Happy Holidays...

Well hello there! I'd say Merry Christmas, but I'm too late... oh well. Happy holidays will have to suffice. I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas (and Thanksgiving since I haven't posted since right before then...). I certainly did.
But lets back up. I survived hell week/month at work. Barely. The shifts were rough, the stress was high, but I made it. We're back to normal now and I can breathe. It was definitely different being on the manager side of retail during the holidays. It's a whole other level. But I'm stronger now on the other side of the holidays...
I've barely seen Ty the last month and a half. He's been busy with his EMT classed and I've been having crazy hours at work... we've hardly spent time together. That all is back to normal now too, thankfully. We don't know what to do spending the entire day together. But I prefer that to never seeing him.
As far as Christmas goes, I think it was a success. We didn't travel home since both our jobs wouldn't really allow it this time of year. Even though I wish I could have spent time with my family, I loved our little Christmas with our own little family. At first, I was really worried about finding a great gift for Ty. I was trying to think of something that would completely blow his mind or bring him to tears or something. I was getting myself too stressed out so I decided to get a bunch of little things instead. Once I made that decision, I went a little crazy. I kept finding cool or quirky things that I knew he'd love. I ended up getting him:

• Sock garters: he's always complaining about his socks falling down....
• A bottle of bourbon
• A lego mug that he can put legos on
• Legos 
• An ice mold in the shape of the Death Star
• A book on NPR
• A book on backyard farming
• A bunch of protein bars, chapstick, coffee, ect. as stocking stuffers
• A print of the latitude and longitude of where I was born, where he was born, and where we were married.

The last one was sort of for me too. I absolutely loved it and it's going to look great on our wall. I honestly didn't think he had gotten me anything since I had seen him only go to the mall (with me there) a few days before Christmas. But he surprised me with a beautiful watch and a pair of diamond studs. He did really good this year. :)
We spent the rest of the day eating and drinking and then drove around for a few hours looking at possible homes. Our lease is up at the end of February so we're starting to hunt for something with some more land (he's really set on chickens...). I don't know if we'll ever agree on a place... We'll probably end up staying here...
Can you believe 2013 is almost over?? This has been a busy year if not eventful. It flew by. It seems like just yesterday we were saying goodbye to California, but that was over a year ago. Life goes by so much faster the older you get. I'm excited for what 2014 might bring... we don't have any major life events planned such as a move... But life always has a way of surprising us. Who knows...
That's all for now! I'll leave you with some pictures of our holidays...
Chrissy

I don't even know...

Assessing the damage...

It's not Christmas without Charlie Brown...

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Fall is in the air... If only for today...

The heat broke today thankfully with some lovely rain. That's one of things that I don't miss about Monterey. It never rained. I was surprised at how much I could actually miss something like precipitation, but I really did. I just love rainy days. They're a good time for coffee, movies, and reflection. And after it rains the world is so pretty and new. There's a cool breeze blowing which makes me anxious for fall...
Fourth of July came and went uneventfully. I worked early and we drank Pabst all day which of course meant that I was in bed by 8, missing the fireworks. Oh well...
We've been enjoying our new kayaks. We're anxiously looking for new places to explore. I'm loving it. Now I just need to invest in a waterproof bag for my camera so I can actually document it. It's so gorgeous out on the water, basically by ourselves surrounded by nature. I could stay out all day.
My mother came to visit at the beginning of this week. I'll admit that I really wasn't that anxious for her to come out this week. It's was my last few days at my old store and my first few days at my new one. Plus, our anniversary was Tuesday. There was just too much going on. But I'm glad she did. It was nice to see her. I forget what it's like to have another friend besides Ty. She's really my only friend. How sad. I met her boyfriend (which is weird to say). He seems nice and they seem really happy which is all that matters. We didn't do much while they were here, but did manage to make it to the beach. Not on the ocean, but the bay, which is good enough. I think they had a good time, despite Ty and I working.
Tuesday was our anniversary. 3 years... how crazy is that?? It's flown by but it seems like it's been he and I forever. It's been a great adventure. I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be if I had said no to marrying him. I'll never regret following my heart and taking that leap. We were "too" young, hadn't known each other "long enough", it all happened so quickly... but I wouldn't have it any other way. Whatever it took to get us here, no regrets. I'll admit that sometimes I'm sad that I didn't get the big wedding of my girly dreams.. but I wouldn't trade our wedding for anything. It was about us. Being together. Being in love. Not about a party or other people. That being said, I'm urging Ty for a vow renewal for our five year anniversary.. my parents weren't at our wedding, and I'd like a nice dress. And a party would be fun too. Doing things differently is how we do it.
I started my new job the other day. I was nervous about it and really sad to leave my old store where I felt like a part of a family... but I made it through. It's a little stressful at the moment trying to figure out how they do things, how they want things, what they expect of me, and what my role entails. I sort of feel like I was just thrown into it and am learning along the way...which is sort of overwhelming. Hopefully I find a groove soon and the stress dies down.
I can't believe that we're past the halfway point for the year... I hate that the older you get, the faster time goes. I don't even want to think about how quickly it will move once we have kids. Before we know it, it'll be Christmas time. This is going to be our first year that we don't go home for Christmas. I'm a little sad about it, but I'm thinking it's for the best. Since my dad's remarried and in a different city and my  mom has moved to a different city with her boyfriend... it would be insane trying to go between 4 homes... I'm excited to have a Christmas to ourselves and start some of our own traditions. I secretly wish that we would've had a baby to share the experience with, but oh well... Just the two of us is more than alright with me. :)
How is the summer going for all of you lovelies?

Fourth of July outfit. So patriotic.

I fell pretty in polka dots...

Rainy day coffee...

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