Cat Bathing: ready for an erin-watts-summer-update?

basically, my summer IS sellwood pool. i spend, on average, 8 hours at the pool everyday. i am 10 shades darker than i was when you all last saw me, due to a beautiful full week of 90 degree weather, and i am perpetually wet. from 8:30am-10:30am i teach "junior swim instructor," a program for 11 to 14 year olds where they learn about our swim lesson program and actually get in the water to help instructors teach swimming lessons. i took it when i was 12, now i'm teaching it. cute, right? from 11:00-1:00 i am in the water teaching 1/2 hour swim lessons of various ages and levels. my favorites are the parent/child classes where i get to play with 6 mo. to 18 mo. olds in the water. fun. from 1:00-4:30 i work at the front desk during our open swim time. computers...cash registers...answering phones...you get the idea. at 4:30, i go home and collapse. and rest. often this includes movies with my family, baking something, working on my online class (art appreciation...eh...i know), and doing...or avoiding...those random little things that need to get done. this is monday-friday! some weeks vary. every other week we have inservices at 7am on tuesdays. looong days.

overall, its a great job. having been there for going on 6 summers, i know the program backwards and forwards, i am paid well, and i know a lot of employees and families who come to the pool. its those weeks of not-so-great-weather...65 and overcast...when the water is just a little too cold...that are harder. thankfully, those days have been the minority! it can be tiring being around a large staff of people who, for the most part, don't know the Lord. all day everyday. i'm still trying to figure out what representing Him at my job looks like. when do i say something? when do i stay silent? if you think of it, you could pray that I would be sensitive to the heart of God in this area. it seems appropriate to put a picture of the pool here...but i don't even have one! here's one i found online. our building is sweet looking, huh? love portland for its buildings...and for many other reasons, as you all know. =)

other than work, there's not much happening in my summer other than a wedding to go to, and the HARRY POTTER movie coming out THIS WEEK! BUT a few pretty awesome events took place in my life over the last month. #1 - dear friends ally and lauren from ARISE drove all the way up from SoCal just to visit me, having never been to the northwest. i had a blast showing off portland - i am completely braggy about the magnificence of my city. probably to the point where its annoying. then the three of us drove up to duvall, WA, where my roommate Michelle lives, and none other than AMANDA WHEELER came over and hung out with us! i got to see Amanda a 2nd time when the #2 awesome event happened - MEGHAN WYCOFF came to visit! she flew into seattle, spent time with Amanda, and then Amanda and I met at an Applebee's at the halfway point between Sammamish and Portland to pass Meghan off. =) We had a delightful time, and then I got to show off Portland AGAIN!

A few snapshots.