Goodbye 2009

I can't believe it's 2010.

As a child, I remember thinking the year 2010 was going to be the "space age" and that I would never live to see it.  Looking around now, I'm a mere 23 years old and not much has really changed in the world.  I've changed, that's one thing I'm sure of; but the world around me is a vastly similar place... At least in the sense that there are no flying cars and a simple pill does not constitute dinner-for most people.

In the spirit of the New Year, I've decided to write a post documenting (with pictures) the most memorable moments of the last year and the ups I've survived and enjoy.  Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

January, 2009

Home:  Ken and Kristina's House, Layton UT.
Work:  Technical Support for Redgear.

We really started the New Year out with a bang by throwing a massive party at Ken and Kristina's house!  Kristina and I had matching corsets, the difference being she gothed it out, and I decided to go Rainbow-bright!

We danced...

We drank...

We sang Karaoke...

And when the clock struck 12, I kissed the entire party (minus one or two) for my New Years kiss.

February, 2009

February was a chaotic month of emotions, as I was anticipating Enoch coming home from the army; all-the-while becoming further entangled in my emotions for Josh.  There were a lot of weekend parties resulting in me looking over at him and saying "Wanna go make out now?"  The usual result being "not right now."  Haha! 

March, 2009

February continued on much like March had, however Enoch did actually come home.  I didn't know what I wanted, and the fact that he was back and ready for a real relationship with me scared me.  I asked him for more time, as I wasn't ready to commit.

We also went to the Festival of Colors at the Hare Krishna temple, and it was a great experience!

I also earned my pink chalk by kissing it off of Josh's face!

 April 2009

My job ended on April 16th, as I was seasonal for Tax season. 

This was my birthday month, and my boys helped me celebrate by hopping in the car and trekking to Vegas with me.   It was 3 days at the Caesar's Palace, wandering the streets of Las Vegas, and having a generally good time with two of my absolute favorite people.  Even looking back on it now, I feel the strongest feeling of love and happiness.  It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had, and I love Max and Josh more than I can possibly say!

I also got to see my Tonya for the first time in years!  I've missed her so!

And I was able to see my cousin's the Koh family!

I got my long-anticipated Margarita slurpee.

Also, for my birthday, Max let me take as many pictures as I wanted.

May, 2009

Home:  Grandma's House, South Jordan UT.

Work:  Unemployed.

In May I moved in with my grandmother and grandfather after since my job ended and Ken and Kristina were going to be moving into their new house soon.  E and I weren't speaking, because we had a big discussion and I admitted I had feelings for Josh.  Josh and I also ended whatever we were doing, and I reconnected with an old fling Travis.  He was kind of flakey though.

For Memorial Day, I went camping with my family, and that was pretty fun actually!

June, 2009

June consisted of two very memorable trips.  The first being my camping trip with my friends.  We went up to Idaho and camped along the river, and we were able to tube down it.  That was the first time I'd ever done that, and it was a ton of fun!  The second night of the trip we got rained out, but spent the night at Josh's mom's house in Tremonton. 

The second trip was another new experience for me.  I was invited to go to Lake Powell with Josh and his family, and we spent a week down there on a house boat.  It was my first time on a boat, and despite my fear that my motion sickness (which I get at the park on the swings even) would ruin it, I really loved it!  I think I could be a boating kind-of-girl!

I got some beautiful pictures, and managed to get the courage up to jump off some of the giant rocks!  It was scary, but SO worth the adrenaline rush!

I tried tubing...  (I'm not in the picture)

But due to my arms being jelly from holding onto the tube, being completely wet, and my totally female lack of upper-body strength; there was an incident getting back on the boat.  I slipped, fell, and hit the motor on my way down.  The end result wasn't pretty...

It's been like 6 months and my leg still hurts if you touch it... The bruise isn't completely gone, and the scratches have left scars.  It's OK though, I like battle scars; they show where I've been in life!

July, 2009

Home:  The Koh House, Wildomar CA.

Work:  Nanny for the Koh family!

In July I had the opportunity to journey to California and spend the month Nannying for my cousin's.  I was Brianna's nanny a couple of years ago, and since their current nanny was going out of town, I was able to fill in for her and her brother again.

I flew into Vegas first, where Melanie picked me up from the airport, and then we spent a couple days in Vegas.  If you want to see a show, I recommend the Blue Man Group-they were amazing!

Then we moved on to California where I spent quality time with Brianna...

And Mason.

We spent the Fourth of July on an Indian Reservation...

And took Brianna to horse camp.

We made it out to the San Diego Zoo and Lego Land, and then we ventured off to the beach.

August, 2009

Home:  Grandma's & Grandpa's House, South Jordan UT.

Work:  Unemployed.

In August I came back to Utah, and stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house again.  I spent most of the month looking for a new job, but not having any luck.  The best part about August was participating in the SLC Zombie Walk with Ken, Matt, Max, and Josh! 

I think I make one HOT zombie!

Even when I'm making scary "I'm a zombie, I'm going to eat you.." faces.  :)

September, 2009

Home:  Temporarily Ken and Kristina's, Layton UT.

Work:  Back doing Tech support for Redgear!

I got re-hired at Redgear!  Also, I finally ended my year and a half on and off relationship with E.  Not much else happened that month...  I met gorgeous Emily and we hung out a bit.

October, 2009

This month was pretty active!  I made some awesome (some not-so-awesome as it turns out) friends at work, and started spending time with them.  I started dating The Musician, and was having a pretty good time with that...  Josh and I were also making plans to find an apartment!

Josh, Angel, Emily, Ortie, and I went to a really fun 3Reasonz concert.

Halloween was spent at Heather's house, and I managed to get a good group of my friends to come over and party too!

Mikel looked hot and Charles freaked us out with his mask...

Josh and Ortie's costumes were by far the best...

And Heather and Mike were gracious enough to host!

November, 2009

Home:  Josh and My apartment near Sugarhouse in Salt Lake City, UT! 

Josh and I moved into our new apartment and we love it so!  (Sorry I still don't have any pictures.  Lame!)

This month was full of fun hanging out with Andy and his roommate while it lasted.  I spent quite a bit of time in Ogden at their house, and we all hung out at Heather's once or twice.  I spent Thanksgiving with my family, and work was going pretty well.

We managed to get together with Matt and try 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, which was really good!

December, 2009

At the first of the month Josh and I went to a party at David & Kasey's house, and we had a blast!

December has been a pretty rough month!   There was all the drama with The Musician at work, and that's been sucky.  Also, my grandmother had to have brain surgery to remove a tumor from her Optic Nerve and she's still in the Hospital.   

However, I did crochet some awesome scarves and hats for my siblings for Christmas, and they turned out very well!  Also, through all the crap at work I've found out who my true friends there are.  Andy and Heather have been there for me through it all, Tina has been giving me awesome dating advice, and I've found a new totally-awesome woman crush in Tori.

Also, I looked super cute at Christmas with my family!

Anyway, out with the old in with the new right?  Goodbye 2009 with all your trials and lessons learned, and hello to 2010!  It's going to be a good year, I can feel it. 

I've never been one to make resolutions, but this year I have a few I'd like to work on.  

• 
  
   I promise to start treating myself more like I'm worth something.  I deserve more than I've allowed myself to have.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to no-longer date jerks who say they want an "open relationship" or who want nothing more than a casual fling.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to wait 5 or 6 dates before becoming intimate with anyone I date.  I want my relationships to be based on love and respect, not the physical aspect.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to only date people I can see myself settling down with someday.  If the point of dating is to find someone to spend the rest of my life with, then why do I waste my time on people I don't expect that to happen with?  Never again.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to love myself the way I am, while still working on making myself better.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to further my knowledge and look into ways of getting back into school and making something of myself.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to pay off some debt, and prepare myself for being financially stable and more self-sufficient.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to take better care of my car, get it's oil changed and tune-up frequently.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to surround myself with people who make life better, and cut out people who continually cause me stress and pain.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I promise to make this year better by being the best I can be.
  
  
  

Happy Late Christmas All!

This was the first year my mother didn't do a big Christmas morning extravaganza.  So what does it say for me that I chose to stay home alone on Christmas Eve (The roommie was at his mom's house) instead of going up and staying with my family?  Honestly, I wasn't feeling much of the Christmas spirit... It's been a rough couple of weeks and I was still stressing about the three hats I had to crochet (that I hadn't even started) as gifts for the next day.  My grandmother was in the hospital, and it had been a really stressful (and drama-filled) day at work.

Work was fine, up until just before I left.  I took VTO (Voluntary Time Off) at like 3:00, but didn't leave until almost 5:00 which is when I usually leave anyway.  After about an hour of talking to a coworker, she told me that another coworker (the one that happens to be seeing The Musician now) was spreading rumors about me.  Apparently, this lady (who is twice my age almost three times my age, but not even half as mature as a 16 year old) was telling everyone that I had been following The Musician around in a pathetic manner and begging him to come back to me.

A:  I dumped him!
B:  I don't want him back at all!  I came to my senses! WHAT THE HELL?

She also happens to be telling people that she thinks I'm being even more pathetic by trying to be her friend now that all this has happened. 

A:  I was only nice to her before, because I thought she's a very pathetic and vulnerable woman who is only going to get hurt from the whole thing.  That's why I tried my best to smile at her and compliment her. 
B:  I DON'T WANT TO BE HER FUCKING FRIEND.  I'm drop dead serious.  I didn't want to be her friend before (she's always come off as somewhat as a bitch) and I certainly do not want to be her friend now.  Remember how I said I felt bad for her?  Not anymore; not one bit.

Anyway... Moving on...

Christmas morning I woke up early and finished my crochet, and then I frantically cleaned my house and hurried over to meet my family at the Hospital where my grandmother is.  She was pretty out of it, and I have to admit the fact that this surgery was so much more extensive, and she isn't recovering as well, has me a bit freaked out...

I decided to ride with my family down to their house, and on the way we stopped at Denny's for lunch.  The whole day seemed so strange, because it wasn't anything like Christmas has been before.  We visited my great grandma Young in the senior citizen home, and then stopped at my other great grandma and grandpa P's house.  After that, we ended up at my mother's parent's house where the entire family curled up and watched Ice Age 3.  That part felt good, it felt like being a part of my family again.

Then we went back to my house where we exchanged gifts.  I was happy to see my hard work paid off and my siblings absolutely loved their scarves and hats.  That makes me feel like all that stress of getting them done in time was totally worth it.  Maybe I'll get them to send me pics of them wearing it, so I can post it on my blog for my wonderful readers.

I received some pretty awesome presents too!  My sister gave me some wedding hand-me-downs that she received when she got married and doesn't want, so from her I got a crock-pot and some casserole dishes (which I REALLY love, so I'm happy with being re gifted to!)  My grandmother (the one in the hospital) made me an Angel figurine, my great grandmother & grandfather P gave me a check (gotta love Christmas money!) and my mom's parents gave me this beauty:

It's a Max Brenner Hug Mug Christmas gift set!  I'd never even heard of these before.  It comes with four mugs, two tins of Hot Cocoa, a jar of marshmallows, a jar of peppermint candies, a salt shaker with Cinnamon Sugar, a Holiday Spice mix shaker, and a recipe book which is complete with recipes for Chocolate martinis and other alcoholic chocolatey drinks... Yummm...

Besides, isn't this cup super cute?  It's made to be more cozy and romantic, it has no handles so you cup it with your hands!  I just love it!

Also, I bought myself a few Yule gifts including a new down pillow, a blow dryer and half of a coffee table.  Josh bought the other half-which it's actually two end tables that we're putting together.  We got a red and black one, and they're so fun!  I love IKEA.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!  Look for my massive New Years post I'm planning in a few days... I'm kind of excited about it! 

XOXO

Busy Weekend

So this past weekend was super busy!  You remember that big list I had of things to do?  Here it is updated after my weekend...   I'm running out of time!

1. Still need to Crochet 2 scarves 1 scarf, 3 hats and some potholders.
2. Still need to do a couple of Photo Blocks for the grandparents.  (screw this, not enough time!)
3. Need to go to the craft store for more yarn and Photo Block supplies. (Done)
4. Have to go to my grandmothers and clean house (Done!)
5. Have to pick up the supplies and wrap the gifts I made.
6. About 10 more ornaments to paint and put names on. (I give up, it's enough.)
7. Finish writing Christmas Cards and pop them in the mail. (They'll probably definitely be late.)
8. Clean my messy house.  (Done!)
9. Family Christmas party on Sunday. (That was fun!)
10. Make Christmas Fudge to fill some of my gifts, and to give to coworkers.
11. Pick up the gift I want to get for my roommate.
12. Plan a get-together with my friends.
13. Find a date for New Years!

Friday after work I went and hung out with The Musician as friends.  The Betta fish (Shakespeare) I got last wouldn't eat, and seeing as he knows a lot about fish he ran to the fish store with me to pick up some stuff.  It was definitely a good time!  The crappiest part was when I left my debit card in the ATM and thus had to borrow ten bucks for gas.  Hanging out with him was a lot of fun!  I'm glad we can still be friends.

Then Andy and I went to Heather's house to hang out.  It was such a blast!  We partied and watched South Park, then crashed there.  When we woke up in the morning we managed to stay for breakfast, and Mike made some fantastic chocolate chip pancakes.  I was also happy to stay and get cuddles from Jaxson.

Don't mind my "I just slept in a strange place with no pillow and a teeny-tiny blanket:" look.  Just look at the cute baby!

I'm totally in love with her kid.

Damn.  I want one!

I blame Heather and her too-cute kid.

After I left I hurried home to take care of my fish and grab my laundry.  I was rushing because I had to make it to the bank to get cash (since I left my card in the ATM) before 1pm.  When I got home, the fish was turning white and his fins were looking ratty.  Fairly certain that Shakespeare wasn't going to make it, I scrapped together all of the change in my purse/drawers to run to the store and buy fish medicine.  I changed his water and gave him medicine, and he seems to be doing a little better; although, I still can't tell if he's eating anything... I don't think he is...

I made it to my grandmothers and after running a few errands, I cleaned out my old bedroom there so she'd have room for people to come and stay with  her.  She's having surgery on Wednesday to remove a tumor from her Optic Canal.  Any blessings or good energies people can send, or prayers, would be most welcome.  I love my grandma, she means the world to me!  I'm so very close with her.

This is my grandmother with little B on the hot air balloon. 

Sunday I was able to wake up and clean the house, and then Josh's mom and step-dad came down with his Christmas present.  Long story short we  have a new and amazing 42 inch flat-screen TV in our living room.  It's so pretty!

Last night was the family Christmas party at my Uncle Clete & Aunt Jenny's house.  I was late, but it was so much fun!  We had homemade Café Rio Burritos (which I totally need the recipe for) and I had a great time playing with the kids again.  The most fun came from little Owen, who basically hates everyone outside of his immediate family.  It's been my personal goal every time I've been over there to get the kid to like me, and it's working!  At Thanksgiving it took him all night to warm up to me, and then play with me a little at the end... Last night, he warmed up in like 10 minutes!  I think my uncle Clete was shocked that he was playing with me so well... He's so cute!  I wish I'd taken some pictures, but unfortunately I didn't since my camera phone sucks, and my camera bit the dust.  However, my great grandmother gave me money for Christmas, and I think I'll use that to buy a new camera!  :) Here's hoping!

Well, I better get working on this crochet...

Happy Hour Friday

So many Memes out there, and too few days a week to try them all, so I might just switch them up every week, depending on what I want to do.  I've been wanting to write a lot lately, so there've been multiple posts a day on some days, I don't think there's enough days in the week for all the blogging I want to do... Oh well.  I'm sure there are more productive things I could be doing, but since I'm blogging in the down time during work, I think it works out.

Today I want to do Happy Hour Friday, which is hosted by Wizard of Otin and Rxbambi and I found through the uber-awesome Stuperhero Extraordinaire.  The idea is that you list a bunch of things that make you  happy.  We could all use a little reminder to be happy, right?  I'm going to throw in some pics for visual effect.  :)

Seeing my crocheting turn into something really makes me happy.   Things are turning out so well!

There is something about the Christmas lights that really make me feel happy.  I can  be having a crappy day and still the twinkling lights cheer me up.

Christmas in general.  Other than when it's depressing because I'm single for the holidays.   Otherwise I love it!

The snow.  I know a lot of people complain about it, but I love it.  I don't mind driving in it (because I drive really well in the snow actually) and I love to sit and watch it.  So pretty!

Will & Grace really rocks my socks.  Josh and I have been watching the seasons since we moved in together, and joking about how we're like them!  Karen is the funniest EVER.

I'm also really digging on Six Feet Under right now.  I know I'm a little late on that, but it's fab.

Last tax season I helped a client at work (I do technical support for tax software) and he loved me so much he sent me a T-shirt.   I just received it this week, and it came with a little label that said "Angie Baby" and this shirt.  I LOVE it.  It's hillarious.  On the front of it it says "Who's your tax daddy?" and on the back it says "I had my ASSets depreciated by Economy Tax Service" and their phone number.  It's mixing tax humor with the dirty, and anyone who knows me knows I love a good dirty joke.  It's fantastic.

Here's a close-up of the front.

Isn't it great?

Another great thing that makes me happy is that my cousin in California sent me pictures of little B wearing the outfit I sent her for her birthday.  Isn't she adorable!  :D 

Happy Friday everyone! 

Don't know when I'll be back around, I have SO much to do this weekend.  Insanity!