Yay for 2011

Oh man... That's how I feel right now. I did not sleep well at all last night, which isn't making my first day back at work a good one in any way. I had four glorious days of sleep and not they're gone. It makes me sad. Luckily I only have a 4 day week this week and next to help ease me back into things. And as it turns out, Monday the 17th is also a work holiday, so make that three 4-day weeks in a row! Score!

I had a wonderful Christmas with family and a great New Year's with my Love. I was thankful for the extra time to spend with close loved ones.

Not a whole lot is going on right now. This weekend I will be traveling to Los Angeles for George's uncle's wedding. It will be the first time I get to meet any of his family aside from his brother, whom we tend to see nearly every Sunday. He's very excited, as am I, but I'm also nervous. I mean, who wouldn't be?! Meeting your significant other's whole extended family (basically) for the first time at an important life event for one of them! We have lots to do. We found a dress for me yesterday, now we have to take it and his suit in to be cleaned, make a trip to the grocery store to get food to have for the drive there and back. I’m thinking stuff for sandwiches, chips, grapes, things that are easy to eat and not messy. Oh, and CHEAP! Lol.

I think the trip will be a lot of fun. George’s aunt has never been to California, so they want to go do some sightseeing stuff in LA, which is fine with me because even though I’m a California native, I too have never been to Hollywood or done any of those things, so it will definitely be an adventure! I’m hoping to take TONS of pictures :)

I’ve started rereading the Harry Potter series again. I’ve lost count of how many times I have read the first 5, but I haven’t re-read the 7^th for sure. I think I’ve re-read the 6^th book once, but I’m excited to read them all in concordance now that the story is complete. I also hope to have it done before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 is released in July.

For Christmas, I was surprised with the red Wii I’ve been on and on about since they announced it! I was so excited and it was completely unexpected! My older brother got it for me, and said I have to share it with George, which I am very happy to do, lol :) We now have 6 games for the system! Two came with the system itself, two I already had, and two we acquired from trading in some other games. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. One of my favorite games is Mario Kart Racing. I’m really good at it! I really like that the Wii is all about interaction. George and I can play all sorts of games together, which I like. Yes we’re playing video games, but we get some good quality bonding time in while doing so. He beats me at Wii tennis every game. Lol. But that’s okay :)

Okay, enough of my scattered rantings. I know there’s not much flow to this post, but I wanted to get this all out there. Hope you enjoy!

Just an update on different areas of life

I have a new job. I've been here for just over a month and am really liking it. I'm still working for UC Davis, but now I'm at the Medical Center in Sacramento instead of the main campus. I'm doing a lot of the same tasks plus more. I work with doctors and fellow staffers on a daily basis, which I think is cool. My division is located right next to the auditorium so I often get free food from events, which I see as a total score, and my new co-workers are all very nice so far. There are a few down sides though. The evening commute is terrible and torturous. Staff parking is located 8 blocks from my building, so I get to walk that twice a day in this miserable weather. And once again I am the youngest person I have met in my building - by at least 6 years. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping to have some new co-workers I could become good friends with and I just don't see that happening with such a big disconnect in ages, but I'm not going to be closed minded. I have a Christmas party on Friday and George and I can feel people out then, outside of work.

I have gained back some of the weight I managed to lose, so I'm on a mission to lose it again, plus a ton more. George has promised to help me accomplish this goal, which I am very appreciative about. :) We start tonight! I’m starting off light, with maybe a brisk walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then some weights, and over time will work my way to longer, more in depth workouts.

We are still working on our couponing. We’ve managed to do pretty well lately. We’re shopping a lot more at Safeway instead of Bel Air. With Safeway’s new Just for U program, I’m able to load e-coupons onto my Safeway card and use those on top of the paper manufacturer coupons, and they collect information on things you usually buy and give you special deals based on the data. For example, we were able to get boxes of Pasta Roni for $0.89/each, when normally they were $1.60. That’s nearly half off! I was able to get orange juice much cheaper than usually, and many more things. So far I am very impressed with their new system. We still went to Bel Air for things like produce and some meats because they have a much better selection in those areas.

2010 is almost over! I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by. I admit at times it felt like it could not go by fast enough, where I wanted nothing more than for time to speed up and leave all of what was happening behind, and of course those times seemed to draaaaag on endlessly. I'm excited to ring in the new year! I just don't know how I'll go about it this year. Maybe someone will have a fabulous party that George and I can attend :)

I, for one, am very glad to be where I am. I’m short on money, but I’m never short on love, happiness, and family, and I am thankful for that. Thank you to everyone that has helped me through this year. I am forever grateful to you.