Erin loves Charlie

Compromises

2010-06-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

E: This new garage wall is going to be awesome.
C: It can be my "man cave."
E: Whatever.
C: I can put up a PBR neon sign.
E: Absolutely not. No way.
C: Babe! You got to decorate the whole house - at least give me one room!
E: Ok, fine - you can decorate the garage.

The Truth

2010-05-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Babe, you're right. Regardless of trips, new bikes, and shiny things - we have each other. And that is what really matters.

Love.

Sloppy Joe's

2010-03-30T09:36:00.001-07:00

C: I got these babe, go relax and watch Oprah or something.

Honeymoon's over

2010-03-11T18:27:00.001-08:00

I just bought a bra "because it was comfortable."

Dinner

2010-03-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

E: I know. It looks weird. But I'm sure it tastes good!
C: Babe. You are...more of a cook than a chef.
E: What's the difference?
C: A cook needs to follow the recipe.
E: Hmph.

........................................
E: But look, you must like it! You're going for seconds!
C: I'm hungry.

Constitutional

2010-02-28T17:55:00.001-08:00

Really? Bringing a beer into the bathroom with you? I guess it might be awhile...

Olympics '10

2010-02-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

E: I know you don't consider this a sport, but you must admit that these are some of the best all-round athletes in the entire Olympics. I mean, if you take into account the balance, the strength, endurance, creativity, flexibility - whoa!!!!!!!! Did you see that!?
C: Yeah.
E: That was SO hard to do! The triple axle is much harder than that toe-spin thing, even if he does four rotations...the triple axle is still the hardest.
C: Oh, really? You know that? I love the expert opinion over here.
E: Expert speculation, babe.

New alarm

2010-02-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

E: We need a new alarm clock, this one doesn't work anymore.
C: Yeah, we should get one that has an iPod doc. That way we can set it to wake up to music.
E: Enya.
C: No.
E: "Who can tell where the day gooessssssss....only time....and who can tell where the niiiight goes....only -" WTF!?! You did not just throw water in my face! AAAAHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Swift

2010-01-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

"I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run."

Every Rose

2010-01-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

E: Ooooh, this was my FAVORITE song in 2nd grade!
E: And then I got to see Bret play it live at the Grizzly Rose!
E: {sign} Every great 90's hair/metal band needs a true rock ballad.

.................

E: Right?

................

C: Did you know that this song is Poison's ONLY top 10 hit of their entire career?

E: Shhhhhhsh!

Seasonal Facial Sweater

2010-01-08T13:08:00.001-08:00

Ok babe, it's time to shave it off now. And that's being generous.

That's a wrap

2009-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Charlie has a degree in Philosophy. Sometimes I forget that a degree in Philosophy equates to being a brilliant negotiator, and having the ability to dissect all pieces of an argument to come out with a brilliant closing statement.

Last night on our walk to Blockbuster to return Angles and Demons (decent movie) I got on a roll. You know, one of those out of the blue "wtf are we doing with our future - we should be PLANNING and making things happen with specific goals, end dates, and action items" rolls. The fun ones! The ones that boys LOVE to contribute to. The ones that nicely, silently, go under the category of "random freak out." Why? I don't know - but we needed to figure things out!!!

Charlie let me rant for about 8 minutes without interrupting. Then, after a pause he evenly said "yes babe."

What? I didn't end with a yes or no question! But something about that "yes babe" struck me as completely brilliant. Because logically, his response didn't make any sense but it made me feel better. Even if he wasn't listening to anything that I said he AGREED with me! And that was it. I was done, and I was happy.

Porn for women

2009-11-17T21:22:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I picked up a book of postcards at the Boulder Bookstore called "Porn for women." Each post card featured a bare-chested man performing a menial "women's porn" task with a quote at the top of the page. For example, the first page displayed a (bare-chested) handsome man putting down the toilet seat. The quote at the top of the page said "We wouldn't want anyone falling in!"

Another page showed a (bare-chested) man folding laundry with the quote at the top reading "is this how you like them folded?"

Yet another: A (bare-chested) man holding an almost empty roll of toilet paper with the quote "Let me just go ahead and change this before we run out."

I could go on....I have to admit, I went back into the bookstore the other day and read it again. It truly is porn for women.

So I might have casually mentioned this "Porn for Women" to Charlie. Maybe I mentioned it more than once (in between singing track 3 - which, by the way, he completely got me back for this morning with waking me up by singing the Barney theme song and as soon as I realized what was happening I shot back with "you're the MOST wonderful...." then we called truce).

Last night I had a girl's dinner party with the most fabulous ladies I know. We all contributed home-made (for the most part) dishes and/or wine. There was plenty of food, there was plenty of wine, and there were great conversations all around the table. I felt truly lucky to be surrounded by interesting, funny, and inspiring girl friends. They even cleared the table before leaving! In the process of this dinner party I used every single piece of silverware and every bowl, plate, and pot in my kitchen. Which is what it is there for! I was glad to have enough of everything.

And then, after the party was over and everyone left I had a perfectly placed pile of dishes covering every space of my kitchen counter.

Enter...my boyfriend. Back from the gym, happy with a plate of leftovers and a beer. He was in such a good mood that he volunteered to DO THE DISHES for me.

Hello? Porn for women? Hi, I have something to tell you. I have the MOST wonderful boyfriend in the WOLRD (to the tune of track #3 - "it's the MOST wonderful time of the YEEEEAR").

So I had to just make my own entry:

"Why don't you just go watch Bravo and let me take care of this mess."
OR:
"Don't be silly, I LOVE doing the dishes!"

OR better yet:

"Babe, this is what I call 'foreplay.' "

Track #3

2009-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Song (to the tune of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"):

You're the MOST wonderful boyfriend in the WORLD.

History: Part 3

2009-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Somehow after the six months of our initial meeting, in which we never saw each other, dated other people, and finally reconnected at the Outback of all places (but really, let me just admit it now, there could not have been a more perfect place to meet randomly once again than the dear old Outback), I thought that getting together would be easy.

Why did I think that? Because of how easy it had been up to that point? Because of how Charlie asked for my number immediately the first time we met? Or the second? Or because it took us about three weeks to set a date to hang out after our reconnection at the Outback? Not exactly. I think that the "easy" part was more like...it didn't really matter what happened. There was nothing to stress over or to think about. We would hang out at one point, and if it was fun - cool, maybe we would hang out again. Charlie and I found each other again at the perfect point in my life for two reasons:

1. For two weeks before seeing each other again that June I had a very strong feeling that I was going to meet some one important to me.
2. Although I felt that I would meet the man of my dreams (ugh, come up with a better term than that, please!!), I didn't give a shit if I did or didn't meet him. I was fine on my own. I was more than fine, I was elated.

So we decided to meet up on a Friday night. I had just finished hanging out with Lindsay (who had a broken leg and probably needed her trays of ice refilled, which is what I would do twice a day - stop by Lindsay's to refill her ice trays, fill up her huge mug of icewater, and eat some of the candy her family had sent her).

I received a text from Charlie, stating that we should meet at Good Times and figure out a plan from there. Do you know what Good Times is? It's a fast food drive-through chain. It is DELICIOUS if you are

a) depressed
b) drunk
c) feeling very indulgent

But here are the things it is not:
a) clean
b) romantic
c) sexy

But ok Charlie, I will meet you there because I have already prepared for the fact that this might not be a "real" date given the events leading up to this meeting. I have prepared by wearing my "I could go either way" date-or not-date outfit. But one thing that I did not prepare for was showing up at Good Times to find five self proclaimed "bike nerds" sitting on the concrete picnic bench watching Charlie eat his dinner that he bought at Whole Foods. Whole Foods - not Good Times. So why are we sitting there?

Listen, I am an easy going girl. I don't care what I wear on a date, I don't care if I am meeting a guy at a fast food joint. I don't even care if he has brought four of his friends. But when the agenda was laid out on the table and it included "riding bikes up to the Hill for a CU frat party" I respectfully declined. I didn't say, "you know, I'm tired." I didn't say "oh, I don't feel that well" or "I have to pack for my trip."

Do you know what I said? "Guys, that doesn't sound like very much fun to me. I think I'll go home. Charlie, call me next week if you'd like to hang out." Because honestly, a frat party did NOT sound like fun. So I ducked out of the Good Times parking lot in my very versatile outfit and texted some friends to find out that they were hanging out at the West End. I was completely confident in my decision. I was happy to be meeting up with my friends. I realized at that point that there was no guy who would ever convince me to do something I didn't want to do, and that my priority was not to tag along and hope to impress him. Which, according to Charlie ended up being the most impressing thing. And was part of the reason we started out with such a great understanding of what it means to get everything that you want.

Which I started to realize on our next meet up, the Cruiser Ride....

Entertainment

2009-10-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Excalibur?!?!

You owe me.

Stream of unconciousness

2009-10-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

E: I had a dream last night that we were married.
C: Was it about the ceremony, or that we were already married?
E: It was the ceremony. Lindsay was in charge of food and she brought Doritos and nacho cheese.
C: That is totally awesome.

...........

C: I had a dream about my old neighbor last night. He was walking around with his pants off.
E: So I had a dream about getting married and you dreamed about a guy with his pants off?
C: Yeah.
E: Yeah.....

Yes, ridiculous

2009-10-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

E: So, you have something planned for my birthday?
C: Yes, well - I have something planned for Tuesday night when we are up in the mountains.
E: OK, but what about Wednesday night, my ACTUAL birthday?
C: Um.....I have Tuesday.....silence.....
E: We aren't going to do anything on my birthday! You don't have anything planned and I am going to be all alone and no one loves me and now I'm turning 30 and and and...
C: You're kind of being ridiculous.
E: Walking faster, hoping to silently refute Charlie's last statement although it couldn't be more true.

Camaraderie

2009-10-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

What do I walk into as I enter the house tonight? My two favorite guys on the couch getting drunk and watching "the Golden Age of cinema."

Better model

2009-10-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Charlie, when I think about my dating past I must say - I consider you an upgrade. An upgrade for keeps.

History Part 2

2009-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

...7 months later I walked into my karaoke bar. I feel justified calling it "my bar" because in addition to bringing 15 potential singers and drinkers in every Saturday night (and if I was lucky, Wednesday night too) I created a blog dedicated to this bar called "Boulder Karaoke." It was sort of brilliant until we collectively decided against going there anymore when they refused to sponsor our adult soccer team, but that is a very different story from this one.

So it is 7 months later. Which would be the middle of June. Chris, maybe Scott, some girls, and I are at a table in front of the stage - the spot best for making eye contact with the DJ. I have never lost hope that he will bump my song up to be the next singer. He never has, expect that one time some one slipped him a $5 on my birthday a few years ago. Probably the highlight of my life, well, before this night at least. We have just arrived and it is decided that we need some beer. I am in the middle of my 30 day cleanse which involves a ton of fiber and other gross stuff, plus - no alcohol. But for some reason, maybe a change of scenery, I volunteer to get the first pitcher from the bar.

Walking up to the bar, I try to smile politely to the bartender, and am (as always) routinely ignored (another reason we stopped attending). But sitting at the bar is this cute guy with blond hair who looks a little bit familiar. And some how, I have no idea how, he remembered my name from when we met seven months earlier at his bike shop. Being polite, he introduced himself again, and being sober, I tried to be as cool as I knew how (not very). I think that he might have invited me to hang out with his friends in the back pool room area, and I (sober and shy) said "ok" and then didn't. But I'm pretty sure that what I DID do was use my standard line, the line that I'd used seven months earlier (oh yes, I did) which was "we should go for a ride sometime." And as the words came out of my mouth so did the instant deja vu of spouting off that line last time and being met with silence. This time I was met with "that sounds great" or something like that. And then, once again...no request for a phone number.

Fast forward three hours later after many songs, dancing, cheering, non-drinking...we are about to leave. But I don't think that I can exit this bar without saying goodbye to Charlie and giving him the option to call me if he interested. I sort of hover around the bar for awhile very much looking like I am about to leave. Eventually he and his friend walk over and I tell him that we are leaving, but that I should give him my number. He says "yeah, that would be great....but my phone is waaaaay over there. Why don't I give you my number." This is very unconstitutional in my book, but what the heck, why wouldn't I just give him a chance? I mean, he IS here doing karaoke after all, he definitely meets my criteria at this point (which includes two things: karaoke and bikes, blond is a bonus). So I take his number and leave the bar. I think we might have hugged, and I know that he was eyeing Chris suspiciously.

45 minutes or so after arriving at my house I texted him with my phone number. He replied with something sort of snarky, and I was momentarily pissed off. But then, even after no encouragement, and no effort to connect on his part I decided to give it one more chance- maybe he was trying to be funny. Drunk and funny are sometimes passable offenses. I just felt like...I liked his attitude. I could get to know him and that I could be honest with him. I don't know why I thought those things. I didn't know this guy at all, but I didn't see any reason not to see what would happen. If he were to call that is. Charlie (like most guys) doesn't see the point to using the phone. He also thinks that an acceptable first date is actually a group date with three other bike mechanics meeting at Good Times. Yes, there is definitely a Part 3.

Guy stuff

2009-10-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

C: Nick and I were talking at lunch...you know, Conan the Barbarian was really the Golden Age of cinema.

Discovery vs. Bravo

2009-09-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

E: Top Chef is on, can I have the remote?
C: Hold on babe, it's Man vs. Wild - Bear just picked up a piece of bear poop.
E: Let's just see....
C: Turn it back! Bear JUST PICKED UP A PIECE OF BEAR POOP!!!!!

TC: "So whose idea was it to pair the asparagus with this? It didn't add any sort of boost -"
MVW: (Suddenly Bear is hanging off a cliff) "Just one small slip and you could find yourself in a pretty tight spot...."
TC: "And the beef! Every piece was cooked differently - some were tough and some were raw, they all looked like they were hacked a part" (Contestant is hanging his head)
MV: "Just forging this stream, one wrong move and you are swept away down the icy river" (Bear is now crossing an icy river and looks like he will be swept away).

And clearly picky eaters have nothing on ex-British Special Ops officers who prefers to squeeze water out of elephant dung in the Sahara. Fair enough.

Tristan and Isolde

2009-09-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

The dvd box says "before Romeo and Juliet there was Tristan and Isole." Yeah. So it's a love story and it's based in Briton/Ireland after the fall of the Roman Empire when men wore skirts and armour and fought for honor and blah blah blah and....wait, what? James Franco? Ok, sounds good.

I gave little thought to anything about this movie on the walk home from Blockbusters. I was thinking more about new couches that we are buying on Wednesday. New couches! There will be room for like six people to sit in the living room now (instead of a very awkward four on one couch). So couches were on my mind.

And then we got home and I laughed a little bit about "Isolde." Like, how do you pronounce that? I-sold? Is-olad? Charlie informed me it is properly prounced "Izold." He is much more versed in the lost tribal dialects of pre-united England than I am due to reading, oh, about 5,000 pages of that Eragon series.

The movie started, it was fine. You know, the usual - bad guys storm the castle, little boy sees his father die, is saved by the King-to-be, all the stuff that goes into a good epic movie. Boy meets girl of rival tribe, she saves him, they kiss, yada yada, I can predict the rest...and I think that I am kind of over it, I've got a good book to read...

OK, but wait a minute here, I just remembered that this is a "Romeo Juliet" story which means that one of these perky love birds is going to have to die. Maybe both. So maybe it is worth continuing, just for a little while, just to see how this whole thing plays out.

And 35 minutes later I am sobbing. Crying really, really hard at this average movie with James Franco the hottness and I-sold the dumbass. I am reminded that I have been on a stint where I cry at movies (Marley and Me, He's just not that into you, etc) but this - this is really crying. Like, Charlie has to get me a paper towel to blow my nose because my ears are clogging up, that's the level of crying that we are talking about here.

Why? Because it hits me that in most situations the ones that we loves the most leave us behind, or we leave them. I realize that I have time - a lifetime with the person that I love, but is that enough? The idea that one day he might not be there really hit me as the credits started to roll. And it didn't quite help that Charlie re-inforced my fear that it was true - eventually everyone dies - one before the other and there is no way to avoid that truth. I cried because I didn't know what it felt like to lose some one early, and I cried because I know that Charlie did. He lost his dad 11 years ago. And one day I will lose mine, and my mom, and many other people that I love.

It's just life and I know that, it's what reminds me that I am exceptionally lucky to experience as much love as I do in this life. But last night I just felt like crying about it. Who knew - Tristan and Isolde those sneaky jerks. I was totally fine making snide remarks at Isolde desperateness and Tristan's humility to see that a huge lesson was about to be pushed in front of me and excuse me but I WAS NOT READY for that. I signed up to watch James Franco smooching on some babe and that's about it.

One roll of TP later Charlie and I were back to laughing. The sadness had passed. But I get it, it's there sometimes. There is nothing else to do but roll on through it, and if you find yourself 45 minutes later on the other side laughing about it you know that something is going right.

Wingspan

2009-08-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

C: I love you this much.
E: 5'9?
C: At least as much as the tallest person.

History: Part 1 (Erin)

2009-08-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

In November of 2008 my life turned around. The previous summer I had completed my solo bike tour down the West Coast and headed back to Boulder to meet my new best friend, Jodie Jensen (now Dresel). Jodie had agreed to sublease my room while I was on my trip and we'd only had a few conversations before I left. We didn't actually meet in person until I returned that July and given that I was unemployed and she was marginally employed we spent a lot of time sitting in the disgusting kiddie pool that we'd set up in my back yard. Sometimes Jenny would join in. We liked to complain about how the bottom of the pool we slimy, but we didn't really care enough to do anything about it.

The kiddie pool might just be the analogy for our summer. Jodie and I would wake up, go to the Y, drive to Target, lose her car somewhere, and just not really care. That is the beauty of living without a schedule. Things are completed on their own time and terms, and you sort of just go along and realize that by not really trying everything will be ok. Accept when it comes to needing to pay rent and eat.

Which is when the glorious illusions of life without order come crashing down and you end up with a job that allows you to just get by. A job that you kind of (really) hate and end up calling your parents everyday at 3 pm so that they can once again convince you to not walk out on that job since yes, you do need to eat. And since you also have a slight passion for shopping.

There was a time from September through the beginning of November when I was completely thrown off. I went from lounging all day with my best friend to working at a job that was more structured than anything I'd ever encountered. Not only was it structured, but it was almost unethical. Needless to say, I wasn't having fun. After a summer full of personal discovery, challenge and accomplishment I was not meshing with my new situation. And the paycheck was just enough to keep me going, hardly.

Then after three months of apathy, planning my getaway trip to where ever I could go, I found a job at a company that I'd applied for earlier in the summer. And they hired me. So I threw away my applications for an Italian visa and celebrated by sending an email to my previous boss at the barely-ethical company simply saying that I would not be returning. And happily I didn't.

Now I had two weeks to play around. I planned a solo trip to my favorite spot - Moab. The night before I left I had a brilliant idea. I would ride my cruiser bike to the park while holding Phoenix on a leash. The plan worked perfectly until...Phoenix saw a squirrel. And as she went for it I lost control of my bike and was pulled onto the cement.

Thanks a lot, dog. My arm was scrapped, my cruiser was bent. I was bummed. I dropped her off and rode over to my neighborhood bike shop - Bicycle Village. Before going into the shop I paused and mentally made up my cover story - I had been mt. biking and went off this sweet jump. I ALMOST landed it, but not quite. I'd get it next time.

And then I entered and rolled my bike back to the service desk. There was a cute guy there. He told me his name and I forgot it immediately, as I always do. He asked me what happened to my bike and I told him how I was pulled off by my dog. He laughed. And then I told him what I'd planned to use as my cover story. He agreed it was a good one. I pulled out my standard flirt line and told him "we should go mt. biking some time." He said "yeah that would be great." Then there was a long pause where I expected for him to ask for my number. He didn't. So I walked out. I had this feeling that if we were meant to hang out again we would. That this was a small enough town that we would run into each other. It was sort of strange - I was confident that things would work out as they should.

That was the last time that I saw Charlie...until 7 months later.

Nerdspeak

2009-08-06T07:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, in a relatively serious conversation you said "it was really NEAT!" And I refrained from pinching your cheek, but it was tough.

Thanks to you

2009-07-29T13:47:00.003-07:00

Now when I see people kissing in public I only think "oh gross" 90% of the time.

Compatible

2009-07-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

"We have so much in common. We both like soup. Talking and not talking. We could talk or not talk forever. And still find something to not talk about."

Threats

2009-07-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

C: "Phoenix, if you bark all night again I am moving your spot to the garage!"

Confident

2009-07-09T13:16:00.001-07:00

How is it that in the end, after every discussion, talk, or open-hearted admission it just makes sense. We work it out. And after it feels so simple. You make it easy to lovelovelove.

Imagination gone wild

2009-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

There are some things that I will only admit to Jodie and Vicki. Thank you girls for supporting my craziness and for somehow always topping it. That makes me feel much better.

Past wishes come true

2009-06-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Posted on my personal (now invisible) blog in 2005:

If you want to win my heart: Find out when I'll be at the airport and intuitively figure out which escalator I'll be riding up. Then stand at the top of the escalator with your head tilted slightly to the right and look into my eyes as I ascend, and finally, kiss me while blocking traffic because you just don't give a damn.

Yeah, um...Charlie did this. The first time he picked me up from the airport I was adjusting my luggage, not paying attention, stepped off the escalator and right into the arms of my boyfriend. I love it. That is something that I always want to remember. Blocking foot traffic at DIA because I couldn't wait to kiss a guy I hadn't seen in two days.

CN likes to keep me in suspense

2009-06-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

C: When I get back from Pittsburgh I will have a really good surprise for you.
E: Is it a keychain with my name on it? You know I like those.
C: No, even better.
E: What could it be!?!
C: You'll just have to wait.
E: I hate waiting.
C: I know.
E: You love that.

So since you ducked out to watch a movie with Nick and Dana while I type up an outline for my "informative speech" on Woodstock I am just left here to wonder and imagine all of the possibilities of what this surprise could be.

And as you know, I have a very over-reactive imagination. And my only clue is that it's not a keychain.

CD marker

2009-06-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last night I found out that you have been keeping a piece of paper in your wallet for the last year. You take this piece of paper out every time you hear a song that reminds you of me and write the song down. On Friday, with your list of 13 songs you put together a playlist on my computer. The list is in a specific order, and must stay that way you've told me. There is one song for when we were in St. Louis driving back from the bars in Mike's car. One from the time you were riding back from Santa Fe, one from a bbq last summer, one that you heard at work, every song has a date and a significant attachment.

Thank you Charlie. You keep reminding me. I love who you are.

Marker of time

2009-06-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

E: Do you know that we have been dating for one year on June 25th? Or something like that?
C: Wowwwwwww. (noted sarcasm)

..........
........
Discovery Channel
...........
............

E: So maybe we should celebrate that.
C: What, our anniversary?
E: I didn't call it that!
C: You are so funny. OK then.

.............
.............
.............

E to self: Hmmmmmmmm.

Solution

2009-05-21T09:30:00.001-07:00

I've found it! Now for just $14 you can have a mustache whenever you want, and then you can just take it off when I show up. Brilliant.

Summer

2009-05-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

The season of Crocs with socks. Man oh man...the things I put up with.

Technologically incompatible

2009-04-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I received a very random email from a reporter at the Washington Post. She was doing a piece on "technologically incompatible relationships" and found my Facebook group titled "My boyfriend won't join Facebook." As this fit her topic, she wanted to interview me for the piece she is writing. And as I love to be interviewed, especially on the topic of virtual communication - which I am (obviously) a HUGE fan of, I was more than delighted to chat with her.

She asked a few interesting questions, and the article should be published in two to three weeks. What we uncovered through our short conversation was that certain people (mostly men, I think) - especially extroverted personality types prefer direct communication. These people are more likely to call than text, more likely to wait for a face to face than check their email, and they are adamently anti-Facebook. Partially because the majority of the population is on there (a way to remain slightly anonymous), but MOSTLY because they (that's YOU, Charlie) don't like the idea of sitting in front of the computer to talk. It's viewed as a collasal waste of time, and moreso - an artifical form of communication. This is a minimalistic, and somewhat archaic stand to take. But I must say, as some one whose average email response time hovers around 3 minutes - I have a profound respect for Charlie's uninterest in the online community. It's almost like taking a break from the stresses of the world, stepping away from drama, allowing life to happen as an organic process, in the moment instead of minute by minute.

Could I ever do that? Maybe. Would I ever want to? Probably not. I will be the first to admit to being completely fascinated and even addicted to the speed of response, the information available, and the ease of communication formed by social networking sites, email, blogs, everything online. But I certainly love that my boyfriend is not.

Paint

2009-04-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

C: Did you only do one coat on these walls?
E: No, I did two. I think. Maybe one.
C: Well, we're going to have to re-paint them.
E: Why? Because I went out of the lines?
C: Yeah, but also because of all of the boggers that you wiped on this wall near the bed.
E: NO way. No way! There is NO way those are still there.
C: Yeah, take a look. They've dried to the wall like cement.
E: I can pick them off, here look....

......
E: They're not coming off.
C: They are glued on there.
E: We can keep the same color, right?

Charlie's first surprise

2009-04-16T11:13:00.001-07:00

Um, you wrote me a poem? Like, you wrote it yourself, you didn't just copy it out of a book. And it was good! I loved it.

You told me that after I told you the story of how my 8th grade boyfriend wrote me a poem you thought to yourself that you could do better. Or at least try. And you did. Every word was placed perfectly.

It has been 15 years since any boy has written me a poem. I love you Charlie!

Common Ground

2009-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

C&E love

Running
Hiking remote trails of 14ers
Iron and Wine
FOTC
Cheese
Pretzels
Movies
Star Wars
Temprepedic pillows
Sleeping with the heat low
Snowshoes
Chasing Phoenix
Walks
Forgetting to bring environmentally friendly bags shopping
Bushwacking to find the best camping spot
Charlie
Erin
Phoenix when she isn't sneaking onto the couch.

E loves

Driving to the Y
Olives
Ice Cream

C loves

Biking to the Y
Everything but Olives
Tortilla chips and salsa

Ringer: off

2009-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

One of the downsides of having your phone on vibrate is that it's much more difficult to find when you "misplace" it. Good luck.

FOTC/Iron and Wine

2009-04-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

E: OK, so guess what I got you for your birthday.
C: No, I'd rather be surprised.
E: No, seriously! Guess.
C: Concert tickets.

silence...

E: No more guessing.

Dressing Up

2009-03-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

It's approximately half way to the best holiday of the year and I have already started to fantasize about matching costumes.

This is the year. I have a good feelings. All of my dreams will come true and that involves a coordinated dance routine to an impromptu song. I so cannot wait for that.

Saddest Song

2009-03-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

"One of us will die in these arms."

- Iron and Wine

I hate this line because it is true.

Continuation

2009-03-10T09:28:00.001-07:00

Chapter 1: Charlie loves Erin. True story.

Chapter 2: Charlie moves in.

To be continued...

Puzzle

2009-03-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons that I started this blog was to record the many little things that I might forget over time. And I've found that the little things are the most important - those day to day happenings that make me smile. Because what more do we have than right now, this exact moment? Happiness is not something that you can put down on your list of goals, your New Year's resolutions, you cannot push it off to the future. If you don't have it, go out immediately and get it!

Little thing to remember: Last night Charlie told me that he equated our relationship to finding the right piece of a puzzle. It's not a perfectly shaped piece, but it fits.

If you tried to match up any other piece you could try to force it into the same spot by folding up its edges, you could cut parts off of it, but it wouldn't be the original piece. By insisting on fitting the wrong piece into that space you change it into something it is not.

Charlie, you are the right piece. I like you exactly as you are. And you like me exactly as I am. Odd shaped edges and all.

Much better than the mullet

2009-02-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

And pssssssst - ILY.

Wishes

2009-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

E: Um, remember a few weeks ago when I gave you that eyelash to make a wish on? And you wouldn't tell me what you wished? Well, I think that enough time has gone by. It's safe to tell me.

C: Nope. I don't think so.

E: But then how will I ever know if it comes true!?!

C: We are making it come true.

E: Oh. Awwww. {silence}

Faaaa-Freak Out!

2009-02-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

I'm glad that when I freak out and ask you to tell me what your two and a half year plan is right before you fall asleep you say the one thing that makes sense: It's going to be ok, my plan is to love you forever.

ps

2009-02-06T14:53:00.001-08:00

I know, sometimes I am amazed we met each other too.

Spilling the beans

2009-02-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

Hi CWN,
Since you don't read this website I have something to tell you. It's a surprise, but I'm going to say it here because I am so excited.

Guess what I got for your birthday? Actually, don't guess because I'll tell you. Tickets to Flight of the Conchords with Iron and Wine!! They are at Red Rocks on the day after your birthday.

Best girlfriend ever? Must be.

Poof

2009-01-27T14:53:00.001-08:00

OMG guess what I did last night?

I accidentally farted on my boyfriend. And surprise, surprise, you would think that it was the best present that he ever received. He was so excited. He couldn't stop talking about it and describing it. As if I needed to be reminded. My plan was to go the entire rest of my life without farting near him. It looks as if I only lasted seven months.

Sanitas

2009-01-19T14:11:00.001-08:00

C: I can really tell the difference from all of that time doing the Stair Master.
E: I can really tell the difference from all of that time doing nothing.

Conversation

2009-01-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

E: Is it hard being the best boyfriend?
C: Nope.
E: Is it easy?
C: It is the easiest thing I've ever done.

NY Kiss

2009-01-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Starting out the New Year with a mustached boyfriend.

In a crushed velvet denim colored leisure suit. To be fair, I am wearing a pirate looking headband. But we've concluded that I am not a pirate because:

1. I cannot do a proper "aaaaaarrrrrrggggggg!"
2. I only drink vodka and not rum
3. I don't own a trunk and if I did there wouldn't be any gold in it.
4. I don't know how to sail.

What we have concluded about Charlie is:
1. He gives the best NYE kisses ever (even with the scratch factor)
2. He is totally hot in all costume apparel.
3. No one has ever rocked the Outback harder.
4. My family likes him (whew!)
5. He has some seriously awesome dance moves.

Parallel

2008-12-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

Listen, I know that this might not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. There are 6 billion people in the world, and I would imagine that many of those people are in love. The fundamental backbone of every religion, every civilization, everything that we consciously know about human relationships brings us back to one thing - love. Without this understanding there is a lack of tolerance of differences; the different ways that we look, act, sing, dance, believe in, express, and celebrate.

But for my very small part of a very large organism that is the living and breathing human planet, I will just say - I feel it. I know it. I understand what it means. And I've seen the other side which is lacking. I've seen how that can tear a person down, how it can make them hind their differences and their uniqueness. I chose to walk away from that. I want to be with some one who makes me laugh when I'm about to cry, with some one who knows how to help, some one who loves me always and no matter what. Even when I have the most gigantic zit on my face. Even then.

I imagine the 6 billion people on earth hurrying about their days, reading, driving, cooking, working, laughing, fighting, struggling, smiling, looking up at the sun, holding each other, and living in separate planes and spheres of distance and time. And then I look to my left to the guy driving my car back from the mall where we visited three stores to find the perfect birthday gift for my mom. We are headed in the same direction. It feels good.

Better than the morning alarm

2008-12-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

This morning at 6:45 am I heard "I love you. I am so lucky."

I had no urge to hit the snooze on that one.

Best Belt Buckle Ever

2008-12-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas babe! Don't check this site out until after 12/25. Cool? Thanks.

Weird in the same way

2008-12-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

E: Tonight we can watch Labyrinth! That will be so, so cool!

Brief moment of embarrassed silence. What if my boyfriend doesn't think that Labyrinth is cool? What if I just got really excited and exposed myself to a person who doesn't appreciate the Jennifer Connely early years, goblins stealing babies, and pseudo-sexy in a feminine confusing to a child way David Bowie? How can I backtrack out of this one and still remain kind of cool? Is it possible? Why did I get so excited!?!?

C: I already started to watch it this morning. Yeah, that sounds great.

Whew. Love that guy.

Bug

2008-12-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

For awhile it subsided. I thought that my random urges to travel were situational, when I was upset and wanted an escape. But I am not upset, unhappy, or eager to avoid anything. To the contrary, I am looking forward to moving forward, head on and dealing with everything that I find.

But there is a piece of me, by now I have accepted this as a completely integral piece of me, that wants to move. That wants to see all of these things that I have not, and to re-visit all of the places that I have been. I can't pretend that this is not a part of me. And I wonder what it means for my life that I will always be seeking some other adventure in a place where I am not. For the first time in my life though I am unsure how to go about a new move, a new trip, I have no plan. Having no plan is unsettling, I can't help but admit that. Sometimes it is completely liberating, to float. But for the most part I am driven to go. That is my drive. It's different. Sometimes it is to get up the hill, and sometimes it is to scout out a new place to explore. And before long I am pretty sure that I will get out the map, stick my finger down and put together a plan of action to get to a spot that I have never seen before.

I hope that you will join me.

Real

2008-11-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

I don't have to be perfect.

Summary of the mustache

2008-11-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

When I first started to hang out with Charlie he was growing a mustache for some sort of competition at his bike shop. There was to be a "wall of mustaches" in July, with pictures of every employee donning a 'stache. But in the end, I think that Charlie might have been the only one on that wall. Chris grew one, but shaved it off after one day claiming that girls looked at him as if he was "creepy" (which couldn't possibly be true, nothing says "I'm a man" more than a mustache); Zack...couldn't quite grow one, and I'm not too sure about the rest.

Regardless, I think that one of the things that I really liked about Charlie and his mustache was that he was not swayed by anything to shave it off. And it seemed to somehow totally match his personality - totally open and friendly to everyone. So when I would introduce him to my friends I was kind of proud of myself for dating a guy with a mustache. I thought that I had proved to myself that I was in the same boat, on the same train, or whatever. I would support him no matter what he wanted to do, that is just how much I liked him. Plus, no one else's boyfriend had one!

There were two slight issues with the mustache:

Kissing. Obviously. I had never kissed a guy with a mustache before (other than my grandfather) so I wasn't really sure what to do. And it kind of overlapped his lip, and it also gave me some zits, and wasn't very comfortable.
I wasn't 100% sure what he looked like. I knew most of what he looked like, but his entire upper lip was missing. Nick pointed out "what if he doesn't have one!" and I couldn't really confirm that he did.

Otherwise, I thought that it was kind of adorable. And I would totally defend it if I needed to. But that didn't mean I wasn't wondering if it would be a permanent addition to his face. After awhile I got sick of the scratchy kisses. So I kidded around saying things like "wouldn't that be funny if one day you just shaved it all off!? hahaha..."

Then one day I was standing in my kitchen doing something and Charlie walked up and gave me a hug. I looked up for a scratchy kiss and saw that something was missing! And realized OH MY GOD my boyfriend is HOT!!! Who knew? But I wondered - was he the same person? Would I have to get to know him all over again? Would he still like me now that he'd shaved off his mustache? Would I have to cut my hair or do something different too?

The good news was that he still liked me. After about 5 minutes I got used to the non-mustache and realized that Charlie is himself no matter what, in every situation and with every person he meets. For that reason I feel more comfortable with him than with any other person I've ever met.

This year I can add something new to my list of accomplishments: I've learned how to kiss a guy with a mustache! And also, what it really means to be in love (ha! thought I'd get away without adding something sappy, huh? Sucker!).

Sarah McLachlan stole my line.

2008-11-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

Your love is better than ice cream.

Team awesome

2008-11-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

First boy pick for my team is Charlie.

Charlie, you are now on my team. You can run fast, you are good at tag, and you are always fair when dealing with other teammates.

And just the other day Charlie said "We are on the same team. We work through things together." Right on. I think that we will win this one.

Deep Thoughts

2008-11-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

So...say that you are laying next to your boyfriend and he puts his arm around you and looks at you and says something really sweet that is too personal to publish on the internet. Then maybe your boyfriend looks up at the ceiling with that same sweet gaze in his eyes and you wait 5 second and then accidentally say the dreaded, cliched "so...what are you thinking?" D'oh!

Don't be at all surprised when he honestly reports "I was thinking of that movie 'Master and Commander,' you know there is that one really violent scene..."

And for many reasons, I find that to be the perfect answer.

Of my dreams

2008-10-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Every night I put my arm around Charlie and he puts his hand over my hand and moves it so that our hands are on his heart.

Walking

2008-10-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

I bet you did not know that I noticed how every time we go for a walk you make sure that I am on the inside of the sidewalk, and that you are closest to the street. But I did. You make me feel protected, and I never thought I needed that. Funny now I realize how much I was missing without you. Thank you.

Dragonflies

2008-10-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I have so much happiness in my chest that I want it to open up and disperse - to explode and expand and just relieve me from wanting to say "I love you" a million times. What else can I say?

And what would it sound like if these lovelinesses were let free? Would it sound like a grasshopper darting away sideways zig zagging through the grass? Would it be a silent swarm of fire flies slowly drifting from the pack, lighting themselves to their own individual little universes? Would it be a group of dragon flies hovering in front of my heart and buzzing with wings suspended in air?

Or would it be an old lady holding her left shoe in her hand and waving it into the air saying "you fool! why would you want to give this away? Keep this feeling with you and do not let it go!" But lady, haven't you learned that there is nothing better than to let that love go and watch it bump right into some more of itself?

Go on love, share yourself. Bump, fly, buzz away, and light it up. I've got plenty more.

Halloween

2008-10-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

It certainly doesn't hurt when your boyfriend brings up Halloween two months in advance and recommends matching costumes.

Have I died and gone to heaven? Matching costumes? The only thing that could top that would be a synchronized dance routine practiced to perfection, and debuted somewhere in a very public spot. Working on it.

Criteria 1: He must sing karaoke

2008-10-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

Preferably well.

A few months ago, at the Outback (would you believe it) some one sang this song and looked right at me. It was both a totally public and deeply personal moment. And something changed a little bit. I felt this movement in my heart. It seemed to grow a little bit. Strange, I know. There seems to be no other way to describe it. I think sometimes - when will this feeling leave, when will my heart deflate and when will I get used to being in love? But maybe the answer is that I will always feel a little different, feel a little more than before.

Hands

2008-10-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

I decided that if I could get even close to what I wanted with love I would be happy to sacrifice the little things. Like holding hands while driving, letting go while switching gears, and then searching for my hand again.

I am happy to have found out that I don't have to let the little things go. They are more wonderful than I'd given credit.