where are the hover boards?

so i've kind of been putting off this "looking back at 2011" post. before i get started let me just say, it is now 2012 so WHERE ARE THESE?








 2011, i really don't know what to say about you. i'm not sure i've ever had a year with so many mixed emotions. so...let's skip all the bad stuff like a broken engagement, sister's tumor, dad's stroke, mom's near death/pacemaker experience, and so on and so forth. all that i will say about the negative is...i've learned a lot about myself this year and how i deal with the darkness. i've learned that externally i do okay. i have family and friends that are amazing and supportive. but there is this small fraction of me that looks back after the fact and can see what my coping mechanisms look like. mostly they look like sugar and shopping. yep, i like to eat chocolate and buy stuff i don't need. then in hind sight i get really frustrated at myself because that's not a part of me that i like. but no worries, now that i've made that confession to the ENTIRE INTRAWEB i'm more likely to work on that. i don't usually make a formal list of resolutions, it's more like a list in my head but let me just say that on the top for 2012: find healthier ways to deal.

enough already with all that!! let's talk about all the amazing things that happened this year instead!

family
if you are one of the 3 people out there that read this blog regularly :-) then you know i've talked about family illness before. but what i haven't said is that my family is amazing. my sisters are amazing. i love each of them for all the same reasons and for very different reasons at the same time. and my parents, what can i say? they've had a rough couple years BUT they're still here, they still love and support me, and they are still the best. we have been so blessed and i don't want to ever fail to say how thankful i am that our Creator is still creating every day in ways that we don't always understand. sometimes as the creation i don't think we are supposed to know the mind of the Creator. we are his to mold...our job is to simply remain as putty in his hands (ooohhh, i feel a song coming out of that).

friends
if i had to give 2011 a nickname it would be something like "The Year of Expanding Friendships" or "The Year Of The Writing Rock Stars" or "What the What??? I Know So Many Past & Future NYT Bestselling Authors" 

all joking aside, this year i have met some really amazing people. there is a community of writers that have welcomed me in as one of their own. they see me as a creative mind. they don't care that i'm writing songs while they are writing children's or young adult novels. i thrive on creative energy so knowing these amazing people has only made me a better songwriter. in fact, a chance meeting with them sparked something in me BUT we'll talk more about that in the next section.

but my new friendships didn't end with writers! i've have met some truly talented people in so many different fields. i met some pretty amazing songwriters, musicians, producers, baristas, etc...

and then there are the old friendships. those tested by time. those people that know the best and worst of me and love me anyway. my "framily" (as coined by one of my middle school students) is the best. i am continuously amazed by their love and support. each year we do homemade christmas gifts for each other and i PROMISE you there is no way you could buy something as quality, unique, and special.

in all aspects of my life i am surrounded by so much talent that i truly and honestly am amazed. sometimes i just sit back and wonder where they all came from and how i got so lucky that i get to call them friends!

MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC

on superbowl sunday Court invited me to hear a talk presented to SCBWI Mid-south about birth order and how it effects character development. that day i met Ruta and started talking about the music industry and songwriting. one of the first things i noticed about Ruta was that she can literally make you think anything is possible. she did it that day and she has every moment i've spent with her since. so i left that day thinking, "hmmm...maybe there is a place for me in the music industry." it wasn't until later when i learned more about her career that i realized, "HOLY CRAP! Ruta is a ROCK STAR!" i am so, so very glad that i didn't know that first day because i'm sure i would have fan-girl geeked out and may have said something like "um...blah." anyway, i digress...

the combo of Ruta's encouragement, the creative energy that stirs in a room of writers, and the DECADE (literally) of Court telling me i had it in me...it brought something out in me that lay dormant for many many years. in the next couple days i had a song, and then another, and then another. then i joined Nashville Songwriters Association International. i began a journey that ended in a small studio and ultimately the release of Contradictions on Dec. 13, 2011. who knows where i'm going next? no really, if you have ideas for next steps that would be amazing!!haha!

i also took a nashville number system/songwriting class at Vanderbilt this fall. my instructor was Odie Blackmon who has multiple #1's and a grammy nom. the class was so much fun and i met some really cool people. i learned a LOT that i didn't know about how things work in nashville but mostly it was just one more confidence booster. most weeks i played one of my original songs in class...let me tell you, that's not intimidating AT ALL! sitting in front of a long time nashville songwriter (not to mention the other writers and musicians in the room) and playing YOUR song. can you say vulnerable?!?! but Odie is an amazing, sweet person and was always so appreciative and complimentary. i'll forever be grateful to my classmates and Odie for making me feel like a REAL singer/songwriter...it's a good feeling.

2012
what's in store for the next year? i'm not real sure but here are a few things i DO know. 
 - i will be a better, healthier me. '11 was the first time in my life i've held a consistent workout schedule but in the fall/winter life happened and my routine lost it's priority status. this will change.
- i will play more live shows. i have an album and now i must step out of the comfort of the studio and into some live music venues. i have a radio show scheduled soon and i'll send out details as soon as i have them. more to come...this is only the beginning!
- i will drink more water.
- i will WARRIOR DASH!! yes, and i will receive a VIKING HELMET!
- i will be me, always me. i will not compromise who i am.
- i will write more. more songs, more blogs, more lyric journaling, more writing.

so those are just a few simple things but like i said, i don't usually make a resolution list so this was pretty good for me! so good bye 2011, you were amazing AND sucky but thanks for the lessons learned and the friends made. on to 2012...may it be the best yet!