Health, Beauty & Sweet Homelife: So we're at the END of 2010!

WHEW! WHAT A YEAR! We've had some good times, we've had some bad times, some up and some down times - 2010...it's time to say GOODNIGHT!

I can't believe in a few short hours we will be saying sayonara to 2010! When I think about it, this year absolutely FLEW by, which everyone always says...but I really feel like I blinked twice and here we are again entering a new year! Ever since we got engaged and I started keeping track of each month that goes by, and that time seems to go by faster and faster. Before you know it we will be counting down hours instead of months - which is absolutely nuts!

Every year I feel like I grow and learn more and more about myself and what I want to accomplish in my life. This year especially, I feel like I have gotten to know more about what I want to do and where I want to be. Throughout the year, I opened my mind and my heart into new situations I wasn't particularly familiar with, but I took those experiences and ran with them. Looking towards starting a new year, I want to reflect on what I've taken with me along the way:

January/February: I got to be a bridesmaid in my dear friend Court's wedding! I remember thinking to myself, I hope this is the year I can start to plan my own wedding. Mr. Hess and I traveled to the NBA All-Star game in Dallas, TX. We look forward to this trip every year as an escape from our every day lives, but this year was different. We learned a lot about who we are and who we are not. We both got a wake up call to leave the craziness behind us and surround ourselves with positive and supportive people.

March/April: I turned the BIG 2-5. Everyone asked what I was doing and where I was going out to celebrate. Well, truth was the number kind of freaked me out at first and I didn't think it was something to celebrate. Luckily, Mr. Hess took me to St. Augustine for the weekend to forget my silly sorrows for a few days. We had such a good time and I remembered how much fun we could have going out just by ourselves. I was beginning to value time with my family more than ever. These few months I wasn't sure where the year would take me, but I was trying SO hard to figure it out...

May/June: The NBA Playoffs came and went! The Orlando Magic made it to the Eastern Conference Finals again this year, which is always and amazing experience! You can see Mr. Hess supported our time in a huge way by his hair color! We celebrated birthdays and engagements a lot this year and the wedding train still keeps on going. I trained hard every day during this time and was in the best shape of my life. I used the last few weeks to get ready for a pretty BIG audition - I WENT BLONDE and my hard work enabled me to keep my job for another magical season.

July/August: After a hard summer of training, Mr. Hess and I celebrated with a weekend away at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. This was just the beginning of a great summer with him since it was only a short month later when he surprised me with a getaway proposal in the middle of a week of being home to see his family in Arkansas! Everything seemed to fall into place. I have never felt more love than I did the day he proposed that ended with a surprise Engagement Party with all of his family AND a surprise visit from my parents! Also, this is when I was able to dance at my favorite place in the world - our church! We performed to one of my favorite Kari Jobe songs - You Are For Me, and it was this day I realized how much I missed performing with the dance troupe there. One of my big goals for next year is to get involved more in our dance worship ministry.

September/October: My parents threw us an Engagement Party for our friends and family in Orlando, I finally got MY RING, and I selected my 9 beautiful bridesmaids to be a part of our special day! I selected the bridesmaid dresses right away, and tried to meet with the majority of my girls along the way. At least having girls in your wedding makes an excuse to see one another! In October, Mr. Hess celebrated Halloween by dressing as Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders - and saw a lot of shocked faces! About the same time, the entire city of Orlando celebrated with the opening of the brand new Amway Center, and we are still feeling blessed to be connected to it all...WHIRLWIND!

November/December: Got to be a C-MOH in my friend Britt's wedding! She moved away to AZ, but this is the closest I have felt to her in a while. She has helped me since before day 1 of our engagement and is a huge wedding planning mentor to me! These are definitely the months where I truly understood the meaning of working "day and night" to save for our wedding! Picking up all the extra shifts I can, working extra games, and doing anything I can to help us have the wedding of our dreams! Getting a HUGE start on booking our big vendors and getting organized with our wedding plans! Finally got Christmas decorations of our own and celebrated Christmas with friends and family, and starting traditions of our own at home! Unfortunately, this is also when my beloved 2002 Mercury Cougar and I had to part ways. She got totaled in a crazy accident over a week ago. She will be missed, but I CAN NOT WAIT to show you pictures of our newest addition to the Hess family - she will be arriving within a week or two tops.

So you can see how fast a year can go by! Since this time last year, I would say my life has mad a lot of twists and turns, but it seems to me like it's in the right direction - so that's all that matters to me. Yes, I'm another year older and yes, I still haven't started a "career" I love. People ask me all the time "What did you get your degree in? Why haven't you used it?" Well, it's because I want to do what I love and what I'm passionate about. I have two jobs and one is serving people breakfast. Call me crazy, but that pleases me more than sitting in a cubicle all day crunching numbers. I have a lifestyle and work hours that are very out of the "norm", but the point of it all is I get to enjoy what I'm doing while I can. I can't dance my entire life, so I'm embracing the time I have left to do so. After this year, I now realize what is worth stressing over and what you can just shrug your shoulders to. I've learned who my true friends are and who I can always count on. I've finally accepted having a lifestyle of health and fitness, but at the same time allowing myself to have a healthy, but not ridiculously strict diet. I have embraced my age and am anxious to see where my 26th year in life takes me. I have a great life, a great fiance, and a great future ahead. I CAN'T WAIT to see what 2011 has in store for us....