2009 - What a Year!

I have been reflecting a lot today on this past year. What a year it has been! It was anything but dull I will tell you that. Here are some highlights!

I think the biggest theme of this year was travel! I traveled a lot. More than I cared to. There were weekends where I just wanted to stay home. Most of the travel had to do with Seth and I driving back and forth to Boise. Man - living apart sucked. I am so glad that we don't live 5 hours apart anymore. That long distance relationship nearly killed us! However - we had some great times in Boise. It's a city that I grew to love - and actually miss. Who knew!?

It was also a year of living at home. It was hard to leave Seth's home. It is in such a perfect location - and I loved living with my girls. However I had to do what I had to do. I moved into Mom & Wally's in March (wow). In my mind it was just for a few months to save money for the wedding. Little did I know that 10 months later and I would still be there! It took some adjusting but it has turned out to be a great thing. Thanks again Mom & Wall!


2009 marked a year of sickness for me. First of all - I have struggled with gastritis. Gastritis sucks. It causes really terrible stomach pains and nausea. Basically the lining of my stomach gets inflamed. It's caused by too much stress (lame) and it is irritated by fatty foods, alcohol and caffeine. Sucky! The only good news is that if I eat healthy foods - I am not sick. So at least there is that. I did lose a lot of weight and a lot of sleep but I seem to have it pretty under control now.

I also came down with pneumonia for the second time over the summer. What? Who gets pneumonia twice in a year? Well- I do apparently. Pneumonia sucks. You are so exhausted. I do have to say though - that the day before I was diagnosed I rode my bike from Mom's up Emmigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner. Damn that is dedication!!


This leads to another highlight of 2009 - my bike! In April I finally purchased a road bike. It is not a cheap hobby by any means. I bought a bike and some basic gear to get me started for about $1,200. It was so worth it though. I loved getting home from work, hopping on my bike, and escaping. It is a great source of exercise and it also adds a lot to vacations. I rode in Zion National Park - I rode up by my cabin - I rode in Boise - I rode all over SLC. Good times! I can't wait to start up again!

Another hobby I picked up this year was golf! Oh man - I freaking LOVE golfing!! Too bad it is such an expensive sport! Now I must say I really am a terrible golfer. I do enjoy it though and hope to take some lessons. One of my biggest regrets in life is not golfing with my Grandpa when he was alive. In fact, while golfing I often call my "Beetle" for some help. Golfing became a great activity for Seth and I to do together. He nearly killed me in Canada on our honeymoon in the golf cart - but I don't think I have ever laughed so hard. I do hope to keep this up and actually become a decent golfer. We'll see! It gave me a lot of good times this year.

One of the absolute best parts of this year were the weddings! This was the year of weddings. First it was Timms' wedding in April

Then off to Scotland for James' wedding. Yes - it's true. I ventured to Scotland with Britney and Sean for an amazing 5 days. It was so very "Made of Honor" for James to get married in Scotland. But look how adorable!? Way to make every other wedding look like total crap after your's James!!


I loved Scotland! It is so green - it has so much history - the people are so delightful. I would go back in a heart beat. It was totally worth the money!! Plus I got to hang with some of my very favorite people. Thanks Brit & Sean for always letting me be the 3rd wheel.

Finally in August it was Rich's wedding in Chicago. I wish all of my friends would get married in awesome cities because it makes for a lot of fun traveling. I have to say Rich & Emily may have had the sweetest wedding in the world. It was such an amazing celebration and I am SO HAPPY that I got to be there. Chicago - I love you. Rich & Emily -love you guys too.

Work was also another major theme for the year. As you all know - I love my job. Working for a nonprofit is often more than just a job, it's a lifestyle. You put in more hours than you are paid for. You leave some days crying because you are so emotionally exhausted. BUT you get to meet some amazing peole. I put on some really fun events in 2009. I grew even closer to my coworkers and volunteers and raised a lot of money! Holla!

I feel very fortunate to be able to work for such a great organization. Not only have I been touched by the amazing kids we serve - but I leave every day knowing that what I do makes a difference. Oh - and my office keeps me laughing. Always laughing.

Of course this year was a big year for Seth. He graduated PA school! I am so incredibly proud of him. Those 2 years were really long - really stressful - and really difficult. He was in school from 8-5 every day and then would study until midnight. He would get up and do it again. It was hard to not always be there for him but I am so proud that he made it through. He passed his boards just days before the wedding. What a guy!

A huge theme of 2009 has been job hunting. Once Seth graduated we were excited to put his resume out across the country and see where we landed. Well - here we are making a decision between 3 wonderful places: Boise, Tacoma or Boston. We are so tired of talking about this. We get questioned daily - we talk daily about the decision - it has just been exhausting! The application process has annoying but also fun. We enjoyed some great vacations for free! We loved Corvallis and Minneapolis! This is a picture of Seth "stretching" before entering the Mall of America.

Of course the BIGGEST event of the year - Our Wedding. Oh what a great day (besides being a million degrees!). It was nearly perfect. The ceremony was everything I hoped for and more. It was great to be surrounded by our closest family and friends. It has been wonderful to finally be married to Seth. Again - I never anticipated how "different" it would feel to be married. It is different and it is wonderful. I am happy every day that we both got over our fears and tied the knot. He makes me so very happy.

Alright - so that was 2009 in a nutshell (kind of a long nutshell in the blog world - sorry). I can't wait to see what lies ahead for us in 2010~!!