Well NYE was a blast! I got murdered at the murder mystery party, but was still able to talk to everyone after I got killed. Here I am with three of my friends Blaire, Jessie, and Krissy. Almost every lady at the party was wearing a lace dress!

Our friend’s younger sister Maura tried to get a good picture of Kraig and me on his iPhone. Kraig is better at acting candid than me.

NYDay my friend Liz had us over for brunch! What a nice way to start the new year.

Things have definitely taken a twist this year with a few speed bumps. I got a minor concussion a week or so ago and I’m still recovering from it. I’m suppose to limit my time in front of electronics, get plenty of rest, and do no physical activity except walking until I’m fully recovered. In result of the concussion, I was out of work almost all last week because I couldn’t sit in front of a computer screen all day (doctor’s orders). I went back to work this week on Monday and got laid off  yesterday from my company that I’ve been working at for 5 years and 5 months. I heard rumors about company layoffs for a while now, so I wasn’t surprised layoffs were occurring, just a little surprised it was actually happening to me. I have to admit that it is bittersweet. I loved my co-workers, but did not enjoy the industry I was in. I’m hoping to take this as an opportunity to make a serious life change into another industry or perhaps a chance to go back to school. I just have to figure out WHAT to do! This is just forcing me to figure that out now rather than wind up waking up one day and asking myself why I wasted so much time doing something I didn’t enjoy. Life is too short for that. That’s why I like to travel so much because I don’t want to be on my death bed regretting my life choices and not being able to see every place in the world that I want to travel to. Traveling will be a lot harder now because I can’t afford to be traveling if I don’t have a steady income to feed that hobby. Anyone want to pay me to travel? 🙂 So they say things come in three. 1. Concussion, 2. Laid off, 3. ??. Hopefully nothing else bad happens for now.

Some GOOD news for you all is that Kraig and I set our wedding date on 10/4/2014 at The Lenox Hotel in Boston! We’re super excited to celebrate with our loved ones! We also have a priest to wed us! He wed my sister and her husband on their wedding day and did a great job, so I’m happy to stick with someone that knows my family.  I was also pleasantly surprised this morning when my doorbell rang with a delivery of flowers from Winston Flowers/The Lenox today to say Congratulations and Thank You for choosing The Lenox Hotel as our wedding venue. This really brightened my morning because I was feeling glum from the layoff and also sad because today marks the 6 year anniversary of my Aunt Mary’s death. Even though the flowers are from The Lenox, I still think it’s a nice coincidence I got them today. A sign that the universe is saying there are better things coming my way.

On to some of the awesome PERKS of being engaged  are the awesome gifts you get! We’ve received awesome engagement presents like Le Creuset Pots, a Kate Spade ring dish, Waterford Crystal Champagne flutes for our toast, and some Moet & Chandon to drink to celebrate! Now I just need to get over this concussion, so I can actually drink the champagne!

Champagne flutes from Kraig’s Aunt and Uncle.

A polka-dotted Kate Spade ring dish from my sister-in-law Kate and her mother!

Two beautiful red Le Creuset pans from my parents! The middle beige one is one I got Kraig for XMAS or his bday one year. We love to cook!

It seems like there are going to be a lot of life changes from me in the next couple of years. Engagment, marriage, and likely a career change. I’m nervous and excited at the same time, but glad I have Kraig to help me through this time. 🙂