2009 in review

December 19, 2009

what can i say, it’s been a good year!

josh and i spent yesterday evening putting together a letter to send with our new year’s card. it’s been a not-so-annual tradition for us to send one out — in fact, we only did it once before — in 2007! but my cushy research elective schedule has allowed me to be better-than-usual with respect to the holiday trimmings of gift-buying, card-making, and the like. and it’s been fun to do these things.

sitting at the (new from 2009!) dining room table finishing off our bella syrah with some pre-dinner snacks, we listed everything that happened in 2009. turns out, a lot happened, and nearly all of it was good.

we both worked hard (okay, i worked hard AT TIMES), but had a lot of fun times together as well. we’re no longer strapped for cash the way we were in our medical school days, which is nice. i think we’ve both reached a point in life where we’re just more comfortable with doing what feels right, rather than answering to someone else’s ideas about how to live.

so here’s our overview on how we lived this past year. in list form, of course.

travel highlights
wine country, SF, and davis! wine, friends, biking, running, family, and more wine. (plus an asthma attack and an ER visit. i said nearly all good!)

biking & tasting through sonoma . . . and no accidents!
miami x 2. new baby niece ellie and family fun in the sun, and even a side trip to disney. woohoo!

pretty baby ellie
philadelphia x 2. mother’s day surprise + pre-thanksgiving extravaganza, including the best beverage of the year.

like a rainbow in my mouth
charlotte (x 2) and charlottesville (x 2). similar names, but such different places. IKEA madness! half marathons, and a full. and fun with friends.

me & v
■ boston with my blog friends, both new and old


maine with my MBs (and a wonderful, long-awaited wedding)

look at that gorgeous couple!
pop culture, art & media
concerts! david allan coe (happy bday, josh!), decemberists (be still, my heart), ingrid michaelson (intimate & amazing), and of course LADY GAGA (best night ever).

yes, i did take this picture!
TV shows of the year (for us): weeds and entourage. (also loving glee at the moment . . .)

movie highlights (seen this year, both new & old): the other boelyn girl, slumdog millionaire, vicky christina barcelona, coming to america, star trek (surprise!), the wrestler, julie & julia, volver

books read this year: ruth reichl’s garlic and sapphires (thank you siobhan!), eric weiner’s the geography of bliss, and haruki murakami’s after dark, kafka on the shore (definitely the year’s favorite), and the wild sheep’s chase. currently working on paul austin’s something for the pain


music highlights: honestly, i wasn’t as aggressive about finding new artists as i have been in the past (getting old?). . . i mostly just enjoyed what we already had and listened to a lot of trashy-yet-delicious pop radio! but i did really like andrew bird’s noble beast, the decemberists hazards of love, and of course ALLLLL of ms. gaga’s complete works.

hobbies
running! i spent most of the year able to run — a first for several years! i don’t know if it was the active release technique therapy, or if i just finally got realistic about the amount of mileage my body can handle, but i’m happy it all worked out. races: a 5K PR (february), marathon PR, 2 half marathons, and my first 10K.


plus, a brief brush with fame in the sept/oct issue of women’s running.

doin’ time, of course (full highlight post coming soon).

happy to be done!
local restaurant exploration was definitely a success this year. favorites: watts grocery, poole’s downtown diner, and — of course — local yogurt

best flavor to date: PUMPKIN
this blog! readership has increased (thank you!!!), we’ve started to build a little local blogging community in the triangle, and i’ve had so much fun writing daily posts this year. i’m pretty sure i wouldn’t have survived residency without it.

work
this is big: by the end of 2009, i will have finished the last full calendar year EVER of residency (fellowship starts in july 2010!)

residency certainly does have its highs and lows
notable rotations: last ever PICU month, ED (x 2), wards in july, endocrinology, and enjoying a little R&R on community + (gulp) research

home
finally closing on our house in february (after 15 months on the market!) and officially accepting apartment-dweller status

apartment therapy, or at least the start of it (it’s a work in progress). bedroom & dining room makeovers from IKEA!

good things come in flat boxes
so there you have it . . . a pretty fantastic year. it seems like time really does move faster as life goes on: all the more reason to savor each day or even each moment. i hope everyone reading this is enjoying a wonderful snowy (or snowy-ish . . . as we have in NC) saturday. life is beautiful.

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12.18.09

workout: 5 miles easy @ 8:45/mi. ahhhh now those were my legs! i ran through snowflakes for the first 3 miles, then raindrops. oh, north carolina.

cornish hens, take 2: i think we both liked them better this way:


turned into a salad — with mixed mayo & yogurt base, dried cranberries, and pecans, served with arugula on crusty whole grain rolls

MMM, crunch.

10 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    love the photo recap. my fav is the one of you in your scrubs…on the floor hahaha 🙂

  • Reply Denise March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Congrats on a great year! I highly recommend getting into Mad Men on dvd for 2010 – it&#39s the best show I&#39ve seen since Six Feet Under.

  • Reply HangryPants March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    You didn&#39t mention any of your anthropologie purchases. 🙂 It looks like it was a wonderful year.

  • Reply The Happy Runner March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Great recap — definitely a good year 🙂 Cheers to 2010!

  • Reply Shannon (The Daily Balance) March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    wonderful recap! so fun to look back on all the great times 😉

    so many accomplishments to be proud of!

  • Reply atilla March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    great post glad we were part of some of the highlights

  • Reply BroccoliHut March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Looks like 2009 was a great year for you…I hope 2010 is even better:)

  • Reply Chelsea March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    Love your year in review. Hope 2010 is just as good for you!

  • Reply vickie March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    a great post! i LOVE that 2009 will ultimately have Charlottesville x 3!!!!

  • Reply Kristan March 10, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    WOW what a year!! Also, you look super cute in the magazine photo!

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