CA with the MT Folks

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend with my family! It's always amazing to me how long I spend looking forward to visits from friends and family compared to how fast those visits fly by. I love the anticipation of knowing people are coming to see us, but I cannot express in words how much I hate the feeling I get when our visitors leave. And even more so with my immediate family. Watching my family drive away in the suburban with those oh-so-familiar Montana license plates was heart-wrenching. Not knowing when we will see my family again seemed to make the pain multiply.
On a brighter note, we had so much fun showing my family around the area. On Saturday, we did a lot of shopping and driving around. T & T (the younger bros) were in hog heaven after visiting an all-baseball store nearby, and there is no doubt in my mind that they could have spent hours cruising through every sports store in the greater Sac area (even being the non-shoppers that they are). On Sunday, our plans to visit the Hearst Castle in San Simeon were quickly derailed when we realized that it was going to take six hours in the car to get there. My loving hubby came up with a great idea of where to go instead, so we made the trek down to San Jose to tour
the Winchester House.

I can't even begin to describe how creepy and eery this place felt. This really is a unique house with a very interesting story. Here's the website: http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Otherwise, things around here are going quite well. I'm starting to get into the swing of things with my new job. There are so many things that make this job so much more enjoyable and fulfilling than any other job I've ever had (and the pay doesn't hurt either). I'm still on edge, waiting to hear back from Sac State about the status of my MSW application for grad school. I should be finding out before April 1st, so the countdown is on. Talk about waiting until the last possible minute! I have an upcoming procedure on April 1st to remove a lump that has formed on my left shoulder blade and is growing at a rapid pace. The surgeon seems largely unconcerned about it, so that's a huge relief.

Pat is doing well, his company has been telling him for quite some time that they have "big plans" for his future. If only we could pull out of this dang economic recession, maybe we would finally see those "plans" come to fruition.

In the meantime, we're just enjoying this beautiful weather and eagerly awaiting springtime in California. I think my parents would agree, after their visit last weekend, that it really is a beautiful time of the year here. We are truly enjoying our time here and can't wait to have more friends and family come to visit. I hear there are some killer deals on airfare right now! (hint hint).

The Great Groff Furniture Extravaganza!!!!!

Hello to my loyal fanbase (all 3 of you)!!!

Happy Friday morning to everyone! Today is going to be a wonderful, perfect, absolutely amazing day! Why, you ask??

Because today we will finally be getting our new couch that was purchased over 2 weeks ago!

Yes, that's right, we have been couchless for 2 whole weeks! I now understand the meaning of the phrase, "You never know what you have until it's gone." That quote has never rang truer for me than in these last couple weeks. This may seem silly to some, but you never realize how much you actually do use your couch until it's no longer there for your tv-viewing pleasure. We have endured countless hours of sitting on the hard, cold floor, watching hours of tv and finding no comfort whatsoever. Ok, I suppose I should correct myself. "We" haven't been suffering on the floor; Pat has been suffering on the floor. Randi gets too aggravated after about 10 minutes and usually ends up enjoying these mindless hours of tv watching in the comfort of her own bed. This has made for some very early bedtimes in the last couple weeks (I always associate bed with sleep, so if I'm in bed, I get tired). But I am pleased to report that, starting today, we will no longer take such seemingly silly things as living room furniture for granted. For today, we have seen the light. Here's the pics of the couch and area rug that we purchased:







In other, non-furniture related news, I have officially completed my first full week of work. It's been slightly overwhelming and very busy, but overall I can breathe one huge sigh of relief because I can honestly (and finally) say that I love my job. It is such a breath of fresh air to be in a supportive environment, doing something I love, and making pretty good money doing it.

Have a fantastic weekend, all. Hubbs and I will be relaxing on our brand new couches for the majority of the weekend. Be jealous.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

I just received a call from the Placer County Office of Education and I am happy to report that I am officially a permanent employee!!! I have an orientation tomorrow to go over benefits, and I'll be starting on Wednesday morning! I've known for a couple weeks now that I would be receiving the job offer, but was waiting for the paperwork to clear with HR. I am ecstatic!!! For all of you who have been with me throughout this difficult journey over the last 9 months and who have listened to endless hours of venting about how much I detest my job, THANK YOU!!! I am so blessed to have such patient family and friends. :) From this day forward, I promise to be a more optimistic and overall pleasant person to be around. I'll post again after my first day.

Here's the link to the county's website, if anyone wants to check it out:
http://www.placercoe.k12.ca.us/Pages/default.aspx

Changes, they are a comin'

After almost a full year of waiting, it is with great excitement that I announce that I officially have a job with Placer County Office of Education!!!! I am starting a position as a Foster Youth Services Tutor in early March, and I will have a caseload of 12-13 students who I will spend about an hour per week with. The best part of this job (wait for it)........ a full summer off (2 whole months)--PAID!!!!

On another note, Patrick and I found out yesterday that we will be moving this weekend. It's quite a long, dramatic story (of which the details are not important), but we will be moving to a newer, nicer, larger apartment this weekend. We are so excited to be moving to this area (albeit earlier than we had planned), but overall, we're ready for an upgrade. It has been complete chaos around here, with boxes in every corner and our home in shambles. Coupled with my interview today, and the good news I received about getting the job, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Life is pretty dang good around the Groff house!!!!

Well, off to dinner to celebrate all of the wonderful things happening in our lives right now. In parting, I would like to say one thing:

YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

The end.