Pictures from the women's retreat

As the Saturday evening began to speak, a lady started drawing this picture with chalk. When she was done, she turned off the lights and turned on a black light which lit up the sun streaks and the shadow of the crosses. It was incredible! Natalie, Sarah, and I went for a walk around the lake. Here's Natalie crossing the bridge.
This is the trail we walked on around the lake. We thought it would be a rough trail, not some man-made walk, but it was pretty cool!
I can't remember which one, but Natalie or Sarah thought that beavers had put this dam together... but they'd have to be some pretty amazing creatures to line up these logs so perfectly!Here's Sarah, Julie, and Natalie. I was sitting with the grandma on the other side. We all had a really good time and great experience and I'm glad that Julie asked me to help.
When's the next one, Julie?

She's so sad :(

I brought Jojo home today and she's just so sad looking!
When I picked her up, the receptionist told me that she's been crying and hissing and growling ever since I dropped her off this morning at 7:30. Once I picked her up in her carrier and said, "Jojo" she started meowing sweet to me.

She's so sore and sad and tired that she's just sitting somewhere and staying in one place, not wanting to move.
Here she is sitting about an inch away from the back of the couch. She was just looking at the fabric until I called her name so she'd look at me. Here's another view of her just sitting down. Doesn't this just make you so sad???
She's so cute, but now that her belly is shaved, she looks even skinnier than before. Here she is with her new nail job.

Jojo's getting fixed...

Don't tell Kristen, but Jojo's getting fixed and getting those plastic claws on tomorrow. She just cries and cries and then Rocco wants to play with her and then she gets mad and scared. So, hopefully this will help and I hope this also helps her gain some weight. It seems like ever since she had worms, she's been skinny.
I'll have to fill you all in later on how it goes.
I'm also getting those plastic claws put on Rocco on Wednesday, so hopefully I can be scratch-less for a while!

Shake, rattle, and roll

I'm having a good relaxing time here, at this women's retreat. Natalie and I made it on time at 8 a.m. this morning, mostly because Julie told me there's be biscuits and gravy for breakfast, but it's not until tomorrow! But hopefully, I'll get a nice walk around the lake today and enjoy some more vegetarian food!

About a month or two ago, Julie, Natalie's MIL, asked me if I would help out at a women's retreat this weekend and at the time, I was working at the apartments and made sure I got my day off on Friday. Well, this was my first week at the new job and I really didn't want to take a day off my first week, so my boss told me that I could come into work at 7 a.m. and get off work at 3:30 p.m. I figured that would work great!
Unfortunately, I was so busy after work on Thursday, doing laundry, reading my book, cleaning the apartment, packing, watching Survivor, and then I stayed up until almost midnight reading my book, I just couldn't stop reading it and I finished it! I've got to start writing a list of all the books I've read since January 1st. It's getting to be quite a list.
Anyway, I had set my alarm clock for 5:30 so I could snooze it until 6, but Rocco had the brilliant idea of rustling with plastic bags or something random, so I finally got up a few minutes later and went to the bathroom.
Half asleep, I suddenly realized that everything was vibrating... so, I first thought that maybe since I had just woken up, that my heart was beating really fast. Nope. Then I thought maybe my downstairs neighbors were fighting or doing some interesting things downstairs, but no. Then I remembered that scene in the movie se7en when Brad Pitt and Gweneth Paltrow live in that apartment right by the train and it shook every 5 minutes, so maybe it was the train that was shaking it, or my super old refrigerator. Nope. It stopped and I got ready to take a shower and turned on the radio (I still don't have cable/Internet, yet).
Shock of all shocks! The DJ was explaining that what I had just felt was an earthquake! What? This is the 8th state I've lived in (I think) including California, and here I was, in an earthquake for the first time, and didn't even know it!
IT WAS SO COOL! Now, I can tell everyone that I've been in an earthquake and it was exciting! Apparently, it was in Evansville, IL at 5.4 on the Richter scale.
What a highlight for the day! I then headed into work at 7 a.m. and as soon as I got off, I was in the car headed for my 4 hour drive (Natalie told me it was only about 3!)
I finally made it here at the camp ground, although the directions from mapquest sent me on the wrong road and I had to stop at this bar to ask the bartender where this Christian campground was! That was awkward!!!
Through all the busy random of things of the last few days, it was really nice to come here and relax and help with the song service and listen to amazing stories. The speaker is from Washington, where I lived before Michigan and she is a very descriptive story teller. She, Jenny, was telling us about a couple, years ago, who had stopped at her church in Texas (her husband was the pastor) on their way to a military base. Well, apparently, they were just driving through and saw the sign for the church and stopped. Well, Jenny invited them over for Sabbath lunch and afterwards, she took her two boys and their three boys (all under the age of five) to the park to play, while the parents took a nap in the air conditioned house. Then they served dinner and the couple and their kids drove off towards the base a ways away.
Jenny, then told us that years later, this guy came up to her and asked her if she had lived in Texas. Yes. If her husband was a pastor. Yes. And if she remembered him. No.
He then proceeded to tell her that he was that guy and as they were on their way to the base, him and his wife decided to be SDA's and after he got out of the military, he went to school, and became a pastor and is currently head of something or other in the Florida conference! The point of it all was basically that we can be the person planting the seed, or watering the garden. Either way, no matter how small, our actions make a difference. We just need to figure out what kind of difference we want to make.

The new job

I've finished my second day at work and it's going good. I start at 8 a.m. and get off work at 4:30 p.m., just in time to go work out. I've been doing so good! It's up to 14 pounds that I've lost!
At work, I've been helping them switch from paper to online. Today was mostly auditing. I'm good with numbers, figures, and being very critical and perfect in what I'm supposed to do. So far, I've gotten a lot of "wow, you're good!" or "you learn fast!" or "great job!"
Definitely something that makes me want to work even harder!
Either way, it's been a good step in the right direction and I've been working out more, since I get off work at 4:30 instead of 6 p.m. and eating better too!
Oh, and by the way, Islands in the Stream isn't playing anymore (thank goodness!)

Islands in the stream...

Just imagine: you're in the car, flipping through radio stations, when you come across one of those old songs that you just love! This happened to me yesterday around noon. I turned the radio to 102.3 (for those of you who want to listen to it) and "Islands in the stream" with Dolly Parton and some guy was just ending, but just my luck, it came on right after! I was so excited and pumped it up and sang to my hearts content.
Well, just as that song ended, it came on again! Okay, now I know the radio has really screwed up, but it's okay, I love this song!
So, I listened to the song another time, and then had enough.
3 p.m. - On my way back from where I was, I turned on that station again, just to see if that song was still on... yes! I just couldn't stop laughing! I figured someone tried to skip out on their shift at the radio station and they are going to get busted!
8 p.m. - On my way to my friends house to watch American Idol (I can't believe that Australian hunk left!) that song was still on! I just couldn't stop laughing and laughing hard!
9 a.m. - This morning, when leaving the Y (Lori and I pumped some iron... she is so hardcore! Oh, and I've lost a total of 13 pounds now!) I turned on the radio to that station and heard the last bit of a conversation between two DJ's and they were saying how they can't wait until they can stop playing that song and start the new radio station, but until then, the song was growing on them! So, apparently, they're playing the song, over and over, and over again, until another company takes over. Or maybe, as the song goes, they were merging together!

Islands in the stream, that is what we are, no one in between... Yes, now I can't get the song out of my head!

The move

I forgot to mention the move.
My friends Missy, Jimmy, Mona and Dave helped me take my boxes up all those 17 stairs and then Betsy and Jason helped me take up all the furniture. On Sunday, alone, thanks to Todd for letting me use his truck, seven loads from one apartment to another were done. That's at least 15 to 20 trips up 17 stairs and down 17 stairs. Anyone want to do the math???
Okay, so that 17 + 17 = 34 x 15 = 510 or 34 x 20 = 680 stairs!!! Oh, and don't forget all the weight that we had to carry while doing it, too! Oh, and the boxes!

Thanks to all of you who helped me: Missy, Jimmy, Mona, Dave, Betsy, Jason, Todd, and Rachael. I couldn't possibly have done this without you all!

Finally! Apartment pictures!!!

Here's my apartment!
So, let's get this out of the way first... Yes, the refrigerator is yellow! Or as I used to say at the apartments I worked at: Garden Yellow!
These first two pictures are when I went to see the apartment. This is obviously the kitchen.

This is what I have done so far. The rest of the house is put together, mostly, with all the furniture, but I haven't put much of the decorating in order, yet.
My friend, Betsy's sister and brother-in-law make cabinets for a living and I've sent them the measurements to make me either a butcher block for these two shelves I put together (to add cabinet space) or a nice piece of glass.
There's not much cabinet space, so this works out really well!

I got somewhat lucky and don't start at Whirlpool until the 14th, so I have this week off and have used the time by putting together my apartment, watching movies, getting my taxes done, and a bunch of other random stuff.

Oh, and by the way, it's an upstairs apartment, which means that I have to go up 17 stairs to my apartment and down 17 stairs, so if you're wondering if I've worked out, I have!
I'm going to the Y tomorrow with Lori, so I'll weigh myself, but I'm not quite sure what it'll show, because it's been hard to keep on a good food schedule with half the kitchen stuff at one place and the other half at another place.

So, tell me what you think!
Oh, and I'll add more pictures, when I get more done in the place. (And I have 5 windows! I love it and it's so bright and more downtown and the cats love the windows too!)