Let me see if I can remember everything from the past week...
The week started with a super huge team meeting in the Southern Protocol Headquarters and lots of diet coke was present. We also had some special visitors, that I hope I will be able to post about soon, but for now, they have to stay under wraps...sorry! Lizz gave us all the biggest to do list of our lives for the coming week as she left for Miami for a family wedding...they apparently do things waaaaaaaaay different down there:) My job was to hold down the fort in the office...and I mean literally. I house sat for Lizz, and babysat her dog Bubba. Now I can say he officially loves me, but it was not always that way. So I spent most of my days last week returning emails trying to get everything working for clients. Now watching Bubba was not an easy task. I cleaned up some waste of his, as well as risked my life for his well being (ok he tried to bite me twice as I was trying to pick him up to go outside to relieve himself!!!) Then the next few days he got so comfortable he laid down on top of my work as I was working! And then on friday, after fear of a ruined bridesmaid dress incident, Bubba escaped. Ladies and gents...he ran half way up the street. I promise the residents of Bamboo Drive think I am a crazy lady after seeing me chase bubba, because my life depended on my getting that dog back! Oh the things we do as interns!!!! Now the biggest news of the week...I was hired by MY first real client. So I am going to be planning a wedding on my own, under Lizz's supervision, for sometime in the spring of 2012!!!! Woop Woop! Dont worry Furman friends, all planning will be done by the time I leave Charleston in the Fall so we can have all SENIOR year together!!!!
Now depsite how boring my life appears to be last week...I tried some new things here in Charleston and met up with some friends during the week. I went to zumba and tried out some college groups at Seacoast Church. I also found a really great consignment store in West Ashley...and I was 1/2 a size away from owning my first pair of coach shoes:( and can I just say that FreePeople is now my new favorite brand of clothing?!!! Another huge accomplishment for the week was getting many things in line for the SCSCSW 2012 Conference (like speaker, venues, etc)!!! can I get a second Woop Woop!
This past week most of the kids were with their grandparents in Chesnee, but the two foster children were here in Charleston. I loved getting to spend time with just the two of them, and the big game this week was Tickle, and as you could have guessed, lots of tickling is involved!!! It just amazes me the simplicity that makes these kids happy...its an awesome reminder of joy! The other kids got back on Monday, and we played soooo much last night! We built lots of shapes with magnetic lego things, and dressed up! The only thing that fits me is this huge tutu that sticks a foot out from each hip, but only covers the front half of my body lol. And this week there have been many occassions where I have been taken back to the dude ranch...there are these cock roaches down here call Palmetto Bugs that are like cock roaches on steroids! So those have been around A LOT, and I have had to be extra cautious when I pull down my sheets at night. Not only these bugs but a HUGE spider was my bathroom, and the worst part was I couldnt kill him, so I had to go to bed not knowing where the spider was!
Now for the big weekend...there was a PRECIOUS wedding on Friday that I will touch on in a minute. but my dear friend Carolyn came to visit! Friday we went for an awesome walk on the beach. I have been dying o do that since I got here, and the stars on the walk were well worth the wait! Saturday we woke up to a flat tire on Carolyn's car, so we switched up our plan and went shopping first, followed by going to the beach. We didnt mind that the weekend was low key, because we just had such a great time hanging out and talking! We ate at a Southern Protocol fav, Five Loaves for lunch and the Sullivan's Island favorite, Poe's, for dinner. Carolyn thank you so much for coming! It was a blast!
Despite the lower key last week, so many things were revealed to me. I can say that I am so so so thankful for my friends I've made at Furman! This week I have realized the magnitude of moving to a new place. It's hard not to get discouraged when you dont have someone a door down to hangout with. Its frustrating not knowing where everything is, where there are good places to eat, and where a car wash is (love you Dad!). And its also hard to transplant all of the things you love into a new place. I love so many things from Greenville, and Laurens, but I realized this week how big of an opportunity it is to be able to live somewhere you are not comfortable. God calls us to be uncomfortable, and I am uncomfortable here despite all of the fabulous things that have happened to me. You have to have faith that God will provide the path for you, and I'm trying my best to do that! God has provided for me so far, and I have no reason to doubt that He will in the future. I have loved living with my family here; they keep me grounded. I have loved being able to learn more about having a family by living with strong Christians who are open and willing to share. I have learned how to take better care of myself by eating more healthy foods, and cooking simple things that are good (Thank you Dena and Bryan!). I could not have asked for a better learning environment with my internship. And the best part of all I am learning more of what it is like to live independently in a non-college environment. I have made strides in learning to create a budget, something I have been struggling with for awhile now. I have no idea what the next 10 months of my life will bring, but I know it will be challenging, but so much better than I imagine!
FINALLY, the wedding from this past Friday. This was a manifestation of major elements I have thought about for my wedding, which was so fun, because let's be honest, I have some crazy ideas (remember when everyone doubted my snakeskin prom dress, cough cough!) My favorite part of this wedding was that it was a small venue (cute precious cottage like house) with only 36 people in attendance. There was 1 bridesmaid and 1 groomsmen. The ceremony was out facing the water on the greenest grass underneath a large oak with spanish moss. The bride and groom were sooooo in love, and the bride had the most beautiful dress on...one of my favorites! The other great thing about this wedding was not everything was super matchy matchy or over the top in details (for example, each centerpiece on the dining tables was different in arrangement) It was gorgeous in a relaxed way. Nice bold colors, but yet a simple kind of organic style. Most of the things the bride purchased as decoration were found on etsy.com (love that website!) And how can you not love this cake! Truly my favorite so far...I hate I did not get to taste it though. The flowers were just ordered as 'bunches of wildflowers' so that is why there was so much color, which I loved!
On that note, my sweet grandmother who I love so dearly, AC, sent me one of my favorite desserts...a blackberry cobbler! So I am going to go eat some now, and I was told I would have some homemade ice cream to go with the pie tomorrow if I would share! AC that made my day!
