A Look Back At 2009 In Words And Photos

Yesterday I looked at my favorite blog posts from this year.  When I was doing the research for that post I looked through a lot of my blog posts over the past year and I realized was that I’ve had an amazing year.  I’ve done a lot of cool things and had some wonderful experiences with great people.  Today’s post is just a look back at all that I have done in 2009.

MY YEAR IN REVIEW

I started the year off living at home, but with a promotion to a new job at work.  I didn’t really like the job but appreciated more hours and money and the ability to do some new things with the YMCA (which I love). I dated some crappy guys and tried to have a little bit of fun that got me out of the house, like celebrating friend’s birthdays.  (Ignore the timestamps… this was in Feb 2009, the camera was wrong.)

Still, things weren’t so great for whatever reason and I ended up spending half my time being miserable and gaining weight until I hit 251 (OMG!).

I did have quite a bit of fun though… I even went on spring break to Puerto Rico!  I never went on a typical spring break vacation until the year after I graduated college.  It was a gorgeous place and sooo relaxing and fun.

In April I decided to get things back under control at least weight wise and did a Biggest Loser contest with my mom and her work friends.  She kicked my butt and I came in second, but I still lost a bit of weight and started my forward momentum to getting my life back on track.

Quit my job in July because I wanted something different, something more, and I wanted to travel.  I took a roadtrip to Pennsylvania with college friends for a wedding.

I spent a few days in DC with my good friend MaryBeth and had fun exploring the city.  I was actually a history major in college so I love any city with good history (even though I forget most of it… I was a bad history major).

I headed to Chicago for a few days and I met some amazing people at BlogHer, including Carla, Roni, AJ, Lisa, Cammy, Kath, Jenn, Mara. I learned a little bit about blogging, ate some yummy food with cool people, and had a freaking awesome weekend.

After I came home I decided to move out of my family’s house and move in with a friend.  Moving out was a great decision for me and helped me clear my head and prepare for future endeavors while I started feeling like myself again.  I lived there for a month in between jobs, using an air mattress as my bed.  Comfy.

While I was there I did a lot of exercise and I even worked out with bloggers who live in Memphis, including Cammy and JackSh*t!!  I enjoyed meeting and being active with both of them.  And if you weren’t aware, JackSh*t is HILARIOUS and a really nice guy.

I was offered an interesting position at Green Mountain, which I had never heard of or ever planned to attend, which led me to move to Vermont for three months.  I had a job blogging and making videos for GM’s official blog and youtube page, which was amazing, and I also worked out a lot and got in really good shape while dropping 18 pounds. It was a beautiful place to live and exercise.

Some of the people who came there as participant while I was there changed my life.  I learned a lot about myself and other people while I was there.  It was really rewarding to watch people come alive again after so many years of living under their potential.

And I really enjoyed traveling with them as I visited Boston, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and a ton of places in Vermont.  I even saw the ocean!

In October I took my clothes off to be EXPOSED and show what I love about my body.

I started talking to and fell in love with a really awesome guy, Kepa, who also blogs about healthy living.  This one fact probably made my year, and will definitely make next year as I’m going to freaking New Zealand to see him in January.  I’ve actually been trying to go to New Zealand for about four years, before I even met Kepa, so this trip will be a dream come true in many ways.  But yeah, love is sweet and I’m happy I found it this year.

For the last few weeks of the year I’ve been living back in Memphis with my great friends Hilary and Chris.  I’ve celebrated holidays with my family and spent some fun nights with friends.  I’m catching up with everyone I can and spending time with my mom before I leave again.

It has been an amazing year for me with so many great things happening that I NEVER expected.  I’ve had some rough times, struggled a bit with feeling out of place, feeling alone, feeling confused about the future and the like.  But everything that happened was worth it.  It was a fantastic year and I’m super excited for the new year and all it will bring.

So what about you?  How was your year?  What was the BEST thing you did this year?

1. My Favorite Blog Posts Of 2009
2. First Weigh In And Goals For 2009
3. Healthy Me Challenge 2009
4. Missouri 60 Ending Photos
5. Weekend Weigh In: Feb. 1, 2009

Tagged as: 2009, personal, review