Since its been quiet on here. . .

. . . decided I might as well put something. . .


End of September, I took some time off from the shop so I could help Elizabeth. Left the shop on the Thursday prior to head to the range. Worked at the homeless shelter through Monday morning and straight from there went to St. Paul to volunteer. I thought I was going to my apartment that night, so didn't bother packing clothes for two extra days. Taking a break from stuffing folders, Eliz and I went shopping and got some clothes for the next couple days! We called it quits after a pretty long day and headed off to the Hilton to get a good night's sleep. Before I knew it I was waking up to the ringing of the phone. Time to wash up in a type of shower I have never been in before (quite fancy) and time for a busy but fun-filled day. The Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless celebrated their 25th year anniversary! The above picture is of the timeline that people wrote on, showing what has been accomplished since it was first founded.

The newly announced Executive Director of the Coalition: Ms. Elizabeth Christine

Tuesday morning and afternoon was spent at the registration table. The amount of people I met was amazing, the connections I made was phenominal, and all this because I said I would help a sister out! Boy, am I ever glad that I agreed to (and Charlie allowed me to! Thanks Charlie!)!! Tuesday evening there was a gubernatorial forum held. Nine candidates running for Governor were present and strictly talked about homelessness and poverty issues. One of the candidates present was our former US Senator, Mark Dayton.

I had heard the list of speakers who were going to be there, and I was excited to hear one that was scheduled on Wednesday. The picture above is Liz with Karen Diver from Fondu Lac. I had heard her before and was anxious to hear what motivation she was going to give to the group. The conference came to a close, and when I got into my car it hit me, I was thoroughly exhausted. On the way home, I got a text from Charlie saying a box had arrived at the shop for me. With rainy weather for the next few days, and having time off of work, I opted to stay put and relax. I stopped in at the shop and picked up the box and knew I had tons of reading material! I receive newsletters from William Bernhardt, one of my favorite authors, and it stated that he has books for sale. Every book in the box has been autographed and now adorns my bookshelf. But those few days of rainy weather gave me ample opportunity to get some reading in! For those of you who are on facebook, become a fan of the coalition and you can see other pictures from the conference, if you're interested. But Liz didn't put pictures of her on so thought I would here! :)

~jen~