Well, I must say this year has brought me many adventures as well as a very long insane roller-coaster of emotions. I'd like to think that I did some growing this year, in fact I'm sure there's no way I squeezed through the last twelve months without it changing me.

This was my first year as a Superstar. Let me tell you, that was one of the best things I've ever done. I'm fairly positive it will never lose it's awesomeness.

In 2008 I became a little more of a homebody and I found that my heart does belong there. Up until this now, I've never felt at home anywhere really. This year, I made my own. It was a huge emotional sigh of relief and it took a lot of getting used to. I've had many amazing moments here filled with contentment. I couldn't imagine being anywhere other than Ballard. I'm surrounded by amazing people and some of the greatest friends I've ever had.

I find myself with new ink this year. Two new tattoos. The one was a whim that I adore, the other was well planned and thought out by someone I am proud to wear the art of. Of course, this just leaves me with the desire to add more. My mind has been mulling it over since I walked away from Ruby in September. I'm sure she'll bring me more beautiful work with her needle near in the future. I'm hoping my upcoming trip will give me some inspiration.

Speaking of vacations, I rewarded myself this year with the "Superstar's Hotter Than Hell Tour, 2008". It was a long time coming and I had an enormous amount of fun seeing old faces, laughing uncontrollably, laying in the sun, visiting missed places and discovering new ones. My heart needed that.

The year of music was a grand one. I must say, some of the shows I saw this year left me feeling as though a little piece of me changed during the performances. Now, this may sound ridiculous - but anyone that really knows me knows how I get when it comes to music. Some of the highlights were: Anniversary night with Glen Philips and Jonathan Kingham; a night of champagne and amazing music, DMB weekend; amazing and emotional this year, and the highlight of the year for me musically was Deck The Hall Ball; Shiny Toy Guns, Cold War Kids, Death Cab and The Killers; an incredible night that is definitely in my top 5 all time favorite shows.

I fought with change this year. It beat me up and I took it, eventually caving in to its brutality. It's never been a friend of mine, especially when I'm enjoying life as it is. But as with all change, we adjust somewhat to the newness of the scenario and learn to appreciate what we have. It's a great reminder to not take any little fantastic aspect of life for granted.

The biggest change I went through this year was understanding and realizing that I am who I am. The past few years have led me to this point and I know I don't have to be anyone else or pretend to be anyone else, for anyone. I find that my life is filled with individuals who embrace me for who I am and love me more for that, no questions asked. It's an awesome space to be in. Now that I've accepted myself, I can allow others to do the same. For once, I feel loved. No drama, no negativity. My relationships morphed this year because of it.

2007 proved to be the year that shook everything up and challenged who I was. I purged the old and uncovered a new uncomfortable state of mind. That lead me right into a year that was definitely designed to hunker down, look at circumstances from a different view and distinguish love in this insane world of chaos. I found it. It's there. You just have to know where to look. I had to decide if I was going to do anything with it, be hurt by it, or just let it stand and be still. There's not enough love in this world, so I chose the latter. Just knowing it's there is enough for me to sleep peacefully at night and be excited for the day to come.

I'd like to thank 2008 for all it has given me. I needed this year to happen. It began with changing my name and it will soon end with yummy drinks, amazing food and with people I call my own. There were tears, babies, sunshine, the inability to breathe, elation, deaths, excitement, hyperventilating, snow and fits of drunken laughter in between. Honestly, I wouldn't change one. little. thing. No regrets. None.

2009, I welcome you and all of the new exciting things you have to offer me. I hope you keep things lively and ever changing. I hope you scare me in new ways and teach me unimaginable things. You know how I love surprises.

With that, I've given you the slogan:

"Drink More Wine In 2009"