I'm back!

so, I returned a few days ago and I'm still trying to get back into the groove of the dull dreary existence I am forced to call my life... let's just say that my trip back east was so close to perfect that when I landed in Salt Lake City and stepped out of the airport into the freezing cold, optimists would say "crisp", air and looked to the empty pavement before asking a cab driver for a ride, I couldn't hold back the tears. the thought of returning to this life was almost too much to bear. and the realization that I went from a city crowded with people begging to spend time with me to a city where no one cared enough to pick me up from the airport, sent me into a very deep low for a couple of days. BUT - lets not focus on that. I have since gotten over those pitiful thoughts and feelings, so lets talk about the fun things I did and the amazing people I spent my time with... this is mostly going to be a pictoral blog. I LOVE pictures!

first up - Kelly, Chris, and Sam. as I'm sure you know, this is my most favorite family ever!! I almost couldn't bare it when they moved to Williamsburg so that Chris could start law school at William & Mary. I savored every minute I spent with them. we did a million things. we spent a lot of time at Colonial Williamsburg, the new Jamestown, the old Jamestown, Yorktown, the outlet malls, and of course, Kelly and I did several crafty projects! its our favorite passtime. we made slippers, bath bombs, gingerbread and Christmas cards. Sam is the most adorable little boy I have ever met and I couldn't get enough time with him.
Chris and Kelly are two of my closest friends in the world. they are smart, sincere, caring, motivated, spiritual, strong, and they are a match made in heaven. they know me better than almost anyone and they still love me! :) they are very supportive and understanding. my goal in life is to "grow up" to be as close to as great as they are as I can be. and my future marriage has a lot to live up to...

Kerstin - although Kerstin and I only lived together for about 3 months, she is one of the best friends I have ever had. I feel like I have known her forever! she is one of the funniest people I have ever met - she has me laughing all the time, and my own humor bursts at the seams when I am around her. not many people can bring that out in me. so, to say the least, time with Kerstin is ALWAYS fun. she picked me up from the airport, and from the metro stop every day, let me stay at her house, AND dropped me off at the airport! she is great! she had an incredibly busy week. she had just moved into a new place and she was under tight, crazy deadlines at work, yet she was still there for me AND spent time with me! she even took me to IKEA and Cosi! who could ask for more? my hope is that someday she will be back in Utah so our friendship can consist of more than gmail chat while we are both either bored or frustrated at work...

The Hotline - the 14 months I spent at The Hotline were pretty close to the best months of my life. the job was PERFECT for me! my passion is politics, particularly campaigns. at The Hotline I did research and writing about national elections. I co-produced Hotline TV, and I was a personal assistant to Chuck Todd, who some of you might recognize as a frequent guest political pundit on MSNBC. leaving The Hotline was one of the hardest decisions I EVER made. in fact, Chuck made me promise to come back and granted me a leave of absesnce for 6 months after I left. so, when I walked into the office I was greated by screams, cheers, and hugs. it was so great to see everyone again. I visited for a couple hours, and then I was able to attend the American Democracy Conference the next day at the Reagan building. click here for a run down of the amazing people on each panel, and the topics discussed. I also got to see Chris Hamby, Jen Hoar and Eric Pfeiffer there. they worked at The Hotline with me, but now Jen is at cbs.com and Eric is a writer for The Washington Times. Hamby still works at The Hotline, he does marketing, which might be good for me when I move back! It was great to catch up with everyone and get a taste of the wisdom The Hotline basks in every day. I went back to the office the next day and brought in some of my famous home made oreos for everyone and said good bye. everyone was begging me to come back, and telling them it would be a couple more years was so devastating... so, to make me feel better, I went to the National Portrait Gallery and wandered around for 3 hours! It is amazing there! I got to see the portraits of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young that caused so much controversy, as well as a million other amazing and inspiring works of art.

Jen - I got to see Jen at the American Democracy Conference and then we went to dinner together. Jen is one of the most articulate people I have ever met. I LOVE listening to her talk! she is also one of the best friends I have ever made. she is a very genuine and sincere person, and our senses of humor hit it off the moment we met. she does one of the best Dr. Evil impersonations I have ever heard! and we perfected Kit and Napoleon together as well. She is a Catholic and we have had many conversations about our religions, I have learned a lot from her. she makes me comfortable in my own skin, and I have no problem being very honest with her, she brings out the real me. we always joke about a run in we had in the bathroom at work the Monday after I moved into the townhouse. she asked how my weekend was and I said, "It was horrible. I'm glad its over." then we both laughed because with almost anyone else the usual "good, how was yours" would do, but we have something special, and we expect nothing but sincere honesty from eachother. time with Jen is like a breath of fresh air. I am very greatful for her friendship.

Gus - okay, so his real name is Michael Gustafson, and I could tell his girlfriend didn't appreciate that I call him Gus, but you can't go from calling someone Gus to calling him Mike. It just doesn't work. He is Gus... anyway, I met Gus in Iowa. we were roommates for my first two months of the Gephardt for President campaign and when I moved to my own office an hour away for the next 4 months he was my biggest help and supporter. he is one of the funniest guys I have ever met and he has one of the most unique personalities out there. we share a love for democratic politics, and a fire for campaigns that, after Iowa, has calmed down to warm coals. those were 6 of the hardest months of our lives, and we loved it, but have no desire to do it again. we also both have a humorous passion for IKEA. we are like kids in a candy store when we walk into that place. so, I got to have dinner with Gus and his girl Abby, and then I got to see him again right before I left. we went Christmas shopping for a family he adopted for the holiday. what a sweetheart! we both dream of the day we will get to live in the same city again...

that covers most of my trip. it would take days to tell you everywhere I went and everything I saw and did. just know that it was great! the weather was great - 70 degrees. I never had to wear my coat! it rained on me once as I was walking to the metro, but I didn't mind. I loved every minute I spent with my amazing friends and every minute I spent in that amazing city. I can't wait to go back.