I have the weekend off.  Lisa put brunch out, Advanced EXCEL took care of dinner tonight, and Laura is doing dinner tomorrow.  Yay for not thinking about work!  This afternoon the staff girls went out thrift store shopping and, of course, Starbucks run. ☺  I took a short extra-hot mocha with an extra pump of mocha, and ordered a grande mocha frappucino with a pump of hazelnut and a pump of caramel for one of the girls who wanted to try something new and really likes sweet drinks.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 I've had a lot of firsts while I've been working here.  First time pumping gas, first time going to Sam's, playing ping pong, and volleyball were a few from last year.  This year, I've driven a fifteen passenger van, carried a cell phone, gotten a credit card, cooked something I've never tried before for more than eight people, and bobbed for an apple.  Tonight was my first time to play soccer...and be hit in the face with the ball.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 This morning, as we were trying to get lunch out with ovens that were unreliable, the health inspectors showed up.  First Josh came through and told me that there was a Dallas Health Department truck outside and we were probably about to be inspected.  So I quietly tidied a few things up and Laura had one of the girls wipe some counters.  We kept working on lunch and chores till Trevor came in and said the health inspectors were here.  They asked to see my certificate, checked up on things, and ended up giving us 96% and remarking that we have the cleanest place in Dallas.  We all had a buzz the rest of the day.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 This morning we had no butter to make granola bars.  When I was going out to Farmers' market and to get butter, Josh wasn't around to give me petty cash and I had to switch vehicles twice.  When I got back the girls informed me that one of our ovens wasn't working.  EXCEL girls came to help in the kitchen an hour earlier than expected and the granola bars weren't ready to set out at snack time.  We didn't have enough broccoli for dinner and the steak was still frozen when I wanted to be cooking it.  And yet, in spite of everything that went wrong, nothing bad actually happened.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 It was chilly out this morning as Amy and Rachel and I left for choir practice and the fifteen minute drive to church was quiet.  I followed Rachel and Amy through the halls and up the stairs to the choir room where I found my music folder in the 14th cubby and pulled my choir robe off its numbered hanger.  After warming up, we ran through the two songs we would be singing a couple of times and then filed out and down and across the church and up to the balcony where we would stand to sing our introit.  Down we came again to process into the sanctuary to the choir loft.  The whole choir had been introduced to the song we sang only last Wednesday, so we met in the choir room after service to practice a little bit more before the second service.

 Tonight we're having a 'staff activity' with refreshments (super bowl food!).

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Real gold fears no fire.

 We have two new vans here at the Dallas Ministry Center: a 2000 E-350 fifteen passenger and a 2003 E-150 Chateau.  I much prefer the 15 passenger.  The Chateau, being an E-150 and not having a V-8, is really just a car trying to drag around the shell of a van it got stuck in.  I had never driven a fifteen passenger before last month, but it's only a little bit different than a twelve and only slightly scary.

 Tonight since it's too cold to play outside, we're playing sardines in the basement.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 Two of the staff girls just realized they would both be gone before my birthday and decided they had to give me my present now.  They had already planned ahead and gotten it last Saturday when we were out at the mall.  I was very surprised, and delighted, to be getting a present two months before my birthday and from people I've known for less than a month!  They're both a lot of fun, and very observant to get me something I really wanted.  I now own the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 Last night was PCPC's choir's open house.  Anyone interested in seeing what choir is like was welcome to come join practice and share some eats afterwards.  Rachel invited me to come along and I liked it so much...I joined!  I'll start singing with the choir during service this Sunday.  It's going to be very different from youth choir, and it means giving up going to bed early on Wednesdays and sleeping in on Sundays, but I loved singing with them.

 Yesterday I probably spent more time out than in.  I went to the farmers' market after breakfast and heard from Bill that it's supposed to get colder over the weekend.  I had already been wearing pants under my skirt for three days so that didn't thrill me, but I'm hoping it will stay above forty so we can play ultimate tomorrow night.

 I needed to make a Sam's and Walmart run after lunch, but had to wait till Josh could go to the bank because I'd run him out of petty cash.  Waiting for him to get back, I put in the Sysco order and wrote out a chore list for the girls.  As soon as he got back, I signed myself out, gave the girls instructions for the afternoon, and took off.  It was nice to be out and I didn't hit any traffic on the way back so I was even back in time to help with dinner.  And I skipped out on dinner cleanup to go to my first (of many!) choir practice.

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Real gold fears no fire.

With EXCEL starting today, we're back up to ninety people and a 7:00 to 7:00 schedule.  Even though everything was going well today, I found myself in a bad mood this afternoon.  Waking up late today gave me a little more sleep, and taking a nap after lunch took the edge off my tiredness, though I had to get up before I was ready.  But later in the afternoon, I heard a rumor about myself that made me laugh and put me in much better spirits for the rest of the day.  Apparently, I have a beau who is going to be sending me chocolate for Valentines' Day. ♥

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Real gold fears no fire.

 One of Katie Dorman's favorite foods is tres leches cake.  As soon as I found this out, the day after I got here, I wanted to make it for her sometime.  Now, I've never made tres leches before.  I've never even eaten it.  But I did today.  I saw the recipe in my new cookbook over the weekend and determined that it needed to be on the menu before we have 90 people in the building.  I had to wait till the order came in to start because we didn't have the eggs we needed, just the leftover egg whites that had been saved for the purpose of making tres leches.  In spite of the fact that it involved beating egg whites, it turned out very well.  Katie was very pleased, and Esther said she'd never had better tres leches, even where people are supposed to know how to make it.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Folding Party

 Today was the big after conference laundry day, so all the girls got together after dinner cleanup to fold and watch a movie.  Piles of sheets became stacks of fitted, flat, king, full, twin, and pillowcases as fifteen pairs of hands folded and fifteen pairs of eyes watched "Love's Enduring Promise".  We paused the movie partway through to put away the sheets so we could actually sit on the couches and chairs, and took advantage of the break to finish off some sheet cake.  How fitting.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 My first conference is successfully over.  Since last posting, I've been to the farmers' market twice, taken a scenic drive in downtown Dallas (due to a wrong turn coming back from the market the first time), served fifteen meals/snacks, worked 33 hours, and cried from sheer exhaustion.  Tonight we ordered pizza and watched "On the Road with 16 Children".

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Real gold fears no fire.

Tomorrow is the first day of the conference.  People are starting to arrive and the pace is picking up.  We woke up to snow on the ground and it was just cold enough that it didn't melt and ice over before I had to go to Walmart this morning.  So my second time driving a fifteen passenger van was my first time driving in snow/slush.  The day was full enough to keep the girls busy in the kitchen and me in my office.  I pulled out recipes for the weekend, put in a Sysco order, and  finally got next week's menu typed.  And now, my room is calling.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Two skirts was the order of the day.  I came down to breakfast with one and went right back up after breakfast for another one.  It was that cold.  In the building.  It didn't seem as cold outside when Mr. Bell and I went to Sam's later in the afternoon.  We needed to get me a credit card so I won't be having to carry a wad of cash when I go get supplies.  So I will have a credit card in 7-10 business days.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 Today was so cold!  My room has its own heater so it was okay, and the kitchen wasn't so bad with the oven on (as long as we stayed out of the freezer), but my office was freezing.  Spending most of the day in my office planning menus and ordering and looking up recipes, I was having a lot of trouble typing.  Mr. Bell had been planning to take me out to Sam's today to get my card, but we postponed it till tomorrow.  Tomorrow is my morning off!  I get to sleep in until...6:30.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Driving

 Today I went for a drive with Mr. Bell to run an errand so he could see whether or not he needs to worry when I'm on the road doing my own errands.  His conclusion was that he wouldn't need to worry about me.  He says he can usually tell about a driver in five minutes and commented that I wasn't a tentative driver.  We had a nice drive out to Albertsons and I told him that Dad and I always used to go to Albertsons and park in the same parking spot.  I got to exercise my new driving privileges later in the afternoon to take Josh to the bank.  As compensation for taking him, he bought me a Starbucks.  I ordered an iced tall passion tea lemonade with two pumps of melon and two pumps of valencia (thank you Evan, for the suggestion).  I love driving.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 I had a very non-stressful afternoon working in my office and making cookies.  This week Mrs. Bell gave the rest of the staff the option to take care of a meal before we get too many people.  Amy voluneered for tonight, Rachel has tomorrow lunch, and Mrs. Martinez will make dinner tomorrow so I didn't even have to think about cooking today.  The cookies were so I didn't get too used to it.

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Real gold fears no fire.

 By Sunday night my room had been ordered and was at its best.  Come Monday afternoon, though, my office desk was heavy with menus, worksheets, forms, ads, notes, lists, catalogs, and recipes.  It took no time at all to accumulate, but all day to clear.  I breathed a sigh every time I could file something or throw it away.

 In the four hours between when I wanted to go up to my room and when I actually made it, I ate dinner, cleaned up, did computer stuff, and watched the first half of the Buckeye/Gator game.  I see this morning that I didn't miss anything I really wanted to see.  The Gators played an excellent game.  Too bad I wasn't rooting for them.  I should have stopped watching after the first play.

 After my long day yesterday, I was envisioning being miserable and dog-tired the rest of the year.  Today has been a lot better.  I think once all the one-time things are taken care of I'll be able to catch up and work ahead of schedule instead of under the wire.  Having short-term staff coming in tomorrow will allow me to delegate so I won't be having to juggle two things that need to be done at the same time.  This week is my only chance to get ahead.  After this weekend...no breathing till May!

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Real gold fears no fire.

Settling In

 My room is a mess.  All three of my bags are sitting on the floor, open, the floor is littered with things that have come out while I was looking for other things, my desk is covered with things I haven't had a chance to put away, and all other surfaces are similarly draped.  At least my bathroom is orderly.

 Yesterday was spent hearing what Mr. Bell's goals are for the coming year, taking down Christmas decorations, going out to dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse, and having a campfire at the park.  Today after brunch a few of us helped Mrs. Bell with a project and tonight we are watching a movie on the wall.  I'm hoping to get my room put together some before dinner and finish tomorrow afternoon.  I must go.  If I'm not my own taskmaster, the clock will be.

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Real gold fears no fire.

Testimony

May my life be a testimony
To who I am in You, to who You are in me.
Lord Jesus, may the ones I touch be touched by You,
Oh, may my life be a testimony.
May my life be a tribute to Your name,
May I seek first Your smile, not men's applause and fame,
Lord Jesus, if it means for You I suffer pain,
May I not fail to be a tribute to Your name.

May Our lives be a symphony of praise,
A song of hope and joy that fills our nights and days.
Oh, grant that we may never cease to always raise,
Oh, Lord to You a joyful symphony of praise.
May our lives be a mirror of Your grace,
Reflecting love that goes beyond all time and space,
Lord Jesus, may men see not us, but Your dear face,
Oh, may our lives be a mirror of Your grace.

May our lives be a testimony
To who we are in You, to who You are in us.
Lord Jesus, may the ones we touch be touched by You,
Oh, may our lives be a mirror, Lord, of You.