How Did a Decade Go By?

I was chatting with my boss today and he said that he was talking with his wife the other day, and they can't believe it's been a decade since everyone was going crazy about the "Y2K" stuff.  I can't believe it's been a decade either!  It seems like yesterday to me.  I remember the end of December 1999 very well, because we moved from Dayton, Ohio to San Diego right before Christmas that year.  I also can't believe that we've lived in San Diego for ten years!  Wow!  In retrospect, I see God's hand leading us here.  My parents had moved to Los Angeles County in November 1997.  That's when we visited them and decided to come down to San Diego, since I had never been.  We just fell in love with the city and made it our long-term goal to live here.  It helped that my company's major R&D facility happened to be in San Diego.  Fast forward to summer of 1999.  I found out the Financial Planning & Analysis Manager for the R&D division of my company left the job.  The job was vacant.  So I applied for it.  The miracle of it was, God had been prepping me for about 4 years for this job.  In 1996 God put the desire in my head to go back to school to get my MBA.  I did it at night while working full time, in order that my company would pay for it.  In 1997, I changed jobs within the company so that I would be in the division that contained the R&D arm in San Diego, even though at that time, I had no inkling to come.  Right after I finished my MBA in 1998, my company put a moratorium on paying tuition for school.  I just made it!  Anyways, I applied for the FP&A Manager job in 1999 to move to San Diego, and I got the job, mainly because I had already worked with the Controller who hired me due to me being in this division of the company already since 1997, and also because I had my MBA.  Even though I was already amazed at what God had led me to in 1999...  I wouldn't know the extent of His plans until February 2007, when my mom passed away from cancer.

Looking back, I realized that I was meant to move to Southern CA in 1999, so that I could visit my parents more often.  I saw my parents at least every couple of months, since we only lived two hours drive apart instead of thousands of miles apart.  I realized how much memories and time I had with my mom during those last few years of her life.  I wouldn't have had that if we had stayed in Ohio.  It really was God's plan and blessing for me.  I often think of the story of Joseph in the Bible when I think about myself.  Yes, I realize God's plan for my life isn't as grand as His plans were for Joseph.  BUT I feel so loved to know that God had an awesome plan for me that made my life events more than just a coincidence.  And that He continues to work in my life to lead me to the next thing.

Project 365 is coming to a close.  Tomorrow will be the last photo(s)!  It's hard to believe that I've made it.  So many times I felt burned out!  And I probably spent an average of 45 minutes a day processing photos  and blogging.  But this record of one year in my life is already precious to me.  It is astounding.  Looking back at the entries in my blog this year makes me so happy!  The ordinary in my life has become extraordinary.  The everyday IS special after all.

One thing ends and several others begin!  I'm excited to share with you some of my plans in early 2010.  I have several new things going on and I hope you'll continue to visit this ole blog of mine as we share our lives with each other.  I can't promise to blog every day after Project 365 ends, but I will definitely still be blogging regularly.  :)

I went into the office today and found a gift from my friend Sandra on my desk.

The cute snowman takeout box was filled with chocolate and a Mickey Mouse foldable tote bag! I'm so blessed to have friends at work. Oh! I forgot to tell you. The other day, one of the managers of the group that I support at work handed me a holiday card. Inside was a gift card to Costco. He said it was from the whole leadership team to me. I was really touched. When departments give out year-end gifts, they usually overlook the finance person. Why? Because let's face it, we're feared and not that well-liked in general. I'm the one who does the annual budget. I'm the one who does the purchasing and approves spending. Some people think I'm the roadblock all the time, LOL. So I was extra touched that they thought of me during the holidays and gave me a group card and gift. :)

Todd's parents arrive from Ohio tonight. We will go to the airport to get them. Until tomorrow then, my friends!