2011 has come and gone, and it’s already March!!! I guess its time for my yearly update…..
January 2011 Starts in Florida where my family and I rang in the New Year at my Aunt Kitty & Michael’s condo. Florida was amazing!! It was sunny and soooo relaxing. I haven't slept in years, like I did in Florida. We visited Billy Bob's Gator Farm also known as Billy's Swamp Safari. We paid wayyyy too much money to see ZERO gators. The best gator we saw was at the gas station on the way to the farm. Seeing the other Animals was cool, but we really just wanted to see some gators up close and personal!! We took a water taxi to a bunch of different bars and restaurants and had a great time. We lounged by the pool and on the beach, ate at amazing restaurants and bars; we even got to "try" deep sea fishing with about 50 other people on a boat that was only made for 40 fishermen. We didn't catch a thing, but had a blast. I spent midnight on new years in my pajamas, on top of a 5 story building, with my family, sipping champagne and watching a 360 degree view of fireworks! It was a new years and a vacation I will never forget!
I was still working at NorthBay in Labor and Delivery as well as Coaching at Aerials All Stars and still living in my one bedroom apartment in downtown Vacaville. My neighbors sucked, but it was working out.
January – April were busy like always. Competitions 2 – 3 weekends a month, work 2 weekends a month. I was trying to maintain my jobs, my life, and my social life, and I was having a hard time. But I managed like I always do.
April marked another Nationals for Aerials. All of our teams did awesome & it was a blast like always. I have to mention that I hurt my shoulder after practice one night fooling around with some stunts; this will become important later in my story.
May – I turned the big 30! I threw myself an amazing party at Creekside. Amanda’s band sang, and all my friends came out to celebrate. It was awesome, definitely the best way to bring on my 30’s.
So remember that shoulder injury? Well it had been bothering me ever since. After I had to ice it pretty much all night at work I finally decided to go see my Dr. We took some x-rays and decided to try some rest (from both jobs) and a cortisone shot. I was taken out of work on June 27th for two weeks….This date will also become important later.
June was also spent preparing for Stephanie’s wedding. She married Blake on July 2nd in a beautiful catholic church followed by an AMAZING reception. I was so honored to share in their special day. Chris went as my date, and we had a blast.
The 4th, Audrey and I had a BBQ and watched fireworks downtown. The rest of the family was off doing different things in different places. We hated being apart and decided to never spend 4th of July apart like that again.
So remember the rest and cortisone shot….Yeah it didn’t work, I was still in a lot of pain. My Dr. and I decided an MRI and some osteopathic maneuvers were the next step….I was still out of work. I did go back to working at the gym as long as I promised not to use my arm at all….So the MRI happened and showed a torn labrum…..Awesome. Now I had to be referred to an orthopedic specialist to schedule SURGERY!!! Remember it’s now late July….I am still not working & starting to become slightly depressed!
Moving on….August, being that I was still off work and needing a little “uplifting” I got the opportunity to travel to New Jersey to visit my New Jersey family, thanks to my Aunt Kitty. It was an awesome trip and just what I needed. I spent a weekend on Keuka Lake with the now name “Keuka lake cookas” I got to be the first of the west coast fam to meet little Ashlyn. I shopped and shopped and shopped and even visited the Jersey Shore!!! On the final day of my Jersey trip I had learned a friend and a family member of a very close friend had passed away way too early….it was a hard time all around.
After I returned I met with my surgeon and scheduled my surgery for September first. But before that my sister, mom and I threw Allison the most beautiful bridal shower ever! It was a lot of work but she deserved every bit of it. It was an amazing time with some wonderful women……5 days later I had surgery……
After the surgery I moved into my parents place so I had a few “nurses” to take care of me. I lived in a Vicodin / Torradol haze for about a week…..after about a week I started to go a little crazy and finally decided I could move back to my house and return to cheer practice. I also had to live in this horrible sling for FOUR long weeks day and night. The damn thing started to give me anxiety!! needless to say the sling didn’t last very long…
Two weeks after my surgery we headed to Donner for Allison’s bachelorette party!! It was a great time as long as we stayed in our wonderful cabin….Apparently Truckee natives aren’t very welcoming to large groups of women celebrating the last days of being a bachelorette. We drank and ate and played some great games. It was such a great weekend spent with some amazing women……and yes I was still out of work!!
Two weeks after the bachelorette party came the day we had all been planning the last 10 months for. Allison and Kevin’s wedding day. They got married at Vezer winery in Suisun Valley on October 1st 2011. The wedding was beautiful and the party was awesome. After all the Giaquinto’s know how to party. Such great memories were made that weekend. The day could not have been more perfect. We had family and friends come from all over to celebrate their big day. It was amazing to see every one happy and most importantly healthy =) of course the party couldn’t just end, we had to wind down at the hotel bar complete with stumbles to In-N-Out for the late night meal! Breakfast the next day was equally entertaining as we watched our family and friends make their way down stairs to begin to recover from the nights events!!
Most of October was spent recovering from my surgery, the wedding and trying to get back to work….Yes I was still out….and NorthBay wasn’t making it very easy to come back…..But silver lining I had Halloween off!! I was Mario, Megan was Luigi we even had a Princess Peach (at least for one party)
November was fairly low key also. I spent most of it trying to keep my spirits up being that I was still out of work. Aerials had their first competition of the season. Our program had grown significantly since the season before and our teams looked awesome. We came home with 3 thirds, 1 second, 4 firsts, 3 grand championships, most entertaining & sportsmanship awards and a US Finals paid bid!! It was safe to say we were kicking ass and taking names.
Thanksgiving….Yes I was still off…. But the Giaquinto’s decided to spend the week in Disneyland, because who would really spend their Thanksgiving in Disneyland besides us? As it turns out EVERYONE spends their Thanksgiving in Disneyland. Of course we had fun, but it was crazy busy!!
So it was now December and I was finally allowed to go back to work. I went back on December 9th! I had never been so excited to go to work and I can honestly tell you that being off for 5 months gave me a new appreciation for having a job and receiving a paycheck!
Aerials also had their second competition coming home with 4 first places!!
Christmas was of course awesome because I got to spend it with my amazing family. New Years was equally as awesome because again I spent it with my family and close friends, just playing games, eating and drinking at the Giaquinto house.
Really 2011 had been an ok year. I had gained some new friends, lost some others. Had a way too long break from work, had a major surgery, celebrated a milestone birthday, a close friends wedding, my sisters wedding, and some great holidays & birthdays. I am thankful for my friends, my jobs, my home, and mostly my amazing family.
I already know 2012 is going to be my best year yet. I have family members expecting twins, friends also expecting new babies. Aerials is still kicking ass and taking names. And some amazing trips / vacations already planned. So far I have already had 3 mini trips (for cheer) to San Jose, Sacramento and Palm springs. This weekend will be spent in Napa / Yountville with the sisters, my mom, the Aunt Farm & 2 of the “Keuka Lake Cookas!!” Aerials heads back to San Jose and Sacramento this month. April is Nationals in Anaheim & then only a day after coming home from Nationals I head to WORLDS in Orlando Florida for the trip of a lifetime with Liz, Lexi, Ashley, Hannah, Kristie, Scott, and Jordanne. And the Giaquinto / Heitbrinks head to Donner for a week in August! I am very busy but I could not be happier about it. Here's to an amazing 2012!!
