plans

I am going to be very honest with you. I have been putting off blogging, because I have felt like I do not have many "adventures" to share. Today I realized that an adventure didn't really have to be going to a really cool place or doing amazing things. For me, this summer is becoming a whole different kind of adventure than I ever imagined it would be. I would like to warn you now that I am about to share some of my thoughts about life, so if you want to back out now, I won't ever know. ;)
   I am going to try to organize my thoughts somehow, but this may come out in a huge jumble. I guess I could begin by saying that if you asked me a year ago where I would be today, I could never have guessed it in a thousand years. I think that this little fact is a funny part of life, at least for me it is. See, I really like to plan. a lot. I plan all of the time. I plan silly things like what I am going to have for dinner when I am eating breakfast, but I also plan big things like what I am going to do with my life. I have always tried to figure out what is going to come next. I mean it started from the time I was little when my teacher told me to write about what my life would be like when I was a grown up. I decided right then and there that I would be an interior designer, married to a doctor, living in Jamaica, with three kids in a cool house. Although I suppose my life could look like that eventually, my plans have definitely changed over the years. I moved from an interior designer, to an architect (I got an architecture set for my birthday and drew up many, many floor plans), and then I decided that I absolutely had to be a wedding planner. I have been dreaming of this job for a really long time.
*pause

Side note: I found college to be the strangest thing at first. When I arrived, I couldn't believe how weird it was. I mean growing up, you are always told what is next. When you are in middle school, high school is next, in high school it is college. There is always something that you know is next. Now that I am in college, people are always asking me what is next. Sometimes I just want to tell them, I am a kid for goodness sake! How am I supposed to know what I want to be and what I want to do? It is kind of like they all want you to plan out your life as a freshman in college. All I have to say to that is, "good luck."
*play

When I got this internship I literally squealed with delight (I found out and I just had to tell someone, but unfortunately everyone else in the house was asleep. I proceeded to call my poor parents). I thought that this was the best thing ever. Despite my way- too -frequent meltdowns when I thought college was going to eat me alive, I had such an incredible freshman year. I came to college all bright eyed and bushy tailed, and I left...well, pretty much bright eyed. I learned so much in such a short time. Well, I had no idea what was coming. Have you ever had those moments when you thought you couldn't possibly be humbled any more than you just had? I had those all year, which is actually a really great thing, because it allowed me to learn so much, but I am sorry for everyone that had to go through those things with me. I am so thankful for having the sweetest, most supportive parents and for having the most precious friends in the world.
*fast forward

Now, here I am on June 21, 2012 saying that I am finished making my ridiculous plans. I don't know if you noticed, but everything that I wrote above was what I thought. It was not me asking God what He wanted for my life. When I asked God that question a couple of months ago I never knew that it would lead me here. Although this time in my life may be one of the most difficult times I have ever had, I couldn't have asked for anything better. The Lord has shown me that I am incapable without Him.
("For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."-Philippians 2:13) He has changed my heart. I have loved the Lord for a long time now, but God has put a passion in my heart for Him that I did not have before. My heart can do nothing but rejoice, because I know that I don't need to plan anymore, God has it under control. He has made me realize that although this whole wedding planner thing is fun, I don't know what I want to do with my life. The best part, is that it's okay to not know. ("Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."-Philippians 4:5-7)
Everything that I had planned for my life, God changed. I am not exaggerating either. At first I was so confused, I did not understand why things were not happening the way that I wanted them to. God then showed me that He was giving me the opportunity to draw nearer to him, something that I had been praying for all of my life. This is where faith comes in and the "I" and "my" in everything departs. This is also where I am blessed beyond belief. I will not lie, the hard parts of this time are quite apparent to me, but they are also not the most important anymore. I can see that God has the plan for my life, I don't know what it is, which is why I am praying for patience. hehe. I am overwhelmed by His goodness and love. I think that Paul's words are more appropriate than any of mine could ever be to explain my "adventure,"
"Not that I have already obtained all this or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

Oh how he loves us!

p.s. I have been working in the office all week. Nothing new to update there. This was on my heart, so I had to share.

to finish the story...

The last place that we looked at was the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. This is going to be a place that you have to visit when it is finished. Oh yeah, it is still under construction. This meant that I had to wear a bright red construction hat, safety glasses that kept sliding down my nose, and a neon orange construction vest. We were also instructed to wear long pants and riding boots so that we would not get hurt. This picture is quite hilarious already, but the funny or not so funny part of it was that it was 4 in the afternoon and about 100 degrees at least. After we got inside though, it was so fascinating. We even got to see where they were putting a T-Rex together in the dinosaur room. I think it is going to a fabulous place to go when it opens in January.

This is a drawing of what the finished product should be. The attachment on the side is a glass escalator... freaky, I know.

In the past two weeks I have learned a whole lot. I have definitely learned about the event planning business, but God has also been teaching me. You see, with all of this new commotion in my life, I quickly got swept away in it all. I did not stop going until I got sick and was forced to. I think God may have been telling me to make time for Him. Every time I neglect to spend much time with the Lord, I immediately become overwhelmed and I never function very well. I truly need the Lord in every aspect of my life and I continue to be amazed at how good God is. Even when He got my attention by letting me get "under the weather," he gave me my Mom to take care of me. He provides for me even when I am unfaithful. I can not comprehend His love and grace.

oh, how he loves us! 

In Ephesians 5:14-15 it says, "for it is the light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, '"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."' Be very careful then, how you live-not as unwise, but as wise."
I believe that when I stray just a tiny bit away from the Lord, my spirit in a sense deadens. I can only be truly "alive" when I am awake and focused on the Lord. This will be my challenge for the week ahead of me. I am so thankful for all that I am learning.

some actual adventures

As I stare at the blank screen before me, I do not know where to begin on my past two weeks. oops ;)  I am just going to scratch that whole day by day deal, because I seriously doubt anyone wants to read a play by play of my life. So, I will give an update on the highlights (and lowlights hehe) of my past two weeks.
Week Three:
The beginning of last week was fairly uneventful, but super exhausting. I normally work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., yet that seems to totally wear me out. I do have to tell you that when I got in the car that week, my car generally said that it was 99 degrees and when I turned the volume up, this song was playing: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O6VDplx7xi8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

                  All you can really do in those times is laugh.

During the week, I did various things around the office and called different vendors. One important thing that you have to do the week of an event is call and confirm that all of your vendors are going to show up to the right place, at the right time, with the right stuff. So that was my job... seeing that we had a party on Thursday.  The exciting part about this party, was that I actually got to be a big part of it. I must admit that it was not the world's largest party (only 50 people). Still, you have to start somewhere, don't you? So on Thursday we arrived at the client's home at 3:30 for the 6:00 party. Although it was a small event, there was still plenty to do to get ready. The girls in the office have developed this nifty little system called a production schedule. It has everyyyttthhhinnggg on it, like when to take out trash and light candles. I have never been quite so organized in my entire life, but I must admit that I am a fan of this schedule. The party was a woman's 50th birthday party and the theme was "Shades of Coral" (based on the book Shades of Grey, which apparently should not be read...).  When one of the girls in the office tried to tell me what the book was about, everyone yelled, "don't corrupt the intern." All I have to say about that is, typical. haha Rather than trying to explain what all we did for the party, I thought I would show some pictures.

I don't know why, but I think these are just so fun!

The cupcakes are graduated shades of coral.

This is where all of the food was.

I just love peonies and hydrangeas.

Entry.

We hung those lanterns everywhere! 

So after we finished setting up I was in charge of greeting people at the door. I felt so funny, because people thought that I was attending the party and kept introducing themselves when they came in, but I was surely not going to correct them. When I stood at the door, I could only see out through a little space between the frosted glass and all of these high society women came stumbling down the driveway in their high heels and white jeans. The party got going pretty quickly, and sure enough we ran out of ingredients for the signature drink. That meant that I had to run to Tom Thumb and stock up.
 [ A little side note: when I initially went to the store to get all of the items for mixed drinks I took over an hour in the grocery store, because I don't know a thing about mixed drinks. While I was shopping, a man asked me if I was a bartender...do I look like a bar tending type?]
The party went on without a hitch after that. I got to hang out in the kitchen for a bit and I tried a California role for the first time (the good thing about being with strangers, is that you can't act like a baby about trying food). The party lasted two hours longer than planned, so I suppose it was a hit. After popping all of the balloons on the balloon sculpture and cleaning all of the dishes, we got to go home. It was great to experience a fairly easy party for one of my first events so that I could really learn a lot about how everything works.
Week Four:
This week presented a whole different set of challenges and excitement for me. When I woke up on Monday morning I felt like I had been hit by a truck (that may be a wee bit dramatic, but I did not feel well at all). The very good news for me, was that my Mommy and Daddy came down for the week. I think that everyone would agree, that there is nothing like having your Mom take care of you when you don't feel well. I stayed home for two days, because on Tuesday I woke up without a voice. I went to work on Wednesday, but on Thursday I had a super amazing day. I felt a little "under the weather" as one of my dear friends would call it, but I was not going to miss this day, the Wolfgang Puck tasting day. We went to six different catering locations in Dallas.
The first stop was the AT&T Performance Theater, which was absolutely incredible. It had so many different event spaces, but my favorite was the one where you can have an event onstage. At that stop we had a whole breakfast spread.

This is the inside of the theater. There are 300 LED lights in that chandelier that can change color.

The second stop was the Wyly Theater, which was pretty modern and had an amazing balcony area big enough for a cocktail party.

It is very unique, but has many interesting elements for a more modern client.

The next place we visited was the Nasher Sculpture Center. This place was beautiful and modern. We got to have lobster spring rolls, black truffle balls in marinara sauce, and mini toast with goat cheese, beats, and sprouts. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the first two appetizers. I think that I may be able to get used to this kind of cuisine.

This is the garden at the Nasher. They have many wedding receptions here. 

The fourth stop was the Union Station, which was probably one of my favorites. It was such a beautiful and historic train station. Here we had lunch: squash blossoms, caramelized cauliflower, artichoke salad, salmon, twice baked Yukon potatoes, and strawberry, basil lemonade. I liked this stop a lot. :)

It is even more beautiful in person. 

The fifth place we visited was Reunion Tower. Now this was cool. The ball on top of the tower rotates so that you have a 360 degree view of downtown Dallas while you dine. We had dessert here: German chocolate trifle, and "little debbies" that tasted like divinity.

This is just a little glimpse at how amazing this place is. 

"there's no place like home"

"Toto, I've a feeling that we're not in Kansas anymore."

On Friday night at Northpark mall, I kept having cute, little old people ask me, "Can you click your heels and get home?" See, my big mistake for the day was to wear my red high heels to work (I had to wear them from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.). Unfortunately, I also happen to have the lowest pain tolerance of almost anyone that you have ever met. The good news is that I gave all of the old people something

to talk about. So here is a little recap of the past couple of days. 

Day 4: Friday morning I woke up with extreme excitement. Today was my very first, very official client lunch. I got to the office only to be sent out to go get the mail (oh good, round two with the whole parking scenario).  I think that I was just so excited about my 11:45 lunch appointment that I forgot how to get to the post office. Not only did I get all of the directions confused, I also turned the wrong way onto a one way street, toured about half of highland park, and spent a good hour "getting the mail." I am glad to say that I made it back just in the nick of time. When I arrived at the lunch with my boss, the valet opened the car door and my mouth might have dropped open on accident. There on the patio sat two clients...two clients that could have been in a movie. For a second I thought I was dreaming. Actually, for the entire meal I felt like I dreaming.  These women were the type that upon greeting each other, would kiss each other on the cheek (on slightly hugging each other of course) and say "why helloooo darrrllliinnngg ( it is all quite drawn out and dramatic). -I must interject that before this meeting, I was told that this would probably be a good time to listen. Maybe pay close attention to how the boss handles clients. At first I thought this seemed a bit over the top, but I became rather thankful for that tid bit of information as the lunch went on. Anyway, so we all sat down and I sat right in the crack between the two patio umbrellas, so I got a little tan... and sweaty in the lovely noonday sun (perfect first impression of the intern). We went over the details for the clients party. We talked about the band and the dj, the full course dinner, the custom cake, the acoustics of the room, the layout of the tables, the menu, the bar, the alcohol (if extra alcohol could be brought in or not), the parking, and the occasional price of different things throughout the lunch. One of the clients kept her sunglasses on and sat pretty quietly for the whole meal and the other one did not stop talking. It was like the most real reality tv show you have ever seen. It was so cool to see every aspect of the party being thought out though. 

   You would think that this would surely be enough for one day, but oh no, not for this working girl. 

The next task at hand was to set up for the grand opening of a store in Northpark mall. I honestly did not really have an assigned job, seeing that this was my first event (so many firsts in one day!), so I just helped with random jobs like putting up the ribbon across the store doors. I also got to check people in for the parade... the VIP customers and the employees.  I guess the old people were charmed when I asked them if they wanted a balloon for the parade, because that is when they brought out the ruby slipper jokes. By the way, the store that was opening was actually just changing locations from one side of the mall to the other, but this grand opening was special. Like I mentioned, there was a parade ( which I had to be the caboose for), but there were also models, a band, an employee dinner, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The funny thing about having a job where they haven't known you for very long, is that they sometimes give you tasks that do not quite suit you. They somehow decided to place me at the entrance to the employee only dinner party in the middle of the mall. I was supposed to be guarding the entrance with the mall cop. If you can picture me in my red heels and sundress next to this rather large mall cop, you might be surprised to know that I was actually stricter than he with the whole guarding business. The event went very well, and I survived with only a couple of blisters. 

The Weekend: I will make this brief, but I just had to share this one adventure. I went to one of the greatest people watching places on the entire earth. I guess you would consider it a flea market, I am not sure, but this place called Canton has it all. I went with my grandmother, my aunt, and my cousin (what a good sport). If you ever see an idea on Pinterest, this place will satisfy your every need. After scouring the entire flea market and getting the most hilarious looking sunburn ever, I found my treasure ( a treasure is anything you find at Canton that you absolutely have to have). 

This is it -->

I know, so cool, huh?

So although the little old people in the mall may have been a bit cheesy, they did make me think. I started thinking about what home really meant for me. I feel like a bit of a nomad nowadays, but I realized that being home does not mean that I have to be at my house. Being home is when I am walking with the Lord in His guidance and love. I have always loved being at my house, but it is really the people in it that make it my home. Without the Lord taking my hand and guiding me, who knows where I would go. 

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by the right hand. You guide me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73: 21- 26

oh, how he loves us!

p.s. My internship really is great, I promise that these ridiculous stories are making me laugh all of the time. What would life be without funny things anyway?

blessings

Today was day three of my internship. This is my first post for two reasons. First, after day one, I thought I was going to absolutely collapse...by about 2 in the afternoon. haha I have found out that I was not quite ready to be a working girl. The second reason, was that we have had some major storms that knocked out the internet. So I guess I will just share a few stories from my first three days.

DAY 1: On Tuesday morning, I was suppppeeerrr nervous, but I thought I must be destined for success, because I arrived 10 whole minutes early.  For anyone who knows me very well, you know that I am NEVER early. Well after about a 30 minute tour, I was given my first project to work on menu names for the Cattle Baron's Ball (For those of you who don't know, the Cattle Baron's Ball is apparently one of the largest fundraisers for cancer in the country).  So I sat down at my little desk and my mind went blank.  Every creative bone in my body had totally disintegrated. After about 30 more minutes of staring at the wall, my boss came in and asked me how I was doing. I was like, "oh, it's going great, I just need a little longer." (Which was a total joke).  By the time I finished working it was 5:30 which meant rush hour traffic in Dallas.  For those of you who have not been to Dallas, rush hour traffic is kind of like a very slow and painful death. There is no rush. You simply sit. Needless to say, when I got back to my grandfather's house, I went to sleep the earliest that I had since I was 5.
DAY 2: I woke up at 8 a.m. to pouring rain. :l (my face) I was like, oh baby, I love work. When I got in my grandfather's car, the soda shop collection cd came on and made me even more jazzed to be awake. I got to work and my task for the day was to start planning a 1 year old's birthday party. Yes, I did not mistype that, I am working on a birthday party for a 1 year old. Anyway, my spirits were definitely livened when the girl I am working with asked me if I knew what Pinterest was. I was like, well as a matter of fact I do. And I quite happily went to my desk and immersed myself in a sea of pink and gold ideas. With all of the other random tasks that I was told to do during the day, I was pretty much equally exhausted by the time I got home.
DAY 3: Good news. Last night I asked God to allow me to wake up feeling well rested. God is so amazing and always provides for me. This morning, I woke up feeling awake, still a sleepy head, but I felt ready to go for the day. I realized that I had so much to be thankful for. I woke up healthy as can be with a really great internship to go to. I had the most amazing family not only in the house, but a couple miles away in different directions. My sweet friends had been sending me encouraging texts every single day. It is crazy how I still try to do things on my own when I know that I am completely incapable. The only way for me to do anything good, or to be successful in any way, is with God's help. I am always so glad when God reveals to me how much I need Him. When I am dependent on Him, I have a peace beyond understanding. I am so thankful for God's grace and love. This is the verse that I turned to this morning before work:
"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. '"Because he loves me,"' says the Lord, '"I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in time of trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."-Psalm 91:11-16
I then saw this:
"Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said '"My foot is slipping,"' your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." -Psalm 94: 17- 19
Oh, how he loves us.
The rest of my day went so much better than the days before. I even got to order cupcakes. My lowest point was when I spent a good 5 minutes trying to parallel park in front of the post office while all of the staff watched me through the window. But if that is the worst thing that you can say for a day, then HALLELUJAH!!!

Welcome

I honestly have no idea how to blog, but here goes nothing. I decided a couple of weeks ago that having a blog would be a great way to share the stories and happenings of my summer with my family and friends. Oh, I should probably mention what I am even doing this summer. I am going to be in Dallas, TX for the entire summer interning for an amazing wedding and event planner. I am SO excited, because this just so happens to be my dream job. I am so excited to see what God has in store for my life. The only thing, is that I am a little nervous to be moving to a different city by myself. I haven't even spent the night by myself before (this is where the little girl part of my title comes in). But this summer is all about learning and experiencing new things, so bring it on. I hope everyone enjoys my blog! If you have any suggestions, PLEASE let me know. As you can probably tell, I am a blog rookie! :)