2009 Year In Review

You never really know what any given year is going to bring, obviously. There are certain goals, expectations and whatnot that you dream about the next year bringing, and more often that not, my experience has taught me to expect the opposite.

For example? Hmm... I stepped foot into my current job in October 2007 and didn't expect to be there more than six months. I figured it would be a stepping stone into the company, and I'd quickly shine and rise to the top and move on. Presumptuous? Certainly. Egocentric? Definitely.

Needless to say, I stayed in that department until December 31st, 2009. January 4th 2010 (twenty ten? two thousand ten? has the verbiage been figured out yet?) will be my first day in a new job in the company. My lesson learned? Never think of yourself as a big fish in a small pond. Learn humility quickly and practice exercising patience daily. Needless to say, that was NOT my only takeaway from that job. A much more valuable takeaway can in the form of meeting the man who would become my husband. You never know what the future holds...

So, back to the blogpost, first of my life, first of the year, fittingly titled "2009 Year In Review."

Let's begin:

January:
Coming down from our first Christmas together, Peter and I kept the Christmas tree up all month long. Lesson learned? It is not easy to vacuum up dead pine needles. Celebrated New Years at the cabin. New Years Resolution? Bake bread every week. By the end of January, I read countless articles and recipes on the theory of baking bread, and had baked 4 loafs of bread, so I was off to a good start. Lesson learned? Rise bread in a warm spot, ideally in the bathroom on the heating vent, covered with a towel, with the bathroom door closed (or risk having the doggie eat your bread dough). Oh, and innaugurate Barack Obama as President. Cry (okay, sob) tears of joy.

February:
Is it possible that this whole month was erased from my emory? Life-long best friend had her first baby on February 4th and I was blown away at the "miracle of life" and all of a sudden, felt quite old. Certainly we celebrated our first Valentine's day together, but as a V-day hater, this clearly was not red-letter for me. I'm betting it was just like any other Saturday night, dinner and a movie in. Fall deeply in love even more with the boyfriend, visit the cabin again, turn 25 and a HALF, watch the Steelers win the Super Bowl (again... grr...), lose in the first round of fantasy football playoffs (despite having the #1 team going in) and quit the New Years Resolution of baking one loaf per week. Pretty typical month, all in all.

March:
Celebrate one year anniversary of dating! Get engaged on said one-year anniversary! Best day EVER to date. :) Met future brother-in-law and sister-in-law weekend after engagement, celebrate engagement, paint guest room twice (lesson learned - orange paint in the can is much oranger on the wall than initially appears), paint guest bathroom once, celebrate engagement some more, and even more. :)


April:
Begin madness that is wedding planning. Find a dress from a friend who just happened to have an extra, never been used wedding dress in her closet. Fits perfectly, check the dress off the list! Visit wedding venues, register for wedding gifts, meet with woman to design invitations, celebrate Easter (make quiche for the first time), dye hair bright red (spent the next 6 months and many hundreds of dollars to un-do), see Ken Griffey Junior back in a Mariner's uniform, plant garden for the first time (lesson learned - planted garden too soon, must practice restraint next year).

May:
Host fiance's out of town friend, shop for local hotels for wedding guests, watch American Idol finale (watch fiance become shockingly into AI and lose all hope in the voting American public when clearly the wrong guy won), fly to Minnesota to meet in-laws! crossed fingers that I'd make a good impression, and hopefully succeeded.




June:
Visit with friends, wedding dress fitings, dog-washings, long walks, welcoming summer, first of many pre-marital sessions, figure out bridesmaid dresses, go to the cabin, enjoy first month of summer, celebrate one-year of cohabitation, ie "living in sin."

July:
4th of July! Celebrate at the lake with friends, host sister-in-law, friend and niece all at once (learn what a full house really feels like), swelter through record setting heat, set up tuxedo rentals, dive into wedding planning with a crazed mad-woman focus, float on the lake, sunburn (again. when will I learn the lesson that I will burn every time, no exceptions ever?)

August:
Wedding of good family friends first weekend. Start sprint towards the finish line (finish line = wedding day). Travel out of town for wedding of another best friend. Hopefully execute duties as Maid of Honor (third time is the charm, hopefully!) Celebrate 26th birthday with some seriously delicious pizza. Celebrate yet another marriage of life-long friend. More sweltering hot record setting days and nights, spent cooling off and teaching doggie to swim.

September:
Bachelorette party in Disneyland with the fam! Attend beautiful and humbling bridal shower thrown by my wonderful sister and aunt. Dress fitings, music selection, rehearsal dinner tastings with caterer, more premarital sessions, write vows, get facials, figure out every.single.detail.possible of the wedding. Football starts! Survive!




October:
detailsdetailsdetails!!!! Relinquish all sense of control and let go entirely. Trusted in my mother and sister. Enjoy every single second of the very best day of my life, and marry my soul-mate, and my other half. Have the best wedding ever, dance until I can't feel my feet, smile until I have cheek cramps (which, I didn't know was even possible until I was at the alter and then I found out actually was). Travel to France, eat, sleep and be... married. :) (ha. couldn't help it!). Come home, rid our household of to-do lists and marvel at the incredible generosity of our friends and family and consider ourselves very, very lucky and happy.

November:
Back to normal life! Enjoy having the weekends open and available. Watch movies, eat, eat, eat, start the gaining of 15 pounds that I successfully managed in less than 10 weeks. Enjoy Thanksgiving and really give thanks for the amazing life we have been given and the joy in spending every day with the person who completes your puzzle.


December:
Christmas tree up ASAP! Christmas tree dies ASAP. I, cry. Peter graciously offers to get me a new one, I politely decline. Get new job!!! Skate on frozen winterwonderland lake that we had been floating in only 5 months early in temperatures that were literally 4 times hotter. Celebrate Christmas, make wishes for next year, have last day in old job, ring in the new year with friends. Start attempting to lose the 15 pounds that I realized I have quickly gained. Lesson learned? Life is SO good.



So, that pretty much brings us up to today (or January at least). We spent a wonderful weekend at the cabin, cross country skiing with the family and drinkng dunkel bier in Leavenworth and dancing in the streets. Came home to the sobering news that Peter's mom's life-long best friend was killed in an accident over the weekend. Life is good, but is certainly short. We don't know what this year brings, but can certainly feel certain that we will move forward holding hands (how cheesy am I) and being grateful for each day, our family, our friends, good food and our home.

(PS, Vikings won today, husband is happy. Letsgovikes!)