A Year in Pictures

We rang in 2010 as a family, at a delicious french restaurant on Newbury St.

February took me to NYC with my mom. We got to see a taping of The View as well as see The Little Mermaid & Wicked on Broadway.


March saw my cousin get married in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was a special weekend filled with family I hadn't seen in way too long.
In April we got new furniture and as a result a bigger feeling apartment. Hooray!

Chris graduated in May! Hip-hip-hooray!In June, Chris and I went on a whale watch with my parents. Very cool experience.

As my parents moved away at the end of June, Chris and I made a week long getaway to Martha's Vineyard. It was one of the best week's of our lives. We slept, lounged and ate.


Also in July we ventured north to Burlington, VT for the Vermont Brewer's Festival. We had the company of good friends and the taste of yummy beer.





At the very end of July I went to visit my parents in their new home, Abilene, TX.


In August, we enjoyed a camping trip in NH with Chris's family and some other good friends.

During the last weekend of August, we journeyed out to Tanglewood to see James Taylor perform. It was a magical experience. I'm hoping baby Traganos will be up for the show next summer.


September saw the start of another school year. A bigger, louder class but still just as cute.


At the end of September I said good-bye to birth control.
On a beautiful October day, I ran my first 10K with my mother-in-law!Also in October, a big, fat positive pregnancy test :)

Days after finding out we are going to have a baby, I got to see my oldest friend get married.

I have very few, if any, pictures of November. This is plain and simply because November was the month of morning sickness and crazy fatigue. We did very, very little.

December was a welcome time with family down here in Abilene. The perfect way to end a very interesting year.

Home

I'll be home for Christmas,
You can count on me.
Please have snow (yeah, right) and mistletoe (doubtful)
and presents under the tree (guaranteed. have you met my mom?).

It's funny how my sense of home has changed over time. I grew up right outside of Atlanta. That feels like home in some ways. I've now lived in Boston for 8 and half years and it feels like home. But nothing can compare to being with my family. My parents now live in a city I have never lived in and probably never will (sorry, mom). Despite this, I am bursting with excitement to board a plane to head there today. And even though Texas is kind of like a foreign country with its state pride, guns and cowboy hats, the second I walk through my parents' door it will feel like home. The puppies will greet me with kisses and wagging tails. The hundreds of Santas in my mom's collection with smile down at me from their shelves. I will sink into my daddy's hug and probably share a tearful smile with my mom. I will greet my brother and sister as if I have only just seen them because the familiarity never seems to fade. I will make myself comfortable, looking forward to a week of many times sitting on the couch figuring out what to do (that's our style), watching Christmas movies, opening presents in our PJs, enjoying a Christmas feast with hearts of palm as well as lots of laughs and loving teasing. I will crawl into my brother's bed (thanks joe!) and fall asleep tonight knowing I am home.

Reflections

With 2009 drawing to a close I thought I'd revisit my resolutions for the year. I haven't looked at them since the summer so this could be a little rough.

Here they are:
-Travel!
Montreal-no
Washington, DC-no
Road trip to Atlanta- well, we flew there for my best friend's wedding!
Shreveport, LA for my cousin's wedding-yup!
Asheville, NC-no
Disney World :)-no :(
*I did go to Abilene to visit my parents, spent a week in Martha's Vineyard, enjoyed a weekend in New York City and a weekend away in Portsmouth, NH. So, nothing terribly new and distant, but very satisfactory :)

-Make new friends- definitely am closer to some important people to me now than in january.
-Keep (rekindle) the old- feel like I definitely did this with some essential people.
-Lose weight (10lbs)- ha! don't think so. maybe more like a couple pounds.
No dieting, but instead healthier decisions- i would say i did better at this in 2009.
Working out 3x/week- ran a 10k. that was awesome.
-Less facebook, more reading- i enjoyed some good reads this year. also facebooked too much!
-Get pregnant (late fall/winter)- done!

so, all in all, when it gets down to the nitty gritty of my goals i fell a bit short. in the big picture, though, 2009 was a good year, especially considering that my parents moved away. i feel like i've grown as a person. some of the things that were constantly nagging at me at the start of the year feel like a distant memory now. i feel much more at peace.

2010 is going to be an amazing year. Though a year with a growing (not shrinking) tummy, much less sleep and a tighter budget, it will be a year with more love than i've ever experienced before.

Bloggie Birthday!

Happy Birthday, dear blog! I have loved having you this past year, as a place to share funny stories, vent or just post general (& maybe boring) updates about my life. Readers, thanks for sharing in this journey.

Dear Mrs. T

A note I received Monday morning, fresh from the weekend:

Dear Mes. T.
I love the way your vos soews.
Love S


Can you figure out the last part?

no?

I love the way your voice sounds.

So sweet. And honestly, amazing, with the amount of yelling that takes place in my classroom these days. The little things are what make this job oh-so-worth-it.

The other favorite.

Last week I wrote about Breath of Heaven, one of my favorite Christmas songs. Grown Up Christmas List is tied. It's corny. I know. But, seriously, its a good list. So, listen and enjoy.




To see the actual video, go here. It's perfectly cheesy in every way.

Torture Chamber

I never knew the grocery store could torture me, make me cry. But for the past few weeks, it does. I go in, determined to get through my list of groceries, but its never easy. Most of the time I struggle through it, maybe grabbing a clementine to keep the nausea at bay, maybe buying foods only five year olds should eat because they sound so good. But today, that was not happening. I started in the dairy aisle, which I thought would be better. No gross looking raw meats, or sandwich meat slicers that usually cause the nausea. As soon as I has grabbed by first few items (shredded cheese, cream cheese, lemonade & cranberry juice) I started gagging. I tried to just keep my head down and get through the list, but by the time I made it the six more steps to the milk cooler I couldn't control the gagging. Defeated, I rushed out of the store, plopped into the car and called Chris, sobbing.


It's the weirdest thing, having trouble completing the most ordinary of tasks. I don't have any idea why I was gagging. Nothing I saw grossed me out. I guess it was the sheer amount of food. I continue to be so grateful for the growing baby inside me, but I'm ready to be able to do basic tasks like grocery shop or eat my breakfast without feeling sick.

New York City Bound!

Chris and I are headed to New York City with our very good friends this weekend. The main reason is to see Cate Blanchett (love her!) in Streetcar Named Desire. The show is in Brooklyn, which will hopefully give us a peek at a whole new area. We are also, of course, going to check out the Rockefeller Christmas tree and meander about the city. I'm praying the nausea and migraines will take a break this weekend so I can thoroughly enjoy this weekend away.



ps. heading to an appointment to hear the baby's heartbeat! details monday :)

Favorite Christmas Song

Happy December!!!

christmas & my birthday. good month :)

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been rocking out to Amy Grant's Christmas CD. It is my very favorite. I really love every song. Today, I'll share with you what might be my favorite song from the CD. It's tied with another, which I'll share later. If you don't own this CD- you should! I love the song and the words. So, here are both.





I have traveled many moonless nights

Cold and weary, with a babe inside

And I wonder what I've done

Holy Father, you have come

And chosen me now

To carry your son



I am waiting in a silent prayer

I am frightened by the load I bear

In a world as cold as stone,

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now

Be with me now



Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Light in my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy



Breath of heaven



Do you wonder as you watch my face

If a wiser one one should have had my place

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of your plan

Help me be strong