Oh.....and my hair keeps getting darker.

Hey ya'll!!Last week I was in Atlanta, GA at a conference/tradeshow for the event industry. My days were filled with seminars on event planning and design and at night I was able to attend these huge parties that were sponsored by the exhibitors. It was total sensory overload and a real treat for a small-midwestern event planner like myself! I saw these extraordinary galleries that were filled with so many beautiful tabletop designs and floral decor. I could not believe the amount of money that people actually spend on this stuff!! My mind was truly opened to tons of new ideas and it was very rewarding to be able to attend this conference. And I made some good contacts. Yippee!! The bad part about it was that it snowed in Atlanta for the first time in 2 or three years. Shocking. Any of you who know me are familiar with the fact that the cold weather does not make me real happy. I get mean in the winter. I was looking forward to the temperature increase, but not so much. It was cold and snowy and I was ticked. Oh well. Here are some pics from the show. Most of them are table designs. A lot of you may be totally uninterested in this, but I think they are pretty darn cool. Enjoy!!

[Photo]So...what's up ya'll?? How was Christmas?? Ours was goooooood. Fam stuff, friend stuff, Christmas stuff....yada yada yada. No really, it was a good one. We didn't do a whole lot, but we were able to take a few days off and head to Michigan for a couple days. Aaron got to spend some time with his family and hang out with his little niece Kaley. She's is about 19 months now and starting to recognize us a little. We don't get to see her much since they live in Maryland, so it is such a treat to spend time with her. It's crazy how just being around little ones makes Christmas so much more fun. My mom keeps begging us to have one but that isn't happening any time soon!!!! So for all of you who are wondering...wonder no more. Not happening. Since my last post a few things have happenned. I dyed my hair brown which is kinda huge. I've never in my life wanted or even thought of going dark, but winter depresses me so I thought my hair should match. I kinda like it. I'll probably do it again too. So ha!!! But we all know I'm a blonde at heart so when the sun starts to shine again, I'll be blonde as can be. I'm sure this is thrilling to all of you. Right now I'm watching a stellar movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Isn't Jack Nicholson great? Great performance. The nurse in this movie is such a witch. Geeeez!! Anybody seen it? If you haven't, you're weird. Go rent it. No really....go. Ok....I'm spent. Gotta get back to my movie :) I love you all....miss you too. Hey.......I really do!! Nighty night :)

It is October. Good gravy!! It has been nearly 6 months since my last post. I am not dead nor am I hiding from the world. Rather, I am busy planning what seems like every event in the Ft. Fun area and trying to keep my head above water!!! I imagine that as long as I am event planning my summer blogs will be few and far between. The summer is over and so are my days in the sunshine which always makes me more melancholy. There are so many things to write about and I don't know where to begin. Ummm.......let's see.

Job: I have told you before that I work for an event planning company that is privately owned. We do 75% of our business during May-October. This summer was full of wedding planning and also many corporate events. September and October are festivals for Ft. Wayne and the surrounding areas and outdoor carnivals for schools and churches. Now that the season is slowing down, I am gearing up for a full winter of drumming up sales for next summer. My job is to find out what events are happening in the community and closing those deals!!! It's fun.

Family: Aaron is doing well. He is still continuing classes for his masters. This fall he is working with the girl's soccer team at Indiana Tech as their trainer. He enjoys it, but is always open to new opportunities in his field of interest. Mom and dad are hanging in there. Things have been stressful lately with Marla being sick, but she is back at IWU now and loving it. I got to see her perform with the chorale last weekend. They sung with Point of Grace at a concert during Homecoming weekend. We all went together. It was really cool to see Mar up there singing. Things have really come full circle. :)

Church: This summer I lead worship for Marla at "Shelter" which is our contemporary service. I haven't lead since college, so it was a little difficult to get used to. I had so much fun and I remember why I have missed it so much. I was truly blessed to be able to work with a band again and work hard at something to further the kingdom.

Hopefully it won't be another 6 months. I love you all.

Today was a fun fun day. I spent my entire day at the first major event that I have planned start to finish. It was an ice cream social for old people. Now doesn't that sound fun? What makes this fun to me you ask? Well let me just start with two very important reasons why today was fun. I like old people and I like ice cream. There you have it.

About two months ago I had this vision for an old fashioned ice cream social. Let me paint you a picture. Giant tricycles, hula hoops, huge potted gerbra daisies, may poles, white linens, umbrella tables, balloons, rubber balls and paddles, green grass, ice cream piled high with colored sprinkles, fudge, and red cherries. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Spring fever hit me like a ton of bricks. It was fun. I ran around all day trying to bring to life what was in my head. It worked and the day went off without a hitch. Well.....let's just say without any major hitches. I ate ice cream until I was "brain freezed" and blue in the face. Perfect.

The best part of my job is working really hard behind the scenes on something and then having that work pay off in such a beautiful way. People smile and make memories. What is better than that?

I'm excited for wedding season.

Hey Ya'll,

I know I know. I've been really bad. Just forgive me already and welcome me back into your wide world of blogging. Ok now that's settled. Here's the update.

Aaron is doing well. He is working hard at the athletic training thing. He works for Orthopedics North East which is one of the largest orthopedic companies is Indiana. They contract him out to Indiana Tech and he works with all their sports teams there. They pay for his grad school (thank you Jesus)!! He is working towards his MBA in business while using his undergrad in athletic training. It really is a huge blessing for us. He loves school and is doing fantastic (as usual).

My update is a little more complicated. Let me just tell you about the new j-o-b. So my last post told you that I had gotten the new job at Mutton Party Rental and Event Planning. When I interviewed for the position, I was totally unaware of what it would actually include. Besides doing sales and full event planning I have been given some other responsibilities. Are you ready for this.......................I am also the accountant. Ummm....yeah...for all of you who know me or have even met me for like 5 minutes, you know that the word accountant and Janet should never be uttered in the same sentence. I still think it's hilarious.

Here is a little explanation. The company is a family owned business that has basically been in existence for the past 20+ years. Only in the last 5 has it developed into a full event planning business. We also do a lot of rentals and tent weddings. The husband and wife that own the company are rich and middle aged. Bottom line is that they don't want to work anymore. I have basically been hired to take over the wife's duties. Along with office management, she also does the books.......ughh. Mind you, she has been doing the books for like 20 years. Good glory.

Needless to say, I'm totally overwhelmed. I mean accounting......HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
I laugh daily. It's shocking. All of my math professors/teachers would die if they knew. I was always a good student, but I would literally cry over my math homework.

God has a sense of humor that's for sure. I do love my job, and it is really challenging me. I am also taking a management/leadership class at IPFW which has been really great.

Other than that, we are just hanging out in the Fort. We love each other so much and are so happy God has given us the opportunity to share a life together.

How is everybody out there???????????

So it's been decades since my last post. Ok not really. For all of you bloggers out there who post on a daily or weekly basis, let me point out a few things: Point #1 Blogging is much easier when a person has 20 kids to post pictures of. Point #2 Blogging is much easier when you have 30 Christmas trees, Dan and Angie. Point #3 Blogging is much easier when a person actually takes pictures. Point #4 Blogging is much easier when your computer isn't monopolized by fantasy football. Point #5 Blogging is much easier when your are obsessed with blogging. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that all of you would be interested in the monotony of my daily happenings, but I guess that is what friends are for. Actually, factually, there has been a huge answer to prayer for Aaron and I this past week. I GOT A BIG GIRL JOB!!!!!! Did ya'll get that? I GOT A BIG GIRL JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last two years have been a really crazy roller coaster. I have been working at the restaurant for way too long, but what do you do? The money is good and so I kinda got used to having the bills paid. When I work for 12 hours the last thing I want to do is come home and put resumes out, but my hubby has been really good about motivating me lately. So....I applied for a position at a place here in town that does event planning and party sales. Long story short.....I got the J-O-B. It is a huge answer to prayer. I will be doing both sales and event planning which is perfect for me. It is just what I have been looking for. It probably won't be as glamourous as J-Lo in The Wedding Planner, but it is the same kind of idea. Its like planning parties for people and not having to pay for it. Ummm.....way fun. I start the Monday after Thanksgiving. God is constantly reminding me of His faithfulness and perfect timing. I give Him so much praise for providing me with a great place to work and use my talents and skills. There will be no more frustration, bad tips, tired feet, stained clothes, 12 hour days, beverage refills, or crabby diners. THANK YOU GOD. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Wow....so its been awhile since I posted anything. Let me try to give ya'll the update on A & J and our families.

About two weeks ago my sister Marla went to the doctor. Mar has had a really bad year with health problems, mono and migraine headaches being two of them. She has been in and out of the doctor's office and they took her for some tests and realized that she needed to have her gall bladder removed immediately! Her surgery went well and she is feeling much better, thank GOD. Kinda scary.

Hmm..what else?

My precious hubby resigned from his management position at the airport where he has worked the past two years. After much consideration, we decided that he needed a change. In just two weeks, God has provided him with another job where he will be working at a fitness center doing personal training and sales. He is doing this, AND working towards his masters, AND finding the time to referee indoor soccer. Amazing.

I am still working at Biaggi's Italiano, a fine dining eatery here in the Fort. If you haven't been there and you live semi-close, ya gotta go. Best restaurant in Fort Wayne, I think, with its eclectic food and Italian ambiance. I spend most of my time there, and while it isn't something I plan on doing for much longer, I am learning to find positives in each day. Though there are days of long hours and countless frustrations, I remind myself that it is only a season and I have a ministry to each and every person that sits at my table. Oh the stories I could tell...but I'll save that for a rainy day. I am also entertaining the idea of grad school next semester. I think it would be fun to get my masters in theatre, but it's not too practical. I may just go with communications or business, but that sounds stuffy to me.

The long of the short of it is that we are happy as little larks. That's what my mom always says. She asks how I'm doing and when I say "Really great, Mom," she comments that we look happy as little larks. That just about sums it up. We are thankful for our lives together, and although circumstances aren't always perfect, we are finding joy. Who needs perfection anyways? Struggle brings beauty.