Or Not

The storm has passed by -- although it is still windy and a bit rainy -- and we are fine!!! It really wasn't worth all the hooplah. Thank God for that :)

Thank you all for praying!!!

Ernesto

I am off work today -- we are under a tropical storm warning/hurricane watch until Wednesday night. The winds will be 40-70 mph. The schools are closed today and tomorrow. The courts are closed until Friday. It's starting to get cloudy... the storm will hit us late this afternoon and throughout the night. The weather is supposed to be awful tonight and tomorrow. I don't know if our office will be open tomorrow...

I'm not really worried, but I hope it isn't bad. Actually, I'm concerned about the weather this weekend in Ohio. My family will be camping when the storm is supposed to be affecting the weather up north. According to the weather maps here, bad storms will hit Ohio Saturday night to Sunday morning. I hope the storm dies out before then!!!

one week down...

I'm almost done with my first week of work. I'm at lunch right now. It has been really good to be back in the workforce, back doing events, and I'm looking forward to my first paycheck. I need gas and food and to catch up on the bills ;)

The events that we do are so much more intricate than anything that I've ever done before. I love it!!! It's a bit surreal, though. The committees for these events are made up of businesspeople and socialites that are at the top of the socio-economic scale. Most of the residents of Palm Beach are millionaires. And the people that we serve are the poorest of the poor -- living on less than $1 per day. I obviously feel very poor compared to our committee members and very, very rich compared to our beneficiaries.

One thing that I am looking forward to is that I will probably get to go on a "pilgrimage" to Jamaica or Haiti sometime to see the people that we have the priviledge of helping. Of course, I'll post pictures when that takes place. I don't know when it will be -- I still need to get my passport.

I miss Ohio like crazy!!! My family is going camping next weekend (4th annual trip) and I'm not going to be able to go :( I can't take time off from my new job and the airfare is outrageous for the holiday weekend (if I leave Friday evening and come back Monday). I am sooooo bummed... I'll try to get to Ohio for Thanksgiving. Of course, the airfare is high that weekend, too. God, please provide extra $$$ for lots of travel to Ohio!!!

I actually live here....

Well, I had my first day of work today and it was great. My co-workers are really nice and helpful and expecting me to fit in and be a part of the team. I am so grateful to be working again!!! Plus, it feels like I actually live in Florida.

I mean, who goes to work on their vacation???!!! Being here has felt surreal--looking for work, but also working-out, getting a tan, reading books on the treadmill or by the pool, unpacking and organizing, doing laundry and dishes. And all the while feeling like I'm visiting. Now it feels like I live and work in South Florida :)

And the work seems like it will be very rewarding. Our next event is in Orlando in October. Meanwhile, I will also be working on an event scheduled for February 2007. I need to put together a committee and get corporate sponsors for the event to raise money for our housing projects. I'm not sure what the focus of the event is going to be. The West Palm Beach event is a wine tasting. We also do one called 'an enchanted evening.' But, at most of the events, we have a silent auction and a live auction. We auction off donated items like jewelry, gift baskets, trips, etc.

I got the job!

I start work on August 21st at Food For the Poor. I will be one of the special events coordinators. Currently, they do about 6 big events each year. They want to grow that number and increase sponsorship and donations. A big part of my job is finding sponsors and doing fundraising. I don't know much about that part, so I am a bit nervous. But, God led me to this place and He has provided a job -- and I've only been here 2 weeks -- so I am trusting Him to help me to succeed. I am glad for the challenge and I am so grateful for the opportunity (and for earning a paycheck).

If anyone has ideas for fundraising events, please feel free to post them in the comments!!! I'll take all the help I can get :)

Thank you all for your prayers!!!!

job possibility

i may have a job opportunity with Food For the Poor. i would be the special events coordinator -- raising funds for countries in the Caribbean and Latin America... i added a link to their page on my blog because i believe it is a worthwhile cause, whether or not i get the job :)

please pray for my job search! thnx!

No excuses!

I have no excuse for not getting some unpacking done and concentrating on my job search. My husband left yesterday for a trade show and he will be home tomorrow night just long enough to do laundry and re-pack. He leaves Monday morning for a trade show in California. Thankfully these trips don't last very long and they aren't always back-to-back like this.

I've pretty much finished the kitchen and I'm working on our clothes. We both have our own walk-in closets, so it's just a matter of putting everything away (and doing Christopher's laundry). He came home Wednesday and commented on one of the benefits of married life -- I was ironing his clothes :) I love spoiling him! He's working so hard for us, I want him to know how much I appreciate him!!! Plus, I don't know how he would have packed for his trip without me. He only had about 15 minutes to throw clothes in a bag. My honey would've been smelly and wrinkly at his trade show -- and we can't have that!!!

I better get back to my cleaning and organizing.....

P.S. just for fun, here are some more wedding pictures:

I'm in Florida

I made it to Florida -- finally! Actually, I've been here since Monday night. I had to drive down here by myself after packing the rest of my belongings in my little Cougar. Christopher left right after the wedding to get back to work. I have been unpacking and organizing -- and I have a long way to go :)

It is so weird being here. I feel like I'm on a vacation. Obviously, it's going to be a long vacation because I'm moving my stuff in. And Christopher leaves for work every day. So... it's weird...

I haven't even been here a week and we are talking about getting a hibachi grill and bottled water to make sure that we can weather tropical storm Chris. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like it's going to be upgraded to a hurricane.... I'll let you know if we will be in any danger....

I can't wait to find a job. I need to start earning money -- SOON!!!