Dear Diary, 

This is going to be a short week, since Friday is the 4th of July. I think we should implement 4 day weeks year-round…but I am assuming it is not in the budget.

Speaking of budgets, Jeff and I went over our finances this weekend. It is such a married couple thing to do. We have definitely been spending way more than we should. Between the move here, the wedding, plus all those dining out adventures…it is time to buckle down and make some sacrifices. We have agreed to work on lowering the balances on our credit cards. We both don’t want that hanging over our heads.

We had such a nice weekend. We did movie night on Friday, hung out with Maria on Saturday and Sunday was a day of relaxation. We did one of my favorite things. We read. That might sound nerdy, but I love spending the afternoon with a good book. In fact, I finished one book, then read an entire second one. It was fantastic. We didn’t turn the TV on once.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

It is Friday and this week went by so fast. One of my friends in Florida sent me an e-mail She got some bad news and I wish I could be there for her. I feel so far away. I don’t want to delve into her personal life. I just hope she knows I am praying for her and her husband.

We don’t have a lot of plans for the weekend, but sometimes I prefer it that way. There is a happy hour with some of Jeff’s co-workers tonight, so we might hit that.

I have been on a quest since I moved here to find great chicken wings. Those are my favorite bar food and I had my special spots in Minneapolis…but since I got here, I have been trying spots one by one and scouring Yelp. However, I am still waiting for that life-changing moment involving chicken wings.

Maria, my gal in promotions, swears she knows where to go. She won’t tell me the exact locale, but she is taking us there Saturday afternoon. I am stoked for the experience. Does that make me pitiful?

There is a little soiree Saturday night that one of Jeff[’s new friends is throwing at Rouge downtown. That should be fun.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

I opened my birthday gifts yesterday. Tuesday was so crazy, I didn’t get chance…but it was kind of nice to have that to look forward to. Jeff’s sis and her husband got me my favorite perfume. I was running out, so that was perfect. I love the Juicy Couture.

Jeff’s mom got me a cookbook. I think she might be messing with me. Everyone knows that even though I enjoy food immensely, I don’t enjoy preparing it. She does have a wicked sense of humor…that, or she is trying to get me to feed her son. I will have to find one of the simpler recipes and see what happens…hopefully, not a fire. She included the nicest card, it called me her daughter-in-law and wished me much love. It was very sweet.

My mom’s friends sent me the coolest gift. Joanne, Neil and Holly have been like my extended family. I have know them since I was 10. They found an etching I did probably 20 years ago and had it framed. I thought that was so special. I love it and I can’t wait  to find the perfect place to hang it.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear  Diary,

I had such a great birthday. It was so much fun. After I left work, I snuck in a nap before the Tommy T’s event. When I woke up I had all of these voicemails and texts from my friends and family. It was so nice to hear from them. I will admit, it made me a little homesick. 

However, when I got to Tommy T’s it was so awesome to meet all these people who came out. The place was packed. Karaoke was so much fun. Lots of people got up to sing. The cake Michelle made was not only beautiful, but delicious.

We played games and they even sang Happy Birthday. It was a really special night.

The comedian was great. Plus, I just saw him on ‘Last Comic Standing’ a couple weeks ago. I remember thinking he should totally get through to the next round. He was really funny.

Next thing I know, it is 11 o’clock and way past my bedtime. Another birthday put to bed. I am excited about today, though. I get to open my gift from Jeff…we kind of skipped that part yesterday.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary ,

This past year has just flown by. Last year I was in MN tubing down a river for my birthday with my pals. Now, I am in a new city…a new place to live, making new friends and working at a great place. How fast things can change.

To make things extra special, the guys played a prank on me this morning. I feel like I was truly initiated today. It reminded me of grade school when the guys would push you down in the sandbox.

I got text messages all morning from my friends. It was so nice of them to think of me. I know when you get older, people live in different cities…birthdays are the easiest thing to forget. So, it was flattering to hear from so many of them. My gal Mellie texted me a pic of her in Minneapolis holding a sign that said: “Happy Birthday.” It was so cute.

Not too much planned for today. I definitely want to sneak in a nap before Tommy T’s Corey-oke night.

Talk to you tomorrow, 

Dear Diary,

We had a fantastic weekend. The Brad Paisley show was awesome and I got to see my fav, Chuck Wicks. He is so nice. We took some pictures with him. He and Jeff look like buddies, I look like his mother.

Saturday, we went roller-blading. The weather was perfect, it felt great. You don’t get to skate much in MN, so I was loving it. I was sore the next day. I can’t wait to go again.

Saturday night, Jeff took me to dinner at Bobo’s for my birthday. It was so good, the steaks were perfect. In fact, the whole meal was delicious. I felt a sense of loss when it was over. LOL.

Sunday, we did about 14 loads of laundry, then ran a few errands. Jeff took me to pick out a new handbag. He wanted to get me one for a gift, but he wanted me to make the choice. I love it, it is exactly what I wanted. He spoils me, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I am looking forward to Tommy T’s, it is going to be a blast. I love Karaoke, can’t wait for tomorrow.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

Thursday was the first laid-back, relaxed day of the week. Eddie, Timmy and I grabbed lunch. It was so nice to sit outside. A lot of people are complaining about the heat, but I love it. Growing up in Florida, this reminds me of home.

Jeff and I both took the initiative to work out. I stepped on the scale and…yikes, I have put on about 10 lbs. since the wedding. I am not surprised though, I haven’t been as strict with myself. We both said we are out of shape…those lunges were kicking my butt. I am hoping to squeeze in a quick run and nap before getting ready for the concert tonight.

I am still trying to figure out what to wear to the Brad Paisley show tonight. Since it is going to be warmer tonight and the Shoreline is an outdoor venue, I might skip the jeans.

I am totally pumped that this is on a Friday night. That means we can sleep in tomorrow. We were so wiped the night after the Kenny Chesney all-day extravaganza.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear  Diary,

It was the perfect day for a baseball game…too bad the Giants lost. We had seats pretty high up in stands, so we had an amazing view of the water. I would love to go out on a boat and drop anchor by AT&T Park. How fun to lay in the sun, rock on the waves and maybe catch a foul ball.

I met some of Jeff’s co-workers. Everyone was really nice. One of the gals, Annalise, also just moved here. We exchanged phone numbers and talked about hitting the town together. I am all about making new friends.

This weekend is going to be so much fun. We are kicking things off on Friday night with the Brad Paisley concert. Then, Jeff is taking me to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. I don’t know where we are going, but I am sure he picked something fabulous. We are going out that night because on Tuesday, we are having a Corey-oke night at Tommy T’s in Pleasanton. The 24th is my actual birthday, so we are inviting everyone to come out and join us. There will be drinks specials, food, even a cake. Plus, we will be accepting donations at the door for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, so there is no cover charge.

I can’t believe another birthday is here, I feel like I just had one.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

We finally made it back to the San Francisco airport last night. Our flight was supposed to leave at 2PM and get us in at 3PM. When we got to LAX, the security line took us at least 45 minutes to get through and when we finally did…we found out our flight was delayed 3 hours. Yikes.

We headed to a cafe to sit and wait…then found out there was another delay. Ken said, “Enough of this, I will be right back.” He comes back with four new boarding passes and we ended up leaving at 4:30 instead of 6PM. I guess he poured on some of that Ken’s Den charm and wooed the ticket agent. Whatever he did, I am happy we got back before dark.

Today, Gap Inc. is having a family day and taking their employees to a Giants game. I am excited, it is my first time watching a game at AT&T Park. Plus, I get to meet some of Jeff’s new co-workers.

This week is flying by and the weekend is jam-packed as well. Before you know it, it will next week and I will be turning 33. Once again…yikes.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Dear Diary,

We are live from Disneyland this morning. We flew in yesterday to check out all of the new attractions and experiences. They have a new Toy Story ride and this really interesting House of Tomorrow sponsored by Microsoft. Our flight was late so we didn’t get to do as much as we would have liked to do. We rode the new Toy Story experience, hit the roller coaster on Paradise Pier, then we walked over to Disneyland for the Techno Dream House.

The great folks at Disney gave us extra tickets, so we gave them to families so they could ride as well. I thought that was really cool.

I only wish we had more time here. There is so much to do, but we have to jump on a plane pretty much after our show today.

I want to come back and bring Jeff. There is a ton of stuff to do and you just can’t do it all in less than 24 hours.

It is also totally different from Disney World. I grew up in Florida, so that is what I am familiar with. However, they are both fun and amazing. I guess you could call me a Disney Freak. I love it.

In fact, I think it is time to buy some mouse ears.

Talk to you tomorrow,