It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

So, I realize that Thanksgiving pictures have not even been posted yet, but Christmas excites me, and I just cannot wait. Thus, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Charlie Brown tree with a girly twist!

Yes, I know it is kind of pathetic right now, but it will look a lot better in my new adorable apartment, come early December! More pictures to come...

Christi = Official Project Coordinator at the Institute for Systems Medicine!

Well, it looks like I am staying in Spokane for the time being! I never thought I would say this, but I am actually very excited that I got offered a full-time, salary paying job with a great non-profit organization! 


I am the official, Project Coordinator, for ISM and could not be more happier. I love the staff I work with. Such great people to be around! 


Further, I have just put my holding fee on a new apartment, right off the infamous Centennial Trail and Spokane River. Yay!!! I am excited because it is not run-down like the place I have been living in for about 6 months now. I move in mid-December and could not be more excited! It has a fitness room with weights and treadmills, indoor racquetball courts, and more! A couple specifics that I for sure took for granted that the Beau Rivage has are: a washer/dryer in the unit, air conditioning, a dishwasher, and security cameras all over the premises!!! Yes, this may sound pathetic, but having to save quarters to wash my clothes and hand wash dishes is a chore! 


As far as the down side goes, I will be living by myself, semi-away from campus, but Coll may base out of Spokane while he tries to pursue his life-long dream of going pro in soccer. Wish, I might add, he has a really good shot at doing! Another thing, I will miss the location of Cali for now, specifically Sacramento, next to all of my family and friends, but I am hoping that my family will come up and stay with me! Come on, what is better than a snowy day in Spokane! 


That's all for now... peace & love.

Colly's Senior Day

It is official! Coll and I are officially done with collegiate soccer. Hopefully my bitterness dies down! HAHA. Collin will now begin his journey of professional soccer, giving it a try in both the United States and Europe! How fun! Below is a picture of Coll and I on his senior day.. boy was it freeeeeezing!

The plan now is for him to hopefully get picked up on a team, and then, I can pursue a trip to go see him! And potentially, live with him. Yay! Cannot wait to see what the future brings him!

Halloweenie!

This is mine.. a ghost! 

This is Collin's punky.

This post is long overdue! Collin and I spend our 1st Halloween together this year for the reason being that playing collegiate soccer sometimes ruins lives.. aka.. our weekends were filled with travel and we were never home on Halloween weekend together. Below are some pictures of our Halloween pumpkin carving experience. 

All in all, it was a great Halloween. As mentioned in a previous blog, I traveled back to beautiful California for the weekend! I watched Collin's games. Ate at the Cheesecake Factory in Union Square. Shopped a bit! Had a visit with my mom and grams! Had a blast with my little sister and dad! And even had time for a visit with my campaigning gramps and sick-of-the-campaigning grandma who made delish enchiladas!!! 


Sad I will not be able to come home for Thanksgiving, but Collin and I have put in an order to Safeway for a full-blown Turkey Extravaganza which includes dinner for 6-8 people consisting of: 10 lb. Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Taters, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Dinner Rolls, and even an 8'' Pumpkin Pie! Yum! Can't wait! Leftovers for days!!! Wish I could be at my uncle's however, with his 3 Turkey Dinner, all cooked different ways! I will miss my family, but glad I will be able to spend my day of thanks with my amazing boyfriend, Colly.

life decisions...

Lately I have been faced with some challenges that will really set the course for the rest of my, hopefully long life to come...


1) Collin and I will be parting ways soon, for how long? No one knows, but all I do know is it is going to test my strength.


2) I have been offered a full-time job as the Project Coordinator for the Institute for Systems Medicine in Spokane, WA. Nice to know that I am actually making an employer and the staff happy enough to want to extend my contract.


3) I want to travel, but do not have sufficient funds to get me to Europe. People (to be specific, certain soccer alumni that came and visited last weekend) keep telling me to just GO now while I still can because I will regret it later in my life if I wait. Should I take out a loan? Should I just use the little money I have and see where life takes me, living day to day? Should I try to get a job teaching English abroad? Tough decisions.


4) Finding a job back home as been tough. Within these next couple of months, I will start sending my resume (and cover letter if I ever get to writing one) to employers. Hopefully something catches their eye now that I have great experience FINALLY. I fear not being able to get a job back in Sacramento. What my ideal scenario would be is to be able to find an amazing job in Southern California or something. I would even take Santa Cruz area, or San Francisco. All I know is I want to live on the water, and be able to live the REAL city life. 


Who knows where life will take me... I guess that is the fun of it though... Not knowing.

Homebound for Halloween...

So I am flying back to good ole' Elk Grove on Halloween weekend! Super pumped and can't wait to see my family and do a little retail therapy with my lil' seeeees! We are planning on doing a little shopping in amazing San Fran!!! And to add to the excitement, we are going down to the bay area, specifically Santa Clara University and San Francisco University, to watch Colly play! My sister and dad have never seen Coll play soccer before so I am stoked on that.. can't wait to come home!!! Hopefully the weather holds up and it is nice and sunny for me... :)

GreenBluff!

This past weekend, Collin and I went on our very first visit to Spokane's GreenBluff Orchard! There are around 30 farms, but we just visited the apple orchard/pumpkin patch! We picked out the perfect pumpkin.. nice and round, to carve! This week, Coll and I will set some time aside to carve our pumpkin. We got one, I am not sure why, and we will each carve a side of the pumpkin. Of course, being the perfectionist I am, I will use a stencil and the proper tools to carve my side. On the other hand, Coll feels like he wants to carve my face on his side... this should be interesting. Haha! Along with the pumpkins, Coll and I invested in possibly the best pie I have ever had. Being that it was Apple Festival, we HAD to buy something with apples in it. We purchased a pie entitled "Carmel Apple Craze" and boy was that thing delish! Below are some pictures of the patch and the pumpkin we came to a mutual agreement on....