my year in review

I’m going to try to go less on the photos in this post (maybe a collage at some point) and more on linking to past posts from this year. It’s been a wild year. Fun, busy, sometimes not-so-great, but all in all, a good year. I’m interested to see what 2010 has in store for us.

We started January with a kitchen makeover. We’ve had many compliments on that room, so I think we did ok with my less than stellar paint job and my husband’s electrical work ont he new lights. In the job part of my life, I was slapped with my first furlough. Little did I know that I would become a furlough expert, and have to take a second in the second quarter. (And as I type, I’m planning out my third furlough for first quarter.)

In February, I bought a sewing machine. It’s been used very little, but I see great things for it in 2010. I also ran my first race of the year, the Frostbite 5k. It was so not fun, that we’re not even considering it this year! I had lots of good live music to check out that month, including Ben Folds and Michael Franti.

March came along and I helped save a cat from the sewer. For real. I have scars. We finished our kitchen (I was painting the kitchen when the cat needed to be rescued.) Oh, and we adopted our first cat, Chloe. She had so many names, which was annoying to some, but fun for us! I ran the Shamrock Run (10k) and again realized why I skipped it the previous year. But I was training for a marathon, and needed to get the mileage in. My brother came home at the end of March…and we spent one of his first full days home eating sushi. (It really is the little things that make me happy!)

April brought us a Biltmore House visit (with my mom and brother) and Jason and Kenny ran the Greenway Challenge. Oh, and I ran my first marathon of the year.

In May, we discovered that Chloe isn’t a fan of the air conditioner. The end of May, we traveled to Chapel Hill to be with my father-in-law during/following his surgery.

In June, I did put the sewing machine to use and finished a curtain for my brother who was deployed in Iraq. He couldn’t keep the sand out. I should have asked him this week what happened to the curtain when he went back to Hawaii. At the end of June, we drove to New York, and ran a half marathon in Canada. (Recap of New York)

The following week, we started July off in Lake Waccamaw, and a short trip to Myrtle Beach to see some of my family who were vacationing there. July was also when we continued our lawn mower problems. I think we went through four mowers this year. We made a trip to Atlanta for Kenny’s birthday (his “gift” was a Tori Amos concert.) We also celebrated his birthday with a party at our house.

August left us with very few adventures, but we did manage to see Aslyn in Greenville. Oh, and August was when I took the plunge and signed up for another marathon – through Team in Training. Um….and my husband admitted that he always thinks about buying me flowers.

September saw me running again, this time the Citizen-Times Half Marathon. I’m still on the fence about running it ever again.

Thankfully, the Bethel Half was nicer to me in October. Oh, and we celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary! My husband went out of town at the end of the month, to run the Battleship Half near his parent’s house, and I decided to dress the cat in costumes.

Oh, but the best part of October???? When my brother came home (to Hawaii) from Iraq. Seriously, that is one of the best feelings in the world.

November found us looking for new cars. The upside to one week was seeing Ingrid Michaelson. I then began my adventures in traveling, going to Philadelphia and Tampa in one weekend. I discovered a love for Ikea that month, too. And we bought a car. The month ended on a good note with an Edwin McCain concert.

December has been a traveling month. First, Kiawah (for yet another race.) Then, Philadelphia for a wedding. After being in airports and the air for 20 hours, we came home to a snowy Asheville. But then we left again for Christmas in Lake Waccamaw.

If you’ve stuck through this post this far, I applaud you. I’m exhausted from looking back at my blog – and excited to see what 2010 is going to bring!