As 2009 quickly comes to an end, I find myself both thankful and sad that it's almost over. It's been a relatively uneventful, yet interesting year. I started off 2009 with an epic "21st Birthday 5 Years Late" celebration. All my friends and co-workers definitely made it a special birthday for me. At work, however, I was stuck in a rutt. I was in the midst of trying to transfer to get the experience needed to advance in the department, but was getting nowhere. I was finally able to transfer in March, get the experience I needed and was promoted to a team lead in August. Despite finally being promoted, I find myself even less satisfied with the job and even more irritated with management and how the department is run. Since there's nothing I can do to change how things are run, I've been actively looking and applying for other job opportunities outside of the company.
On a more pleasant note, my social life this year has been a whole lot more active. After my first work transfer, I met a lot of really cool people. There were many random get gathers for whatever random reason just so we could all meet up and hang out. We even had a couple of great blow-out parties at the apartment. All-in-all it was a great year to be social.
On the family front, everything has OK overall. Before I go any further, I think I need to define who or what I consider family. Family to me is not just a blood relation, but the people I love and feel connected to the most. These are the people who I would drop everything for, the second they truly needed me. That is what I consider family. Now on to the news. There have been a lot great things and some not so great things that have happened this year. The parents have been doing fine. It is obvious to me, and them, that they're moving a little slower, the aches & pains hurt more and the memory is not what it used to be. I hate to say it, but they're old and it just seems like it was more noticeable this year. Eric's family is doing good, even if the family dynamics are a little different. Gabby started school this year which means 3 down, 1 more to get into school. The girls are growing like weeds or so the pictures make it seem. I was unable to take my annual Utah trip this year due to lack of funds. It's the first time since I left Utah that I've gone over a year since seeing them. It's very disheartening when I think about it, so I try to focus on the good stuff. I've gotten many homemade cards from them and I keep track of their activities through pics on Eric and Linsay's FB.
On to some baby news. My best friend, Amelia, and her husband, Kyle, welcomed their first child into the world this year. Miss Olivia is such a cutie patootie and took after her mom by being 20+" long at birth. Yup, that is definitely Amelia's kid. During my vacation in November, I was supposed to drive up to North Carolina to visit them and meet Miss Olivia, but I got incredibly sick and had to cancel the trip. I am determined to make that trip in the first part of the new year. Keeping up with the baby theme, my old BYUH "roommate-I-never-actually-roomed-with", Frances, had her first child. Sione was born around mid-year and is a nice mix of both mom and dad. Frances was born to be a mother and she has taken to that role very well. They'll be moving to Utah in the new year and I can't wait to see them and meet baby Sione. Last on the baby news radar is my childhood friend Jeannie. She is preggers with her 3rd baby girl and is due around January/February if I remember correctly. I really thought it was going to be a boy this time around and was surprised, I think with the rest of the family, when it was a girl. Mom spent some time with Jeannie's family while in Utah this fall and Jeannie is just glowing in all the pictures. I'm going to have to really save so I can make a trip out that way this spring/summer. There are just too many people I truly miss that live out there.
I'm not entirely sure what's going on with the cousins, but here's the last I heard. Yvonne is still living in Manteca (I think) and is working for the school district out there. Walter and family moved to Pennsylvania and he enlisted in the army. Other than that I haven't really heard much else.
I'm pretty sure that covers everything important for this year. Well at least everything important that's happened in my life. I hope you are all well and that your 2009 was a good one. Here's to 2010 and all the possibilities it brings to our lives. As always, love and miss you all. Don't forget to stay in touch in the upcoming year.
~mari~
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