2008 In All Its Glory

So as a few of you have mentioned, I am way behind on blogging, I never uploaded any pics and I´m even further behind on that. Also as I´m trying to remember, the details are getting fuzzier and fuzzier, but here I am trying to catch up. Enjoy!

So Sunday in Taft we went to church, and then had a big kebab meal with the whole family, including my cousin Michael and his family. It was pretty fun, and we played Disney Scene It and Catch Phrase. I think after everyone went home I watched some Law and Orders, which I miss over here. Then Monday, the last day of 2007, I went running and we left and drove back to Newcastle. At 3 o´clock, in the car, I called Victor, which was midnight in Spain to tell everyone Happy New Year´s. We got home and after unloading the car, we had a pretend family New Year´s Eve, with our Martenelli´s and then got ready and all went to our seperate parties. I first drove to Folsom to visit Matt and Laurel who were up visiting there friends. We talked, ate and then I left and drove to my friend Sarah´s house, who I have spent several New Years´ with as her family always has a huge party. This year they were roasting a whole pig, but I arrived pretty late, so I just ate some more, we talked and had a second Martenelli´s toast a few seconds after the true midnight, because they were TIVOing the ball drop till everyone got their glasses.... It was slightly anti-climatic, and not the best New Year´s Eve ever, but good nonetheless. Then I drove home and went to bed.

New Year´s Day I went to a brunch/mini family reunion at an aunt and uncle´s house. We talked, ate, and played more games. Then I went shopping at Ross for Victor with my sister, then to Target and then to my grandma´s and grandpa´s for some delicious venison with them and my uncle. Then we went home and hung out with my mom for a while and went to bed.

Jan 2nd. I went to the dentist, then went and visited people at the Antique Trove where I worked this summer, then to Old Navy with my sister, then back to the dentist, then back doing more shopping and then went home really late, ate, rushed to church, where I had to say goodbye to a lot of people which was a lot more emotional than I expected. Then I went to my cousin´s house to eat some more and play Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero is really fun, but as usual with me and video games, I suck at it and spent most of the night trying to beat ¨Slow Ride¨ and finally beat another song. Then home and bed.

Jan 3rd. Doctor, Chiropractor, a few more Rosses, the mall, Costco, Staples, etc etc etc. I was gone from 8:30 till 7:30 getting last minute things for Victor, me, his family, other requests and otherwise going shopping crazy! It was a good day though, I had fun hunting down things and accomplishing the long shopping list I had. Then at home we had a nice family dinner of my mom´s Award Winning Shrip and Mandarins Over Pasta, then I watched more TV and How I Met Your Mother DVDs with my sis till late, then she went to bed and left me to pack my suitcase till 3AM. Then of course bed.

Jan 4th. The worst storm of the season hits California, especially bad in Northern California, with the eye of the storm focused on Newcastle. Ok, maybe Auburn, but no joke. It was so bad, that they even showed it on the news here in Spain. So I woke up and started to get ready for the long trip back. I packed some sandwiches and after my sister got back from exercising, we left the house at 12 noon. Then we drove to the hospital to pick up some medicine for my mom, which took forever because the storm was making everyone crazy and then drove through the blinding rain to San Francisco. I was sick with nervousness because flights were being cancelled at airports all over the state, and with the traffic and driving conditions it seems we weren´t even going to make my 6:30 flight even if it wasn´t cancelled. But we did, my dad is a driving champion, my mom a trooper, and my sister the best. :) So waited in the long check in line with all the other crazy people, and had to say goodbye again. I was much more sad to leave this time and than I expected so that wasn´t fun. But I did leave after all and waited for my plane to take off late, 10 hours to London, chatting with a wonderful old British man straight out of sterotype world, made it to Malaga, went striaght to my gate, and was getting ready to wait the 2 hours but fell asleep. When I woke up, I should have been boarding, but there was no one around me and I figured they had changed the gate. Well, according to my ticket, the gate was closing right around when I was asking people where I was supposed to be. They told me it was really far away and already closed. So I went running through the airport which is not easy to do recently awoken, and with a giant backpack. I finally made it and thankfully that plane was late so I didn´t miss it, on the contrary I had to wait quite a bit more. So I finally got on the plane and spent 3 more hours going to London. Then it seemed like I was one of the last ones off the plane, got onto the bus that left last, and the last one in line to get my passport stamped. My suitcases were also the last to come out and the cheese I had brought took the longest to confiscate. So even though I was supposed to land at 7:30, I didn´t get out to meet Victor till after 9. So Victor met me there, picked me up, we stopped by his place to pick up some stuff I had left there and we went to Granada. I finally made it by 11PM, 3PM Saturday California time, after a mere 27 hours of travelling. I was tired.