Let me apologise in advance for the typo's. I just put on a new set of nails today because I couldn't take the ugly nails any longer and apparently I have forgotten how to type with them.
Well I got a new church calling. Let me rephrase that. I got an additional church calling. I still have my regular one in young women's. I am now the stake young women's camp craft director as well. Basically that means that I need to come up with a craft for 100 girls to do, make them into kits so it can easily be completed by them in less than an hour. Camp is 5 days long and I will teach the craft projects a couple times a day to small groups of girls. I also need to have smaller craft projects available for girls who want to come make something on their free time. Another big part of my job is camp decor. This years theme is "Like a Star", so I have to make things that go along with that to decorate the stage in the amphitheater, the walls in the lodge as well as table cloths and centerpieces in the lodge. (16+ tables) Plus each of the camp sites (which are groupings of TENTS) all need a little something to tie in the theme. I haven't been to girls camp in 25 years and it was in cabins then. I'm really not nervous about my responsibilities. It's a lot of work and I know I can handle that part. Actually I'm excited to see what I come up with. It's the camping part however, I am worried about. Can't you just picture me....a 40 year old woman with 80 year old body parts camping for 5 days and only being able to shower ONE time. Yup! Only ONE! Also keep in mind I live in Arizona and camp is June 30th-July 4th. I may not survive. PLUS I snore....loud! I have restless leg syndrome and I whine all night in pain while sleeping in a good bed. Who would want to sleep by me? I don't even like sleeping by me. After you're done laughing, could you please offer me some suggestions on how to get through this. And I don't blame you for laughing...I laughed when they asked me to do this too. I'm going to have to get myself in good shape between now and then and pray for strength. Trying to stay positive. I do feel lucky. I seem to be the winner of the Irish AND British National Lotteries several times a day.
Oh wait.....you get those emails too???? Sheesh! :o)
35 comments:
When I read this I thought... What a perfect calling for you! But I hear you on the camping part! You'll probably survive though... barely! :)
Yes, I should be RICH by now with all the Irish Lottery's I've won! And today I noticed that I'm now winning the British Lottery too! Woohoo! LOL
Yeah, sorry, I can't help I HATE camping unless it's in a hotel! ;)
I know you will not only survive you'll flourish! Oh and you know you can buy those bag showers where the water heats up in the sun? Sneak one in and you'll get at least 2 showers! ;)
You are going to make this absolutely wonderful for everyone!!!
I'm not a camper either so I'm no help there. I can't wait to see what you come up with though. You are so crafty I bet its going to be amazing.
Oh boy!! Feel for you but I know they picked the best crafter/decorator in the Stake!!! Can't wait for pics...
Oh my I know you will do it and do it with aplomb Jolene! I'm not a real enthusiastic camper myself either.
Sounds like alot of work but alot of fun too. I know you will do great and hope you make it through the week. We go to church camp too but in cabins and it is so much fun,but we are ready to go home by the end.
Congratulations Jolene! I was extended a three year calling as the stake camp crafts specialist and loved it - I served two years but this year they have moved me (up?) to the Adult YCL Leader. I am missing so much preparing crafts. Just yesterday my daughter commented that this time last year we had craft kits covering the living room! Although I am so LOVING my new job! It is such a blessing to me and truly I'm enjoying the ycl's.
Have you signed up for the lds yw camp yahoo group yet? Lots of terrific ideas to be found there. You will do great! I'm excited to see what you come up with!
Well, that's what happens when the crafts you do for your regular lessons are so dang amazing! You'll be awesome, though! Unfortunately, I was just released from YW, so I don't get to go to camp this year. (which is good and bad I guess!)
Oh gosh, what fun! NOT. Camping now is any hotel that doesn't have room service. :) You will do great, Jolene! I know that. :)
I apparently paid off a $900,000 bill several times this week! I'm so relieved to know where all our money is going, but so confused that I didn't actually sign the check. hmmmm. LOL!
-Tember
Very cute post ... Irish lottery, hu? lol. You are the perfect person for the job -- I still have some of my camp crafts as a kid ... we loved that stuff! I'm sure you will make it wonderful. And as for sleeping, just bring one of those big foam mattresses you can lay over whatever they expect you to sleep on, hahaha! :)
LOL...you are so funny! You will do well at this new job as you do with everything you do. As far as suggestions on how to get through it...would it be inappropriate to sneak a few martinis into your tent? LOL...just kidding. Take your lottery winnings and go to a HOTEL!!!
I would stongly recommend an air mattress! Maybe something like this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3866336.
Doesn't that look much better than sleeping on the ground?
Just remember sleeping on air like that makes you colder, which might be nice in the Arizona heat! Where I grew up in Idaho it still got cold at night in the mountains even in the summer so I would put an extra blanket under me.
Good luck with the camping, but you'll do great with everything else. Congrats on the calling!
Oh.my.Jolene. I will DEFINITELY be praying for you. I NEVER went to girls camp as a YW and the only time I went as an adult--we went to Lomia in cabins and I was 7.5 months pregnant (i was in the stake YW at the time) The crafting for you will be a piece o cake!
Good luck with the camping end of your calling!! I know you...so I would definatley recommend a air mattress. A good one though. That will help with you getting a good, as best as possible camping, night sleep. The craft end will be easy for you!! You are so creative.
They have picked the right person! Can't wait to see what you come up with. Camping can be such a wonderful experience. Bring a good air mattress and lots of pain medicine...just in case you wake up sore in the morning. Plan to skip the make-up and anything that will make the time harder (just think how good you will look to everyone the next time they see you with make-up)! And enjoy the creation of the Lord....and the giggly girls who will remember this experience for the rest of their lives. So good of you to do so much for others! :)
You will absolutely rock this calling! You are so creative! I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Last year we camped in tents. It wasn't too bad, except I froze the first night. I highly recommend the deluxe air mattress and having your own tent (if they will let you). We weren't allowed to share tents with the YW anyway but the girls would sneak in at night and sing lullabies to us. Such sweet girls!
Hopefully you can bring your own tent and one of those great air mattresses. Getting a good night's sleep makes a huge difference at camp. Especially for 40 year olds like you and me!
I think that's a great additional calling. I loved going to girl's camp as a leader. I wouldn't worry about the snoring or showering. No one showers, so all are stinky, and hopefully they are all so tired they won't notice anyone snoring. At least that's what I told myself when I went 4 years ago. I'm sure you'll come up with some fantabulous craft and you'll be the most popular person at camp.
Enjoy!
WTG Jolene, those girls are so lucky to have you and your crafy being with them.
I bet you'll do well with camping, you seem to adapt to things quite well.
The Irish lottery huh, I guess they had some left overs after I won a few months back LOL.
WTG Jolene, those girls are so lucky to have you and your crafy being with them.
I bet you'll do well with camping, you seem to adapt to things quite well.
The Irish lottery huh, I guess they had some left overs after I won a few months back LOL.
Good luck on your new calling!!!You will do great with the craft part because you are so creative, with the camping part, just pack a good matress and pillow and have your own separate tent...You will be so busy that you might just forget about the pain.....LOL
Forget about the pain-I think not!! You will just have to bring your ibuprofen and wake up before everyone to start moving your body so you don't look so stiff in the morning. I know how these Peters bodies work. They suck. You will do great at all the crafts though as usual. Mom should have evened out the talents a little. I feel a little short changed.
Oh you're such a trooper Jolene! You'll make it through just fine!
Jolene,
I was assistant camp director last summer. I was in charge of a lot of things, including crafts. One thing we did that I think you may like is make journals out of paper bags. I was trying to have them make something that they wouldn't normally make because it's boring to do the same thing every year. they have to write in their journals while they are there, so I thought why not have a special camp journal? The girls had alot of fun with them. just an idea
I think you will enjoy your new calling
oh, thought I'd add... we camped in tents and I was pregnant... I have faith in you!
You are a very BRAVE woman!! I would be scared to death to think that I could only shower once in the summer heat...I'll be praying for you...big time!!!! Keep us posted on the projects you design. I'm sure they will be fabulous!!!
Happy belated anniversary and a very happy birthday to you!!! 40 is easy!!
I LOVE camping! Where are you guys camping at?? If I'm familiar with the site, I might be able to offer a tip or two. Girl, can you believe all that you've done in the last year or so?? And YES!! We'd have a ball being neighbors!
: ))
xox
VB
Hi! I just happen to have been camping for the last four summers. Three times in a cabin, and the last time in a tent. So I know exactly what you are going to miss in a tent that we normally take for granted in a building:
LIGHT: one that hangs. xtra batteries.
WATER: to drink.
BROOM: small. trust me. or am I the only one compelled to sweep out dead bugs and crud? hate that stuff in my bed! Ewww.
MAT: at door of tent. keeps out the crud.
AIR MATTRESS!!! Thick one! So it won't pop the first night.
AIR PUMP for mattress. electric or battery operated.
OFF! Bugs are NOT our friends.
ROPE! To string between trees to hang up your stuff, wet OR dry. (takes the place of shelves, kinda)
A CHAIR! cuz we get SO DANG TIRED of sitting on the ground or on our mattress!
METAL FOIL BLANKET thingy. They're two bucks, look like metal foil or an astronaut blanket, fold into your pocket, BUT THAT FIRST NIGHT WHEN YOU ARE FREEZING YOUR TOES OFF IT'S A LIFE SAVER! Oh my gosh. I really thought I was going to freeze to death at night. Tucked that into my sleeping bag and was warm as toast! You NEED ONE. Good to wrap around you at camp fire or on night walks too. Anything that's covered blocks bug bites.
SIGN: bear sleeping here. You know. To explain the snoring. hee.
CRAFTS: At the craft shack these are the HOT items: lanyards, picture frames (plain flat ones to paint ... with little wood punch outs of bears, deer, etc. to glue on as decorations), anything you can paint, leather work (key chains, bracelets) popsicle sticks to make your own boat (plus hot glue gun) everyone gets 30 sticks and one sheet of paper (for a sail) Race at end of week is a highpoint of camp. tie die shirt. and I love that paper bag journal idea and the web site idea. oh yes... and beads. to string for necklaces.
OH YEAH! And for the cabins everyone makes their own "coat of arms". You could do that for tents too.
I hope you are feeling better. I can relate to sitting in the car and crying non stop. It gets us all sometimes.
And I don't usually commit to mailing things because I take FOREVER to mail them, but I want your prize, so I think I will do that 4 x 6 card thingy. Just a simple one. Cuz you aren't choosing the BEST one, right? You are just drawing one out? I hope. Otherwise I don't stand a chance! ha.
Could you tell me how to get a counter or mappy thing so you know how many people are looking at your blog? Please?
Love you!!!
Wendy
the overly long commenter
(but I had information to share this time, dang it. Lol!)
perhaps you outta get your own tent, LOL
I'm the winner of the Irish Luck not you...LOL
Happy Anniversary, 22 years is awesome!
I think your calling is really cool! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I might want to be a camper...but I don't think I could make do with the one shower/bath thing.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY A COUPLE OF DAYS EARLY, MY DEAR FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love you much,
Tember
Jolene I just had to leave you a comment today because I know you went through this not to long ago. I have a cold a bad cold and it is driving me crazy. See I'm a doer not a sitter and right now I can't do much of anything but sit. Everything around me is falling apart!! I hate this being sick is the worst. I knew if any one would understand you would....Thanks for the listening ear
Oh how I miss being able to gets nails! Oh well, I can still get pedicures!
My daughter is going camping for the first time this year...should be interesting - she is such a girly girl...I don't know how she'll get through not being able to shower every day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
Love!
Wendy
Hey I found your blog! Cute! Great wayto keep in touch! Here's our website: www.malinwarrenlewisfamily.blogspot.com
Take care,
Sarah
Post a Comment