Becoming a Professional

I feel like I have been riding a roller coaster that has ended now that I am home and doing what I love. I started work as a paid copywriter this last Monday, which has helped me feel validated as a person and as a writer. My life hasn't always been so lovely though. This last Friday when I drove passed Skippers; memories from my first job rushed through my mind. I distinctly remember one particular night that was the start of a long line of personal changes that led me to where I am today.

On that night in Skippers, I was charged with the task of cleaning the chowder pot. The chowder pot is a giant cauldron that Skippers uses to make chowder, but it is more than just that. It is the cantankerous sore that belongs to the person who has to close that night and that night it was mine.

As I scrubbed the chowder pot, burnt chowder stubbornly stayed on the walls, pieces of chowder decorated my fishy smelling black outfit and the hot giant pot ceased to get clean. Anger, frustration and desperation swelled within me. I was so done. It was in that desperation though when I set a fire within my heart that would continue to blaze within me for years. That fire's purpose in me was to keep bettering myself, to become a professional and to make it.

It was in that moment late at night when I smelled of seafood and vinegar and nearing my breaking point, that a stern determination began to set in. That stern determination to make it and become a professional writer has finally paid off though. As I drove passed Skippers, five years and two degrees later, it hit me that I did it. I landed a job as a professional copywriter in Lacey. I am home. I am not in Seattle at Marchex. I am not in Tacoma at UWT.  I am home and I am doing what I love. God is amazing.

The Crush Master 450-Watt Black & Deck Blender Review

A review written by Monica Jonen about the blender provided by CSN Stores.com

Anticipation brews as I sit swirling my pink milkshake, than I take a sip and…smile. My sister ingeniously suggested the sweet flavors of Strawberry, Cherry, Pineapple, Cocoanut and Banana for the milkshake. Each flavor rolls around in my mouth inevitably blending. ‘This must be what pink tastes like!’ I think to myself. Pink is my favorite color and so this thought makes me exceedingly happy.

The machine that allowed me “taste” pink today was the Black & Decker Crush Master 450-Watt Blender. I recently ordered it from http://www.csnstores.com/Black-and-Decker-BL10450H-BND2182.html and it came within a week of ordering it! It arrived on the weekend, while I was out socially playing, and so I let my sister and mother open to test it out first. They are very happy with it, except for the confusing buttons and its’ instruction manual.

I believe the most confusing button is the Hi/Low button. It is a simple gray button that you just push, but communicates nothing. There is no indication as to whether you are blending at high or low speeds except for the sound of your blending. In the instructions manual it says, “Select to change speed between High and Low. The word will appear on the LCD screen to show which speed is being used” However, there is no LCD screen on the blender to tell me what speed I am using. This is frustrating, especially since the instructions manual doesn’t match up to the product.

The other point of frustration is that there are two sets of blending speeds. The ones on top and ones on bottom of the gray buttons, both which serve different purposes (puree, blend, liquefy, crumb, beat, etc). You can’t switch from the top to the bottom buttons though because it doesn’t say how to do that in the so called “instructions manual”.

The directions aren’t very detailed and do not communicate very much, except for that this is a blender, don’t stick your hand in it and turn it on. These are instruction manual problems though, and while tied to the product, (it just means they don’t pay their technical copywriters enough doe). My mother also pointed out that there are three different model numbers which indicates that these instructions could be for any one of those. There is nothing to indicate what model we have though.

I am actually very impressed with the blender itself. The blender jar is a very tough, thick, and durable glass (perfect for a blonde klutzy destructible force like me). On one side of the jar, it gives measurements for cups and ounces, while on the other side, it gives liter measurements. This is very handy for a recipe stickler…not me…but for someone who is of course.

The blades in the jar seem to be pretty durable, sharp, and strong. They are long and have crushed up our over-frozen ice cream into perfectly creamy milky mixtures.  Just think…with this Crush Master, I can crush ice and make smoothies! This will go over very well during the three days of our Northwest summer when everyone is salivating for an icy smoothie.

And so now you know who to come to during the summer time for hydration. If you are looking for a basic blender though that will serve you blending needs, I would definitely suggest the 2015 version of the Crush Master when it comes out.

Cubes and Interior Decorating

So with my new job I have a  "cube" as everyone calls it. So far, I've put three pink things in it, but I would love to decorate it with wall and art decor. I think I'll get it from CSN stores too because they have free shipping on orders of $69 or more and their A+ BBB reviewed.
I don't know why cubes are gray, it is the sleepiest most boring color. I need some color, because I have a colorful personality! I was thinking about a painting, not a Salivor Dali painting, but maybe a sunset or a picture of the south sound. Something to give me peace and keep my dreaming. I love shopping for fun things like decor, but I prefer to do it online.
Speaking of dreaming, stay tuned for an upcoming review. 

Treasures Found in Cinderella's Closet

A mother and three teenage girls walk into Cinderella’s Closet. Glittering beautiful gowns of all colors hang in rows along one wall, while jeweled shoes and purses line the other. Surrounded by what looks like expensive gowns and accessories, the mother nervously pulls a volunteer aside.
“Is it true? Is it really true that my girls can borrow the dresses on scholarship? Because I can’t afford the rental fee,” the mother asks.
“Yes,” the volunteer replies.
Tears begin to well in her eyes as she hugs the volunteer.
Yes is the answer that everyone receives when they come to Cinderella’s Closet and cannot afford to rent a gown for prom. Cinderella’s Closet is a non-profit service organization that promotes self worth in females by lending dresses and everything a girl or woman needs to go to any dance or special event.
Often times, Cinderella’s Closet is the last hope for some girls and without receiving scholarship dresses they would not be able to go their high school prom. You may be wondering what the importance of a prom is to a girl. To Renata Hansen, founder and president of Cinderella’s Closet, it means building up a young girl’s self esteem by making her feel beautiful.
In today’s society, young women are bombarded with images of anorexic models and constantly attacked with ads telling them how to lose weight or wear more makeup.
“My goal is to give women self esteem so that they can see themselves differently. I try to be as positive as I can and give the message that you are beautiful,” Hansen said.
Girls that receive scholarship dresses do have to write why they want to go to the dance and what it means to them. One girl wrote, “My parents both lost their jobs, my brother is living somewhere else and I am a fifth wheel. Thank you for helping me feel beautiful.”
Helping Cinderella’s Closet fundraise is YEF, an organization that supports youth in their pursuit of excellence. YEF’s mission is closely aligned with Cinderella’s Closet mission of helping youth which is why Hansen joined YEF.
“I just saw it as a win-win and I especially liked that they are helping youth. I also see it as a variety of ways to raise money. Felt like a no-brainer yah know?” Hansen said.
If you would like to support Cinderella’s Closet you can volunteer, donate dresses, go online to http://ccn.yefsite.com/, and go to The Masquerade Ball at The Landmark in Tacoma May 14th, 20100. You can get 10% off a tux at Top Hats in Tacoma for the event and your ticket includes dinner, an auction, live music, dancing, wine, and dessert.
What message are you sending to your daughter?

Whats Trending: Sock Monkeys!

So to lighten things up a bit, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the new sock monkey trend.

Here is an example, I was shopping on CSN stores, (it's another Amazon that has contemporary coffee tables to sock monkey slippers) and I noticed these slippers!

When I was at the Tacoma Food and Gift Festival, the sock monkey's were everywhere! Kudos to CSN for keeping up on the trends, but you know who I think started it? A couple guys from Canada. They were at the Tacoma Food and Gift Festival last year and had these sock monkey hats.

What makes them so popular? Is it that they are a classic comforting character or is it that it's such a funny thing, it makes a perfect gift for a kid. I was tempted to buy one at the festival, but find it hard as an adult, to buy it. My boyfriend might wear a sock monkey hat or slippers, seeing as he sees life a little lighter than I do, but still I don't know if its a reasonable buy. I think it is just something popular, classic and trending right now. Of course the definition of trending, includes something that people are no doubt...buying.

Homeless By Choice Because He Was Homeless By Default

Disclaimer: Sensitive material  

Roy Juarez Jr's dad was a roofer by trade and his hero. One day, his dad promised him a fishing trip. The next day, at age 7, his dad left with his cousins, family and dog to go get “ice”. They left Roy at his aunt’s house and came back 2 days later to gloat about what a great time the trip was. That was his first lesson, how to be angry, to hate and hold a grudge. So he built a relationship with is mom. But in the middle of the night, she would call out, “Me Ho, Me Ho” which means “my son, my son,” than she’d cry out in Spanish for help. The last night he remembered, his dad broke her jaw. 

So his family moved into hiding from place to place trying to avoid his abusive dad, but his dad always found them though. The police were at the house so much for domestic calls that the cop started dating his mom. The cop said come live with me, but I don’t want any kids. So at 14, Troy became homeless and a couch surfer. He had a 9 year old sister and a 2 year old brother to take care of.

Family after family adopted him and would tell him, “You are just like a son to me” and he said “No, you don’t know me!” and built barrier after barrier. Finally, he took a notepad and pen and wrote two letters to be read at his funeral.  One letter was to his dad and he said, “I forgive you dad.” After Roy finally did learn the  lesson of forgiveness through mentors, he  went to college, graduated and got a job. 

One day Roy’s boss tells him “If you work for me, you’ll never do what you are called to do. In three months you don’t have a job.” Fresh out of college that is a frightening thing to hear, but his boss was right.

So he asked God, “What do you want from me?” That night Roy had a dream that he was walking into an arena with young kids and a band playing come on in and together we can make a difference. Then he went to Denny’s to work on his tour.  His tour is 24 months and he is going across the nation to tell his story. Check out his site here, http://homelessbychoice.com/.

Roy believes in young people, encourages young people to keep on dreaming and wants to remind adults to never make children feel like a burden.  

“If you grow up in a hard life and learn lessons you’ll never learn in a book. The greatest lesson is forgiveness and becoming the change you wanted to see in the first place,” Roy Juarez said.  Let’s make some change for the homeless kids in Olympia.

You can help by donating socks, underwear, sleeping bags, tarps, flash lights and winter coats to Standup For Kids-Olympia, http://su4k.yefsite.com/. These items are not just on a one time giveaway, but a bridge for volunteers to communicate with homeless kids and build relationships with them, relationships that lead to trusting volunteers to help them get off the streets. 

Here are Some Fast Facts about Homelessness:

• 13 kids die of disease, suicide or abuse every day on the street
• There are currently an estimated 1.3 million homeless and street kids in America
• 2/3 kids on the street try to commit suicide  
• Children makeup 27 percent - the fastest growing segment - of the U.S. homeless population.

http://www.standupforkids.org/about/faqs.aspx

Bringing Up A Leader

To pick up where I left off, at Capitol Playhouse, when a new kid walks through the door, they are walking into an accepting community. Someone who is shy and may not say boo to the other kids in the hallway at school will find friends and get the chance to sing and become a leader at KIK. One such leader is Alayna Deatherage.

Alayna grew up singing with Kids in Koncert. In her first year, she sang at the 9/11 memorials. She was eight years old. In the following years she sang in places around the world, including Japan, France, Washing DC and Disneyland. She turns eighteen next month and is now the choir president. This is her last year with the group.

“It’s always good to make connections with people in other countries,” Alayna says. Even now she is still in contact with her Japanese host family and is good friends with some other youth from France.
Connections in Japan and friends from France only come after working hard to raise funds needed to travel. Last year, the kids sold YEFkard discount cards. A YEFkard membership provides discounts at local businesses.

This year they are encouraging supporters to visit their new YEFsite, an online community and fundraising website from Youth Enrichment Foundation. (KIK.YEFsite.com) Friends and family can visit the interactive social website to stay informed about Kids in Koncert and show support by purchasing from an array of items such as coffee, movie tickets, buttons and other merchandise including the new, even better, YEFkard.

Kids in Koncert is a community where kids from ages 8 to 18 spend a lot of time together singing, traveling and developing close friendships built on trust and accountability that last for a lifetime. The YEFsite social community takes the close knit friendships online, bringing friends, family and other supporters into the KIK world. Check out the site here, http://KIK.YEFsite.com to support the Kids in Koncert community.
This post was previously posted at YEFTalk's blog.