Torture!

....is the perfect way to describe the three days of work before the Christmas holiday.  Unfortunately, I have somehow burned through all my PTO this year and have had to work the 21st, 22nd, and part of the day on the 23rd.  What makes it even worse, is I work in an office of about 40 people, and I believe right now there are less than 10 of us here.  It makes for a REALLY, REALLY long day, especially when my job is largely based on other people submitting work to me.  There is not a whole lot for me to do when no one is here to give me work!

And another thing, I have been racking my brain on how exactly I went through three weeks of vacation time this year!  Note to self for next year, taking a half-day here and a day there really adds up.  What all did I use it on you ask?  I have to take inventory myself :)

Well, I do actually keep a calendar of every day I have off, so I can at least narrow it down somewhat...
in early May I took two sick days due to a monstrous sinus infection. :-)

One day in May to go to Cedar Point with my favorite hubby!

Yes, and we actually did ride the big coaster (Top Thrill Dragster).  It's 17 seconds of pure terror and excitement!  It's truly something else to be looking straight down from 400 feet up in the air!

I took July 13th off as a precautionary measure.  I was in my friend Gail's wedding this year, and she had her bachelorette party the 10th-12th in Put-In-Bay.  Basically it was a weekend of going out, having drinks, hanging out with the girls, and having fun!  Due to the amount of fun we were planning on having, I wasn't sure whether I would be up to making it to work on Monday.  I would have been :), but it was really nice to have the day off regardless...

Here is the bride and bridesmaids starting the party off right!

Here are the Ohio University girls before we went out on Saturday night!  (It was definitely more tame for me due to the fact I got SO burned that day!)

The next day I took off was the Friday before Gail's wedding.  Well, I of course needed time to get a mani-pedi, and get up to Cleveland for the rehearsal dinner!  It was a perfect weekend, a little warm, but sunny and beautiful!  The church was in my hometown of Olmsted Falls, OH.  Kevin and I got to the church a little early the night of the rehearsal, so we could walk down and see the house I grew up in.  It brought back so many memories!  What a great weekend :)

Brian and Gail at the church - just hitched!

The Bride and Bridesmaid's at the reception

(no...I wasn't actually drinking out of the bottle, the bartender was just too slow to fill my drink! :))

Kevin, me and my parents at the reception!

The next time I took off was the entire week for Kevin and my anniversary trip to Disney World!  What a blast!  Kevin and I both agreed, hands down, that it was the best vacation we ever had!

All details on this trip are located at: http://kevandmarion.blogspot.com/2009/10/walt-disney-world-anniversary-trip.html!

Of course, when we returned from Orlando, I got my customary horrendous sinus infection.  This time it was coupled with stomach issues!  Ugh...another day wasted on being sick :(

I also had to take off a day for our trip to Tampa and St. Pete to see U2!  What a fabulous trip!  We loved western Florida, and are hoping to return for another visit soon!

Well, that was a brief run-down of time off for this year.  Actually, it was nice to have a little year in review! :)  We did a ton in 2009!  Now we're looking forward to a fun 2010! :-)