Friday, February 20, 2009

A little bit of everything


A night at the Fountains ... my favorite!
A picture with the Birthday Girl (Gabby turned 1) and Lindsey... my soon to be roomie!
Gabby digging into her Birthday Cake! YUM :)

Cooking up a Valentine's Day Surprise in my new apron :)

Happy Valentine's day!! Of course I am sending love and WARM wishes to you all the way from Las Vegas! Today the sun was shining and the temperature hit 70 and it was great!! My laptop is still set for Michigan and I'm always reminded of the cold when I log in... I'm blessed :)
Today I had quite the surprise as I was purchasing my plane ticket to head to Detroit for work in March I realized that I have a 1.5 hour lay over in Charlotte, NC so Meliss and Clare are going to meet me for a coffee date... just flyin' in for some coffee with my big sis :)
This weekend is a relaxing weekend just hanging out at home... I honestly don't remember when I had one of those! And I'm taking full advantage of it! Pampering myself with a haircut tomorrow and a clean sweep at home.
Work has completely taken a HUGE shift for me this week... although I have always enjoyed my job... this week has been different. I feel as though I have found my niche and enjoy all of the elements of what I do. I was told (before leaving home) that if I find a job that I absolutely love then I will never have to go to work again. Although I don't know that Rapport is a forever thing... I do know it's a God thing. And I absolutely love where He has lead me. Through the backpack drive to the Children's Heart foundation camp to hosting the Nation-wide Rapport Teen Speaking Contest I feel as though I'm reaching out in my community and making an impact... and that is where I strive to be! Simply knowing that who I am makes a difference in this world. I love that God picked me to be a part of this!
I'm growing...I'm being challenged daily! I'm being stretched outside of my comfort zone... and I believe that's where the most growth take place. There are days that I miss playing an active role in the lives of my friends and family, yet there is no way I can complain!
If you are up for a vacation to somewhere warm, sunny, and has palm trees...give me a call! :) ...still it's strange that I live here!
Miss you!!
Love,
V

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Hello all!

I've been a very busy little bee the past month! It seems like the week just flies by so quickly (and really I wouldn't have it any other way!) I've had the opportunity to do some great "Vegas things" as well. I went to a hockey game with Rapport, a Rebels UNLV Basketball game (tickets that my friend Lindsey won for telling a gross story on the radio), as well as attending the 2009 Miss America Pageant hosted at the Planet Hollywood Casino (tickets given to me by a client from work). It's all been a ton of fun and I feel like I've actually done things that only Vegas locals would do :)

Besides simply going out on the town (ha!) life in general keeps me busy. Work is going well ... I recently found out I will be the host of the 2009 Children's Heart Foundation Camp that is hosted at our Rapport Executive Retreat Center. The camp is 3 days long for students (and their families) who have recently had heart transplants as well as those living with heart disease. I'm really excited about it and feel so honored that I was asked to put the project together. Along with that I am getting ready to launch our "Power Packs for Success" project that will allow our staff as well as Rapport Graduates to donate a "power pack" (back pack) filled with school supplies for an inner city elementary school here in Vegas. And last, but certainly not least I will be heading to Michigan March 11-15 to do some schools assemblies (including Franklin High School). I still have a few spots available for my trip if you know of any schools interested. I'm very excited that I finally am able to do what I'm most passionate about... that is meeting new people, sharing my passion, and allowing others to see life through a new set of eyes. My own portion of the website will be up next week (fingers crossed). You can see it at www.RapportEducation.com/Schools just click on School Assemblies. (If it's not there when you visit the site it means that it's just not up yet).

I'm staying active in my church as well. We recently just changed locations (outgrowing the old building). We are not meeting at Silverado High School in Las Vegas where attendance has sky rocketed to 2,000! God is unbelievable! I normally attend the Saturday night Services and hang out with friends after. Sunday nights I continue to mentor my 6-7th grade girls and attend "Refuge." Currently I'm looking at starting a small group in the fall for single ladies ages 22-30 to meet once a week. I figure if God has given me eyes to see the need then He has also given me the heart to meet it. I'm continuing to pray over exactly what that looks like!

No week would be complete without some time with the girls :) Every Monday night my apartment transforms into THE BACHELOR stadium! And I LOVE IT! A few of the girls from church come over and we make dinner, watch The Bachelor, and rant/rave over the drama we are so thankful our lives lack :)

As I draw closer to the time when my lease will be up in my apartment I am continuing to pray that God will send me to exactly the right place in this town. Lindsey and I will be moving in together... the question now is simply "where?" And all in the perfect timing we will know :) I am excited about having a roommate again... just to have someone to talk about the day with is a nice life addition (not to mention the perks of splitting rent!!!!)

Like I said life continues to move forward and with it I continue to move! My learning curve never ceases to amaze me... last month was learning how to pay student loans and this month....TAXES!! God bless us all :)

Sending love from the West Coast!
Vaness