Three Weeks

Three weeks from today I'm getting married.

A few friends warned me about the emotions that would kick in around this time. I didn't believe them and thought, "that won't happen to me." But it has.

Most of all, I feel excited! I am head-over-heals, can't-live-without-him, absolutely-elated in love with Benjamin Roberts.
But I'm also feeling anxiety, stressed, and sad to be leaving the people and things I love in Virginia. The anxiety isn't so much about the changes ahead, but more about the limited time that I have to do the things I need/want to do before I go. I'm mildly stressed about wedding stuff - my stress is quite low until someone asks me a hard question like what do you want to do the morning of your wedding? Are you wearing a vale or tiara? Should the men in the party should wear a suit or a tux? Ok, so they're simple questions, but we're down to the details and they can get stressful! I think the sadness about leaving is self explanatory. Ben's fantastic. He lets me cry and says nice things to me to make me feel better. :)

Overall, things are good. If you are in the area, please stop by our going away party next Friday night. 7:30-9:30 at The Grove.

Living the dream

I'm living a dream. Let me explain...

I came to DC just over 5 years ago. Captured by Patomac fever, I was whisked away into an exciting adventure that included fancy receptions, organizing events, weekend trips to NYC, workin' it in Colonial 1, road trips, dating, international travel - let's be honest, I've been living my dreams.

I've learned so much in the past five and a half years in DC. For example, I learned what POTUS means (and a hundred other acronyms). I learned how to think about issues and develop my own opinions. I learned to "get over it" after breakups. How to make ends meet and take care of myself. Where traffic violations are photo enforced. Live with other people. Feel confident in a conversation with nearly anybody (i.e., cute guys who made me nervous to highly influential old men and women to people under five). I learned my style and what i like. I honed skills in processing waivers, deviation memos and reprogramming requests (I'm a pro at those). I could go on and on - I've learned a lot here.

I like to look back and see what I've built. I don't mean buildings or wealth, but I've built a mansion full of wonderful relationships. I think all of us feel like we aren't known at times, that we don't have many friends. But I look back and see that that's entirely silly. I have built at least a hundred rooms in my mansion and good and wonderful friends abide in them.

DC has been full of fabulous adventures. Scroll down through my blog and you'll see what I mean. But somehow, through much of my time here I wondered if the grass was greener elsewhere. Somewhere along the way, I quit that wonder and started to invest in here - the place I was in. I started to feel content, forgot about pursuing an escape. Just when I've come to this point... my latest update:

Drum roll....

Ben got a job in the legal department at a company in the Denver area! Now I'm living another dream: amazing fiance who just graduated from law school and is sweeping me away to a fresh start together in the West. :) Sounds like something I dreamed of when I got here over five years ago.

The best thing about Denver is that there are a lot of layovers there and sometimes the weather might get you stranded in the airport. If that ever happens to you, call me! I'll come by and we'll grab lunch or you can camp on my couch through the storm.

Speaking of dreaming... it's 12:31AM and time for me to go to bed!

Good good news to share!

perfect Saturdayhorseback ridingfishing in the pondhiking in Harpers Ferrytrickling waterfallwords of loveBen on KneesYES of course YES!

Saturday was beautiful and we’re really happy and excited!
I am so in love and couldn't be more delighted to marry
Benjamin Roberts.

Something fun to do in the spring

Jon and Melissa Photography ROCKS!

Please check out Jon and Melissa Photography. I love their style. They live in my neighborhood so if you're near by and are looking for a photographer, I highly recommend them.

a little Ugandan to cheer you up!

This makes me smile :)



You should also check out Arlington Academy of Hope's new website.

Sisters are different flowers from the same garden

My sister is one of my favorite people in the entire UNIVERSE.
I made her this gift.

I love her.

Look what I did last night?

If you are my friend and you are having a baby any time soon....

This one is for Mama Hollie! I tried to match her nursery color scheme of apple green with red and black accents.

This is a simple rag quilt that takes about 4 hours to make. It might be faster if I started before midnight. That's when I get my spare time!

Catching up

Tonight we've been snowed in and I'm experiencing some major jet lag so what better thing can I do than blog at 2 am?

Why the jetlag, you ask? Well before I explain, I want to preface this blog post by fully acknowledging that my life is awesome and I'm spoiled. I've done a lot of cool things in the past few months. Here are some pics and details:

1. I went to Tanzania last week for work. Who would have ever thought that I would go back to Africa so soon? It was a busy and productive trip. I spent a couple days in Dar es Salaam and the majority of the trip was in Dodoma and Singida, which are in the central region of the country. I was there doing a site visit to one of PMI's Malaria Communities Program grantees.

I just had to take a classic mzungu surrounded by African children photo. They're SO beautiful!

Sunrise on the Indian Ocean

2. I won the lottery! I won tickets to the National Christmas Tree Lighting.

Yes, that's the First Family at the exact moment Pres. Obama flipped the switch for the tree.

There's the tree! And that's Amber, Me and Ben

3. Mom for the weekend - I took care of my co-worker's kiddos for a weekend. 2 boys and 2 dogs. I have a whole new respect for single moms now.

Playing cowboys and trains

4. Ward Service Auction: This year, I helped to organize the Colonial 1st Ward Service Auction. We raised $7500 to provide Christmas to families in need in the Arlington/Alexandria area. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics of the auction, but you might be wondering what I donated...

This is just a sample.

You guessed it! The infamous men of the ward calendar. We went with a "what women like" theme. The guys were good sports. The calendar is awesome!

5. Mustache Bash and silly co-workers: My friend Wendy is so creative. She threw a mustache bash for a birthday party and we all dressed like boys and wore a 'stache... well sort of.

Playing the part.

Sometimes we just get a little silly at work. That's all.

6. Anime sightings: Each year, the National Anime Conference is held in Crystal City. It's fun to see how into that stuff some people can be. The first night of the convention, my friend Scott and I drove around the neighborhood looking for Anime sightings. People everywhere were dressed up in their favorite character (or just dressed up).

There's a few!

7. Thanksgiving in West Virginia! I am especially grateful for wonderful friends. This year, a bunch of us went to a cabin in Canaan Valley. We feasted for 3 days and enjoyed snowfall, Rock Band, games, puzzles, exploring, turkey trotting, hiking Seneca Rocks, and just plain good ole times. Niki and Leanna - props for the fantastically planned trip!

Grateful Group - Dan, Richie, Pete, Jenny, Cobb, Ben, Niki, Leanna, Charity, Joni, and Kim (Brandon and me are behind the cameras)

8. Family time - My sister in law joined our church a year ago! In November, our family got together in Dallas where she and my brother and their son were sealed in the Temple! It was beautiful. Please enjoy this video/information on temples.


9. Veteran's Day - Old Rag rained out. The long time planned event for Veterans day was to hike Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah. However, rain spoiled that plan and we opted for the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls instead.

Hiking!

10. Dog sitting: I'm the kind of person who just does things for people. I took care of my boss' dog for a week while he was traveling. I stayed in his place downtown. Living in the District is cool. I never thought I could be one of those people who lives alone and has a dog, but this made me second guess that assumption.

Pepper really grew on me!

11. Fojol's: I had heard about this phenomenon several months ago and always hoped it would show up in my neighborhood. To my absolute delight, the Fojol Brothers were parked on the corner of 13th and G, NW - right near my work! Believe it or not, it's street food.

When I finally had the chance to order, the first thing that came out of my mouth was "I've been waiting for you all my life."
Fojol Brother: "You had me at hello."
Me: "I didn't say that yet."
haha! The exchange cracked me up.

Sold in a hippie van by mustache wearing men.

12. Dutch Bike Dutch. It's a tradition. Rain or shine (the weather is always fine), biker enthusiasts and casual followers get together for a lovely ride through Amish country near Lancaster, PA. This was my first time attending this semi-annual event. I must say, I will make it a priority from here on out!

This was a Hallween activity so some people dressed up for the ride.

Beautiful country side!

13. Apple picking: This area is soo amazing when the leaves change. This is one of my favorite fall activities.

14. Finally, I just have to throw this in here... my nephew is the love of my life! He's 4. He's so cool.

on the upswing

What do I do when I'm sick? Well, I stay home. I've been home from work all week and I've probably slept at least 75% of it. I ate chicken noodle soup, sipped on theraflu (btw, it tastes icky, but it's the wonder drug), and knocked myself out on day/nyquil. A few friends have braved my illness - I'm in good hands!

Photo from http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa.htm

I woke up feeling a hundred times better today. My aches are gone, my cough has subsided, I no longer feel chills and feverish. I just feel really weak - like my body is recovering after being hit by a truck or something. I took my car in to be fixed and cleaned my house - deep cleaned it. Yes, that's a sure sign I'm feeling better. My boss, who is a physician, told me it sounds like I'm on the upswing and if I keep feeling good all day I can probably go back to work tomorrow (as long as it has been 24 hours since I've been feverish ... so far so good).

For the record, this flu actually isn't too bad to endure. I mean, I've felt way worse than this before. Like when I had strept throat as a kid or when I broke up with a boyfriend. The good thing is now I'm immune. I thought I would take advantage of herd immunity this year, but now I get to contribute to it. Here's to being one more person in the human population who can't get H1N1 ever again!

H1N1 = ICKY!

An email I just sent to my mom...

Hi Mom,

How's Paris?!?! I'm sure it's wonderful there!

I think I have the swine flu. YIKES! Aches, fever, cough, chills, fatigue... icky icky icky. I stayed home from work today and went to the doctor. I didn't end up seeing him because my insurance card didn't have him listed as my pcp. After an hour of trying to get in touch with my insurance company, I just went home. I'll try again tomorrow if I still don't feel well. Icky!

My friends are taking good care of me and Wendy has been in touch. She said that if she were here, she'd take me to the doctor and make me soup. It's probably a good thing I'm not in Europe with this icky virus, but, oh boy, I wish I were there (and healthy) and wish I could have a mom hug.

Love you so much!

Charlee

So much going on

Hey, how are you?!?! I hope you're well. I've been good. It's been such a long time since we've chatted. I'm just so curious about everything that's been going on.

I've been super busy with work and school and life in general, but busy is good. Here are a few highlights from the past several weeks:

1. Old times' sake: I was in a wedding a couple weeks ago. My best friend from 3rd-7th grade until she moved, Jillian, had the most beautiful wedding in Prior Lake, Minnesota. My sister was in it too. The three of us were the kinds of friends who could wipe buggers on each other and fight and still be best friends. We would play and play for hours and hours. It was delightful to see her and to catch up with people from home. I forgot my camera, so I'll post pictures when I get them.

2. To the motherland: I went to Utah to see family. My grandparents are the best sort of grandparents. I realized that their home and particularly their backyard is one of my happiest places. My grandpa likes to tell us stories about our ancestors and my grandma makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

My sister bought a house. Kinda strange that we're adults now and she's a home owner. My favorite memory from this trip: making bum prints on the pool sidewalk with my sister and brother like we did when we were kids. Oh, and seeing Laura. Hi Laura!

3. I made a baby quilt for Mama Noelle. I'll post pictures soon. I've also started my next project - a cool garden inspired quilt for my sister.

4. Horsin' around: I have made friends with some good people who have a farm near Leesburg. I go there whenever I can to ride horses and enjoy the country. These trips always require my cowboy boots and kettlecorn from the farmer's market on the way.

5. Rope swinging: I swam in the potomac. Yes, you heard me, the Pot o mac. There's a rope swing up river (well, at least up from the water treatment plant). A few of us ventured out to check it out and I took the plunge. The water was that nasty warm bath temperature. But it made for a fun time.

6. Puzzling: it's official, I'm a nerd. I love to do puzzles. One friday night when plans for the county fair got rained out, a small group of my friends decided to build a 1,000 piece underwater mystical lion with fishies puzzle. We were obsessed. Finished in a weekend.

7. Great Texas: My brother and sister in law and my one and only stud nephew live in Dallas so I paid them a visit over labor day. My dad was there too. We had a grand time bowling, eating, swimming and water-sliding, and exploring the city. AND yes, I went to the BYU v OU game!!! Dallas stadium is unbelievable - especially whent he Cougs win!!! I can't explain the euphoria I felt when it became clear that we upset the number 3 ranked team in the country! It was bliss.

Those are just a few of the fun highlights. I'll keep you posted on everything else that goes on. It's great to catch up!

Charlee

I submitted

I did it - I'm one of those people who submitted a story to the average lifer's website MLIA. Here's my submission:

Today, I passed a man on my morning run. As he jogged toward me, a white towel-like object fell from his backpack. When I passed the towel, I saw that he actually lost his underwear. That's going to make for a free and easy day. MLIA.

Watch for it. :)

The silly things I sometimes do...

I just sucked the remaining helium out of a balloon that I was given for my birthday. Too bad nobody is around because my voice sounds SOOO funny! hahahah! I love simple joys.

On another silly note, I dressed up as a super hero this week. The event was a friend's birthday party. Everyone was invited to wear a super hero costume. I'm not usually one to get dressed up, but for some reason I got really excited about this one. Thanks to my sister, I had a rad costume including a cape, bandit eyes, leotard, tights, boots, and to top it off, a super-power belt with a C on it -- C for Charlee Amazing. I crimped my hair and layered on the super-hero-ness make up (about 20 more more dips in the powder than usually).

I showed up at the party Elle Woods style. All dressed up, but somehow I missed the memo that "super hero costumes" mostly consist of people's favorite super-hero t-shirt or silly hair and make up with little boy spider man tighty-whities over tight pants. hahaha! Let's just say, I won the prize. Check out the costume:

Being in this costume made me feel some sort of transformation - it made my imagination go crazy! Think of all the super powers you would want to have. First of all, I would want to be able to go invisible. And, it would be so cool to have lasers that came out of my eyes, or to have an iron fist, or to be able to scale buildings and run from roof top to roof top. Or imagine being able to breath under water or make everything freeze - that's cool. With all of these possibilities running through my head, I was not finished when the party was over.

Sooooo...

My roommate drove the get away car. We rallied around the neighborhood, stopping at random houses of friends. I flashed through their back doors and ran through the house, exiting into the night without a word.

The crowning moment of the night: the soccer fields! There's a park near my house with stadium lighting. Rain or shine, day or night, there are games going on.

We pulled up and I sneaked off into the trees so as not to be seen. I watched carefully as the get away car rolled into position. I scanned the vicinity looking for the best approach.

Then the moment of glory - With my arm triumphantly pointing ahead, I bolted like the speed of lighting (well, as fast as lightning could go if it were wearing three inch healed black go-go boots that sunk into the grass like a cleat) across the field mid-game. Heads turned, gasps were heard, and flash - then I was gone.

The next day at work, I had a strange recollection of the night before. hahah! Seriously, did I do that?!?!? Can anyone say, Nacho Libre?!?!