2009

while some may be looking forward to the end of the year, 2009 was pretty good to me. it was a year of a lot of changes and firsts for me. here's a brief summary of the past year, in my life.

*click on each collage for a large view of the photos


january



EU parliament building, manneken pis, a&g in cinquantenaire park,
hotel d'ville

g and i made a quick trip to brussels. i was able to see the european union parliament and we enjoyed a real belgian waffle on the street! after a couple days of seeing the sites, we took the eurostar to london to see 'hairspray'!


view of the carambola beach resort, easternmost point of US, at the tide pools, moko jumbie dancers

to escape the chicago winter weather, we went to st croix with two of our friends. it was a very relaxing week (with no cell phone reception, i might add) of laying in hammocks and sipping fruity drinks.


february


work, work, work.


march



our rings, a&g on the pacific beach, a view of napa valley, andrea & terina

on march 19th, g and i exchanged rings and made a lifelong commitment to one another at sunset in napa valley. it was a beautiful ceremony with two of our closest friends. we spent the remainder of the weekend touring wineries and visiting san francisco.


april



new friends from the cruise, a&g in our stateroom, 'navigator of the seas', view from the top of the dance floor, the grand promanade

for our honeymoon, we took a two-week transatlantic cruise. we set sail from ft. lauderdale with two of our friends. while we made our way across the seas, we met many new friends from all parts of the world. we visited the canary islands; lisbon, portugal; malaga, spain; cadiz, spain; and we ended our voyage in barcelona.


views from tenerife, canary islands


lisbon, portugal


cadiz, spain


malaga, spain


may



marienplatz, andrea, g&a in the haufbrauhaus, the haufbrauhaus munchen, entry to the marienplatz

after our 14-day cruise, we went to munich for a long weekend. our friend andrea met us there to explore the sites. in addition, we took a day trip to salzburg, austria. it was a beautiful train ride through the alps to see the amazing sites that the small town of salzburg has to offer.


salzburg, austria


june



a&g, seth meyers, attempting a picture with seth, g & bryant

gary spent another birthday in dallas. this time, it was for himself - his 10 year anniversary banquet for work. i had a great time celebrating the achievements of so many co-workers. it was great meeting people g knew, yet hadn't seen in years! the highlight of the night was "meeting" seth meyers. notice the botched picture above...that was take 2 of 6?! oh well, he was VERY nice and patient!


july



times square, ellis island, central park, city street

work took me to NYC for the weekend. fortunately, i had a lot more free time than actual work! g and our friend bryant joined me on the trip. we explored sites around the city and took in two broadway shows! now THAT'S what i call job perks!


august



our future home

g & i decided to buy. it was a thought-out decision, but we decided to stay in the city and purchase a condo. we were fortunate to find the place seen above. it was in the neighborhood we love and it had the space that we desired! the home-buying process was stressful at times, but was equally as exciting!


september



scenes from moving day

we closed on and moved into our new home in mid-september. it was relatively easy! we had a week off to get things organized and in place. with my anal-retentiveness, it looked like we had lived there for months by the end of september!


october



a foggy, rainy day at the charlotte-douglas airport

at the end of the month, i flew to charlotte to see my friend teresa and to participate in the airport 5k walk. it was a crappy day, but we had a good time seeing each other! and no trip to teresa's is complete without great food, drink and conversation!


november


we hosted thanksgiving for our entire family in our new home. it was a great time and the food was fantastic (if i may say so myself!). we were so fortunate to have our entire family together at one table to give thanks!


december


i celebrated my 30th birthday was friends. having many of those close to me present made it easier starting a new decade of my life! we were able to see both of our families for christmas. even though we had to make the many-mile drive, it was a great christmas. we ended the year refinancing our home (yes, already!), packing for our cruise, and ringing in the new year with two great friends.




happy new year! may 2010 be great to all!