Adios 2010!

You have certainly been an interesting year, you. :) There were times when I thought you'd be the death of me, and other times I thought you were the best year ever. To be truthful, you were just a little too exciting for me. Thank you for our time together, but I am happy to close the doors on 2010. :)

Let's recap, shall we.

January: This year was so busy that honestly I don't remember January. I'm sure I spent it dreading beginning my thesis. I do remember Emerson getting pneumonia, which was terrible. She got over it quickly, but Justin and I had to alternate days off to be with her and it was awful to see her so sick. No bueno.

February: This month is always a doozie. It started off really nicely with a celebration of Justin's birthday. I was quite proud of myself. I took him to a small, local restaurant called "The Boulevard" and arranged to have the chef plan a meal just for him. It was very special. I think my favorite part was that Justin's dad drove us to the restaurant (his parents stayed with Em), so that we could enjoy the adult beverages. It felt like a high school date. :)

We went to Redding the next week to celebrate Justin's dad's birthday, which is right before Valentine's Day. Justin and I attempted to have a romantic evening at home, which resulted in the worst fondue ever. Seriously. It was bad. The next weekend we celebrated my mom's birthday and then February was over. In between all the celebrations, I miraculously stayed on track with my thesis and only gained five pounds.

March: This month was a mixed bag. My thesis was full on kicking my ass at this point, and both Justin and I received lay-off notices, as did many of my friends and family. It sucked. But Justin and I also got to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary by staying in a bed and breakfast in Sac. It was a very special weekend, even though Hillary indulged too much and got heartburn. Boo. Still, we had a wonderful time, and it was fantastic that my sister and her husband volunteered to watch Emerson for us.

Also, in March, we celebrated my nephew Justin's first birthday and spent Easter in Redding. It was a very cold, rainy Spring, but it was nice to have a week off.

April: This month was my make-it-or-break-it month in regards to my thesis. My goal was to finish everything by my birthday, and I mostly made it. My birthday was on a Monday, and I sent my final draft to my professor the Friday after. I felt immensely proud that I had set a schedule and (for the most part) followed it. For obvious reasons, my birthday was not as big a deal as the year before. No trip to Vegas. No big hoop-la. Which was fine. I was just happy to finish my thesis and see the month come to a close.

May: Because my district changed its calendar, May became the last month of school. It didn't really feel like it, especially since it rained on graduation. Despite the cold, wet weather, the end of school came and with it, the end of my time at Valley High School. At the time I wasn't sure if I was leaving Valley. I was still laid off, but it looked likely that I would get my job back. However, I cleaned out my room and said my good-byes. It seemed like my time as a Viking was done.

We celebrated Memorial Day with a huge combo party for Emerson and me. For her, we celebrated her fourth birthday (yes, a little early, but it seemed as good a time as any.) For me, we celebrated my Master's degree. As usual, it was a huge party attended by most of our family members. It was a great time, but it took us about a week to recover. :) Luckily, we didn't have much to do since Justin and I had both finished our school years.

June: This was a very interesting month. I didn't have a job for most of it, so I spent a ton of time preparing job applications, running to Kinko's to scan, and interviewing. It was like a job in and of itself. At the end of the month, we took Emerson and my mom to Disneyland, which was a great trip. Emerson had a wonderful time, and it was so sweet to watch how excited she got to ride Dumbo and meet princesses. It was bittersweet that I had to leave early to interview for vice principal positions, but it turned out okay. The day Justin, my mom, and Em got back (literally the hour they got back), I found out that I got a VP job. It was a very special week for us. :)

July: This month marked the end of my summer vacation, for the most part. I started my work as a vice principal. In addition to that excitement, on July 10th I discovered that I was pregnant. We had been trying since February, so I was very happy, but also very overwhelmed.

August: As it has been for awhile now, August was a very busy month for weddings and babies. We attended my cousin Kate's wedding and our friends Alex and Drew's wedding. Also, my mom and I threw a baby shower for my sister Haley, who was expecting her first child. In the midst of all that party going and throwing, I was beginning my first year as a vice principal. Pregnant. F-U-N.

On August 17th, I received a call (well, three calls and six text messages) that would change everything. My sister's water broke five weeks early and my nephew, Owen, was delivered via c-section that day. It was incredibly hard to not be with her and her husband as much as I wanted to, but they are amazing parents and they pulled through. It was an unbelievable experience.

September: I hesitate to call this a "slow" month, but it really was all about developing a routine at work and home. It took me some time to get used to my new position, and we did travel to the Bay Area to see Owen, Haley, and Craig. But to be honest, the month was a blur. Especially since I spent a lot of it throwing up. :(

October: On the first, my third nephew, Samuel, was born to my sister and brother-in-law, Summer and Ben. This is truly the year of babies because my cousin Ben welcomed a daughter a few weeks later. We spent the month visiting family, and I spent the weekdays trying not to drown at work.

November: This year both Justin and I got a whole week off for Thanksgiving, which I was immensely thankful for. To describe me as exhausted was not adequate. While we were insanely busy, the month went by very quickly.

December: It feels weird to recollect about this month, given that it is just now coming to a close. However, it has been a good month. I have begun my third trimester and now my focus is really on becoming prepared for our new son. I am actually not sad to be finishing winter break because I really just want him to be here. I've said this before, but I am not a patient person and I'm dying to meet him. :) Unfortunately, many not-so-pleasant things need to be accomplished first. Sigh.

For 2011, I hope for many things. I hope for the continued good health of myself and my family. I hope to give birth in March (seriously, people, February is crazy) with a quick and uneventful labor to a healthy (small) baby. I hope that my daughter enjoys her new role as big sister, and I hope that I haven't completely forgotten how to change diapers. :) Most of all, I am so thankful for my kind and wonderful family and friends. While 2010 had its not-so-great moments, at least I always had people to laugh with.