i decided this was probably a better medium for a holiday “letter” than shoving something into an envelope. with 2009 at its end, i’ve been thinking about the big events and those worth reporting. 2009 was quieter than previous years but there was some sailing, new ventures, moving, catastrophe, celebrations …

JAN.
i started off the new year right: with a trip to traffic court. next i went to visit my grandmother in atlanta and my BFF in north carolina. she’d just had a baby (big ups billy joe) and i spent the week helping her. then, something awesome happened: america inaugurated it’s first non-white president. OBAMA! whether or not change has truly come is still up in the air but what an exciting day!

FEB.
the man and i took a week-long sailing course in the caribbean. it’s a ton of work (physically and emotionally) but i made it through. now that we live near water again, i’m looking forward to getting a lot more helm hours in. after the course was over, we laid around on the quiet beaches of st. john and did some snorkeling. after vacation, the man decided to become a blonde. niiice.

MAY
at the end of 2008, i dedicated two weeks to learning how not to be afraid in the water. in may 2009, the wonderful melon dash visited colorado and i took advantage of a private lesson in the warm water at glenwood hot springs. after palm springs, it was very reassuring and (surprise!) fun to hear from my instructor about how much progress i’d made. thanks melon!

we were invited to our third annual kappa alpha psi black and white ball, courtesy of our dear friends mr. & mrs. graves. we also got heavily involved in the graves run for public office. while he didn’t win this time, i have no doubt he will political force to be reckoned with in the near future.

in the middle of a what-do-i-wanna-be-when-i-grow-up crisis of confidence i took a trip to new york city for some inspiration. over lunch with a dear friend i decided to chase a dream in a recession: ultra high-end wedding invitations. by the end of may i had the beginnings of a new business venture: à deux: bespoke bridal paper. thanks for the push, ms. clemence.

JUNE
the man and i celebrated our 4th anniversary with a nice weekend away. we met in april 2002 and, thankfully, we’re still enjoying each other. this year has certainly tested the strength of our bond and faith we have in each other. right before our anniversary, he started laying the foundation for an exciting new business idea. more on that later.

and in case you didn’t hear, michael jackson died.

JULY
as has become tradition, i spent the july 4th weekend with k. mack in our nation’s capitol. there was some beach time, some art, some history and a lot of good times. chi-town in 2010! also, this weekend is when i first heard from the man about the possibility of moving to boston. i was not excited, frankly, but willing to talk it out. one complicating factor was that i’d just launched à deux and only just completed all the necessary paperwork for the state of colorado: business license, trademark registration, etc.. i’d have to start over in massachusetts. more on that later, too.

another year, another birthday. we made a weekend of it that started at a baseball game: rockies vs. braves. then rockies lost. then, we put on our garden party attire and attended my first ever polo match. the denver polo classic was fun and fancy hobknobbing. an afternoon of good food, friends and new experiences. we capped the weekend at my favorite sushi restaurant with the graves-es.

i attended a luncheon for project c.u.r.e. and heard the first lady of ghana speak to a crowd of approximately 1,800 people about healthcare issues in her country. the luncheon raised enough money to deliver more than $2 million in medical supplies and equipment to medical professionals, and patients under their care, in ghana. yay!

i vowed to be more active in social media and technology. facebook, this blog, google voice and (recently) twitter. find me there, if you’re looking.

AUG.
moving to boston?! sure, why not. the man and i had been casually talking about making a change but hadn’t worked through the details or the timeline.

back in june, his company was in serious talks about a spinoff product. a shiny new thing in the vacation rental industry. he and a business partner pitched the idea to andy’s ceo who totally loved it. the first hiccup: the software build process had to start immediately. the only way to make the hires necessary with no time to search was to draw on the partner’s boston-based contacts and network.

the unofficial deadline for securing housing citywide is sept. 1. the inventory diminishes significantly after that. so, we made finding a place to live top priority. meanwhile, andy started flying back and forth from denver to boston, interviewing developers and searching for office space and trying to work out the legalities of this startup. after they’re pretty much assured they have the green light from the colorado ceo, i fly out for a week to look for an apartment.

in the course of that week, the business negotiations deteriorate. while i’m not privy to all of the details, at some point ceo dave stops responding to calls and emails. in fact, he’s gone on vacation in the middle of all of it. the man is frustrated, the partner’s not sure if they should keep interviewing and i’ve got two apartments waiting for me to pull the trigger. by the time we’re set to head back to denver, with no word from dave, andy and i have a long talk about what if: what if dave doesn’t hold up his end of the deal? what if we decide to move anyway?

back home in denver, still no word from dave. it’s a question of funding and, with september 1 approaching and andy fed up with the runaround from dave, we decide to move regardless of what happens with the startup.

SEPT.
hire movers, line up a management company to deal with renting our denver condo and organize the logistics of a cross-country move in less than 6 weeks. we get set for an october 1 start to our boston lease. then word comes that the CEO isn’t going to provide any money for the startup. (!!!) this comes a week before the movers arrive to pack us up.

days before the move, my father and his girlfriend came to visit colorado as did andy’s fairy godmother marsha. the graves-es hosted a fantastic going-away party for us.

OCT.
sooo, now we live in boston and the entire reason we’re here (the startup) no longer exists. yea unemployment!

NOV.
being back on the east coast gives us greater access to family and old friends. we’ve gotten to spend more time with the man’s people in upstate new york and i got to spend thanksgiving with my family for the first time in 5 years.

the man lined up a consulting gig right way (awesome!) and i’m getting my freelance hustle as creative director of caribbean living magazine while i work out a solid strategy for à deux.

DEC.
we’re still settling in here. the hardest part of any move is building a new community. we’re networking and socializing. i’m going to continue to freelance while i set up à deux here. i’ve got to re-do all my market research and get legal with the state and all that. we’re on twitter and i set up a facebook fan page. some serious marketing is up next before the cash starts rolling in. (ha!)

we had denver place up for rent but a pipe burst and flooded the first floor recently. the kitchen’s been ripped out and half of the hardwood floors are trashed. so, it’s off the market while we wrangle the insurance drama and figure out how to make the repairs. quite the close to 2009!

we generally don’t make new year’s resolutions. i’m just hoping for a happy, healthy, successful, mostly-drama-free 2010. cheers!