I'm still here....promise. Just been crazy busy lately. Quite a lot has gone down actually....

Matt and I spent Thanksgiving up in Valencia with his family and had a really good time. (Photos here) I learned how to play poker, and I took all the winnings. No joke. Watch out Vegas.

Proof, in case you didn't believe me.

We will be heading up to The Bay for Christmas and I can't wait! I miss my family and friends and am absolutely ecstatic about spending the holiday with them.

Matt and I went down to the Hotel Del Coronado recently to partake in some holiday festivities. They have The Del all lit up in white holiday lights and during the holiday season they have an outdoor ice skating rink that overlooks the ocean. That's right, oceanside ice skating. This is why I love San Diego. The night we went they also had Santa there with his elves, an awesome fireworks show over the beach and THE BEST (complimentary) hot chocolate I have ever had in my entire life! I am serious-so thick and creamy...it couldn't have been good for me ;) More pics here.

Speaking of the holidays, Matt and I just competed in a bake-off for his work. One of my bffs made these SUPER CUTE cake pops for her son's birthday from Bakerella and I decided to give it my best shot. We made the reindeer cake pops and while it was fairly difficult, they were a HUGE hit and we only lost the cake-off by ONE VOTE and it was to an awesome hazelnut pavlova. (pics here of cake pops)

But probably one of the most interesting things that has most recently happened is work related. I've been working 30 hours a week at my HR firm. Someone just resigned (very sad about this) BUT that means that yours truly just got bumped up to full time and tons of extra responsibility. My boss and I are discussing all the details this Friday. I am SO EXCITED for this opportunity to prove what I am capable of and grow within the company. It's so funny how many things have finally fallen into place since I have moved to San Diego. I truly believe this was all meant to be.

Well, that about wraps it up. It's 3:30am and I can't sleep....my mind is too busy. Thank goodness for coffee :)

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A decade ago....

Yup. I'm 26. And when I look back at where I was a decade ago, it's pretty incredible. I don't really even recognize that girl anymore.

Matt & I on my surprise birthday San Diego Harbor Dinner Cruise

* * * *

Ten years ago I just gotten my license.

Ten years later and that license has cost me

hundreds in parking and speeding tickets.

Ten years ago I was at my first job.

Ten years later & I have worked in restaurants, retail,

management, offices, event planning & now a HR firm.

Ten years ago I was applying to colleges.

Ten years later and I have attended 4 different colleges.

Graduated from SFSU with my BA, studied abroad for a year

at Griffith Uni (Australia), started working towards my Masters at SJSU,

and tried to 'reinvent' my career path with a stint at CCSF.

Ten years ago I was living in the Sac area and had never left the country nor really cared to.

Ten years later and I have lived in the Bay Area for 8 years,

lived in Australia for a year, am currently living in San Diego

traveled all over Australia, Ireland & have my next trip in the works.

Ten years ago, I had never had a 'real' boyfriend

Ten years later, I find myself madly in love

and living with the most amazing guy I have ever met.

Ten years ago I had two best friends that I still have today.

Ten years later, I have given speeches at both of their weddings

and seen one of them bring two beautiful babies into the world.

Ten years ago I didn't give what I ate a second thought.

Ten years later, I am a vegetarian and

look at the food label of everything I eat.

What a difference a decade makes.

Wonder where I will be in a decade from now....

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Officially a SoCal Girl

It's been a little less than a week since Matt and I made the 9+ hour long drive down to San Diego to make me an official resident.

I absolutely love where we live. We have this cute little apartment on Coronado Island from which we can see the bay, the Downtown skyline, and even Seaworld's fireworks and I couldn't be happier. At 8am sharp, we can hear the horns sounding from the Navy base at the north end of the island. And at sunset, we can hear them again as they perform, what I imagine to be, the flag ceremony. Some people might find it annoying, but I really like it.

Matt surprised me with the cutest beach cruiser bike and I am absolutely loving riding it around everywhere. On this island I swear you can get anywhere on bike in 15 min and it's so fun to 'ride down to the store.' Coronado seems to embrace a similar 'no worries' attitude that I was so fond of Australia for. In other words, I am really happy. :)

Next week I have to try and get the classes I need to reapply to my radiation therapy program. (Since my dumb ass got disqualified I have to reapply and now complete the 2 additional pre reqs they have added). Unfortunately, it's gonna be a bit of a struggle since all the classes are full, wait lists are full and everyone and their mother apparently needs to take anatomy and physiology. I'm going to be as persistent as I can and the rest I leave to fate.

On a side note, I should mention that on the drive down, Matt and I stopped off in SB to see my best friend Jess, her hubby Chris and their beautiful babies....one of which (Jude) is just a few weeks old. Jude is absolutely beautiful and I can't believe how big Logan is getting. I love the age that Logan is at now...I think he actually recognizes and remembers me :) I loved seeing Matt interact with Logan. (Translation: boyfriend playing with babies=sexy as all hell!)

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Moving Day is HERE!

So it's actually here. Tomorrow at 6am I will be leaving my home for the past 8 years and starting a new chapter in San Diego.

I'm excited. I'm nervous. I can't wait.

I'm excited to start over somewhere new. Start over and meet new people. Be closer to my two best friends who both live in So Cal. Start a future with my amazing man.

I'm nervous to not understand the freeway system. To not have a job or school completely lined up. To not have my amazing circle of friends around. To not be as close to my family.

I can't wait for this new chapter to begin :)

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Moving. Boyfriend. Babies...OH MY!

I made it back from 2 weeks in Maui with one hell of a tan and a handful of stories only I would acquire. My brother got robbed at knife point, I sliced my foot open on the reef trying to kayak, I blew my eardrum out diving down too deep to tie the boat to the mooring, managed to gain like 5 lbs on vacation, and snorkeled at the same spot that someone disappeared from the next day (and was never found). That's just the cliffnotes version of course ;) I'll try to get together some pics for a future blog :)

So much has happened that I don't even know where to start. Let's backtrack a bit. I didn't get into the radiation therapy program due to my own stupidity. Funny how life works out though. If I want to reapply to the program, I have to wait an entire year. Which gives me an entire year to basically do whatever the hell I want.

So I thought to myself, Self-what have you always wanted to do but never had the 'time' or made the plans to do? Move to SAN DIEGO! So that's what I have decided to do, I am moving to San Diego, BECAUSE I CAN :) I have to take a couple of classes down there (because of course as my luck would have it the program I want to apply to has now added two more prereqs to apply to the program for 2011) but otherwise, it's gonna be amazing.

Now here is the best part and why I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Remember when I mentioned heading down to San Diego for a mini visit recently? Well it was during that very same visit that I met the MOST INCREDIBLE GUY EVER. I mean really. We have been inseparable ever since we have met (as in talking all day, everyday) and I am absolutely crazy about him. Ready for the SHOCKER??

I think I am gonna move in with him! :O I know, everyone thinks I am crazy, but it feels right and even though we've only been together for a few months, we've talked about ALOT of stuff and we definitely want to start building something together. I used to look at those people that get married just months after having met eachother and thought that they were completely NUTS, but now I get it. Not that we are getting married soon or anything (don't worry Mom & Dad!) but with him I feel like I just KNOW that it's right. This is what it's supposed to be and feel like. I've never felt that before and it's pretty damn exciting :)

I went down to Santa Barabara this weekend to see my best friend, Jess, and to attend her baby

shower. She is due in just a couple weeks and it was so great to spend time with her before she has her hands full with TWO boys. Her 20-month-old is the most adorable little boy ever. The kid even fist bumps, how awesome is that!

I gotta get back to packing, I've got 5 weeks to box up stuff, throw away crap and get it all down to SD all the while working 6 days a week. Wish me luck! xo

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Updates

Time for some updates folks!

Master Cleanse:
So I got through day 3 (of 10) on the Master Cleanse. Was doing really well, but naturally as much luck would have it, I got a really, really bad cold. I decided that if I kept doing the cleanse and not eating 'real food' it would take me much longer to get well and I decided to stop the Master Cleanse. BOO! BUT, I lost 5.5 lbs and was feel really good while I was doing it. I am heading down to San Diego next weekend to see one of my best friends for the weekend and I plan on doing the cleanse once I get back.

Radiation Therapy:

I didn't get into the program and I am devastated. And actually it's all my fault. My application was completely DISQUALIFIED from the lottery because I didn't include an official transcript from the very same school to which I was applying. I misunderstood the application checklist-I thought a transcript was necessary only if your prerequisite courses were taken at another institution. Apparently I was wrong.

So now what? If I wanna apply again, I have to wait a full year. I really want to pursue radiation therapy and make a difference, but I don't know if I want to wait another year to try to get into the program.

Everyone keeps telling me things happen for a reason and there is something bigger in the works here. I hope they are right and my path becomes evident soon :/

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Starting the Master Cleanse

As part of my 2009 New Years Resolutions, I had made a goal to complete the Master Cleanse:

It's a 10-day detox where you basically only drink a mixture of fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup. YUM! It's a bit more complicated than that, but I won't bore you with details. Anyways, you do the detox for 10 days and afterwards you are supposed to feel super healthy, totally energized and your body is 'free' of toxins. Oh yeah, did I mention you lose a few pounds too? Apparently, Beyonce did it for the movie Dreamgirls and Tobey Maguire did it for Spiderman.

I never got around to starting it, but the time has finally come. I am starting the 10 day program tomorrow and I am super excited and nervous! I hope I have the strength to stick to it and not give into any cravings. I am going to San Diego in a couple of weeks and then on a 2 week vacation to Maui in June so I want to cleanse my body, feel good and look good.

Wish me luck! :)

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So Excited!

I finally got into San Diego last night for Jen's Bridal Shower/Bachelorette Party weekend. It's currently 5 am and I have been wide awake for over an hour- I am so excited and my mind is crazy busy with everything I have to do today to pull of the Bridal Shower that's tonight. I am super excited/nervous to see how my vision of the decor is going to turn out.

I went to  my Weight Watcher's meeting yesterday morning and have officially lost 10.4 lbs. Woot woot! I only missed my goal weight that I had set for myself by the time I came to SD by .7lbs, but I figure I could easyily pee that away so I'm not too worried about it :P 

My next goal is to lose 12.5 lbs by her wedding, which is over a month and a half away. I figure if I really focus, I have a pretty good chance of getting there.

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