Gwen Bell has a fantastic “Best of ‘09” project happening. Its hub is at her blog, but over 650 bloggers and Twitterers are participating, so it’s definitely far-reaching.

I’ve wanted to participate since its first day (December 1st), but, true to form, I kept putting off my blog-writing. And here we are at December 19th. I’m determined to do all 31 days of this Best Of look-back at 2009, so it’s high time I get started.

Hence why this entry shall be called Ketchup Part I… December 1st through 9th.

December 1: Trip

My best trip of 2009 was my venture out west to Taos, New Mexico. It was remarkable for a number of reasons, one of which is that it marked my first solo excursion of more than just a few hours by car. The destination itself was amazing–I fell in love with the New Mexico landscape and can’t wait to return. But the personal triumph of making the trip, combined with the introspection and soul searching I did while on the journey, put this trip at the #1 spot. (The fact that I made the journey to and did the introspection at a fantabulous location is icing on the cake!)

December 2: Restaurant Moment

Confession: I’m not sure my Best Restaurant Moment actually occurred in 2009. But I remember it as being 2009, so I’m counting it. The entire family–including Grandma–was at CoCo China Buffet. Mums and I were helping Grandma by getting her samplings of various foods from the buffet and bringing them back to her. She was ready for dessert, so I got a variety of desserts for her, including an almond cookie. When I came back, she looked over the array of goodies happily until she saw the cookie. She exclaimed, “An almond cookie?! Why’d you get me an almond cookie? I could get one of those at the store, Rissa.”

I realize this doesn’t translate to how funny it was at the time–it was the way she said it, and her utter indignation at an almond cookie being included with all of the other “fancy” desserts. It was so very Grandma. A hearty laugh at the time, and enduring fond memory now.

December 3: Article

Gwen (yep, same Gwen who created the #best09 challenge) wrote the “How to create your personal manifesto” article. It was not the first time my online path had crossed with Gwen’s, but after reading and re-reading the Manifesto article, it was the first time I started pouring over her archives and developing a serious golly-you’re-awesome admiration. I’ve returned to that article over and over and over again. It inspires and challenges me, but also makes me feel really happy and strong. In other words, it’s good stuff.

December 4: Book

A best-of for yesterday, today, and tomorrow: Fly High (a Little Golden Book). Boils down all sorts of life philosophies into just a few lines and illustrations. The best life rules are the ones that can fit into a children’s storybook and not seem out of place, you know?

December 5: Night Out

Before Alex moved to Virginia, Mums, Daddio, Chaz and I converged at his condo in Bloomington. We didn’t do anything particularly fancy–we had dinner and we hung out. We laughed a lot. We slept on air mattresses and recliners in the barely-furnished condo, the vast majority of the furniture having already been moved out to Virginia. And it was the last time that we all hung out together in that condo, in Bloomington. I was in my happiest environment: surrounded by my family (except for Jilayne who was already in Virginia). I wish we had more nights like that, but I treasure the ones I get!

December 6: Workshop or conference

In July, I attended Jennifer Louden’s Writer’s Retreat in Taos, New Mexico (same trip I mentioned for “Best Trip,” above). I got to meet Jennifer and Havi Brooks, both of whom I’d been working with for some time, and neither of whom I’d gotten to actually meet (or hug!) until that point. In addition to meeting them, I got to meet several other talented, fascinating women, and I got to explore the idea of me as a Writer. It took most of the week to stop thinking of myself as “Assistant to the ladies running the retreat” and start thinking of myself as a participant… hazards of the job, I suppose (my own framing of the event, not their treatment of it or me!). But even that was instructive, and illuminated certain patterns in my life. But it was, for the container and the people and the place and what it meant for me, the most meaningful workshop I attended all year.

December 7: Blog find of the year

Gwen again! This goes hand-in-hand with December 3rd’s answer to “Best Article.” Finding Gwen’s blog was very much a “How did I not know this was out here?!” moment. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it ever since.

December 8: Moment of peace

One of the reasons I’m a devotee of Jennifer Hofmann’s Office Spa Day is the peace of mind that follows each Spa Day session. In just a couple of hours, I can shift from having a piled, messy desk to having a clear, usable desk space… and shift from anxious and fretful to calm and centered. Those Moments of Peace are little oases in my month, and keep me coming back for more, month after month.

December 9: Challenge

I went from fully-booked to strapped for cash in a period of, oh, about 3 weeks. It was a messy series of happenstance and it scared me. A lot. I wistfully longed for the “security” of a desk job in some big corporatey building (cue laughter from all of the folks who experienced the “security” of those jobs in recent years). I struggled to find good, affordable health insurance, and missed the built-in benefits of those corporatey jobs. I pulled down some incredibly long hours and worked through some incredibly stressful client situations.

In other words, I owned and managed and was the sole employee of my own business for the entire calendar year of 2009. Talk about a challenge.

But anytime I needed a gut check, I (or someone else) would inquire, “Are you happier now? Would you go back to the corporatey world if you could?” And my answers were always “Yes” and “Hell no,” respectively.

The challenge, in this instance, was also the reward. I was a business owner. No safety net, no second income from a roommate or partner, no day job to rescue me if I got scared. It was the most challenging experience of my life. It taught me how resourceful I am, how persistent I can be, how strong I really am, how much support I’ve got from unexpected sources, how resilient I am, and how much I want this. It taught me that challenges come from the stuff I do right, in addition to the mistakes I make. It taught me that I can do this.

I can do this.

That’s the first time I’ve said that out loud: I can do this.

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