P. Serve Prepares for Christmas

With everyone back from their Thanksgiving adventures, we decided to spend community night getting ready for Christmas. The director of Sarah's House gave us an artificial tree so we busted it out. But first we took care of some necessary cleaning. 

First we cleaned out the fridge. Rebecca thought it was funny. Bethany was very angry about it. Ian didn't really understand why I was taking a picture. And Faith was generally confused. 

Assembling the tree.

Bethany and Rebecca stringing popcorn.

Faith and her wreath.

Lights= check.

Ornaments- check.

Decorated mural- check.

The finished product.

Until next time,
Caitlin

A Very Happy Hour (several hours actually!)

Back in October, I went to a birthday party for my cousin Erin that her parents hosted at Howl at the Moon Saloon. When I got to the door they asked me to fill out a card to have my name drawn to win a happy hour party. So I thought "what the heck?" and the next morning I had an email from Howl at the Moon saying that I had won! Very exciting (especially considering that my family and I never win anything.) 


In case you were wondering, Howl at the Moon is a piano bar where two guys play covers of every song imaginable.  If you win a happy hour, that means that there's no cover for you and your guests, the first two drinks are $1 and then all drinks are free until 8pm. So Saturday, November 13th was the magic night. My parents came down from MA for the weekend and we were joined by 41(!) members of our family and friends, including my best friend, Anna, and her family, some of my parents high school friends, and many more. In short- it was a Blast!

Me, Dad, Mrs. Zawacki, Mom, Jon (Anna's boyfriend) and Anna

Me and Anna, fifteen years of friendship and counting...

Ian, Dave, Kelly and Rebecca

My mom and her high school buddies :-)

Dad, Mr. Bobby, Mrs. Patty and Aunt Becky

Aunt Pat and Uncle Tony

The next day, Aaron (oh yeah, he was there too :-P) and I met up with my parents and had a wonderful day in the city.

Me, Mom and Dad atop Federal Hill

Thank you so much to all those who came out for the party. It was so wonderful to see everyone. And a huge thank you to my parents for coming down. I missed them so much. I can't wait to see them again and everyone else in New England in LESS THAN A WEEK! (For Thanksgiving of course)

To write again soon,
Love,
Caitlin

my favorite state with some of my favorite people

It is Wednesday evening and my community and I just returned from our fall retreat at Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, WV. We left Baltimore around 9:00am on Monday morning with our supervisor, Allison, and spent two nights in a wonderful little cabin in the woods. During our time there we had discussion sessions on community, social justice, spirituality and simplicity. We also shared meals, hikes, games and, of course, lots of laughs.

Rebecca- our Master of Fire Making

The Falls of Blackwater

The Whole Gang

"the ants go marching six by six..."

Bethany, Rebecca and Doug the Dragon (a.k.a. our talking stick, because we all talk WAY TOO MUCH!)

Our welcoming committee

It was a bit squishy in the van, so they took a stretch...

...which resulted in an impromptu yoga class at the gas station. No big deal.

As the year gets busier and we all have more and more going on at work and in our personal lives, it was really wonderful to have the time and space to just be together. Can't wait for the rest of the year!

This Wild and Wonderful Adventure

So, it is 10:21 on a Friday night. I just finished watching Mulan with the girls and then had a really great chat with Kelly and Rebecca about faith and religion and the like. Now I'm sitting in the quiet of my cozy hide-away room, listening to some meditative guitar music and thinking about how truly fulfilled I feel at this moment and in general.

Amidst the fast-paced work environment and the time crunch to attend to everything pertinent in my personal life between the hours of 5 and 10pm on weekdays, I seem to be able to do all this amidst an all-encompassing sense of calm. Calm in knowing that I have a genuinely caring community to come home to each day who support me unconditionally. Peace in reminders that I have family both near and far who are willing to go out on a limb for me at the drop of a hat. Comfort in the fact that friendships new, old, and older can and will endure any test of any time or distance. Gratitude that I have found and am able to be so close to the man who brings me more joy in my life than I ever thought one person ever could. And, above all, solace in the constant awareness that the Lord's hand is guiding me through this wild and wonderful adventure that I feel fortunate to call my life.

There were so many times in my college experience that I felt so overwhelmed by all of the "things to do" that I failed to actually be productive in any way because I could not get past the ever-growing "List". I wondered if there would ever come a time in my life that I was not plagued by this terrible sense of urgency to constantly be doing something. I am happy to say that I think I have grown out of that stage. This is by no means saying that I do not run the risk of a relapse, only that I finally feel as though I am beginning to understand how to realistically find and create balance in my life.

It is now almost 11:00 and in forty minutes I've written three paragraphs. (How's that for productivity?) I'm not really sure where I'm going with this or if it is going anywhere at all, I guess I just felt like sharing.

God bless and goodnight,
Caitlin

Reason to Celebrate

This weekend Aaron and I celebrated our two year anniversary! I drove out to VA for the weekend and on Sunday we went to church and then visited two vineyards in the western part of the state on the edge of the Shenandoah Valley. The views were beautiful and the wine was fantastic. 

A really adorable dog that lived at the first vineyard we visited

Aaron sipping

Me sipping

Mountains! Oh how I've missed them.

Just the two of us.

We had a truly wonderful day. I'm so thankful to have Aaron in my life and for all that we've shared together. 


Many blessings,
Caitlin

So, many of you are probably wondering how work has been going. I know I haven’t said much about it lately. It is challenging, but the best kind of challenge that there is. It is certainly stressful at times but I have no complaints. I now have four clients, 3 of which I was doubling with other caseworkers for (but they are more or less considered my clients) and one that I was just assigned the other day as my first solo case! It is still sometimes hard to remember all of the different rules, requirements and programs, but I feel really comfortable and confident in my interactions with the clients which can be the hardest part.

Family Lit began this week. We had a big crowd, over 15 families came which ended up being about 45 people! First I introduced myself, the volunteers and the class. Then we decorated boxes that looked like books. On the outside, families wrote their names, and on the inside they cut and pasted pictures from magazines that represented themselves as individuals and a family. Several of the families told me how much they enjoyed the activity and one mother asked if she could bring the magazine home with her because she enjoyed reading the articles so much. Then we read stories and had snack. Many of the families expressed interest in playing games so I think we will do some of that this week.

I met with the founder of the organization Creating Communities that I mentioned a few weeks ago to talk about collaborating in family lit. We are both very excited about the opportunity. What’s great is that, I’ve come up with several general themes to work on and he has the lesson plans and materials to make them happen. We will probably do a few sessions together starting soon.

This was a great weekend of friends, family, rest and relaxation. On Friday, I drove out to Westminster to visit my best friend Anna. It was the first time I’ve seen her since I moved back to MD. She’s now teaching at the high school she graduated from in Westminster so we both had many stories to share about our first weeks on the job. I’m so thankful to have such an old friend that I can rely on.

On Saturday, I joined my cousin Erin to celebrate her 21^st birthday at the Howl at the Moon Saloon in the Inner Harbor. I got to see several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and we had a great time! The “Saloon” is a piano bar where two guys trade off singing and playing covers of every song imaginable. It was very entertaining and wonderful company. Happy Birthday Erin!

Sunday was a day of some much needed R&R... slept, watched a movie, read and journaled. By the end of the day, I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the week. Until next week...


Much love,
Caitlin

My Room!!!

The long awaited photos are finally here! We got our new beds this week, so I finally got to put everything in place and I LOVE MY ROOM!!!

This is the view from my door way. As you can see, the door streight back is the bathroom (my own bathroom!) The doorway next to that (with the curtains) leads to my closet and a back utility room that I use for storage. On the right side wall there is another doorway to the "bed room"

the desk area

the dressing area

the bathing area

This one is my favorite...

the sleeping area

I like it so much it gets 2 pictures. Thank you Gramma for the beautiful quilt. This is a great space- it is so pretty and peaceful. 

Last but not certainly not least... The Music Area! I have a music area!

I'm going to go sleep in my wonderful new bed now! Nighty night!

Love,

Caitlin

Stingrays, Sangria and Seafood

So this is primarily a picture blog, but I guess I'm making up for all the excessive words in the first few blogs. I promise I'll write some more next week. In the meantime... enjoy the photos!

Aaron came to visit again and we went to the Aquarium (it is only five dollars after five on fridays!) Aaron took most of the pictures on his iPhone but this one came out...

Stingray

On Saturday, Faith, Rebecca, Aaron and I went to the Fells Point Festival and volunteered at and organization's table selling Sangria-

Faith was in charge of ice and oranges

I filled the cups that Faith gave me

Rebecca handed the Sangria to the nice customers

Aaron was the bouncer (aka. he was checking ID's)

Then we made an amazing dinner of sushi and zucchini crab cakes (without the crab)

Nap Town

Yesterday, Bethany, Rebecca and I went to Annapolis for the Kunta-Kinte Heritage Festival and it was So Much Fun! There were vendors selling jewelry and clothing, local artists and music. 

Some of the tents at the Kunta-Kinte Heritage Festival

Pretty boats on the water

A beautiful print that I bought of a painting by Poncha. It reminded me of all of my music friends at UNH and I smile every time I see it. The colors are actually really bright but the lighting in my room isn't great.

Rebecca, Me and Bethany(left to right) on the dock :-D

It was really helpful for me to see another part of the county I work in and I've decided that Annapolis is one of my favorite cities in the world. I definitely plan to go back.

Today's High's and Low's

High: Being assigned my first client. 

Low: Missing my exit on the way to work and trying to figure out how to turn myself back around.

High: Having a little girl who I'd never met sit on my lap and color with me.

Low: Driving at least fifteen miles in the wrong direction and paying four dollars to go over the Francis Scott Key Bridge TWICE. 

High: Having dinner with my Gramma.

P.S. A special thanks to my Uncle Tony for helping me get where I needed to go.

Getting in the Groove

Hello All,

First of all, welcome, to my new followers. I know there are a few of you. Todays blog might be a little shorter than past blogs- I'm a little tired today, but there are pictures! And, as always, I'll include the important stuff. Some exciting stuff happened at work this past week.  My supervisor told me that I would start doubling with other caseworkers on cases this week! She said that I've been absorbing the material quickly and she feels that I'm ready. I'm looking forward to putting what I've learned so far to work. 

I went with one of the caseworkers to visit the homes of some past Sarah's House clients to see how they are doing and continued to sit in on meetings with other caseworkers. Things also got rolling this week regarding the Family Literacy class. I met with the volunteer who is going to be helping me. She is a retired reading teacher and has helped with the program for several years. We put together a frame work for the first class which I think will be both fun and educational. I'll let you know how it goes. 

On Thursday, I got to go to a symposium hosted by the Community Action Agency, where workers from organizations all over Anne Arundel County gathered to talk about the needs of the poor in the county and the masked poverty that exists in one of the wealthiest counties in the state. I made a great connection there too. Creating Communities, a community arts organization for at-risk youth, presented poems they and written and then played African drums! Right up my ally! I was really excited to see what the organization was doing and wanted to learn more so I contacted the founder. Later that day, we talked on the phone and he expressed his interest in working with families at Sarah's House and was especially interested in the Family Literacy program. So, in a few weeks we are going to meet to talk about how we could collaborate. I'm really excited to work with him and learn more about Creating Communities. Because, as some of you may know, I would eventually like to work with non-profit community arts organizations. 

Another exciting part about this week... Aaron came to visit! After five weeks of moving, me starting work and him starting grad school at George Mason, it was wonderful to see each other. I picked him up at Penn Station after work on Friday and surprised him by taking him to an Orioles game for a belated birthday present. Of course, we were in the cheap seats, but we moved closer after a few innings. 

Our old seats...

Our new seats :-D

Aaron, loved his gift. He's always wanted to go to a game at Camden Yards and (although they are the enemy) he was really excited to see the Yankees play. 

Aaron admiring the ball park

In case you didn't see it, the Yankee's won... BUT the O's were leading most of the game and it was a really fun game to watch.  

Me and Aaron at the game (I tricked him into wearing Orioles colors... or color)

There were even fireworks afterward!

On Saturday we walked around the Inner Harbor for the better part of the day and then came back to the house to prepare for a potluck we hosted at our house. We had people over from past years of Project SERVE, the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and Operation Teach. My friend Steph from Chelmsford is working with OT and she came with a couple of her community members. It was really nice to see her and catch up. 

On Sunday, we went to the Farmers Market which was a lot of fun. We got most of our produce for the week there and walked around looking at all the different stands. It is a very cool place. Then I took Aaron back to the train station a little later in the afternoon. We had a wonderful weekend and we are looking forward to many more visits to come :-)

Okay, so maybe this post wasn't actually any shorter, but that's okay. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Have a great week everyone!

Peace and Love,

Caitlin