MORE

it finally happened! I'm back in the working class again! it took a very long time. a LOT longer than I ever imagined. but, my new job was definitely worth the wait. I am the new Development Coordinator at The MORE Project. !!! (do those explanation marks give you an idea of how excited I am??)

it is perfect for me! I am a total bleeding heart and have always wanted to work for a nonprofit. from the moment I stumbled upon the website and throughout my series of interviews, I knew I wanted this job more than anything. and I have loved EVERY second since I was offered the position. it has given me more than I ever dreamed it could.

not only do I absolutely love what my work does for the poverty-stricken children and families in Brazil, but I love the every day things I do at the office. I also love everyone that I get to work with every day. I really don't think I could have found a better fit for me! so, here's to me FINALLY finding what I was meant to find.

and here's a shameless plug to end with - check out The MORE Project's website! there is so much you can do no matter how much you can give. I am amazed at the amount of support we get every day despite the horrible recession we are all dealing with. even if you can only give $5 a month, or $35 a month to sponsor one of the children in our program, it goes a LONG way and it is appreciated more than any of us can truly understand. so... yeah. I love my job!

new beginnings

you know when something catastrophic happens to you, something unexpected that you were unprepared to deal with, and you feel destroyed and irreparable? and everyone around you tries to comfort you by telling you that things will work out, a new door is opening and you just have to have faith. and, at the time, it's really annoying and not comforting at all? yeah, that was my life two months ago. I was defeated. I felt no hope. the life I loved and planned on having forever had been stolen right out from under me. I was devastated. there really wasn't anything anyone could say or do to comfort me and I was sure that feeling would never go away.

well, turns out they were right all along! somehow, over time, the haze that clouded my mood and my thinking has disappeared and all I see now are possibilities. it's true, being laid off really was a blessing in disguise. for years I have talked about owning my own business and doing what I love on my own terms every day, but I never really thought I would be able to do it. well, IT'S HAPPENING! soon I will actually own my own business... ok, so it isn't completely finalized yet, but it is so close to actually happening that I can taste it. thanks to all of the support from my friends and family, and particularly my sister, brother-in-law, and uncle, this is going to happen!

I think this calls for a serious celebration. who's in?

I love PF

so, I joined a gym last month. Planet Fitness. I love it! I've never worked out in an actual gym before. I was always too self-conscious to work out where other people could see me do it. but, I have to say that it's actually pretty fun. I go several times a week and have lost 14 pounds so far. go me! I'm also a little bit more tan than before. (heehee). PF offers free tanning to it's black card members. this way I can look better, feel better, and not have to worry about my winter whiteness. anyway, if you are considering a gym, I definitely recommend this one. I couldn't have chosen a better place to work on the year of CHRISTA.

motivated!!

I decided that 2009 is the year of CHRISTA. I am off to a good start so far. I am going to pay off all my debt by the end of the year (my car is paid off as of yesterday), take care of the "excess baggage" from past relationships that I've been carrying around, take better care of my body, make time to study and catch up on my hobbies. I will keep you updated for sure! watch out - here I come!

resloutions

I am proud to report that I achieved ALL of my resolutions for 2007!! for those of you that don't recall, I resolved to get two stamps on my passport, get a full-time event job, work on getting my catering business going, and improve my monetary situation. yep, that's right! I did all of those things! so, I decided to set a few resolutions this year, but keep them a little more simple. after all, I deserve a year off. ;)

drumroll please... and my resolutions are:

1 - send a hand-stmaped birthday card to everyone in my extended family on time. I actually started this tonight, and sent off the first card to my cousin Jared.

2 - go to Disney Land (or Disney World). I am tired of being the only person in the world that hasn't gone. so, that's it, I'm going!

3 - take a trip to DC and Williamsburg with my youngest brother and sister. we have been talking about this for over two years, it's about time we did it.

easy enough, right? wish me luck and I will keep you all updated throughout the year.

resolution update!

this morning I realized that I really am going to accomplish my new year's resolutions!! how exciting is that? I have never done this before! I guess I really am turning a new leaf. anyway, lets do an update:

* get a passport and two stamps. my passport arrived in the mail today, and by mid October I will have a stamp from Australia and a stamp from the Bahamas!! I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas in October with a couple of my best friends, which will be amazing! but also, next month I am also going to Australia for 10 days for work. trust me, its not going to be a boring work trip, this is a party trip for some of our best Australia demonstrators, so its going to be playing and fun the whole time! which brings me to my next resolution:

* make my catering and events dreams come true. we have done 5 catering jobs this year, which I think is pretty good for being so small and relying on word of mouth. lets hope we get more calls... and for events, I did it! my new job is doing event planning full time for Stampin' Up! not only is it an amazing company that I have loved for a long time, but I am doing events! I couldn't be any happier about it, and it also brings me to the third and final resolution:

* become more financially stable. my new job came with a 20% increase in salary and better benefits! I have a company card and cell phone, so I won't need to worry about those expenses coming out of pocket anymore either. have I mentioned how amazing this all is? ;) something else just came up a couple days ago that will probably end up paying off my car, which would be great!! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

wow, talk about finding motivation after I thought all was lost! I am tempted to add some more resolutions, but since the first one won't technically be completed until the end of October, I will give myself a rest until January. although, I have given myself a few goals in the relationship department, but I will save that for a different post...

movin on up with Stampin' Up!

Well, I finally did it! I found a great event job that pays more than my current job! And not only is it a great event job working with a company that is all about one of my favorite hobbies, but I will get to do a ton of traveling all over the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia! Talk about a good break! I am sad to be leaving Redirect because I really like all of my coworkers and I've been here a while, but it was sort of a no-brainer... Anyway, I start the first of July, so feel free to celebrate on my behalf. ;)

In other news, I have become a guardian for the summer. My little 16 year old sister got in trouble and got sent up here to live with Amber and me as punishment. haha! We are having a good time with her, but it has been pretty hard. I'm not used to being responsible for someone else, especially not someone that isn't very trustworthy, doesn't have their own means of transportation or any money. It should turn out to be a fun summer. At least I will have some sort of perparation for motherhood. So, basically I spend all of my time either with Rob or my sisters just hanging out and enjoying the warm weather. I really hope winter never comes again...

resolutions

happy new year! I don't really ever make real resolutions, but I have been thinking about them the past couple days, and I have some that I actually look forward to. maybe that has been my problem, I never pick resolutions that I really want to do. why would I be motivated if I don't really want to do it? well, 2007 is the year for me, because I really want to get these things done.

FIRST - get a passport, and get two stamps on it. I am ashamed that I don't have one. in fact, if I did, I could be going to a private island in Colombia next month. so, not only am I ashamed, I'm completely regretful of this fact right now. so, hopefully I will be able to go some other time this year. Kerstin and I really want to go to Bermuda in May, so hopefully that will work out. anyway, its way past time for me to start traveling for real...

SECOND - make my catering and event dreams come true. I am already well on my way for this, so I just need to follow through. I started doing catering on the side last month, and I have two more events coming up in a few weeks - an SUU fundraiser and a wedding reception. I made some business cards and hopefully I will generate more business from these events. I also took a part time job with an event planning company. hopefully that will work out the way the owner and I hope - with me as a full time event manager by the end of the year! its very exciting!

THIRD - become more financially stable. I have been living paycheck to paycheck for too long. I need to take this extra revenue I am suddenly bringing in and get a rainy day savings account in place. I also need to get all the little credit cards taken care of that are sort of haunting me in the back of my mind. I am lucky enough to have everything else in order and well on its way to being paid off, but all the little things are starting to pile up again... I am too young to be so bound by my financial situation...

anyway, hopefully by publishing these goals for all the world to see, I will make sure they get done. and I am actually excited about them! 2007 is great so far, lets keep it that way!