hello! wow, i'm so overwhelmed (in a VERY good way) from all of the congratulatory messages and well wishes for peter and myself in regards to our very recent marriage. it came as a shock for a lot of people (probably just about everyone but peter and myself) so i thought i'd give y'all the details :)
peter and i met october 12, 2008 and started dating october 23, 2008. we were pretty much inseparable after meeting and we just fell in love quickly. we lived together in charlottesville, then moved to maryland and now we are starting another new chapter in michigan. we had planned on having a traditional wedding but with limited resources, we wouldn't be able to have the wedding that we wanted until at least 2011 if not later...
earlier this summer, we talked about getting a legal marriage (courthouse) sometime in the coming months and then having a wedding ceremony with friends and family later. we probably started having these discussions around may. fast forward to august...i interviewed and accepted a position as the director of residence life at madonna university. to live together, peter and i have to be married.
we had planned on peter living with his dad about 70 miles away until we could get married, like we had planned on anyways, and had even set the tentative date as october 23...which would have been exactly a year since we started dating.
we were excited about this plan and knew that we could make the couple months living apart work, but then we were talking monday night (aug. 24) and decided we wanted to get married before leaving maryland! we weren't sure if this would even be a possibility with such a short time frame, but we decided to look into it. i went tuesday the 25th and applied for the marriage license and we were able to schedule our marriage ceremony for thursday august 27th.
soooooooooo, we went and looked and picked out our beautiful rings on wednesday. wednesday is also the day we made some nerve-wracking phone calls. peter called my mother to ask her permission to marry me. after she said yes, we went on a walk and that's when peter officially asked me to marry him!!!! it was sweet and of course i cried. then, we called some more of our immediate family and let them know that we were getting married the next day.
had circumstances been different and we had the resources, we would have loved a medium sized wedding to share our love with those who mean the most to us, but since we couldn't do that at this time, we decided we wanted to share that moment privately. the only people there when we married were us (obvi) and the officiant.
was it a traditional fairtytale wedding? not quite, but it was romantic and special and absolutely wonderful for us. we are so ridiculously happy! after gettin' hitched, we went and picked out a nice cake at a local market, got a VERY tasty bottle of bubbly then went and walked around a pretty pond to just enjoy being husband and wife :) once we got home, we also shared a first dance to keith urban's "only you can love me this way."
that's our story. sometimes life takes us down paths we didn't even know existed.
OH, side note: some of you were asking how to pronounce my new last name. phonetically it is: wiz (like wiz kid or cheese wiz)
ness (like va-NESS-a)
key (like the they key you unlock the door with)
wiz-ness-key:) aka wisniewski
*love and hugs*
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
"the key to change is to let go of fear."
hello hello!
i figured this was the best and easiest - and fastest - way to mass distribute my exciting news!
i got a job!!!! i'm going back into student affairs and i couldn't be happier at the thought of what i'll be doing!
i am the new director of residence life at madonna university in livonia, michigan.
mkay and now for the questions:
1. but ashley, i thought you had a job?
i do have a job, but it's a temporary position with my uncle's company. he could use my skills at a time where my other contract was running out at uva prompting peter and i to move to maryland. he knew i was actively looking and was fully supportive of me finding a position allowing me to use my student affairs education and experience.
2. but ashley, michigan is REALLY cold and REALLY far away!?
yes, it's cold - but this is a live-on position thus i have no commute to work. aka no bad ashley driving in the snow. and yes, it is far away. i will miss my family and friends so much that it hurts to think about it, but they know and i know that this is what is in the best interest of my career. it's about eight hours from livonia, michigan to winchester, virginia. i will have the traditional academic breaks plus vacation to use to come back and visit.
3. what exactly will you be doing?
there are approximately 165 students that live on campus (capacity is 200). i will be directing the activities of the residence hall, the residents and resident advisors. i will supervise a staff of six to eight and have a very hands-on experience as the university is making many changes to the residence life experience at madonna. i'm excited to share my experience and really make some great changes and learn so much about the field in the process.
4. tell me a little bit about madonna university.
madonna university is a small, private, catholic university located about 20 miles from detroit and ann arbor. while i am not catholic, i still value the schools mission and will work to promote those values through my work with the students and faculty. i have often been very vocal about accepting other views and opinions and to have an open mind. i consider it me broadening my own personal beliefs of diversity.
5. what about peter?
it won't be ideal, but we can't live together in the university apartment until we are married. he has family about 75 miles from where i will be located. as a couple, we've been through quite a bit in our time together and i am confident and excited about our future together.
6. when is the start date?
here is where it gets a little sticky...my official start date is september 1st. it's a lot to take in and i have a lot to do between now and then, but i'm working frantically to get everything accomplished. my last day at work in maryland will be next week and i will drive to michigan on monday, august 31st. feel free to call me that day as i will have about an eight hour drive.
7. are you keeping mollie?
as residence life live-in postions sometimes allow pets and sometimes they don't, this was something that i had to talk with them about and YES i will be able to have my darling baby. i couldn't have moved that far away and not have my dog. she can be a brat, but she's my brat and i love her.
8. additional comments?
i am so thankful and appreciative of the kind words, phone calls, emails, etc. of my friends and family and of peter's family. this was not an easy decision for us to come to in terms of moving, but it is one that will help us meet and exceed our long term goals. please know that while i might not be able as physically accessible as i have been, i am only a phone call away. with the detroit airport so close, travel by plane will be easy (and hopefully affordable). also, i can make it back home by midday so this isn't goodbye, this is hello to the next chapter.
i think the best quote to sum up this new adventure is (of course) from sex and the city:
"maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. without them, what would shape our lives? perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. after all, seasons change. so do cities. people come into your life and people go. but it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart. and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away."
as always, *love and hugs*
i figured this was the best and easiest - and fastest - way to mass distribute my exciting news!
i got a job!!!! i'm going back into student affairs and i couldn't be happier at the thought of what i'll be doing!
i am the new director of residence life at madonna university in livonia, michigan.
mkay and now for the questions:
1. but ashley, i thought you had a job?
i do have a job, but it's a temporary position with my uncle's company. he could use my skills at a time where my other contract was running out at uva prompting peter and i to move to maryland. he knew i was actively looking and was fully supportive of me finding a position allowing me to use my student affairs education and experience.
2. but ashley, michigan is REALLY cold and REALLY far away!?
yes, it's cold - but this is a live-on position thus i have no commute to work. aka no bad ashley driving in the snow. and yes, it is far away. i will miss my family and friends so much that it hurts to think about it, but they know and i know that this is what is in the best interest of my career. it's about eight hours from livonia, michigan to winchester, virginia. i will have the traditional academic breaks plus vacation to use to come back and visit.
3. what exactly will you be doing?
there are approximately 165 students that live on campus (capacity is 200). i will be directing the activities of the residence hall, the residents and resident advisors. i will supervise a staff of six to eight and have a very hands-on experience as the university is making many changes to the residence life experience at madonna. i'm excited to share my experience and really make some great changes and learn so much about the field in the process.
4. tell me a little bit about madonna university.
madonna university is a small, private, catholic university located about 20 miles from detroit and ann arbor. while i am not catholic, i still value the schools mission and will work to promote those values through my work with the students and faculty. i have often been very vocal about accepting other views and opinions and to have an open mind. i consider it me broadening my own personal beliefs of diversity.
5. what about peter?
it won't be ideal, but we can't live together in the university apartment until we are married. he has family about 75 miles from where i will be located. as a couple, we've been through quite a bit in our time together and i am confident and excited about our future together.
6. when is the start date?
here is where it gets a little sticky...my official start date is september 1st. it's a lot to take in and i have a lot to do between now and then, but i'm working frantically to get everything accomplished. my last day at work in maryland will be next week and i will drive to michigan on monday, august 31st. feel free to call me that day as i will have about an eight hour drive.
7. are you keeping mollie?
as residence life live-in postions sometimes allow pets and sometimes they don't, this was something that i had to talk with them about and YES i will be able to have my darling baby. i couldn't have moved that far away and not have my dog. she can be a brat, but she's my brat and i love her.
8. additional comments?
i am so thankful and appreciative of the kind words, phone calls, emails, etc. of my friends and family and of peter's family. this was not an easy decision for us to come to in terms of moving, but it is one that will help us meet and exceed our long term goals. please know that while i might not be able as physically accessible as i have been, i am only a phone call away. with the detroit airport so close, travel by plane will be easy (and hopefully affordable). also, i can make it back home by midday so this isn't goodbye, this is hello to the next chapter.
i think the best quote to sum up this new adventure is (of course) from sex and the city:
"maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. without them, what would shape our lives? perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. after all, seasons change. so do cities. people come into your life and people go. but it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart. and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away."
as always, *love and hugs*
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