I DID MY WAITING..

Hello to all!

I forgot that I had a blog for awhile and then remembered this morning and decided to look it up. After a bit I was able not only to find it, but also log in! Yay for all-knowing technology!

SO MUCH HAS CHANGED.

This is a good place to keep track of important life things because the internet is forever. Although now that I say that I can't find the link to our wedding website.

BECAUSE OH YEAH I AM MARRIED. To Erik, of course. No surprise there. Geez, so much has happened.

Okay so.. Erik got home, it was the best day of my life. It was raining at the airport. We hugged, we cried, we ate Italian food. He kissed me the second we were alone, which surprised me. We picked up like we had never spent any time apart. He is everything.

He proposed in San Diego about a month after he got home (Labor day weekend). We got married the following January. It has been pure marital bliss ever since. The wedding was beautiful. Married in the Gilbert temple, dinner that night at Darla and Joe's house in Queen Creek. The next day we had a reception in the Snowflake Social Hall. It was gorgeous. The next week we had an open house in a church in Tucson. I'm so in love with him.

I worked at BASIS Oro Valley Primary as a Teaching Fellow for a year. Part of my assignment was teaching Music to K-4 for about 4 months of the year while the real teacher was out on maternity leave. WHAT A CHALLENGE. It was fun. It was exhausting. I hated it.

Rough year, in professional terms. The climate at the school was tense, we were treated like children, we had no days we could take off without penalty. I was sick a lot. I did have some great coworkers, though. But basically I cried every week and wondered if maybe something was wrong with me because I hated working.

Then, miracle of miracles, I got a job at the University of Arizona. I worked in the Admissions Processing Unit from July 2017-August 2018. What a breath of fresh air. My coworkers were great, my bosses were super understanding and approachable, the job was rewarding and not too stressful. I came home with enough energy to cook and read and hang out. This entire past year has been a time of refresh and healing. Erik and I were able to walk to and from work/school every day together. It was awesome. I cannot say enough about how grateful I am for that job.

Just recently I accepted a new position at the UofA. Crazy how I got there. Basically, Erik and I had decided that although financially my job made things tight, I would stick with it because it was so much better for me emotionally. But then one day I was stressed about finances (we had tires stolen off of our car and then our car AC broke) so I logged on to the UACareers website and saw an advising position open. I have wanted to become an advisor for quite some time so I applied. I was called in for an interview, then a second interview. The second interview was in front of a large(ish) panel and included me giving a 15 minute presentation. The afternoon after the presentation I got a call from someone in the Career Center for the same college. He had seen my presentation and liked it and wanted me to apply to a position in his department. I did and then I was offered it. I'm really excited. It seems like it will be a really fun position that will be much more challenging and super different from my admissions one. I'm looking forward to the growth this will give me. I will be (starting on Monday) the Career Development Coordinator for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (aka the College of Herbology and Muggle Studies ;) ).

I had some crazy weird medical things. Mysterious medical things. They come and go but are gone currently. I got on a super low-dose anti-anxiety medication which has helped me so much to be myself.

Luna is doing well. She is very itchy all the time, even though we have tried everything under the sun to help her not be.

We moved apartments last month. The place we were in was nice but the management was basically the worst. So we are now renting from some friends/former church-mates. They have a little one-bedroom condo just down the street from our old place. It is great. The kitchen is lovely. It has a dishwasher. And now we have a washer and dryer. YAY! We had been going to the in-laws to do laundry every week. They didn't appreciate it, we didn't love it (but we are grateful). This is a much better set up. Erik did a great job setting the house up, too. It is very cozy.

So many things have happened, I ought to be better about posting them. I'll try in the future. For now, this is a concise, general update on our life. :)

xo
Chanda

The Knot Wedding Story

I am not sure if the Knot will be deleting our website, so to preserve this lovely story I am saving it here. (https://www.theknot.com/us/chanda-crossman-and-erik-petersen-jan-2017)

Our Story

Chanda and Erik are totally getting married! How did this happen?

It began on July 27th, 2013. Erik's cousin and roommate, Alec, invited him to see "Now You See Me" in the cheap seats. Erik couldn't say "no" when he found out who would else would be going. Chanda, a long-time friend of Alec's, had made plans with her best friend, Sarah, to also attend the movie.

Erik had seen Chanda around the University of Arizona campus and always encouraged his cousin to invite her over. He found her to be the most beautiful girl and really would've given anything to have an excuse to talk to her. Despite the fact that Erik had been well-aware of Chanda since the first time he saw her October of 2012 at a dance, she had no idea who "Alec's cousin" was.

Chanda and Erik hit it off. After the movie, they all went over (for the first of what would become dozens of times) to the IHOP on Oracle road. Chanda talked about how she would be moving. Erik offered to help. They exchanged numbers and shook hands goodnight. It was a pleasure to meet.

The next couple days, Erik made any excuse to go see Chanda. Chanda also came over to Erik and Alec's apartment to watch a movie. Erik and Chanda stayed up until the sunrise talking, amazed at how well they got along and how strong their friendship could be after only knowing one another for days.

Weeks passed and Erik and Chanda were becoming the best of friends. A relationship was out of the question. Erik was in the process of submitting his application to become a two-year LDS missionary in another country and Chanda was on the brink of graduating college and moving wherever a job took her. Still, they dated carelessly. They went to concerts. They went to shows. They even went to Disneyland. They weren't going to kiss, though, because that would make it more than friends. They weren't ready for such complication in their lives.

But the Disney magic did it again. The day after returning from a Disney trip, they reminisced at Erik's apartment about what had been the best experience of their entire lives. They had never felt happier. They were best friends but it was more-than-a-best-friend happiness. Sitting and listening to music, their smiles met for the first time on November 6th, 2013.

Months went by and Chanda and Erik didn't want to be apart any waking moment. Their amazing dates and friendship continued, and even though they swore not to add complication right before major life events, they felt more drawn to the idea of a relationship, even though they'd shortly have to go their separate ways. On January 6th, 2014, Erik and Chanda were playing basketball in the U of A recreation center. That night, if there had been any previous doubt, Erik decided he wanted Chanda as his girlfriend. He knew she was unconvinced, so maybe a miracle would sway her. When they finished playing, he made a deal with her that if he made half and full-court basketball shots, she would have to "do what he asked." After seeing Erik lose at shooting games, she was sure he wouldn't make lucky shots. His confidence was less than he expressed, mostly just hoping for points for trying. Erik went on to drain a half-court shot, and then a full-court shot, on first try in what could only be described as a miracle of parting-of-the-Red-Sea proportions. That night, Erik, all ready with his list of reasons, told Chanda they should be official. She agreed.

They fell in love. It only took them two more months to admit it to one another. On March 6th, 2014, on top of A-Mountain, Erik and Chanda said "I love you" with the backdrop of downtown Tucson lights. There was no doubt about what they had, however that same month Erik opened his mission call to the Chile Santiago North Mission -- to be leaving August 13th, 2014, and later Chanda accepted a position at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The relationship grew, despite their looming separation. They were happier than ever. They went back to Disneyland. They went to San Diego, California various weekends. They passed breaks, holidays, and birthdays together for the cherished months of Spring 2014. "My Entire Life" by City Lights became their song.

Chanda's job at Disney World required her to be in Florida an entire two months before Erik left on his mission. Just as the Tucson heat picked up and monsoon season neared, Chanda and Erik could feel the weight and loneliness of their eminent goodbye. Going against previous considerations, they decided not to break up. They were too happy together to end it. The chances of them being together again in two years, no matter how slim, were worth it. Erik drove Chanda to Florida and they experienced the worst and saddest night of their lives as they said goodbye at the Orlando Airport on June 8th, 2014.

Long distance wasn't so bad. Chanda and Erik filled the hole left in their hearts with constant phone conversations and Skype dates. They worked and continued with their lives, content with the memories they created and hopeful they'd create more in real life again someday. They promised to grow individually and together. "Becoming yours."

Erik left on his mission in August 2014 and wrote a letter to Chanda on his way to Chile. For the next two years, Chanda and Erik wrote a letter to each other every single day to tell about the daily events and feelings. Letters meant everything. Even when Chanda broke her back and later left on her own Spanish-speaking mission, and even when Erik faced poor mail service on a special assignment on an island in the Pacific Ocean, they wrote everyday without fail. (These over-1400 letters are now stored in a notebook at Chanda's apartment.) Letters, cards, and packages allowed them to know each other better and become closer and more committed during the two years. They were happy with their relationship, although missing each other constantly and looking forward to seeing each other.

On August 2nd, 2016, Erik returned from Chile and Chanda was at the airport. They picked up better than they left off. All the happiness, smiles, and laughter were greater than ever. They had no doubt that it had been worth it. Being together through it all is what it's all about.

--------

On the morning of September 5th, 2016, with the permission of her parents, I proposed to Chanda on a beach in Coronado Island in San Diego, California. (We dubbed it Chanda+Erik beach.) I waited for the right moment, which came as we stood there with the ocean breeze around us, looking at each other -- just completely happy. I read her the last of 720 letters which I had written her. We sang to each other. I got down on one knee, she said yes, and my secretly placed video camera caught the whole thing.

We are overwhelmingly grateful for all the love and support we have had from our families and friends. We know what we are doing is right. We have chosen each other and will continue to do so. 

I love Chanda with all that I am.

We will be getting married for time and all eternity on January 6th, 2017.

<3

The Right Now

Found this recently and decided to publish it now. I can't remember why I didn't publish it when I wrote it, so ... There we go.

Two years ago I was on a road trip to Florida with my best friend. My life plan looked like this:

-Disney internship until January 2015, leave on a mission right after, get back from mission in August 2016 with Erik, move to Tucson, be with Erik forever.

Then the Disney internship didn't work out very well so I moved to Minnesota and changed my life plan:

-Submit mission papers ASAP, leave MN by November, get home before Erik and get a job in Tucson, welcome Erik home, be with Erik forever.

Then my call came in and I had to wait until the very end of December:

-Leave for mission in December, get home slightly before Erik, welcome Erik home, be with Erik forever.

Then I broke my back in December:

-Leave for mission in March, get home a month after Erik, be with Erik forever.

Then I got a hernia:

-Come home for February, return to mission in March after surgery, get home a month after Erik, be with Erik forever.

Then the surgery took 5ever:

-Get surgery someday, get a job sometime, bide time until then.... be with Erik forever.

I finally got the surgery. And now I am in the job process. I have been offered a couple of positions in Tucson but none that I have felt really good about taking. I have some applications in that I am really hopeful about. We will see.

But this "right now" nonsense is killing me. I AM SO BORED (and lonely). It has literally been years since I lived in the same city as my best friend (excluding that stint where H' Ivey was my companion -- she's the bomb). I know that all of this nonsense will be worth it in the long run, I'll get through it, life is good, "attitude is a choice," blah blah blah. But hot dang, it sucks right now.

If I had a dime for every time someone has told me "you're just in a transition phase right now, it will pass" I would have enough money to move to Tucson. Transition phase or not, 2 years of treading water has worn me out. I am ready for some permanency. A job, an apartment, and planning things with someone instead of by myself. I am so excited for when my best friend lives in the United States again. And I am so excited for when I live in Tucson close to so many people who I love.

Anyway, in other, less depressing news- I got to see Aaron and Melanie! My dad invited me to go to Utah with him. It was really fun. Salt Lake City had pretty nice weather, I drove a quad for the first time, A and M's apartment is so cute, I got to eat tacos and brownies, Mel did my hair a few times, we went to an aquarium! I am so thankful for my family.

Also my mom and I got to go to California to pick up my stuff. It was awesome seeing people from my mission again. I love so many people there. And H' Ramirez made me arroz con leche! :D If that isn't love, I don't know what is.

And! My cousin Derek got home from his mission! Currently I have no family members out on missions. It is crazy how phases of life come and go.