Fire Bugs

To start off the week we had Fire Extinguisher training. Everyone from the building including peanut factory, home storage, Bishop's storehouse, employment and family services gathered at the back of the building. Our instructor instructed us in the use of chemical and dry ice fire extinguishers. We the had the exciting opportunity to put out 2 fires. He poured gas on top of water and then lit it. We then had 2 use the extinguishers to put the fire out. A good diversion for the day.

 The gathering

 The instruction

 The fire!

 Sister Gaughan putting our 1 of her fires

 Stacey from the peanut butter factory putting out her fire

 Elder Gaughan ditto

Matt from family services ditto

Glorious Day Off!

January 19th we were closed for Martin Luther Kings Birthday so I made plans to go see the sights. First on my list was the Holocaust museum in downtown Houston in their museum district. I left early to make sure I wouldn't have any traffic problems and was the first one thru the doors. By the time I left, the museum was packed. It was very sad, disturbing and very moving. I read all the articles and watched part of the survivors film but the stories became to horrible to listen to so I left. I was there over 3 hours and it isn't a very large building. Just so much to learn. It's hard to believe mans inhumanity to man but it continues today. After learning all I did I can see that Hitler was a catalyst to the horrors we see today. He set the bar and monsters are trying to outdo him in our day.
After the museum I went on a long drive up into the rolling hills north of Houston. It was beautiful even in the winter. After I left the big city behind I found myself wandering down tree lined highways passing thru little and very little towns. I wanted to see where my candidates who live in these parts experience life. It made me miss home with the quiet and farm land and animals. Once I passed thru Livingston after stopping at Charlie's Family restaurant, where I had a sneaky suspicion they used Miracle Whip on my BLT, I continued on driving instead of turning around and heading back home. I passed thru more small dots on the map and finally stopped at Carrigan. I visited a small roadside fruit stand and bought raw honey, tomatoes and mawhaw jelly. The proprietor was so nice to talk to. She was telling me it was a great place to live but the cost of living was so high. Why a house cost as much as $40,000. Outrageous she thought. HAHA!!! I know many who would jump at the chance to buy a house for that much, so funny. I promised her I would be back. I then took highway 190 back to Huntsville passing over Trinity Lake. It looks kind of shallow but a nice size lake. Blue water but very light blue which made me think it was shallow. The drive to Huntsville was also very relaxing and all too soon ended. Back down a busy highway 45 to home. I was going to get gas but the traffic was backed up all the way from The Woodlands to my exit due to an awful semi accident. But that's the way the freeway traffic is around Houston, AWFUL!

 This is a cement roof that rises from the ground up. Each square represents a town that was completely destroyed by the Nazis. This is just a partial list. It is huge and you can't even see it all.

 If I had thought sooner I would have taken a picture of the rail car when I was looking at it. It is small so it is very hard to believe the Nazis crammed over 100 people in it.

 On the road again

And again

What do I DO all day?

So what do I do. Sometimes I ask myself that exact question. There are days I feel like I'm just filling a chair. There is lots to learn and I am getting there. People that are looking for work usually come into the office to create a profile on LDS Jobs. I help them do this. Then I have a list of people I am assigned to work with. The hardest part is communicating with them. I can send out email after email, job lead after job lead and receive 0 replies. That is very frustrating. I can't help them if they don't respond. And then there are those that never complete their profile past 2%. That gives me absolutely nothing to go on. I was getting a bit down feeling I wasn't accomplishing anything. I prayed and prayed and counseled with the Lord. I came to the realization that I needed to change my attitude. At first I was asking for the attitude adjustment here and there. Then I finally got the message he was trying to tell me. I needed to work on my attitude ALL the time. Once I started doing that everything changed. My candidates returned my calls and emails. They were getting jobs! Not because of anything I was doing but because the program, which is Heavenly inspired, works! I started with over 50 candidates and now I am down to 30. Three more are just waiting for their job to confirm or the results of interviews. It has been a huge turn around for me. I am much more positive and able to make the phone calls I was hesitant about before. So things are looking up. That doesn't mean I don't get bored. I do. There is only so much I can do each day for these people. So I fill my time in other productive ways. I have cleaned out every drawer and cupboard in our office. I threw away lots of junk. At least I think it is junk. Somethings Alex rescued. I vacuum, I walk, I visit other people in the building. Anything to keep busy, ANYTHING!

Our schedule goes something like this: Monday - 10:00 to noon - Staff meeting. Update candidate profiles. After work dinner with the Gaughans who only come up to the office from theirs on Monday
                                                               Tuesday - Career Workshop 9:00am to 1:00pm. I teach the first hour and a half. Most of the time it's just Sister Bray and I all day because Alex and Steve are at other centers. Steve is here about 2 Tuesdays a month. Rest of the day I work at finding job openings, read or work on my family history.
                                                               Wednesday - Career Workshop - 9:00am to 1:00pm. I teach the last 30 minutes. That may change if there is no replacement for Elder Mathews when he finishes his mission in February. Rest of the day is same as day before.
                                                                Thursday - Same work as the previous afternoons.
                                                                Friday - Ditto
Every 6 weeks we teach the missionaries that are going home a mini workshop at the church building next door. That is kind of fun. Sometimes I get away to go to the bank, get gas or take myself out to eat. Not very exciting but it pays the bills, haha!

At least I have great things to look at all day in my little cubical.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve Toni Skyped me from Kevin's house so I could watch her, Trevor and Sophie along with Kevin and his kids open their Christmas presents. That was very cool. So glad for Skype. They had a great party with Raquel and her children, Jamie and Dave and their boys, Dale and his family and Santa. They had a wonderful time! I watched football . We only had to work half a day so the afternoon and evening were pretty nice.

On Christmas Day I took the day and drove by myself to Galveston. I love to drive and it was a clear day and NO traffic. I left at 9:00am and drove to the ocean front. I saw lots of tank farms and shopping centers and lots of flat land on the way there. There is a bridge from the mainland to the island of Galveston. I parked in different places and walked along the beach and took pictures. For lunch I stopped at a Dennys. I sat at the counter because it was just me. This very nice man sat down next to me and we started talking. His name was Daniel and he was from Toledo. He was now living in Houston for the last year and working as a physical therapist and loving his work. The crazy thing was that he was in the Marines and when he left he moved to Sacramento to go to school at Sac City college. He worked himself thru school at the Somerset Nursing home in West Sac. Sooooo crazy. We talked about all the things we remembered and then we talked about his sister who he wants to have move down to Houston. I gave him the Gaughans business card for the Employment Center near where he lives so his sister could contact them. It was a very nice lunch and the company was superb. and I bought his lunch. I was very appreciative to have such a pleasant dining partner. I got home later that afternoon and watched more football. 

I received some great gifts from my family and friends. Amber and Dale sent me a jar with some silly things in it except for a really pretty blue star. Toni sent me a picture she made with Sophie's hands and feet. Cynthia sent me a tray, a small stocking, a pen and a barn star. Mandy sent me some music and a book. Lena sent me pictures. I was just right.

 These houses are up on stilts due to storms, about 25 feet high I think.

 These are interlocking massive concrete blocks to reinforce the sea walls

 The water is not blue, more muddy than anything

 Concrete sea wall with the pavers below to reinforce.

 This plaque is to commemorate the lives lost in 1900 when a hurricane just about wiped Galveston off the map.

 This statue was created to also memorialize those that lost their lives in 1900

 They are hard to see but there are oil tanks just off shore

 This amusement park is like the one in Santa Monica that is built on a pier over the ocean

 From Mandy

 From sister Bray - she wrote this book with her daughter

 Make your own pesto in a jar from Sister Gaughan

 From Lean Rose

Toni made this with Sophie. It says love but I didn't know that till Toni told me.

 From Cynthia

From Dale and Amber

My FAVORITE, Pasta Bowl!