First off, the love of my life proposed last month during Thanksgiving, and both of our families were there to help us celebrate. Now, we not only get to plan an amazing, November, San Diego wedding - we also get to plan the rest of our lives together. Lucky, lucky me. (Check out our wedding website!) And along with the recent engagement, I no longer have one single family to celebrate with. This Christmas I find myself with an extra set of parents, sister, brother, niece and nephew to celebrate the season. I consider myself beyond blessed to have been welcomed with open arms into the Monaco family.

Next, the 2010  Holiday Bowl President is none other than my Dad, Eric Graves. Not only does this mean a slew of luncheons, parades (I’ve been practicing my wave), parties, tail gates, a lot of family in town, and a whole lot of fun.. it also means that my Dad is having the time of his life coordinating a bowl game he’s been involved and in love with for as long as I can remember (1993). We are all so proud.

Lastly, this season I find myself being stretched and challenged as a person. As you all know, a year ago exactly I picked up my life, drove (with my now-fiance) across the country, and  moved to Indianapolis. Do it while your young right? I continue to love my new home. I can’t get enough of the snow, Midwest people and way-of-life. But — here it comes — it’s hard. I miss San Diego, my home and my family every day. I am faced with the realization that I might never make it back to the west coast.  It’s for that reason that I’m grateful because I know it’s the hard things in life that grow and stretch you as a person. Some recent advice I received from a very best friend was right on — “Never be afraid to miss something”.  This Christmas, rather than struggling with the 3,000 miles between my family and I, I’m heart-overflowing grateful that this is a city I will always call home.

So for the friends, the family (new and old), the fiance, the season, the cities and of course, the football — I am grateful. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, everyone!

This is such a fun time of year to stop and reflect and think about all the things that have unfolded in the past year and to be grateful for it all.  Also, to stop and look forward to everything that is to come! (Like the Christmas season, which I can’t wait for!)  For me in particular this is an exciting time and season for me, and I will tell you why…  Over the past year, I’ve been through quite a lot.  I want to take a second to look back and see where life has taken me since November of 2008….

Since then….I was laid off and found myself in a heavy job search in a terrible economy, which while it wasn’t easy was one of the best experience I have had.  I then landed a great new job where I’ve learned so much about the corporate world and what I want out of my career.  Since then, I’ve done a lot of traveling and I feel very lucky to have been able to do that allowing me to visit great friends. I’ve had to say goodbye to best friends who moved cross country. I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with family in San Diego.  I took a spontaneous trip to LA to surprise my little sister.  I booked a flight, left work and flew out last minute on a Friday to Indianapolis to see my college roommate.  It was a trip that essentially changed my mind set about staying on the West Coast. I watched my brother, Ryan, marry the love of his life. I took a trip to see New York for the first time.

I went to the windy city for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette and instead of just staying on Michicgan Ave, I did the touristy Chicago thing for the first time including Navy Pier and the Sears Tower. I watched my little sister turn 21.  Over the past 6 months, I’ve taken in the skylines in Chicago, Indy, New York & San Diego with people I love.  I’ve surfed, I’ve spent time running by the San Diego Bay… I’ve apprecaited where I live. I had one of the best birthday’s I’ve had at the Shouthouse in Downtown San Diego with old friends and new friends combined.  I’ve had friends come visit me from the midwest.  I spent time in Newport Beach with friends, I saw Redando Beach and Yuciapa and new parts of California I had yet to see.

I went snowboarding for only the second time in my life and realized I love it. I’ve spent a lot of time considering my career and… coming up on my mid 20′s… allowed myself to reflect on what I want next out of life.  I’ve spent my due diligence figuring out how to get there and make those things happen in my career. Part of that, was making the decision to move around rather than staying in the city I grew up in and so in the past few months alone I have made some pretty huge decisions about my life.  After Christmas I will be moving cross country to Indianapolis. A move that I couldn’t be more excited about! (More details to follow in future posts….)

In short, I am so thankful for the people in my life, the unfolding changes that have come about in the past year and even the tough decisions I have had to make. Erma Bombeck once wrote about the subject of thankfulness, saying that when she forgot to be thankful among cancer survivors, she would hear the voice of a particular eight-year-old named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When Christina was asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought for a moment and then responded by saying “I don’t know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!”  I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s been an amazing year for me, and the outlook for next year is even better. I’m happy, I’m grateful, and I feel as though I have everything!! Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your friends & family and don’t forget to be grateful for it all!