2009 Recap and Reflection (It has to be done)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so cliche I know I know. But I mean come on, you either reflect or you write resolutions. And I'm not one for sticking to promises I make on NYE (typically these promises are made in a semi- to very- drunken stupor and consist of not drinking as much next time, hence no need for them this year!!) so I'm going to go with the former and reflect upon my 2009. An interesting and semi-eventful year in the life of Mrs. P.

JANUARY
Mr. P and I rang in the New Year at my parents house in MD. In December, I trekked down to his new duty station of Camp Lejeune NC to rescue him for Christmas and by the grace of God he actually had a nice chunk of block leave, something we're not all too familiar with as of late. So I got him for like a solid 2 weeks. The typically 7 hour drive took more about 11 and I got a speeding ticket but it was well worth it. If I could go pick him up from Afghanistan right now and bring him home for New Years I so would. Our New Years Eve this January consisted of him being the DD for once, a trip to our (at the time) new friends Jackie and Rob's and then hanging out in the clubhouse boozing. I got a little more than tipsy and acted like a douche and broke a beer bottle - total party foul. But all in all we had a decent night and enjoyed each other's company. It's going to be a very different NYE this year. January also brought a surprise visit to NC in the later part of the month, where I drove down and surprised him with a weekend trip. He's pretty hard to surprise, too. I can't think of anything else monumental in January. He was my fiancee, I was planning our wedding (ok my mom was, I was just saying "yes" or "no" to things) and we were separated. I worked at the Child Development Center on the Army base and from what I recall that's about all I really did. Oh and we also got our engagement photos done, which turned out beautifully.

FEBRUARY
February brought our first Valentine's Day together and Mr. P. did not dissapoint. I'm really hard to surprise, but he managed it with a trip to one of my favorite places, Ocean City Maryland. We spent a long weekend in a condo and I taught Mr. P how to pick crabs for the first time. He said it was good but not worth the work and I questioned the stability of our relationship (just kidding, he enjoyed the experience enough that it was ok with me that he's too lazy for crabs. bah-ha-ha). We enjoyed OC during off season, got some old timey photos done, went to Assateague Island and saw the ponies, and just had a lovey dovey weekend. He also surprised me with my Tiffany's necklace, the Elsa Perreti open heart. Love it, never take it off. After that weekend, I don't remember seeing much of each other, he headed back to NC. I still lived at home, we were still engaged, I was still planning (helping to plan) the wedding, and working at the CDC.
Wedding planning also brought with it bridal shows, which were a lot of fun.

MARCH
I don't remember much of March so I'm assuming it wasn't eventful, just a continuation of wedding plans. I don't even have any St. Patty's Day pics, so I can only assume I didn't do anything. Which is weird, I love St. Patty's Day... Oh look, thanks to facebook I have an idea of something I did in March... More going out. The pics from this night are prob from Jan or Feb but were posted in March, so it counts

Oh, oh more March. That's right, I lived at home and went out. A lot.


APRIL
I think during March/April Mr. P was in Fort AP Hill, VA for training. I know he came home the last weekend of April because we went down to my college and enjoyed some partying and had an incident on the side of I-95 that may or may not have lead to the conception of our daughter (according to the doctor it did not -she wasn't conceived until our honeymoon- but, I mean, it could have). This was also the month of my fantastic bachelorette party, in which we took a limo into Federal Hill (Man I love Fed Hill and wish I could be partying out there tonight) and I got good and slammed and enjoyed time with my best friends. I also enjoyed a magic show and a bar simultaneously (basically the best idea ever)

My bridal shower was also during this month, in which family and friends all got together to celebrate the idea that I was getting married soon. It was also all about me (and kinda about him) which I enjoy.
I also enjoyed frequent going out during this month.
April was basically a month of finalizing wedding plans and enjoying my last few minutes of "singledom" before the big day.

MAY
This was the "big month" for me. The month in which my life changed for.ev.er (think 'The Sandlot' when you read that). Definitely good change, but lots and lots of change.
First, I got married to my soul mate. Probably the single best day of my life. My wedding was perfect, I had so much fun, looked like a princess and it was all about me (well us, but I was ok with sharing), what could there be not to love? Of course I have a million and one pictures from that day so I'll just share a couple...

Ok I'm going to stop there with one ceremony, one reception, and one after party pic or else I'll be going through them all day, overloading you with wedding photos (that you can just as easily see if you go through the thousands - I'm not exaggerating - of pics of me on facebook) and will never make it back to December. So, anyway, May. We got married and had a grand ol' time doing it. (And I'm still so freaking in love!!!) and then we honeymooned, at Onslow Beach in Jacksonville, NC. Ok, so it may not have been an ideal honeymoon location, but we thought he'd have to work (by the time they said he could have leave it was too late to plan anything huge) and we wanted to be together. So we rented a cabin on the beach, partied, loved, found out we were pregnant, and found a house to rent. Yes, all in one week!

Then, I quit my job and moved to NC to be with my husband. Word was that he was deploying in August, so we wanted as much time together and for him to see the progression of my pregnancy as much as possible before leaving. And in case you didn't know... moving sucks.
JUNE
After we got all married, pregnant, moved and settled, June brought a sigh of relief and took off the pressure from the chaos that was May. This didn't last long, though, as my hormones were starting to kick in and I was a total d-bag mess. Mr. P got ready for a training mission to California and I prepared for my first month alone. Little did I know I'd be too sick to stay by myself. I spent the month in and out of the hospital, miserable from pregnancy and ended up in MD with my parents. It wasn't a fun MD trip, I felt like doodoo, wanted my husband, and wanted very badly to not feel poopie anymore. This pattern continued into July, until Mr. P came home.

JULY
July brought one of my best friends getting married. On July 25, 2009 my good friend and sorority sister Shannon married her high school sweetheart, so we trekked up to MD to witness this joyous occasion. We had a great time, but unlike the months before I wasn't partying (pregnant) and Mr. P was instead. I still had fun though.

AUGUST
Both July and August brought very hot months to Eastern NC, where the P family and friends enjoyed LOTS of beach time. I had finally started making friends and meeting people in Jacksonville so I was becoming more human again. Mr. P and I are huge beach bums, so we spent all of our spare time at the nearby beaches.
My parents came down for their first NC visit and we had a great time. We also found out in August that our little peanut is a GIRL and with this news began to prepare accordingly.

SEPTEMBER
I don't really know of anything monumental that happened in September. My life began to get a routine as I made more friends and started volunteering in the Battalion Family Readiness Office. Oh, I got my first non-family visitors to our house in NC. My bestest, Justin, came and saw us for a long weekend with his girlfriend at the time and we took our first trip to Myrtle Beach. At the end of the month, two of my sisters Shan and Theresa came and spent a long weekend with us as well. It was nice having little pieces of home in NC.
OCTOBER
October brought with it the stresses of pre-deployment. Deployment rumors were running rampant and we never knew where he'd be when. It was rough. I worked in the BN as much as possible to help during this time. I also worked (and quit soon thereafter) in the CDC during October. It definitely wasn't a fun month, just a busy one. I don't remember much of it, as it seemed to fly by. Also, I'm getting lazy with photos as I started blogging before these months and there are photos already on. I'm kind of over this whole post actually, maybe it was a bad idea! I'm sure there was fun stuff in October too, but I just don't have too many fond memories of this month!

NOVEMBER
November followed October's footsteps as far as the stress of predeployment. Mr. P and I continued to prepare for little baby P's arrival and set up her nursery (somewhat) which I am very glad he was here to partake in. We went to MD for Thanksgiving and my mom threw me a surprise baby shower, which was a HUGE success. I enjoyed time well spent with friends I hadn't seen in months and getting fabulous gifts for my daughter. While this time it wasn't all about me, it was all about her, it was still just as good! The end of November also brought with it the sad news that my husband would indeed be leaving, and leaving very soon...

DECEMBER
Clearly, I'm getting lazy here. I even thought of not even posting for December, since anyone who's been reading at all knows what's up in December. Basically, I had to say a sad "See ya later" to my love, as he headed off to war. We began our first deployment. I also turned 23, a non-fun age. In happy news, I got closer than ever to my "NC gals" or "Marine Wife Friends" and am learning the true meaning of friendship, regardless of distance, from both these women and my good friends pre-military. My NC gals threw another shower for me (and my friend Cait) and baby girl got some more fabulous gifts, although Lori has not put up pictures from this yet so I still can't share them - bad Lori! Oh and we bought our house, and (I just found this out from the realtor a couple days ago) the construction company broke ground on our house this week! Christmas came and went and I anxiously awaited January, which will FINALLY be here tomorrow, so I can seriously get ready for Miss Thang to be here. In a few days, I can say I successfully survived a month of deployment, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

If you hung on through all that, well mad props to you, you deserve some homemade cookies! All in all, it was a great and very eventful year, and I have so much to be thankful for.

Here's to a wonderful 2010, a fresh start, and so much to look forward to already. I'm already excited for (and dreading writing) next year's recap!

Hope you all have a faboosh New Years Eve, be safe, and if you're drinking, have one for those of us who can not indulge this year!!