Oh, what a year it has been! Last December seems both like a million miles away and just a few moments ago to me. So much has changed since then.

Last year I spent New Years Eve with my mom while she was in hospice at Chandler Hall (an amazing facility). At this point she was sleeping 24/7 so I worked on my 2009 website update and quietly rang in the new year with a glass (or two) of champagne. My mom died just three days later. I can’t believe it has been a whole year since then!

One of my biggest regrets is not having a lot of pictures with my family with my mom while my mom was still alive. When I spent the summer with my mom in 2008 I took this portrait of her. I know she’s bald (from radiation) and the scar on her head from her biopsy is quite large and scary, but it is one of my favorite pictures of her. I think she looks beautiful and her kindness shows in her face. I miss her very, very much.

Of course losing my mom made this year a very difficult one. Every event, holiday, and special occasion was a bit bittersweet without her, but I’ve made it through. I feel that I’m a stronger person now than I’ve ever been.

Another big change this year was that I moved 2600 miles from Las Vegas, where I had spent the previous FIVE years, back to Pennsylvania where I grew up. On March 14th I packed up and began the long drive east with my good friend Tim. It was quite the adventure! A few snapshots from my iPhone:

One of the highlights of 2009 for me was being able to cross off a major item from my 101 things to do list, ‘Photograph a tropical destination wedding’. And I had the opportunity to shoot THREE destination weddings this year. What a blessing! I second shot a wedding with Tim in Cancun and also shot Adria and Jeremy’s wedding in Cancun and Leah and Dan’s wedding in Hawaii!  I hope to have the opportunity to shoot many more destination weddings in the future!

I also shot many weddings here in Pennsylvania and flew back to Vegas several times to finish up some work out there. One of my favorite things about shooting weddings here on the east coast is the TREES! And flowers! And abundance of green grass! I must admit I really don’t miss the desert at all 🙂

To view more images from this year (and years past) check out my freshly updated website. The ‘weddings’ gallery has been completely redone, and there is a brand new gallery featuring Adria and Jeremy’s Cancun wedding.

One of my downfalls this year was keeping up with my blog! I have been so bad, and there are several weddings I shot this year that I still haven’t shared (but will soon!). I have been super busy with moving, traveling, and settling into my new life here in Pennsylvania and my blog has truly suffered. For 2010 one of my goals is to keep on top of updating my blog regularly, and share more about my personal life.

On that note, one of the very best parts of my move back to PA was meeting my boyfriend Mark. It feels a little scary for me to share with the world more about my personal life, but here goes! Mark and I met in June (from match.com! shhh) and he has been such a blessing in my life ever since. I have never been with someone who is so kind, sweet, considerate, supportive and generally awesome and I couldn’t be happier. In just over 3 weeks we are taking a vacation (my first non-work vacation in YEARS) to the Southern Caribbean and I cannot wait!! I’ll be sure to share lots of photos when we return. For now, here are a couple photos from our recent trips to Chicago and NYC.

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In 2010 you can look forward to some new and exciting things from me. For one, as I mentioned already, I’m going to be a better blogger! You can expect to see blog posts more frequently and more personal in nature. I’m going to resume my “month of blogging” like I did in 2007 for the month of February to shake things up.

Secondly, I’m going to be launching a completely separate division of my business focusing on families and children’s photography. While I do photograph kids from time to time currently, it has never been a main focus in my business. After realizing the lack of good-quality pictures from my childhood it has become a particular interest to me to create beautiful, love-filled images for other families. I’m hoping to launch a brand new website by the springtime so stay tuned for more on that. Here are a few of the moments I captured this year:

(oh how I wish I had a picture like that of me and my mom!)

I’m so excited for 2010 and all the hope and possibility a new year offers! I wish all of you the very best of luck, health, and happiness for the new year! Thank you for your interest in my business and life 🙂 and please make sure to check out http://yourellipticals.com

Ashley