Missed these?
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 thought I was in the best shape of my life at this time, but I was still struggling to feel at peace with myself and food. Something was still missing.
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!
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 a stressful year, I was ready to do something completely for fun. It was now time to find some me time.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
I’m working on being in the best shape of my life for this summer too… here’s hoping I can do it!
Awesome recap- and so great that I could take part in some of those moments of 2008!!
Here’s to a fabulous 2009!! xo
Angela.. great post!!!! : ) i love the pictures..
was that a toilet in Istanbul??!! YUCKY!
This post is great! Awesome pictures…. so cool to see the year in review.
zesty
What a wonderful, honest post! Thank you!
What did I do to have such amazing readers like you all!!?? Thank you for your comments :)
Just an FYI- I am going to do another FAQ post this weekend so please stay tuned for your answers!
Trish– You can find my Journey to Health stories here: http://ohsheglows.com/2008/12/14/part-v-my-road-to-health/
Angela :)
Do you have a post that I may have missed that you talked about how long it took you to lose the weight and how long ago you achieved your weight loss goals?
Reading that just brought me to tears. You really sound like an amazing person, thank you for sharing the good & the bad & showing all of your readers that you are a real person just like us. You are so inspiring. I, like Trish (above comment) would love to know more about you losing the weight. I know you have done the journey to health posts. But I am curious if you ever counted calories, weighed weekly or daily, etc. before getting were you are now. I have lost the weight but am still struggling to find my groove. It seems you found yours but I really think it would be so helpful to know more about you before you found yours.
Hi Angela,
To echo Amber, you seem like an amazing person and your blog is just so uplifting. Thanks for your words at the end, they really resonated with me. As an undergrad going through recruiting in finance right now, it helps to read about your resiliency through tougher times.
Although in the summer I was in the best shape of my life, I have been stressing eating and cutting back on my fitness routine since school started. These days I am getting back on track and will continue reading your blog for motivation.
Happy New Year!!
You seem like such an amazing person. I love reading your posts and appreciate the time you take to do it. Have a great weekend!
More great photos!!
Again, I love the recap. I hope I am in the “best shape of my life” for my wedding too. It’s been great seeing your year in review, and yes its funny how the blogs make everyones lives seem so happy. Good luck with your 2009 goals!
words well spoken!!
Hey Angela,
I am just catching up on my blog reading on my lunch hour after having just arrived back from 2 great weeks at home in Canada!
Your year in review is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah
Just reading some older entries while you are off on your photo shoot and I just want to tell you how perfect this post is for me currently. I’m in college now, working, trying to get healthier, all while trying to enjoy life… this entry really put a smile on my face because life IS great and we are all survivors… no matter how beaten up we feel with a certain situation or stressful times get! :)
You rock, Angie!!!! :)
This post, I find, especially touching. Do you ever re-read these and think, “Wow, how far I have come!”? :)
Hey Ange,
I know I know, I’m archiving here – but I am so glad I did :) I know this is an oldie but it’s like I was guided to it. I’m right now trying to finish my masters thesis (at the same institution you graduated from – I can tell because I graduated with my BA and BEd there and recognize the regalia LOL) and I am super stressed… and tired… and having a rough time being motivated. I also work as a researcher and I supply teach on top of it *ugh*. Thank you for these awesome life posts because it honestly feels so good to see that other people have gone through the stress and exhaustion I’m feeling right now and (given the change in your life almost 10 years later) I can see there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Your recipes keep my energy going as I work through all this and I am so grateful for your blog when I need a mental break. Keep up the amazing work :)