Starting the New Year Out Right!

I rarely take time off from work - I think my trip to Tennessee was the first vacation I've taken in over 2 years. Going from Bridge Creek, where things were SO busy all the time, to a new position at a small property where I have the time to sit back and breathe, I decided to take a long weekend for New Year's. I only got 1 day off for Christmas, and I just wanted a holiday break, so I took it. And I was SO glad I did!

I wanted to take 4 days and relax, have fun, and not be bored. I left work Friday and was off until this morning. Friday night was pretty usual, Mark made me dinner at his place and we watched a movie before heading to bed. Saturday morning, we got up pretty early and headed out to Mt. Talbert for a brisk (and freezing cold) walk in the woods up there. Before tearing his knee, he'd been running up there every morning, so he showed me where everything was, took me around, and we alternated between a quick pace and a mosey, depending on his knee and my cough (thanks for the cold, Blake). After our walk, he took me home, where I did some laundry and a deep clean, grocery shopped, and had dinner.

Mark was playing poker on Saturday night with some buddies, so it was the perfect opportunity to have Kitty over to peruse bridal magazines and watch a chick flick...did I mention, Kitty is getting married!! She brought a stack of mags, her iPad, My Best Friends Wedding, and I bought a couple bottles of wine. We hung out and gabbed, and it was tons of fun - I am super excited for her and Stu, and I am of course very honored to be a bridesmaid with Stace and Danielle. The wedding is this year, July 13th (pending a venue), and should be a ton of fun.

After poker ended, I was chatting with Mark on the phone and suggested we go to the beach for the day on Sunday...neither of us had plans or anything to do Monday, so I figured it was a good day to take a long day trip, maybe drive back late or after dinner. He had me check the weather, which was 55 and sunny with no wind, so we jumped at the chance for a great beach day - while I was looking at the weather, Mark snuck online and booked a room at Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City and told me we'd spend the night instead...yay!

Mark picked me up Sunday morning about 9 and we hit the road towards Lincoln City. The weather was awesome  - we even drove a good deal of the way with the sun roof open! We took highway 18 into Lincoln City and arrived too early for lunch or for check in at the hotel, so he showed me a place you could drive down on the beach, then we tooled around in the car, stopped in Depot Bay and in Newport, and headed south into Seal Beach as well. We showed each other different view points and locations we'd been to, had lunch, looked at the ocean, made out, and eventually made it back to Lincoln City and the hotel for check in around 3. The weather was still awesome - cold, but super pretty. We settled in, drank some wine, and took a decent walk on the beach before hitting up McMenamins for dinner and some drinks.

Monday morning we took another, longer walk on the beach before showering, checking out, and heading into town for breakfast. The weather took a turn to colder and rainy around 11 while we were eating, so we took our time but then just headed back towards home from there. Most of the drive home, it snowed! Such a drastic weather change in 24 hours!

We got into town around 3:00, and we parted ways for a few hours so I could take a nap and Mark could hit the liquor store. He picked me back up at 8:30 to head over to Kitty and Stu's, where we were spending New Year's Eve. Danielle and Thor were there as well, and so were Juli and Pat, plus a couple of Stu's friends. We had some drinks and some awesome snacks, and played a hilarious game while waiting for midnight. A couple minutes before midnight, we poured champagne for the girls and whiskey shots for the guys, turned on the tv to watch the ball drop, toasted and kissed before going back to our game. It was a mellow night but tons of fun...the game was a riot, the company was great, and I was SO glad I took a nap since we didn't get back to Mark's place til after 2 in the morning. He and I then played a game of Suspend (sorta like Jenga) before heading to bed.

Yesterday we slept in a little bit and then I headed home to clean, relax, spend some time at my mom's, and get ready for the work week...so glad its already Wednesday!