2012 is less than a week away … six days in fact. Just six. Six days to 2012. Six! Can you believe it? I mean 359 days ago, we’d JUST started 2011 and had been happily (or not so happily) ensconced in 2010.

Now we’re heading into 2012.

As such, I look back and wonder … just what did I accomplish this year? Anything? Well … yeah. A few things. 🙂 But was it enough? Did it have an impact? Will it ever?

Like all those great letters we get from family and friends, this one has the good stuff, but I’m adding in some of the tough part of 2011, too. As we all know, life isn’t all grand. It sucks sometimes, but you know what? The more we persevere, the more we’ll be able to learn and prepare for what’s to come.

Let’s take a walk back through 2011 and see how the year panned out.

• I read my second ever ebook in 2011 … in January, just after I got my Kindle for Christmas in 2010. Since then, I’ve read 40-50 books on it, some published, some not published. Many not published in fact. That’s the beauty of being friends with tons of writers.
• I finished my seventh novel, and second Young Adult story, called After Dark in February
• My house finally went through the refi process after six months of attempts
• I turned 29 for the ninth time in March. 🙂 ‘Nuf said there
• My mother’s day in May sucked beyond belief. We won’t go into the gory details, suffice it to say, I was the crying lady in the Five Guys in Cary. Over and done with, but it was one of those days.
• I finished my eighth novel, Silent Echoes, in June. This, by the way, is the second in the series behind Hide & Seek which is due out in March 2012! So that’s big news, too. I signed for Hide & Seek’s release!
• I became subject for an official author photo (unless the rest of my year where I held the camera instead!)
• My girls turned 7 and my son turned 14. I have survived the early years of twin-life and have really immersed myself in the life of a teenager. I would say this is not by choice as I loved when my kids were little, but I particularly enjoy their growth, too.
• My very, very, very, very first ever novel, Little White Lies, released in July to high praise and a photo cake with the cover on it. My kids still like to talk about that cake. And my very, very, very first, ever reader of Little White Lies, Claire Gillian, was able to attend all the way from Vancouver, Washington! My book release party! Not only that, we also talked for 4 hours over dinner at Daniel’s restaurant in Apex. Two tables of women were there ’til the doors closed.
• I finished my first full year back to ‘real work’. Real work = corporate america. A ‘real job’. A ‘real paycheck’ as everyone likes to call it, though I worked harder, longer hours and for less pay when I worked for myself. S’okay though, I truly enjoy my job.
• I finished my ninth novel, Surrender, in August and signed for its release in December. It’ll be out in September 2012. This is the second in the Mimic’s of Rune series.
• I celebrated my 17th wedding anniversary and my twenty-third year with my hubby. I still love him just as much as I did before — no, I take that back. More. 🙂
• My girls finished the first grade and went to the second grade
• My son finished his stint in middle school and started high school. I am officially a mom of a freshman. A mom of a high schooler. A mom with a kid who’ll be able to drive in less than two years. A mom of a boy who shaves. I would say ‘how did this happen’ but I pretty much know … can anyone say Hurricane Fran?
• My son finally bested my husband in the height category. Granted that’s not about me, but it’s a milestone I heard SO much about in 2011 it feels like it’s about me. He’s been taller than me for quite some time.
• I attended my first ever book club meeting and first ever as an author in September.
• October began a series of health ‘worries’ that lasted through December. Granted, I had a peace about this issue the whole time. It was never a true ‘worry’ to me but more a ‘let’s see what’s going on’ situation. I think my mom worried way more than me. But she always does. She’s my mom. If it were one of my kids, I’d probably be a basket case. Seeing as it was about me, I’m cool.
• I started my eleventh novel, another Young Adult series, on the airplane to Atlanta where I met Julie Reece in real life! Online friends become real friends! During that trip, I attended the fascinating conference called Telling Ain’t Training for that ‘real job’ of mine. Seriously fascinating program. Well worth the time.
• In October, my husband ran his first 5k and in the pouring rain and thirty degree temperatures, I shot photos until my battery literally died capturing all his moments including the moment he crossed the finish line. That was the last shot I got out of my battery. The end.  I’ll never forget it. That was awesome. He ran a second in December that I also photographed with much better success at least as far as battery power went.
• November brought our family vacation on Carnival Cruise lines which will never, ever, ever happen again. I have never taken so much anti-nausea medicine in my life. But it ended on a positive with a super-happy family. 🙂
• I ‘won’ Nano in November but lost out to my friend Jocelyn Adams in a writing speed contest (for the second(!) time in 2011). One would think I’d learn from this experience (or both of them), but alas, I haven’t and expect to do it again.
• I wrote ‘The End’ on my tenth novel, Day After, in December
• I attended my second ever book club meeting in December
• 50 people have rated Little White Lies on Goodreads, but over 800 people have add it to their To Be Read pile. I can’t ask for more than that (except for sales) of which I am supremely happy with as a no-name independently published author. Good times. Seriously. I love this aspect of my life, too.
• I enjoyed Christmas with my family and will enjoy New Years too. Isn’t that what life’s supposed to be all about?

I think, if I sat here and just kept writing, I could add TONS of awesome stuff from this year. Seriously. Little things like cards my girls wrote for me, pictures they drew. The little things we take somewhat for granted just because we do.

2011 was a tough year financially, for so many people, us included, but we still have each other and every time we joked about ‘living in a van down by the river’ (courtesy of Chris Farley’s SNL sketch) we always said we’d have each other.

And we do.

Happy New Year!

Cheers to a wonderful, happy and amazing 2012!

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