HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!

I can't believe that 2010 has come to an end and we are on to 2011! I went up to Michael's house for a New Years party that they were having. There was a pretty large group...about 20 of us and they hosted dinner for everyone (which was so yummy!). It was so nice to get together with friends and welcome the new year.

2010 has been such a wonderful, fun, exciting year. I have been so blessed to have all my friends and family in my life and I am thankful that I was able to share all my memories of 2010 with them.

I can't wait to go back and look at all of the things that I have done throughout the year.

After work I headed home to make dinner for Michael and I. There was nothing too exciting in the frig so I ended up making a light dinner for us both (which left us hungry later!). After dinner we went over to Michael's grandma's house where his mom and sister were waiting for us. It was so good to see them and we did a little gift exchange as well. While we were over there we watched the original movie Tron because we are going to see Tron 2 in theaters next week. I had a blast hanging out with everyone and having a movie night.

Work has been going by SO slow this week! We could have closed down the office this week because the business is just not there right now. I was so happy when it was 5pm and time to go home! I have been taking it easy this week because I know that this weekend is going to be a lot of fun and really busy. I came home tonight, made some dinner and crawled into bed early.

Another quite day at work...I am telling you that no one is working this week! I am not caught up on most of my work and not many people are calling or emailing me :(

I spent most of my day cleaning out my desk and organizing everything that I possibly could. You should see my desk....it is pretty much perfect!

Back to work this week...let's get this week done and over with so we can start the new year! I came into a quite day at work because both Millie and Deborah are gone. I got the office all to myself this week! I know that the first couple of days will be nice but by Wednesday I am going to be missing everyone because I won't have anyone to talk to.

Yesterday was such a big day so I took today to go through all my gifts and put everything away. I also used some of my gifts as well. I got a couple of Trader Joe's gift cards which was perfect because I had no food and I was in desperate need of going grocery shopping. After I went shopping I brought some of my food up to Michael's house so we could make dinner and spend the night together. It had been awhile since I had stayed up there so it was nice to spend time at his house.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I just love this holiday! I woke up this morning and got ready and went over to my parents house for breakfast. My mom is amazing and put together such a nice spread of food. After breakfast the three of us exchanged gifts. My parents are so sweet - I just love them so much! We had lunch together and spent time together as a family which was needed. In the late afternoon we went to my Grandma and Dan's house for dinner where we met up with the rest of my family. Dinner was so good and after that we exchanged gifts. I got some awesome stuff that I am excited for! After family time I came home where Michael was meeting me for our gift exchange. I had such a wonderful Christmas and I am so grateful that I got to share it with my loved ones.

Happy Christmas Eve!! YAY!!!

I had to go into work for a half day which was kind of pointless because NOTHING happened. No phone calls, no emails so I did not get much done but thankfully I was out of there by 12:30pm.

After work I drove up the pass to visit Michael and pick up a TV stand from his house. After spending time there we both went to my house where we baked cookies and fudge for the rest of the night as a gift to Michael's family.

I am so happy that Christmas is right around the corner!! I can't believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow....I feel like I missed out on so much of December because of the install at work. I am thankful that I have all of my shopping done so I can enjoy the holidays :)

After work Michael came over once again for some us time which I have been craving! Some nights there is nothing better then cuddling on the couch and catching up on our favorite TV shows.

Work has been really slow this week and I think it is because a lot of people are taking this week and next week off at work. I am totally fine with that because I am able to get caught up on the small things that have been put on the back burner.

After work I came home and cooked yummy dinner for Michael and I. It has been so nice to spend time with him after I did not see him while we were doing the computer install. I am such a lucky girl to have him.

Work was so much fun today! We got to leave a little early and we went on a "field trip" to the Ronald Reagan Ranch Center in downtown SB. The center was really cool and had so much history. Reagan was such a great president and I am so glad that we took the time to see his life work. After our little adventure Deborah, Millie and I went to Arch Rock Fish for happy hour and to do our Christmas exchange. Deborah and I gave Millie a fish as a gift (we did the whole works - fancy tank, fun plants, cute fish) and surprised her (and she loved it!). They both got me some really nice gifts that I am excited to use. Overall it was a great day!

Oh Monday....how I loth you...

I was not in the mood to go to work today because I was still in vacation mode. Weekend getaways are always fun however they are never long enough!

After work I came home, made a little dinner and then unpacked. Time to get back into the grove of things.

I was sad that this was our last day in San Diego (it had gone by so quickly!). In the morning we took our time getting ready before we headed towards the water to go on Seal Tours. Seal Tours is a tour that takes place on land as well as in the ocean and we were lucky enough to be the only people on the tour so we basically got a private tour! It was really fun however it started raining while we were out on the ocean so we got soaked! After the tour we grabbed a nice hot meal to warm us up before we headed out of town. Before we left San Diego we had one last stop at Ikea to pick up a coffee table and end tables for my living room. Michael had never been to Ikea before so I was glad to take him on his first trip. After that we left town and thank goodness traffic was not too bad even though it rained the whole way home.

Michael and I got up early this morning so we could take on San Diego! We had breakfast at our hotel and then headed to the San Diego Aquarium. It was so fun and interesting to see all of the exhibits that they had there. There were some really beautiful fish and I am glad that we were able to have this experience. After that we went on an exploring mission to Coronado Island where we went to the famous hotel for drinks and took a nice romantic walk on the beach. Later on in the afternoon we went back to the hotel for a bit to relax before we went to dinner at the Yard House (which is way over priced if you ask me). It has been such a great day!

I was so happy that I got to sleep in today since I did not have to go to work! I did not get to sleep in too much because Michael and I were off to San Diego today! We had a rough start because Michael turned off his alarm and kept sleeping so we did not get out of SB on time. We finally made it on the road a little after 11am and were stuck in traffic for HOURS. This was some of the worse traffic I had ever seen and it took us over 7 hours to get to San Diego. By the time we got there we were annoyed, tired and so hungry. We rested for a bit and then got dressed up and hit the Melting Pot in downtown San Diego for dinner. We had such a nice dinner together and we brought a special bottle of wine with us which made dinner perfect. I am so happy to be on vacation and I can't wait for tomorrow!

I had a busy day at work today and I was looking forward to the end of the day. Later on in the evening I went over to Amy and Anthony's new house (which is so cute!) for some dinner and drinks. It was so good to see them again and catch up. I just love their place and they have decorated it so well. It makes me laugh when I think about drinking because I drink so much less now that I don't live with the girls!! So it is always a good time when we get together because I know that there will be wine involved :)

Since I had been so busy with work I had no time at all to keep up on my home life. I took the evening to clean up my room, organize all my paperwork and get everything under control. I know that I have said this before but I feel so much more under control when I have a clean house! It is nice that everything is falling right back into place.

It is so nice to be able to leave work at 5pm and be able to come home and not do a thing.

I did just that tonight and I could not be happier.

I am even going to go to bed early tonight :)

Believe it or not, I actually had a normal 9am to 5pm work day today! It was such a breath of fresh air and the day seemed to go by so quickly. After work I was so excited to go home and bake cookies for Christmas gifts. I finished all of my baking and I will be able to get some of the cookies out in the mail tomorrow.

I am so happy to finally enjoy the holidays!

I had such a nice relaxing Sunday.

I had breakfast with Michael, met my Mom and Dad to take our Christmas photo and then came home and crashed on the couch.

I sat on the coach for hours and drank a little, ate a little, watched a little tv and it felt GREAT!

This whole install took so much out of me. I needed today so bad.

Oh my gosh...I can't even begin to explain how nice it was to sleep in today!! I woke up feeling great which was the perfect way to start the day. There was so much to do today...I cleaned my room and did my chores around the house, got all my bills paid and baked chocolate chip cookies for Christmas gifts.

It was so nice to get things done around the house. It finally felt like a normal day!

I don't know how I did it but I somehow managed to get to work on time today and work another 8 hours even after the crazy day yesterday. It was a long day however I was able to leave at 5pm and I plan on taking the whole weekend off. Woohoo!!

After work I came home and wrapped a lot of my Christmas gifts. It was something that I really wanted to get off my to do list.

I am so tired and I cannot wait to go to bed tonight and finally sleep in!

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time to Celebrate!!!!!!!!!!

The Best Western Pepper Tree Inn officially went live today! We are now on a new property management system!

This was the longest day ever...worked almost 16 hours!!

I woke up early today and left the house by 7am to drive down to Costa Mesa for a BW Trade Show at the AAA Call Center. Traffic was horrible and it took me over 3 hours to get there. The show was okay but I don't know if it was really worth it considering I have so much work to do. I was only there for a few hours and then I had to drive right back home. When I got back to SB I stopped into work for an hour or so but was not that much help because was exhausted. All I want to do is go to bed.

I don't know how I am supposed to be working on this install and doing my real job at the same time. It is just not possible anymore.I worked extra hard today because I am not going to be in the office tomorrow. I can't believe that I have to go to OC for a trade show. I don't have time for this!!!

THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH TO DO!

Oh boy. Today is Monday and we go live on Friday.

I have NO idea how we are going to pull this off.

There is just so much to do and not enough time or people to get all the work done.

It's crunch time and we need HELP!

Today is a very sad day....Amy is moving out :(

Because she is moving out I took the morning/early afternoon off from working so Michael and I could help her and Anthony move. We packed all morning and got the truck loaded to bring over to their new place. Of course with our luck is started raining as soon as we got to their new place. I was not able to help with the unpacking because I had to go work for while. This whole work thing is getting in the way of having a personal life. I can't wait for this to be O-V-E-R!

I spent my Saturday at work training from 8am - 1pm and then working from 1pm to 5pm.

I am surrounded by computers, paperwork and tons of people. Each day is getting harder and I get more stressed out. I had to leave at 5pm today to get some stuff done at home because my home life is suffering...I need to do laundry, I need to clean, I need to get groceries. Too bad I got home and was too tired to do any of this.

I did not even last a week and I had my first big emotional breakdown.

I was so overwhelmed at work today and everyone could see it in my face....I hit a wall and hard.

I left work at 7:30pm (which is early!) because I could not take it anymore. I called Michael and yelled, screamed and cried. I feel bad...I hate that I took it out on him.

I just...I can't handle the stress right now.

Work, work, work, work, work, work

Work, work, work, work, work, work

Work, work, work, work, work, work

Work, work, work, work, work, work

Work, work, work, work, work, work

Work, work, work, work, work, work

That is all I do anymore.

I was actually able to get off work at a reasonable time today and that is only because we had someone coming over to look at Richard's room. Everything went well and I am going to cross my fingers and hope that we get a new roommate. I really like her and hope this works because I do not have time to do this roommate search during this crazy install.

We only started a few days ago and I am exhausted.

There is SOO much work to do and I have no idea how we are going to get through this.

I am so tired and all I want to do is sleep.

Can we please be done?

I officially working 14 hour days which means that I have no life right now.

The madness has officially begun...I am now in the process of building a new computer system.

I am completely overwhelmed and I have no idea what is going on. We are in a large room with tons of computers and just building...all day. This is now my life.

Day 1:

Today was the first day of our install for the new property management system at work.

Oh man it is going to be a LONG couple of weeks. Today was tough because we only talked about things and did not see anything. You can tell me something till I am blue in the face but I am a visual learner and need to be hands on to have a better understanding.

We only worked a half day which is nice but I know that this is the first and last time for that and that tomorrow is going to be pretty intense. Lets hope I make it through this install.

Yay another day off!! It has been so nice to almost have a 4 day weekend!

Michael and I spent the day together once again and went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We both had not been to the zoo in awhile so it was nice to see all the animals that were out. We got very lucky as it was feeding time so all the animals were out and about. The lions were really active too which was so cool! While we were at the Zoo it started to rain so we left and went to Java Jones for some much needed hot cocoa to warm up. What a perfect way to end my weekend (since I have to go to work tomorrow).

I don't know what I was thinking today but I decided to get up at 5am and go to Best Buy for Black Friday. You know....I always thought of sales for Black Friday but everything in Best Buy was still so expensive!! I would love to know how much money that make today. Anyhow I bought my dad an awesome gift and I am so excited to give it to him on Christmas! By the time I got out of the store after standing in line for over an hour it was time to go home and get ready for work. I worked 9am to 1pm and then Michael met me at work so we could go out and enjoy the rest of the day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I had such a great day with my family and I love them all very much.

I am thankful for the following:

My family

My loving boyfriend

My great friends

My house

My car

My job

My health

There are so many things to be thankful for. I think for next year that I would like to write down one thing each day that I am thankful for. I would love to look back on that each year. Lets see if I can make it happen.

I was lucky enough to get today off from work!! There are very few days that we get off other than Saturday and Sunday. My schedule this week is a little weird - today and tomorrow off, work a half day on Fri, have Sat off and then work Sun. Crazy huh?

Anyhow I wanted to make the most of my day off so I did not sleep in too much. I got ready and hit the pavement running trying to get all of my errands ran. I was able to catch up on a lot stuff that needed to get done which was a huge relief. After running errands I came home and cleaned the common areas of the house since no one else has really been doing it. Before I knew it the day was over. There never seems to be enough time in a day anymore.

After work I came home and decided to do a little organizing. Sometimes I let things go and I get really stressed out when I don't have them back in order. I needed to take a me day.

After a few hours I am feeling so much better. It is amazing how something so simple can make me feel so much better.

I woke up early this morning because Michael gets up at 5:30am to get ready for work. I was a little hung over and laid in bed watching TV for quite awhile before I finally got ready for work. I have to admit that it was kind of nice to leave my hotel room and walk down the hallway to the office. After work I wanted to go home and relax and do nothing after such a busy weekend. Michael came over and had dinner and then we crashed in my room and watch TV till bed. It was SO nice to relax.

I had to get up early this morning because Michael and I were going to go wine tasting on the Grapeline. We had to be at the Pepper Tree at 9:30am to be picked up and then we headed to the Valley. We had such a great guide and had a small but fun group. We stopped at 4 wineries and some how we ended up purchasing wine from each place! After a full day of wine tasting I was feeling pretty good but sadly fell asleep on the bus ride home. Oops!! Michael and I stayed at the Pepper Tree because we knew that we would be drinking all day and would not be able to drive home. We were both so tired that we could hardly eat dinner and decided that it would be best to just go to bed early.

This morning Amy and I got up early so we could go look at some houses that she had made appointments with. The first place that we saw was charming...it had a lot of character to it and the landlords were so kind! The place was not ideal but it was something that was workable. We ended up talking to the landlords for over an hour and after that it was time for lunch at jeanine's. While we were at lunch Amy got a call from another place and we decided to go see it. Thank goodness we did because the place was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! It was so beautiful and move in ready and everything was upgraded. I wish I could move in there! I am crossing my fingers that they get this place!

I was SOOOOOO tired this morning and it was all I could do to get myself to work this morning. I struggled through most of the day as I was exhausted from the trip... 5pm could not come fast enough. After work I met up with Amy and Kaitlin (Michael's sister) for happy hour at Elephant Bar. We had such a great time hanging out together and the food was so good! I could not believe it but we ended up stayed there for 4 1/2 hours! I can't wait to plan another happy hour :)

I did not sleep too well and I think that is because I am not use to sleeping in hotels by myself. The hotel was great and my room was really nice but I just wish that I was able to share it with someone. I had to get up early because I had to be at the Best Western Call Center at 8am to set up my trade show booth. We worked from 8am to 4:30pm which was exhausting! I talked A LOT which does not seem like a lot of work but it is. I had a great time at the call call center and it was so nice to meet some of the people who I email all the time.

Jessica was so sweet and picked me up at the BW office and we went out to dinner. After dinner she dropped me off at the airport and back to Santa Barbara I went. I was in Phoenix for 30 hours!!

Today was a very long day.... I worked from 9am to 3pm and did not get much done because I was nervous about flying alone. At 3pm I left work and headed to the Santa Barbara Airport so I could fly to Phoenix!! The flight was on time which was great but I had the most annoying people on my flight oh and the screaming baby was awesome too. I was so happy when we landed so I could get off that plane. When I got done to baggage claim I was greeted by Jessica!!! I was so happy that she came to pick me up at the airport and that we could have some time to hang out. We don't get to see each other too often so it was nice to catch up over dinner. She was so sweet and drove me to my hotel - I am so lucky to have such a great friend!

Work was very busy today and I had to get a lot done since I am going out of town tomorrow afternoon. I think I got everything done so tomorrow should be a breeze! After work I ran a couple of errands to get ready for tomorrow and then headed home to pack. Michael met me at my house and we had some dinner and wine and the next thing I knew it was 9pm and I still had not packed a thing! Thankfully I can pack pretty quick and got everything ready for tomorrow. Now it is time for bed....Michael is staying over so we have to get a good night sleep before he has to be up at 5:30am.

Another busy Monday - what else would you expect?! After work I met Michael and we went to dinner at Outback for a date night. It was so nice to sit down with him and have a romantic night and good conversation. We have dinner all the time together but there is always people around so tonight was really special. At the end of dinner we had to part ways to go home which made me sad...but thankfully he is coming over tomorrow night for some Jenn and Michael time.

None of us ended up drinking last night so we were all able to wake up early this morning. With that in mind we decided to have mimosas and went through a whole bottle of champagne by 11am...oops! After breakfast I had to run to the office and take care of some business and when I came back home Amy and I decided to go house hunting.

We saw a couple of places and there were a few that were okay but not fantastic and then there were some that were out of the question. It amazes me that there are so many places in SB that are run down, tiny and kind of ghetto. It makes me value my house and how nice that it is. I don't think that any of the places that we saw were winners so I guess we will be back at it next weekend.

The girls and I got up early today and went to breakfast at d'angelo's which has some of the best food in SB. Their chocolate croissants are so amazing and I think that everyone should try one! After breakfast we all went to look at a cottage that Amy found on CL (she and Anthony are moving soon) and the place was so small! I can't believe that people try and sell little studios for a ridiculous amount of money.

We were a little discouraged after seeing that place so we all agreed that we needed a shopping adventure so we hit downtown for a bit. I got a very cute new sweater from Nordstroms that I can wear out and about and to work.

We all had plans in the afternoon and split for a bit.....I ended up going over to Michael's house to hang out. Again there were tons of people over there and everyone was drinking. I had a glass of wine but nothing more since I had to drive back home later in the evening. Overall I have to say that it was a great Saturday.

IT IS FRIDAY!!!!!!!! YAY!!

I am so happy that the week is over and it is time to enjoy the weekend! When I got home from work Amy and I finished the bottle of wine that we had opened last night. I forgot to mention that it was a REALLY big bottle of wine so we were a little tipsy :)

Carla came to visit for the weekend and she arrived around 8pm. Not long after she got her we decided to go to dinner at palazzio which is one of my favorite SB restaurants. We ate, drank, laughed and had a great night. It was so fun to go out with the girls!!