Reflecting on 2009

Our 2009 started at Suzanne's New Year's party and ended with Ryan arriving to our family and staying with us in Sacramento.  This year has been everywhere.  It was extremely busy but exciting.  It was chaotic but definitely fulfilling.  It was packed with challenges, love, frustrations, unknowns, surprises, friendships, ups and downs, but mostly -  life itself...

As I reflect on 2009 and reading the blog post "Curious & Beautiful 2009", I see that my 2009 was definitely a year filled with a lot of unknowns that required a lot of curiosity to explore and enjoy these uncharted territories.  The year started with the last stretch of the Introduction Leader's Program.  This is the program that I spent 7 months with an action packed schedule to lead introductions.  The program ended in March of 2009.  From then, Angela, Mariola, Andrew, the Kershek's, the Chen's, Frank, Kelly, and Danielle visited us in Sacramento from all over the world.  On these visits, we went to Napa Valley for new wines and we also tried new wineries in Placerville, the Foothills, and Amador County.   During this time, Nikki turned one year old and we partied up with tons of kids and adults, and I also flew back to Taiwan to support my mom with her doctor visits.  By the time we celebrated Lucy's 22nd birthday, summer was almost over.  Shortly after July, I started a new job with the Infrastructure group learning about investing in infrastructure assets for the pension fund.  I traveled to DC for a conference and it opened my eyes to a different perspective of how this country is run and how policies are established.  Angela moved in with us in September and we threw a 'semi-surprise' party for Jim's 33rd birthday.  From there, we went to a comedy show, a world music festival, Halloween bar hop, Thanksgiving Run to Feed the Hungry , cooking Thanksgiving meal for the family, Black Friday shopping, family gatherings, Christmas, and finally New Year's eve...

I took up belly dancing in the beginning of the year and it made me feel sexy so I was confident enough to cut my hair short!  The communication courses, new job, the conference that I attended, and the material that I have learned over this year made me feel a little smarter and more beautiful inside.  I also bought cookbooks and looked up recipes online to cook Persian and Indian food as ways to explore and expand my understanding of spices and different types of cuisine...  I also felt more fit having completed the Thanksgiving Run in my goal time (1 hour and 20 minutes plus some seconds) and I felt accomplished and powerful becoming a top 20 fundraiser for the Run.

Although I didn't succeed in taking a piano lesson, golfing more, and cooking three times a week, I feel that I have achieved having a curious and beautiful year.  I learned that I have the capacity to be beautiful inside and out if I allow myself to be curious.  Because of the 2009 theme, I have improved my ability to accept compliments from others and own up to my achievements.  During this year, I have also experienced a tremendous amount of love from all of my friends, family, and most amazingly from Ryan.  With Ryan's arrival, love and parenthood have a completely new meaning to me and I know that Ryan will continue to surprise me.

I can't wait to set a new theme for 2010 and experience another action packed beautiful year!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello Anny, What a beautiful reflection on 2009. I'm glad I was able to share some special moments with you in 2009 - drinking wine in Napa Valley, sharing laughs and conversations and playing with Ryan. Have a great 2010 filled with joy, abundance, health and love. Mariola

AC said...

Thank you! Same to you. I am glad that so many people came to be part of our lives and I am grateful that you visited Angie and us. Maybe you should keep doing your west coast courses and we'll see you more often! :-)

Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

Annie, just read this blog. You had accomplished 09. Really proud of you. Your journay is inspirational! Love, Meilin

AC said...

Thank you Meilin! we'll have to do more together in 2010!