Reflection

New Years is a time to reflect on the past years events. 2009 unfortunately began with the loss of a very close friend, Ben Chandler. Not a day goes by that Rollie and I don't think about him and his family. We had to accept that everything happens for a reason and that he is now in a better place. The year and wedding planning had to go on, so between January and March that's exactly what happened. Between invitations, photographers, color schemes, flowers, cake flavors, appetizers, honeymoon plans, registries, and I could go on and on, we (yes we, Rollie was the perfect fiance/co-planner) loved every second of it. When March 14th, 2009 came everything was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Our friends and families came together for an amazing celebration. The next day we were off to Antigua, B.V.I. for ten days of R&R. After coming home it was back to reality of day to day activities as well as knowing I was going to be laid off at anytime from my job of 5+ years. A couple months came and went with no official date. In May we went to Michigan for ten days for 2 graduations and 2 weddings, my cousin Stefani graduated from High School, her sister Anna graduated from college and was getting married, and my best friend Stephanie also got married. It was a great trip home. After coming back to LA, I was told June 30th would be my departments last day of work. Rollie and I had been discussing moving out of LA and basically anywhere that one of us could find a good job. He started interviewing over the phone, and eventually booked several face to face interviews in Chico. He flew up in June and was offered a job with AT&T to start July 11th! We were excited yet extremely sad to leave LA. We had built amazing relationships with such great people, so it was going to be very hard to say goodbye, but we knew we would only be an hour flight away. Rollie and his good friend Jake drove a uhaul and my car up to Chico and unloaded our belongings in storage. Rollie than flew back to LA and we drove up the coast for a little mini vacation. We stopped at his godparents house in Carmel Valley for 2 nights and then continued on the Chico. We were fortunate to stay with friends for 2 months which allowed us to figure out the area and save some money. In September shortly after Rollie's 29th birthday we decided to move into a one bedroom apartment to continue to save money before buying a house. This has allowed us to travel a lot this Fall; camping in Caribou, Napa Valley, San Fransisco twice, Fort Bragg, and LA. We love our cozy little one bedroom and so does Rufus. We live on a lake with tons of access to trails and the park. In November I went home to Michigan for Thanksgiving and my ten year High School reunion. It was a bittersweet trip, great to see all my friends and family, but always too short. For the first time in 6 years I had thoughts of moving back. I love California, but I love my family more and think its time to spend more than just a few weeks a year with them, but unfortunately Michigan's economy is among the worst across the States. So for now we will enjoy our time in Northern California and see what the future brings us. So, that brings us to Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year. I decorated every inch of our tiny apartment as soon as I got back from Michigan. It was going to be a small Christmas as far as gifts went but the first as a married couple so it was very exciting. And then New Years, we kept it low key this year and went to a friends house, but at least I saw that ball drop this year ( I was in bed at 10 last year!)
So, all in all it was a amazing year. Lots of friends, family and traveling so I couldn't ask for more. I can't wait to see what 2010 brings! Happy New Year!