$90

my thoughts are all over the place. been a crazy and stressful and long week at work. i've got so much going on. i'm a bit drained emotionally and mentally. hurting physically because i did the Body Buffer on the Nike Training Club app on my sweet new iPhone. hot. dog. intermediate kicked.my.butt.big.time. i am sore. but a good feeling sore...i think. also, learned how to use twitter a bit, thanks to #lilcpa...i think i might start typing and speaking in hashtags now. got an extra bit of motivation this week also. decided that i am sick of trying to finish up school. i know quitting now would be redic. so, job number 2 will come into the mix soon. and. when i get the job, all 4 classes will be complete by may. and hopefully i will still be sane. :)


i discovered that my passion is still to raise awareness about human trafficking. to be an advocate. abolitionist. speaker. i long, to the point of tears, to be able to have a job one day where i am doing advocacy and/or policy work directly related to human trafficking. it is a future dream that i will fight to get one day because there is no way the Lord would put such a passion in my heart only for me to keep it inside. i know it might take time to get to that dream, but in the mean time, i can still be an advocate. abolitionist. and speaker.
    ++the average price to buy a human being is $90. ninety dollars. to buy a person. a living.breathing.person. someone created by the hands of God. someone with worth. and value.
    ++the average age of a trafficking victim in the united states is 13. thirteen years old. my sister is almost 13. my baby sister. someone else's baby sister. someone's daughter.granddaughter.bestfriend. the average age means that there are girls younger than 13. and in many cases, the younger girls are worth more money.
    ++human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world next to drugs. because children. boys.and.girls. are able to be used over.and.over.and.over.and.over. again. it generates $32 billion dollars a year. thiry two billion dollars. 
    ++pornography plays a role. some girls are trafficked and forced to be in porn movies. some men translate image into action- they 'watch porn, seeing violent and aberrant behaviors on film, then they crave the realization of what they have seen. Those obsessions drive them to the prostituted women and girls to get what they have seen depicted so graphically.' Janice Course
    ++the word PIMP is used in our culture alot. used in such a way to say that things are cool. a pimp is not cool. throwing the word around like it is nothing, makes it seem like there is nothing wrong with being a pimp. i see books on amazon on 'how to be a pimp' and books on how pimping is so great. seriously. i was in target last weekend and a boy, maybe 10, was wearing a shirt that said 'green shirts are for pimps.' really. green shirts. young boy, do you know what a pimp is? do you know that he beats and abuses women and forces them to have sex with multiple men in order to get money for.himself? do you know that he buys her things and tells her how wonderful she is all to make her believe that he actually loves her, so that she will have sex with filthy men on a daily basis? father of this young boy, is that something you want your young son to stand for? 


the only way to stop this is to stop the demand. men. listen and learn. be a voice to other men. we need men to be abolitionists. we need men to raise awareness. check out the demi moore and ashton kutcher's new campaign- real men don't buy sex. i'll be honest- the videos are cheesy, the message is true. (http://DemiandAshton.org/). this is not okay. there is no way that someone can be silent after hearing more about this issue. it is time to do something. tell other people. get involved with some of the great organizations doing work to fight this injustice. do to more research. dosomething. 


i'm all worked up. i need my cedarville girls here to rant with me. i feel like i should have some profound closing thought. i just needed to get all that out. hopefully some of you will be stirred to action. and i'd love to talk about ways to do that. maybe i'll write that in a new post...
now that you have seen (heard), you are responsible. faith without deeds is dead.

i love bacon

so, it's been busy. i've had every intention of writing a new post multiple times, but alas, as you can see, nothing really. so, i had a weekend of making things last weekend. made banana bread. made a rocking new necklace and earrings (photos to come). i made chocolate chip bacon cookies with powdered sugar glaze and bacon crumbles. yes. twas an amazing marriage of sweet and savory and delicious. check it out. try them before you diss them-the recipe is below. i had no maple extract, but powdered sugar, vanilla, and some milk work wonders.-- quality posts coming soon!

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon hazelnut extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 lbs bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked in whole strips
• 2 cups powdered sugar, for the maple glaze
• 1 tablespoon maple extract, for the maple glaze
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, for the maple glaze
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, for the maple glaze

Total Time: 1 3/4 h

1. 1 In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, extracts and eggs until creamy. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together.
2. 2 Dough will be slightly soft. If you want a more cakelike cookie, add another 1/2 cup of flour. Mix in chocolate chips and crumbled bacon. Stir until well integrated.
3. 3 Place dough on a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
4. 4 Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. 5 Remove dough from fridge. Pinch off 1 ½ -inch pieces and roll into balls. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls in the center slightly with your fingers. Bake about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack while you make the glaze.
6. 6 Maple-Cinnamon Glaze: Mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon maple extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon cinnamon with enough water to make a thick glaze, about 3 tablespoons. Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. If lumpy, use a whisk.
7. 7 Spread a small amount of glaze on top of each cookie and top with a small piece (1 to 1 ½ inches) of crisp bacon

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/bacon-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-maple-cinnamon-glaze-299238#ixzz1Pa7GHHE8

check check

new blog post about Naples on the CGI blog:
http://centerforglobalimpact.blogspot.com/

byTavi gets a tan

so, it's been a while since i last posted.
i'm currently on vacation, in Florida! i've been lounging on the beach, tanning, running on the beach, doing some work here and there and had a great open house on Wednesday.


work has been crazy, but literally so great. we still are working on inventory. we are taking a break while i am on vacation. we we have almost 2,000 scarves to inventory. it has been a fast three weeks. we are getting orders for purses/totes almost daily, meeting with new individuals who are interested in byTavi, and continuing to do inventory. it is so exciting to see how quickly things are moving and we are so ready to keep things going. 

down here in Florida, things are happening as well!! our dear family friends arranged to have an open house for byTavi with the help of some wonderful ladies, Eleaner and Sandi. Eleaner opened up her salon, Gemini Moon, and Sandi (a stylist) and Laura (family friend) organized it all. Like all events, things of course went wrong, and i had to be creative and work some things out, but- did the LORD ever show up and show out. at least 20 people were in and out between 6 and 8pm. i met some wonderful ladies and the door was opened for other parties and events here in Naples. how much did the party make for byTavi...


$1269.81 during a 2 hour party!
holla for lots of dollas!!
and i think more will sell before i leave on Sunday!
check out the photos below. 


next task when i get home- tackling scarves, getting our website looking pretty, meetings, and hopefully LOTS of parties!!

  Laura, Eleaner, and Sandi :)

big kid job

this was my first week at my real, big kid job. it was amazing.

on Monday, we had some meetings, saw our NEW OFFICE, and had our first business meeting. The rest of the week was full of mostly inventory. this is what the basement looked like AFTER we organized things a bit

needless to say, we have alot of inventory. we got all of that counted and moved to our storage facility and even got some hung up on racks. i'll put pictures of our progress at the end!

this is my almost dream job. this is a pretty stinking amazing job for someone without a degree, not necessarily looking...just evidence of the Lord at work! i have gotten up everyday, excited for work. i've come home every night super tired from work, especially yesterday. i just keep thinking how CRAZY it is to have this job. it is literally almost a year since i first heard about CGI and now i'm working for them!

this organization is amazing. they are a two year old non-profit, just by the executive director, a small board, and a group of volunteers. now, they have added an accountant/boss over the byTavi line, myself and a partner working with me- Whitney! even though CGI is two years old...they are still a baby non-profit, still figuring out how to do things. we had a meeting yesterday to talk about making our website look stellar and what needs to be added and taken away to do that.

this is so exciting, because this is another thing i wanted to do...be part of a starting non-profit/start one myself. it is exciting to be able to think through ideas, see them be implemented, start new things...

..................................................................................

Center for Global Impact is a faith-based 501(c)3 relief and development organization, registered in the State of Indiana, designed to creatively connect financial and human resources with social and humanitarian projects around the world. As an organization we are committed to helping people in the West understand the reality, complexity and ramifications of poverty in the developing world.  We then create opportunities for involvement based upon their unique gifts, skills, interests, and networks.

...................................................................................

sweet. sweet organization. my project- i love. marketing and relationship coordinator for byTavi. byTavi was started by Tavi. Her husband died of AIDS and she needed a way to provide for her children. CGI met her they found out she wanted to learn how to sew. They purchased her a sewing machine and what started as a one woman operation, has now turned into 37 women, as of Wednesday the 20th! The ladies make AMAZING bags. quality pieces. the money from the bags goes to the women to pay their salary. this allows them to provide for their families, women who have children at risk of being sold to brothels, women and families that are just one step away, hanging on by a thread. this project is looking at their situation and trying to find a holistic option for helping them.

with the byTavi line, Whitney and my job is, at the base level, to sell the purses and totes made by the ladies. we do that by connecting with individuals and organizations to either host parties or purchase the items (we do scarves too) wholesale. we get to go to different events focused on human trafficking, human rights, poverty, micro-finance, and women. we get to meet with a variety of people daily (business meetings!!!) to tell them about what we are doing. we get to meet with people interested in hosting parties, we get to go to these parties. i'm just so stoked about being able to build relationships, explain the importance of what we are doing, and then sell some merch and give back to these women!

it is so exciting to have a job that i love already and i haven't even really been doing what the job title says. if you are interested in hosting a party or have some way to do a wholesale sale, want more info...anything. i love coffee and business meetings and would be delighted to do both! i also love traveling, so we can travel to events and what not also. 

other fun things that come with this job are getting a new office, that i can decorate...and make a trip to IKEA!!! i may move out to a place closer to work. i get to make more connects, meet new people, get big kid money! :)

the Lord is blessing and teaching...habakkuk 1:5...

i heart sushi

my bestie and i made sushi last night. from scratch. and it was pretty stinking good. 

the bestie is leaving for boston in less than a week, and instead of spending loads of money on delicious sushi like usual, we decided to make our own. 

we are now sushi masters. :)

RICE.

 avocado, cucumbers, and crab sticks.

 look how pretty.

OUR FIRST EVER HOME MADE ROLL!!!

 

my first attempt at making the roll....

 failing at cutting... :(

 

but the sushi sous chef quickly becomes a sushi master.

we succeeded at making delicious sushi. definitely not as good as sushi from a restaurant, but it was quite tasty. only a few more days to make more checks off our bucket list of fun things to do before leaving for Boston.

i start my first ever BIG KID JOB on Monday!!!! i can hardly wait. with this big kid job comes new big kid work clothes, new 'hey, i get my own office'- office stuff, new make your room look cool stuff. the next few weeks will be filled with lots of shopping! :) maybe even an IKEA trip!!!!!! 

and florida. don't be sad too much longer. i shall be coming to visit you in just 3 short weeks. i'm tanning now, so i can spend every day on your beach, enjoying your sun and beach breeze.

tis all for now. i have many-a-thoughts that will be coming next week. on the bestie. on the BIG KID JOB. cool shopping finds. seasons. mostly on the big kid job.

i'm a big kid now...almost

it is sunny and 70 in Indiana today....tomorrow it will probably snow. let's hope not! we want to keep this warm weather. this is the view from my window- after 4 years of being either out of state or out the country, i can finally see my magnolia tree/bush bloom.

 so, i got an official big kid job this week. here is how it happened and what i'll be doing:

this time last year, after the 10 k, i walked into the social work office to hear a prospective social work student talking about wanting to work with human trafficking victims. immediately, i was like, 'hey, i'm jen. that is exactly what i want to do!!!' we ended up talking and she told me she was from Indy too and that her dad started a non-profit that works with trafficking victims. i checked out the organization as soon as i got to my apartment. it was called Center for Global Impact and i saw that they took trips to Cambodia to work with Rapha House (http://raphahouse.org/). i emailed her dad about it and discussed maybe going to Cambodia during the summer. It ended up not working out, but his email was saved in my address book.

fast forward to 3 weeks ago. i was on the hunt for a real big kid job, determined to get one without my degree, which i am working towards, but need a big kid, full-time paying job in order to finish it in a timely manner. so i created a LinkedIn profile and had them email all the contacts in my email address book. a few days later, the girl's dad and executive director of Center for Global Impact (http://centerforglobalimpact.org/) emails me about meeting up at Starbucks. we meet the next week and find out about an awesome position at CGI that i would be great for. on thursday i met with the board of directors and got the official offer on friday.

hot dog that is fast!!!!! and i can only say it is from the Lord.

i will be the marketing and relationship coordinator for byTavi (http://www.bytavi.com/). a line of beautiful hand bags and scarves made by women in cambodia. making these bags gives them another option to support their families instead of selling their bodies for sex. the money from the bags goes straight to their salary so they can provide for their kids. sweet. my job is basically a sales job, but i sell the bags by connecting with different organizations, individuals, and companies to either have them purchase bags or host a party where i can come share the story behind the bag and offer an opportunity to purchase. these bags are beautiful. in addition to speaking and connecting, i'll get to do some traveling and event planning...there was talk of CGI doing a 10 k... :). i do not have to raise support for this position, but it would be sweet if you would buy bags and scarves and donate to CGI so they can keep doing awesome things.

this is totally a God thing. coming so quickly, having it be something that i really am passionate about. as always, i am concerned with money and finishing up school. in a big way, this was a huge step of faith for me to take this position, but i just think the Lord has it. i am stoked to see how things go. i have to go to greenwood everyday which is a good 45 minute drive, but i am hoping i will enjoy the driving time. :) i am sure there is more that i could say about it, but it just might have to wait til i actually start...in 2 weeks. april 18. i gave my 2 weeks at LOFT and the Y, which means no more funny stories about my kids, but i will have to supplement it with awesome stories of this organization and the crazy things the Lord is doing.

i think that is all. not terribly long this time. check out CGI and byTavi. email me if you want to host a party or have any kind of connects that would be beneficial to the ministry or to selling the bags.

still got habakkuk 1:5 on my heart...