Please Welcome Me Back

Well as you've all noticed, I've been absent from the blogosphere for quite a while. I had a few reasons for not updating. Part of it was just laziness, part of it was feeling like I had nothing worth writing about. I only have 6 followers and no one ever really comments, so it didn't feel worth it to take the time to write a post when I never got feedback and less than 50 people read it. But alas, I have returned. Who knows how long I'll continue to write, but I'm back for now! Too much has happened to update you on everything in the last 5 months, but here are the highlights:

In July we got to go to Disney and spend the day with our good friends Katie and Mike Gerber. We got in for free and it was Erik's first time. We did Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and we had a blast! We even got to spend some time hanging out at Katie and Mike's resort pool, which was a nice break between the two parks.

At the end of August we moved. We found a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment with a washer and dryer, so it's a big upgrade from our one bedroom/one bath with no laundry in the unit. We also moved closer to my work because the commute was just terrible. We like our new place so far and the community it's in. Although we're a little farther from friends, it's just a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits.

Erik's mom and brother came for Labor Day weekend. We went to Disney again, but this time we got to Epcot and Magic Kingdom, so Erik has now been to all four parks. We also went to the beach and to Leu Gardens, a pretty cool little spot in Orlando. We had a good time visiting with them. We haven't seen my side of the family in 10 months, so it was nice to see family again.

September 14 marked six months at Charisma Media. I can't believe it's been that long!! I had my half-year review on Friday and it went really well. I am so blessed to be doing what I love. My team is great and I enjoy work almost every day. I am still the department's assistant, but I have faith that I'm where God wants me and that I'll get an upgrade soon enough.

This may seem minor, but we bought a bedroom set yesterday!! For the past 17 months our bed has been on the floor and we've used random pieces of furniture that do not match. One side table and the dresser were literally things people were going to throw away, but we kept them because we didn't have anything, haha. So it will be nice to finally feel like we've got an adult bedroom and actually have nice furniture in there. We got a headboard/footboard and rails, a dresser with a mirror and two nightstands and got a GREAT price. They were selling the floor model because they needed to make space for something else, so it was HALF off. It had only been in there for two weeks too, so it was in pretty good condition. It's getting delivered Tuesday morning, and I can't wait!

Well that's all I've got for now. I hope you enjoyed my blog. Feel free to leave some encouragements or comments below! The more people I know who read my blog, the more I will motivated to update it. I hope you all had a great weekend!!

Turning 24

In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I was feeling kind of bummed because this was my first birthday being across the country from all of my friends and family. For the last five years my best friend, Katie, has always made my birthday special and fun; this year she is 1,000 miles away (with all of my other family and close Illinois friends). On top of that, it landed on a Thursday, which is one of the nights Erik doesn't get home from class  until 9:15. However, I ended up having a great birthday and feel very blessed! =)

The day started off with a nice, big breakfast Erik cooked me. I was greeted by a balloon and a cute card from my co-workers, which put a smile on my face. My friend Leigh, who I met at work, took me out to Panera, and I really enjoyed spending time with her. Erik also decided to forgo class that night, so when I came home he was there! He had even baked me a cake (chocolate with funfetti vanilla frosting, yummm!) We went to dinner at Logan's (thanks for the gift card, Pat!) and had a great evening. We finished off the night by watching What About Bob?, one of my favorite movies that had somehow escaped my collection. Thanks to my loving husband, I now own it! I loved all of the cards and presents I got from people back home, and of course I received lots of phone calls and even more Facebook wall posts, adding to the birthday greatness!


The day after my birthday at my work breakfast celebration.

 The next day, we had a little celebration breakfast at work, and I felt very blessed by my sweet co-workers. The day only got better as we went to life group that night. Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious feast of goodies that our new friend Michelle prepared. She made an amazing chocolate-peanut butter pie/cake, chocolate covered strawberries, and filled cupcakes. It was wonderful! They all signed a card for me too, and I really appreciate the efforts everyone took to make my birthday special.

Overall, I had a really good birthday, despite being away from many of the people I love. My new family here made it special, and I feel very cared for. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday rock! It was also my first birthday as a wife, which is pretty cool. =)

Blasting to Jupiter and Exploring a Magical World

As usual, I've been slacking on my posting. A lot has happened since my last post, so I've decided to make a few separate posts, in order of the events. I figure this will also help with the ridiculously long posts. :o)


Erik and me at Havana Hideout.

On April 1, we headed down to Jupiter, FL with some friends from our life group. We stayed in a three-story, four bedroom condo for completely free. We were just minutes from the beach, and even made a trip down to Havana Hideout, a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It's a cuban restaurant and it had really good food. Erik got the two-handed tacos and I got tamales. Everything was delicious! Affer lunch we went to the beach and then all grabbed some take-out food and brought back to the condo. We had a great weekend and really enjoyed fellowship time with the people in our life group. This is our community now, and it was nice to be able to spend a whole weekend with them.



Taking a break to enjoy our delicious butterbeer!

 After a fun couple days with our life group buddies, we ventured out to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios for Universal Knights. Every year, UCF hosts a free night at at one of the Universal them parks for students and their guests. This year they chose Islands of Adventure, and we were thrilled to go explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWHP). We had an excellent time and really enjoyed ourselves. I got Erik to go on the Dragon Challenge (formerly Dueling Dragons) and he loved it. We even rode it twice! I was very impressed with the WWHP and the authenicness. We of course had some famous butterbeer, and it was just as delicious as I had heard! For those wondering, it tastes like a combination of root beer and cream soda. The frothy part on top is not just foam. It's sweet and creamy, and lasts all the way to the bottom. If you ever go to the WWHP, you must try it! You'll spend some time in line, but it is worth the wait. I promise. We also went to other parts of IA, and had a great night walking around and riding rides.. It was definitely a highlight of the recent months! View my Facebook for a whole album of our day at Universal. I was so excited that I got a little picture happy. One of my friends said I posted so many pictures, it felt like she was there. =) Enjoy!

You can look forward to reading about my birthday and our one year wedding anniversary (which is actually today!) I promise to be faithful and post them within the next few days. Thanks everyone!

Anticipating April

Well it's the last day of March, so it seemed fitting to write a blog post. March has been a crazy, exciting, joyful, and BUSY month!! I was so excited to start this job for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones was that I would get my weekends off. Yay for Friday actually meaning something for once! I've loved being able to see concerts,  hang out with friends, attend baby showers, and go on trips that I wouldn't normally have been able to do, but man am I tired!!

Molly and me hanging out.

We've been really blessed this month with getting to see friends from home. Our first visitor was my dear friend Molly, who I've known since right before I came to Christ. She was a great mentor for me and we became pretty good friends while I went to ISU. She was visiting her grandparents in Florida and came to see us for a night. We had a great chance to catch up and eat dinner together before Erik came home, and then the three of us went to a really great Italian ice place and had a good time. She spent the night on our couch. I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable, Molly! We were also super excited to spend the evening with Dan and Amy, a married couple who was in our wedding. Dan's family was vacationing at Disney, so we drove down there Sunday night to have dinner and hang out with Dan and Amy. We had a lot of fun, and it was fabulous seeing our friends! It was like no time had passed. =)

Dan, Amy, me, and Erik at Downtown Disney!

April begins tomorrow, and I feel so unprepared. I turn 24 seven days in, and we celebrate one year of marriage just ten days later. In addition to that, Easter falls at the end of April this year. We're kicking off the month by going on a trip with our life group to Jupiter, Florida. I'm looking forward to being close to the beach and having a big sleepover with my closest Floridian friends, but I'm a little nervous that instead of having a relaxing weekend, being around all those people will make me even more tired. Hopefully it will be just the weekend away I've been needing though. I'm also really excited about Sunday. Sometimes Erik and I get really sad that UCF's counseling program is three years (as opposed to the two years that most grad programs are), but it definitely offers some perks. For instance, we got two FREE tickets to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure for Sunday. You know what that means? WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, HERE WE COME!!! Oh yes, I am a bit excited to finally get to see this attraction. I've pretty much been waiting for it until we moved here, and it's even better that we can both get in for freeve! The park doesn't open until 4 for us, but that is actually perfect because it leaves time for traveling back from Jupiter (that sounds funny, doesn't it?)

I hope March has been as great for you as it has for me, and that your April is even better! As always, thanks for reading!

Ending One Chapter, Beginning Another

Hi everyone. I really wish I was better at updating this. The last time I posted on here, I had just found out that I would be the new editorial assistant at Charisma Media. It's been almost three weeks since that post, and a lot has happened since then. I realize that if I kept up on this I could write shorter posts, but it's becoming my style now I guess.

I did give Applebee's my notice, and they were not as grateful as I thought they would be. When I turned in my notice, my general manager wasn't there. He never once mentioned me leaving. He didn't ask about my job opportunity, congratulate me, say he would miss me, or anything like that. He is a nice and personable guy, so this felt uncharacteristic. For my last week, I worked Friday through Friday. That is eight days in a row with no day off. I also had a double on two of those days. It was completely awful, but I did make a good amount of cash. I was just SO exhausted by the middle, let alone at the end. I think I used all of last weekend to recover.

It was so nice to know, though, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel! I put in my time at Applebee's (in June it will be two years since I started at the one in Bloomington) and I finally started a full-time job related to my degree. My first day was Monday, March 14. Let me start by saying that I work for a great company. I have not met one person I haven't liked. Everyone has been so nice and welcoming to me, some even coming up just to meet me! I was even greeted by a wonderful sign on my office door, and candy and flowers sitting on my desk. I have never felt so special. :)

For those who are curious, the editorial department puts out three magazines and two e-mags. These pictures are the covers of the latest issues of our print magazines, Charisma, Ministry Today, and Christian Retailing. As I mentioned, I am in an administrative position. The editor hopes to give me some editorial tasks as well, but not right away. So far I have mostly been doing administrative things, but I still like it. There is a lot to learn and I haven't felt too overwhelmed yet. I've been working things like budgets, author agreements, and copyrights. I go through all of the e-mails for each publication (there are A LOT, so that takes up a good chunk of time) and I even worked on one of the e-mags. We put out one called SpiritLed Woman, and I got to put that together last week. If you'd like to see it, let me know and I can e-mail it to you.

I am looking forward to getting into even more editorial things and not having to ask Leigh what I should do every time I have finished a task. Leigh is a copy editor in the department and she has been training me. My predecessor left a few weeks ago, but Leigh did this job a while back and has been helping me with everything. She is so wonderful and I am sad that she is leaving soon. She's getting transferred downstairs to the book group, and I'm afraid that I'll be lost without her. I'm grateful that we still have two more weeks with her on our team though. Our team is pretty small right now, but everyone seems to be making it work. They are all really hard workers, and I am really going to enjoy working with them.

I am excited to possibly write for some future issues and to be involved in their publication. I will mostly be working on Charisma, but will also be helping with Ministry Today. I may do a few things for Christian Retailing, which is an industry publication, but not as much as the others. My background is in newspapers, but I am loving working with magazines so far. I'm praying that I will continue to love it and that this job will open some wonderful doors for me

I am not used to an 8:30-5:30 schedule, so I felt pretty tired a lot of the week, but I know my body just needs some time to adjust. My wonderful husband has been trying his best to wake up with me, even though he doesn't need to start his day for a few more hours. He gets up anyway though and helps me pack my lunch and makes my breakfast for me. Bless his heart!

I am definitely loving having the weekends off. It is still kind of weird not having to work. We were supposed to volunteer for Give Kids the World this weekend with our life group, but that fell through last minute. =( We're still going to hang out with friends from our life group though, which we're excited for. Tomorrow we're going to see Anberlin at the UCF Arena, woot woot! Well I hope you all have a great weekend, and thanks for reading! :)

Two Week Notice

Hi everyone! Please welcome me back from my hiatus. I don't know why, I just haven't been feeling the blogging lately. For a while there I was slacking on writing but still staying faithful with reading the few blogs I follow. Lately, though, I haven't been doing either. However, I got some great news today and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to jump back into the blogosphere.

I GOT A JOB TODAY!!!!

I will officially be putting my two weeks in at Applebee's tomorrow, and it feels GREAT! It has been a bit of a process, but I did not want to get my hopes up (like last time) so I waited to post it online until it was official. At the beginning of the month I interviewed for an assistant editor position for a couple of the magazines produced by Charisma Media, which just went through a re-branding (up until Feb. 1 they were known as Strang Communications). I went in for testing and an interview and I thought it went well, but the person who interviewed me, Marcus, was very up front about the fact that they weren't exactly sure what they were looking for and that it could be a while before I heard anything back.

I found out last Monday (Feb. 21) that Marcus did not think I was right for the job. I was really sad, but tried to remain positive and keep in mind that God has a plan for me and will provide for me. Just two days later, the HR person I have been in touch with called me and said Marcus did not think I was ready for that particular position, but was impressed with me and had another role in mind. They let their administrative assistant go on Friday and need to fill the position immediately. He thought of me and wanted me for the job. Although I did not go to four years of college to become an administrative assistant, this role is great because it will also include some editorial responsibilities as well, including copy editing and writing.

This is the perfect role for me to start in, and is what I have been praying for! I went in today for the final step in the hiring process. I met with the woman who is the assistant to Joyce Strang, the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and co-owner. She asked me a bunch of formal questions and it went really well. The interview was not over until 3 p.m., so in no way was I expecting to hear back before the end of the day. Best case scenario I was hoping to get a call tomorrow morning before work. Imagine my surprise and delight when my phone rang at 4:57 p.m. and I got offered the job!!

Thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me and supporting me through working at Applebee's, being unemployed, and working at Applebee's again. This has been a tough year and a half, but also so rewarding and full of blessings. God is so great, and I am really happy and encouraged about this opportunity he has provided me with. I am hoping to start as soon as March 14, so I will (try to) keep you all updated!

Finding Solace in Busy Orlando

Last Thursday Erik and I had the pleasure of visiting Harry P. Leu Gardens for free! It normally costs $7 a person, but our generous friend Jessica gave us a pair of free tickets. I do like nature, but I'm not into it as much as some people. My Uncle Bill and Erik's mom, for instance, could probably spend an entire day at this place looking at each individual flower and plant. We went through it an hour and a half, which included a half-hour tour at a museum on the grounds. That being said, it really was a beautiful place and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. We woke up to a rainy, cloudy morning feeling a little sick and our day wasn't shaping out to be too great. However, we went back to sleep and woke up feeling much better. The weather had also cleared up, making it a good day to go to the gardens. It is 49 acres and right on a lake...really a beautiful place! It was originally farmlands back in the 1800s when Orlando wasn't much of a city. The fourth and final owners remodeled the home and made it absolutely amazing. That is where we took the tour, and it was so cool to see some genuine antiques. They developed the property into a scenic oasis, and donated it to the city of Orlando in the 1960s. If you're ever in the Orlando area, you should check it out! It's not an exciting attraction like Universal Studios or Disney World, but it is definitely cheaper and offers a great place to view some lovely nature and just take a break from life. :)

PS- I'm working on a post recapping our trip home, but it's going to take me a while so please bear with me! In the meantime, enjoy some of these pictures from the lovely Leu Gardens!

Enjoying the January sun!

Erik fighting a cactus.

The beautiful Leu home, decorated for Christmas!



We walked under this tree upon entering and exiting the gardens. It was HUGE and beautiful. I  loved it!

Our Little Thanksgiving

I know it's a little late, but I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Erik and I had a nice day at home, just the two of us. I didn't want to make a whole turkey and the turkey breasts were kind of expensive, so we made two cornish hens. My mom used to make them for Christmas and I remember always enjoying them, so I thought I would try my hand at cornish hens. They turned out really good, as did the rest of our sides. We made mashed potates, green beans with bacon, corn, and rolls. It was the perfect amount of food for us. We were stuffed afterwards and didn't have too many leftovers to clutter up our fridge and spoil (we're not always the best about eating leftovers). I also made a pumpkin pie, which was really yummy! We just finished it last night and I wish there was more!

It was kind of weird not being with family on Thanksgiving, but we did get to chat with both our families on Skype, which was pretty cool. I miss them all so much! My computer had been acting up a lot so I asked a friend to fix it. He finished it last week and we got it back just in time to Skype with our families!

We're doing pretty well down here in warm Florida. It's consistently been in the 80s lately, and it's so weird to think that this is not normally how I experience the end of November. I heard it is snowing up in Illinois right now, and it's almost hard to even imagine that with the weather we have had.

We're going back up to Illinois for Christmas and we're really excited to see the people we miss and love. We'll be there from the 22nd to the 29th and are trying to figure out the best option to see people. We're flying in to O'Hare, but we need to make it down to Peoria and Bloomington too. I'm sure the week will fly by, but hopefully we'll get to see as many of you as possible.

Well I hope you all had a great holiday and that your week is just as good!

Our wonderful feast, complete with flowers my sweet husband got me!

My delicious plate of food.

Erik and me before our meal. It was 82 outside that day!

November News

Well I am now in my third week of working at Applebee's and it is going all right so far. I haven't been getting as many shifts or making as much money as I had hoped, but I have faith that it will get better as I am there longer and become more established. It's easy to remember how much they valued me back at the Applebee's in Bloomington and feel discouraged, but it took time for that to happen. Even though I am a transfer and not brand new, I still have to prove myself. Plus there are a lot of people who have been there a long time and of course they're going to get priority in scheduling. It's nice to be productive and making money though. Overall I am enjoying myself.

I have also been keeping myself busy by reading. In the last two weeks I have read five books. I've got one more to get through and three more on the way. The Orlando Public Library lets you order books online and then they ship them to you for free. It usually takes a week or two, but it's totally worth it. I've been reading Meg Cabot and Nicholas Sparks. Any suggestions on some other books I may enjoy??

For those who don't know, I decided not to take the sales position at David's Bridal. I put a lot of thought and consideration (even some research) into it, and I feel at peace with my decision. Apparently in order to even get a commission, I would have had to make $12,000 in sales per pay period. That's pretty high, especially with the low prices David's offers. If I was only working part-time it would be even more difficult, especially until January which is when the busy season starts. Until then I am almost positive I never would have made commission (which is only 8% after the $12,000 sales mark). If I didn't hit that goal I would just make minimum wage ($7.25/hour here). Not only would I have had to work every Saturday and Sunday, but that is a busy store and I have a feeling it would have been really stressful. I would have taken the job if it was my only chance at making money, but I would much rather work a job I am more familiar with, and I certainly don't need to be overloaded on stress by working both jobs. We don't need the money that much. I appreciate all the comments and help I received though!

Thanksgiving is coming up, can you believe it!? Erik and I have been looking for some good recipes. Is cooking a turkey hard? Lol, I'm afraid I'm going to ruin it. Why has no one ever showed me how to make a Thanksgiving dinner before? Although it'll be sad not being with our families, we're really looking forward to being home at Christmas time. We haven't booked our plane tickets yet, but right now we're thinking about flying in December 22 and heading back here the 29th. We weren't necessarily planning to stay that long, but those happen to be the dates with the cheapest tickets. Hopefully it'll be okay to get that much time off of work. Erik will have a whole month off for winter break AND he will continue getting paid, which is a huge blessing! The semester is wrapping up for him and he hasn't had a ton to do, which has been nice.

My grandparents (mom's parents) and me on
Easter Sunday when I was probably 7 or 8.

Yesterday marked the one year of my grandma's passing, and it was pretty sad for me. She was a really great person and I loved her very much. She was my last living grandparent, and probably the hardest to lose. I miss her a lot and can't believe it has already been a year since I received the terrible news of her passing. It was especially hard to hear because I had been planning to go home to see her just two days later. I resent not being able to say goodbye to her and the fact that she missed my wedding by just five months, but I know she is up in Heaven with our Lord, and that is very comforting to me. My grandfather has been gone for almost 10 years now, which is even more unbelievable. I wish I had gotten more time with him, but I will always cherish the memories I have with both of them.

Thanks for reading my long update, everyone! I guess I should post more often so these don't have to be so lengthy. Who's seeing (or has already seen) Harry Potter this weekend!? We're going tomorrow and I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Happy Halloween, From Past to Present!

This is the first year since 2006 I have not dressed up for Halloween and I can't say I really mind. I miss the fun Cornerstone parties, but dressing up was always somewhat stressful for me. There was pressure to have an awesome costume and I always felt like I wasn't creative enough. I did win a costume party in 2008 when I dressed up as Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin. I was particularly fond of that one because not only did I decide to do it two days beforehand, but it was cheap and super easy to find. Plus I really looked the part. In honor of Halloween, here are some photos from the years of Erik and me in costumes. Enjoy!

Me as Big Bird with  my mom and grandma.

Erik and his brother as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Me as a leopard with my grandma.

Erik as a leopard/cheetah?

And jumping to the college years...Me as Belle (from Beauty & the Beast) with Katie (Cinderella) and Dunny (Snow White) in 2006.

Malibu Barbie! (2007)

Me as Tina Fey being Sarah Palin with some friends in 2008.

Punky Brewster last year, 2009.

Erik as Captain Kirk last year.

Us with our sweet "Harry Potter" pumpkin this past Friday.

Even though Erik and I didn't dress up or go to any Halloween parties, we still had fun participating in a Halloween-themed event. Our life group got together on Friday to grill and eat dinner together and carve pumpkins. We chose a slightly difficult design, but it turned out fairly well. We carved "Harry Potter" into our pumpkin and it turned out being a lot harder than we anticipated. We had help from a few friends though and it ended up being better than I thought. Most of all, we had a great time with friends! So, what are some of your favorite Halloween memories, or some favorite or most embarrassing costumes you have had throughout the year? How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Are you dressing up or just doing something laidback?

Whatever you do today, I hope you have a great day and a happy Halloween!! I can't wait to see pictures of everyone dressed up in their costumes.

Welcome to Our Home!

The long awaited photos are finally here! I've posted a select few from each part of the apartment. You can view more in my Facebook photo album.

Please follow me for the royal tour....

This is the view when walking in.

Our office. Standing at the door, looking to the right.

Standing at the door, looking left.




Looking at the dining room from the living room.

Looking into the kitchen. It looks small, but there's lots of cabinet space!

Another view of the kitchen



Bathroom



 

A view of our bedroom from the door. It's a little bare, but it's a work in progress.

View of bedroom from the bed.

My favorite part of the bedroom: TWO CLOSETS!!

Looking out our sliding glass door/window in the living room.

Our view from the balcony...pretty nice, huh?

Looking into the apartment from the balcony.

 

Please Excuse my Absence...

...but there has just not been much to report. I still haven't heard about the job yet. I did e-mail the HR woman (my main contact) and all she said was that they are still conducting testing and interviewing and haven't made a decision yet. I've got no idea how much longer I can expect to wait though...sad news!

We have been connecting with some more people here, which is definitely worth reporting. A couple weeks ago we attended a gathering for newlywed couples. It was really fun! We weren't even the newest married couple either...score! We played the newlywed game and heard from two couples who have been married about 4.5 years and one who's been married 6.5. It was really fun and a great way to meet some new people and have conversations with folks we've just met once. We even met one couple, Andrew and Becky (they have been married 6.5 years), who invited us over last Thursday for a homemade dinner and Settlers. Yes, we finally got to play Settlers of Catan!! Oh and even better news...I won for the first time on my own!!! Woot woot! :o)


We even got to play with the old board!

We have finally got the apartment looking pretty good and have hung up most of the things we've wanted to. We even somehow managed to store the things we didn't think would fit anywhere! I took some photos today, so look forward to those in the next few days.

For those who feel so inclined, if you could continue to pray that I will get a job (specifically the one I have interviewed twice for, at JFP) we would really appreciate that. Bills are adding up and it's getting pretty tough with just Erik's 20-hour-a-week graduate assistantship for income. And please also pray for us as we are still transitioning with living in Florida, away from all our friends and family, and with Erik being a student again. Thank you all, and I would love to hear some updates from some of you! If any of you have blogs I don't know about, post it in the comments section...I would love to read them!

A Photographic "Weekend Update"

Happy Labor Day, everyone!! I got to spend the day with my hubby who would normally be working and at school most of the day and night, so I'd say it was a good day. =) We had a good weekend too. First, I want to start off with a few pictures from last weekend, thanks to our friend Mick Haupt, via Facebook.

A really cool shot of Orlando at dusk. Taken by Mick Haupt.

Tears for Fears! Taken by Mick Haupt.

Taken by Mick Haupt.

This Saturday, we had the pleasure of getting to see Anberlin (one of our favorite bands) do a FREE acoustic set at this cool CD store in Orlando. Erik went the night before to see a band he likes. This could become a favorite place of ours!

Stephen Christian, lead singer of Anberlin, looking right at me!!

He really is amazing.

Erik and me after the show.

They played about six songs, but because they are from Orlando and love us so much, they decided to do something special and play a song from each CD they have out, including an old EP. It was awesome and made me love them even more! We were also the first crowd they ever played one of their new songs for. We've got it on video. =) They stayed after to do signings and kept saying that they wanted to meet everyone, but the wait was long and we had adult-like things to do.

I've been working on some things for H2O this weekend. I am helping one of the pastors create discipleship studies. The studies are already written, I am just helping with the design. It's been fun, but VERY time-consuming.
Saturday night, we went over to a new friend's house for a wine party. She has been fasting from alcohol for about six months and decided to break her fast with a big celebration. She has been around H2O for a long time and works at the GCM office, so she knows a lot of people. There were quite a few there, including a lot we don't know, so that was fun. There were even a few guys who were on staff at Illini Life (Chris Ridgeway and Mitch Jackson, for those who may know them) so we had fun talking about our friends from back home. Angie made a huge spread of delicious appetizers and desserts and you can tell she spent all day and stayed up late the night before preparing. Everything was amazing! There were tons of bottles of wine there, as everyone was supposed to bring one. We had a lot of fun and got to try some new wines!

We had a great weekend, thanks for reading about it! My testing at Campus Crusade for Christ is tomorrow, so please pray that goes well! If I impress them, I will get an interview on Friday. I'll keep you updated!

Us at the party, compliments of Angie's photos on Facebook.

A New Perspective

Well I have some good news today! This week has been much better than last...but let's start this post with the weekend I ended the last post with. The Tears for Fears concert was really fun. We had a great time with our new friends and the band really rocked! We got stuck behind a bunch of people who were standing and we couldn't see the band very well, but we were able to push our way through for a good portion of it. They were just as good as 25 years ago, and I know a good portion of their songs. They even did my favorite, "Woman in Chains." It has a guest female vocalist and I really didn't think they would perform it, but they did it as their first encore song. It was amazing!! Unfortunately, I forgot to put the battery (which I charged specifically for this event) in my camera, so I have no photos. =(

In the beginning of the week I was feeling very discouraged and kind of defeated. I called the Applebee's in Orlando on Tuesday and let's just say, no good news. Needless to say, that really got me down. I hit the internet for some hardcore job hunting and ended up applying to four jobs. Lucky for me, only one allowed a cover letter. I was planning to spend some time at the pool, but the time whizzed by me as I searched and searched for jobs. As the hours ticked away, I started to feel a cool sense of relief. It was almost like God was whispering to me to just be calm and stop worrying...He gifted me with a new perspective, if you will.

Then, late in the afternoon I received a phone call from a woman with Human Resources at Campus Crusade for Christ in regards to the position I have been on the edge of my seat about (read my last post for details). She asked if I had time for an interview and I spent about 40 minutes chatting with her. It went really well! Now it's kind of confusing, but let me try my best to explain. The woman who is doing the hiring in the department had this HR person go ahead and do the first phone interview with me, and if that went well I was to go in for some testing. They will be measuring my skills with Microsoft Word and Publisher, which are the programs I will be primarily be using to complete the job functions. The woman I spoke with wanted me to e-mail her a few samples of my work, which she would forward on to the other woman. Less than an hour later, I got an e-mail asking me to come in for testing on Tuesday, September 7!! If the testing goes well, they will let me know right after and I will return next Friday for an interview with this HR lady and one other HR person. If that interview goes well, I will stick around for a second interview with the woman in charge of hiring for the Jesus Film Project.

It's not like I feel as though I have this in the bag, but I am feeling pretty confident about it. I really, really want this job, and I know I would do well in it. Not only would I use the skills I spent four years (and thousands of dollars) cultivating and learning, but this job would put me in a faith-based setting and allow me to grow in my spirituality. As I told the woman interviewing me on the phone, I never could have imagined such a wonderful opportunity. Please pray that I do not become too complacent or overly confident. Pray that if this is in God's plan, He would give me the words and wisdom to achieve this goal. I am going to go over both programs and look over some interviewing techniques so I can be as prepared as possible.

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!

Still Struggling

Hello my wonderful blog followers! Sorry if I've disappointed anyone by not posting in a while. I guess I just haven't felt like there's a lot to share. This was a hard week. Erik started school and his 20-hour a week graduate assistantship. That means we've had a lot less time together, which is difficult after getting used to spending all day, every day with each other. Plus, I still don't have a job so this was a rather lonely week for me. Erik has his assitantship from 9-2 on Mondays and Thursdays and 12-5 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He also has class from 6-9 Monday through Wednesday, so this means on Tuesday and Wednesday, I was really bored being home alone all day. I've been applying to jobs and even had an interview on Thursday, but so far it is not looking so good.

I received a phone call Wednesday night shortly before Erik got home from class from a gentleman over at Full Sail University, where I had applied for a job. He did an on-the-spot phone interview, which I think went pretty well. He asked if I could start Monday because they really needed people so I agreed to another interview with his bosses the next day. I went on an hour-long tour of Full Sail and then sat around for a half an hour waiting to be interviewed. At the end of the interview, they said their training course that starts on Monday is all full, but that if they decide to hire me I could start at the end of September. That's a long ways away! I didn't get that great of a vibe after it was over, so I'm not too hopeful. It could be for the best though because the hours were from noon to nine and I would have had to work some weekends, so I wouldn't have been able to continue going to our church small group and that would have meant even less time for Erik and me.

The job I really want is at Campus Crusade for Christ in their Jesus Film Project department as a writer. They're taking forever though, so who knows how that will turn out. I think I am going to really pursue getting hired at Applebee's just so I can have something to do during the days and make us some money. Please pray for me, because I am really not looking forward to working there again. ::Sigh.::

We've been going to H2O every Sunday and their small groups on Friday nights. It's going pretty well, and we're starting to make some friends. We really like the services and although the Friday groups are different than what we're used to, we like the people and are starting to fit in a little more. We're actually going to hang out with a few of them in a couple of hours. I found online that Tears for Fears (you know, the popular 80s band) is playing in downtown Orlando for free tonight! We were planning on going because I enjoy their music and it would be something fun (and did I mention free!?) for us to do together. Some people from our home group were talking about it last night, so we're going to go with them. It should be a good time! I'll post some pictures later.

Speaking of pictures, the apartment is really starting to come together. I finally got some photos printed to fill the frames we got as wedding gifts. I still haven't taken pics of the apartment yet because it's not quite as "together" as I'd like, but I will get that done eventually...I promise! Thanks for reading, all!

An Ocean View

Tuesday was four months Erik and I have been married! Even though it sucks being unemployed, the nice thing is that it has allowed kind of a second honeymoon. He hasn't started school yet, so we've had plenty of time to do things together. In honor of being married four months, we decided to take our first trip to a Florida beach!

We went to 27th Avenue Beach in New Smyrna Beach, about an hour from us.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

After weeks of just sitting around indoors or running errands, we were excited for a day of fun in the sun!

The tide was pretty high and we had lots of fun splashing and getting tossed around in the waves.

This is definitely the coolest beach I've been to. The beaches in Mississippi were dirty and boring. The beach in Mexico was just boring, and the water even a little dirty. But the water here is so active and provides a great time! Volusia County does a good job of keeping the beaches safe and clean. I had a little bit of a scare...got knocked down by the waves and sucked in for a minute, but I think I was just extra spooked because I didn't have my ear plug and wasn't supposed to go under. Oops, I'll be sure to bring that next time.

After the ocean, we stopped at a small ice cream place in town. Then we went home, ate some homemade burritos, and watched "Finding Nemo." We got a little sunburned in random places, but nothing terrible. Lesson learned: spray sunscreen should be applied inside, away from wind. All in all, it was a great day!