Missed these?

2008 In Review: Part 1

2008 In Review: Part 2

August (continued…)

We had a Wedding Rehearsal Luncheon

The next day we got married on August 31st, on a gorgeous sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky.

I posted lots of pictures. And more.

In September we left for our honeymoon. We went on a Mediterranean cruise….yeah baby!

I finally had the chance to unwind after my crazy and stressful year.

I.

still.

ran.

I was in the best shape of my life.

I saw the world’s biggest vending machine in a Barcelona subway! lol. Honestly what the hell! It’s a grocery store behind a piece of plastic!

On top of the world, or feeling like it anyways.

I also encountered the most horrifying bathroom ever in Istanbul.

The worst part of it was, this cost 1 Euro!!!!!!!!!

In October, we had a lovely Thanksgiving with Eric’s family. I baked. and baked. and baked. The plate of treats as well as the pumpkin cake (top right)

I flew my dad in for my graduation ceremony.

They were so proud. I was simply relieved it was all over. lol.

My proudest moment:

We went to my brother’s to celebrate that night

I was so excited I couldn’t contain myself. I baked and brought along a pumpkin cake.

Too much sugar. Too much booze. :D

Late October, Oh She Glows was born. After my whirlwind of a year, I was ready to start a hobby for FUN. It was now time to find some me time.

I knew that I had been on an amazing  journey to health over the past few years, and I thought that my story could help others too.

On Halloween day, I wrote my first post for Oh She Glows. It was really exciting.

The blog took off in the past 4 months, and I couldn’t be happier. I have the best readers.

In November, I worked, and blogged my lil heart out, and moved into our first house.

In December, I got my first treadmill

And registered for my first half marathon race in May 2009.

We traveled out West to visit my family for Christmas.

And there you have it.

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What the pictures don’t show are the tough times.

The weeks and months when I didn’t think I could handle working and grad school at the same time.

Feeling like I could never finish my thesis. The wedding stress.

The fights.

Oh yes there were lots.

These moments do not get captured on camera. But they are all too real.

I think it is important to also convey that life isn’t perfect. My life isn’t. and yours probably isn’t. It is an illusion. My life will never be perfect but that is the beauty of it all. There are ups and downs. The downs make us appreciate the ups. And so it goes.

There were lots of tears in 2008.

Lots of times I felt like throwing in the towel. I contemplated quitting my job and/or grad school many times. Eric and my family dealt with all of it, like the amazing people they are. I cannot thank them enough for getting me through this past year.

In periods of stress, I also struggled with my journey to health. Some days and weeks were tough. I was either eating too little or eating to fill a void. It is still something I work on to this day; how to deal with tough times and not revert back to old behaviours.

What I have realized this year, is that no matter how hard things were, I managed to get through it. I haven’t believed in myself as much as I should. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did.

So, in 2009, and years to come, I want to believe in myself. My abilities. My talents. My goals. My possibilities.

And you should too.

Missed it?

2008 In Review: Part 1

July (continued…)

In July, my sister Kristi threw me an awesome bachlorette…

My mom came out for the dinner but not the bar…lol

The theme was ‘Golf Hoes’ and they dressed me in black stilettos, fish nets, short shorts, a decorated tee (made by a bridesmaid), and a veil.

Everyone else dressed as Golf Hoes. lol.

That same weekend, we also had my Wedding Shower…

My sister Kerrie brought this AMAZING cake for me:

We had an awesome time!

The next weekend, I defended my Master’s Thesis in Social Psychology…

It was the scariest moment of my life, yet the most rewarding feeling I have ever encountered when they told me I passed:

Celebration time! A congrats gift from my sister Kristi:

In August, one of my bridesmaid’s Leah flew in from the UK, and we had a fun night out:

We celebrated her 26th birthday :) And I baked her a lovely cake.

The same day, I also got my bridal trial up-do and make-up:

Thankfully this was not the finished product!

Celebrating at the bar Leah’s birthday as well as me finishing my Master’s degree!

Eric and I also celebrated his 26th birthday…

Another cake baked, lol

I also surprised him with tickets to see comedian Kathy Griffin:

She rocked our socks.

We had a fun lazy, summer day at the beach:

Eric brought his Canon SLR and we had some fun taking pictures.

August is still not close to being finished….! The rest of the year was BUSY….this will be continued tonight!

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I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s.  ~Henry Moore

Good evening everyone!

Eric and I just got back from seeing Marley & Me at the theatre. It was sooo sad. But I knew it would be going into it because I read the book.

Like most books made into movies, I thought the book was much better; however, the movie was still pretty good. I thought they could have done a bit beter job playing up the funny moments and also developing the plot and characters. The movie also left us quite sad and drained feeling! I hate when movies do that. I just feel kind of blah right now. Not sure if that is more from the movie or from the fact that I have to go into work tomorrow! lol.

Oh well, it’s only a 1 day workweek until my weekend. :D

In this afternoon’s post, I promised you all a 2008 photo recap! Seeing as it is late and I still have laundry to do, I am going to start it tonight and then finish it off tomorrow.

I got this awesome idea from the lovely Meghann!

Christmas 2007, Eric and I announced our engagement to our families at Christmas…

(Yes, Eric is a 6′2″ giant! LOL)

In February, we welcomed a new niece and a nephew only 1 week apart

In March, we frolicked outside in the snow to take a break from wedding planning and my Master’s thesis stress:

In April we expanded our photography skills with Eric’s Canon 30D Digital SLR

We also had a great Easter…I made my first pie ever

My love for running also ‘took off’

And I started my first official career as a researcher (while still a full time Master’s student!)

In May, I celebrated my 25th birthday with great friends…

And got a little tipsy…:D

I also got my first KitchenAid Mixer…

And a romantic dinner with my fiance

In June, we spend a great weekend at Eric’s parents place on the water. We had good food…

And I was also thrown into the water by Eric’s brother, jewellry and all!

In July, we had a blast doing our engagement shoot with our photographer…

We twirlled and laughed and fell almost peeing ourselves laughing.

Sketchie’s obsession for big boxes grew and grew…

And I got another fabulous cookbook…

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To be continued tomorrow….

What was your most memorable moment of 2008???

Sleep tight everyone! Hope your start to the new year was a hit!