How do you measure a year?

In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife?

(In case you didn't catch on, that's a song from Rent.)

I personally measure my years by the number of blessings I receive. I've never been the best with keeping resolutions, but I find that I rather reach life's unexpected goals throughout the year, and  they can always count for somthing. Here are some of my wonderful blessings and goals reached from 2009:

1. Graduation

I can finally call myself a University of Memphis alumni! While I'll always have wonderful memories of this school, including the basketball games, interesting public relations classes and the awesome friends I made, I'm glad to finally finish this chapter in my life and move on to even bigger and better things...including the search for my first "big girl" job!

2. Phi Mu Alumnae

As with graduation, I have also "graduated" into alumnae status with my sorority, Phi Mu. Although we say that you are always a Phi Mu, it will be severly different come next semester when I'm not attending the weekly meetings, teaching something new to all the Phis, or going to another philanthopy event.

3. My Gran's Health

I could not thank the good Lord enough for such strength He has given my grandmother this past year. Diagnosed with cancer for the THIRD time in her life, she has shown great improvements with her medications. She is currently working with a drug that is new to the market, and from her last checkup in November her doctors are astonished with her results. They even went as far to call her a miracle!

4. My neice, Autumn Marie

As for other blessings, the healthy birth of my second niece, Autumn Marie, comes right to mind. She is currently 3 months and such a wonderfully content baby. I thought I also might mention that she in fact looks like me....blue eyes and all! (For anyone who doesn't know, my sister and brother-in-law and even my first niece, Ava Grace, all have brown eyes. Looks like she'll stick out just like I did as a kid!) I've added some more photos from a little Christmas photo shoot they had recently.

Resolutions, goals, blessings or not, I hope you and your loved ones all said fairwell to 2009 gracefully, and I can only hope for brighter futures for 2010!

xoxo,