Chocolate

I totally recommend this brand of chocolate!
They have some very interesting flavors, this one happens to be my favorite, which is interesting because I usually don't like curry but there are always exceptions!They also have a bar with bacon and sea salt, sound gross?
It's actually not.

Super Busy!

As I sit here I am shocked that I am not burnt out from work, yet! As the only member of the Res life professional staff team continually around this summer I have been saddled with some LARGE projects this summer, projects that affect the entire Simpson Campus and Indianola Community. Not that I am complaining ... okay maybe I am a little bit.

In June my supervisor left and I got a new supervisor (who was previously a peer), the two supervisors are VERY different and the new supervisor will take sometime to get used to (although I have worked with my new supervisor before so, that has some advantages). Not only did my supervisor leave but one of the people who I got along with very well at work also left for, shall we say, greener pastures? The last person on the pro-staff team, who has been one of my greatest allies in my time at Simpson, just had a baby with his wife. So needless to say there have been a lot of changes in the people I work with, and the newness scares me and makes me a little sad.

On top of all of the changes with my colleagues, I also MOVED into a new apartment. I love my new apartment! It actually feels like an apartment, not just some residence hall rooms squished together; in my new apartment I also have a DISHWASHER! The dishwasher is certainly my favorite part of the new place! Along with the new place came a new job and in the fall I will be working and living with 400 first year students!


So while preparing for the craziness all first year students and 15 student staff members I have been doing many other things!

- April - Found and helped to hire two new co-workers & started with camps and conferences

- May - Closed building & wrote Communicable Disease Crisis Response Plan & worked closely with camps and conferences and the Des Moines Metro Opera & said goodbye to old supervisor

- June - said hello to new supervisor & went on vacation +++ & moved & went to SNOW PATROL concert & helped with new student orientation & worked with camps and conferences


- July - said hello to two new staff members & started pro-staff training & re-wrote student staff handbook (this is till a work in progress) & still working with camps and conferences

Oh and... in July Iowa has an event called RAGBRAI (registers annual great bicycle ride across Iowa), which is a seven day bicycle ride from one end of Iowas to the other. The Indianola community is an over night stop on the seven day trek and Simpson has "graciously" decided to house about 12 percent (approximately 350) of the riders in our residence halls. I am solely responsible for this and it has been a never ending process! I can't wait for July 21st!

Like I said in the beginning I am shocked that I am not burnt out, yet! While I do enjoy being busy, this summer has also been a little difficult I really haven't had time for anything but work and it breaks my heart. Okay enough with the pity party.
By the way if anyone want to see the new apartment you are always welcome to stop by see Winston, my DISHWASHER and me!

Quotes

Before I went into the office this morning I thought I'd write a post. I mostly just have quotes to share with you today.

"$%& you Noah! YOU killed all the unicorn!" Was my response to a song one of my co-workers played for me about unicorn one day.

"This, is not Burger King... you can't have it your way." Me to the same co-worker commenting on the nick name (BK) for my new area.

"Face it, you're going to be a statistic, you may as well be a good one." - !Woot: One Day, One Deal

I will post pictures of the new apartment soon-ish.

VACATION!!!

I am leaving for vacation today!
Winston and I are going to visit Michigan and
my friend Sara from grad school.
I hope it is a nice and relaxing trip!

Dog Friends

Look at these two cute dogs!
I think they like each other!

Bailey and Winston at Scott and Chelsea's in Winston's kennel.
Bailey always thinks she will find prizes in his kennel.

I want ...

...THIS!

http://tinyurl.com/mqs422

and if you're a crafter you will too!

The weekend!

Here are a couple of pictures of what Winston and I did last weekend.

On Saturday we went to a farmer's market in Des Moines by the end of the morning Winston was pooped! He gets a little over excited with all of the people, but even more excited with all of the other dogs to play with!



At the market I got some fresh rhubarb and made a small crisp. It was not a success, I put WAY to much tapioca in with the fruit. Put the crisp part was GREAT!

I also picked up one Basil and one Cilantro plant to use over the summer and got these cute little "self watering" pots to put them in when I went to Wal-Mart. They're really not self watering, because you have to remember to fill the bottom with water, it's a little weird, but a lot cute!

I got a this desk and chair to put in my new apartment, I got them at a little shop in town.
They both have a distressed look, which is fine, but I might strip them and repaint them over the summer, we'll see.

Other than being on duty it was a great Spring/Summer weekend,
I am looking forward to many more of them!