Extra Two Hours

Due to a co-worker needing me to bring him some things in Salem I got to go home two hours early. I didn't want to waste the extra time I was given so I cleaned up my office.

BEFORE

AFTER

Patrick got me a new desk (middle of room). My old desk (against the wall) is now my mom's desk; she is my office assistant and comes in once a week to give me a hand.  :)

I hope to paint it, add curtains, a rug, more shelving to hold product (boxes on the floor) and some how get some artwork or pictures on the walls. Feel free to email me or facebook me pictures of offices you think would be good inspirations for me.

My Dear February, How Fast You Flew

I told Patrick last night, "When I'm sick I feel like I'm frozen in time while the world spins faster without me." At the beginning of February I went on a Staff Retreat at Tilikum. My favorite pass time and distraction from being sick (because the first night there I became sick) was playing pool/billiards. I wasn't too bad since I haven't played since my Outreach days (thanks Brae and Justin).

Once I finally got better Patrick and I celebrated The Day We Met (9 year anniversary). We went shopping at Book Bin downtown and out to dinner at Davinci's. Finished the night at Napoleon's for Hot Chocolate and White Chocolate Mocha (dessert). It was simple, but nice and relaxing.

Also in February we started tearing up the basement. We took apart the ceiling above the washer and the wall between the bathroom and washer. This is going to be a long process and we bought those heavy duty masks because there is some serious mold and other health related issues going on down there. Prayers for wisdom and finishing is appreciated.

At the end of February I left again for Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) North West Sectional Conference. The feature speaker for this years conference was Bryan Loritts; he was great. I went to three workshops: Holistic Adventure Ministry, Volunteer Cultivation, and Fundraising, Donor Development. They also have what they call

Kindred Forums where you get together with other people from other camps that work in the same department as you. It was nice meeting other office assistants and discussing common hurdles we all face.

The best time though was with the girls. I spent quite a bit of my time with Amy, our 3rd year student here at Canyonview. She's become a good friend to me over the past year and it was nice to hang out outside of the canyon. Plus I ended up being roommates with three of the college students and they were a kick; lots of energy. Our room became known as the "loud room".

Some other fun things that happened at the conference was Jim (our executive director) trying a few new things (pictured below): playing x-box and laser tag!

Charlie in a Blanket

Flood of 2012

After it snowed it rained...and rained...and rained.

Here is what my work looks like. My office is the building on the left in the first picture. Pictures were taken by my friend Josh who lives on campus with his mom, Patty, who is our kitchen director. They, along with some other staff, had to evacuate their homes that are behind our office and temporarily move into Alder House (one of our cabins). I'm told everyone is ok and the horses are fine. Our church also has flooding all around it. A group banned together last night to make sand bags for the church and the community. Its pretty crazy out here. We're fine and my parents are fine, but some of my friends are not; a few of them were hit pretty bad and are staying in hotels until the water lowers so they can figure out what to do. Prayers are appreciated.

First Snow!

It snowed this first time this winter on Sunday (15th), and has snowed on and off again since then. Yesturday was the most so far, but nothing to worry about yet. Yea snow!

Driving Home

My commute to and from work is sometimes absolutely beautiful. I don't always have time to stop and take a picture, but last week had two sunsets that were worth the time pulling over.

Happy New Year!

Mary-Frances and I didn’t really have much plans for New-Years. I was supposed to pick up a couple of sparkling cider bottles at the store the day before, but I never saw the shopping list, so that didn’t happen. Oops. Well, I think that other than having Monday off, we just hung out at home, played Halo till after midnight and then went to bed. On Monday, we did some shopping and headed over to Mary’s parents home where I played Halo with Dad for several hours, then watched the Rose Bowel Game with the Ducks and that other team. Oregon won! Then it was back to Halo and dinner.