Friday, January 15, 2010

Check Another Off the List!

My life seems to be turning upside down lately. So many changes!

Go here to check out what I asked Santa to bring me for Christmas.

Three days after I wrote that post, I signed up for Match.com. The next day, I "met" Sam. Now Sam and I are dating. I'm thisclose to calling him my boyfriend. Darn trust issues. If not for them and the fact that he's acting a little "different" (according to my darn trust issues), I'd probably find it easier to call him my boyfriend. Close enough. Check off "A Boyfriend". Thank you, Santa.

Christmas night, I flew to Paris. I had a wonderful trip. It was everything I could have ever hoped for in the fulfillment of this lifetime dream. I swear I'll write a post someday telling you more about the trip and will post some pictures. So, trip to France...done. Check that off the list. Merci beaucoup, Pere Noel!

Yesterday, I was offered a job at the local university in the HR department. I accepted it and will start February 1st. It pays less than what I make right now, but the benefits are absolutely awesome. I'll have health benefits for the first time since I was booted off my mom's insurance. I'll also have retirement, life insurance, and free tuition for classes. I'm going to apply for the MBA program and start taking a class at a time starting this summer or fall. And, now that I have my foot in the door, so to speak, it will be easier to get a position that pays more. So, check yet another item off my wish list! Santa, really, you've outdone yourself. Thank you a million times over!

I'm not holding my breath for the maid; however, because of my decreased income, I'm going to start looking for a roommate. Maybe she'll be a clean freak (in a non-obsessive way) and will be almost like a maid...that pays me rent. :) And, I didn't get Mario Kart for Christmas but I got something that is even more beneficial...Wii Fit! I've used it several times so far and really enjoy it. It's not mega difficult but I can still get a good workout.

Seriously, I've been blessed.

Hope you guys are all being equally blessed!

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Year in Review - 2009

What a difference a year makes! So much has happened, my life is different in so many ways, and I've accomplished a lot this year. It's been a good year in many ways. Let's go into more detail. *grin*

Places Visited: (new places in italics)
Casper, WY
Laramie, WY
Price, UT (I know, try to contain the excitement)
Beaver, UT
Milford, UT
Page, AZ
Bullfrog, UT
Delta, UT
Richfield, UT
Panguitch, UT
Logan, UT (woefully left off the first edition)
West Valley City, UT
Spanish Fork, UT
Springville, UT
Provo, UT
Mapleton, UT
Salt Lake City, UT (multiple times)
St. George, UT (lots of times)
Las Vegas, NV (several times)
London, England (really, just Heathrow Airport, but I'm counting it!)
Paris, France (that's right!)

Guys I went on dates with: 3 - one was an ex, one is a new guy, and one guy was in Paris.

Number of Boyfriends: 1 - though I'm still not sure I consider him my boyfriend...but we're getting there.

Guys Kissed: 5!! Don't judge. Especially don't judge that this number was 0 until the middle of December. And, don't judge that 4 happened in Paris and 2 of those were the same day. Finally, don't judge me because this number doubled my lifetime number!*grin*

Biggest Accomplishment: losing 140+ lbs. This has made the biggest difference in my life.

My Proudest Moment: Sitting down on the airplane to London; didn't have to use a seat belt extension and I fit into just my seat - no creeping over to the seat next to me! Woohoo!

My Least Proud Moment: A stupid decision I made in Paris that I'm not going to explain further. Sorry. :)

A New Experience: shooting a gun for the first time ever.

Weight Lost: 142 lbs as of December 25th, which was the last time I weighed myself in 2009. As of today, though, it's 150 lbs!

Number of Books Read: 40. This number is a little suspect...I think I forgot to record a few. Oh well.

Favorite Books Read: Terry Pratchett books (especially Witches Abroad), Fablehaven 1-4, and Lisey's Story by Stephen King (the only one of his I've ever read).

Fun Memories/Activities: Shakespeare festival, cousins weekends, car shopping with Aly, running, making new friends, hiking the "Blood Trail" in Logan, trip to Paris, volleyball with Cardine, buying smaller clothes, New Years kiss, walking the whole canyon trail, tennis with "the guys", teaching Primary, my nephew's baptism, riding the carousel in Paris with Cardine, kissing on the banks of the Seine, "dancing" with my youngest nephew - we have a special dance that he does whenever he sees me, spending lots of time with my family and friends - I've been blessed with the most wonderful people in my life.

Happiest Moment: standing in front of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and feeling the impact of finally realizing a dream I've had since I was 14.

Toughest Moment: this fall there were a couple weeks of misery where I felt trapped - unable to progress, to change, to move on. I was so unhappy! The cure: I booked a trip to Paris. It gave me something to look forward to, then everything else seemed better and brighter, and I returned to my normal happy self. :)

Most Unusual Decision: joining Match.com; however, it's turned out great so far!
Runner up: joining Facebook. Still don't know how I feel about it.

Biggest Regret: I don't usually have regrets because I always manage to learn from my mistakes. I did a couple really dumb things this year, but now I know a little more about myself and what I need to do differently in certain situations.

Hopes for 2010: a new job, more traveling, reaching my goal weight, go sky diving, run a 5k, enjoy having a boyfriend (don't stress out like usual).

I hope you all have a great year!