Almost a year.

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since G and I moved to Colorado.

A year and a couple days ago, G flew out to Denver to interview for his job with Denver Health. The next day, he got the news that he had the job and told me over the phone "well, guess we're moving to Colorado!"

After that, it was a whirlwind. G flew home and then a couple weeks later, from April 12th - 19th we spent time on vacation in Kauai. Upon returning, I was let go from my job for blogging about a co-worker and our shitty employer. (Yeah, if I've learned one thing... don't let people know your name or who you work for, and if you do, don't bad mouth them online where they can find it!) So I spent the end of April and all of May preparing for our move. (I had accepted my job offer while on vacation in Kauai!!!)

The last week of May, we moved!

While I don't miss Charleston, SC, the racism, the confederate flag being flown, proud "natives," hypocracy, ignorance, and the overall unwelcoming attitude of a majority of South Carolinians (yes, "Southern hospitality" does NOT exist there, except for the fakers), I do miss the people we befriended as well as a couple other things:

The view from our old apartment
The beach
The gorgeous sunsets
Thunderstorms and crazy weather
Shem Creek
Frogs! I love frogs!
The Cooper River Bridge Run (which I would love to attend this year, but don't have money for an airplane ticket... boo.)
Fishing... with G all the time. (And this pic is four years old, so lay off of my GAP overalls!)
Backyard BBQs with friends. (This is our friend Tim jumping onto a Slip-n-Slide. We're big kids!)
(I might mention that G took all of these pictures and one of his photos is being used in the next edition of Charleston Magazine!)

It's not goodbye '08. It's hello '09!

Wow, it's hard for me to believe that 2008 is over already.

So much has happened in the course of a year.

January brought new friends from the San Diego area that ended up being a wife with "fibromyalgia" and a husband that decided that it was okay to steal narcotics off of a patient he was transporting (click for news story).

February was the first time I hadn't spent Valentine's Day with G. He spent it in Washington state with his best friend, E. It was also the month that my boss commited suicide (click here for new story). It still makes me incredibly sad to even think about it. I still have his family's Christmas picture from last year. I can't help but with the best for his wife and two children. Tim was a fatherly figure to me. Always pulling me into his office for a pep-talk. Advising me on life, school, and G. He was a motivator and appeared to be such a jolly, loving person.

March was spent preparing for our Kauai vacation with my dad, younger brother, his girlfriend, and G.

April 12 through the 19th was spent in Kauai, in the city of Poipu. I have never been on a more enjoyable, relaxing, and overall spectacular vacation. It wasn't amazing just because of the sand and the sun, it was the whole experience. Kauai is beautiful, un-touristy, and natural! I loved that there weren't jet-ski rentals or parasailing off of the beach front. It made it that more enjoyable. We were able to go on a helicoptor tour of the island, in which both my brother and I got motion sickness! Luckily that came at the end of the tour. Everyone got along. No one bickered about anything. Everyone was really easy going and I'll attribute that to the nature of the island. Nothing was planned and everyday we all went with the flow of things. Deciding each morning what the day would hold for all of us, together. It is easily my favorite vacation I've ever been on, and I can't wait to go back to that island!

May. This month was spent with friends and family due to our upcoming move to Denver. It was a sad month because I didn't want to leave our friends or family, especially B&S, and their baby A. They helped us pack, those last days in May, and on the 29th, we said our tearful goodbyes to those in Charleston. We arrived in Denver on the 31st, in the late afternoon.

JUNE! The first of June, a Sunday, was spent moving into our apartment in Broomfield. And the next day, I started work at my new job, which I actually enjoy. K and C, who drove out to Colorado with us, stayed for another week after we arrived. They spent time with G, going up to K's cabin in Estes Park, hiking and exploring.

July, E and E from Washington state came to visit for the 4th of July. It was great having more friends in town.

August, G's old baseball buddy D. Bergman came to visit for a couple days.

September, I flew home to California for a couple days for my little brother's 18th birthday. I also got to meet T&C's new arrival, baby B!

October, my mom came to visit for a couple days and it was so comforting to have here nearby. I miss my family too much! G's sister K moved in with us mid-month. And we spent Halloween downtown as "white trash," and I peed my pants, a little!

November was spent crossing our fingers that the people selling our now home would accept our offer and that everything would continue to go slowly. We spent Thanksgiving together eating untraditional food, but it was delicious.

December we spent couting down the days until G and I would become homeowners together! On the 10th it finally happened! From previous posts, I'm sure you can read what the rest of the month held for us! Packing and moving and getting a tree and decorating and Christmas.

Here we are at the end of the year and I'm not the least bit disappointed with the year I've had. I'm actually extremely satisfied. I'm in love. I'm a homeowner. I have family. I like my job. And next week, a week from today actually, B&S and their little girl A (from Charleston) will be coming to visit us for a week. G and I are so excited. They are such wonderful people and we can't wait to get to spend time with them.

So to whoever reads, or doesn't read this, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Blergh.

We're almost completely moved in.

There are a couple of things we left at the apartment that we need to grab, one being my fish!

Here's the living room so far:

Today is the day...

we become homeowners.

1pm won't come fast enough...

and moving won't come slow enough. I keep telling myself that this is the last time, for a long time.

Packing.

I am starting to pack up our apartment.

This will be move number three in under a year, technically.

Last year at this time, well December 15th, we were moving into our third apartment in the same apartment complex we'd been in for close to four years. Last year, we were lame-o's and didn't get a Christmas tree. How lame is that? Actually, it was more sad than lame, but now I can't wait for this year!

Move number two was here to Colorado, May 29th - June 1st.

Now, here we are, the beginning of December and we're closing on our house on Wednesday! So, technically move number three in under a year. Ugh.

Luckily, this will be our last move for a long time.

While I'm trying to get this done, I'm watching P.S. I Love You, which is probably one of my most favorite movies up there with Beaches, partly because Gerard Butler is hot! But anyway, why is it that two of the saddest movies, are two of my favorites, and most people dislike both.

Okay, enough dawdling, back to packing. Gah!