December also brought a long trip back to Cali. It all started in the San Fran area for one of my best friend's, Kim, engagement party to Josh Write. She has actually found "Mr. Write" :) The party was held at Kim's parents beautiful enormous home. There was a sushi chef, Michelle the chef, bartender, coat checkers, and a cleaning crew making sure everything stayed perfect. And perfect it was! It was such a wonderful night filled with people who love Kim and Josh and who are so excited and happy for them. The night was fabulous, Kim looked stunning (as always), and it was all just a preview of how amazing the Cabo wedding will be!
After the fun Nor Cal weekend I flew down south to spend the Holiday with my family. I stayed with my brother, his girlfriend and their adorable new puppy. My mom of course drove in from Vegas and all of us, including the Jabbora's (our family/friends), had a wonderful Christmas. It was 100% better than last year at this time. Last Christmas my mother and I were not the best of friends. Among other issues, she was upset with my decision to take a break from teaching and move to Chicago. My recent health problems had also changed our dynamic. Anyone who knows me knows just how close my mother and I are, but for various reasons that greatly changed that year. So much so that last years Christmas night we almost canceled our Puerto Vallarta trip leaving the next morning. Last Christmas was filled with tension so it was extra special that this Christmas was back to normal :)
I also got to see many friends on this trip home. Some planned and some unexpectedly but all of them so great full to have seen and spent some time with.
So my trip back to Chicago was an adventure! Becky was bringing a car back so I canceled my flight and decided to join her on the road trip. We knew it would be long and probably boring but together we could make it a bit more interesting. That we did! It took us 3 long days that were filled with: deserts, the first meteor crater, Pi Phi songs, many large porn stores along all the highways, dinosaurs and tepees, the alphabet game, every song on my ipod about three or so times, the "would you rather ___ or ___" game, lotto tickets at every gas station (no winners), and one of our favorite new games "I really love it when my (boyfriend, ex, guy I'm dating) ____." The ___ was filled in with something embarrassing or not so great about boys from our past. Not sure who "won" but this literally kept us entertained for an hour or so. Try it sometime.
We arrived back in Chi-town just in time to ring in the New Year here. We had a fabulous and crazy night that started at Martini Park and left us all somewhere different throughout the city. However we all regrouped on the 1st for brunch/lunch/dinner to exchange stories and keep celebrating the beginning of 2009!!
