First Week at Work

On the Sunday before my first day of work at Habitat for Humanity we went to church, grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed to Lauren's swim meet at Rutgers University! Lauren is a nationally ranked swimmer and going to swim meets is a regular family activity. Having never been to a swim meet before, going to my first one was really exciting.

At the Swim Meet!

 After the meet was over, we went out to eat at Harold's New York Deli which is an amazing restaurant where everything is super sized. The four of us split one sandwich and an order of fries and we still had leftovers! We also ordered a slice of cake which was so large that we were able to eat it throughout the week. We just finished the last bit of it yesterday! Harold's also had a pickle bar which was something I had never seen before. There were so many pickles... it was great!

Pickle Bar at Harold's

My first week at work was absolutely perfect. The first day I went to the office in Matawan. I did a lot of filing, signed into my official Habitat gmail account (!!!) and learned how to effectively use it, and made copies in the break room! All very cool. The next day I was in the Long Branch office and spent the day getting ready for the Women's Build Luncheon which was a big fundraiser happening the next day. The next day was the luncheon! It was a fashion show, auction, as well as a luncheon. It ended up being a phenomenal fund raiser and I was able to meet a lot of important, active people in the organization as well as hear an amazing testimony from one of the home owners and eat some really delicious food. 

Women's Build Luncheon

Thursday was my first day on build sites! I was first at a site in Sea Bright where I helped out the guys who were finishing putting up truces. Then I headed over to Leonardo and spent the rest of my day painting a room hot pink. I am not joking, it was the hottest, pinkest room I have ever seen in my life. I was then able to meet the home owner of the house. Suddenly, the hot pink seemed fitting. The home owner is such a vibrant and genuinely sweet lady and I just have a feeling that we will become friends over the course of me being there. 

Hot Pink Room 

Friday I went back to the site in Sea Bright where I did building as well as started to learn what the volunteer coordinator does every morning when the volunteers come (which basically consists of making sure they have their waivers, sign in, making sure they know where water is, and telling them some history on the house and family of the site that they are building).  That morning, the volunteers were a college group from a church in Massachusetts. I spent the morning with some of the girls from the group securing the truces down! I also learned how to use the circular saw and I am very proud to say that I am now a pro at using the circular saw!

Securing the Truces 

The Sea Bright Site

Saturday started with another trip out to the Sea Bright site to check in with the volunteers there, sign them in and make sure that they were set for the day. After that, I came home and we started getting ready for Drew's 56th birthday party! The party was amazing- the absolute best way the end the week. We played on the trampoline, ate a lot of really good food and I was able to meet more of the Homack's friends and family! 

Drew's Party!

Drew Blowing Out the Candles 

In other news, I got books from the library and have been reading about the best places to hike and explore in New Jersey! I have also been trying to befriend Snickers, who is the Homack's pet rabbit!

Feeding Snickers Parsly

Some other highlights include seeing my first fire fly! I first saw one while at youth group on Wednesday and then I saw/ caught one while at the party. I fully expect catching fire flies to become my new favorite past time. Another highlight: prepping for the party with Lauren and getting Drew's humongous truck stuck at a weird angle in the driveway and dropping half of the wine glasses while setting up the party and having to sweep and vacuum all the stairs and part of the patio shortly before people were supposed to arrive... haha. Good times. 

I am about to go to the college group at the church I have been attending!

Looking forward to seeing what the second week of work at Habitat has in store for me. 

Stay tuned to find out :)

First Week in New Jersey

To get to New Jersey, we flew from Sacramento to Phoenix and then from Phoenix to Newark, NJ. Our flight from Phoenix to Newark was delayed and kept getting delayed. When we finally got on the plane, Avonlee and I were able to sit together but mom had to sit in the next aisle and a couple rows back. Avonlee and I sat next to Elie, a young girl who we became friends with and who we now Snapchat daily. A little boy named Michael sat in front of us and I spent a lot of time talking about Angry Birds and looking out our adjoined window at the landscape below. The flight felt really long but was fun considering we had Elie to color pictures with and Michael to talk to.

When we started descending, there was a thick blanket of clouds below us. As we got closer and closer to breaking through the barrier of clouds, my heart started racing. We went down and down until we were in the clouds, and then we broke through and all I could see was green. Everything was green for as far as I could see.

It was so beautiful I started tearing up. I knew that I was going to be very happy here. The plane shifted a bit as it flew on and then we could see a large, tall city. I pointed it out to Michael and then turned to Avonlee to ask her if it was New York. I was in disbelief that it was right there in front of my eyes.

NYC

As we headed toward baggage claim, there was a tall man dancing with a sign that read "Janik" with our names under it. This was Drew Homack, the father of the family I will be staying with. We would be meeting Barb (his wife) and Lauren (his daughter) at home. We went to baggage claim, made sure that we had all 9 (yes 9!) of our bags and headed out. We had a lovely dinner with the Homacks and talked for most of the night.

The next day was Avonlee's 17th birthday! So, we went to the train station, took the hour ride into the city and spent the next two days there. I had never been to New York before so it was so thrilling. We found our hotel, which was in Times Square and got everything checked in.

The view from out hotel room

The first day was spent shopping in Times Square and walking around the city. That night we went to Avonlee's birthday present which was Broadway tickets to Phantom of the Opera. We had eaten New York pizza for dinner and then after the show we got cheese cake! Yum.

Times Square

With Avonlee at Phantom of the Opera

Our second day in New York we took a bus tour around the entire city. We went from Times Square to Central Park, down to Soho and then back up to Times Square. We stayed on the bus and took it back to Central park and got off there. While in Central Park we ate hot dogs, watched all of the interesting people, and got horribly lost on a walk that never ended. Then I got dragged into a street performance near the entrance of the park. When they went after Avonlee she ran away and they grabbed me instead. We got food at Ellen's Stardust Diner which is a themed restaurant with singing waitresses and waiters.

On the bus tour

Central Park

Once we got back to New Jersey, our first main task for the week was getting me a car. Little did we know that it would take 4 days to get my car! The first day we found a car that seemed like the perfect one, but when we said we wanted to buy it we found out it had just been bought. The search continued and after test driving SO many Honda Accords from different dealerships, I found the perfect one.

My car!

Besides finding the car, I also spent the week unloading all of the suitcases, organizing my room and bathroom. I went to the Habitat office that I will be working at and met all of the lovely people that I have been talking to for months planning and I saw my desk which was really exciting!

We also drove around one of the towns that was impacted most by the storm. Seeing the homes of people who were impacted by the storm and how they were still in bad shape after all of this time really impacted us.

House in Union Beach

I just got home from dropping mom and Avonlee off at the airport and surprisingly we didn't have to use the entire Kleenex box that I brought in anticipation of a tearful goodbye. I know that I will miss them more than anything and that it will be hard to be away from them, but that we will be ok. Right now I feel blessed to have this opportunity and to be staying with such a supportive and loving family.

NEW BLOG SITE and GOING AWAY PARTY!

I have decided to switch my New Jersey blog to this address instead of the Tumblr address it was at previously because many people were having trouble viewing and commenting on Tumblr. If you would like to read what I have posted until now, here is the web address: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/thenjyearoff

Yesterday was my going away party! It was a night full of friends, laughter, and memories.
My cousins, Amanda and Anabelle, came from the Bay Area the day before the party so that we could have some special cousin time together before I leave. They also helped me do all of the decorating and most of the food prep for the party.

Decorating 

Cousin picture!

They are my cousins but also long time friends so spending time with them was so special.

I ended up inviting close to 50 people to the party, each and every one important to me in some way. There was family, my oldest, newest, and dearest friends of all ages there and I love each and every one of them. 

Julia and Avonlee

Opening my pillow from Tim!

Aly and Me
Photo by Aly

We sat and talked, swam in the pool and hot tub, had epic water gun fights, did henna, and ate a lot of fruit and hot dogs. 

Swimming

Once it was getting dark and everyone's hands were getting all prune-y, we made s'mores and stood around talking, reminiscing, and of course, telling jokes. 

S'mores!

Anabelle, Amanda, Me and Jaclyn 

I had been really excited getting ready for the party and it was so much fun being at the party. However, in the middle of it all I suddenly realized that I was a little sad. Sad that I was leaving all of these amazing friends who have been through so much with me. Then I realized that I shouldn't feel sad and I started to feel grateful. Grateful that I had so many loving people who took the time to come and say goodbye to me. Grateful that they have always and will always be there to support me in everything that I do. Grateful for their advice and that they love me so much. 

I felt this gratefulness this morning in church when Pastor Ivan un-expectantly stood up with tears in his eyes and said some words of support and a blessing for me. Mom and Avonlee were bawling and I was just trying my hardest not to. 

Sitting here, thinking about the love I feel from the people around me and how grateful I am for each and every one of my friends, I can't help but cry a little.

It is in these really emotional moments that I am thankful for the little (and large) moments of laughter that come at the most random moments. Just now my mom dropped a bowl in the kitchen and it broke and she said, "Good thing you are leaving Lilly because we are now down one bowl". We laughed and laughed. It was the most perfect thing that could have happened in this moment. 

I will leave you with that story and a large, heart-felt "Thank You" for all of your love and support.