Looking Back at 2009

It's been a while since I've blogged!! Life sure has gotten busy. I wanted to take some time and reflect on all the happenings of 2009. My goal for 2010 to start a picture blog and post one picture every day. I think that's a lot easier and more realistic than trying to lose weight.



January 2009- Bray turned 11 years old!!! We had a surprise birthday party for her at Posado's Mexican food restaurant. It was so much fun to have all of our closest friends and family together in one place. Bray was totally surprised and had fun shopping with all the gift cards she received.



February 2009- We welcomed a new addition to our family. We adopted a 2 month old kitten named Sophia. Shawn and the kids absolutely adore her. I'm more of a dog person but I do think she's a pretty cool cat.



March 2009- My sister sent me a text that said "Answer your phone Auntie Diva!!!" I was so stinkin' excited that my sister and her hubby were expecting their first baby. Without going into a lot of personal detail, the pregnancy couldn't have happened at better time. After all of the deaths that happened in 2008, it was nice to get some good news for a change. My sister glowed all through her pregnancy and their daughter is very lucky to have such loving parents.



April 2009- Can't really remember anything of great importance that happened during this month. Oh wait....we bought our red front loading washer and dryer!!! That was a huge deal for us since we don't have credit cards and were able to pay CASH for these. Also, got my kids to enjoy doing their own laundry.



May 2009- Shawn bought me the best Mother's Day present-a Kindle from Amazon.com!!!!! I absolutely love this reading device and love to tell all of my friends and family about it. Shawn also went to Los Angeles for a week in May. It was challenging being a single mom for that week. We all missed him and were glad to have him back. May was also filled with a lot of school activities-Field Day, school parties, Choir competition. Oh ya...and the Swine Flu hit that month. Because of the Swine Flu scare, a lot of school activities got cancelled which was a bummber because the kids were really looking forward to being able to take a break after the dreaded TAKS tests were finished.



June 2009-Another busy month for us. Shawn turned 39!!! Father's Day was shortly after and we celebrated our 14 year anniversary on the 24th of June. We bought season passes to Six Flags again this year and had a great time going and riding the fun rides. Brooke got on the Titan for the first time and LOVED it!!!! I was a nervous wreck but she has absolutely no fear. Several of Bray's friends had season passes so we would all load up in the van and take a bunch of kids. I would say the summer was all about spending time with friends. Seems like the whole month of June I had kids over at my house or my kids were at their friend's house. It was a lot of fun.



July 2009-We took our first real family weekend vacation. I decided in June that I needed to just get away for a while. So we booked a room in Galveston and drove to the beach Friday, July 3rd. The kids loved it!! It was very hot and although we didn't get to stay at the beach a lot, it was nice to get away as a family. I'm already trying to figure out where to go next year. It is Shawn's 40th birthday and our 15 year anniversary....hmmmmm.... what to do?



August 2009- WAS HOT!!!! We were busy getting ready for school. I took several days off to get the girls ready for school (haircuts, school clothes, school supplies, etc.) It was also the month that I went back to the doctor and told him I was depressed and needed some serious help. I was dealing with insomnia all summer long. As I told him during my appointment, I have a bad case of the "I don't wannas". I wasn't sad or anything. I just had do desire to do anything. I was totally happy with staying on the couch and doing nothing. So he prescribed me some sleeping pills and an anti depressant and I feel much better. I'm totally off the sleeping pills. I think my family and co-workers really were glad I made that appointment...LOL



September 2009-I turned 35!!!! Ughhhh...that sounds so old. On September 5th 2009, was a life changing day for me. That was the day Shawn took me to the Conoco Station for lunch. The real name of the restaurant is Chef Point Cafe. It is a restaurant inside a gas station. The restaurant has been featured on the Food Network and Oprah. The food is fantastic. We have taken several friends and family members to this restaurant. The chef even prepared a Nigerian breakfast for Bray's 6th grade class. We will forever be grateful to Chef Franson. For more information about this restaurante go to http://www.chefpointcafe.com/. September was also the month that I received my iPhone. I was certain that I would like it and really struggled with whether I would even use all the features. I LOVE IT!!!!!! Shawn did good in picking out my birthday present.

October 2009- A month I will NEVER forget. My mentor at work and one of my best friends decided he wanted to move to Florida for a job promotion. I was devastated!!! Not in a million years did I ever think Mark would leave. I was promoted to Sr. Staff Accountant, which is a great thing. I've been with the company for 4 years and have really accomplished a lot with the company. October also was a month of celebration. We had my sister's baby shower at my house and it was so much fun. Have I mentioned how lucky her daughter is to have such wonderful parents????

November 2009- Brooke turned 8. I am truly amazed at how much time has flown by. She just wanted a simple party with just a few family members. So that's what we did. Mark left November 6th and it was such a sad day. I think my eyes are still burning from crying so much. On November 9, the wonderful Betty Finch passed away. Betty was Shawn's grandmother. She was 88 years old at the time of her passing. Ma was a wonderful woman and was full of life kup until the very end. We will all miss the greeting cards she would send on birthdays and anniversaries. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great grandmother. My parents came to spend a few weeks with us during the Thanksgiving holiday. It was the first time both of them had stayed with us at the same time. We enjoyed their visit and I had someone to go shopping with the day after Thanksgiving. On November 24th, the girls and I went to see Blind Side with friend. After we got home from the movie, I received a phone call that my sister was in labor and heading to the birthing center. I waited patiently for my family in Granbury to head over to my house and then we headed up north. We arrived at the birthing center about 10 minutes after my niece was born. Around 2:30 am we got to see her. She is sooooo beautiful. My sister is a trooper and had her natural.

December 2009-I spent the majority of the month preparing for Christmas. We decided to paint Brooke's room since she bought a new comforter for her room and was getting a lot of decorations for Christmas.

All in all 2009 was a wonderful year. If I could sum it up in one word it would be FACEBOOK. I have reconnected with so many people through Facebook. Although there have been a few times when I've had to do a Facebook cleansing and redefine who I really want to be friends with. 2009 was a year of meeting new friends and building those relationships. It was also a year that I decided there were certain people I just didn't want to associate with anymore. I probably hurt a few people but I had to do what was best for my immediate family. 2009 was also a year of sadness when Mark left. I really do miss him but it was a great move on his part and I want to wish him well in his new endeavors. I also believe my self esteem has improved since he's been gone...lol love you, Mark.

I want to thank my husband and kids for being there with me through the sad and happy days. Here's to a wonderful 2010....