Hope everyone enjoyed the Monday holiday!  People seemed to return on Tuesday refreshed and ready to go.  Tuesday morning we went through an interactive presentation on money and budgeting, including topics like how money is used in our society, receiving money vs. earning money, products vs. services, and how to increase one’s own earning power.  We did some review in the afternoon and created a practice budget together.  Nate and Patrick took a walk with Britney while Jackie, Evan, Jim and Rory stayed behind to work on understanding and filling out withdrawal and deposit slips.  We did a little practice with a virtual ATM on the smartboard. 

Wednesday the crew went over some of the same money things as Tuesday.  We were also invited to a Thanksgiving Luncheon with Day-Hab so we helped set up tables and chairs.  Folks feasted on turkey and the fixins and then did a great job breaking down tables and putting away chairs.  It was a chilly but beautiful day out so we took a long walk as a group and then returned to the Nextstep room to make thank you cards for the Portland Firefighters who hosted us for lunch. 

This morning (Thursday) we talked about searching for jobs, networking, and making a good impression on people.  In the afternoon we walked over to Books-A-Million for some work and some time to just hang out.  Jim worked on a presentation to give us on next week’s weather and Jackie and Evan began working on resumes with Rory.  Tomorrow we are planning, shopping for, and making turkey wraps (via Jim’s request).  We plan to jump into the holiday spirit by watching the movie ‘Elf’ in the afternoon.