So, after much excitement of getting letters from Representatives and special notes and well wishes from our customers, the time had come to travel to DC. My husband and I drove up on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Even though he could have no part of my inside experience he would be able to do some site seeing and some work on the computer while I was working. The evening we got there we were totally exhausted and ready for some rest. Our hotel reservations were at the JW Merritt just a couple blocks from the White House. When we got there, yep it was country come to town! We were greeted by a nice man and helped us to unload our bags and was going to carry them to our room. I was not reallyaccustomed to that, but it was very nice. Our room was very quant and comfortable. It was getting a little late and I would be having a really big day the next day with having to be down in the lobby at 6:00 am. So, needless to say I really didn’t sleep a lot. I woke an hour before the alarm. I was pretty nervous. I knew no one. I usually make friends easy but this was different. I was about to meet people from all over the country who I was sure knew so much more than me in the design world. So, when I got to the checkin I was given a packet of information, such as some papers to sign and read, our lanyard and beautiful work apron. I was assigned to the team Jingle part of the week and team Glow the second half. Outside there was a large passenger bus waiting to take us to an off site location. Yep, I said off site. The first two days we were not going to the White House. We had a lot of ID checking and so much security, which was fine to me. I felt like I was in the safest place in the country. When I got on the bus about half way back I noticed a lady sitting next to the window and something told me to stop at that seat and ask if I could sit. She was happy to say yes. We began talking to what seemed like we had known each other for a very long time. Her name was different but she told me to just call her Geni. She was from the beautiful Puerto Rico. The bus took us on a long drive to what seemed like a long time to get there, to a warehouse. This place was where we would meet our team leaders and and connect to our team. Our team Jingle was about 17 people. I do want to say, I immediately loved them all. We had people from NC, Alabama, Michigan, Guam, Arizona, and I really can’t remember them all. But even my friend I just met from Puerto Rico was on my team and we would be together the whole week on the same teams. God gave me her. We worked close together a lot, and we always sat together during travel to and from and when we ate. She was just that person that made me comfortable in a strange place. I also need to say I had a great connection with the lady from Guam as well. When she found out I was from Bishopville she talked with me and told me she has family here, some cousins whom she has not seen in years. Hasn’t been here since the 1970’s. But it was nice to get that connection. During the next two days we would be working at the warehouse in our groups. Our group was assigned The Grand Foyer! We learned from our leader that we were going to be decorating 28 Christmas Trees and the foyer. This was HUGE! We spent the days gathering all of our supplies to do our decorating. We strung Christmas balls with wire, hung fishing line on battery operated taper candles, put boxes together and wrapped some with rich burgundy velvet cloth. We took silk hydrangeas and roses out boxes and stripped the leaves from them as well. One problem we had with that was the fact that they came in the wrong color. The First Lady had picked out a rich burgundy color and creams and golds and these flowers were just a little too purple. So, we decided that we could spray them the color we needed. That is a whole different story in itself. The first day was long. We were allowed to carry our phones to the place we kept our coats but we were not allowed to take any photos in the warehouse. We were also not allowed to discuss on social media any details of what we were doing or to tell the theme that was chosen. We received breakfast and lunch catered these two days and it was all very good. We were allowed to check our phones and make calls when needed and we could take breaks when needed as well. On the second day we had to wrap up the gathering process and box up our things and label them all to be placed in trucks to go the the White House on Wednesday. Other teams there had their own projects to do as well. The rooms that needed to be done each had a team. The red room, blue room, green room, Grand Foyer, State Dining Room and the West Room where the president has some of his speeches and does entertaining. Some of the other teams had more hands on crafting than my team did. Some of what would be fun to me, such as building with legos and other crafting. But my area was so cool because that is the first place guest would come in when touring the Peoples House. The warehouse was just a place that White House extras are stored and worked on. Never knew this place existed and to this day I could not tell you where its at. The other thing interesting about getting done on Tuesday was before any boxes could be loaded onto the trucks they had to be checked by Secret Service and a dog. That was cool to watch. After the last day at the warehouse we were all excited that the next day were headed too the White House. When I got back to the hotel each day, I was plum exhausted. But I was enjoying myself and making new friends with people I would have never met before. This concludes the first two days. I’ll have more to come soon. Until then live life in bloom.