Holiday Break

I have not wrote in a while... again... and I said that I wouldn't do this. But, I'm actually pretty proud of myself during the holiday break. During the break that I had from work (December 24 - January 4), I probably went on the internet about 75% less than usual. That's pretty good for me since I practically live online.

We got a lot of stuff done around the house - it needed it's spring cleaning early! But, for the most part, we did a lot of resting. I could not believe it, but I actually slept in to about 10am every day. That is very unlike me. Even on weekends I usually can't sleep past 8am. So, it was good to get some sleep... I guess I was catching up for all of the sleep I didn't get throughout the year.

We also did a lot of shopping... We definitely went shopping the day after Christmas for all of the holidays sales. We decided to go to Target when it opened to get all of the holiday stuff at 50% off... so, we got lots of LED lights, decorations and then all of those cool gadgets that they sell during the holiday season for gifts. We also spent some time with friends, which was great because during the year it is hard, especially during the Fall for me.

And lastly, we finally went hiking again. It has been so long. We plan on going hiking at least once a month in the coming year, but hopefully more. We were able to only go hiking once during the break, but it was great. We hiked up to Echo Mountain which is above Altadena and Pasadena, and only about 10 minutes away from the house - at least the beginning of the trail. It was a great day to hike because the sky was absolutely clear and we could see everything. Below are a few pictures that I took with my phone... not the best pictures, but they will give you an idea.


Well, that was our break. Now I've been back to work since yesterday and have been busy, busy ever since.

Preparing for the Trip

I woke up this morning to my mom calling. Her first question was, "Are you okay?" Of course I was okay and wondered why she was asking. I guess she woke up this morning to the sound of my voice continually calling her in a panicked tone - it really wasn't me, so she must have been dreaming.

Luckily she only called about 15 minutes before I needed to actually wake up to get ready to pick up my rental car from Enterprise. Maverick drove me to the Enterprise and I went in to get my car and of course I got my Chevy Cobalt. The University only allows me to rent compacts, so I usually end up with Cobalts. This time I got a deep blue color and it runs really well - it should be easy to find in the sea of parking lots I will be in this week.

After that, I came back home to say bye to Maverick before he left for work. Then, I was on my way to run my errands (post office, bank and target). I love doing errands during the weekdays in the morning - I wish I could have everyday off. It's nice to sleep in and do everything that I need to do when places are less crowded. But, I'll be in the world of working for a bit longer - until we win the lottery :-)

When I was at Target, I bought a few cards for Maverick. I want to make him feel loved and missed while I'm gone because I feel so bad for leaving him. When I first got this job, he was happy for me and thought it would be fun. But, I don't think he realized how much I'm away from home during the Fall (September - December). For example, I'll be away from home for almost two weeks at the end of September through October, missing his birthday. So, I'm going to prepare him a bunch of little notes to show him how much I love him and will hide them around the house before I leave today.

It's stressful leaving on business trips. There's so much to do, but at least it will be nice to be out of the office for a few days!