re-cap, 09

Well, I'd have to say 2009 was hands down, the best year ever. The photo book I made Michael really did a good job at recapping the wonderful 365 days of joy but I'll attempt to do it in words as well.
The day after Mike and I first hung out the day after Christmas 2008... That's when my life really fell into place... The days after Christmas before New Years I absolutely fell in love... of course I didn't say anything yet, but I know we both knew. We spend days and days just telling stories about our lives, sharing pictures and nick knacks, treasures, shells, pottery shards, stuff that wouldn't have meant anything to some people meant the world to us. It was very refreshing to finally find someone who had most of the same values and qualities as I do... generous but frugal, adventurous and prepared, smart and silly. Although we couldn't tell my brother or half of Mike's friends for fear of poor Mike getting his ass kicked... we saw each other everyday. Michael took care of me when I was sick... we watched movies with my mom, we drank wine, we had a lot of fun...
Then, we welcomed our first "child" together.. Pepito. Now, Mike and I had not planned on getting a puppy "together" but I had been begging my mother for months about getting a puppy. So I put in an application for this little guy who has the saddest story to tell... Pepito has 2 brothers and 3 sisters... Unfortunately some ****head decided that it would be a good idea to get rid of the puppies by putting them in a burlap sack with rocks and throwing them into a lake... Pepito's sisters didn't make it :-(. Luckily the 3 boys did. I put in an application for any of them, Pep, Ponch and Patch and Beth matched me with Pep because he was the underdog of the three and she thought he would love my ferrets. So the morning of Jan 10th we drove out to Mount Bethel to retrieve our little bundle of joy... I stress LITTLE, he was only 5 pounds!!! So while I went to work, Michael took Pepito everywhere with him... he met his cousins Katy and Calie, his aunts Lily and Jessie, his uncle Bear of course... also Archie... his kitten friends Pumpkin, Cali and Fiona and his ferret friends Rocky, Gus, Princess, and Riki! We trained him and loved him as much as any two new happy parents could of course.
Shortly after our new arrival Mike and I decided that it was too damn cold in PA and we needed a vacation! So, we planned a cruise in April!! We drove to Miami, which for most couples would be a pretty awful experience but it was rather enjoyable for us. Mike did nearly all the driving, and I did a lot of sleeping but we also had a lot of really fun conversations... plus we got to stop in St. Augustine and play on the beach for a little bit. We had the most amazing time on our cruise... everyone thought we were newlyweds and we hadn't even been dating for 4 months. We did everything and anything we possibly could... kayaking, snorkeling, parasailing, rock climbing, beach lounging, buffet eating, we dressed up, we didn't get dressed at all, we ate, we slept, we drank, we laughed, we smoked cigars, it felt like a honeymoon! :-) the only bad part about the cruise was it had to end! AHHH Then back to work...
Ah yes, before we left on this cruise we had done some house hunting. Of course people thought we were crazy.. but I knew I wanted to live with Michael, we wanted a place to call our own... to take all our treasures out of boxes and display them proudly all over the living room... So we hunted, we put in 2 offers on 2 houses that we're glad we didn't get after all. The whole experience was a little stressful for me... so I was pretty mad at Mike when we didn't get the 2nd house. So I told him I wasn't going to go look at ANY OTHER houses until he KNEW that this was the house he wanted to spend the rest of our lives in... Well, low and behold, a few days later our realtor called Mike with a new listing, its first day on the market. So Michael went to take a look at 9am and left me and the pup at home. About an hour later, I was told I needed to come see the house. Reluctantly, I agreed... despite the fact I thought I was in for more heartache and let-down. So, my mom, Michael and I went to see the little brick cape cod on Clayton Ave. We closed about a month later, June 30th, 2009. We painted, and moved, a decorated and spent our first night in our new house on July 4th... how fitting INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! Haha.
Our next big milestone was our 2nd pup, Thor, the 95lb black lab/horse/bear/goat mix from Bloomsburg. Thor arrived on Aug 2, my 23 birthday, what a great present! What a destructive and adorable addition to our family. Pepito and Thor are the best of friends.. Pito will jump on poor Thor's head and bite his paws and Thor doesn't seem to mind at all. They're a good pair. Ah yes, the list of things that Thor has eaten grows by the day... a plate of brownies, a jar of Hershey kisses (which made Thor poo shiny golden nuggets that sparkled in the yard...), a $90 Ralph Lauren pump (fortunately I found the same pair, online on sale for 40... my favorite shoes!), Mike's photo book, a box of chalk, a tube of furo-vite, wrapping paper, Christmas ornaments, and god only knows what else he destroyed and left no evidence of... Ohhhh Thor.
1 last milestone for the year, that I originally forgot about when first posting this blog... Michael started college!!!!! He's going for his associates in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State Berks right now... I hope that he changes his mind and goes for his Bachelor's but, as long as he's happy I'm happy. He's doing very well! He completely his first semester successfully! 1 down, 3 to go. I'm so proud of him... it takes a lot of guts to go back to school when you're not old enough to be "a non-traditional" student but you're too old to go to frat parties. I don't think he realizes just how proud of him I am... but I really really am sooo proud of my hunny! <3
A few random trips were scattered in there somewhere Assateague Island, Maryland was a BLAST. I hope we do this every year. I loved every second of it... even though I got eaten alive. We went to MD to help Ben and Jackie move... we went to Delaware with Kristi and Jon... a hike to the pinnacle with puppy Pito, a Flyers game, many Royals games, many man trips to Cousins, the Westy, Pappy T's, even some bowling, and many dinner dates later... brings us to our first Christmas.
Mike proposed on Dec 13th :-) making me the happiest most excited girl in the world... Then unfortunately, my baby ferret Rocky passed away on Dec 20th... but the days go on, Christmas was sure to follow, as it did. It was nice to spend the days with our families. I couldn't ask for a better family to marry into. They're amazing... I've only met them all a few times yet they gave me the PERFECT gifts that I LOOOVE every single one of. It was a great Christmas.
Sadly, all good things come to an end and it back to work for a 3 day week then, New Years!!! I'm really excited to see what this new year will bring! I can't imagine it being more full of excitement then 09 but hey, I could be wrong... We could hit the lottery or something, maybe find some amazing dream job... I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I do know one thing though, as long as I have Mike, anything is possible. Its just been such a year of growth and learning for me... everything I thought I knew about love was, completely wrong. Some people say that love is all you need, but I've come to learn that love is just one of the many things you need to make a relationship work... compromise, maturity, understanding, intelligence, humour just to name a few. A few years back I thought the only thing you needed to "be in love" was just to love someone and have them love you in return. Turns out that no matter how much someone loves you, if they're some asshole idiot who takes you for granted and treats you like dirt than you need more than love. That combination only makes misery... which is a feeling I had closely associated with love. So here's to all those assholes! Thanks for nothing.
I love you Michael, you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me... I've had a lot of bad experiences with men and you have completely undone all the damage I thought was irreparable. Maybe I don't deserve you, but I am damn happy and very proud to have you. <333 Thank you for making this the best year of my life... and here's to many many more!