An invitation

I got this invitation by email this week.

Callie Brewer, you are invited to

Brewer's Moving Day!

Sat May 2 8:30am – 12:30pm
(Timezone: Eastern Time)
Clarksburg, MD (map)
Calendar: Callie Brewer

Owner/Creator: cbrewski@gmail.com

Leaders, please add those in your stewardship to the invitation list.



Thanks for any moving help you can give!
Drinks, pizza, bulging muscles, and blessings from heaven will be your reward. We will have a big U-haul truck to get the job done in one trip.


Start: (old address deleted for safety), Germantown

~1 hours



1st Stop: Extra Space Storage

(address deleted for safety), Germantown

~1.5 hour



Unload: (new address deleted for safety)

~1.5 hour
More event details»

Will you attend?

Yes |Maybe |No

I can't decide if I want to go or not. Maybe I'll call one of my friends and see if they want to go with me.

Wildlife

So my last workshop in Florida wasn't terrible. It actually went quite well. I didn't get to see any wildlife as cool as dolphins but I did see a few lizards (which I quite enjoy) and this little fella was on my bathroom counter at the hotel so....it almost counts.


AND!! I also got the most delicious ice cream sundae ever. That basically is equal to dolphins.

This picture just doesn't do it justice

After eating said sundae, I walked around a lovely little lake (or pond - who's call is that?) and there were said to be turtles in there which would have made me go completely ballistic since I love turtles with all of my soul...but, sadly, it was too dark to see them. I have every intention of making another visit during daylight hours to see them next trip.

Oh, and one of the marines I was working with that week had a super sweet camera and showed me pictures of all the great animals he captured in his lens. He took pictures of a raccoon, gator, gorgeous flowers (which are not animals), an osprey, and an incredible dragon fly whose eyes you could see looking at you because his camera had so many pixels and such a long range lens. I'll count his wildlife finds as halfsies for me.

Porpoises to the Rescue!

I spent all last week in Southern California again for work. The weather was chilly, windy, cloudy, with sprinkles of rain. I felt a little jipped. Because the trip was rescheduled so last minute and because it was Spring Break time, I couldn't get a room at the hotel where I usually like to stay. I was nervous about this "other" hotel.

But! To my pleasant surprise, the hotel was nice (still not AS nice) and clean and I had the view from my room of these beautiful purple flowers everywhere that I was so excited about last time I was here. It might not be a horrible trip after all.

When I am out in California, I am there to conduct workshops with Marines. They are our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The work for this particular section of workshops (task analysis) is mind numbing and grueling and dig-your-eyes-out-with-a-spoon inducing. The days seem long.

Another pleasant surprise...



These dolphins were right outside of the building where we were holding our workshops! They are being trained for mine detection. So-o cool. Jim and I went out to look at them at least once a day. I love dolphins. They are amazing...and adorable.

Thanks to these fellas, I made it through the week.

I'll let you know if I find anything in Orlando next week that helps get me through this next workshop.

note: dolphins are not actually porpoises even though they are closely related - but porpoises made a better title.

Hair Adventures...

As noted in the Surprising Weekend post, I got a new hairdo. This is a big thing for me, and I was ready for it. Here is a before picture that shows how long my hair was. Keep in mind, that this is the curly version - so imagine it a lot longer when it is straight.

I have never colored my hair before so this was a big step for me. I was feeling so brave! She put the highlights in. Here is the lovely foil....

and the dryer....

And....ta-da! Here is the final product. Unfortunately, since my hair was so long before, many people have not even noticed. But people! Cutting almost 8 inches off your hair is a BIG DEAL!

So the next step is trying to do the new do on your own. Washing it for the first time is always weird because it is so much shorter! I've tried a couple of different looks. Although I don't think you need me to document all 7 that I've tried so far....I'll at least let you see one more. I did it a little curly on the ends.

To my great surprise (and relief) it also looks cute when it's curly. It makes the highlights really stand out. Last time I chopped my hair - it looked really stupid curly and it was really disappointing. Hooray for this haircut!

Much Love,
The New Me

I looked out the window and what did I see....

Popcorn popping on the cherry blossom trees!

I came back to the office after a week in California and all the trees had just popped! This is the view from my office window. As usual - the picture just doesn't do it justice!

Trees all around have started blooming, the grass was suddenly green again...and I feel Spring in the air. Ahhh...finally!

March

Gratitude journals come in many forms. At times I have kept an actual notebook with five things I'm grateful for everyday. At other times I would note things at the end of each journal entry. They come and go throughout life. As I have been having a bit of a hard time with life lately, I decided to keep track of something each day that was good in the month of March. Some days were harder to list something than others - but it's the simple things in life, right people?

1- We actually had some fun in my Sunday School class
2- I got to talk to my mom AND sister for 40 minutes each
3- I enjoyed my audiobook so much that I almost didn't notice the drive home
4- Carl and I enjoyed the DC temple together and then a super yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill
5- Carl came home for lunch ... and I was home too!
6- My audiobook was so good on my way to work that I laughed out loud several times and couldn't wait for the drive home to continue listening
7- We went to our favorite pizza place
8- We watched a live street band down in Bethesda
9- I got to try out the new office in Vienna in an attempt to shorten my commute
10- The whole kitchen was clean (thanks, Carl!) and so I felt good about lying in bed and reading.
11- I got a free ginger ale AND girl scout cookies at work today
12- I got about a million things accomplished today!
13- I made an oatmeal pie for pi day
14- I got a cute new hat
15- My team won at Pictionary Man
16- Talked to my boss about mostly working from home.
17- Offer got accepted on a house!!
18- I ate a really yummy string cheese on my way home from work while I adjusted my bass and treble to listen to Totally Callie 2000 so my mirrors would shake. Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
19- I stayed up until 1:30 chatting with some girl friends. Just like the good ole days
20- We had the stuffed crust pizza I'd been craving.
21- Carl and I went to a free workshop on tiling floors.
22- Carl and I went over to the new place to walk around the neighborhood and check out the pool.
23- I got bumped up to first class on my flight to Memphis
24- I saw two bunnies playing hide and seek AND gorgeous wildflowers all over the place!
25- We finished our workshop a little early so I got a great nap in....AND I got some yummy ice cream
26- Although I was sick today, I still managed to stop by the beach...and chased some squirrels
27- I got my toenails done at my favorite "Lovely Nails" and I surprised a friend in Utah with dinner and a sleepover
28- I surprised my mom today by showing up in Utah
29- After a long trip I got to come home and spend a whole evening with Carl. I missed him!
30- I got to go into work late so I got to sleep in
31- I did my hair for the first time since the big haircut and there were no major disasters.