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!!!!!!

Job Dilemmas

Hello friends! I will be talking about my job situation today, so I thought this comic was appropriate. Snoopy is always a good one.

For those who don't know, I started working at Applebee's last week as a server. I trained for two days (normal is five, but they sped me through since I have worked at Applebee's before) last week and served on my own for the first time yesterday. I don't have very many shifts this week, but I am hoping that as I start to prove myself I will get better shifts.

We've been talking about work ethic in church and I've been really challenged to adjust the way I think about and act at work. I've always had a great work ethic as far as being efficient and doing what I am asked, but I must admit I do not always have the best attitude about what I am doing. It is especially hard on days where guests leave me no tip or constantly refer to me as "waitress" and imply I know no more than a first grader. I want this time to be different though. I want to impress my employers and co-workers with my positive attitude and be the one person who doesn't complain or gossip. I want to be an example of Christ and spur others on. No matter what I'm doing, I should be able to do this. I'm sure it would have been a lot easier if I had gotten the job at the Jesus Film Project where I enjoyed what I did and was surrounded by other believers, but maybe that's why I didn't get it. Maybe God wants to challenge me, and I want to accept that challenge. (I can't help thinking of Barney in "How I Met Your Mother." Challenge accepted!!)

I have also been offered a sales position job at David's Bridal. When I applied I thought it would be full time and offer benefits, but neither of those things are true. I feel like it's foolish to turn down an extra chance to make money and an experience I could really learn from, but I'm just really wary about having two jobs. It's always sounded so stressful to me. I realize how grateful I should be. I go from having no jobs to two...that's awesome news, right? It is, and I don't want to deny that. There are just a lot of things to consider. It's hard enough one when boss can't get my schedule straight, but happens when two bosses mess up? What if I am scheduled at both places at one time? What if I get scheduled at one place on the days I had off at the other place and then I am working who knows how many days in a row with no days off? I can't just work AM at one place and PM at the other for five days because then when will I have time to see my husband, grocery shop, clean, etc.? Oh it just all sounds like a nightmare. But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to tell the lady at David's Bridal "no."

Please pray for me friends. Pray that I can be a good example at any place I work and learn to not complain or gossip but to be grateful that I am working and glorify the Lord. Please also pray that I can gain some wisdom about on whether or not I should accept both jobs. Any advice would be accepted as well. Thanks, and I hope you are all having a great week!

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.

Keeping the Faith

Hello friends! No, I didn't disappear. I'm still here, just haven't written in a few weeks! My computer has been acting up, making it difficult to write. I also must confess I haven't really wanted to write, because it meant I would have to share some sad news with you all. About two weeks ago I found out, one month after my first interview with the Jesus Film Project, that I did not get the job. I was assured that it was really close and they wished there had been two openings, but they decided to go with someone else. My heart really did feel like it was breaking. I had waited for close to two months, hoping and praying that I would get this job. It seemed like the only option. It was a great job and I am still fairly confident that I would have enjoyed it and done well. Now I am tossed back into the unsure and scary world of unemployment. Unfortunately it looks like I may have to get another serving or retail job so we can make ends meet. That is sad for me because we were really hoping that one of the benefits of moving down here would be me getting a "grown-up" job that offered a steady income, benefits, and allowed me to use that college degree I worked so hard for. I am trying to remain faithful that there is a job like that out there for me, it's just so frustrating not knowing when it will come.

I am still on the hunt though, and refuse to give up hope! Erik has been a busy bee working on lots of schoolwork...group projects, mid-terms, and papers galore! I've been keeping busy with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I started reading the 7th and final book not only to brush up before the movie comes out (Nov. 19, woo!!!) but as a way to keep myself busy while Erik is doing school work. Since my computer has been on the fritz, I haven't been able to be on while he's working because he needs his. Unfortunately, this plan is not working out so well because I am close to the end of the book and I just started it a few days ago. I knew I should have started on the 6th! Haha oh well. My library card came in the mail last week though, so hopefully I can check out some new books. Any suggestions?

Cornerstone's Fall Retreat was this weekend, and the for the first time in four years I did not attend. It's sad to think how that time in my life is over. The time of fall retreats, winter getaways, living near all my best friends...it's over. I'm not envious of the weather you all had to deal with, but I do wish I could have been there. I urge you to not take what you have for granted and to be grateful that you are still able to go to events like the fall retreat. I hope you all had a wonderful time! We're also missing the wedding of two of our close friends next weekend, and we're both pretty bummed about that too. We hope to be back one day though...whether or not it's for good, we don't know. But we will at least get to visit, hopefully this winter.

Well I'll try to be better at keeping this updated. Thanks to those who are still reading! I hope everyone had a blessed weekend, and enjoy the week before Halloween. I am leaving you with the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It gave me goosebumps! I know there's a large chance the movie will disappoint me, but I can't help but get super excited for it!! :)

To Write Love on Her Arms

I'm guessing most of you have heard of To Write Love on Her Arms. If you haven't you should check out their website. I first heard about TWLOHA about three years ago. It is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2006 as a way to reach out to a young girl who turned to drugs, alcohol, and hurting herself as a way to cope with her depression. Now it is "dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide." They exist "to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

To Write Love on Her Arms spreads the message of love and hope to people everywhere. In the last four years, they have responded to 150,000 messages from people in 40 different countries. According to their web site, two out of three people struggle from depression, which is the leading cause of suicide. "In America alone, it’s estimated that 19 million people live with depression, and suicide is the third-leading cause of death among those 18-24 years old."

Although I have never been diagnosed with clinical depression, I think we can all agree that we've had times of deep struggle and heartache. I'm fairly confident that most people can say that if they haven't harmed themselves, they've at least thought about it. I was telling my husband just the other night how I can think of five people I have been close to - just off the top of my head - who have self-harmed. I don't know about you, but to me that's a lot. And those people are not alone. This organization exists to bring them together and let them know that they are loved. TWLOHA is currently working with PostSecret (another cool organization you can check out here) and the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, to launch a project called IMAlive "the first online crisis network with 100% of its staff certified and trained in crisis intervention" to reach these millions of depressed people.

I recently joined the TWLOHA Street Team, which is a way to promote and raise awareness for the organization. I have a strong passion to help and reach out to depressed, lost souls and even if it's just by doing some small things via the street team, I'm proud to say I support an organization such as To Write Love On Her Arms. It gives hope to those who think they are hopeless, love to those who believe they cannot be loved, and support to those who feel unsupported. It is an amazing organization that has helped thousands of people, and I hope one day I can be involved in more ways than just being on the street team. If you think you might want to be a part of the street team, you can join here. And if TWLOHA sounds like an organization you want to know more about or desire to support, visit their website. You won't regret it!