Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities


I've read the above quote a lot this year because it has summed up so well how I have felt. I have had some of the lowest times of my life this year, but at the same time I knew things would get better. I knew that this year was about laying the foundations for bigger and better things.

I started off this year at my highest weight ever and with a lot of credit card debt. Funny how when your eating gets out of control it leads to other areas becoming unmanageable. I remember waking up on New Years Day and knowing I had a long road ahead of me to get my life back under control and I am proud of the efforts I have put in to get myself on track to where I want to be.

I have managed to lose about 30 kilos (give or take some Christmas bloat), which has given me back my life in so many ways that I couldn't even begin to list right now. I have also paid off all my credit card debt (about $15,000!), thanks to a couple of good bonuses at work, a pay rise, the stimulus package and a lot of scrimping and saving. Both these challenges seemed insurmountable at the start of the year and it has literally taken blood, sweat and tears, but I know now I have set myself up for the best of times in 2010.

I turn 30 on December 23 2010 (yep, just had my birthday) and I have a lot to tick off on my 30 before 30 list in the next year and I am going to have so much fun doing it. For the first time in a very long time, I am excited about what the future holds.

11 comments:

  1. I SO know what you mean about this year!!! ONly at times I was muttering to myself "it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times..."

    :)

    Take heart with the CC debt - mine and my husband had charged up $27555! We have paid off over half in 6 months - can't wait till it has gone.

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  2. I understand completely. I'm going to have to make me one of those lists since I too am 29 on Tuesday (Ugh 29) We have sooo much in common LoL xxx

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  3. You have achieved so much this year -- and by far the biggest achievement I think is to be able to look forward to the future

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  4. You should be so proud of what you have accomplished this year and other years. You are an amazing woman, and never forget that... no matter what the scale says. You have inspired me to fight... to recover... to believe that I can overcome bulimia. Thank you for blogging.

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  5. Sounds like you accomplished a great deal this year. 15,000 dollars is a lot of debt to pay off. Woot!

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  6. Happy belated birthday! You can ROCK this weight loss!

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  7. Happy recent birthday! I'm the same day...much older though!

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  8. Happy belated birthday! It sounds like you have a fantastic attitude for 2010. Good luck!

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  9. You have done amazing things this year! I'm sorry there had to be a "worst of times" part for you.

    Have you crossed off any of the things off on your 30 before 30 list?

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  10. What a great post - congrats on the kilos lost and debt paid off! With an attitude like yours the future will bring whatever you want it to bring. Happy belated birthday and Happy New Year!

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Awww thanks so much for the comment!