Ringing in the New Year...

New Year's Eve.  A celebration full of fun, anticipation, good times with friends, and excitement over a fresh start in the year to come!  And I made it to approximately 11:50pm last night before falling asleep. 

Don't get me wrong.  2009 was a big year (even if it went out as a bit of a flop).  I look forward to 2010 being even bigger, if for completely different reasons.  But by 11:50 last night I could completely relate with old man 2009, staggering along barely even caring that baby 2010 was about to be born!  Because I am completely exhausted!  I feel like the last few months I've been living like a person in a coma, and I have no idea what has been going on around me.

I attempted to write a blog about it, which turned into my personal memoirs, so I'll just summarize some of it here, and maybe post the rest in subsequent entries (not for the faint of heart).

In short, 2009 was a marathon that left me exhausted.  In 2009 I managed to hit 7 different countries, crossed the Atlantic 6 times, finished up some major projects in Mauritania (including getting my theater club en brusse and helping with several murals), saw my roommate get married, had a whirlwind COS, said goodbye to dear friends both Mauritanian and American without promise of ever seeing them again, travelled back and forth from Texas and Wheaton 6 or 7 times, unpacked all of our belongings, repacked them all, drove to Houston, unpacked everything again, started a new job which drives me absolutely crazy, watched my husband re-start an old job at the Dirty Bird which also drives me crazy because it keeps him out most nights, and I lost my cat--whom I love and still makes me sad! (did I mention she also traversed the Atlantic Ocean, 3 different countries, and 9 different states only to disappear during a Texas thunderstorm, never to be seen again).  I was also here for the birth of a new niece and a nephew, and in September came down with a bug of my own that I've been dealing with ever since! 

There is probably more that I am forgetting, and even though I didn't make it to midnight last night, I did spend today day hiding out in my apartment deciding what the next decade will look like.  So I came up with a couple of resolutions for the year: 

--Find a place in Houston that recycles so we can finally empty out the trunk of our car that has been accumulating paper and cardboard for the last 4 months.  Yes, I live in the least environment-friendly city in the country. 

--Not belittle david (or others, but mostly david I think) for doing things that I do myself (such as make new year's resolutions...)

--Gain 20lbs (Hooray for Heman!!!!!)

--Be a better wife, a better daughter, a better mother (can you be better at something you've never been before?), a better friend, sibling, and coworker

--Last but certainly not the easiest: find and record 1 reason per week to appreciate where I'm at and what I am doing (current state of mind-this is going to be tough)

Well, those are my resolutions.  Feel free to call me on them and keep me on track!  Especially if you know a convenient place for me to recycle.  A girl can only have so much cardboard furniture!!

Bring it on, 2010.