Auld Lang Syne

As the year comes to a close, I thought that it would be the perfect time to review memories of the year. After 5 years at American Eagle as my main job (3 of those as manager), I found myself at a crossroads. I had the chance to move up in the company or start a whole new career. I quit my full-time job at AE and started my job with the State of Utah working for the Department of Workforce Services as an employment counselor. There was a ton of new stuff to learn, but almost a year later, I think I have started getting the hang of it. I turned 24 this year and Shane turned 26. Our ages are getting older, but I don't think that either one of us feels any older that we were when we first got married. We celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this year with a trip to Las Vegas. I know Shane must really love me if he is willing to spend a weekend in the Vegas heat. The city wasn't that bad, but even I thought that I was going to melt when we were at the Hoover Dam. I started Jazzercise in March. For those of you who don't know, Jazzercise is totally different than what you would think. There are no leotards, brightly colored tights with leg warmers or headbands. I didn't realize how out of shape I was until I couldn't keep up with the older ladies in my class. My mom and I both go to the same class and it has been nice spending time with her and having her there to encourage me to keep going. I had hoped to be in better shape by the time we went to Moab, but there was no need for that. It was cold, total opposite of what we experienced in Vegas. We were stuck in pants and most of the time sweatshirts. To make matters worse, we rode the motorcycle down and didn't really have a vehicle to drive around. But we toughed it out and went to Arches National Park while we were down there. It is amazing to see what the earth can create. We saw Delicate Arch but didn't hike up to it. Maybe when its warmer and I'm not dressed for riding the bike. When we got home, I starting feeling like I had a cold with a really bad cough. Nope, just pneumonia. For a month it was hard to breath, let alone workout. I got past that and still feel that wheezy feeling in my chest. But life goes on! I walked in Race for the Cure with my mom, sister and other Jazzercisers about a week after finding out that I had pneumonia. It made feel good to be out supporting a cause that effects so many women. We spent Father's Day in Wendover like every other year, but this year Alli's 21st birthday fell on Father's Day so she got to be out there with us. Both of our families planned camping trips in August. My mom's uncle has a cabin up at Strawberry Reservoir and we spent a weekend up there enjoying the solitude. Labor Day weekend we took Buddy on his 2nd camping trip with Shane's family to Potter's Pond. If you didn't know, the first time we took Buddy camping we went for one night and it was a good thing. He didn't go to the bathroom once. Shane and I were worrying about the second trip because we were staying for 2 nights. I was so happy when he ran up to tree when we first got there and peed. Sad, but true. He enjoyed himself that weekend and slept the whole way home. Shane bought a remote control rock crawler. It's his new toy. He has been bored since it has started snowing because he can't go crawling as much. The Bird got a face lift this year too. Shane worked hard on the body work and painting the car and it turned out great. He finished it in time to take it to the Wendover car show. Now he wants to paint the motorcycle. We went to lots of weddings this summer. It made me happy that ours had come and past. It still doesn't feel like two years though. Shane got tickets from his work to go to the Jazz Season Opener against the Denver Nuggets. It was a great game. With the way the economy went, both of us weren't laid off. Shane feels pretty secure with his job and I have almost passed probation at mine. This year, we had Thanksgiving at our house with Shane's family. I had never roasted a turkey in my life, or even watched someone do it, but ours turned out okay. It made a good end to the year. We spent Christmas with our families and ended the year together.
We've had a lot change in a year and are looking forward to making 2009 even more memorable.