CCC-SLP. I know, it's an eyesore, but I'm PROUD of that long title of mine!! I worked 6 long, HARD years for it! (Not to mention all the years I've been dreaming about it since I was 7 years old!)

So, now all that's left is to pack up my stuff in Macon, clear out my room at home, and move into my new place in Greenville! Which, by the way, moving your life out of your childhood room is NOT fun. It really makes this whole "growing up" thing seem that much more official. As well as trying to clear out nearly 16 years worth of accumulated "stuff"...it's exhausting!! So, I'm spending the next 2 days clearing out my room at home...let's just hope that's enough time!

Megan H., M.Ed., CF-SLP :0)

P.S.: More graduation pics to come later...I'm waiting to round up the "cap and gown" ones from my family members though!

New Place, New Town, New Adventure!

Ok, so this is VERY overdue! I began to write about my apartment search 2 weeks ago and it never quite got finished. So, I'm starting over and making it a little bit more brief (maybe!).

So, I found a place!!! It's a FABULOUS place too. My parents and I drove all around Simpsonville, SC (outside of Greenville...in between there and where my job is located). I had a list of different places I wanted to look at. My Daddy (smart man) had the brilliant idea that we should go to each one first and drive around the apartment complex and check out the area before actually touring the places. Well, turns out all but ONE just weren't in good locations or had a "sketchy" feel to them. The one we all just liked immediately was very nice! It had great landscaping, was in a good location, and it neighbors with a BIG fabulous CHURCH! (Which, after some research, we discovered seems to be very similar to my church back home! Yay!) We toured around the apartment, and the set-up is just perfect. The layout of the apartment is fab and it's got a lot of great touches to it that make it not feel so much like an "apartment." Best thing? The apartment that I got is RIGHT in front of the amazing POOL! So, it's got a GREAT view! I really have a prime location! All of the apartments have textured walls (kinda like stucco) that are painted tan. They all also come included with white crown molding and some modern looking light fixtures in the kitchen/bar area. Oh, and I get to choose paint colors for accent walls around my apartment too! So, my bedroom, the guest bedroom, the kitchen, and the dining room will all have a colored accent wall! And yes, it IS a 2 bed/2 bath so that I can have visitors! Now, if only I could afford everything I want for my new place right now! Patience is a virtue....gotta wait for those paychecks!

There's much more to describe, but I think I'll leave the rest to the pictures!

Living room. Mine won't have that extra sunroom in the back though; I'll have a door that leads to my patio!

Dining room area. This color on the wall is the color I'll be using too!

Kitchen...those cute lights are standard! The kitchen color will be the same color as mine.

It has a built-in desk area!

Community courtyard area...yes, that's a fireplace!

Dog walk area directly across from my apartment...Ninja will love it!

Pool/view from my apartment! The building on the left is mine and I'm on the corner!

The grill area...

Accent colors! Green: my bedroom, Teal: guest bedroom, Pumpkin: kitchen, Apricot (not pictured): dining room

Downtown Greenville...gorgeous!

My parents and I

The river in downtown Greenville...can't wait to move here!!

Now onto packing...bleh!

The Search is ON!

I have more than one "search" that's currently "on" at the moment, actually! Friday, my boss was nice enough to let me take off so that I can join my parents up in Greenville and search for a place to live come June! I'm pretty excited about that! I've narrowed down my search to a few really nice apartment complexes and I'm hoping that they turn out to look as good as they've advertised them to be. A 2-bedroom is a MUST for my housing search, so guests will be welcome anytime! :0)

My other search relates to the bedroom situation. Since college, I've been confined to a twin bed. Now, to some, this may be no big deal. However, I had a full bed since the age of 3, so a twin has been a change for me! (My brothers don't have any sympathy for me though, as they had to share a room and sleep on twin beds their whole lives in our house...even when their feet were falling off the edge! haha. What can I say? I'm the baby...and I'm the girl...and we only had 3 bedrooms!) Moving on...calculate in a dog that sleeps with me every night, you can imagine the tight squeeze. One of my favorite things about going home has been getting to sleep in a "big girl" bed again! The exciting news? My parents are letting me take my double bed with me when I move! yay! But, it REALLY needs a bedding update! I mean, I've had the same bedding since 5th grade. FIFTH GRADE, people!!! It's over due for a change. Imagine this kind of bed...except it's a little bit "shiny-er"...but this is pretty close to what it looks like:

So, it's very vintage feeling...chic, per se. My favorite color is pink, but I don't know if I need to "stray" from having too much pink! So, I'm trying to find something grown-up looking for my new bedroom. I don't know if I want something shabby chic, or more modern...or what color scheme I want to go with! Ahh! So many decisions! But fun ones, nonetheless. And yes, suggestions are welcome!

And on a side-note...I get to go up to our mountain house the rest of the weekend! Our place is the most relaxing little (and I use that word lightly...) cabin on a little lake in the North Carolina mountains about an hour outside of Asheville. It's my "happy place." And I haven't been up there since this summer. The weather is supposed to be PERFECT too. I can't WAIT! Just so that you can be even more jealous, here's a little snapshot of my family's piece of Heaven on Earth...aka: the Loch Hoosie (that's Scottish for "Lake House"!):

Better Late than Never!

Did you miss me? Be prepared...it's a LONG one!

I'm sorry it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted! It's been a busy few weeks, needless to say! I had school stuff I've been working on (the LAST of my projects EVER!!), interviews, traveling, working, and trying to find time to sleep in between. My apartment is a MESS and is proof of my busyness! Hopefully I'll get around to cleaning it at some point (maybe when I'm actually in town for a weekend!).

So, I left y'all with some suspenseful news as of my last post. The news was that I was really wanting to move back to Savannah after graduation and be closer to home for a change. My decision to move up to Greenville was not becoming one I was so happy with afterall. Well, I had my interview up in Greenville and I went into it with the mindset that I was pretty much just going to get "the interview experience" since I didn't actually want to live up there anymore but already had the interview set up. Much to my surprise, I left the interview wondering how I was going to find a job that could possible be any more PERFECT than that one! The facility was great! They are a healthcare facility that serves both pediatrics and geriatrics. They do long-term and short-term care, contract out to the local school, as well as the local (teeny!) hospital! And they were REALLY wanting someone to help out with the hospital rotations...which is what I'm most interested in doing. I'd be doing a little bit of everything, which I've discovered is what is most interesting to me, since it's always changing and doesn't give me an opportunity to get bored. The entire Rehab team was very nice and there were a lot of younger girls that could help me "socialize" in my new town. There were about 5 other Speech Therapists that I'd be working with that I would also be able to call upon whenever I had a problem or needed some advice. They also worked with Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists. The situation couldn't of been more perfect for me.

However, I was just not sure if I should take it since I hadn't had ANY other interviews, and I was waiting on places in Savannah to open up. Well, 2 weeks rolls by and I've either not heard word from any places that I applied to, or I had been denied based on no availabilities. So, after some nudging from my Dad, I turned down the radio in my car (while on my road trip to visit one of my besties, Allie, in Augusta) and spent an hour just talking to God about the whole thing. It's AMAZING what some quiet time with God can do! I cleared my head of every thought and just really "talked it out" with Him. And I came to a conclusion. I realized that I had been asking God for some "signs" of what He wanted me to do. I was just trying too hard to find an excuse NOT to take the job I think. God had given me signs...I was just ignoring them! The first one was back in October when I saw the advertisement for the position in one of my Speech magazines. Sign #2 was when I went to ASHA (our National convention) in November and ended up being recommended by one of my professors to visit the booth of that same company. Sign #3: the company told me about that same job position. Sign #4: how GREAT the interview went. I mean, c'mon Megan...how many more signs from God do you want?!

So, I talked it over with my parents, called up the facility and told them I wanted the job. And BAM! They offered me the position (and with QUITE a nice 'lil salary as well!)! So, folks...I'VE GOT A JOB!!!!!! Come June, I'll be moving on up to Greenville, South Carolina! (Ok, it's actually Simpsonville that I'll be living in, but that's just a minor detail...). I've now moved on to looking for places to live online so that I can visit them once I get back up there in May. I mean, how CRAZY is this?! My goal was to find a job before I graduated in May...and I did! Woo-hoo! Graduation is May 7th (YES!) and I enter the real-world in June! WOW. Guess I'm almost all grown-up. So, anytime anyone makes a trip up to Greenville, SC...feel free to give me a holla! (because a 2nd bedroom is a MUST for my new place! The more visitors the merrier!) :0)

Sending you love and JOY! : D

High Praise...and other stuff too

Today was my mid-term evaluation for my externship at the hospital. I was confident that I've been doing a good job and wasn't worried about the grade I would receive. However, what I wasn't prepared for was the extremely high praise that I received from my supervisor. My supervisor has had many students over many years, so she's seen her share of good ones and not-so-good ones. During my evaluation today, my supervisor informed me of what a great job I've been doing so far...and then she went on to inform me that I'm one of the best students she's ever had. Really?! Wow! I was flabbergasted... What does a "flabbergasted" face look like? Because I tried REALLY hard to not look it! I felt really honored too, though. It was kind of like an affirmation to myself that I really am cut out for the medical part like I thought I was. Going to work loving what you're doing all day must be the key. I think back to when I took one of my first classes in Neurology back in undergrad, and I was SOO fascinated by it all, and I wondered if that meant that I'd enjoy the medical portion of the field. We didn't get much hands-on access to the medical part of our field before we went out to our externships. When I began this semester...it just felt like it all fit. And I now have that "feeling" confirmed. I have my confirmation of affirmation.....now if I can just find a job......

And as for the job hunt, I've got my interview in Greenville next week. I'm hoping it goes well! But I've actually had some new "developments" in my once thought set course....but more on that at another time. I know, I'm such a tease, right??

Later!

Job Searching

I think I lied to myself. I made myself believe that job searching for Speech Therapy was gonna be a piece of cake. Turns out...not so much. I mean, it's just so difficult to know where to start! I've called a hospital system a couple of times, but they won't return my calls. I don't know if that means they're just bad about returning calls...or if they don't need any help. I just want to know one way or the other. After that...I don't know where else to look.

There is a bright side though. At my ASHA convention in NOLA back in November I met a company based near Greenville. They took my resume and seemed interested in me. The recruiter gave me her card and told me to e-mail her. Well, I lost the card. However, she kept my resume and ended up e-mailing ME a few weeks ago to see if I was still interested in the job. My Dad said that's a blessing since most company's just aren't seeking applicants right now. So, I decided to look into them. Turns out, they're based in a little town near Greenville, but they do a LOT. They're a Rehab facility that services outpatient pediatrics and geriatrics, works in the school system, as well as services the inpatient acute care in the local hospital! I mean, really?! That's A LOT! And a lot of those things are exactly what I was wanting to do. I'm not so thrilled with the whole school portion, but as a first job...there's a lot of potential there. It's got a lot of areas that would let me "get my feet wet" and see where I'm really best fit. I've got a "tentative" interview set up to visit the facility and such in March, so I'm moving ahead with my "big girl" things. This place almost seems too good to be true. I don't really feel like searching for other places to apply, but I also feel like I really should as well and not put all my eggs in one basket. Man, being a grown up is already hard stuff!!!

Decisions, decisions.......

Taking the First Step

Well, I do believe that I've made the first step in "growing up." Being single and being blessed with a career that allows me to find a job wherever I want to go, the world really is my oyster right now! I have had the choice of choosing WHEREVER I wanted to go to start my career...the problem was figuring out WHERE that place was! I realize in this economy, this is a good problem to have; but it's been overwhelming to think about. But, after much thought and discussion with my mother (of which all good decisions are ultimately based on...) I do believe I've FINALLY decided where I'm going to narrow down my job search to! Woo-hoo! I'm going to move to (drum-roll please....) GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA! I am THRILLED! The town is very "young" and extremely cute! There are lots of options of places to work there, and apparently churches like my church back home are in abundance. It actually has SEASONS, it's in the mountains, it's close to my family in South Carolina, it's fairly close to home, and it's really close to our cabin in North Carolina. I think it's all around just a perfect place for me to go. So, I'm ready for May to get here so that I can graduate and move!

I mean honestly, who WOULDN'T want to live here???

And as for the interview; it went well, but I've still yet to hear if I got the placement or not. However, after what the interviewer told me about how LITTLE supervision they could dedicate to me, I'm kind of hoping I DON'T get the offer! But, if I do, I know I can handle it, it'll just be a lot more of a challenge than expected.