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 :)