Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

My friends and I were talking yesterday and we have decided that 2009 has been a year of either REALLY BIG HIGHS or REALLY BIG LOWS. There has been no in between. And dealing with both highs and lows with barely any time to catch our breath, we also decided that we’re exhausted.

So hasta la vista 2009.

I consider myself a very lucky girl. Even though we had a few scares over the year (a scary car accident with my niece and SIL and my BIL’s heart attack) my family remains healthy. And I’m very grateful for that. Several of my friends are struggling with illness in their lives and it breaks my heart for them. So knock on wood, we have our health.

I want to end this year on a positve note, so I think I’ll name all the good things that have happened to me over the year. If I focus on the good, the memories of the bad will fade into the distance.

1. Wrote LOVE SUCKS!
2. Won money at the horse races (not a lot, but hey, it paid for dinner and drinks!)
3. Reconnected with some dear old friends and have rekindled some fantastic friendships that will last forever
4. Got my awesome tattoo
5. started working on a 40 things to do at 40 list and have accomplished many things on the list
6. Ran my first 5K
7. Celebrated the Month of Mel
8. Turned 40 with style
9. Went to two conferences, one in Florida and one in DC
10. Spent some time at the beach
11. Began to plot out a new series
12. BUNCO BABES TELL ALL and BUNCO BABES GONE WILD both hit the stands
13. CAN’T STAND THE HEAT also hit the stands
14. oh yeah, and my debut novel BITE ME! finally made into the wild
15. I found more than 100 four-leaf clovers over the summer
16. Spent a weekend at Beaver Lake with my Thursday Girls.
17. Got an email from CNBC’s Melissa Francis
18. BITE ME! went into a 3rd printing
19. After two years we finally sold our house in Oxford
20. Saw Staind in concert!
21. Did a local interview on a morning show
22. Saw my ‘wee Scottish lad’ and his family in Nashville
23. did the Race for the Cure
24. Lost 35 pounds (and depending on the clothing) 2-3 sizes
25. Had several successful book signings, an author talk, and visited the book club at my former high school

Looking at my list of good things that have happened this year (and I know I haven’t listed them all, but this is what came to mind this morning) I realize even with all the lows, 2009 wasn’t all that bad. Sure there have been some tough times, but I’m going to believe the good out weighs the bad.

The Universe wants me to know that 2010 is all mine. I thought I’d share that with you as well. The future’s so bright…I gotta wear shades.

Have you ever noticed how folks instinctively know that creating wealth is
much more fun than spending it, yet they dream more about spending it than they
do about creating it?Could it be, Melissa, they’ve momentarily forgotten that
they’re supernatural, that they can have whatever they want, and that life is
but a dream? 2010 is all yours, baby – The Universe