2009 Highlights
Can you believe it is almost 2010?! For me, the end of a year is a time of reflection and a time for goal setting and planning. Don’t get me wrong… I’m a goal setter and planner year round but there is definitely a feeling of a “clean plate” at the start of a new year. It’s a time when I think about all that I have accomplished in the closing year and set new goals for the new year.
Here are some of my highlights and accomplishments of 2009…
-Cooking more creative meals. I have my blog and my blog friends to thank for motivating me to create new and interesting meals! My favorite creation of 2009 is my Shrimp White Wine Pasta! Great… now I’m craving it! I might have to make this for dinner tonight.
-Walking for a cause. Participating in the Race for the Cure and the JDRF Walk was extremely rewarding and I plan to participate in 2010 as well!
-Rekindling my love with the library. I view my library as a valuable resource. Seriously, the librarians know a lot about my life… I checked out several juicing books after purchasing my Breville Juicer, a few wedding books after getting engaged… I even checked out Blogging for Dummies before launching this blog! I have read many great books this year including Born Round and Your Own Worst Enemy. I have also reread some classics such as The Great Gatsby, The Diary of Anne Frank, and And Then There Were None.
-The number one highlight of 2009 is getting engaged to the love of my life!
The day Cory proposed was definitely one of the best days of my life! Cory surprised me with a beautiful ring during a picnic at our favorite spot in Audubon Park. I was so surprised I spilled Cory’s wine all over the picnic blanket! After spilling his wine, I said Yes, of course!
I had always heard wedding planning was stressful… well, the rumor is true! Honestly, the most stressful part of my planning process was deciding on a destination wedding location. I was “my own worst enemy” and stressed myself out. I remember after days and days of researching wine vineyards, beach resorts, and Caribbean islands Cory came home and found me on the computer once again researching wedding locations. He said, “Bae, I think we need to take a couple days off of researching for the wedding.” I guess I looked particularly stressed out that evening. He was right though… I was completely overwhelmed and needed to step back from planning and gain some perspective. I am the opposite of a procrastinator. When there is something that needs to be done, I like to do it as soon as possible. I think Cory balances me out because he takes more time to think about things before making a decision. After a month of weighing our options, we decided on St Lucia as our wedding destination. Thanks to Cory slowing me down, I’m very excited with no regrets about our decision!
-My biggest accomplishment of 2009 is starting this blog! Blogging is truly rewarding for me and I have many new friends that inspire me everyday. Thank yall for reading 
What are some of your highlights or accomplishments of 2009?
Kasey
8 comments 
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December 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
yay for getting engaged!! that is so exciting! I can’t believe the year is over either!
December 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Sounds like 2009 was a very special year for you. Congratulations to you and Cory! I’m sure 2010 has some wonderful surprises in store for you both!
December 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
So you are engaged and having a destination wedding?! Your relationship with your fiance sounds similar to mine with Nick. We aren’t engaged but we talk about when we will get married and what we will do. We’ve talked about a destination wedding and I know I will stress myself out. Like you, I NEVER procrastinate, but Nick is the opposite and it’s his job to sllllooowww me down
I’m excited to see more pics of the wedding, when is it??
I have a goal to make more creative foods too, and to write a cookbook (see tomorrow’s post)! I can’t wait.
Happy Holidays, and have a great week and new year!
December 29th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Wow! You have accomplished a lot this year! Congrats on getting engaged too! Very exciting! I need to think of a new resolution … usually it has been to stop twirling my hair (yes, I know–awful). But, it always fails … I need a SMART goal this year
Need to do some thinking! Thanks for the post! Happy almost 2010!
December 29th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
aww i love hearing about engagements
what a GREAT year!
December 29th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Thanks everyone!
The Candid RD- Our wedding date is May 29, 2010! As an engagement gift, we got a count down wedding clock. As of today, we have 150 days until the wedding! I can’t wait to hear what you and Nick decide. I think if I was doing a big, local wedding, I would be way more stressed out. A cookbook sounds exciting!
Corinne- I totally twirl my hair too!
December 29th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Congrats on all your accomplishments. I am proud of my sister. I am certainly happy for you and Cory, he is awesome. My accomplishment of 2009 was starting to exercise, I went from not doing anything at all and always making excuses because I have small kids to exercising at least 5 days a week. I feel better physically and mentally. It is definitly a stress reliever!!!
December 29th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Thanks Kiley! I’m so proud of you for starting to exercise regularly this year.