I'm not going to lie, I'm not completely sober right now. Jerbs and I decided to say in for New Year (shocking, right?), but I wanted to drink, so I've been mixing my own bloody Mary's. I think I'm doing a great job, these things are good! Which might not be a good thing but oh well. I honestly don't remember the last time I drank this much, but I still want to write about 2015 before it's over so . . . here we go.
I feel like 2015 was all around a pretty great year, with some big amazing things that happened in it.
In January, I took my first ever vacation from work. I didn't actually go anywhere, but I got to not work for 10 days, and that was fucking amazing. I've never been able to take off that much time, and I've never gotten paid for taking time off before, so that made me feel very grown up. We got to visit the Flicks in Phoenix, which is always fun, and my mom and sister came to visit. It was so nice to have my mom in Flag, because she hadn't been up here in so long. I really enjoyed my little break. Of course, coming back to work to no one having done what they were supposed to while I was gone sucked, but water under the bridge now.
In February I turned 30 and had probably the worst birthday of my life. But also in February, I got to enroll in my CPC class and see Eric Paslay live, so those were both good things. And Jerbs got a new job and FINALLY got to tell Staples to suck it! I also found out in February that I was going to be a bridesmaid in Theresa's wedding, which was freaking amazing.
In March we almost moved and then didn't. Also in March my dad brought up all my STUFF and we put it into storage. It was nice to see my dad but weird to see all my stuff, I'm still not comfortable with that whole situation, but what can you do? Someday I'll have space for all of my stuff. March was also when I hit a rough patch at work and things were tense for awhile, but that passed pretty quickly. March was also Max's 2nd adoption anniversary and Hollie's 1st adoption anniversary, so they got spoiled that month.
In April . . . nothing really big happened.
In May I got to go to Vegas with Theresa and her now in-laws, and that was one of my favorite parts of this whole year. Other than that it was a pretty uneventful month, I remember it being really freaking cold for May, because it definitely snowed on a day when I wore a skirt to work.
In June I made a concerted effort to get outside more, and Jerbs and I and the dogs went on a couple nice hikes. I think Trail Day will be an every summer tradition. Also in June the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage and I absolutely could not be happier about that. Truly a beautiful decision and one that I am so glad to have happened during my lifetime.
In July I got to to Shannon's wedding and fly on a plane for the first time. Traveling with my sister and her friends was definitely an experience! I was glad to get to travel with Austin, though. And Shannon's wedding was really just lovely, and I was happy to be there for it. I'm also glad I got to fly in general, because now I have some confidence about it, so hopefully more trips are in my future. I definitely want to go back to Colorado someday and explore more.
August was uneventful. I legit don't remember anything exciting happening then.
In September I went to SLC for the first time and had a great time hanging out with Theresa and her in-laws. That was such a fun trip. It was a long drive but honestly, being by myself in the middle of nowhere in the middle of night was, in a weird way, exhilirating and empowering, and I'm really glad I got to have that experience. At the end of September I took and PASSED my CPC test, and I'm incredibly proud that I was able to do that. I seriously didn't expect to pass on the first try.
October, obviously, started out with another trip to SLC for Theresa's wedding. That was probably my favorite part of the whole year, because all of it was just so awesome. I loved getting to back to SLC, I loved getting to see all these new friends I'd made, I love love loved getting to stand by Theresa at her wedding and seeing her so happy . . . all around, just a sincerely amazing experience, and one that I will always remember and cherish. I don't remember much else about October, I know we carved pumpkins for Halloween.
In November Jerbs and I got to see Book of Mormon! That was the stand out moment from November without question. Also in November, the WE network stopped Law and Order Saturdays, which really bummed me out for awhile. Thanksgiving was quiet and low key as usual.
In December, we got a decent amount of snow in Flag, which made me happy. Christmas with my family was fantastic. And that brings me to right now, which is me wearing fuzzy pants and sipping a bloody Mary, waiting to ring in 2016.
Overall, I enjoyed my 2015. I think all of the best moments are associated with Theresa's wedding, and I'm really glad I got to be a part of all that. I traveled a lot this year (to Vegas, to Colorado, to Utah twice, to Sedona) and I'm glad about that. I am not one to get out much but this year has really shown me that I actually enjoy leaving home now and then, and that I'm capable of doing so. I definitely want to travel more next year. I'm also really proud of myself for getting my CPC, I think that was a good decision and one that will lead to good things for me professionally.
The biggest disappointment, as always, is that I didn't lose any weight this year. I thought for sure being a bridesmaid would be the motivation I finally needed to actually lose weight, which didn't happen. Maybe 2016 will finally be the year? Hopefully!
As always, I'm both sad and happy for a new year. Sad to see 2015 end, happy for a clean slate.
Farewell, 2015, you were lovely!
12.31.2015
12.28.2015
Christmas 2015
Christmas was lovely this year.
I had to work on Christmas Eve (lame), but MHC closed at noon, so as soon as I was off, Jerbs and I loaded the car, made a quick caffeine/donut stop, and got on the road. All week we'd been hearing it was going to snow and we didn't want to get stuck in any kind of storm on the highway, so we were in a little bit of hurry, but we encountered exactly no snow on the trip. Once we got to Kingman we went to my mom's and visited with her and Jillian for a bit, then I took Jerbs to her house and said hello to/exchanged Christmas gifts with her parents. Then I headed over to my sister's house and convinced Austin to help me bring in all the Christmas gifts from my car, which was entertaining. One thing I want to remember--Austin got this Crayola art kit for Christmas (I think from his Elf on the Shelf?) and he had gotten it out to show me and he left it on the coffee table. My sister asked him why it was out, and he snapped at her, "I was showing it to Auntica, cuz me and Auntica like art!" It was so funny, and it makes me so happy that Austin associates me with art in his head.
This year we skipped our tradition of going out to look at Christmas lights again, which just helped prove my theory that our Christmases are far more peaceful when we don't spend any time squished in a car together. We all just hung out at my sister's and drank wine (well, my sister and I drank wine, and at one point, my mom accusingly asked Jenny, "Did you give your older sister wine??" and it just cracks me up that that's the dynamic of our family--the younger sister being the corrupter and the older sister being the nerd). We did our one gift on Christmas Eve thing, and Austin gave everyone the gifts he got them at the Secret Santa gift shop at his school, and he apparently forgot about me and didn't get me something (thanks, Saucy). It was pretty funny when he realized it, and in typical Austin fashion, he didn't feel bad, he just got a little sheepish and then cracked up. (I honestly don't care one bit that he forgot, for the record).
After we hung out for awhile, my mom and Jill left and I took my dad home, then went and got dinner for Jenny, me, and Austin. We had In-N-Out, which was awesome. Austin kept asking if he could open this one gift I got him because he knew it was a book (I always get him a book) and he really wanted to know what it was, so we let him. The book is 1,000 Jokes for Kids, and as soon as he read the title, he opened it up and said, "OK, guys, joke number one," and my sister just looked at me and was like good job, here we go. It was freaking hilarious, probably in a you had to be there way, but man we cracked up. I'm seriously impressed at how well Austin is reading, and I'm glad he liked his book. He really did tell us jokes all night, too. Eventually we decided to go look at some Christmas lights; up by my mom's old house there's a wealthy/well known family who always decorates their house really extravagantly for Christmas, and this year they synchronized the light show to music (Wizards in Winter by TSO and that one Christmas song that Alvin and the Chipmunks sing) so we went to see it. It actually was pretty impressive. Someone was flying a drone over the lights and Austin thought it was Santa and had a little meltdown about getting home and going to bed haha. But my sister and I got nostalgic and remembered how when we were kids, the lights on the courthouse downtown would spell out the word "NOEL" across the columns on the building (4 columns, one letter on each column), and we decided to drive down there and see if they still do that. And sadly, they don't, there's just a swirly thing of lights on each column now, which was more disappointing than you'd think. But it was still a nice moment with my sister and I'm glad for that.
By then Austin was asleep in the back seat so we headed home and put him to bed, then put out all of his Santa gifts and did the whole milk and cookies thing. I wrote his Santa letter and then I headed to a motel.
So yeah, this year I decided that instead of staying with my sister, I wanted to stay in a motel by myself. I love my sister, and I love Austin, but as a Christmas gift to myself, I wanted a night completely alone (no pets, no roommate, no noise) in a big bed all by myself. I explained that all to Austin and he was pretty whatever about it, so I didn't feel too bad. And it was so worth it, I legit slept for like 12 hours. (Minus the part where I woke up at 5 AM to cramps and my period starting out of NOWHERE. I had no tampons or ibuprofen with me so I had to get dressed (ish, I really just threw on a shirt and pants and put my hair in a pony tail) and run to the gas station up the street. That was freaking lovely. But the older guy who checked me out still wished me a Merry Christmas!) I went back to bed when I got back to my room but I'd rather not have had to deal with that unpleasantness.
Christmas day I went to my sister's and Austin showed me all the stuff he got from Santa. My sister made buffalo chicken dip which I freaking LOVE, and we spent the afternoon just hanging out, eating that, watching Austin play with all his new stuff, and watching cheesy Christmas romance movies on the Hallmark channel. Which is super corny, but honestly, I'm looking forward to doing it again next year! I went and picked my dad up for dinner, my mom and Jill came over, and we opened presents. I seriously got spoiled this year. After presents we had dinner, and then I decided to stay another night in Kingman instead of going home on Christmas. (Jerbs and I have had to come back on Christmas the past few years because one of us is usually working the day after, which happily wasn't the case this year). That night I crashed at my sister's.
The day after Christmas we headed back to Flag, fully expecting snow on the ground when we got here, and there WASN'T ANY, which was actually kind of disappointing after hearing that we'd get snow for almost a whole week before.
Today I was off from work (I electively took it off, which I forgot about until like a week ago, and only remembered because a co-worker said something about it), so I drove down to Sedona and spent the afternoon with Jenna and Theresa. They've been spending some holiday time in Phoenix with Theresa's family so they drove up. It was fantastic, I love Sedona and we went to some great Sedona places, like the fudge shop and the cool candle store. (I'm sure those businesses actually have names but I have no idea what they are). It was so nice to see them, and I'm really glad we got to spend some time together. It sucks having a BFF that lives so far away.
Anyway, I'm definitely not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but I'm excited for the New Year later this week!
I had to work on Christmas Eve (lame), but MHC closed at noon, so as soon as I was off, Jerbs and I loaded the car, made a quick caffeine/donut stop, and got on the road. All week we'd been hearing it was going to snow and we didn't want to get stuck in any kind of storm on the highway, so we were in a little bit of hurry, but we encountered exactly no snow on the trip. Once we got to Kingman we went to my mom's and visited with her and Jillian for a bit, then I took Jerbs to her house and said hello to/exchanged Christmas gifts with her parents. Then I headed over to my sister's house and convinced Austin to help me bring in all the Christmas gifts from my car, which was entertaining. One thing I want to remember--Austin got this Crayola art kit for Christmas (I think from his Elf on the Shelf?) and he had gotten it out to show me and he left it on the coffee table. My sister asked him why it was out, and he snapped at her, "I was showing it to Auntica, cuz me and Auntica like art!" It was so funny, and it makes me so happy that Austin associates me with art in his head.
This year we skipped our tradition of going out to look at Christmas lights again, which just helped prove my theory that our Christmases are far more peaceful when we don't spend any time squished in a car together. We all just hung out at my sister's and drank wine (well, my sister and I drank wine, and at one point, my mom accusingly asked Jenny, "Did you give your older sister wine??" and it just cracks me up that that's the dynamic of our family--the younger sister being the corrupter and the older sister being the nerd). We did our one gift on Christmas Eve thing, and Austin gave everyone the gifts he got them at the Secret Santa gift shop at his school, and he apparently forgot about me and didn't get me something (thanks, Saucy). It was pretty funny when he realized it, and in typical Austin fashion, he didn't feel bad, he just got a little sheepish and then cracked up. (I honestly don't care one bit that he forgot, for the record).
After we hung out for awhile, my mom and Jill left and I took my dad home, then went and got dinner for Jenny, me, and Austin. We had In-N-Out, which was awesome. Austin kept asking if he could open this one gift I got him because he knew it was a book (I always get him a book) and he really wanted to know what it was, so we let him. The book is 1,000 Jokes for Kids, and as soon as he read the title, he opened it up and said, "OK, guys, joke number one," and my sister just looked at me and was like good job, here we go. It was freaking hilarious, probably in a you had to be there way, but man we cracked up. I'm seriously impressed at how well Austin is reading, and I'm glad he liked his book. He really did tell us jokes all night, too. Eventually we decided to go look at some Christmas lights; up by my mom's old house there's a wealthy/well known family who always decorates their house really extravagantly for Christmas, and this year they synchronized the light show to music (Wizards in Winter by TSO and that one Christmas song that Alvin and the Chipmunks sing) so we went to see it. It actually was pretty impressive. Someone was flying a drone over the lights and Austin thought it was Santa and had a little meltdown about getting home and going to bed haha. But my sister and I got nostalgic and remembered how when we were kids, the lights on the courthouse downtown would spell out the word "NOEL" across the columns on the building (4 columns, one letter on each column), and we decided to drive down there and see if they still do that. And sadly, they don't, there's just a swirly thing of lights on each column now, which was more disappointing than you'd think. But it was still a nice moment with my sister and I'm glad for that.
By then Austin was asleep in the back seat so we headed home and put him to bed, then put out all of his Santa gifts and did the whole milk and cookies thing. I wrote his Santa letter and then I headed to a motel.
So yeah, this year I decided that instead of staying with my sister, I wanted to stay in a motel by myself. I love my sister, and I love Austin, but as a Christmas gift to myself, I wanted a night completely alone (no pets, no roommate, no noise) in a big bed all by myself. I explained that all to Austin and he was pretty whatever about it, so I didn't feel too bad. And it was so worth it, I legit slept for like 12 hours. (Minus the part where I woke up at 5 AM to cramps and my period starting out of NOWHERE. I had no tampons or ibuprofen with me so I had to get dressed (ish, I really just threw on a shirt and pants and put my hair in a pony tail) and run to the gas station up the street. That was freaking lovely. But the older guy who checked me out still wished me a Merry Christmas!) I went back to bed when I got back to my room but I'd rather not have had to deal with that unpleasantness.
Christmas day I went to my sister's and Austin showed me all the stuff he got from Santa. My sister made buffalo chicken dip which I freaking LOVE, and we spent the afternoon just hanging out, eating that, watching Austin play with all his new stuff, and watching cheesy Christmas romance movies on the Hallmark channel. Which is super corny, but honestly, I'm looking forward to doing it again next year! I went and picked my dad up for dinner, my mom and Jill came over, and we opened presents. I seriously got spoiled this year. After presents we had dinner, and then I decided to stay another night in Kingman instead of going home on Christmas. (Jerbs and I have had to come back on Christmas the past few years because one of us is usually working the day after, which happily wasn't the case this year). That night I crashed at my sister's.
The day after Christmas we headed back to Flag, fully expecting snow on the ground when we got here, and there WASN'T ANY, which was actually kind of disappointing after hearing that we'd get snow for almost a whole week before.
Today I was off from work (I electively took it off, which I forgot about until like a week ago, and only remembered because a co-worker said something about it), so I drove down to Sedona and spent the afternoon with Jenna and Theresa. They've been spending some holiday time in Phoenix with Theresa's family so they drove up. It was fantastic, I love Sedona and we went to some great Sedona places, like the fudge shop and the cool candle store. (I'm sure those businesses actually have names but I have no idea what they are). It was so nice to see them, and I'm really glad we got to spend some time together. It sucks having a BFF that lives so far away.
Anyway, I'm definitely not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, but I'm excited for the New Year later this week!
12.19.2015
Christmas Cheer
Here are some random things that have made me happy so far this holiday season.
This hedgehog:
I wanted to make a new wreath this year, and this is what I came up with. I wanted something that was simple and kind of rustic/outdoorsy, festive in an understated, elegant way, and I think I accomplished that. I got the wreath form at JoAnn's and the poinsettias at Michael's. I love how it turned out! It looks so nice on our door. We put red and white lights around the door too, and it really complemented the wreath nicely.
And that brings me to our Christmas lights! We put up lights on our porch this year--around the front door, around our window, and along the railing. It's all very festive. Unfortunately, I can't get a good picture because of the 2 gigantic pine trees in front of our apartment. I kind of wish we'd thought of that beforehand because all the work feels a little pointless knowing that our lights pretty much can't be seen. But we have lights and that's exciting! And we know they're there. I did briefly consider trying to climb one of the trees to get a picture, but Jerbs shot down that idea pretty quickly (rightfully so, I have to say).
Being rewarded for our generosity. The week before Thanksgiving, we got a flyer on our door saying that the office was having a food drive, and that anyone who donated had a chance to win a Target gift card. I didn't really care about winning, but I wanted to help, so Jerbs and I went out and bought a bunch of canned food and donated it. Like I said, this was back before Thanksgiving, and I'd honestly kind of forgotten about it. But today when I got home, there was a Christmas card on our door with a $50 Target gift card and a note from the office thanking us for our donations, and saying that we had donated the most of anyone across all 3 complexes in our little group. I was so happy! It's nice to feel like we did something to help AND have been rewarded for it. It was a very pleasant surprise.
I've also been to a Christmas party for each of my jobs this past week, so that was fun. The SHAF one was at a Mexican restaurant (Salsa Brava), and I hadn't eaten there in years so it was nice to have a reason to. We had a raffle for Christmas stockings and got to take home the leftover food, so win win! I remember that last year I was sick when the SHAF Christmas party happened and didn't get to go, so I was really happy to get to this year. I don't spend a lot of time with my SHAF co-workers and it was nice to get to. I didn't realize there were so many SHAF employees to be honest, because I only see a few of them on a regular basis. The MHC party was last Thursday and it was also a lot of fun. Last year, only like 15 people came to that one, and this year, most of the staff was there, which definitely made it more fun. Our white elephant gift exchange was waaaay more entertaining with almost 50 gifts instead of just 15. (Sadly, I didn't end up with anything good this year). I really love both of my work families, and am glad to have 2 good jobs with so many good people.
Now I'm just looking forward to going home for Christmas! Jerbs and I are heading down to Kingman as soon as I'm out of work on Christmas Eve, and I can't wait!
This hedgehog:
He's a present from my boss, who lives in Florida. She sent a box to the clinic with a little present for everyone in our department, it was so sweet! She really did an awesome job picking something that fit each person's personality/interests, which is impressive. I just love my boss, and I'm so excited and touched that she remembered my hedgehog obsession! I have 3 of them in my office now.
*****
These decorations at work:
The people in Pod 3 put up some festive and cardiology appropriate decorations around their offices and exam rooms. I rarely go to Pod 3 but I had to last week to talk to a co-worker, and I came across this. It made me happy so I had to get a pic.
*****
My new wreath:
I wanted to make a new wreath this year, and this is what I came up with. I wanted something that was simple and kind of rustic/outdoorsy, festive in an understated, elegant way, and I think I accomplished that. I got the wreath form at JoAnn's and the poinsettias at Michael's. I love how it turned out! It looks so nice on our door. We put red and white lights around the door too, and it really complemented the wreath nicely.
*****
And that brings me to our Christmas lights! We put up lights on our porch this year--around the front door, around our window, and along the railing. It's all very festive. Unfortunately, I can't get a good picture because of the 2 gigantic pine trees in front of our apartment. I kind of wish we'd thought of that beforehand because all the work feels a little pointless knowing that our lights pretty much can't be seen. But we have lights and that's exciting! And we know they're there. I did briefly consider trying to climb one of the trees to get a picture, but Jerbs shot down that idea pretty quickly (rightfully so, I have to say).
*****
Being rewarded for our generosity. The week before Thanksgiving, we got a flyer on our door saying that the office was having a food drive, and that anyone who donated had a chance to win a Target gift card. I didn't really care about winning, but I wanted to help, so Jerbs and I went out and bought a bunch of canned food and donated it. Like I said, this was back before Thanksgiving, and I'd honestly kind of forgotten about it. But today when I got home, there was a Christmas card on our door with a $50 Target gift card and a note from the office thanking us for our donations, and saying that we had donated the most of anyone across all 3 complexes in our little group. I was so happy! It's nice to feel like we did something to help AND have been rewarded for it. It was a very pleasant surprise.
*****
I've also been to a Christmas party for each of my jobs this past week, so that was fun. The SHAF one was at a Mexican restaurant (Salsa Brava), and I hadn't eaten there in years so it was nice to have a reason to. We had a raffle for Christmas stockings and got to take home the leftover food, so win win! I remember that last year I was sick when the SHAF Christmas party happened and didn't get to go, so I was really happy to get to this year. I don't spend a lot of time with my SHAF co-workers and it was nice to get to. I didn't realize there were so many SHAF employees to be honest, because I only see a few of them on a regular basis. The MHC party was last Thursday and it was also a lot of fun. Last year, only like 15 people came to that one, and this year, most of the staff was there, which definitely made it more fun. Our white elephant gift exchange was waaaay more entertaining with almost 50 gifts instead of just 15. (Sadly, I didn't end up with anything good this year). I really love both of my work families, and am glad to have 2 good jobs with so many good people.
*****
Now I'm just looking forward to going home for Christmas! Jerbs and I are heading down to Kingman as soon as I'm out of work on Christmas Eve, and I can't wait!
12.14.2015
SNOW DAY!!!!!
We got a whoooole bunch of snow overnight, and it's still snowing right now.
So MHC is CLOSED today!
Which means I'm sitting at home in my PJ's hanging out with my dogs and watching TV so life is pretty much perfect.
And I got lucky in that I didn't even make it to work before we closed. I got up early AF this morning to take Jerbs to work, and the snow was terrible. It took forever to get the car uncovered and dug out (there was a guy plowing the parking lot and he came by and cleared behind the car for us, so that was nice). Then the roads weren't clear by any stretch of the imagination, not even the highway, and it was still snowing. So by the time I got her to work and got home to take a shower and get ready for work myself, I was running way behind time wise and knew I was going to be late. I texted my boss to let her know and then showered/moisturized/blow dried/perfumed and all that stuff. I was just starting to get dressed when my phone rang. It was one of my co-workers; she asked if I was on my way in, and when I said I was just about to leave my house, she told me not to bother because they had decided to close the clinic.
So I put my pajamas back on and did a little happy dance (I mean that totally literally).
Best Monday ever.
So MHC is CLOSED today!
Which means I'm sitting at home in my PJ's hanging out with my dogs and watching TV so life is pretty much perfect.
And I got lucky in that I didn't even make it to work before we closed. I got up early AF this morning to take Jerbs to work, and the snow was terrible. It took forever to get the car uncovered and dug out (there was a guy plowing the parking lot and he came by and cleared behind the car for us, so that was nice). Then the roads weren't clear by any stretch of the imagination, not even the highway, and it was still snowing. So by the time I got her to work and got home to take a shower and get ready for work myself, I was running way behind time wise and knew I was going to be late. I texted my boss to let her know and then showered/moisturized/blow dried/perfumed and all that stuff. I was just starting to get dressed when my phone rang. It was one of my co-workers; she asked if I was on my way in, and when I said I was just about to leave my house, she told me not to bother because they had decided to close the clinic.
So I put my pajamas back on and did a little happy dance (I mean that totally literally).
Best Monday ever.
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