2009--A Year at a Glance

Many of my Facebook and blogger friends have enthusiastically celebrated the end of 2009 and are VERY excited for the beginning of a new year. Now, as a teacher, I have a different view of things, as my year is just ramping up in January. No New Year here.

However, I noticed I was not as excited to see 2009 go, and I must admit that I'm a little wary about what 2010 may offer. Yes, I am excited for some things, but I also foresee lots of hard work and challenges ahead.

I thought it'd be good to take a month-by-month review of 2009 to see what kind of year I really had. Maybe I can get more excited about the year to come. Or maybe I'll just feel really tired. :)

Here we go:

January--Began my second semester of my grad program and the hardest class of the program. Spent most of the month with splitting migraines.

February--Came to stark reality in terms of my weight when I discovered I had regained all of my "baby" weight for the third time. After celebrating my wedding anniversary, I began Lent with my "real" diet; my starting weight--150 pounds.

March--Welcomed my new nephew Justin to the world. He's been such a wonderful, sweet baby. Held my breath around the 15th and was very happy to get NO pink slip. Kept working on the diet and got to 137 by the end of the month.

April--Celebrated by 30th birthday in Vegas with my sister, bro-in-law, mother, and adorable husband. Had a wonderful Spring break with my daughter, sister-in-law, niece, and new nephew. Lost a couple more pounds and made it to 130, a weight I hadn't been since I was pregnant.

May--Finished up my last graduate class for the semester and actually had a pretty good time doing it. Found out that my school raised its first-time California High School Exit Exam passage five percent to 75%. It was nice to know hard work can pay off and truly benefit kids.

June--Finished the school year, began teaching summer school (hopefully the last time), and celebrated my daughter's third birthday party. Went on a business trip for school for the first time in YEARS. Unfortunately, weight loss stalled.

July--Interviewed for my first quasi-admin job; didn't get it, but survived the experience. Finished summer school and got a mini-vacation. Didn't get to go anywhere like I planned, but had a nice time with my husband and daughter. Jumpstarted weight loss plan and finished July at 125.

August--Started school obscenely early and implemented my admin credential project. Also, began my final semester of the admin credential program. All-in-all, August was tough, but productive. My husband got a teaching job in Stockton, which was amazing given the current teaching climate. I was/am so proud of him.

September--This month was a blur. Literally, I remember nothing about it. But I did get my weight down to 120 for the first time since prior to being pregnant. (BTW, I'm five feet tall and my ideal weight is between 100 and 110...yeah, that's TOTALLY going to happen.)

October--Again, a very blurry month. I do remember feeling very tired and overworked, but October is my second least favorite month of the school year (the worst is March). Halloween was fun; my daughter dressed as Super Girl. Very cute.

November--Family and school-wise, this was a good month. In terms of grad school, I was more than annoyed. I had class every weekend in November because of the Thanksgiving and Veterans holidays. It was tough. Somehow though, I got down to 115, and I have fluctuated between 115 and 120 ever since.

December--This was a very exciting month. I finished my admin credential and my high school's first semester simultaneously. It was very busy, but a very happy month. We celebrated Christmas is the desert, which was both different and fun.

So it's been a very full year. There has been much to celebrate. True, I am looking forward to finishing my graduate degree and hopefully get an admin job in the near future, but I have to say that beginning 2010 leaves me feeling a little wary. Well, there's not much to do besides putting one foot in front of the other and starting the year with a good attitude. It'll be summer soon...

December