this is... something: football

Christmas season at Qualcomm aka Snapdragon

I've spent the last week in San Diego with Dave for an early Christmas (celebrating Christmas with my folks). We celebrated by visiting the seals at La Jolla Cove, watched UCD basketball lose to UCLA (bummer!), enjoyed entertainment at the Feeding the Soul Foundation's Holiday Variety Show, watched the Chargers beat the Ravens with our friend Brent, watched the Niners game while eating sushi, toured the Leo Carrillo Ranch, went wine tasting at Bernardo Winery, went to the San Diego Concert Band's concert (which Dave's mom, Sandra, performed in), celebrated Hanukah, and went to the La Mesa College Concert Band's concert (which both Dave and Sandra performed in). We may not be able to spend Christmas day together, but I think those dates make up for it!

Anz enjoying the beach

As you probably know by now, Dave is finally home after 27 months of living in Panama and one additional month traveling Central America with his brother, Greg. Even though he's in San Diego and I'm still splitting my time between Sacramento and the Bay, we've been able to see each other a good amount. I've made many road trips to SD and back with my faithful companion, Anzuelo, and really enjoy it! Sure, the drive is a bit long, but it's worth it. With school only being on Fridays, driving lets me visit for almost a week and bring the dog. No way would I pay for a flight for me AND him. Plus, after his trip from Panama to America (he was stuck in Texas over night due to some miscommunication)... I don't ever want to put the poor little guy on a plane again. Dave has flown up here a few times, but he can only stay the weekend since he works during the week, so me going down really is the more enjoyable option.

My visits have been filled with days at the beach, camping, visiting family, watching movies, cooking, running, and just plain enjoying each other's company. I'm so grateful that we have been blessed with the ability to visit each other as much as we have. It's already November and we still have four visits planned! He'll be up here for Thanksgiving, then he's meeting me and my family in Bakersfield for an early Christmas with my cousins, then I'll head down for a week as soon as classes end, and finally NEW YEARS EVE!

For those of you wondering, school is going well. One and a half semesters and then I'm done! My birthday is actually my last day of school - pretty decent birthday gift if you ask me. I'm done with all of my prelicensure courses, am officially a nurse, and am now focusing on my MSN with a focus in Case Management. I'll be starting my Case Management preceptorship in January at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital - I'm beyond stoked about this opportunity.

Here are a few photos from the past months.