2009 - a year in recap

hi all!

long time no post! this entry is a little late - but i've been suffering/recovering from food poisoning, so it's been delayed a few days. haha.

since the last week of december to now, i've been thinking a lot about 2009. was it a good year? was it a bad year? am i looking forward to 2010? to be honest - i actually was NOT looking forward to 2010 b/c i felt like there were no good things to look forward to, b/c there weren't any definite good things that i knew were going to happen in the coming year. and b/c i'm still attending the wounds of 2009, i just wasn't seeing the rainbow to my hope.

so i said, mia - it's time you think about 2009 really carefully. was it really all that bad? i bet u can think of SOME good things about 2009. and so i did. i made a list of all the memorable things of 2009 - good and bad. here we go!

bad memories:
1. going to the dentist every weekend for 3 months to get 2 root canals. eek! those were some unpleasant weekends of having a sore mouth. haha, and man, for 3 months, i could only eat on one side of my mouth at a time. that made my slow-eating habits even slower!

2. going to the gym for what seemed like an eternity in order to get hot for bryan/carol's wedding. (which didn't even work in the end!!) man, i hate the gym. the smell, the sights, the routine-ness of it all - it reminds me of prison! i also did not enjoy eating so many salads. haha.

3. moving out of my briarwood studio. that was such a sad time! i lived in that studio for 3 years, and i was finally leaving it to move closer to walter, closer to work, and cheap rent. it was so, so hard for me to say goodbye. i loved that apt! it was so cute and mia-esque! i cried a lot as i locked my door for the last time.

4. FLEAS. eugh... just thinking about it makes me cranky. man, going through something like eradicating a flea situation is so hard on your patience and overall outlook on life. going home every night, knowing and seeing the fleas jump around on my bed was horrible. washing all my clothes every weekend was ridiculously annoying and time-consuming and expensive. cleaning the house from head to toe was exhausting and frustrating b/c there seemed to be no fruit from it. the fleas would still be there, and we would continue our endless misery. man, i wish fleas upon no one. and if i ever see my exterminator again, i will give him a BIG HUG for bringing joy back into my life. ahh, pesticides - how i love you.

5. and the worst memory of all - my awful work situation from june - oct. it was a long time for me to be so miserable at work. sigh. all the crying and stress is still so fresh in my mind. it was so painful for me to try to be faithful in truly believing that God had a purpose for this - and that it would eventually come to an end. man, i was such an unpleasant person during those months. if u looked up the word debbie downer in the dictionary - u'd see my picture. the only plus to this whole awfulness was how much weight i lost due to stress. i finally got down to my original weight, and my clothes fit again! haha. sigh - not eating for a few months will do that to u.

u may be saying to yourself - dang, mia had a rough year. and yes, yes she did. but here's what made 2009 good!

1. the awesomeness called Lost. haha, walter and i watched Lost seasons 2-present all in the span of a few short months. it was glorious. i couldn't stop watching. sure, we didn't see sunlight much on the weekends, but whatever. i couldn't tear myself away from the juiciness of all that this crazy island brings.

2. wedding videographer - stillmotion. man, they changed my life. after i saw their amazing talent, it opened doors to my imagination and gave me a renewed passion for romance and love. hahaha. u guys have no idea how many wedding videos i watched and teared up to.

3. new roommates. having lived alone for 3 years made me quite wary of living with roommates again. i wasn't sure if i could do it - let alone if i would like it. i quite enjoyed having my privacy, my ability to walk around in my underwear if i pleased, and to be able to sing at the top of my lungs without anyone to bother. but u know, God surprised me with this one. i expected at most friendship with my 2 roommies. but i never expected this - accountability, sisterhood, prayer warriors, and just plain fun. haha. it's been great!

4. brooklyn bridge! walter and i walked across the brooklyn bridge. it was awesome! it felt like an adventure as we walked from one borough to another. there's just something romantic about walking hand in hand with the one u love under the stars with the city lights aglow all around - especially with a destination of a famous ice cream place in mind. haha. =)

5. weddings and engagements. i got to stand in bryan/carol's wedding - one of my beloved friends. man, i couldn't stop crying that whole day. and i got to be paparazzi for the first time for carol/calvin's engagement. it was beautiful to be part of such a special moment. i love love - but it's amazing to be part of other people's love.

6. Glee! i love this show! good songs, good singing, ridiculous storylines, fun characters! what's not to love? ah, this show brings me so much weekly joy. life had a burst of happiness to look forward to every week. i can't wait til it's back!

7. christmas acappella. the resurrection of my past life. sigh. from warming up to the thrill/nausea of performing. i love it all. i forgot how i much i missed it. it was such a gift to be able to have been able to get a taste of it again.

8. being santa to my family. gift giving is my love language, and it brings me a lot of joy to be able to buy presents for my family and loved ones. u know, i may not make a lot of money, but i don't care. when it's christmas, i just can't help but want to shower my family with gifts i know they'll love. and i thank God for Jesus' birthday so that i can have this chance every year to bring a little joy to everyone else.

overall - when i think about the good vs the bad, i think the good outweighs the bad. and yeah, there were definitely a LOT of rough times this year, but i'm glad i did this exercise of gratitude. no matter how bad things may seem, or even are, there are always, ALWAYS, reasons to smile. and most of all, i'm thankful for how much i grew this year. God did a lot of stretching to this body of mine. i whined and cried through most of it, but i'm still alive and kicking - thanks to His grace, and thanks to my close friends, family, and bf who prayed for me and stuck by me even tho i was not a fun gal to be around. i survived, and i think i'm a little stronger for it.

here's to 2010! hope it's a good one! =)